As Jiang Huaiyu saw the guest to the door and walked along the covered walkway, Lady Jingyuan suddenly stopped. Her gaze swept over the beautiful scenery in the garden, and she asked curiously, "I heard that your daughter has married far away to another place. May I ask where?"
"Fushun Town".
Lady Jingyuan frowned slightly. "Is that the countryside?"
Jiang Huaiyu nodded calmly.
Lady Jingyuan sighed, "You've really suffered because of your husband's remote family."
Jiang Huaiyu smiled slightly and said calmly, "I don't feel bitter. Although the Bai family comes from humble origins, my husband has lofty aspirations and extraordinary ambitions. I firmly believe that he will become a pillar of a great cause."
Lady Jingyuan also smiled, "You are a smart woman. To have you speak so highly of him, your husband, who is a scholar, must have a bright future."
"May Lady Jingyuan's words be true." Jiang Huaiyu bowed slightly.
Lady Jingyuan looked at her gently, a hint of regret and pity flashing in her eyes. She said softly, "Since the Marquis's Mansion and the Jiang family are related by marriage, if you have the opportunity to come to the capital, you might as well visit the Marquis's Mansion and chat with this old woman."
Jiang Huaiyu smiled gently, "Madam Jingyuan, you flatter me. You are in your prime, how can you look old? If you don't mind, I will definitely pay you a visit in the future."
The two continued walking side by side outside.
Upon arriving at the gate, Jiang Huaiyu watched as Lady Jingyuan boarded the carriage before turning back into the mansion.
Lady Jingyuan sat in the carriage, unable to resist leaning out the window and looking back again. She sighed, "What a pity. If it weren't for the change of personnel that day, given this young lady's character, I'm afraid today's turmoil wouldn't have happened so easily."
Jiang Shuqin rode in a different carriage, which contained only Lady Jingyuan and Granny Cui.
Granny Cui picked up the conversation and said gently, "Madam, when I visited the Jiang residence last time, I had the pleasure of seeing this young lady's beauty. Her demeanor made me feel very close to her, especially her superb needlework skills, which were eight or nine parts similar to my own."
"Oh? Is that so?" Lady Jingyuan looked surprised.
She recalled Jiang Huaiyu's performance today. Facing such a distinguished person, she was neither arrogant nor servile, her words were measured, and her manners were impeccable. Her words and actions had earned Jiang Huaiyu's respect. Such poise and grace were exactly the image of her ideal daughter-in-law.
With a smile, Granny Cui replied, "This servant knows that Madam prefers intelligent people. If it hadn't been someone else, but this Miss Jiang who had entered the Marquis's mansion, with her unique personality, Madam would surely have been able to entrust the future of the Marquis's mansion to her with peace of mind."
Lady Jingyuan sighed softly and shook her head, saying, "Alas, things have come to this, and reminiscing about the past will only add to the troubles. I never imagined that an adopted daughter of the Jiang family would be more noble than her own daughter."
Since the opportunity has been missed, there's no point in dwelling on it. Deep down, she only hopes that Jiang Shuqin can learn from today's lesson and fulfill her duties in the Marquis's mansion, acting as the wife of the heir.
...
After seeing off Lady Jingyuan, Jiang Huaiyu felt a ripple of emotion.
She clearly sensed the admiration in Lady Jingyuan's eyes just now, but how could Lady Jingyuan know that they had become mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in their previous life, and that all the skills she now possessed were taught to her by Lady Jingyuan herself.
Past events replayed in her mind like a movie, making her feel a little melancholy.
She did not immediately go to visit Madam Hao, nor did she return to her own residence. Instead, she climbed up to the attic alone and found a quiet corner to sit down.
High up in the attic, the wind blew relentlessly, its coldness like a knife, stinging her cheeks with a dull ache.
However, Jiang Huaiyu showed no intention of leaving. She pulled up her hood, wrapped her cloak tightly around herself, and gazed at the increasingly gloomy sky outside. Her heart was at peace; she thought nothing of the future and remained as still as a mountain.
Soon after, fine snowflakes began to fall from the sky, like delicate fragments of emotion drifting down from the heavens.
Gradually, the snowflakes grew larger and faster, like countless pure white goose feathers gently descending to earth.
"Huaiyu, are you here?"
Suddenly, a head popped out from the attic; it was Bai Yujing.
He strode up the steps, first gazing quietly at Jiang Huaiyu for a moment, then walked to her side, gently sat down beside her, and unfolded his cloak to softly wrap her inside.
He didn't ask her why she was there alone; he simply held her quietly, and together they watched the snowflakes dance in the air.
Time slipped by unnoticed until even the distant eaves were covered in snow, becoming a pristine white expanse.
Jiang Huaiyu finally raised her head and asked with a smile, "Yujing, why didn't you ask me anything?"
Bai Yujing hugged her tighter and said gently, "If you want to talk, you will naturally tell me; if you choose to remain silent, I will not force you."
Jiang Huaiyu smiled gently and said, "Yujing, you don't seem to think that I have suffered any injustice today."
“That’s what I thought at first, but when I saw you, I realized that wasn’t the case.”
After learning that Jiang Huaiyu had gone to see off the guests, Bai Yujing waited inside the house, but she did not return for a long time. Hao Shi also said that she had not seen her, so he guessed that she might have come here.
He couldn't describe the feeling in words.
The Jiang Huaiyu he saw in the attic just now was completely different from the one he knew. He had never seen such deep sorrow on her face before, as if she were all alone in this vast and boundless world.
For a moment, he didn't even dare to approach her, fearing that if he touched her, she would shatter like glass.
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