"Why aren't you asleep yet at this hour?" The Third Lady raised her eyes and saw Jiang Ruoting sitting opposite her with a hint of displeasure between her brows. "Don't you have an appointment with another lady to go boating tomorrow?"

As the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, she couldn't go out while feeling sleepy. Looking tired and humiliating would make people think she was rude. In addition to managing the household, the Third Lady cared most about her two children. Her son was often in poor health, and she couldn't slack off on her daughter's side. She wanted her son to inherit the family business, and she also wanted her daughter to marry into the royal family. Honor and wealth were waiting for the three of them, so how could she slack off before all these were accomplished?

"My daughter is not sleepy at the moment. I saw the candles in mother's room, so I came to take a look." Jiang Ruoting said, "What is mother worried about?"

The third wife has always been a good manager. The huge Duke's Mansion has been in her hands since Jiang Ruohua's mother passed away. There has never been any difference in these years. Outsiders have spread the good reputation of the third wife, who is virtuous and capable, and is indeed a model of a mistress.

And now it seems that there is a problem with the shop again.

"There's a problem with the shop again. I have to go there in person tomorrow." The Third Madam felt a headache. "I don't know if it has collided with something these days. I've been having bad luck one after another. It seems that I have to find a time to get rid of the bad luck. After all, this won't work."

She had to deal with the shop's affairs in person. Looking at this account book full of loopholes, the Third Madam had a headache. Over the years, the shops that had problems were originally owned by the Duke's Mansion or her dowry shops. The shop left by Jiang Ruhua's mother was obviously unattended, but it had been running smoothly for more than ten years without any problems.

The huge imbalance made the Third Madam feel upset. Some people were born to bring bad luck to her. She felt annoyed just to have them there!

"Don't worry, mother. I'm here for you." Jiang Ruoting said, "Mother, just go and take care of the shop tomorrow. I'll help you with the rest."

But the Third Lady was not prepared to do so. She said unhappily, "Don't do some things. If you dirty your hands, do you still want to keep your reputation?"

Before her daughter married into the royal family, the Third Lady did not intend to let her do anything by herself.

This was also to ensure that her daughter would always be clean and have no blood on her hands, so that she could marry into the royal family with the best reputation.

"I know I was wrong. I was just thinking that it was strange that her marriage was cancelled. Now people are saying that she has changed her personality. I was afraid that she would discover something." Jiang Ruoting was blamed and hurriedly bowed her head to admit her mistake. But she had to speak out her doubts no matter what. "I agreed with her before and handed Aunt Yuan to her, which was a test."

The third lady raised her eyes. She naturally understood this, and also understood why her daughter was adding fuel to the fire. People cannot change drastically so easily. Combined with what has happened recently, the outside world's evaluation of Jiang Ruhua has indeed changed. The third lady has suspected whether Jiang Ruhua has discovered something.

"It's okay for Aunt Yuan to test her, but she's just an aunt, no matter what she does, she can't make any waves." The Third Madam was not worried. She thought that if Jiang Ruohua really found out something and had some intention, it would be better if she could join forces with Aunt Yuan to fight against the enemy.

She would let Jiang Ruohua and Aunt Yuan know what it means to overestimate one's own abilities.

A aunt, a young girl who hasn't even grown up yet, if it was really as she guessed, she would save herself a lot of trouble.

"Mother, I think we should not be careless." Jiang Ruoting said, "Jiang Ruohua is smart. You have spent so much effort to make her become so stupid now, but is she really so stupid?"

"I have been thinking about it these days, and I just feel that something is strange. The rumors outside may not be groundless, and we happen to know Jiang Ruohua's true nature best. I think, if she really noticed something, she would not act easily with her temper."

These words also touched upon the Third Madam's suspicion. She did think that breaking off the engagement was strange, but she also felt that she knew Jiang Ruohua well. The contradiction made the Third Madam very suspicious now, but she didn't know what to do with Jiang Ruohua for a while.

Even if the engagement is broken off, Jiang Ruohua still has value to use, and she also has a father who holds military power, and now he cannot be touched.

Because of this, the third lady inexplicably felt a sense of powerlessness in her heart.

"What you said makes sense." The third lady thought for a while, "But even if you test her, you must not act too hastily. Since you know her true face, you should be more careful when testing her." "

Don't worry, mother." Jiang Ruoting said, "My daughter knows the importance of this matter, and she will not make any mistakes in this matter."

"Yes." But despite saying so, the Third Lady was still worried, "Ting'er, you have to know that a person's background can be very different in the future if it is the slightest difference. Your mother has worked hard to do all this for you and your brother. It is all for your future. Your mother and your father were unlucky and were not born in the belly of the main wife as legitimate sons and daughters, but you and your brother can't carry the birth of a concubine all your life."

Compared with Jiang Ruoting and Jiang Ruhua, their backgrounds are very different in the eyes of outsiders, even though they are both legitimate daughters of the Duke's Mansion. Not only is Jiang Ruhua's father a senior official who holds military power in the court, there is also a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. Although the Duke does not plan to divide the family, and both of them are legitimate daughters, outsiders have sharp eyes and they all know who will be better for their family.

If Jiang Ruoting wants to be successful, she must have someone to accompany her and plot secretly, so that Jiang Ruoting can finally take over the nest and enjoy the real glory, wealth and power.

...

"Why did the young lady suddenly take out the zither?"

After changing the lamp, Yinqiu blew out the candle that had only a small section left, and watched Jiang Ruohua gently wiping the zither that had been sealed for a long time in front of the table, and she was a little surprised.

Not long after the young lady decided to get married, the third wife hired a so-called tutor nanny from the palace for the young lady. Every day, she was almost learning the so-called rules and regulations, and she had no time to contact these things.

Her fingertips lightly stroked the strings. Even though it had been put aside for a long time, a good zither was still a good zither, and its tone was far superior to other common things. She was in the mood to play half of the poem, but she did not continue the second half.

"Why don't you play anymore, Miss? I am all ears." Hua Chan seemed to have not listened to enough, "It's really beautiful."

"It's beautiful, but a little ostentatious." Jiang Ruohua smiled. She was just interested for a while. After getting married in her dream, she had to stay alone in the empty room every day, so she inevitably needed time to practice. It seemed that her zither skills were also good at that time. She happened to remember that Jiang Ruoting would definitely invite her to go boating tomorrow, so she remembered that she had such a zither.

She seemed to have brought out the piano skills in her dream, but it was too ostentatious for her. How could someone who hadn't practiced piano for many years have such skills?