(Jiang Wanru listened to Mu Gen's words, with a sense of relief in her eyes. Since Jiang Wanru remembered the events of her past life, she had been working hard to learn and adapt to her environment, thinking that within the limited space, she could strive for herself as much as possible. She knew that no matter whether it was her past life or this one, she had never been a strong-willed person. Her temperament in her past life was too easy-going, and in this life, she only hoped to work hard so that in the future, she could plan a small, peaceful life for herself and those close to her.)

  Jiang Wanru remained calm in front of others after the engagement was settled, but she was secretly anxious and uneasy. Now that she knew the reason for the engagement, she felt a sense of destiny, and her heart became calm and peaceful. She wanted to find a good way out for herself and those around her. On the day of choosing her dowry, apart from her close relatives, two people, Fang Zheng and Mu Gen, had won her favor. Fang Zheng was agile and valued relationships highly. Mu Gen was steady and treated her like family.

  These days, Fang Zheng has met many dignitaries and his horizons have broadened significantly. He carefully considered Jiang Wanru's words and suddenly gained a deeper understanding, feeling joyful and moved. At this moment, he heard Mu Gen's words and understood the nature of their relationship since childhood. He knew that Mu Gen was not cunning or deceitful, and with some emotion, he glanced at Mu Gen, then looked at Jiyuan with a thoughtful expression, seeing his emotional gaze towards Mu Gen. Fang Zheng took a deep breath, feeling a sense of nostalgia wash over him.

  "Miss, I accept your arrangement. Miss is willing to plan for us, it's a great kindness to both our families. From now on, I'm willing to respect Miss as my lifelong master, and also treat Miss like a family member, just like Mu Gen does. I'll share fortune and misfortune with Miss. Miss, from now on, if you have anything, just order me to do it." Jiang Wanru looked at him deeply and said: "Good. Then I'll carefully tell you my thoughts, and you can help me think about any shortcomings...".

  That night, Fang Zheng and Mu Gen left together. On the way, Fang Zheng said to Mu Gen: "It's still your family who knows people, they recognized Miss's goodness early on. My family is just borrowing the auspicious words to follow such a good master. Alas, Miss herself can't even protect herself, yet she still thinks of us first. Following such a master, whether it's good or bad, we won't regret it." Mu Gen gave him a white eye and said: "My family doesn't have as many tricks up their sleeves as yours does." The two walked away together, speaking in hushed tones.

  Since that day, Jiang Wanru ordered Jiyu to study hard and recognize characters. She herself remained the same, going out of the Jiang family every other day. When spring was about to arrive, a month before Jiang Wanru's wedding, early one morning, the four people, including the steward and his wife from the small Jiang house, as well as Jiyu's parents, were summoned by her. She told them: "Third Miss will be getting married next month. There are many things to do in her courtyard. From today on, go listen to her instructions. The mansion will give you your monthly allowance for next month in advance."

  The four elderly people, Mu Gen and Ji Yan, were familiar with the old customs of the Jiang family. They knew that each branch had to pay their respects to the young mistress before her wedding, one month in advance. The four of them had anticipated the Jiang family's cold treatment towards Jiang Wan and thought they would only be summoned when something important arose. Now, hearing Young Master Jiang's words, they were grateful beyond measure. Together, they went to Madam Jiang's quarters to express their gratitude for her kindness.

  Jiyu's father and mother, along with Jiyu's aunt and uncle, arrived at Jiang Wanru's house before lunchtime. Jiyu was in the courtyard, writing on the ground with a tree branch. She heard her parents' calls and happily jumped up to open the door. Seeing the four people outside, she asked in surprise: "Huh? Is today the day Father and Uncle promised to come?" Hearing this, Jiyu's mother scolded her, waving her hand at her several times. Jiyu quickly dodged and hid behind her own father.

  She touched her forehead, stretched out her small head from behind her father's back, and said to her mother with a wronged face: "Mother, you have something to say, how can you hit me?" Ji Yan's mother looked at her poor-looking daughter, thinking that she didn't understand things, and felt a little embarrassed to look at Mu Gen's parents' expression. She sighed lightly and said to her daughter: "You are confused, Miss is getting married next month, there are many people in this courtyard, it's just when we need more hands. The old lady, as usual, sent us, the accompanying people, to help with the work."

  Jiyuan heard this, stepped out from behind her father's back, furrowed her brow and said with a bitter face: "Miss is getting married next month? It's already time for Miss to get married?" The four people in the courtyard all saw her bitter face and understood the discontent in her words. Jiyuan's mother heard that what was supposed to be a happy event had become something unpleasant coming from her own daughter's mouth, as if this marriage were the worst thing in the world.

  She pulled Jiyan into the room with one hand and said loudly inside: "You can't bear to part with Miss, everyone knows your feelings for Miss. But you can't say that either. You should be happy about Miss's marriage." Then, in the courtyard, three people only heard a faint voice of unclear scolding from inside the house. Mu Gen Niang, in the courtyard, said to Jiyan's father who was standing aside and rubbing his hands: "Jiyan's father, you go in and persuade your family. Jiyan is young, some things need adults to slowly advise."

