It would not sound good to tell others that her daughter had not returned from the palace all night, so Jiang did not even tell her family.

Wei Hanzhang knew it well, so he smiled and made up an excuse. He glanced at his cousins ​​one by one and asked with concern, "It's been a bumpy ride for several months. Is everyone okay?"

Wan was stunned for a moment, then she forced a smile and said, "Except for your nephew who was young and unlucky and didn't make it back safely, all of us are fine."

Xiao Boqian had informed her in advance, so although Wei Hanzhang was also sad, she did not lose her composure as she did in the palace. Upon hearing this, she just pursed her lips slightly and said a few words of comfort.

But she was really not good at comforting people. She thought of something and frowned slightly. She took off the palace badge and handed it to Madam Zhou, and ordered: "Take this badge to the Imperial Hospital and ask an imperial physician to come to your house."

Wan was startled and hurriedly advised: "The palace doctor has already examined the pulse, Ranran does not need to trouble the masters of the Imperial Hospital."

"You have suffered for several months, and your body is weak. Minor chronic diseases may not be obvious now, but they are very likely to leave consequences, which will affect you in the future. It is not too much to be careful." Wei Hanzhang insisted: "Let's ask the imperial physician to come."

"Ranran is right to be worried. Sister-in-law, you don't have to be so cautious." Jiang knew her eldest sister-in-law's concerns and gave her some advice.

Nanny Zhou took the palace card, bowed slightly, and then left.

The hall fell silent for a moment. Madam Jiang patted the back of her granddaughter's hand and said, "You sisters have a deep bond. You must have a lot to talk about after not seeing each other for a few months. You don't have to stay here. Go out and play."

Wei Hanzhang had already seen the three sisters Jiang Zhiqin, Jiang Zhiqi, and Jiang Zhixue sitting in the corner. Upon hearing what happened, the sisters looked at each other, said goodbye to their elders, and left.

Nearly half a year later, the sisters finally got together again, but their circumstances were completely different.

Just after leaving the main courtyard and taking a few steps, the two sisters Jiang Zhiqin and Jiang Zhiqi bowed to Wei Hanzhang and thanked him solemnly.

Wei Hanzhang hurriedly helped the girl up and frowned, saying, "We are all sisters, why should we be so polite?"

Jiang Zhiqin smiled slightly: "A favor is a favor. How can it be taken for granted just because we are sisters?"

"Sister is right. It's all thanks to you, Ranran, that we can return to Beijing safely from Lingnan this time." Thinking of the hardships he had to endure along the way, Jiang Zhiqi's eyes were filled with tears. "My parents said that you are our family's great benefactor."

“……”Wei Hanzhang was silent. Calling him a great benefactor was a bit too embarrassing.

But when she thought about it, if it wasn't for the Jiang family, she would never have gotten close to the Crown Prince in the first place. To be honest, she deserved to be the benefactor of the Jiang family.

However, the Jiang family also helped her in raising her.

The weather was clear and the breeze was gentle. Jiang Zhiqi suggested that they make tea around the stove among the flowers in the backyard.

The cousins ​​grew up together and had a deep affection for each other, but the unfamiliarity after not seeing each other for a few months disappeared in a short while.

They all talked about their experiences in the past few months.

Jiang Zhiqi was good at talking, and he told him everything that happened during his exile. Jiang Zhixue, who was a bit introverted, changed her expression and covered her chest, saying "that was a close call".

She poured tea for each of the sisters and said softly, "God has mercy on us sisters. We can gather together again to enjoy tea leisurely. This is the end of all hardships. Let us use tea instead of wine to toast our past selves."

"That's right," Wei Hanzhang said with a smile, holding the teacup, "Let's just regard the past as a calamity. We can only wait and see what happens in the future."

She found that her third cousin had really changed a lot. She used to be so sensitive and stingy, but now she could persuade others.

Jiang Zhiqi put down his teacup, looked at his cousin, and said with concern: "Sanniang, your temperament has changed a lot."

"Don't worry about me, second sister," Jiang Zhixue said, "I used to care too much about what others think. Since my cousin broke off the engagement, I have finally come to my senses. There is nothing in this world worth making things difficult for ourselves."

"If I were still as stubborn as before, I would be too ashamed to face people after the engagement was broken off."

Even hanging with a rope is not impossible.

After all, her parents were so worried during that period.

"I also found that it is better to stand in a high position so that others will truly respect you and dare not look down on you, rather than being careful in everything to gain praise from others."

As if she had thought of something, she smiled sarcastically: "Do you know that after returning to Xuzhou from the capital, my maternal grandfather's family sent someone to cancel the engagement, fearing that we, the Jiang family, would be the ones to take advantage of us."

"But on the afternoon of the day when the imperial edict of conferring the title arrived, my uncle and cousin, who had not even shown up to cancel the engagement, knocked on the door of the Jiang residence, wanting to continue the engagement. Whenever I think of this, I can't help but want to laugh."

Wei Hanzhang had heard her talk about this before, so he held her hand and said gently, "Don't think about it. Since they are such a family, it is a blessing that we didn't marry into their family."

Jiang Zhiqi had just returned today and had just heard about his cousin's affairs, so he said, "Yeah, it doesn't matter if the engagement is cancelled. I mean, with your maternal family background, you can easily find someone who is much better than him in the capital."

The second wife of the Jiang family was born in a merchant family in Xuzhou. Marrying into the Jiang family was considered marrying up. If the eldest daughter had not been unable to raise a son, she would not have let her daughter marry back into a family of lower status. Unexpectedly, by some strange combination of circumstances, after going around in circles, she was actually rejected.

In fact, Jiang Zhiqi wanted to say that businessmen are profit-seeking and forget about morality, so it is not surprising that they do such things.

But when the words came to his lips, he remembered what happened to his own sister.

The Zhao family is a real official family, not much worse than the Gu family in Xuzhou. Didn’t they also divorce their bride?

Here, Wei Hanzhang also thought of the Zhao family. As early as a few months ago, she met Zhao Junsheng by chance in a teahouse. At that time, the other party did not know that the Jiang family had been conferred a title. He only knew that she would be the future crown princess, so he shamelessly asked about Jiang Zhiqin.

When the Jiang family was conferred the title and returned to Beijing, the Zhao family naturally learned the news. During this period, she came to the Jiang family many times and met the Zhao father and son several times. She always came to visit with generous gifts to ease the relationship between the two families.

Compared to the officialdom where people become unpopular after retirement, a family that can preserve the title for three generations is certainly more prestigious, not to mention that the Jiang family has a granddaughter who has been raised at home since childhood and will soon become the queen.

The Jiang family was about to become the new elite in Beijing, but the Zhao family found that not only did they regret the marriage, but they also offended the people deeply.

How can this be done! If I offend the Jiang family, wouldn't that be the same as offending the future queen?

Although such behavior is indeed embarrassing, in many cases, the family's future is more important than face.

As for the Jiang family, Mrs. Jiang's last name was Zhao after all, so she couldn't drive her nephew and nephew's grandson out. But she remembered how cold they were to her granddaughter, so she couldn't respond warmly.

The Jiang family, from top to bottom, treated the father and son indifferently and were too lazy to be polite to them. However, the Zhao family's father and son were completely unaware of this and visited them every now and then, obviously trying to save the marriage.

(End of this chapter)