As the night fell inch by inch, the Wang Mansion was still bustling with activity. In the main hall, Old Master Wang and Old Mistress Wang sat upright on the main seat, accompanied by Master Wang and Mistress Wang on either side of them. The Crown Prince stood behind Old Master Wang, leaning forward to speak to him in a low voice. The Crown Princess smiled as she leaned against Mistress Wang's side, listening intently to her words. Lian Hua smiled as he stood behind Old Mistress Wang, occasionally bending down to whisper something into her ear.

  Lian Xuan was listening to the king's orders, his eyes occasionally glancing towards the door of the hall. The second young master's wife smiled and sat below the crown prince's wife, turning her head to glance at Jiang Wanru sitting on the lower side. The guests were seated below the main seat on both sides, smiling and chatting with each other. The whole room was lively and joyful. However, Jiang Wanru felt a deep sense of loneliness that seemed to seep from her bones.

  Some guests would walk up to the host with a smile, saying a few pleasant words that made the host's family happy and laugh. Those words made the host's family happy and laugh one after another. Jiang Wanru sat quietly with her eyes downcast, letting the gazes of others scan her from head to toe, from face to clothes. Jiang Anhe and his wife, as well as Jiang Wenlun and his wife, chatted and laughed together in the company of Lian Zimo and Jiang Wanyi, enjoying each other's company. Occasionally, their eyes would glance at Jiang Wanru, but that woman was now like a mirror with no one inside, sitting quietly without ever raising her eyes.

  According to the usual custom of visiting, after dinner, people would chat for a while and then bid farewell to the host family, leaving with joy. However, most of the guests in the Wang Mansion today chose to stay behind and continue celebrating. This was because although the Emperor had not come to the Wang Mansion during the day, precious gifts from the palace were delivered before dinner. The palace guards brought the Emperor's edict in front of everyone, stating that after dinner, the Emperor would personally come to wish Old Lady Wang a happy birthday.

  The crowd chose to continue gathering in the hall, waiting together for the arrival of the most noble person of the Ning dynasty. The people in the hall had expressions of anticipation and tension on their faces. As night deepened, some guests really couldn't wait any longer and began to bid farewell to the host family. Lian Xuan, under the prince's orders, went out of the hall again to observe. This time, he didn't take long. He quickly re-entered the hall and directly told the people in the hall: "The Emperor is wearing casual clothes, with only a few people by his side. He has entered through the main gate and is heading towards the hall."

  Everyone in the hall stood up instantly. Old Duke Wang and Duke Wang were beaming with smiles, while Old Duchess Wang had a relieved expression on her face. The duchess gently supported the Marchioness as they hurried towards the entrance of the grand hall, followed closely by everyone else in order. Before they even reached the entrance, a trembling voice from outside announced: "The Emperor has arrived." Several young men's silhouettes appeared at the door. Old Duke Wang led the way and knelt down. Jiang Wan followed the crowd and also knelt down. Old Duke Wang's excited voice rang out: "Your humble minister greets Your Majesty, thank you for Your Majesty's kindness."

  More voices joined in, and the two words that Jiang Wan thought of most were "Your Majesty". Until a young man smiled and said "Quickly, get up." Jiang Wan stood up with the crowd, following closely behind the Second Young Master's wife. As she slowly returned to her original seat, the tables and chairs had already been moved to the corner by the servants of the Wang Fu who were skilled in etiquette. The young emperor was now walking towards the main seat accompanied by the old minister, the two of them seemed especially close, and from time to time, words of concern could be heard from the emperor.

  The emperor sat down in the main seat. At the same time, he granted seats to Old King and Queen as well as King and Queen, four people in total. After seeing them sit down below him, he took a glance around the hall and looked at the people inside. He turned his head and smiled at King saying: "Royal Uncle, grant seats to those who are older." The king immediately ordered: "The emperor grants seats to those who are older." The servants quickly brought over stools and placed them beside the older guests. Many of the older guests first thanked the emperor's kindness before slowly sitting down on the stools.

  The people in the hall held their breath, listening to the Emperor laughing and saying to Queen Dowager: "On your birthday, I must come to congratulate you. During the day, there were many things to do, and I couldn't get away. Now looking at coming to the palace tonight, it's just as lively, and I think I've arrived at just the right time." The Queen Dowager smiled and said: "Your Majesty, I'm delighted that you've come today. It's just that the night is deep, Your Majesty should sit for a while and then return." The Emperor heard the Queen Dowager's words and laughed, saying: "This is the host's way of sending off guests, isn't it? I'll listen to your words, and just sit for a little while before returning."

  The emperor spoke intimately to the old queen, and the guests in the hall who understood the situation would occasionally smile and nod. Jiang Wanru stood beside the second wife, her eyes slightly lowered. When she felt someone looking at her, she smiled and raised her eyes, catching sight of Chu Xiao standing by the emperor's side, his green clothes making him almost invisible. There was a hint of surprise in Jiang Wanru's eyes; she had never expected to reveal her true identity in front of Chu Xiao under such circumstances.

  Chu Xiao's gaze swept across her face lightly, as if looking at an ordinary person. Jiang Wanruo knew it was different, that there was a look of sudden realization in his eyes. Jiang Wanruo had a worried expression, glancing at Chu Xiao who quickly looked away, and listened to the host's joyful words, then lowered her head, hiding the emotions in her eyes. In this situation, it would be better if they didn't know each other.

