(Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan returned to Lian Hua's courtyard, passing through the servants who were asking after them in the yard. Entering the room, at the door, Jiang Wanru gently refused the servant who wanted to follow her in to serve. She lightly opened each of the interconnected doors, carefully examining every nook and cranny. Returning to the small reception hall in the front room, she gently pulled Ji Yan down to sit with her, facing her puzzled expression, reached out a hand to pat her on the shoulder, smiling softly as she said:) "Ji Yan, to them, we are two people of unknown identity, strangers. And to me, they are naturally the same."

  Ji Yan nodded slightly and said in a soft voice, "Miss, Gū Yé he..." Her words were cut off by Jiang Wanru's angry gaze, who coldly hummed and said, "From now on, whether publicly or privately, we will address him as Young Master." Ji Yan spoke in a low, anxious tone, "But last night you two already became husband and wife." Jiang Wanru listened and then laughed coldly, saying, "I won't be overly sentimental, thinking that from now on we are truly husband and wife. It was just the two of us putting on an act because of the incense, it can't be considered real."

  Ji Yan listened to Jiang Wan's words, her expression changed greatly as she stared at her, unable to speak for a long time. Jiang Wan looked at her, deeply feeling that she had been too protective of her in the past, causing her to forget that deep within the inner chambers, there were no women as pure as water, nor were there innocent young ladies who knew nothing of worldly affairs, and even less so, maids who were ignorant of such things. Jiang Wan glanced at her with a hint of self-reproach, thinking that she had been too naive in the past. In a place like the Wang Manor's deep courtyard, being overly innocent was equivalent to dying quickly.

  "Ji Yan, you can only drink plain water. When the young master enters his room, you will leave and let others attend to him. You should not chat idly in the courtyard, but rather stay in your own quarters and do some needlework. As for my affairs, I don't want a single word or rumor to spread from your lips. If I hear even a hint of gossip, you will be dismissed from the palace and no longer serve by my side."

  It was rare to hear Jiang Wanru speak to her like that, and tears immediately fell from her eyes. Afraid that Jiang Wanru would become even angrier, she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand, lifted her face and smiled: "Miss, I'll listen to you, don't send me away." Jiang Wanru looked at her tear-stained smile and couldn't help but sigh: "What's good about following me? This morning, you still haven't realized that they think of me as a temporary resident here, an extra and annoying person. Your days here will be even harder than in the Jiang household."

  Miss, I know you mean well, but I won't leave. I'll listen to your words and not go around listening to rumors or casually leaving the house. Jiang Wanru let out a soft sigh and thought for a moment before speaking in a gentle voice: "Ji Yan, when you have time, think about it. Why does Master Jiang only have legitimate sons and no illegitimate children? And why did he used to have illegitimate children who didn't live long? If I weren't so plain-looking and foolish, with my birth as a concubine's daughter, I wouldn't have made it to adulthood.

  "Lucky words, I don't want my hands to be stained with blood. These three years, if no one forces us, let's just live a peaceful life. About last night's matter, don't naively think that after being in the Wang Manor for three years, I can still leave as a clean and innocent woman. I hope such things won't happen again in the future. I won't fantasize about that flower in the mirror. You also shouldn't overthink it, who should be responsible for my innocence. It's good this way, there must be some cost to enjoy something. We owe each other nothing, and both can rest at ease."

  Gijyan's words couldn't hide the sadness in her eyes. She lowered her head and said, "Miss, over these two years, I've come to understand that Madam Jiang isn't as kind as I thought, and the concubines aren't as obedient as I imagined." As soon as Jiang Wanyu heard this, she remembered the hairpiece from yesterday. She stood up, handed a package to Gijyan, and said, "Later, give this to your parents, and return it to the Jiang family tomorrow." Gijyan touched the package and nodded at Jiang Wanyu, saying, "I'll deliver it right now."

  Jiang Wanmu glanced at her and said, "This matter is not urgent, let's go after dinner. At that time, you can talk to them for a while, and after today, you will rarely see them. Tell them 'when outside, don't think too much about using silver, what should be used, still cannot be saved.' Mugen's parents and Jiyuan's parents have been warning Mugen and Fangzheng since they knew about the shop, saying 'cannot use up Jiang Wanmu's future living expenses'.

  Ji Yan listened to Jiang Wan's words and couldn't help but chuckle, saying: "Miss, my parents said that they want to find two jobs to help you save some living expenses." Jiang Wan looked at Ji Yan who was crying and laughing, shook her head and said in a low voice: "Tell them not to rush out to do things for the time being, and let them stay in the other courtyard for a few more days. After a while, your brother and Mu Gen will have a lot of work to do, and they will be so busy that they won't have time to rest." Ji Yan listened and smiled, saying: "Okay, I'll tell them later. They are used to being busy, and now that they have some free time, they can't bear it."

  The laughter and chatter were in full swing when she suddenly turned serious and asked, "Can the young lady come and go as she pleases?" Jiang Wanru glanced at her and said softly, "Do you think this is some kind of ordinary place? Of course, it's not like before where you can just go out whenever you want. However, when I'm allowed to go out, I'll take you with me so you can broaden your horizons. Sigh... in the future, I'll have plenty of time to teach you needlework properly. By then, your family's young lady will also become an expert in needlework."

