“Isn’t the young master the same as always? How can you tell he’s unhappy?” the fourth wife asked.
"Oh my, what are you saying? A man taking a concubine should be different from usual, let alone a prince of this age," the third wife said, winking.
"Could it be because of the old lady? The young master has always been filial, but Concubine Na Liu has already disobeyed the old lady. If she makes a big fuss about it, people might say he is unfilial."
"And what's wrong with Madam? When Consort Liu came to the manor, I thought she would try to curry favor with Consort Liu, which would only cause trouble for the county princess. But she hasn't made a sound at all. It seems she has really let go and doesn't want to make things difficult for the young couple anymore."
"She's smart enough to know her place. She's also lucky. The heir is now the Vice Minister of Revenue, one of His Majesty's most trusted ministers. And his wife has been granted the title of County Princess. What can she do if she struggles? Can she really take the title away from Yunzhou?"
"Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things. I hope that the Marquis's mansion can be as peaceful and happy as it is this year."
Standing under the eaves at the entrance of the courtyard, Jiang Shuwan watched the two wives walk further and further away.
Looking up, the girl stared at the swirling snowflakes in the sky, a vast expanse of white that seemed to stretch on forever.
It started downloading yesterday and is downloading again today; it just keeps downloading.
If this continues, won't it turn into a snow disaster?
Jiang Shuwan hugged the hand warmer tightly with a heavy heart, while Qingxing opened an oil-paper umbrella beside her.
"Young Master, shall we escort the County Princess back?"
At the entrance of the main house, Pei Yanzhi had just finished listening to the old Marquis's reprimand. Upon seeing him, Yin Quan hurriedly came up and asked.
“No need today.” Pei Yanzhi shook his head, staring at Jiang Shuwan at the courtyard gate.
"Shall we walk behind the county princess?"
Yin Quan suggested that since Pei Yanzhi didn't speak this time, he should take it as tacit agreement. He then gave a signal, and several maids immediately went over to light lamps for Jiang Shuwan.
Four maids led the way with lanterns, with Jiang Shuwan walking in front and Pei Yanzhi following behind her.
However, after walking only a few steps, Jiang Shuwan suddenly stopped.
In the wind and snow, she suddenly turned around.
Amidst the falling snowflakes, the girl's face was as bright and beautiful as the moon. She held a hand warmer in her hands, her eyes smiling as she looked at him with clear, bright eyes.
"Why don't you light a lamp?" she asked softly, her whole being exuding an indescribable gentleness.
"..."
Many years later, Pei Yanzhi still couldn't forget this scene.
On a dark night with heavy snow falling, someone asked him why he didn't light a lamp.
He no longer used a lamp when traveling in the dark.
He paused for a moment, then lowered his gaze. "I can see it."
Jiang Shuwan tilted her head slightly, feeling that there was something more to his words than what she meant, but she didn't think much of it and simply gave Pei Yanzhi two lantern-carrying maids.
Four lights, divided into two, moved forward at a constant speed, one in front of the other.
Soon they arrived at Liu Yunyan's courtyard, which was brightly lit and had flickering red candles. Liu Yunyan was officially taken in as a guest, and she still lived in her old courtyard, but many of the rules had changed.
On a snowy day, Granny Xia stood guard at the courtyard gate, looking out. When she saw Pei Yanzhi passing by, she quickly came to greet him.
"This servant greets Your Highness. The young lady is waiting for you."
Granny Xia smiled and said, but the next moment she saw Jiang Shuwan, her expression changed and she squatted down and bowed deeply, "Greetings, County Princess."
She had always been respectful to Jiang Shuwan, but ever since Jiang Shuwan was granted the title of county princess, she knew what was in Jiang Shuwan's heart and dared not neglect the proper etiquette.
"Um."
Jiang Shuwan nodded slightly to her, then walked forward while whispering to Qingxing.
Of the four lights, only two followed her; the other two followed Pei Yanzhi as he turned into Liu Yunyan's courtyard.
Unlike my previous life.
Despite the old lady's attempts to stop her, Liu Yunyan finally entered the Marquis's mansion, albeit half a year later.
"Who are you? Waiting outside in this cold weather, as if you're afraid the young master won't come? Today is Consort Liu's wedding night. I think Granny Xia is doing this on purpose. She knows the young lady will be passing by, so she's showing off to you."
As soon as she returned to the house, Qingxing became so angry that she started throwing things around.
Jiang Shuwan sat on the chaise longue without speaking. She beckoned to Xiao Tao, "Has the head maid sent anyone over?"
"No, Miss," Xiao Tao said, wiping Jiang Shuwan's hands with a hot towel and asking a maid to bring her hot water to soak her feet, but Jiang Shuwan refused.
She felt like something had happened today.
Qingxing hurriedly ran over, her eyes wide as saucers.
"Miss, are you referring to Madam's side..."
Qingxing suddenly remembered the news that the head nanny had sent back a few days ago. At first, it was just about what Wen Shi ate and drank, but later, especially in the last few days, the news became more and more strange, such as what nightmare Wen Shi had a few days ago.
The nightmare was so terrifying that Wen Shi curled up in the corner of the bed, crying and trembling, before laughing again.
He was acting like a madman, crying and laughing at the same time, muttering things like "I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid..."
The Wen family calmed down for a few more days afterward.
Then came the New Year. Besides the Wen family's maternal family, many people also came to pay their respects to the Wen family.
These were all friends of the Wen family. Some gave generous gifts while others gave meager ones, which angered the Wen family so much that they tore off several strings of Buddhist prayer beads and gritted their teeth.
However, none of that matters. The most important thing is that a group of servants claiming to be from the Wen family's maternal home came to the Marquis's residence several times, bringing some ordinary New Year's gifts that were neither valuable nor cheap.
They made several trips back and forth, it seems like it was for the Wen family to marry off their daughter, and Madam Wen even went back to her parents' home for a banquet.
Later, these people came again, saying that it was a gift from the son-in-law's side, and that each relative and elder would receive a copy, which Wen accepted.
But according to the head maid, the last group of people to arrive were not from the Wen family.
The head maid was a servant born into the Wen family and a confidante of the Wen family. The Wen family took her everywhere they went. The fact that the Wen family cared so much about someone she didn't know was itself strange.
Moreover, from that day on, Wen rarely slept at night, and even stayed awake until dawn every night, then took naps during the day. With such sufficient sleep, others could not tell that he was not sleeping well.
However, logically speaking, when a person's biological clock is suddenly reversed, they will inevitably feel listless. But Wen Shi rarely showed any signs of fatigue. Instead, his whole body was filled with an excitement and tension that could not be described in words.
It felt like something was about to happen, or more precisely, she was about to do something, so she couldn't calm down.
—The head maid had never seen Wen Shi in such a state before.
So they sent people over to deliver messages for several days in a row.
During dinner tonight, Wen's condition was even more frantic than in the past few days. If Wen really wants to do something, it will probably be tonight.
Looking at the snowflakes outside, Jiang Shuwan was in no hurry to wash up.
Soon, it got later and later, and it got darker and darker.
"Miss, it's almost midnight..."
Just when Jiang Shuwan thought the day was about to end, Xiao Tao came running in.
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