Ye Yunniang entered the inner room, her pupils dilated, and ran towards the bed.
Jiang Tingjun slid down the edge of the bed.
Upon reaching the bedside, Ye Yunniang tried to pick up Jiang Tingjun in her arms.
Jiang Tingjun, however, was unwilling. He immediately lay down on the ground and crawled past Ye Yunniang's legs, making his way out at an extremely fast speed.
"Young master, stop." Ye Yunniang turned around to grab it.
Jiang Tingjun quickly dodged and continued climbing out, bumping into Hongcai who was carrying pastries in.
Afraid of stepping on Jiang Tingjun, Hongcai leaned back and lay face down on the threshold.
"Ah—" Hongcai couldn't help but scream, and the plate in her hand fell to the ground with a shattering sound.
Jiang Tingjun was startled by her scream and burst into tears.
Ye Yunniang rushed over and picked up Jiang Tingjun.
The maids and old women who had been waiting nearby had arrived.
The two helped Hongcai up, and one of them took a broom and swept away the broken pieces and pastries on the ground.
Zi Yuan, who was guarding the small room, came over when she heard the noise. "What's wrong?"
Fortunately, she was dressed warmly for winter, and Hongcai's waist was only twisted; she was otherwise unharmed. Hongcai patted her clothes and explained what had happened, while Ye Yunniang, holding the weeping Jiang Tingjun, added to the story.
Ziyuan was delighted to hear this, "Little master, you're crawling so well at just 8 months old. That's wonderful."
Ziyuan then reported to Madam Jiang and received many rewards.
Everyone in the small courtyard thereafter received a reward.
As a wet nurse, Ye Yunniang received a ring inlaid with gemstones. The ring was exquisitely crafted and clearly of considerable value.
Ye Yunniang carefully put it away, planning to give it to Pan'er after she got married.
From that day on, Jiang Tingjun spent all his time crawling outside, except when he was sleeping or eating.
After climbing too much, feeling tired, I try to stand up by holding onto something or someone, wanting to walk.
During this time, Madam Jiang Si did not visit Jiang Tingjun. She was busy with Jiang Mingyue's engagement banquet on the 28th day of the first lunar month.
The wedding was originally scheduled for the sixth day of the first lunar month. The man was riding a horse with someone before the new year when the accident happened.
Not only was his leg broken, but he also had a long gash on his face.
"I heard that my future son-in-law thinks I'm ugly and insisted on changing the date to the 28th," Chunyao and Ye Yunniang whispered about the news they had overheard.
Chunyao's home was outside the Jiang residence. She returned home every day, so she heard more news from outside.
"What kind of family is Fifth Miss's in-laws that they can change the date so easily?" Ye Yunniang was surprised. The date had been set, the invitations had been sent out, and Jiang Mingzhe had even gone to buy the dowry.
Chunyao glanced outside and whispered to Ye Yunniang.
"The Lin family of Jiangcheng."
Seeing that Ye Yunniang didn't know, Chunyao explained it to her.
In Jiangcheng, the Jiang family is the richest family, but as merchants, they have a low social status and are considered a piece of fat meat by those in power, who can take a bite out of them at any time.
It wasn't until the eldest son of the Jiang family became an official that those powerful and wealthy families became a little more restrained. But it was only a little; the Jiang family still spent a lot of money every year bribing officials and patrons.
In contrast to the Jiang family, the Lin family is the most powerful family in Jiangcheng.
The patriarch of the Lin family was a prime minister in the imperial court. Lin Chaosheng, the third son of the patriarch who stayed in Jiangcheng, was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) even though he did not become an official.
Lin Chaosheng manages the Lin family's ancestral business in Jiangcheng and keeps the Lin family's collateral branches in check.
Lin Chaosheng had three sons and one daughter. His eldest and second sons were already married. His third son, Lin Yanping, was his youngest child and was greatly loved by Lin Chaosheng and his wife.
Lin Yanping had been spoiled and had become somewhat arrogant and domineering, spending his days leading a group of people around to play.
Lin Yanping led his men hunting outside the mountains and encountered the Jiang family's carriage going out to offer incense. He unexpectedly saw Jiang Mingyue's face.
Lin Yanping fell in love with the beautiful Jiang Mingyue at first sight and went home to make a fuss with his parents about marrying her.
The Lin family is the family that the Jiang family wants to curry favor with.
When someone from the Lin family came to speak, Old Master Jiang agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Madam Jiang sent someone to inquire about Lin Yanping, and upon learning of his absurdity, she became somewhat unwilling.
Grandpa Jiang has already agreed, and Jiang Mingyue herself is also happy to accept it. As a merchant's daughter, to be able to marry into the family of a prime minister and become his wife is a marriage that she could not even dream of.
Madam Jiang agreed, but she still felt indebted to Jiang Mingyue, which is why she asked Jiang Mingzhe not to spend the New Year at home, but to go directly to the north to purchase dowry.
Ye Yunniang listened with admiration, amazed that Chunyao knew so much.
Chunyao smiled smugly; she had interacted with many people in the Jiang family.
Chunyao could be said to know many secrets of the mansion that were unknown to others.
Chunyao then shared some gossip with Ye Yunniang that was not known to outsiders.
For example, Grandpa Jiang is still as virile as ever, and one of his maids is pregnant, though it hasn't been revealed yet.
It's also very likely that Bai Xiuxiu is pregnant. Because for the past two weeks, the third wife has stopped ordering spicy and stimulating dishes, as well as dried seafood. Bai Xiuxiu loves seafood and spicy food.
...
Speaking of which, Chunyao also told Ye Yunniang something.
"The Second Madam may not be able to survive."
"No way?"
"It's true. The second madam secretly invited the sorceress Ma."
Ye Yunniang noticed that Chunyao emphasized the word "Ma Xiangu" by three points.
"What does Fairy Ma do?"
"When she was young, Ma Xiangu worked as a Taoist nun and learned some Taoist medical skills. Later, she returned to secular life, married a traveling doctor, and followed her husband to travel all over the country to treat patients."
She eventually settled in Jiangcheng. She was skilled at protecting pregnancy. None of the pregnant women she treated had any complications. Because of her remarkable ability to protect pregnancy, she was called the "Fertility-Giving Goddess," which sounded unpleasant, so later everyone called her—"Fairy Ma."
"That's amazing."
"What a load of rubbish! She only tries to save the pregnancy when she can. When she can't, she makes up all sorts of excuses and declines. She tells others that people don't want her to try to save the pregnancy."
Chunyao's tone was full of anger.
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