  Lian Hao inadvertently caught Chu Xiao's gaze, and following his line of sight, he saw Jiang Wanru standing beside Lian Xuan's wife. In the crowd, Jiang Wanru was quite unnoticeable, with her plain hair and dark red clothes, her eyes cast down. However, just as Lian Hao was about to look away, he saw Jiang Wanru glance up at Chu Xiao, a hint of urgency in her eyes. When he looked again, she had already lowered her gaze once more. Lian Hao turned back to Chu Xiao, who remained calm and composed, his eyes scanning the crowd with an even gaze. Lian Hao took another look at Jiang Wanru, feeling that there was something different about her, a sense of detachment that was not usually there.

  Jiang Wanmu inadvertently moved to the back of Er Shao's wife under Lian Hao's gaze. Lian Hao looked at Jiang Wanmu hiding in the shadows, feeling somewhat disappointed in his heart. He thought that this woman had not experienced great things and when she saw a large crowd, she only wanted to hide, so he thought, and in his heart, he looked down on Jiang Wanmu a bit, and didn't have any extra attention to pay her anymore.

  Jiang Wanru took advantage of the convenience of being in a dark place to observe Qingyi's Chu Xiao, seeing that his eyes were calm as usual, but his posture was quite upright. Jiang Wanru's heart surged with a sense of desolation, she had thought that one day she would tell Chu Xiao about her own life story, thinking that it would be after she gained her freedom. Who knew that fate did not want to let her off easy, and in an instant, a heavy blow came crashing down.

  That night, the glory of the Wang Fu, that night, the embroidered clothes of the people in the Wang Fu, that young and promising emperor, how wise and approachable he was. Many old people in the capital city still talked about it many years later. Only Jiang Wan didn't remember these things, she only remembered the emperor leaving, looking at the back of someone who used to be close like an older brother, getting farther and farther away step by step. After seeing off the emperor, she followed the crowd back to the main hall, with a smile hanging on her mouth. Listening to the enthusiastic voices of the crowd.

  That night, she returned to her own room, removed her hairpins, sat in front of the mirror, and gazed at her reflection. In the stillness of the night, she blew out the candles and lay on the bed, looking at the moonlight outside the window. With a sorrowful heart, she reminded herself that she must not cry, lest others see it tomorrow and stir up unnecessary trouble.

  Jiang Wanru spent nearly a year in the Lian Wangfu, and her heart gradually became restless. Perhaps it was because the people of the Lian Wangfu were not related to her by blood. Living in this place, she felt more like an unwelcome guest in someone else's home. And when she was at the Jiang family, only then did she finally let go of that extra longing in her heart. Perhaps it was seeing the happiness hidden in the eyes of the eldest son's wife, or perhaps it was seeing the smile in the eyes of the second young master's wife. She realized that she was still young and could be carefree and unrestrained, rather than living each day so gloomily.

  She felt that the days in the Wang Mansion were getting harder and harder to get through. In her heart, she counted down the days one by one, always thinking about when these suffocating days would end. The more Jiang Wan thought about these things, the more she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Her thoughts went back and forth a thousand times, but she couldn't find a safe path to take. Before her eyes flashed Chu Xiao's calm gaze from tonight, and she remembered how he had picked her up from the crowd when she was wearing a white servant's clothes, the warmth in his eyes at that time. It was because of that warm color that she dared to think of ways to get close to him in the following days.

  Jiang Wanru took advantage of one opportunity after another to get close to Chu Xiao. At that time, she was selfishly thinking of finding someone to protect herself, borrowing a little warmth to make her life less tiring. When she concealed her identity, she had already thought about the day when it would be exposed. She closed her eyes and thought of the warm colors in Chu Xiao's eyes, holding hands and recalling the warmth of Chu Yang's hands. If such affection could not continue, she hoped to bid farewell in a gradual manner. With such sudden events, she went through the best and worst results in her mind many times until dawn broke before falling asleep.

  Ji Yan came over early in the morning and saw Jiang Wanru sleeping soundly. After waiting for a while, thinking about the outing today, she had to wake her up. Jiang Wanru opened her eyes with force, looked at her with a hoarse voice and said: "Ji Yan, is there something? If not, let me sleep for a while." She finished speaking and turned over to continue sleeping. Ji Yan became somewhat anxious, bent down close to her and said: "Miss, you said that today must go out to do things, and also reminded me to wake you up early." Jiang Wanru heard her words, immediately remembered that she had an appointment with Fang Zheng to discuss something.

  Jiang Wanru sat up, stretched out her hand to gently pat her head and said: "These days, every day listening to the two women talk about 'rules', my ears are numb and I've forgotten important things. Go out and tell the person in charge that I want to go out today." Ji Yan glanced at the dark circles under her eyes and asked: "Miss, didn't you sleep well?" Jiang Wanru looked at her expression, gave her a white eye and said: "Look at your own dark circles." Ji Yan smiled lightly and said: "Miss, I was thinking about seeing the Emperor last night, hearing the Emperor's voice, and being too excited to sleep."

  Thank you to book friends who rode on a snail to find happiness and voted 2 pink votes, 321223231 voted 1 pink vote, Warm Wind voted 1 pink vote, One Road Mountain Water voted 1 pink vote, Seeking Leisure What Day Idle voted 1 pink vote, Tangerine Cicada voted 1 pink vote, Small Wind's World voted 1 pink vote, Yan Qi voted 1 pink vote, Silver River End Looked at the Stars voted 1 pink vote, Huyanhua voted 1 pink vote, Water Water Book House voted 1 pink vote. Snow Ice Flying Dance gave a gift of 100 starting points currency.

  Thank you to book friends who have always supported me. Thank you for your recommendations, rewards, and pink votes. If you like this work, welcome to come to Starting Point () to vote for recommended votes, monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.

  Bitterly studying books