Mugwort's face gradually turned red to the point of being purple in Jiang Wanting's voice and laughter. He took a glance at Jiang Wanting, who was laughing without any reserve, and his heart suddenly softened. He knew that Jiang Wanting didn't mean anything else by her words. The redness on his face gradually faded away, and some smile appeared in his eyes, while he still pretended to be angry, staring at her and saying: "You're not standing up yet? Am I also someone you can casually make fun of? Get up quickly, if my mother sees you like this, she'll cry again behind people's backs."

  Jiang Wanru heard Mu Gen's words and thought of her own nanny who liked her elegant appearance. She continued to lower her head, thinking that she was actually not an elegant person by nature. Over the years, in order to survive, she had practiced her speech and behavior to be like everyone else's, being extremely careful in everything she did. It seemed that if she had the chance to return to her true self in the future, she might feel a bit unaccustomed to it.

  She smiled and lifted her head, stretching out one hand to Mu Gen and said: "Brother, I laughed too hard, my legs are so soft that I can't get up, you help me up." The red color on Mu Gen's face gradually faded away, but some of it came back as he looked at Jiang Wanru who was being casual only in front of him, knowing that she considered him like her own brother, his heart felt warm.

  He stretched out his hand and gently pulled her up, seeing that she was standing steadily, he let go of his hand. He was like a rather helpless older brother, stretching out his hand to affectionately tap her nose, saying: "Alas, you're going to get married soon, yet you're still so mischievous. You can't be like this in the future, it's not good for others to see. Think about it, which young lady would squat on the ground and laugh as freely as you just did?"

  As soon as he finished speaking, the smile in Jiang Wan's eyes gradually disappeared. Mu Gen saw her tense little face and thought about what he had just said, his mood also became gloomy. Jiang Wan remained silent for a long time, her gaze drifting aimlessly. After a while, she asked Mu Gen: "Brother, do you think the people of the Jiang family will let me have good days?" Mu Gen listened to her words and looked around at the empty courtyard, then glanced at the coarse cloth on Jiang Wan's body, his eyes becoming dim and depressed.

  The young ladies of the Jiang family were all dressed in brocade, and the eldest miss didn't even need to mention the clothes on her body, let alone the people around her. Just talking about the concubine misses, each one had two housekeepers who had grown up with them since childhood, plus two senior maids and six junior maids, and there were also two rough-serving women in the courtyard. Their courtyard would not be as empty and dull as Jiang Wan's courtyard.

  Muren suppressed the stifling air in his chest and calmly said to Jiang Wanyu, "It's hard to say whether Master and Mistress will let you have a good life now. But I know your life won't be particularly bad. You're the third miss of the Jiang family. As long as they think about the reputation of the Jiang family and the unmarried misses at home, they'll make sure you can get by on appearances."

  Looking at Jiang Wanru's relaxed expression, he smiled and said: "I heard yesterday that the matchmaker came to your house for a good thing. Only the official wife would invite the matchmaker to come over. Has anyone around you told you about this?" Jiang Wanru shook her head and said: "Yesterday when Xiaojiang's family sent new furniture, I wasn't there. She mentioned a few words to Jiyuan, but he was too excited and didn't ask more questions. He only remembered that it was the eldest son of a high-ranking family."

  Mu Gen's face didn't show any joy upon hearing this, instead, a worried expression was added. He said in a low voice: "If your husband-to-be were an ordinary person's son, life would be better later on. But the son of such a noble family is born precious, and for them to come seeking this marriage, it sounds somewhat suspicious. Let's not think too much about it, maybe we'll mistakenly turn good things into bad. You just quietly wait by Madame's side, when someone comes to tell you the accurate news, remember to call Jiyuan over and inform us."

  Jiang Wanru listened to Mugen's words, glanced at him, and originally wanted to mention the decision of Jiyu's family to him. However, she thought again and put down the matter. She smiled and asked Mugen: "Brother, why didn't you have so many worries this time, but instead came directly into my courtyard to talk?" Mugen looked at the half-open courtyard door and said: "I'm your brother, now that the door is open, what do I need to worry about?" These words made Jiang Wanru laugh again. Since he was seven years old, Mugen had been rigidly thinking that as he grew older, there should be a distinction between men and women, and when talking, they could only go out of the courtyard gate to speak, which was the proper way to behave in society.

  Mugun's smile made Jiang Wanyu's face turn red again, staring at her with wide eyes and saying: "What's so funny? Brother did that for your own good." Jiang Wanyu quickly corrected her expression, put away her smiling face, and pretended to be in full agreement. Mugun saw her like this and couldn't help but laugh himself, saying: "In the past when we were young, I only thought about rules and regulations. I didn't think that outside the courtyard gate, people would see it and cause trouble. Fortunately, at that time, both of us were young, so others didn't say anything."

  Jiang Wanru knew that apart from this reason, the most important thing was that she was a silly girl. So others would just see it and wouldn't think too much about it. Mugen spoke to Jiang Wanru while carefully listening to the movements outside the courtyard, he still had some misgivings in his heart, so he went out of the courtyard door again to take a look around, then came back inside and said to Jiang Wanru: "Sister, I've come to find you because there's something I need to tell you. Mother is worried that Madam's eyes and ears are watching her, it's not convenient for her to come over and talk to you."

  "My parents asked me to come and talk to you. If your marriage is settled, our family is willing to be one of the attendants at your wedding and follow you out of the Jiang family. Father said, 'In the future, whether life is sweet or bitter, it doesn't matter. With your temperament, you will only strive to live a good life.' Mother said, 'Although you are a young lady, she values you more than me in her heart. She must follow you out together, no matter if life is good or bad, as long as she sees you, her heart will be at peace.'"

  Jiang Wanru listened to Mugen's words, blinking her eyes forcefully. Mugen saw her like this and immediately smiled: "I've been your older brother for 14 years, but I've never really protected you. If I can follow you out of the Jiang family, I'm willing to use my own strength to protect you as much as I can. It's just that, little sister, big brother is too useless and can't help you with many things."

  Jiang Wanru had already forced herself to blink away the tears in her eyes, and now listening to his words, she only dared to nod slightly. She looked at the young man who was more than a month older than herself, thinking about what he had done for her, as well as the behavior of the guards. With some choking sounds, she said: "Okay, Grandma, Grandpa, and Brother will leave the Jiang family with me. Brother, with you all by my side, no matter how difficult life gets, I won't be afraid." She looked up at Mugen and said: "Brother, thank Grandma and Grandpa for me."