The marriage was settled

"This is your private room. I won't disturb you any longer." Jiang Jin touched the gauze curtains hanging in the room and clicked his tongue in amazement.

"I didn't expect to see this here." Wei Shu noticed Jiang Jin's expression and asked curiously, "Is it very precious?"

"It's called mermaid gauze. An inch of mermaid gauze is worth half a pot of gold. It's made from the scales of a fish unique to the deep sea. The iridescent scales are ground into powder, mixed with pearl powder, and then woven together with silk to create a silk fabric." Wei Shu touched the gauze curtain but didn't find anything particularly unusual about it.

"It's just that the rarer the item, the more it reflects one's status. Wearing clothes made of this gauze won't prolong life or make one immune to all poisons; it's merely for appearances. Fortunately, no one in the palace is obsessed with it, otherwise it would be another wasteful expenditure of public funds." Jiang Jinsong loosened the gauze curtain and pushed the window open a crack.

"The main event must be happening outside." The glass lamps in the hall slowly went out, leaving only a few candles flickering faintly.

A group of women in long dresses danced onto the stage, their wrists, waists, and hair shimmering with subtle light. A gentle, melodious piano tune rose from the side of the stage, neither loud nor inaudible.

"You seem to be enjoying this?" Wei Shu felt a strange pang of jealousy as he watched Jiang Jin specially move a stool to sit by the window.

"This dance is the Lingbo Dance; it's rare to see someone so skilled. If you don't see it now, who knows when you'll be able to see it again?" Jiang Jin picked up a lychee from the room and put it in her mouth.

The music faded, the lights in the hall came on, and Jiang Jin could clearly see that everyone was still enjoying themselves.

"Please don't be impatient, everyone. Today is Chunniang's birthday. Whoever's heartfelt sentiment will be the one Chunniang dances for you alone in her room all night!" The madam's voice on the stage reached everyone's ears.

"Fifty taels of gold!" A young man spoke first, prompting the crowd to scramble to bid.

"Such a beautiful lady, won't you bid?" Wei Shu pinched Jiang Jin's face and caressed her courtesan's dress.

"I don't have the money. If I could afford a thousand gold pieces, I'd have this beauty dance for me!" Jiang Jin heard the bidding downstairs had already reached 1,100 gold pieces.

"Ah Jin, you should have said so earlier, my lord. There's plenty, but I just don't know if Ah Jin can afford the interest." Wei Shu reached out and closed the window, then picked up Jiang Jin and placed her on the rosewood table.

"Wei Shu, do you know who's bidding outside?" Jiang Jin lifted Wei Shu's chin and whispered in his ear, "Why don't you take a guess?"

"Who?" Wei Shu stopped what he was doing and looked at Jiang Jin. "It's not a prince, is it?"

"His Highness the Fourth Prince is enthusiastically bidding right now." Jiang Jin pushed Wei Shu aside, jumped off the table, and returned to the window. "Why don't we all see if the Fourth Prince can win the beauty's heart?"

Jiang Jin pushed open the door, and a menacing voice rang out, "Ten thousand taels of gold!" Wei Shu's veins bulged as he looked at the familiar figure below, his temples throbbing with pain.

"Oh, it really is His Highness the Fourth Prince. I wonder if His Majesty will be angry if he finds out about this?" Jiang Jin watched the scene below with great interest as the Fourth Prince, under the gaze of the crowd, led Chunniang step by step towards the fifth floor.

"You're not going to go out and stop the Fourth Prince, are you?" Jiang Jin quickly pulled Wei Shu back, seeing his angry expression.

"Do I look stupid, humiliating the Fourth Prince in front of everyone?" Even if Wei Shu was arrogant, he wouldn't publicly reprimand a prince; after all, he was His Majesty's own child.

"Oh, as expected, you become quite thoughtful when it comes to His Majesty." Jiang Jin looked at the Fourth Prince and laughed, "Look how happy the Fourth Prince is. I feel sorry for you, A-Shu, dealing with these people."

"Ah Jin, are you worried about me or afraid that I might accidentally fall into an abyss and make you a widow?" Wei Shu tapped Jiang Jin's nose. "Don't worry, I will arrange a way out for Ah Jin and will never let you suffer."

"Don't be ridiculous, you won't die, you're Wei Shu." Jiang Jin knew that although these words were true, Wei Shu's life was entirely in the Emperor's hands.

"Of course, I am Wei Shu, I won't die easily." Wei Shu looked at the lights downstairs starting to go out again and closed the window.

"It's late, it's not safe here. I'll stay with A-Jin. Go to sleep peacefully." The two curled up on the couch, Wei Shu holding Jiang Jin tightly, not daring to let go of her even a little.

"Ah Jin, if His Majesty forced you to choose between the two, would you choose me?" The question in Wei Shu's heart grew endlessly in the darkness until it became a towering tree.

“I will not give up either you or my official position. I would not do this if I was not confident.” Jiang Jin gently patted Wei Shu’s back. “Don’t worry.”

In this unfamiliar and mysterious place, Jiang Jin dared not rest at all. "Wei Shu, you said you wanted to leave yourself a way out, have you taken any action yet?"

"Take a guess, Ah Jin." Wei Shu's ambiguous answer didn't pique Jiang Jin's interest, since they had agreed not to pry into each other's private affairs anyway.

"Sleep well, you have to work tomorrow." Wei Shu didn't disturb Jiang Jin any further, only gently coaxing her. Gradually, a feeling of exhaustion washed over her, and she slowly drifted off to sleep. Listening to Jiang Jin's steady breathing, Wei Shu knew she was fast asleep.

