Jiang Shuwan: "..."
Silly child, they're just using you as a stepping stone; they don't even look at Jia Qingzhou.
To be honest, Aunt Chen and Chen Susu were really bad people, but they did have some discernment. They did their best to get close to the eldest son of the Jia family, while giving no attention to the second son, Jia Qingzhou.
Sun Wanwan, that simpleton, was completely oblivious to the intentions of the mother and daughter.
On the other side, after hearing Sun Wanwan's words, Madam Sun was speechless.
Her daughter is so naive.
However, from her words, Madam Sun also realized that Chen Susu was deliberately guiding her daughter to look at Jia Qingzhou and hopefully fall in love with him.
So, can she still defend her niece?
Thinking about it, Madam Sun felt extremely disappointed.
While in the tea room, Jiang Shuwan told her two things. One was that Jia Qingzhou had many beautiful concubines and often frequented brothels, having unclear and ambiguous relationships with the top courtesans.
The two poems and articles that made him famous came from brothels.
Another matter was Chen Susu's marriage proposal to the eldest son of the Jia family.
The eldest son of the Jia family has now entered the imperial court as an official and will soon be sent out to gain experience. All of the Jia family's resources are concentrated on this eldest son.
The Chen family wanted to arrange a marriage with them, but the Chen family held low official positions and had little influence, so the Jia family looked down on them. Therefore, they introduced the Sun family to Jia Qingzhou for a marriage proposal...
Isn't this just using them as a favor?
While in the carriage, Madam Sun wanted to ask Aunt Chen how she treated her, and whether she would ever treat her own sisters like this.
What role did Chen Susu play in all of this, and did she help her mother deceive them?
Now there's no need to ask anymore. Just from Sun Wanwan's words, it's clear that Chen Susu is definitely her mother's accomplice. For her own future, she used the Sun family and Wanwan's marriage to curry favor.
Ironically, over the years, seeing that her brother-in-law's official position was not high and his family was not very wealthy, she often gave them financial assistance.
Aunt Chen would come to the Sun family and eat and take things, and she never said a word of refusal.
She also loved Chen Susu, her only niece, dearly. She would prepare a copy of everything Sun Wanwan had for Chen Susu, not wanting to make her feel wronged.
Unexpectedly, the person didn't remember any of the feelings at all.
They just treated her like a sucker.
It's both hateful and infuriating.
She and Aunt Chen were sisters, born of the same mother. They grew up together, making knots, embroidering, chasing butterflies, and learning to manage the household together.
She cried her eyes out when she got married, vowing to be best friends for life, and that even after they got married, the two sisters would support each other and live a good life together.
As time goes by, those vows still echo in our ears, but reality has changed everything.
Madam Sun was disheartened. It turned out that when Jiang Shuwan told her that Jia Qingzhou had concubines and was also visiting prostitutes, she was still trying to excuse Aunt Chen, believing that she had also been deceived.
When she learned that Chen Susu was arranging a marriage between her and Jia Da Gongzi, she could no longer deceive herself.
And there's also his niece, Chen Susu...
"No, no, I didn't fancy Jia Qingzhou. I just think that Young Master Qingzhou is refined and composed, and a perfect match for my cousin..."
Seeing that Chen Susu was still causing trouble, Madam Sun sneered, "Since Susu thinks Young Master Qingzhou is good, and you are not yet married, why don't you two discuss it? Maybe it's a good match. Our Sun family is a rough and unruly family, so is a military family more suitable for us?"
"Someone, show them out!"
After saying this, Madam Sun had her servants drive away Aunt Chen and Chen Susu, and she would not agree to any marriage proposals from the Jia family, no matter what they said.
She even went back to her parents' home and asked the elders to tell them about Aunt Chen's scheme against her, which resulted in Aunt Chen being rejected by her own family as well.
Aunt Chen even went to the Sun residence to make a scene, standing at the door and cursing Madam Sun.
"You're like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, not recognizing a kind heart. You're so short-sighted. You should just marry into the Lu family. Don't even mention that the Lu family only produced one martial arts scholar. Even if he passed the martial arts championship, it would be useless. Military officials can never compare to civil officials. There's no future in it. Your daughter's life is ruined."
When Aunt Chen came to scold them, the martial arts examination had already ended. Lu Shaogan, just like in his previous life, ranked third and his name was revealed. The Lu and Sun families were overjoyed. The two families exchanged betrothal gifts and arranged the marriage according to their previous agreement.
Aunt Chen's scolding offended all the military officers, her husband was impeached by the censor, and her marriage to the eldest son of the Jia family was completely called off.
Aunt Chen's efforts were in vain, and the Lu family also suffered.
Originally, Lu Shaogan was both a top scholar and engaged, a double celebration for his family. But after Aunt Chen's commotion, Lu Shaogan's temper flared up. He thought, "What does it mean that a military officer has no future? What does it mean that Sun Wanwan's life will be ruined if she marries him?"
He knew that military officers had fewer opportunities for advancement than civil officials, and even the military examinations were repeatedly postponed, making them less important than the civil examinations.
But he never felt inferior to others.
Despite Aunt Chen's disdain for him, he was determined to impress Aunt Sun, especially the scholars in the court, and show them the courage of a military officer.
Just after the martial arts examination, the emperor bestowed a banquet upon him, and he feasted with all the martial arts candidates. Lu Shaogan took the opportunity to propose that he should guard the border for His Majesty.
“Wan’er, what should we do? The Emperor has already agreed. Lu Shaogan will be going to the border after the wedding in five days.”
When Madam Sun came to find Jiang Shuwan, Jiang Shuwan was also taken aback.
This Lu Shaogan is indeed a man of courage and integrity.
In the previous life, the marriage between the Sun and Lu families fell through. The Sun family was engaged to the Jia family. Madam Lu cried and complained that the Lu family's social status was too low, the future of military officers was bleak, and good marriage opportunities would not fall into their laps. Lu Shaogan was aroused and also volunteered to go to the border.
In recent years, there have been no major battles on the border, only small waves of light cavalry invading and robbing the people of their grain and livestock.
This year is different from usual. This winter is cold and long. Many cattle and sheep of the northern tribes have died. Spring is also unseasonable, and there is no food. The Great Jing Kingdom is powerful. Although some military officers have been reduced in recent years, tens of thousands of soldiers are still stationed in important border areas. The tribes are scattered and know that they are no match for the Great Jing Kingdom. So they have united like never before and launched a large-scale attack on the northern border.
Lu Shaogan arrived at the perfect time, and rose through the ranks extremely quickly, making meritorious contributions along the way.
Moreover, the garrison commander at the time was Sun Wanwan's father.
In their previous life, the two, who almost became father-in-law and son-in-law, guarded the border and fought bravely against the enemy, earning praise from the soldiers and civilians. Later, a traitor appeared in the army, and the Jing army suffered a great defeat, even allowing the foreign tribes to cross the border. Although General Sun tried his best to turn the tide, Lu Shaogan still died on the battlefield, and General Sun even lost both legs.
In his previous life, Lu Shaogan was a hero, a man of great achievements. He was well-versed in military strategy and possessed both courage and wisdom, which is why Jiang Shuwan wanted to do everything in her power to arrange his marriage to Sun Wanwan.
Sun Wanwan is naive; if you find her someone equally naive, the couple will be schemed against and killed.
Lu Shaogan is intelligent, resourceful, and of good character; he is a perfect match for you.
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