Jiang Junjing seemed very irritable; he knew the two were about to argue again.
He patted his chest patiently and confidently, saying, "Auntie, don't worry about that. There are plenty of girls who like me. Every time I go out to eat with someone, there are girls who express their admiration for me."
Li Guiqie was extremely disdainful of him. She was not unaware of this matter; she had even witnessed firsthand how those girls were crazy about him.
However, these were not the girls she wanted. Those who publicly expressed their admiration for him were all girls from ordinary families, or at most daughters of merchants. Some even threw themselves at him, and some of them were quite beautiful, even stunningly beautiful.
But Consort Li always wanted Jiang Junjing to marry a daughter from a prominent family, even if she wasn't from one of the four great families, a daughter from an ordinary noble family would be fine.
Although her son was born into a noble family, being the son of the Jiang family, one of the four great families, no matter how noble he was, he was still an illegitimate son and a merchant, without a proper job in the imperial court.
As the saying goes, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants are the lowest class of people. Even if you are incredibly wealthy, you are still considered inferior.
This is a pain that will never fade in Li Guifei's heart.
Given the power and influence of the Jiang family, it wouldn't be difficult for Jiang Junjing to secure a position in the imperial court; he also possessed the talent to do so.
Jiang Junjing, however, disliked officialdom and preferred to do business rather than serve in the government. He preferred a carefree and unrestrained life.
He was a good student, but he refused to become an official.
Upon hearing such words, Li Guifei became angry and scolded her son: "What kind of lowly girls are those? They don't even deserve to be your concubines. Don't give me this nonsense. Let me tell you, this Wusun Yayue, you might be interested for a few days, but you absolutely cannot keep her by your side long-term. Otherwise, you won't even be able to find a decent wife. Look at your elder brother, he's engaged to the eldest daughter of the Feng family as his principal wife, isn't that a perfect match?"
Jiang Junjing could not agree with this view. He was indignant and instinctively wanted to refute it, but he tried his best to appear calm: "I am different from him. He is an official in the court with a prominent status. He is the commander of the Imperial Guard, known to everyone, and the God of War General personally appointed by the Emperor. He has to choose a wife who matches his status."
He chuckled and said, "I'm different. I'm just a businessman, full of money. I just need to marry a well-educated, dignified, and beautiful woman. I don't need her to have a high social status. I just need her to live a peaceful life."
Li Guiqie was so angry she wanted to hit someone: "Why can't I reason with you? What will it take for you to listen to me? You have to marry someone from a family of equal social standing, you know? It's not like any Tom, Dick, or Harry with a bit of looks can be good enough for you."
Jiang Junjing was also quite helpless; he didn't have that ambition: "Auntie, I'm not the eldest brother, so you..."
Concubine Li stood up angrily: "No! You have no say in this! Once your elder brother is married, I will immediately arrange your marriage. You better behave yourself these days."
The two disagreed and started arguing again.
Knowing he couldn't persuade Consort Li, Jiang Junjing simply kept quiet until she finished speaking before leaving.
Jiang Junjing found some high-quality ointment for Wusun Yayue and applied it to her face.
This was the first time Wusun Yayue had been treated with such care after being beaten. She was deeply moved and didn't feel that Jiang Junjing was responsible for the disaster. She had no resentment towards him whatsoever.
But Ulanbu and Bato had different ideas. They felt that there were no good people in the Jiang family, especially Concubine Li, who was simply too wicked.
The two discussed it and decided to scare Li Guifei that night.
But after sunset, the two of them floated to Li Guifei's courtyard. As soon as they entered the house, they discovered that Li Guifei had a protective talisman. Before they could even get close, they were almost scattered by the golden light.
There was no other option but to give up.
Wen Zhujun had heard during the day that Wusun Yayue had been beaten in the garden, so she paid attention to the whereabouts of Ulanbu and Bato.
She was very disappointed when she realized that the two men couldn't do anything to Consort Li.
These two are just cowards. Otherwise, even after being dead for so many years, they could have helped their daughter deal with those men out of sheer resentment. But they've done nothing all these years and can only watch Wusun Yayue suffer.
She complained to Yuan Qi, "These two, really... what can I say? No wonder you let them wander around in the world, did you know they couldn't do anything about it?"
Yuan Qi smiled and said, "Some people are kind their whole lives, but if you ask them to do bad things, they can't do it. They would rather suffer injustice themselves than dare to fight against evil forces. You can also interpret this as being spineless."
Wen Zhujun was speechless: "Anyway, I can't stand it."
The next day, Yuan Qi was preparing to refine medicine and was sorting and moving the medicinal herbs from the courtyard into the house when Green Bamboo came in from outside and started gossiping with her: "Miss, His Highness the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince have arrived. The Fourth Miss and the Second Young Master are with them. Would you like to go and see them?"
Yuan Qi refused outright: "I'm not going. If you want to watch the show, then go ahead."
Green Bamboo happily walked away.
In the front hall, Crown Prince Xiao Yi and Fifth Prince Xiao Zhen were discussing the dragon boat race with Jiang Junjing.
Jiang Bailu and Jiang Songlu personally served tea to the two princes. Jiang Songlu, in particular, was eager to impress Xiao Zhen, as she also wanted to marry into the royal family like Jiang Bailu.
The Fifth Prince, Xiao Zhen, was a few months older than the Crown Prince and was the son of Consort Zheng. The two were about the same age and had played and studied together since childhood. Xiao Yi had long regarded Xiao Zhen as his supporter, so he would take him along for any important matters and would also strongly support him in any matter.
Therefore, the two of them came together today.
Consort Zheng was from the south and loved watching dragon boat races. Therefore, this dragon boat race was proposed by Consort Zheng and organized by Xiao Zhen.
All the dragon boats were provided and decorated by Jiang Junjing.
However, the participating teams had to organize their own personnel, and the prizes for the winning contestants were provided by Zheng Shufei and Xiao Zhen.
Jiang Junjing is a wealthy man, and this amount of money is nothing to him. Spending a little money can make him known to more people, and supporting Xiao Yi and Xiao Zhen will also help him expand his business. He is happy to do this.
Xiao Zhen expressed his admiration and gratitude to Jiang Junjing: "There are over a hundred teams that have signed up for the competition this time, and a lot of supplies are needed. Thanks to your generous donation, Second Young Master, the dragon boat race can proceed smoothly. May I ask who you plan to team up with?"
As the heir apparent, Crown Prince Xiao Yi could not possibly participate in the competition.
Jiang Junjing had already thought about it: "How about I team up with the Fifth Prince?"
Xiao Zhen laughed heartily: "I couldn't be happier!"
Green Bamboo vividly described what she had seen to Yuan Qi: "Miss, the Fifth Prince is very handsome, and he is also very gentle. You should go and see him too."
Wen Zhujun smiled and looked at her: "Go and take a look."
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