(Jiang Wanmu gazed at the suspicion in their eyes, and smiled faintly, saying: "Have you two ladies come for something?" She didn't wait for them to respond, but instead turned her head to scold Jiyuan, saying: "Jiyuan, these two ladies are understanding, they insisted on paying respects to me, just let them be. Outsiders don't know their emphasis on etiquette, Young Master must understand their intentions. Why did you say such things, causing people to mishear and think I have ulterior motives? You're the one who's going to get engaged, from now on you can't act so impulsively, apologize to these two ladies.")

  Ji Yan bowed her head immediately after hearing, and said to Jiang Wanmu: "Yes." She took two steps forward, and apologized to Ming Yu and Ming Tou: "I'm sorry, I was impulsive and spoke rashly to the two ladies..." Ming Yu and Ming Tou quickly returned Ji Yan's courtesy, not letting her continue speaking. Instead, they hastily interjected: "It's our fault for acting improperly and causing Sister Ji Yan to speak out." Jiang Wanmu smiled upon hearing their words and said: "Ji Yan, since the two ladies understand you didn't mean it, let's just drop the matter. It's best if we all get along harmoniously."

  Mrs. Mingyu and Mingtou nodded at the same time, saying: "Madam is right." Jiyuan retreated to Jiang Wan's side and added warm water for her again. Mingyu and Mingtou looked at each other, facing an unusual Jiang Wan and Jiyuan, but they didn't dare to speak. Jiang Wan held a cup of water, while Jiyuan lowered his head. The air in the room became stifling all of a sudden. Mingyu and Mingtou exchanged uneasy glances, hinting at each other to speak up. Jiang Wan watched their movements as if watching a silent drama, enjoying the show with great interest.

  Ming Yu couldn't bear the silence, so she spoke up: "Madam, Master has sent us to ask you how to punish Shu Xiang and Shu Yu. Only then will Madam's heart be at ease?" Jiang Wanru heard this and burst out laughing, saying: "Those two are Master's close relatives, he can punish them however he wants. Just pass on the message, but please have Master prepare a divorce letter for me. That way, Master can keep those two women by his side, and you will also gain two sisters who grew up together. I'm sure Master's household will become even more lively."

  Jiang Wanmu finished speaking, glanced at the two people with obvious joy in their eyes, but had to pretend to be sad on her face. She raised her cup slightly impatiently, indicating that the two of them should withdraw. Ming Yu and Ming Tou exchanged a glance, and Ming Tou smiled and said: "Yes, madam. We will pass on your words to Master." After they left, Ji Yan spoke in a soft voice: "Miss, these two people do not have good intentions towards you and Shu Xiang."

  "Don't think that the people of Wang Fu will have good intentions towards us. How can those two be kind to them when they spend more time with Lian Shao Ye than with them? Their appearance is not even inferior to theirs. As time goes on, it's hard to say who will gain favor. As long as they don't try to step on us to curry favor with others, I won't bother. If they're blind and want to come after us, we might as well stir up trouble and watch the excitement."

  Ji Yan looked at Jiang Wanru, who was different every day after leaving the Jiang family. Her expression and demeanor no longer had the timidness of her time in the Jiang family, but instead became more and more radiant. In these six months, Ji Yan followed Jiang Wanru in and out of the palace. Watching her handle matters, she found that Jiang Wanru was even more meticulous than the eldest Miss Jiang she used to know. Although there were some places that Jiang Wanru did not take her to, the shopkeepers of the two shops clearly treated Jiang Wanru with respect and courtesy.

  Ji Yan thought of what Fang Zheng had said to her in private. 'Ji Yan, following Miss will broaden your horizons and be beneficial for you in the future. However, accompanying Miss means you must think of ways not to drag her down. The Wang Manor is not like the Jiang Manor; although Miss appears to be easy-going on the surface, she's actually more difficult to deal with. She gave us freedom because she doesn't want anyone to use our families as a handle in the future. She's the benefactor of both our families, so you must listen carefully to what Miss says and not interfere with her thoughts.'

  Ji Yan was amazed at Jiang Wan's broad knowledge, but she knew not to ask out of curiosity. Now, she didn't ask Jiang Wan why she said that, and just smiled and said: "Okay, Miss, you want me to do what, I'll go do it." Jiang Wan heard Ji Yan's words and laughed, saying: "Alright. When no one is around, follow me to learn characters and writing. My brother will definitely become a good shopkeeper in the future, and as his wife, you should know some characters and be able to calculate some small accounts."

  Ji Yan's face turned red, and this time she went out, Mu Gen whispered to her 'Once this is settled, we'll immediately ask the matchmaker to propose.' Ji Yan said with a mouthful of 'Too expensive,' but in her heart, she was still quite happy. She knew that those who entered through an official matchmaker would gain respect from others later on. It's just that asking an official matchmaker would cost several more taels of silver than a private one. Originally, she had come back to discuss this with Jiang Wanru, but because of the interruption, she forgot about it.

  Ji Yan's face turned red as she said, "I'll listen to Miss and learn to read and write properly." Jiang Wan heard this and looked at her in surprise. In the past when they were at the Jiang residence, Jiang Wan had mentioned teaching Ji Yan to read. However, back then Ji Yan liked doing needlework, and Jiang Wan was busy with her own affairs, so after bringing it up a few times and seeing that Ji Yan wasn't very interested, she gave up on the idea. Now as she saw Ji Yan nodding shyly with a red face, she suddenly remembered and quietly asked, "When did my parents go to your parents to discuss our engagement?"

