(Studying hard) During the hottest summer days, Fang Zheng and Mu Gen followed the escort agency to set out for Zhongnan. The weather was scorching hot, Jiang Wanru had been staying in the Wang Fu for many days, she loved opening all the windows in her room for ventilation. Lian Hao would sometimes come to the courtyard, but never entered her room again. At most, he would wait outside her window for a while, after Jiang Wanru noticed him, she would get up and greet him politely, he would casually ask: "What are you doing staying in your room?" Jiang Wanru would take out the needlework she was currently working on and show it to him at the window.

  In recent days, the sun might be too strong, so Jiang Wanru hasn't gone out of the right side gate of the Wang Fu for some time. Lian Hao also hasn't entered the courtyard. Jiang Wanru feels a bit more at ease in her heart, as she had been worried about Lian Hao lecturing her on recognizing characters and writing. Now that she thinks about it, he was just speaking casually. In her free time, when there are fewer people in the courtyard, she would walk out of her room and sit under the shade of a tree, working on the shoe sole she is embroidering, one stitch at a time.

  Jiang Wanru actually liked this courtyard, but she had always disliked too many idle people. So after sitting down, she just smiled faintly and nodded to refuse everyone who came forward. In Lianhao's courtyard, there was no gorgeous scenery with blooming flowers, only a few trees with a refreshing landscape, which suited Jiang Wanru's taste very well. Behind the prosperity like brocade, there would always be a desolate reality involved. This small thought of Jiang Wanru's had never been told to a second person. Because everyone loves to add flowers to silk, but few people will send charcoal in snowy weather.

  Ji Yan held the shoe upper she was working on and walked into the courtyard, where she spotted Jiang Wanru bowed down doing her work under the shade of a tree. On her head was only one silver hairpin, and she wore a plain white linen garment. When she heard the noise, she looked up and gave Ji Yan a glance that always made people feel at ease. Jiang Wanru turned her head to look at Ji Yan, saw the shoe upper in her hand, smiled and beckoned: "Come sit here, it's cooler than inside."

  Ji Yan smiled and walked over, sitting down beside her and saying in a soft voice: "Miss, the women and maids in this courtyard all use hairpins that are more exquisite than yours, and their clothes are brighter than yours." Jiang Wanru heard her words and laughed lightly, her eyes scanning the people standing in the corner. She saw that they were indeed beautiful beyond compare, each with their own unique bearing. She glanced at Ji Yan, seeing that she had only lightly styled her hair, using only one wooden hairpin, and wearing a simple yet elegant dress made of fine silk.

  Jiang Wan said with a smile: "Everyone has their own hobbies, the weather is so hot. Let me wear heavy hair decorations. That day was really unbearable for me. If it weren't for fixing my hair, I wouldn't want to use this one pin." Ji Yan thought of that time when Old Princess Wang had her birthday and Jiang Wan's hair didn't have a single pin on it, and hastily said: "Miss, on the day of Old Princess Wang's birthday, your hair didn't have a single pin, I think you looked especially beautiful that day. Miss, you can wear your hair like that."

  Jiang Wan smiled and glanced at her, saying: "That hairstyle is too much trouble to style every day, I don't want to spend my energy on that. But you have to remind me when the weather cools down. I want to get myself a golden crown and some hairpins, can't always meet people with plain hair. And it's going to be over a year before we leave this place. Can't let those petty people look down on me." Ji Yan listened and nodded smiling: "Good, last time brother said he knew a woman who made accessories, miss, didn't you say you wanted to modify the old silver hairpin?"

  "We'll get Brother to take us there and see if they have any new designs. That store is cheaper than the gold and silver stores outside, and their styles are more trendy." Jiang Wanmu didn't like going to gold and silver jewelry stores anyway, where the owners and employees only saw money in people's eyes, judging them by their clothes. Thinking of the silver hairpin on her head and the gold hairpin in her room, Jiang Wanmu smiled and nodded: "Okay, this way I don't need to add any more hairpins, just change the style of these two hairpins and that's it. Having too many of these things is a hassle to deal with when we move."

  Ji Yan originally wanted to persuade her a few more sentences, but after hearing her words, she smiled and nodded lightly, saying: "Miss, there's plenty of time in the future, no need to rush this moment." Jiang Wanmu smiled at her for a few moments, thinking about Mugen's pleading words: "Sister, Ji Yan has thin skin, don't always love to tease her." She swallowed the teasing words that were on the tip of her tongue and handed the shoe sole in her hand to Ji Yan. Ji Yan took the shoe sole from Jiang Wanmu's hand, looked at the tight and loose stitches on the shoe surface, and sighed lightly: "Miss, this shoe sole can only be used for the middle layer of winter shoes. When you do needlework, you need to use even force."

  Jiang Wanru nodded solemnly and said, "Mmm, I'll listen to you. I'll slowly hone my needlework skills. From now on, I want to make my own clothes with my own hands." Ji Yan looked at Jiang Wanru's lofty goal, gazed at the obviously rough needlework in her hand, and rubbed his temples as he said, "Miss, let's not talk about making clothes for now. Just focus on making shoe soles for now. Once you've mastered that, we can move on to making shoe uppers." Jiang Wanru listened to Ji Yan's words, determined to complete the shoemaking task, and nodded with a soft sigh, saying, "Alright, every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I'm not in a hurry, I'll take it slow."