  Ji Yan heard a burst of laughter and said in a soft voice, "Miss, I've been studying for so long, but I don't dare say I'm an expert. You, who have never held a needle and thread before, think you can become an expert in three years? Hehe." Jiang Wanmu raised her fist and gestured at Ji Yan, saying in a deep voice, "Ji Yan, do you dare to say that Miss's skills with her hands are not good?" Ji Yan looked at Jiang Wanmu's playful expression, trying hard to suppress her laughter, nodding repeatedly and saying, "If Miss says it's okay, then it's okay. I'll listen to Miss." Her flattering words made Jiang Wanmu laugh softly along with her.

  Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan were left alone in the room, and after a long time, no servant came to knock on the door or ask about Jiang Wanru's well-being. It seemed that they had already understood Jiang Wanru's position in the Lian King's mansion and wouldn't bother coming unnecessarily. As for Jiang Wanru and Ji Yan, they were already accustomed to this solitary life together, and at this moment, they felt comfortable and didn't think there was anything improper about it.

  As the prince's wife and two maids entered the courtyard, they saw people standing in twos and threes. She frowned slightly and asked the approaching woman, "Is there someone serving the young mistress?" The woman's face turned red as she shook her head, "Someone wanted to follow her in to serve, but the young mistress refused." The prince's wife nodded and said, "Go announce my presence, if the young mistress is free, I'll go talk to her." The woman hastily went forward to knock on the door.

  Jiang Wanru heard the knock on the door and nodded to Jiyuan to open it. Jiyuan smiled, quickly got up to open the door, and after hearing the woman's report, immediately nodded at her and turned back into the room to say to Jiang Wanru: "Miss, it's the Crown Prince's wife." Jiang Wanru stood up, smiling and welcoming her out, saying: "Please come in quickly." As she approached the doorway, the Crown Prince's wife smiled and stood at the door, looking at her with a smile and saying: "Wanru, I've come to see you." The familiarity in her words immediately warmed Jiang Wanru's heart.

  Jiang Wanru welcomed the Shizi's wife, who was wearing a pale purple shirt with a white jade hairpin embedded with bright pearls on her head. As she moved, the rings and jade pendants at her waist made soft crisp sounds. Jiang Wanru recalled what Chu Yang had said: "The Shizi's wife has eyes that make people feel extremely approachable, and she is a woman with a lot of charm." At this moment, Jiang Wanru felt that Chu Yang had forgotten to tell herself that the Shizi's wife was actually a very beautiful woman.

  Jiang Wanru sat in the main seat, welcoming the Crown Prince's wife. She casually handed over the package on the table to Jixian to put away. The Crown Prince's wife smiled as she looked at Jiang Wanru with clear eyes and a hint of a smile on her lips. She thought about how Jiang Wanru had just entered the courtyard, looking around at the servants, and mistakenly assumed that the new bride and personal maid were hiding in their room, crying with their heads in their hands due to the cold treatment they received earlier. But now, the two women stood before her - the little maid's face still showed tear stains, but there was a smile in her eyes, and the mistress's mouth corners were clearly curved upwards in a faint smile.

  The young master's wife smiled and glanced at Jiang Wanru's hair crown, laughing and saying: "Wanru, I heard that the hair crown on your head is like something from the palace. So I came over to take a closer look." Jiang Wanru listened to the young master's wife's straightforward words, smiling and saying: "Please wait for a moment, Young Master's Wife." Jiang Wanru signaled to Jiyin to wait outside, while she herself walked into the room. After a while, she came out of the room with a wooden hair crown on her head. She handed the golden flower hair crown in her hand to the young master's wife and said: "Please take a look, Young Master's Wife."

  The young master's wife glanced at the auspicious words in the room and sized up Jiang Wan's neat and elegant hair. She took the hairpin from Jiang Wan's hand, smiled and said casually: "So, you still have someone to serve and comb your hair in your house?" Jiang Wan heard her words, smiled and touched his own hair, saying: "Young master's wife, my hair has always been taken care of by myself. If it's not combed well, don't laugh." The young master's wife was full of surprised expression, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect Wan to be so capable."

  Jiang Wanru heard this and smiled lightly, saying: "People are all forced to do so. In the past, I only had this little maid by my side, she was still young, and I could only learn to take care of myself. After so many years, I'm not used to having many people around me. I even thought about sending away the two concubines and their maids, I've already talked to them about it, tomorrow after returning home, let them go live in another courtyard for a few days." The prince's wife heard Jiang Wanru's words, looked up at her with a smile, shook her head and said: "The Wang Fu doesn't lack the living expenses of these few people. Having a few people by your side makes it convenient to handle matters."

  Thank you to book friend Huā Jiě Yuè for voting with 1 pink ticket, thank you to book friend Nàlán Róng Ruò for voting with 1 pink ticket. Thank you to all book friends for your support! (If you like this work, welcome to start (start) voting for recommended tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

  Hard study