As the young mistress and her two maidservants approached the courtyard, they heard laughter and playful voices coming from inside. Her expression involuntarily turned cold, her eyebrows furrowing slightly before relaxing again. She had always thought that Lianhao was too lenient with the servants, but as the eldest sister-in-law, she didn't want to overstep her bounds by scolding them in another courtyard. After Jiang Wanru moved in, whether it was because she was thinking of this as a temporary residence or something else, she also never restrained them, and so they became more and more unruly.

  She was followed closely by two maids, who served her carefully and didn't dare to make a sound. The young master's wife entered through the half-open gate, signaling the woman guarding the door not to make a noise. She walked in quietly and saw that at one side of the courtyard, the servants were gathered together, pointing and laughing at someone in the middle. As she looked up, she saw Jiang Wan standing under the eaves with a smile, occasionally turning her head to whisper something to the maid behind her.

  Her expression softened a bit, and she hummed softly. Jiang Wanmu and Jiyuan heard the commotion and saw the young master's wife walking in. Seeing the young master's wife wearing a brocade flower-patterned dress, looking displeased at the people playing around. Jiang Wanmu led Jiyuan to greet her, smiling and saying: "Young Master's Wife is well." The servants who were playing in the courtyard heard the commotion, turned their heads to see the Young Master's Wife, and one by one changed their expressions, turning to face the Young Master's Wife and kneeling down, not daring to lift their heads as they called out: "Please, Young Master's Wife, be at peace."

  Jiang Wanmu glanced at the people in front of the Crown Prince's wife, looking particularly well-behaved. Her eyes faintly swept over their heads. The Crown Prince's wife seemed to have not noticed the person kneeling on the ground and said to Jiang Wanmu as she approached: "Wanmu, it's cold outside, I think your body is thin, don't stay out for too long, lest you catch a chill." Jiang Wanmu smiled and nodded, saying: "Thank you, Crown Prince's wife, for your concern. I was just in my room, listening to the commotion outside, came out to take a look, found it laughable, so I'll take another look."

  The young master's wife listened to Jiang Wanru's words and looked at the person kneeling on the ground, saying to her: "You have a good temperament, if you feel annoyed, how can you let them disturb you?" Jiang Wanru heard this and smiled, saying: "These days are approaching New Year's Day, I see that they usually behave quite properly, so I'll let them celebrate for a while." The young master's wife knew that the people in Lian Huiyuan had been somewhat cold to Jiang Wanru on ordinary days, although they didn't dare to be negligent in etiquette, there were still some unpleasantness in other aspects.

  The young master's wife did not expect Jiang Wan to speak up for these people at this time. She felt a pang in her heart and coldly said to the servants who were bowing their heads: "Your master has a good temper, unlike you who like to nitpick. I won't say much more. From now on, think about your actions, she is the master and you are the servant, remember the word 'etiquette'. Next time, don't let me catch you again. I'm not as kind-hearted as your master, or else I would sell each of you off one by one. I'll spare you for Third Young Master's sake this time."

  The son's wife entered Jiang Wanju's room with a hint of disapproval in her voice. The two maids who were serving tea in the courtyard immediately jumped up and rushed to prepare tea. After the son's wife and Jiang Wanju sat down, they noticed that there was no charcoal fire in the room, and the son's wife said with some displeasure: "They can't even help you prepare a brazier of charcoal?" Jiang Wanju shook her head slightly and replied: "The smell of charcoal smoke is heavy. In my hometown, I never used charcoal in winter, so I let them not put charcoal in the room when there are no guests."

  The young mistress heard that Jiang Wanru was calm and collected, and saw the woman who had entered with the charcoal fire. She looked at the charcoal fire carefully, then raised her head and said: "I have some charcoal from the palace that doesn't produce smoke. I'll have someone send some over to you later." Jiang Wanru heard this and quickly shook her head, saying: "Young mistress, your place has many noble guests. How could you give me something essential? Thank you for your kind intentions, but I'm already used to not using charcoal fire in my room." The young mistress listened to Jiang Wanru's words and thought about how during the New Year's festival, she would be hosting many young mistresses and ladies from various manors, so she didn't insist further.

  Jiang Wan smiled and looked at the Crown Prince's wife, seeing her expression relax, and said with a smile: "Crown Prince's wife, I have another matter that requires your assistance." She turned to Ji Yan and whispered: "Bring all those contracts that need the royal seal." Ji Yan quickly went into the room and soon brought out a package of things and handed it to Jiang Wan. The Crown Prince's wife looked at Jiang Wan with curiosity, seeing her carefully open the package, one by one checking them, then smiled and raised her head: "These are the contracts for the two houses' dowry servants that I want to release."

  The two families have settled the ransom with me, but now the government needs the husband's family to stamp and acknowledge it before they can be released. I can only ask for help from the young master's wife, please help me with this matter." The young master's wife took it over, lightly flipped through it, saw Ji Yan's body contract, and was a little surprised to look at Jiang Wanru again, then looked at the clever Ji Yan. She said to Jiang Wanru: "Wanru, let go of the maid beside you. Before the festival, this side also released people, and I have already asked someone to send them over. You can choose two maids with me to serve in the mansion."

