Chapter 2
Song Shiyan clicked his tongue. What kind of answer was that? What did it mean to be happy and unhappy at the same time?
He jumped down, landing firmly on his feet. His tall body stood in front of her. He casually took off the peony on his head, spread his hands in front of her, turned away and said, "Here, this is for you."
The scent of peony immediately lingered, making her feel relaxed and happy. She looked up and asked, "Did you buy it especially for me?"
I was just touched by the joy in my heart——
Then Song Shiyan said, "No, the servant at home was going to throw it away, but I thought it was a pity so I gave it to you."
Jiang Zhaoli: “…”
Song Shiyan's slurred voice made her ears hurt.
"I heard that you are going to find a son-in-law tomorrow. You are so talkative, I don't know if that man can control you in the future."
"Why don't I give it a try tomorrow? I'm a skilled martial artist, and there aren't many people in Luo City who can beat me. I'll definitely be the winner in the end."
"Of course, if you ask me for help, I can agree to it."
Jiang Zhaoli: “…”
Mr. Song's venomous tongue is really as good as its reputation. Every word he says is thorny and not a single one is pleasant to the ear.
She really wanted to throw the thorny end of the peony in her hand into his chattering face.
Song Shiyan seemed to ignore him and picked up the book that Jiang Zhaoli had put aside. After seeing the title, he clicked his tongue twice, and then said with interest: "You are still in the mood to read this."
Jiang Zhaoli took a breath and smiled at him, but his face was not smiling: "Master, if someone sees you in my courtyard later, it will ruin my reputation and how can I recruit a son-in-law?"
Song Shiyan was puzzled and put the book behind his back: "You want to drive me away? Do you really want to go?"
Hearing him ask this, Jiang Zhaoli felt helpless: "It's like I can just not go if I don't want to."
At this time, there were faint footsteps outside the courtyard, and Madam Hong's loud voice came from far away, with a long-lost joy in her tone: "Miss, this old servant is here to bring you something."
Nanny Hong was her wet nurse, a typical conservative who often gave her some rational analysis.
After she came of age, she was taught about matters between men and women. If she found out that Song Shiyan was in her courtyard, she would probably nag him.
With a creak, the gate of the courtyard was pushed open. Nanny Hong closed the door with one hand and tightly protected the thing covered by the red veil with the other hand.
The thing was covered by a red scarf embroidered with peonies in the jade plate, and from a distance only a bulge could be seen.
"Nurse, what are you holding? It's so mysterious." Jiang Zhaoli approached Nanny Hong and asked curiously.
The wet nurse mysteriously took Jiang Zhao away to the inner room.
Jiang Zhaoli was suspicious and had to go inside to see what good things the wet nurse had brought.
Madam Hong looked around and closed the door, then said in a low voice, "Young lady, this embroidered ball was specially blessed by someone I found. It cost three taels of silver. The person repeatedly assured me that I would be lucky in choosing a husband, so I believed him. My young lady will definitely find a good husband tomorrow."
"But the master said that the hydrangea cannot be touched now. It can only be opened on the day you marry a son-in-law, otherwise it will not work."
Speaking of finding a son-in-law, Jiang Zhaoli's face instantly fell, and her bright eyes and white teeth were now filled with sorrow.
Upon seeing this, Madam Hong put down the jade tray and stopped talking: "Miss, what's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable? If you have anything to say, you can tell me. Although I am not your biological mother, I also want to help you solve your problems."
Jiang Zhaoli suddenly came forward and hugged her, resting his face on her shoulder, and said in a muffled voice: "I am not feeling unwell, nurse, can I not recruit a son-in-law?"
The wet nurse said that after getting married, one should live with the husband and be the closest person to him in the world. However, her husband was a stranger who was selected through a selection process and had no emotional basis with him. She did not like it and was unwilling to do so.
