Jiang Wan smiled brightly as she gazed at Jiyuan, although she herself couldn't obtain a perfect marriage, the people around her could all get good matches. She looked on and was still delighted for them.

  As for Fang Zheng's personal matters, before they were thoroughly settled, there would inevitably be some waves. His master's older sister's younger cousin, that woman had never given up on entangling Fang Zheng.

  When the woman heard that Fang Zheng was about to get engaged, she came to find him in a hurry. Fang Zheng was not someone she could entangle herself with, and he had never paid much attention to her before. Now, he deliberately avoided her. As a result, the woman couldn't find Fang Zheng himself, so she ran into the fabric store and made a big fuss. Afterwards, the shopkeeper saw Jiang Wanru and apologized repeatedly, saying: "Madam, I'm sorry. I've already told Big Aunt's family to keep an eye on her."

  Jiang Wanru heard about the woman's infatuated and crazy behavior, and Fang Zheng, who was a bit worried, said: "Fang Zheng, a woman like Bi Lu is hard to come by. You have such good fortune, you must cherish her well and not let unrelated people ruin it." Fang Zheng nodded after hearing this and said: "Miss, don't worry, I also know that if it weren't for Miss, I wouldn't have met such a good woman, and she wouldn't have looked at me. I promised Madam Chu that from now on, I will be of one heart with Bi Lu and won't let unrelated women get close to me."

  Jiang Wanru thought of Fang Zheng's words and glanced at Jiyuan, who was embroidering a handkerchief with auspicious phrases. She asked softly, "Jiyuan, do you think that crazy woman will come to cause trouble tomorrow?" Ah, Jiyuan heard Jiang Wanru's words and accidentally pricked her finger with the needle tip. She let out a soft cry and quickly put her bleeding finger in her mouth, sucking on it before taking it out to see if the bleeding had stopped. Only then did she use the handkerchief to wipe her finger clean. Jiyuan looked up at Jiang Wanru's small eyes and saw that she was still standing beside the stool where she sat.

  Ji Yan wiped his hand on his clothes a few times, sat down directly, picked up the handkerchief he had put down, and looked up at Jiang Wanru to say: "Miss, brother has never bothered with that crazy woman. Tomorrow is brother's good day. If she dares to come and make trouble, brother will definitely not let her off. Brother likes sister-in-law and won't allow others to bully her. When I was young, there were always people who bullied me behind brother's back. As long as brother knew about it later, no matter how tall or big that person was, he wouldn't be afraid and would rush up to fight with him."

  Jiang Wanmu's face was filled with a smile as she listened to Ji Yan speak of old times. She smiled and said, "You have a good older brother." She then thought back to when they were at the Jiang residence, whenever Mu Gen had something good, he would secretly hide it away without eating or using it himself, and under the cover of night, he would quietly bring it over to her. Now that they were out of the Jiang residence and Mu Gen was engaged, his behavior towards Jiang Wanmu remained the same as before - whenever he prepared something for Ji Yan, he would also prepare a portion for her, perhaps in a different style, but with the same intention.

  Jiang Wan smiled and said, "I also have the best brother in the world, and a future sister-in-law who can tolerate my brother's behavior towards me." Ji Yan's face turned red as she listened. She felt sweet inside. After getting engaged to Mu Gen, he made two wooden hairpins at once. Jiang Wan received one of the hairpins sent by Mu Gen, and Ji Yan also received one of his handmade hairpins. Jiang Wan often used the hairpin made by Mu Gen in the evening, but after seeing it, Ji Yan thought that her own hairpin was more beautiful than that one.

  Jiang Wanru's hairpin had a simple wooden bead at the top, while Jiyu received a hairpin with a beautiful wooden flower on top. After seeing Jiang Wanru's hairpin, Jiyu didn't dare use her own for many days. Later, when she went out and was asked by Mugen, she couldn't help but tell the truth: "The hairpin you gave to Miss is not as beautiful as mine. I'm afraid that if Miss sees it, she'll be heartbroken, so I don't dare use it in front of her."

  Muren listened to Jiyuan's words and burst out laughing, gazing at her with a delighted expression, his eyes filled with warmth. Jiyuan blushed as he chuckled and said: "Jiyuan, don't worry about using it, she won't mind. My sister looks like a meticulous person, but actually, she has always been careless since childhood. I once made flower hairpins for her, but she would always end up hurting herself. From then on, I only made round bead wooden hairpins for her to use, and even polished the beads until they were smooth before daring to hand them over to her." Jiyuan knew Jiang Wanting's easy-going nature, but it was the first time he heard Muren describe her as careless.

  Jiang Wanru finished speaking and sat back at the desk, stacking the scattered handkerchiefs in the corner. She rubbed her hands together, holding an imaginary pen and slowly writing in the air. Jiyu embroidered a handkerchief, looked up and smiled: "Miss, why don't I go to the courtyard to keep watch, and you practice your calligraphy in the room?" Jiang Wanru shook her head lightly: "Forget it, it's cold outside, and I have to leave the mansion tomorrow. I can get up early and sleep late for the next two days to make up for the time I didn't practice today."

