(Lian Hao) didn't come to the courtyard again until his second day off, when he came over early in the morning to have breakfast with Jiang Wan. This time, Ming didn't follow him in to serve, and instead instructed the housekeeper to enter the room. The housekeeper entered the room, greeted Lian Hao and Jiang Wan, and listened as Lian Hao asked her questions about some trivial matters in the courtyard. After breakfast was served, she stood by to wait on Lian Hao as he ate.

  Jiang Wanru ate the breakfast in front of her, carefully observing Lian Hao with a subtle gaze. Seeing Lian Hao signal to the woman not to stop, she began to pick up dishes and use them, her eyes flashing afterwards, and then quickly lowered to focus on eating. The woman's mouth was talking about some household chores with Lian Hao, but her eyes still paid attention to Lian Hao's meal, sometimes stopping her speech, helping him pick a few dishes with chopsticks.

  Jiang Wanmu occasionally raised her eyes and saw that the dishes served by the woman were all Liang Hua's favorite dishes. There was a subtle intimacy between the two of them that was not easily noticeable. When the woman was helping Liang Hua wash his hands, Jiang Wanmu deliberately observed carefully and felt that she did it without much attention to detail. The woman simply took the water tray from the maid's hand, placed it in front of Liang Hua, and let him wash his hands himself. Then she handed him a towel, letting him wipe his hands clean by himself.

  After the breakfast table was cleaned up, the housekeeper asked Lianhao again: "Master, do you want to add some trees and flowers in this courtyard? The person in charge of the flower house came to ask me about this a while ago. I asked Madame, and she said to follow the old rules. In recent days, I've been thinking that there's some empty space behind the main house, wondering if we should add some trees and flowers. This matter still needs your decision." Lianhao glanced at Jiang Wenyu, who was not concerned with this matter, thought for a moment, and said: "Let the people from the flower house come to clean up the weeds in the courtyard when they have time, and don't add any more trees and flowers. Too many would make the courtyard look crowded."

  After the woman withdrew, Lian Hao was still sitting at the table. Jiang Wanmu saw that he had something to say and hinted that she would leave after refilling the tea. The room only had Lian Hao and Jiang Wanmu left, for a moment. Both of them felt a bit awkward. After a long silence, it was still Lian Hao who thought he was a big man with broader horizons than the woman in front of him. He spoke to Jiang Wanmu as usual: "Wanmu, next time I'm on leave, my mother will accompany her mother to Guangming Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha. That day you follow them out to broaden your horizons."

  Jiang Wanru heard Lian Hua's words and secretly took a deep breath. She had heard that every summer solstice, the masters of the Wang Manor would go to Guangming Temple outside the city to worship for a day, and it wasn't until the city gates were about to close that the Wang Manor's carriages would return to the manor. Of course, this was only something she had heard. The two most powerful women in the inner courtyard of the Wang Manor never liked seeing Jiang Wanru. Such a good thing naturally had nothing to do with her. This time, when Jiang Wanru heard Lian Hua's words and saw his determined expression, she knew that she would likely be able to accompany them this time.

  Jiang Wanting heard the news, her heart was quite tangled, but she couldn't show it on her face. For Jiang Wanting, who had never left the capital city before, being able to go out of the city once was naturally a very good thing, especially since Lian Hao had put in effort for this. No matter what, she wanted to accept this kindness. However, going out of the city with the people from the Wang Fu was not something worth getting excited about for her. Everyone knew that Old Lady Wang and the Wang Fei didn't get along with her at all.

  Jiang Wanru has always been able to comfort herself, and she never does things that are too complicated. She had long understood her position in the Wang Mansion, where she was a constant thorn in the side of both the old queen and the current queen. In the past, when Princess Ya Zheng hinted at wanting to form an alliance through marriage, Jiang Wanru's idea was still in its infancy, but it was jointly crushed by the palace and the Wang Mansion before it could become a reality. This matter was handled discreetly, and only some of the aristocratic families with keen intuition were aware of it. In the end, one person married far away, while another settled for a mediocre marriage.

  The two queens, the old queen and the queen, have been among the few people in the capital who have had a smooth life over the years. However, they had to accept the polite refusal of the noble families regarding Lianhao's marriage, which made them feel quite unacceptable. The most direct reaction was that the royal family's relationship with these families became cold afterwards, and only the crown prince's wife still maintained a superficial relationship with these families.

  The Jiang family sent over a daughter with a decent background to ward off disaster, promising a three-year engagement. The old queen and the queen had no choice but to accept this marriage proposal in desperation. The troublemaking Princess Yajing was married off far away, but in reality, she wasn't far away at all. These two wouldn't take their anger out on her; instead, they would think that her taste is good, having taken a liking to the treasured daughter of their own family. As for the other party involved, he was originally the treasure of his family, and every aspect of him was excellent, which is why people would remember him fondly. He naturally wouldn't be at fault. The only one at fault was Jiang Wanru, who had been sent over as an emergency measure, constantly reminding them of their predicament back then.

  Jiang Wanru had no choice but to accept the reality imposed on her by others. Fortunately, she was not born with a saintly temperament and would not offer her left cheek to be slapped after someone had already hit her right one. In the Wang household, she considered herself a guest, so she acted as a guest should, appearing at appropriate gatherings where the host needed her. This was clearly a family outing meant to strengthen bonds, and adding an outsider like her seemed somewhat out of place. Unfortunately, these words couldn't be said to Lian Hua, who was in high spirits.

