"What bad luck! Why do I always run into him when I go out?" Shen Yunjiao cursed under her breath, and hurriedly followed Fu Xia into the carriage.
Since the weather was nice today, she decided to visit Jiang Rong at the Jiang family home and bring her some of her newly made rouge.
"Miss, you and Miss Jiang have such a good relationship," Fu Xia said happily. She also hoped that her daughter could have one or two true friends so that she wouldn't be ostracized or bullied in the capital.
Shen Yunjiao replied, "She has a good personality, is simple and kind, and I think we get along quite well."
Jiang Rong's family lived in Ya Yue Fang, which was not far from the Shen family mansion.
Shen Yunjiao sent a visiting card to the Jiang family before leaving home today.
She had just stepped down from the carriage when Jiang Rong, who had been waiting eagerly inside, immediately lifted her skirt and ran out happily.
"Slow down, watch your step," Shen Yun reminded her with a smile.
Jiang Rong took Shen Yunjiao's hand affectionately and said, "Sister-in-law, I've been waiting for you so anxiously."
The two of them slowly strolled into the house. Shen Yunjiao also encountered Jiang Rong's mother, Madam Xu. She gave a perfunctory greeting, but Madam Xu was surprisingly friendly and natural, constantly telling Jiang Rong to bring out the best food and toys to entertain her cousin-in-law.
Jiang Rong quickly said to her mother, "I have specially asked Dong'er to go to Haoweizhai on West Street to buy a lot of food. Mother, please let my cousin-in-law and I stay and talk for a while."
"Alright, alright, you're about the same age, so you have something to talk about." Madam Xu said with a smile, then turned to Shen Yunjiao, "The Crown Princess comes from a wealthy and powerful family. This girl is used to being wild. If she has any bad manners, you can use your status to teach her a lesson for me."
Shen Yun smiled and said, "I like Rong'er's personality the most. There's nothing offensive about it."
Only then did Madam Xu nod in relief. She glanced at her daughter Jun before leaving with her maid. There were many matters to attend to in the mansion, and she still had a long time to deal with.
Shen Yunjiao followed Jiang Rong back to the room. After placing the things on the table, she asked curiously, "Why is your mother's attitude so much better today?"
She has always been straightforward and speaks her mind, and thinking that Jiang Rong would definitely not mind her asking this question, she spoke directly.
Jiang Rong pouted and said, "Don't say anything. She's not after my cousin anymore, so naturally she won't target you."
"Oh?" Shen Yunjiao became interested. "Your mother gave up on marrying you into the Pei family? Why did she change her mind?"
"It's because I saw how badly your aunt bullied you, and I was afraid I'd be bullied even more if I went in," Jiang Rong said.
Shen Yunjiao laughed and said, "What she said makes a lot of sense. There are quite a few crazy women in the Pei family. You might not be able to beat any of them."
"But my mother won't let me marry my cousin, but she wants me to marry Yao Zhan instead. It makes me so angry!" Jiang Rong said dejectedly.
"Yao Zhan? Who is this person?" Shen Yunjiao asked curiously.
"It's General Yao, who just returned from a military campaign. He looks really fierce. When he came to my house yesterday, I secretly peeked at him from behind the screen and was almost scared to death." Jiang Rong still feels lingering fear when she thinks about it now.
Yao Zhan was much taller than the average man, and standing there he looked like a door god, strong and muscular.
This isn't the type of elegant gentleman Jiang Rong likes.
Seeing Jiang Rong on the verge of tears, Shen Yunjiao chuckled and tapped her head. "If you don't like it, just say so. You're Princess Pingning, don't you even have the right to choose the husband you want to marry?"
Jiang Rong sighed deeply, took a big gulp of tea, and said to Shen Yunjiao in a low voice, "Do you think I can just not get married? Although my parents love me, they love my brother even more and would rather use me to help him advance his career. I wasn't chosen by my cousin, nor by the Crown Prince, and I've reached the age to get married. It just so happens that Yao Zhan is my father's colleague and has the Emperor's deep trust, so my father made the decision for me and agreed to arrange a marriage with him without even asking me a question."
The more she talked, the sadder she became; even Jiang Rong, such a cheerful girl, was brought to tears.
Shen Yunjiao sighed. Even though she was the apple of her parents' eye, she could never compete with the status of the eldest son in the family. The status of women was so humble and passive.
In fact, not to mention Dayong, even in modern times, there are still many families that prefer sons to daughters.
She quickly wiped away Jiang Rong's tears with a handkerchief and comforted her, "Don't worry, if you don't want to get married, I can give you some advice."
Jiang Rong looked at Shen Yunjiao with teary eyes: "Does your sister-in-law have any ideas?"
"Since you haven't met yet, why don't you meet him beforehand and make him dislike you?" Shen Yunjiao smiled slyly.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Rong burst into even louder sobs: "I thought my cousin-in-law had some good ideas, but it would be better not to use them at all. You know, I'm so beautiful, what if that rough man sees me and falls for me? Wouldn't I be even more unable to get away then?"
"Don't be in such a hurry, let me explain," Shen Yunjiao said with a laugh.
She moved closer to Jiang Rong and whispered in Jiang Rong's ear, "Before you go, make yourself look ugly and scare him, wouldn't that be better?"
"But how can I make myself look ugly?" Jiang Rong asked hesitantly.
Shen Yunjiao patted her chest, "Leave it to me, I'll prepare a medicine for you that will make your face pockmarked the day before you go to see him."
"Will the freckles on my face go away?" Jiang Rong was still a little hesitant. It wasn't worth getting anything on her face for this.
"Don't worry, the effects of the medicine will only last for a day," Shen Yunjiao assured her.
Jiang Rong remained silent for a moment, then finally made up her mind and nodded emphatically.
Having promised Jiang Rong, Shen Yunjiao thought about going back to make the medicine as soon as possible, and she also asked Jiang Rong to stay at home and not go out for the next few days.
Sure enough, a few days later, Jiang Rong came to the Shen residence to find Shen Yunjiao.
Jiang Rong somehow got the news that Yao Zhan would be going to the training ground for drills tomorrow.
Jiang Rong wanted to take this opportunity to try her luck and see if she would run into Yao Zhan.
Shen Yunjiao took out the medicine she had prepared and carefully instructed, "This contains gardenia and ephedra. When these two things are mixed together, they will cause skin itching and then a large area of redness will appear. After you see Yao Zhan, go home and wash off this juice, and then apply some soothing and anti-inflammatory aloe vera gel."
Jiang Rong listened attentively, nodding repeatedly, and said, "I know what to do, thank you, cousin-in-law."
Shen Yunjiao still felt somewhat relieved. "How about I go with you tomorrow? I'll stay by your side and see what's going on. If Yao Zhan sees you like this and gets angry, I can protect you."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Rong's eyes crinkled into crescent moons with laughter: "Sister-in-law, you're so good to me."
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