  Ji Yan's father went to knock on her door with a gloomy face, calling out: "Ji Yan, is the young lady not in today?" Ji Yan quickly opened the door and grabbed her father's sleeve, saying repeatedly: "Dad, tell mom that 'I know I was wrong.' Oh, the young lady has gone out." After finishing speaking, Ji Yan saw her uncle and aunt standing in the courtyard, looking at the words on the ground. She hastily let go of her father's sleeve and ran over to them with a smile, saying: "Uncle, Auntie, please come into my room and sit for a while, the young lady will be back later."

  Mugun's parents smiled and nodded, they were about to leave when Jiyuan hurried over with a smile. She walked up close, her footsteps quickly covering the words on the ground, then turned back to give Mugun's parents another smile. Mugun's parents exchanged a glance, pretending not to have seen anything, and followed Jiyuan into the house.

  Four people sat down in the room, and Jiyuan brought up a few bowls of water. Before she could sit down, her mother asked: "Jiyuan, where did you put the fabric that Madame sent over? Later, I'll go take a look with your Aunt Mugen and help Miss Shuangyan." Jiyuan looked at her mother and shook her head lightly: "Madame hasn't sent anything over until now." The four elders heard this and simultaneously stared at Jiyuan in disbelief.

  Ji Yan smiled wryly and glanced at them, thinking of what Miss had said. She spoke softly: "Miss can't do needlework, according to what Old Lady Jiang said, it's asking the people in the mansion's sewing room to help with making dowries and wedding clothes." Ji Yan's mother and Mu Gen's mother exchanged a glance, and Mu Gen's mother looked at Ji Yan, asking in a low voice: "Has Miss been in a good mood these days?" Ji Yan thought for a moment before saying: "I couldn't tell if Miss is in a good or bad mood. She seems the same as before, neither good nor bad."

  She said this, and her mother glared at her a few times. Jiyin had something on his mind, but he couldn't speak directly to the four people in front of him. That day, Jiang Wanyu was talking to Fang Zheng and Mugen about their plans for the future, which also didn't avoid Jiyin. Afterwards, she still mentioned Jiyin a few times: "Jiyin, you're really straightforward and never avoid your parents. But this time is different from before, we absolutely can't let any news leak out before things are settled."

  Your parents can't know the truth first, my grandparents and uncle, my brother won't tell them either. This matter, if even a little sound is revealed in advance, I'm afraid it will never be done." Jiang Wan said at that time, with a rare serious and warning face. Jiyin looked at the worried elders in front of him, wanting to tell the truth, but also worrying about messing up Miss's plan.

  Miss Jiang looked at her maid, Mu Gen, with a smile and said, "Auntie, don't worry. Miss has always been open-minded about things, she has her own ideas." Mu Gen sighed inwardly, as she watched Miss Jiang grow up day by day, she sometimes worried about her future. But as a servant, she felt helpless. On the contrary, every time Miss Jiang saw her, she would speak to comfort her heart. She nodded lightly and said, "Miss, it's me who has seen you grow up, your heart is pure."

  When Jiang Wanru returned, she saw Jiyan's parents and Mugen's parents cleaning the yard. She greeted them in the same way as Jiyan: "Uncle, aunt, did you come with my grandparents?" Jiyan's parents heard Jiang Wanru's question and found the root of their daughter's ignorance. They smiled slightly on their faces. Mugen's mother listened and said to Jiang Wanru without a good tone: "Miss, you will get married in a month. From today on, we will follow you and listen to your orders."

  Jiang Wanru heard this and didn't show a hint of joy on her face. She calmly said, "Oh, so next month I'll be getting married." Mugen Niang saw the look on her face and gazed into her calm eyes, feeling a pang in her heart. She reached out to pull Jiang Wanru and said, "Miss, let me help you with your hair." Jiang Wanru stroked her hair, knowing that she could take care of herself. Since then, she had never asked anyone to help her again. She glanced at the nanny who seemed to have something to say and nodded, saying, "Alright, Nanny, come into my room with me."

  Jiang Wanmu opened the door and welcomed Mugen Niang into the room. Before she stepped inside, she thought of the three people left in the courtyard. She took two steps back, gazed up at the sun high in the sky, then looked down at the four people in the courtyard, the sweat on her forehead, and finally swept her gaze to the only corner of the courtyard that was still not clean. Smiling, she said to Jiyu, "Now that the weather is starting to pick up, it's stuffy inside the house. Please move the old table and stools to a shady spot in the courtyard. Invite Uncle, Auntie, and my grandma to sit down and take a rest for a while."

  She finished speaking and advised the three people who wanted to continue working, saying: "Uncle, auntie, grandma, there's a lot of work in this courtyard, no need to rush to finish it now, take care of your body, let's do it slowly." Ji Yan heard Jiang Wanru say this and nodded happily, saying: "Miss, you're right. I also told them that, but none of them listened to me, they said today after cleaning the courtyard, they want to clean another two empty rooms." Jiang Wanru sighed upon hearing this, thinking about the four people who were unusually enthusiastic about this matter, her eyes became dim.

  Finally managed to catch up on an update, and I'll strive to continue keeping it up tomorrow. Thank you to book friend Hua Jiao Yue for gifting 100 starting coins, thank you to book friend Yan Qi for casting 1 pink vote, and thank you to book friends Yan Yun Zhu for casting 1 pink vote. Because of your support, I will also continue to update constantly. If you like this work, welcome to come to Starting Point () to cast a recommendation vote or monthly vote; your support is my greatest motivation.

  Hard study