  Jiang Wanmu hung her head low, her eyebrows and eyes stiffened together, thinking about how to respond to Lian Hua's kind words. Lian Hua looked at her like this, and instead felt sympathetic, thinking that she was too happy and silly, still not reacting after hearing the good news a while ago. He smiled and comforted her, saying: "Every year our family goes to Guangming Temple to listen to the master's Buddhist lectures. Generally, he only invites our grandparents to listen, occasionally we can also go, but this year we have a chance to listen in. Anyway, all these years, I've only listened to Buddhist scriptures once."

  Jiang Wanmu was somewhat curious about this, the reputation of Guangming Temple was well-known outside, and that master was said to have a special Buddhist affinity, having cultivated his mind early on. Lian Hao looked at Jiang Wanmu's bright and spirited eyes, not as calm as usual, and also had an interest in continuing the conversation: "I've met Master several times, Master always says I'm young and frivolous, but fortunately, I'm a lucky person, and will change for the better later on. In the future, if there are any twists and turns in my marriage, let my family follow my wishes, so that I can live a longer life."

  Jiang Wanru finally understood why the Wang family had not arranged a marriage for Lian Hao, with his temperament, and that was how she ended up entering the Wang household to marry him in an emergency. If Lian Hao were to be married early, there would be no need for her to intervene. She smiled and lowered her eyes, thinking "Deep emotions are short-lived, great wisdom is short-lived." Looking at Lian Hao, neither of these two qualities could be relied upon. Lian Hao looked at Jiang Wanru's curved eyebrows and eyes, which made her appear exceptionally gentle and obedient. He gazed at the person in front of him, thinking that a year later, she would have to leave the Wang household, and the days that followed might not be easy.

  For the first time, Lian Hao had a pang of conscience and stood in Jiang Wanru's shoes to think for her. He felt that he had wronged this woman, ruining her life, yet she could still treat him with such calmness. She was truly a rare good woman. For the first time in his life, Lian Hao looked beyond appearances and noticed a woman's true nature. He thought Jiang Wanru was indeed a gentle person. If it were another woman who had been treated this way, she would probably make a big fuss, causing trouble for both families, and wouldn't let them live in peace.

  Lian Hao's thoughts became clearer, but he felt more and more ashamed to face Jiang Wanru. For the first time, he felt a little embarrassed. His handsome face turned slightly red as he looked at Jiang Wanru and said: "You followed me that day to clear your mind, if you could see Master, it would be great to ask him a few questions." Jiang Wanru smiled, she was just an oil seller that day. The people in the Wang Mansion wouldn't allow outsiders to meet Master, but she still appreciated Lian Hao's kindness.

  Jiang Wan smiled and raised her head, saying softly: "I listened to San Ye's words that day and followed behind. It's good if I can gain some experience." Lian Hao felt refreshed upon hearing this. Then he heard Jiang Wan say in a soft voice: "Last time, San Ye mentioned to me that Old Lady Jiang was seriously ill. I was worried that if I went there, I would disturb the elderly. After San Ye left, I thought about it carefully and still felt uneasy. The elderly's body is not good, as a junior, I should do my best when I can. On the second day, I asked the people from the first house who accompanied me to prepare some gifts and deliver them directly to her doorstep. I don't know if this was done properly or not, please advise me, San Ye."

  Lian Hao was the youngest at home, and his elder brothers had always doted on him. They would take care of everything for him, and all he needed to do was follow along. It was rare for someone to come ask for his advice on such matters. As he listened to Jiang Wan's words, his raised hackles smoothed out once again. With a hint of a smile at the corners of his eyes, he nodded and said: "This arrangement is suitable. You didn't have any prior experience, but you were also considering Old Lady Jiang's feelings, thinking about how to make her happy. This can be considered as having put in some effort. Has the Jiang family accepted that gift?"

  Jiang Wanru nodded slightly and said, "The gift I sent was thin, but after Madame Jiang received it, the return gift was heavy. I felt a bit embarrassed to accept it, thinking that it would lose face for Third Master." Jiang Wanru raised her eyes to look at Lian Hua, seeing him listening to her words with a pleased expression in his eyebrows and eyes. In her heart, she secretly sighed, "No wonder people who have experienced much say that women should not put empty shelves too high, or they will fall heavily." Now that she had lowered her head a few times, Lian Hua's heart became more at ease, and he was willing to listen to her words.

  In this life, Jiang Wanru deeply understood that it was a man's world, and she could only go with the flow to survive peacefully. Never get hot-headed and think about changing the world, that's something only fools do, after years of hard work, you'll only end up helping others succeed. Lian Hao smiled as he stared at Jiang Wanru, finding her quite pleasing to the eye. Meanwhile, Jiang Wanru felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze, and her guard went up.

  Time breeds affection, and such things often happen unexpectedly. In this world, I have nothing but my own heart. Now being stared at by a rarely seen handsome man, if this goes on for a long time, it won't be good. After getting used to looking at beautiful men, don't think that later on, even if a man is slightly less good-looking but has a similar character, he can't enter my eyes.

  The computer is a bit off, it's been suddenly shutting down frequently these days, and today was particularly severe. I can barely finish one chapter, and I don't dare look at it for too long, fearing it will shut down again soon.

  Thanks to:

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  Thanks for the support and suggestions from book friends. If I get 50 pink votes, I'll try to add an extra update tomorrow if my computer behaves itself. If it continues to be uncooperative, I can only try my best to keep updating.

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  Hard study