  Ji Yan lightly stomped her foot, wanting to dodge the question, but then thought of Mu Gen's words about inviting a matchmaker. She immediately lowered her head and said to Jiang Wanru: "Miss, you go persuade Brother Mu Gen not to invite a matchmaker, it's too expensive. We can just discuss it between our two families and settle on it." Jiang Wanru heard this and lightly clapped her hands, saying: "My brother values you, Grandma and Grandpa are willing, so inviting a matchmaker is a good idea. Our family's Ji Yan deserves to have a matchmaker propose the marriage, directly registering in the official records, making it easier for your future children to be registered too."

  In Lianhao's study, Shuxiang and Shuyu knelt in the room, tears streaming down their faces but not daring to make a sound. Lianhao held a book in his hand, and the little servant attending him glanced at him before sinking back into the book. Lowering her head to look at the two people in front of her who were still crying, after hearing Lianhao instruct Mingyu and Mingtou to go ask Madam for instructions, there was already a hint of joy in their eyes. The two occasionally looked up at Lianhao and exchanged small glances with each other.

  Xiao Cong had never had a good impression of the two maidservants by Lian Hua's side. On the contrary, he thought that Madame was kind-hearted and would hand these two over to Master for punishment. Such servants who dared to slap their master's face should be handed over to the young master's wife, and it was likely that they would not have a good ending. After Ming Yu and Ming Tou entered, they saw Lian Hua reading with a serious expression, and immediately stood quietly beside her. Shu Xiang and Shu Yu heard the noise and quickly knelt down, turning around to gently pull on their hems.

  Ming Yu and Ming Tuo exchanged a glance, recalling Jiang Wan's words. They nodded to each other in unison. Lian Hao put down the book and asked, "What did Madam say?" Ming Yu and Ming Tuo looked at each other with difficulty, gazing at the floor where Shu Xiang and Shu Yu were kneeling properly, then glanced at the little servant beside Lian Hao, who quickly paid respects to Lian Hao and retreated from the room.

  After Xiao Cong left the room, Ming Tuo repeated Jiang Wanru's words without missing a single one. After she finished speaking, Ming Yu added another sentence: "The lady didn't seem very angry; she said those words to us with a smile." Lian furrowed her brow and glanced at the two people on the ground before saying to Ming Yu and Ming Tuo: "Send these two women to the young master's wife and tell her the truth about what happened. As for how to deal with them, follow the rules of the Wang estate. Give the order; after all, the master is the master. If there's another incident like this in the future, it will be dealt with severely."

  Shu Xiang and Shu Yu had bad thoughts in their hearts after hearing Ming Tuo's words. When they heard Lian Hua's words, the two immediately fell to the ground. Shu Xiang knelt on the ground and said to Ming Tuo and Ming Yu: "Two ladies, Madame has a good temper, she won't say such things. Look at our usual relationship, help us beg for mercy from Master." Ming Yu looked at her sympathetically and said: "Madame has a good temper, but she is also the master. These words were spoken by Madame herself, and Ming Tuo didn't add a single word."

  Ming Tuo's face turned red with anger as he spoke to the two of them, "You two don't respect Madam yourself, and don't always push Ming Yu and me to the front. We two are innocently scolded by Madam, at that time we couldn't even lift our heads. If it wasn't for us respecting Madam every day, I'm afraid Madam wouldn't have let us off this time." The sympathetic look in Ming Yu's eyes instantly disappeared. She pulled the angry Ming Tuo and said in a soft voice, "We will listen to Master's orders."

  Shu Xiang and Shu Yu heard this, both immediately looked up at Lian Hua, Shu Xiang crying said: "Master, look at our years of dedicated service to you, just forgive us this once." Shu Yu immediately followed saying: "Master, we will go apologize to the mistress, beg for her forgiveness. We didn't have any other thoughts back then, only thinking of master, temporarily taking up master's grievance, speaking out of turn a bit. Master, please forgive us." Lian Hua heard this, immediately called out towards the outside: "Someone come, take them to Young Master's wife's place."

  Two young servants came in and looked at Shu Xiang and Shu Yu, who were lying on the ground. They said, "Are you going to get up and walk by yourselves, or do we have to drag you?" Lian He heard this and glanced at the two servants' expressions. Looking at Shu Xiang and Shu Yu on the ground, he said, "You rely on being my attendants and never obey anyone else. I thought of your loyalty since childhood and turned a blind eye to your behavior, thinking that you would improve when you grew up and got married. Who knew you were so bold and dared to bully people even in front of our master?

  Lian Hao didn't continue, turned around and said: "Take it away." Shu Xiang and Shu Yu were stunned, letting the servants take it away. Ming Yu and Ming Tou followed closely behind, exiting the room, and quietly closed the study door, exchanging a glance at each other, seeing the relief in each other's eyes. Lian Hao in the study said softly: "Jiang Wanru, you're not stupid after all. You actually thought of using this method to force me to give you a divorce letter ahead of time."

  Thank you to book friend tigerxuejun for gifting 99 starting points, thank you to book friend who's a bit troubled for casting 1 pink vote, thank you to book friend jykuan4569 for gifting 999 starting points, thank you everyone for your support! (If you like this work, welcome to come to Starting Point () to cast recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

  Hard study