He gently stroked Jiang Jin's cheek and sighed, "Ah Jin, do you truly love me?" Wei Shu understood the ambiguity in Jiang Jin's words. If His Majesty truly forced her to choose between his official position and him, Jiang Jin might not choose him.

"Ottoichi, do you think the three of us really have to stay on the roof? Can't we go up into a tree?" Ottoji shifted his position, squatting down and looking at the lively scene around them.

"We know this place is safe. If anything happens to Madam Jiang, we can protect her immediately." Yi Yi gestured for them to shut up, and their words dissipated into the air with the wind.

As dawn broke and the curfew was lifted, Jiang Jin hurriedly took Wei Shu back to the Wei residence. After changing his clothes, he went to the government office to go on duty, where he happened to run into Eunuch Lin, who had come to deliver a message.

"Jiang, this is a women's official uniform that His Majesty specially ordered the Imperial Clothing Bureau to make. You must perform your duties diligently and not disappoint His Majesty's trust!" The person behind Eunuch Lin handed the uniform to Jiang Jin.

"Your Majesty, I will certainly not fail your trust!" Jiang Jin smiled, touching her green official robes. From that moment on, she had a strong sense of reality that she was an official.

"Then we won't disturb you gentlemen any longer." Eunuch Lin left the government office with his men. Jiang Jin also began his shift. Today was relatively quiet, so Jiang Jin sat at his desk looking at the imperial edicts from previous years, studying how to review the edicts drafted by the Secretariat.

"Registrar Jiang, we need you to review the memorials from the Censorate and the Ministry of Rites." The funeral attendant placed several memorials in front of Jiang Jin.

"Alright, thank you, Bai Shizhong." Jiang Jin began to flip through the memorials and indeed saw the impeachment against the Fourth Prince for his extravagant spending in Pingkang Ward yesterday.

Jiang Jin glanced at the document and, finding no errors, considered it approved. He couldn't very well criticize the Censorate's impeachment proceedings.

As the sun reached midday, the Jiang family sent someone to fetch Jiang Jin. Upon seeing Jiang Ru in the wagon, Jiang Jin roughly understood what had happened.

"Young Master Liang sent someone to propose marriage?" Jiang Jin noticed the slight blush on Jiang Ru's face and assumed she had obtained the position she desired.

"Second sister, thank you." Jiang Jin sincerely thanked her, but was interrupted by Jiang Jin reaching out her hand.

"Third sister, I just want to remind you that a respectable young man is not what you think. He may love you, but when you were about to marry his brother, he remained unmoved. If it weren't for this mishap, you would be his brother's wife." Jiang Jin laid out the truth to Jiang Ru in detail.

"Second sister, I know everything, that's why I'm angry with him. But the marriage between the Jiang and Liang families can't be ruined by me. I know his pros and cons, but isn't that what a marriage alliance is all about?" Jiang Ru grasped Jiang Jin's hand.

"Second sister, I'm not as capable as you, so if things are good at home, I'm good, and if things are bad at home, I'm also unlucky. Second sister, you're just the way you are."

Jiang Ru had envied Jiang Jin more than once, but she also knew that one shouldn't become greedy by comparing oneself to others.

“Everyone has the right to choose, but the path for women in this world is too narrow.” Jiang Jin patted Jiang Ru on the shoulder, and the wheels rolled smoothly over the road to the Jiang residence.

As soon as the two entered the Jiang residence, they were led to the backyard by the nanny serving Jiang's mother.

"Mother." Jiang Jin and Jiang Ru bowed in unison. Jiang's mother smiled and invited Jiang Jin to sit down, then beckoned Jiang Ru to her side, "Ru'er, come here and greet your aunt."

Jiang Ru respectfully stepped forward, bowed to the dignified woman beside her mother, and greeted her, saying, "Greetings, Aunt. May you be well."

"What a clever and good child! Your aunt just got a new bracelet that matches you perfectly." The woman took off the jade bracelet from her wrist and personally put it on Jiang Ru's hand.

"Thank you, Aunt." Jiang Ru glanced at her mother, who nodded slightly, before she accepted the bracelet with relief.

"Alright, your second sister won't be back for a while. Take her around the house and see what new things she's bought." Jiang Jin knew the two elders wanted to talk, so she followed Jiang Ru out.

"Today should have been your day, so why did you have to call me back?" The two walked in the garden. The Jiang family garden wasn't large, but it was exquisite, with servants changing flowers and moving trees throughout the year.

“I just feel more at ease with my second sister by my side.” Jiang Ru stood beside Jiang Jin. “My second sister has always protected me since I was little, and I didn’t expect her to still do so now that we’re grown up.”

"You're my sister, so naturally I have to protect you. My sister Su is spoiled, so sometimes she shows off her new gadgets to you." Thinking about these things, Jiang Jin felt guilty towards Jiang Ru.

"It's nothing, just a dispute over rouge and face powder. Fourth Sister didn't even ask for the ginseng tonics that Second Sister sent, she didn't even look at them." Jiang Ru didn't really care about Jiang Su's boastful manner, she was just a little tired of dealing with it and thought that things would be more peaceful in the future.

“We are all daughters of the Jiang family, so even if she is spoiled, she won’t hurt you.” Jiang Jin looked at the courtyard in the distance and smiled. “So even if Fourth Sister makes a fuss, Father and Mother still gave you a good marriage.”

"Because I'm well-behaved?" Jiang Ru could only think of her one good point.

"Perhaps it's your quiet and generous nature, Third Sister. You should think about it carefully; you actually have many other strengths," Jiang Jin comforted Jiang Ru, but she understood that perhaps it was out of guilt...