  Jiang Wanru carefully sewed the sole of the shoe, one stitch at a time. After finishing, she held it in her hand and examined it carefully. Although the stitches were not uniform, she still felt a sense of accomplishment, after all, this was her first sample. Jiyuan took the sole from Jiang Wanru's hand, smiled, and handed her the shoe upper to look at, saying: "Miss, your stitches are better in the back than in the front. Take a look at the flower pattern on my shoe upper, which yellow thread do you think looks good for the flower center?"

  Jiang Wanru took the shoe and looked at the yellow flower patterns on it, smiling as she said: "It would look good with a light yellow thread." Ji Yan suddenly fixed her gaze on something behind Jiang Wanru, her eyes making Jiang feel a chill run down her spine. She quickly turned around to follow Ji Yan's gaze and saw the queen standing by a large tree, wearing a bright red embroidered silk dress, her eyes fixed intently on Jiang with an unspoken feeling.

  The queen's entourage was followed by a group of beautifully dressed women and maids, in contrast to which Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan under the tree appeared particularly different. Jiang Wanru stood up, pulled Ji Yan along with her, and after walking away from under the tree, they faced the queen and paid their respects: "Your Highness." Ji Yan's slightly trembling voice followed suit. The queen's face was cold as she looked Jiang Wanru up and down, asking: "The wife of the crown prince and the second young master's housekeeper, have you been too harsh on her?" As soon as she spoke, the courtyard fell silent in an instant.

  Jiang Wanru shook her head and said, "The Crown Prince's wife and the Second Young Master's wife have always been close to me. They are kind and fair, how could they be harsh on me? In terms of food, clothing, and living arrangements, they take good care of me, even more so than when I was at my natal home. It's just that the weather is hot, and I've always been a bit casual, loving coolness and comfort, liking to wear casual clothes at home." As she spoke, her gaze inadvertently fell on the crowd behind the princess, where Ming Yu and Ming Tou happened to glance at her, both simultaneously lowering their heads.

  The woman behind the princess glanced at Jiang Wanru, who was calm and composed, and said to the princess: "Your Highness, why not go into the room to rest for a while, and then slowly ask San Shao Fu?" The princess looked at Jiang Wanru, who had lowered her head, and coldly hummed, saying: "I'll sit in the courtyard for a while, you all go to San Shao Fu's room to take a look, and come out to tell me about it." The steward in the courtyard immediately brought over a stool, and quickly pulled up the shade cloth. The woman behind the princess looked at Jiang Wanru with a humble expression.

  Jiang Wanru took the shoe sole from Jiyuan's hand and said, "You go open the door." Jiyuan made a please gesture to the woman, and the two walked towards the room. After the princess sat down, she saw what Jiang Wanru was holding in her hand and said, "Bring it over, let me see your needlework." Immediately behind her, there was a woman who came forward to take the shoe sole and shoe upper from Jiang Wanru's hand. The woman took them over and handed the shoe upper and sole to the princess to look at. The people behind the princess followed her gaze towards the two things.

  The princess looked at the shoe surface and sole and asked, "Which one of these two is made by your own hands?" After Jiang Wan entered the palace, the princess had always been cold to her and never came to this courtyard. This time it was clear that she was not here to be kind. Jiang Wan replied calmly, "The sole is mine, the surface is done by someone beside me." The princess's face turned gloomy, she tightly grasped the sole and said, "A woman from a humble family, even when just learning needlework, can do better than you. Look at your stitches, uneven and loose, even on a mountain path, one couldn't walk out of these stitches."

  Jiang Wan's calm and gentle nod said, "The princess is right, I still need to practice my needlework more." The princess's gaze was as sharp as a knife, staring at Jiang Wan's hands, saying: "I see that Yu Yan's needlework is quite good, you are both sisters, why is it that one of you has talent and the other does not?" This remark was already a slap in the face, Jiang Wan looked up at her, calmly saying: "Because my sister and I were born into the Jiang family, one of us was destined for greatness and the other was not. My initial attempts at needlework caused the princess distress, it's my fault."

  The princess stared at Jiang Wanruo, who dared to answer her, and said fiercely: "I don't care about your behavior in the Jiang family. But in the palace, you must be more obedient and not waste your thoughts on trying to deceive Xiao Er's heart with clever words. I don't like women like you. If you want to live a peaceful life, don't play these petty tricks in front of me." Jiang Wanruo was the kind of person who would become stronger when facing strength and weaker when facing weakness. If the princess had spoken to her gently, she might have already softened her temper.

  Jiang Wanru smiled lightly and said, "Princess, I have always thought that my character is noble and upright, enough to face the world. After entering the palace, I should be considered well-behaved, I rarely go out of the courtyard gate, this year has never taken an extra step in the palace. From a young age, I understood that flowery words can only deceive those who are easily deceived, how can they deceive those who coldly ridicule and mock me? Princess, you overestimate me in this regard. Unfortunately, on another aspect, you underestimate me, I have always been self-reliant and will not allow others to tarnish my reputation, a person like me likes the saying 'die together with the net'."

  Thank you to the lonely cat who voted with a pink vote, thank you to book friends for their continued support. (If you like this work, welcome to start voting for recommended votes and monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation.)

  Hard study