The distant noise is so far away, yet so close. The two people in front of me, could they be the infamous adulterous couple? The man who was explaining something with a calm tone slowly let go of the woman's hand, his face serene and composed without a hint of shame. The woman looked up at him with admiration, her expression equally calm. Their companions seemed to have not noticed the calmly entwined hands either.

  Jiang Wanmu felt a sense of dislocation for a moment, and the two people from that year, Jiang Anhe and Yu Xixi, had never been as open and aboveboard in front of others. Jiang Wanmu looked at the woman, who was bright-eyed and white-toothed, but wondered how long this brightness could be preserved. Time has always been unfair to men and women, a man's occasional infatuation can be praised as a romantic affair, while a woman's affection for an unsuitable man can only be called frivolous and cheap.

  He glanced at Jiang Wanru, who was smiling like a spring breeze, and felt that beneath her calm demeanor, there were hidden storms. He looked at the unfamiliar siblings standing face to face, and smiled as he said to Jiang Wenlun, "I heard your evaluation this year is quite good..." The men behind Jiang Wenlun naturally stepped forward to chat. Jiang Wanru stood aside, smiling, while the woman occasionally chimed in with a sentence or two, earning Jiang Wenlun's increasingly warm gaze.

  After Lian Hao and Jiang Wenlun's group dispersed, they went their separate ways. He glanced at Jiang Wanruo who was following beside him, smiling and looking around freely, and saw her calm and peaceful expression. Lian Hao said in a low voice: "Everyone says that the most promising person of this generation of the Jiang family is the young master of the Jiang family, who is filial to his elders and kind to his younger siblings. Now, seeing him face to face with his own sister and not recognizing her, it's really disappointing. He indeed deserves to be the eldest son of Old Master Jiang, bringing a woman out in public with such dignity."

  Jiang Wanru smiled lightly and turned her head to glance at the two people walking away, their hands clasped together once again. Those two were going to say they were innocent. It's likely that there aren't more innocent people in this world. Lian Hao followed her gaze and saw the two hands clasped together, hearing Jiang Wanru whispering a sigh: "The disease of being a playboy is hereditary. Passing from father to son isn't unusual. But one generation is worse than the last, this generation even dares to make moves on their own wife's good friend."

  Lian Hao heard the coldness and distance in Jiang Wanru's words, and he turned his head to see her clear and calm eyes. Lian Hao and Jiang Wanru both lost interest in staying after this disappointing event. After bidding farewell to the host, they left the still bustling courtyard early. As they sat in the carriage on their way back, Lian Hao thought of Jiang Wanru's calm eyes when she spoke, and he looked up to see her sitting across from him, quietly lowering her head in silence.

  He said in a low voice, "Wan Mu, there are no parents in the world who are not good. The Jiang family gave birth to you and raised you, which is already a great blessing." Jiang Wanmu heard his words, looked up at him with her eyes wide open, and asked in surprise, "Third Master, why do you speak to me like this? Are you blaming me for not revealing my identity in front of Young Master Jiang? Or have I done something wrong on ordinary days that makes you think I'm disgusted with the Jiang family?" Lian Huan could feel the chill between the Jiang family and Jiang Wanmu, as if they were both estranged from each other.

  Lian Hao glanced at Jiang Wanru inside the car, thinking of Jiang Wenlun's unfamiliar and cold eyes on Jiang Wanru, and sighed silently in his heart. He shook his head gently and said: "He is your brother. You don't even recognize him face to face, aren't you blaming the Jiang family for being too indifferent to you?" Jiang Wanru smiled after hearing this, thinking that this person thought that someone like herself, who had no backing, would resent a large family behind her back. What could it change? It's better not to think about those things and just live your own life well.

  Jiang Wan looked at Lian Hua and said, "Third Master, I really don't blame the people of the Jiang family. They all think they have a reason to treat me this way, thinking that my existence is a stain on their family. No matter what the reason is, the Jiang family still let me grow up safely. If I want to live well, I can't always be thinking about those messy things. Except for Mrs. Jiang and a few young ladies, the others in the Jiang family have seen me more times.

  Actually, other people think I'm seen too many times to count on one hand. It's normal that Master Jiang doesn't recognize me, and even if Old Master Jiang is face-to-face with me, not recognizing me isn't a strange thing either. I was born without any connections, no need to complain about heaven or earth or them. I don't have any big ideas, just living my own small life peacefully." After finishing this explanation, Jiang Wanru thought she had done her best for Lian Hua, and with peace of mind, closed her eyes to meditate.

  The horse carriage entered the Jiang's residence and slowly came to a stop, only then did Jiang Wanru slightly wake up with a start. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Lian Hua's handsome face, which frightened her so much that her face turned pale in an instant. This made Lian Hua frown at her and say, "Am I that scary?" Lian Hua got off the carriage with a cold face, not even bothering to look back at Jiang Wanru who hastily followed suit. He strode forward, his long legs taking big steps. Under Lian Xi's hint, Jiang Wanru had no choice but to closely follow behind Lian Hua from a small winding path that turned into the back of the study.

