Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan returned to the courtyard, each going back to their room to clean up. Jiang Wanru sat at the edge of the table, sipping ice water in small mouthfuls, listening to the commotion outside the courtyard. Outside, there was only the sound of wind and snow, and the young servant from the Xiao family who had promised to come and clear the snow from the courtyard seemed unlikely to show up, his words probably just a comforting lie.

  Jiang Wan sat in the quiet room, feeling that this day was so long, as if time was slowly crawling by. She opened the door and gently knocked on Jiyuan's door, saying: "Jiyuan, I'm starting to shovel snow." Without waiting for Jiyuan's response, she lightly picked up the wooden board from the corner of the house and walked into the courtyard, beginning to shovel snow from the middle path.

  The door of the house opened quickly, and she looked at Jiang Wanmu, who was already bent down, saying: "Miss, I'm coming too." Jiang Wanmu raised her head to look at her and said: "Okay. Let's shovel the snow on the road clean first, then move the snow in the yard out." There was only the sound of shoveling snow in the yard, Jiang Wanmu lowered her eyebrows, mechanically shoveling snow with her hands, but thinking about many things in her mind.

  The snow on the middle road was cleared, and Jiang Wanru exercised her body freely, rubbing her frozen hands. Ji Yan listened to the movement outside and observed Jiang Wanru's expression, saying tentatively: "Miss, do you want us to move some of the snow piled up in the yard out of the yard?" Jiang Wanru nodded at Ji Yan to follow her and exercise, saying: "Let's rub our hands together and try to clear as much snow out of the yard as possible. The more we do, the earlier we can sleep tonight."

  The courtyard door was open, Jiyuan was outside the courtyard, Jiang Wanting was inside the courtyard, and the two of them were acting in perfect harmony. Jiyuan gradually opened up and said to Jiang Wanting: "Miss, I actually have two older brothers, but that younger brother, he got sick and passed away not long after birth. I only found out about this recently, and my heart felt heavy with grief. I ran to ask my mother if she was still sad about it? My mother reached out and hit me, saying 'What's the use of being sad? Besides, she didn't have time to be sad.'"

  Ji Yan said, "Miss, I spoke nonsense again." Jiang Wanru sighed and said, "Your mother is right. What's the use of grieving when the person is already gone? It's better to think about how to live on after the storm has passed." Ji Yan glanced at Jiang Wanru's expression and whispered, "I'll go take a look at Yu Niang later."

  Jiang Wanmu thought about Yu Xi's rejection of herself, and shook her head slightly at Ji Yan, saying: "You don't need to go investigate her for the next two days. She is now very aware of the outside movements. If she gets startled again, I'm afraid it will worsen her condition. If there's anything, ask Chun to come over and tell me." Ji Yan picked up the snow and looked at Jiang Wanmu, saying: "Miss, don't be sad, Yu Niang said that just because of a momentary confusion. My mother said 'all mothers in the world love their own children.'"

  Jiang Wanru smiled and said, "Ji Yan, I'm fine. You go shovel the snow." Jiang Wanru knew that not every mother in the world loved their own children. She was unlucky to have a cold-blooded father like Jiang An and a birth mother like Yu Xixi, who both had complicated feelings towards her due to each other's existence. They didn't love her but also couldn't let go of her. In the end, they chose not to see her. Among them, Yu Xixi still showed some affection towards her and cared about her a bit.

  Jiang Wanru heard the increasingly loud noise outside the courtyard, she quickly walked towards the gate and called out to Jiyan who was walking away: "Jiyan, come back quickly." As soon as she finished calling, a snowball hit her in the face. Jiyan took two steps back in surprise, but slipped and fell on the ground. Jiang Wanru rushed out of the courtyard gate, stretched out her hand to pull up Jiyan, and dragged her back into the courtyard quickly, then closed the gate behind them and locked it tightly.