  After listening to Jiyu's words, she silently stood up, handed the embroidered handkerchief to Jiang Wanyu, then took the unembroidered one and sat back in her original position. Jiang Wanyu picked up the handkerchief and carefully drew on it with a dark green thread. When she lowered her head and roughly embroidered a shape, Jiyu spoke in a low voice: "Miss, I've seen the exquisite clothes on my sister-in-law's body, all made by her own hands. My parents say that my sister-in-law is clever and capable, and everything about her is pleasant to behold. Miss, someone as clumsy as me, do you think she would like it?"

  Jiang Wan was embroidering the veins of a leaf when she heard Ji Yan's words, and the needle accidentally pricked her finger. She put down the handkerchief and thread, and walked into the side room to rinse off the blood on her fingertip with cold water. Only after seeing that the bleeding had stopped did she enter the main room. Upon entering the room, she saw Ji Yan's worried face and smiled as she said: "Ji Yan, you're not stupid. With a temperament like yours, your sister-in-law will definitely like you. The people my sister-in-law puts by her side must be gentle and kind women. Look at me, I've benefited from her guidance, and haven't made a fool of myself in front of the people in the Wang estate."

  When Lian Hao walked into the room again, the handkerchiefs were already laid out on the table. Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan were huddled together, speaking in low voices, their hands moving quickly as they worked. When they heard footsteps, they stood up to see Lian Hao's flushed face and smelled the strong alcohol on him. The housekeeper followed closely behind him, a wet cloth still in her hand. After Lian Hao sat down at the table, the housekeeper gently pressed the wet cloth against his forehead.

  In Jiang Wan's and Ji Yan's astonished gaze, Lian Hao reached out to grab the sleeve of the housekeeper, calling out: "Lin Shu, you used to follow Mother around, tell me, was Mother good to me in the past? Why is she treating me like this now?" Jiang Wan heard these words and knew she couldn't listen anymore. She turned her head and saw another housekeeper, who also made an exception by entering the room, with a maid behind her holding a bowl of steaming black medicine. Jiang Wan pulled Ji Yan's hand, and the two quietly left the room.

  Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan stood in the courtyard, listening to the occasional noises coming from the room, and then heard the sound of knocking on the courtyard gate. After the gate opened, they heard the gatekeeper greeting the princess. Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan looked at each other as the princess walked quickly into the courtyard with two attendants and several maids by her side. The princess caught sight of Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan standing in the courtyard and glared at them with great displeasure before hurrying towards the open door of the room. Her two attendants followed her into the room, while the maids remained at the doorway.

  Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan exchanged glances, under the watchful eyes of several senior maids. They walked slowly to a secluded spot before stopping. Ji Yan whispered, "Miss, will the princess blame you again this time?" Jiang Wanru shook her head slightly and replied softly, "Don't worry. As long as we're within the palace grounds, we're safe. It's just a matter of listening to some unpleasant words; the princess and us are merely acquaintances with no close relationship. These idle rumors can't hurt our bones or break our spirits; they'll simply be blown away by the wind."

  Ji Yan's soft laughter escaped, and she quickly covered her mouth. She took two steps back and saw several eunuchs standing outside the door. At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on the room inside, and no one had the leisure to glance at the two of them. Ji Yan approached Jiang Wanru and whispered, "Miss, can you guess why Third Master got drunk this time?" Jiang Wanru had been in the Wang Manor for over two years and knew that Lian Hao's alcohol tolerance was exceptional. She had never seen him get drunk before.

  She had thought that Lian Hao was a man who could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, but she had once overheard two servant women chatting in the courtyard after waking up from her afternoon nap: "Third Master can hold his liquor and won't get drunk easily. Third Master, except for the first time he got drunk when he started drinking, only got drunk once again, which was when he decided to marry Madam, and accidentally drank too much." "I heard that Third Master would only get drunk after a few cups when he's in a particularly bad mood. Sigh, after marrying Madam, Third Master doesn't drink as freely as before."

  "A woman." Jiang Wanru blurted out these words, and in her eyes, besides women, Cong Xiao was a man who had everything. The queen was also a kind mother who was willing to satisfy her son's every need, and the two of them would often have disagreements, with the mother liking gentle and soft-spoken women, while the son liked bold and outgoing ones. Jiang Wanru thought she had guessed correctly, so in a soft voice, she dropped a hint: "We'll be staying at the palace for just a few more months, the queen will definitely make arrangements for Third Master's wife soon. After all, Third Master isn't getting any younger either, he should have his own legitimate children."

  Ji Yan pulled Jiang Wanru to a farther place and said in a low voice, "Miss, brother said that the Jiang family and the Wang Mansion together harmed you. People with insight know that the daughter of our family absolutely cannot marry into the Jiang family. And as for the third master of the Wang Mansion, it's also rare for families from the same social class to be willing to have their legitimate daughters married in as a concubine." Jiang Wanru patted Ji Yan lightly after hearing this and didn't continue her words. She said, "Tomorrow we'll leave the mansion early, don't let them block our way. We don't have time to waste on socializing with people here. The Wang princess and the third master are all people who will be of no concern to us in the future, it's not worth putting in effort for their sake."

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