  Jiang Wanru changed back into her own clothes and styled the man's hair into a neat bun. She opened the door to see Lian Xi standing outside, his face covered in sweat. Seeing Jiang Wanru looking tidy and composed, he smiled and bowed, saying: "Madam, Master has been working hard, please go ahead and exit through the study door, I'll wait here for you." Jiang Wanru nodded slightly, glancing at the clothes in her hand, she said to Lian Xi: "I'll take these clothes back to clean them properly before returning them to Third Master."

  Lian Xi quickly saw the clothes in Jiang Wanru's arms and, hearing this, hurriedly smiled and reached out to take them over, saying: "Madam, I don't dare. This matter is still best left for me to do." As Jiang Wanru let go of the tightly held clothes, it became apparent that although the fabric looked thick, it was actually light and soft, with every stitch and pattern too exquisite. She had never washed this type of clothing before and was worried that if she wasn't careful, she wouldn't be able to afford to compensate for such fine clothes.

  Jiang Wanru waited for Lian Xi to send her clothes back, then quietly followed behind him, listening to his soft voice say: "Madam, the fewer people who know about you going into the study and playing with Young Master, the better it is for you." Jiang Wanru heard this reminder and quickly bowed to thank him, saying: "Thank you for your good intentions, brother." Lian Xi smiled wryly and dodged her courtesy, saying in a low voice: "Madam, you're an intelligent person, such things are best not to happen again." Jiang Wanru nodded and said: "It shouldn't happen again."

  Lian Xi walked ahead, listening to Jiang Wanru's affirmative words, thinking of Lian Hao's dark face when he got off the horse carriage, and his expression improved slightly. He felt uneasy in his heart towards Jiang Wanru, feeling that his own words were a bit too much. He quickly explained to Jiang Wanru: "Madam, my previous words didn't mean anything else, Madam is a good person. It's just that the masters of the Wang Mansion are too fond of Master, so we people around him have to be careful in everything."

  "I understand. I also hope to live a peaceful life. He's just curious about me, and now that he's seen my true nature, which is no different from other women, he won't be interested in asking me out again." Lian Xi heard her words and feared that the more he spoke, the worse it would get, so he could only remain silent and continue on his way. Lian Xi escorted Jiang Wanru to the gate of the courtyard, looked up at the sky which was already late, and said: "Madam, I'm not convenient to send you back, it's too conspicuous. You go along this path, turn left when you exit."

  Jiang Wanru listened to Lian Xi's words and walked out of the small path, turning left. She caught sight of Lian Hao and Ming Tou standing at the intersection, chatting. She couldn't retreat or hide, so she had no choice but to walk past them under their gaze. She greeted Lian Hao with a bow: "Third Master." Then, her eyes lightly swept over Ming Tou, thinking that the three of them were unlucky, as Ming Tou had chosen a secluded spot to block the way, which was actually a good place for romantic conversations. Unfortunately, it happened to be in front of Jiang Wanru's path, who rarely passed by this way.

  Ming Tuo hadn't expected to run into Jiang Wanmu, whose face turned bright red as she curtsied and greeted her: "Madam is well, why has Madam come this way today?" Before Jiang Wanmu could respond with a polite phrase, Lian Hao overheard the conversation and his expression immediately turned cold. He glared at Ming Tuo and said: "You can come, but she cannot. If you have something to say, speak quickly, I don't have time to listen to idle chatter today." Jiang Wanmu heard Lian Hao's words and glanced at Ming Tuo, whose eyebrows were already beading with sweat that was about to form into droplets.

  Jiang Wanmu smiled faintly and brushed past them, pretending not to see Mingtou's wronged expression. She said to Lianhao, "It's getting late, I'll head back to the courtyard quickly, so as not to disturb Third Master and Miss Mingtou's conversation." Jiang Wanmu didn't look at the two of them again, quickening her pace towards the road ahead. Lianhao watched her walk away, seeing her continue on, furrowed his brow and said from behind, "Go right up ahead, then take a few steps on the big road to the left, you'll see the courtyard gate." Jiang Wanmu replied with two words: "Thank you."

  Jiang Wanru's figure disappeared at the intersection, and Lian Hao turned his head back. Ming Tong's face was streaming with tears, and her expression was full of tender affection. However, Lian Hao looked displeased, staring at Ming Tong with a sharp gaze: "Did I ever scold you? Why are you crying so sadly?" Ming Tong sniffled under Lian Hao's piercing stare, saying: "Master has always been kind to me, it's just that I haven't seen Master for some days and got excited when I saw him today. I heard that Master was resting today, and I waited from morning till afternoon before hearing that Master had gone out. I was just waiting at the intersection here, not expecting to disturb Master again, and also ran into Madame...".

  Lian Hao sneered and said to her, "Ming Tuo, I always thought you were smarter than Ming Yu, but now it seems you're also foolish. You dare to use your petty tricks in front of me? Usually, I tolerate your small calculations in front of the princess, but today you've lost all sense of propriety and intercepted us here. Tell the truth, what's going on?" Ming Tuo's body softened, and she stammered, "Master, I didn't mean anything else..."

  Lian Hao looked at her up and down, saying: "Ming Tuo, you know my temper, I won't want you again. All these years, you've been jumping around, I just thought you were following me, as long as you didn't go too far, I'd let you be. Seeing that you're getting older day by day, it's better to let the princess see that you have a good family and send you out, don't stay here and cause trouble." Lian Hao finished speaking and turned to leave, Ming Tuo's body went soft and she knelt on the ground.

  Hard study