The young master's wife left with two maids, and Ji Yan also exited the room. Jiang Wanju held a golden hairpin in her hand, gently stroking it with her fingers, her expression calm as deep water. After a long while, Ji Yan returned to the room and approached Jiang Wanju, saying: "Miss, Auntie asked if it's convenient for you to come over and talk?" Jiang Wanju glanced at Ji Yan and sighed lightly, saying: "Tell Nainai that she can leave tomorrow with peace of mind. In a few days, I'll go to the Wuyan Bookstore and make an appointment with Brother to meet again next time, and we can have a good talk then."
Ji Yan listened to Jiang Wan's words and stood aside, biting her lip and looking at Jiang Wan's expression. She said in a low voice, "Miss, Auntie is worried about you?" Jiang Wan heard Ji Yan's words and raised her head with a smile, saying, "Tell her not to worry, the people of the Wang Manor have a big heart, they can definitely tolerate me." Ji Yan looked at her and lowered her head, saying, "Auntie heard those people say 'The masters of the Wang Manor... have already succeeded, but still... it's a pity for you.'" Ji Yan spoke in a stuttering manner, but Jiang Wan still understood the meaning behind her words.
Jiang Wanru blinked forcefully and smiled softly, saying in a light tone: "Ji Yan, I've never had any close relatives. Why should I ask unrelated people to treat me like family? I'm not resentful about entering the Wang Fu as the legitimate wife. There are some things that will be paid for sooner or later. It's better to pay now and have nothing left to give. No one will come to demand anything from me again. Ji Yan, I have nothing, but I'll do my best to protect those who treat me well. Tell Nai Nang to leave with peace of mind!"
The road is long and the journey is far, but Jiang Wanru has no way to retreat now. Even if the Wang family wants her to marry in, three years will be three years, they must have their own intentions. Looking at how the people of the Wang family are treating her coldly, it seems that not a single day will pass without them being reluctant. In Lian Hao's courtyard, it was extremely lively. Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan were speaking in low voices inside the room, while outside there were constant sounds of laughter and chatter. The two women stopped talking and heard the calling voice from the courtyard, "Young Master is here! Two sisters are here."
The door opened, and Lian Hua, dressed in a crimson robe with a jade belt around his waist, walked into the room with a smile on his face. Behind him followed two women in pink dresses. As he entered, he saw Jiang Wanru sitting at the table and Ji Yan standing behind her. For a moment, he was taken aback, but immediately turned to smile and said, "So you're here." The two women behind him heard his words and looked up at Jiang Wanru, whose appearance was ordinary, with joy in their eyes that they couldn't hide. They exchanged glances and simultaneously lowered their heads.
Jiang Wanru stood up, bowed and said: "Young master is well." Lian Hao nodded slightly towards her and sat down across from her, saying: "In the future, in the house, there are not many people, no need to be so polite." Jiang Wanru quickly sat down beside him, smiling and saying: "Yes." Ji Yan looked at Jiang Wanru's tightly clenched fist, and she lowered her head. Shu Xiang and Shu Yu brought in tea, with Shu Xiang quickly stepping forward to place the tea in front of Lian Hao. Smiling, she said: "Young master, this is according to your instructions, specially brewed tea using peach blossom water. Try it and see if the maids have done a good job?"
Shu Yu stepped back, placing the tea in front of Jiang Wanru and smiling: "Madam, have some tea." Jiang Wanru nodded slightly. She saw this and immediately retreated, walking quietly to Lian Hua's side, along with the two women in pink clothes, speaking softly: "Sister Mingyu, Sister Mingtong, I haven't seen you all day today." The two women in pink listened to her words, simultaneously sizing up Jiang Wanru's expression. Seeing that she seemed not to have heard, Mingyu smiled lightly and said quietly: "Master had instructed us a few days ago, saying that there were many things to attend to these past two days, so we shouldn't come to the front courtyard, lest we disturb Madam."
Lian Hao heard their voices and turned to them, saying: "You go and pay your respects to the mistress." Ming Yu and Ming Tuo listened to Lian Hao's words and immediately went before Jiang Wanru, respectfully bowing and paying their respects: "Greetings, Mistress. I am Ming Yu (Ming Tuo). We are attendants by Master's side." Jiang Wanru heard this and took another glance at the two delicate individuals, noticing the peach blossom aura surrounding them. She clearly understood the identity of these two attendants. With a gentle smile, she said: "Since you are attendants to Young Master, serve your master well from now on."
Lian Hao listened to Jiang Wanru's words, sipping her tea and slightly furrowing her brow. She told Ming Yu and Ming Tou, "You two can go down now." Ming Yu and Ming Tou looked at each other as if they had been wronged, their eyes wide with a startled expression like that of a frightened rabbit. They said to Jiang Wanru in unison, "Madam, we will also serve you well." Seeing the two behave so artificially, Jiang Wanru felt a little displeased in her heart. She smiled on the surface and said, "I'm fine. Just take good care of Young Master."
Ming Yu and Ming Tuo exchanged a glance, and Ming Tuo, who had quickly turned her eyes away, glanced at Lian Hua, who was not speaking, and smiled at Jiang Wanru: "Madam, I'm skilled in needlework. In the future, I'd be happy to help you make clothes for Young Master." Jiang Wanru heard this and nodded with a faint smile: "Good. I just so happen to be bad at needlework." This statement was so frank that it raised Lian Hua's eyebrows, and Ming Tuo's eyes showed obvious delight. After hearing this, Ming Yu looked unimpressed, but when she saw Jiang Wanru looking at her, she immediately smiled and said: "I'm not as clever as Sister Ming Tuo, I can only cook some dishes that Young Master likes to eat. In the future, please instruct me more, Madam."