  Ji Yan's lips moved slightly, and he gently covered Jiang Wanru's icy hand. Outside the courtyard, the sound of voices and laughter grew closer and closer. From a distance, a young man with a hoarse voice said, "Huh, I just happened to throw a snowball at this courtyard door." Another young man with a clear voice said, "Lian Xiao, your skills are getting deeper, now you can throw a snowball so far." Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan inside the courtyard let out a sigh of relief at the same time, lifted their feet to walk towards the room, and then heard the voices outside again.

  "The looks and character of the young lady from the Jiang family are indeed good, even the eyesight of Fourth Brother is good. A person like Miss Jiang would be willing to marry down to him." As soon as he finished speaking, another young man let out a snort and said: "Marry down? Would Miss Jiang be someone who marries down? Although Lian Zimo is only the eldest illegitimate son, his legitimate younger brother is still young. When his legitimate younger brother grows up, he will also have a stable position in the Lian family. Miss Jiang is not a foolish person, and her father is even more astute. For the marriage of their own daughter, they must have thought it through."

  Another impatient voice rose, and the young man said: "The marriage between the two families is settled, and it's up to our elders to calculate who owes whom. What does it have to do with us guests talking behind their backs? One by one, shut your mouths, I've heard enough, it's annoying. How can men and women be on equal terms, speaking randomly about right and wrong? Hmm, I clearly just heard someone talking over here, where did they go? Are the Jiang family's servants blind, one by one hiding and dodging with a guilty conscience?"

  Ji Yan's eyebrows slightly moved as she heard the words, and Jiang Wanru had already reached out to grab her. Ji Yan looked up at Jiang Wanru, saw her lightly shaking her head, and stopped in her tracks. "Young Master Wang, it seems like someone is hiding in this courtyard. Let's go knock on the door and call them out." Another flattering voice sounded. The gate of the courtyard was knocked loudly, 'Boom, boom, boom.' Each sound was heavier than the last.

  Jiang Wanru carefully listened to the voices outside, all of which were young men's voices, without a single woman's voice. She stood in the courtyard, allowing the people outside the gate to heavily pound on the door, shaking her head to stop Jiyuan from going forward to open the gate. Jiang Wanru thought that the people outside should be those who came with Lianjia, and it seemed that there were also legitimate members of the Lian family among them. With such a large group of people pounding so fiercely on the courtyard door, they would easily find fault with Jiyuan.

  Inside and outside the courtyard, people stood facing each other. The ones inside were silent, while those outside kept knocking on the door. Until a very familiar voice rang out: "Young Master Wang, several masters, how did you end up in this remote place? Hehehe, no need to knock on the door anymore. Inside the courtyard is the stupid Third Miss who wants to be engaged to my master. My master has a good temper, but does she think she can take advantage of him without considering her own character and appearance?"

  Jiang Wanru heard the voice of a young servant outside, who was often following Lian Zimo. Several times she saw him being very gentle and obedient by Lian Zimo's side, a clever servant who knew how to read people's expressions and act accordingly. She never thought that behind his back, he would be so foul-mouthed. Jiyan's expression turned angry, and he looked up at the calm Jiang Wanru, who lowered her head again.

  Jiang Wanru could hear the sound of her own heartbeat, and in the midst of the rapid knocking sounds, she finally waited for the person to stop. Lian Zimo's voice rang out from outside: "Young Master Wang, are you gentlemen here to admire the snow in this courtyard?" The people outside the gate stopped their hands and laughed, saying: "Look at this dilapidated door, what snow is there to admire inside? We just want to catch a glimpse of that hidden servant."

  Outside the courtyard, Lianzi Mo said something in a soft voice, causing the group of young people to burst into loud laughter. One of them said: "Good, we'll follow you to see the good view that Jiang Meizi spoke of." The crowd dispersed, and Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan entered the house.

  Always thinking about whether or not to write this chapter, later decided to still write this chapter. Thank you to all book friends who have always supported me.