  Jiang Wanru smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Madam Shizi, but I don't need to choose another person. She has already decided to follow me until she gets married." Madam Shizi heard Jiang Wanru's words and looked at Jiyuan who was standing beside her with downcast eyes, saying, "That's great." She handed the stack of contracts to the purple-robed maid behind her, saying, "You give these to Sen Ge by Shizi's side and tell him that if it's convenient for Shizi, please help stamp them."

  After the purple-robed girl left, Jiang Wanmu felt a bit embarrassed and said to the Crown Prince's wife: "Will this be too much trouble for the Crown Prince?" The Crown Prince's wife smiled and said: "Today, the Crown Prince has something to do in the mansion, and it is your dowry family member, he will take a look later and think it is proper, and will stamp his seal." Jiang Wanmu could only thank the Crown Prince's wife again. The Crown Prince's wife naturally accepted with a smile, and then said to Jiang Wanmu: "During the New Year's festival, there will be female guests coming to your place to play, you can help me accompany them at that time."

  Jiang Wanru was shocked to hear this, wondering how the female guest from the Wang Manor could have specifically come looking for her. Not to mention that she and Lian Hua had a distant relationship, even if they were on good terms, Lian Hua was just an idle son of the Wang Manor. The guests who came and went would be received by one of the two elder sisters-in-law, while she herself would at most be accompanying them as a guest. Now hearing the words of the Crown Prince's wife, it seemed that she was being treated as the main host. She raised her eyes to look at the Crown Prince's wife, suddenly feeling a little dizzy, and realized that the female guest who had come must have been someone Lian Hua had gotten entangled with outside.

  "I'll do my best to make sure everyone has a good time," Jiang Wanru said with a slight nod. "However, I'd like to ask the young mistress, are there any particular taboos or concerns that the female guests might have? Perhaps you could enlighten me?" The young mistress gazed at Jiang Wanru with a bitter smile and thought for a moment before speaking: "Princess Ya Zheng has already told her brother that she must come see you. She's straightforward, so be honest but tactful in your words. However, try to emphasize how well you get along with him. As for the other female guests, observe them when you meet and act accordingly. You're a member of the royal family, after all, and can't afford to lose face."

  Jiang Wanru understood the implication of the words of the Crown Prince's wife, and thought for a moment before saying: "I heard outside that Princess Yazheng has already been betrothed?" The Crown Prince's wife nodded and said: "The marriage of Princess Yazheng has been arranged, and after the wedding, she will be living far away from the capital. It will be many years before she can return to the capital, so she wants to take advantage of the New Year's festival, and also before her wedding, to visit various families with whom she has a good relationship, and get closer to them. I heard that she feels a connection with you, and specially said that she wanted to come to our mansion to get closer to you."

  The words of the Crown Prince's wife were flawless, but Jiang Wanju still understood the underlying meaning. She smiled and said: "I will treat the noble guests who come to my door well. Since they are so interested in what happens after I get married, I am open and honest, and there is nothing that cannot be spoken of. After getting married, I have been doing very well. My husband has never gotten angry with me and always respects me. The two of us have a great tacit understanding, each having our own hobbies, and the more we are together, the better it gets."

  The young lady's words would have been convincing to anyone who didn't know the truth about their relationship, making them seem like a perfectly happy couple. She gazed at the woman in front of her, with a smile on her face and a serene demeanor, recalling the rumors and re-examining the woman's previous words, savoring each phrase carefully, and for a moment, felt a mix of emotions. This woman, who had never known happiness, yet looked so peaceful.

  The young mistress couldn't help but ask: "Wan Mu, before your marriage was arranged, how did you think about your own marriage, and the person who would accompany you in the future?" Jiang Wanmu looked at the woman asking the question, smiled lightly and said: "I never thought that the Jiang family would arrange a good marriage for me, or find a good husband. The current engagement is better than I imagined." The young mistress stared at her in shock, and after a long time, spoke softly: "I used to think about my own marriage. I knew my elders would hope for me to have a good life. If the days after marriage are not good, it's my own fault."

  Jiang Wanmu looked at her with the same stunned expression, disbelievingly blurting out: "Would your elders think so much of you?" She always felt that the elders of a prestigious family would consider more the interests of both families. She recalled the concern shown by the Crown Prince's wife in recent days and softly said: "After getting married, if one person has a willing heart but the other doesn't, it's still impossible to live a good life. This isn't just the fault of one woman. People shouldn't drag others' mistakes onto themselves, that would be too exhausting."

  The young master's wife didn't expect that the usually indifferent Jiang Wanmu would comfort her, and there was a smile in her eyes as she said: "My parents thought about us children a lot. The young master is someone they carefully chose for me. Over these years, the young master has been much better than I imagined. However, thank you for saying that just now." After Jiang Wanmu finished speaking, she felt like she had misspoken when she unintentionally touched her while exchanging pleasantries. She only smiled and nodded in response to the young master's wife's words.

  Hard study