Jiang Wanmu smiled and looked at Ming Yu, saying: "Then you should pay more attention to the young master in the future. I don't know how to cook, so there's no way for me to teach you." Ming Tong and Ming Yu heard her frank words and saw that she didn't seem embarrassed at all. The two of them didn't know how to react, they could only lower their heads and secretly glance at Lian Hua. After responding to them, Jiang Wanmu also remembered herself, these years, she had never practiced the skills of these women. Now there are three years, it seems like a long time, can be used to practice.
He gazed at the woman sitting opposite him, seeing that she had lowered her head, only able to see her straight hair. The woman in front of him was plain-looking, without any remarkable talent or accomplishments, and even household chores were not her strong suit. However, she still maintained a decent level of etiquette on the surface, enough to be presentable to others. He let out a soft sigh and said to the people in the room, "All of you go down, I have something to discuss with Young Madam." The people in the room immediately retreated, leaving only Jiyuan standing still. Jiang Wanyu turned her head and pulled at Jiyuan's sleeve, saying, "You go down with them and keep them company." Only then did Jiyuan finally exit as well.
After seeing the door closed, Lian Hao said to Jiang Wanru: "I think this girl is quite loyal to you." Jiang Wanru nodded and said: "Yes, all these years, it's just me and her guarding a courtyard, we naturally have feelings for each other." Lian Hao was about to blurt out something, but after hearing her words, he immediately changed his question: "You didn't live well in the Jiang family?" Jiang Wanru heard Lian Hao's straightforward question, looked up and said: "Nothing is bad, everything is complete from food and clothing to housing. The Jiang family raised me for 15 years and even arranged for me to marry a handsome young master like him, how could it be bad?"
Lian Hao listened to Jiang Wan's flattering words, gazing at her calm expression. He thought the woman in front of him was foolish and couldn't find anything good about her. Hearing her boast about her beauty, he saw her lower her head in shame, and his heart secretly grew disgusted. He felt that this woman in front of him was really unlikable, unable to recognize her own appearance, and when she saw a handsome man, she would take the opportunity to try to climb up the social ladder. Lian Hao thought to himself that she was just another woman who liked her own beauty, and his heart felt as uncomfortable as swallowing a fly.
Lian Hao's face sank, and he glanced at her, saying: "You think the Jiang family is good, then it's good. I heard you've never attended clan school, and the only characters you can recognize are those taught by Lian Zimo back in the day. After him, have you learned anything from anyone? Women should understand music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and household chores; which one do you possess? However, your etiquette looks quite standard to me - who taught you?"
Lian Hao didn't hide the sarcasm in his eyes from Jiang Wanru. Jiang Wanru understood his gaze, and her last bit of innocence was shattered. She raised her head and laughed, saying: "My brother-in-law is kind-hearted, he gave me a book to learn characters. I'm not good at music, chess, calligraphy, or painting, nor am I good at household chores. That courtesy was something I picked up when I went to East Street and saw those beautifully dressed women, they all greeted each other in the same way. After watching them for a while, I unknowingly learned to greet people who dress nicely in that manner."
He gazed at Jiang Wanru, who still had a smile on her face, thinking that such an idiotic woman would occupy the position of his legitimate wife. He looked at her with displeasure, thinking that he was too tired yesterday and mistakenly thought that the woman in front of him had eyes that could be seen by people. He said in a low voice: "Last night was the first night of our wedding, it couldn't be helped. In the future, I won't casually enter this room." Jiang Wanru listened to his pleasant words, looking at him with an expression as if she wanted to stretch out her foot and trample herself.
A fleeting sense of disappointment flashed through her mind, but was immediately replaced by an irrepressible and slowly rising joy. She secretly rejoiced that she hadn't taken it upon herself to extinguish the incense the night before, instead letting someone else light it. She couldn't recall the details of what had happened, only feeling a hazy process that left her with nothing but a few minutes of pain and a completely blank mind afterwards. Having fulfilled her duty for just one night, she would be rewarded with peaceful nights to come.
Jiang Wanru didn't dare to be careless, as the inner house was controlled by women. She looked up at Lian Hua with a puzzled face and asked: "Where are you going to sleep, young master? Will you still compete with me for rooms in the future? And what should I say when the queen asks me why she doesn't allow you to enter the room to sleep?" Lian Hua listened to this childish talk, and became even more displeased with this clumsy woman.
He stood up and said in a low voice, "Young Master has his own place to go and won't come with you to fight for the room. After last night, we've already made arrangements with both families and outsiders, and Mother won't bother with such trivial matters. You should be more careful in the future and not stir up trouble without reason, let me help you clean up the mess." Lian Hao didn't wait for Jiang Wanru to respond, and he turned around and walked out of the door. The courtyard was once again filled with a burst of angry voices.
Ji Yan quickly ran into the room, looking around at Jiang Wanru, and after seeing her calm demeanor, relaxed and said: "Miss, I saw Young Master's angry expression, thinking it was you who angered him." Jiang Wanru smiled bitterly and said: "Young Master, originally thought to see a miracle happen on me, but in the end, I proved to him that there has never been a miracle in this world."
Miss, why do you have to do this? Pushing the young master away?" Jiang Wanmu looked up at her with a bitter expression and said: "Because I'm not a heartless person, I'm soft-hearted, I'm stupid, I'm timid, and I don't scheme against others. Three years of life isn't worth me paying too much for it. I just want to live a stable life, even if it's three years of living in ignorance."
Thank you to book friend Huán Qíng for casting 1 pink vote, thank you to Wang Qiáng's Xiǎo Dèng for casting 1 pink vote, thank you to book friend pony1234 for casting 2 pink votes. Thank you all for your support. When there are fifty pink tickets, I will strive to add an extra chapter. (If you like this work, welcome to start (point) and cast a recommendation ticket or monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
Bitterly studying books