My eldest sister got engaged to the second son of the Song family a few days ago. The two families gathered together for a meal. They were childhood sweethearts, talented and beautiful, and they got along well with each other. Their love was firm and enviable.
Madam Hong patted Jiang Zhaoli on the back and said to her with a smile, "I don't think this is a big deal, young lady. You are usually so smart in accounting, how come you are so confused about this matter?"
Jiang Zhaoli was stunned, looked up at her in confusion, and motioned for her to continue.
Madam Hong continued to analyze the pros and cons: "Miss, since you have taken over the Jiang family, it is inevitable to recruit a son-in-law. In the future..."
In the future, we must continue the family line. Nanny Hong was unable to say the latter part.
"This way, you can recruit someone you like and who you like. This kind of relationship can be cultivated slowly."
Jiang Zhaoli hung her head, looking like she was about to cry. Obviously, these words failed to comfort her.
Madam Hong paused, rolled her eyes, and changed her words: "…In fact, recruiting a son-in-law is just a nice idea, but it's just to let him come to calm down and serve as a foil for the young lady. It's just a matter of having one more person. The Jiang family can afford it. When the son-in-law comes to the mansion, you can just put him there as a vase and ignore him. He won't bother you, young lady."
"Wait until the girl has established herself on her feet, then send the son-in-law away. No one will dare to say no then."
Jiang Zhaoli raised her eyes. The wet nurse meant that if she wanted to inherit the position of head of the family legitimately, she must have a man by her side to silence the gossips.
Jiang Zhaoli's dim eyes suddenly lit up. She lifted up her skirt and quickly walked to the table, sitting cross-legged with her skirt lifted. She wanted to take this opportunity to draft two contracts, just like the government asked the criminals to sign and seal their names.
An hour later, Jiang Zhaoli stared at the two densely written contracts, quite satisfied. She spread the contracts flat under the white paper and put a few books on top, as if afraid that they would be blown away by the wind.
Madam Hong fetched a basin of clean water and placed it on the washbasin rack. She then put the face towel into the water and waited for it to be completely soaked. She took it out, wrung it dry and placed it on the edge of the washbasin. Just as she was about to call Jiang Zhaoli to wash up, she saw that she had taken out a book and was reading it. Madam Hong couldn't help but remind her: "Miss, it's already midnight. It's getting late. You can read the book tomorrow. It's time to rest."
Jiang Zhaoli pinched his brows, responded, and turned to look at the half-open window. He didn't know when it was night. The candlelight on the bronze lampstand on one side of the window was extremely bright. There was an exquisite dragon carved on it, circling on the candlestick, as if ready to break through the shackles.
The spring breeze caresses the windows, and the magnolia flowers sway slightly, making people feel calm.
*
The cockcrows and dawn breaks.
The maid held the exquisite clothes and placed them on the hollow carved dressing table. She wore a lotus-colored tube top, a light yellow embroidered folded skirt, and a scarlet short-sleeved shirt with a blue and green peacock embroidered on it. It was flying lightly with its tail slightly open and its eyes looking straight into the sky, looking very lifelike.
Two maids surrounded Jiang Zhaoli, one in front and one behind, and used various items on the dressing table to serve her. They first drew long and thin eyebrows, then applied lead powder and sandalwood powder, applied lipstick, and finally combed her hair into a heart-shaped bun.
She has a delicate face with light makeup and graceful manners.
"Second Miss, it's getting late, we should set off." There was an urging voice from outside, and Jiang Zhaoli responded.
The sedan chair had already been prepared and was parked at the gate of Jiang's house. Jiang Zhaoli got on the sedan chair, surrounded by maids.
She cannot meet people with her true appearance in the attic and must carry Mu Li with her.
After arriving at the manor, Jiang Zhaoli entered the second floor of the attic through the back door amid the bustling crowd.
Grandfather, uncles and aunts are all here.
Seeing her approaching slowly, the third sister immediately stepped forward and held her soft jade-like hand, exclaiming: "Second sister, you are so beautiful today, you will definitely fascinate those men below and make them lose their minds."
Li Congying pretended to be serious and scolded: "Axing, what are you, a woman, saying to your second sister?"
Jiang Yuxing stuck out her tongue and said mischievously, "Mom, I know I was wrong. I was just joking with my second sister. Why did you take it so seriously?"
The second sister is innocent, naive and studious. She is only twelve years old now, so what the second aunt said is not unreasonable.
Just as Liu Congying was about to say something, he heard the sound of a bell. It was a clear and melodious sound, with the lingering sound indicating that the time to recruit a son-in-law had arrived. Jiang Yuxing ran towards the corridor excitedly, and could not help but marvel at the bustling crowd below.
There are so many people who want to pursue the second sister, they can almost circle half of the island. How should the second sister choose?
She looked excitedly at her elder sister Jiang Yulin, who was talking to her second sister, and shouted, "Elder sister, elder sister, come and have a look!"
Jiang Yulin shook his head helplessly, then turned to whisper with Jiang Zhaoli. The two smiled at each other. Jiang Yuxing stomped his feet in shame and anger, lifted the curtain, and hurried in.
Grandfather, uncles and aunts all went to the gallery to view the scene.
The servant in narrow sleeves and wide-waisted trousers shouted on the stage: "Now I will read out the rules of the competition. First, two people will go on stage to compete in martial arts. The first one to leave the stage will lose, and the other will win. Only three winners of the first round will enter the next round of archery. Please look at the fan wheel on my left. It is eight batons high and has ten embroidered balls tied on it, which means perfection. It is still now, but it will keep turning during the competition. Each person will shoot ten arrows. The one who shoots the most keeps the prize, and the one who shoots the least loses."
"Stop talking nonsense and get started."
The people below were ready to move, each of them turning their wrists and ankles, stretching their necks, with a gleam of determination in their eyes.
Jiang Zhaoli stayed in the attic drinking tea from beginning to end, and did not look towards the corridor. After the in-depth analysis between her nanny and her yesterday, the anger that had been suppressed in her heart for many days suddenly dissipated like a puff of smoke. Now, sitting in the venue, there was no longer any ripple in her heart.
"Who will come first?" the servant asked, his shrewd eyes sweeping across every corner as quickly as a whirlwind.
"Me." A burly, beard-faced man stood on tiptoe in the crowd and raised his hand.
"Me." Another skinny man also came on the scene.
The two men bowed to each other. One had eyes like an eagle and was as thin as a monkey, while the other had a body like a tiger and was as fat as a bear.
The two men were on edge, and with a loud shout, the competition began.
The two men shouted and approached each other using fists and feet. The fists of "Tiger Back" fell like raindrops, and "Eagle Hook" easily dodged them. The two men confronted each other tit for tat, fighting openly and secretly, and using all kinds of despicable moves such as sneak attacks.
"Eagle Hook" looks thin but is actually very strong. He throws the burly man off the stage in a few moves. The burly man was not convinced and wanted to go on stage again, but was warned by the servant.
Everyone has only one chance, if you lose, you lose.
Ten more people came on the field later, and they were all defeated by the "Eagle Hook" man.
He smiled slightly, raised his hands high, and his eyes were filled with the desire for victory.
There was cheering from below.
Jiang Yuxing held her chin up to watch the show. The excitement she had just shown gradually faded away. Her beautiful eyes were filled with worry. She pouted and said unhappily, "Second sister, this man may be very strong, but he is not worthy of you."
Although Jiang Zhaoli did not watch the scene, he knew what his second sister meant by this. She was afraid that he would have great strength but an ugly appearance.
Jiang Zhao just smiled and said nothing. After all, she had already drafted the contract, so she was not afraid that the other party would not agree. She would be able to get a huge sum of money after the separation. After all, wasn't that what those people who were thinking of finding a son-in-law were doing for?
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