Seeing that Granny Tian had left, Jiang Yuwei put down the broom, sat down next to Aunt Ning, and took Aunt Ning's hand, saying:
“Auntie, I shouldn’t be saying this, but the village head lets you have your way. Ning Chen and Ning Qiu are both obedient children. If you can’t distinguish right from wrong, your family will be torn apart by these malicious relatives sooner or later. Do you really want to see Ning Qiu and Ning Chen stuck in this small place of Ningjia Village for the rest of their lives, just like you and the village head, farming and raising ducks, doing this for the rest of their lives?”
Aunt Ning shook her head upon hearing this and said:
“I don’t want them to. I hope they can be successful and go out into the world.”
Jiang Yuwei patted Aunt Ning's hand and smiled:
“You are their mother, of course you want them to be well, but others may not. For example, this Granny Tian is not well-intentioned. Are you just willing to let her manipulate you? If she causes trouble tonight, and Aunt Zhou's family really leaves Ningwu and Ningqiu in Ningjia Village, is that the result you want?”
Aunt Ning lowered her head and sighed:
“I didn’t want this to happen, but it was my sister. She insisted on dragging me into this to reason with her, and I couldn’t stop her.”
Jiang Yuwei patted Aunt Ning on the back and smiled:
"Remember how I scared her with the broom just now? If she comes to your house to cause trouble again, just kick her out without saying a word. Who does she think she is, trying to be the boss in your house? If you're afraid of her, she'll only take advantage of you. Just make a scene once, and I guarantee she won't dare to set foot in your house again!"
Hearing this, Ning Qiu quickly sat down next to Aunt Ning, took her hand, and said:
“Mother, Sister Yuwei is right. If she dares to cause trouble at our house again, you should deal with her like this. We are about to leave. If you can’t stand up for yourself at home and always let others bully you, how can I leave in peace?”
Hearing her daughter's words, Aunt Ning spoke with tears in her eyes:
"Ningqiu, Mother knows. I was wrong before. From now on, I will follow your sister Yuwei's example and drive away all those malicious relatives. Then we can live our own little life."
Seeing that her mother had finally come to her senses, Ningqiu quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped away her tears.
Aunt Ning smiled and said:
"Alright, I've delivered the rations to you. I'm heading back now. You guys get ready."
After saying that, Aunt Ning got up and left. Ning Qiu was reluctant to see her off and watched her for a long time before returning to the courtyard.
Jiang Yuwei looked at Aunt Zhou and said:
"Aunt Zhou, I thought I'd come and see if you've finished everything here. I'll come and help you."
Aunt Zhou quickly waved her hand and said:
"We've finished everything, Yuwei. Thank you so much for coming over tonight, otherwise, we really wouldn't have been able to reason with that old woman Tian."
Jiang Yuwei smiled and said:
"Now that you've finished your work, you should get some rest. In the future, don't give Granny Tian a kind look. If there's nothing else here, I'll head back first. I'll go back and discuss it. Let's try to set off tomorrow morning; things can get complicated if we wait too long."
Aunt Zhou nodded quickly upon hearing this:
"Okay, Yuwei, you can make the arrangements. We'll all listen to you."
Jiang Yuwei said goodbye to Aunt Zhou and returned to the courtyard. At this time, Wang Ma and Daya had prepared the dry food and dried meat. Ning Daya was packing the dried meat with Ning Wan.
Jiang Yuwei went to the backyard to check on the sausages, which were almost smoked. She then went to the front yard to call Ning Huaizhi and Ning Zixuan to replace Yun Qing and Ning Zhao for a while.
Jiang Yuwei carefully stored the dried steamed buns, flatbreads, and dumplings in her spatial storage, leaving only enough food for three to five days to carry with her.
Seeing that the dried meat was packed, Jiang Yuwei hurriedly said to Daya and Ning Wan:
"You all should go back to your rooms and get some rest. We'll set off early tomorrow morning."
Then Jiang Yuwei looked at Liu and gestured for her to go back to her room to sleep.
Seeing that everyone in the courtyard had gone back to their rooms to sleep, Wang Ma walked up to Jiang Yuwei and whispered:
"Yuwei, shall we leave tomorrow?"
Jiang Yuwei nodded and said:
"I've arranged everything here, and we've bought all the things we needed for the journey. I think we shouldn't delay any longer, lest something unexpected happens."
Upon hearing this, Wang Ma nodded hurriedly and said:
"Yes, let's leave as soon as possible so we can get to the capital sooner. I'm really afraid the princess won't be able to hold on until we get back. I'll go and call Granny Chen and the others to set off first thing tomorrow morning."
Jiang Yuwei nodded, and just as she turned to go inside, Wang Ma grabbed her arm and whispered:
"Um, Yuwei, I shouldn't be telling you this, but I'm really uneasy. I thought you've been in Ningjia Village for so long, and you know the young master's temperament, as well as Sun Shi and Xu Qianqian. I don't trust anyone else, so I can only tell you."
Jiang Yuwei turned to look at Wang Ma and smiled:
"Aunt Wang, ask whatever you want. I'll tell you everything I know."
Seeing this, Wang Ma immediately pulled Jiang Yuwei to sit down at the stone table and said worriedly:
“Yuwei, you know that the most important thing for our Jingwang Mansion is its reputation. Sun Shi is alright, at least she is innocent. But Xu Qianqian is really not presentable. I’m afraid that if we bring her back like this, the Princess Consort won’t be able to handle it.”
Jiang Yuwei naturally understood what Wang Ma was thinking, so she went along with Wang Ma's words and spoke:
“Wang Ma, I know you’re caught in the middle, but you don’t need to worry too much. Xu Qianqian and Ning Chunlin aren’t married yet, right? Even if Xu Qianqian comes to the capital with us now, it won’t be proper for her to enter the Prince’s mansion. Just find her a small courtyard to live in for now, and we can make plans later. Perhaps once Ning Chunlin has seen the world, his heart won’t be on Xu Qianqian anymore.”
Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, Wang Ma suddenly understood and quickly nodded with a smile:
“Good, good, that’s a good idea. But, Sun’s status really doesn’t deserve the title of the principal wife. If the Princess brings her to the banquet, wouldn’t that be embarrassing?”
As she spoke, Wang Ma looked at Jiang Yuwei with some concern, waiting for her to give her some advice.
Jiang Yuwei felt that Wang Ma was worrying too much. While she was indeed loyal to the princess, she was overstepping her bounds by making decisions about her master's affairs without consulting him.
Thinking this through, Jiang Yuwei smiled faintly:
“It’s an undeniable fact that Madam Sun is Ning Chunlin’s legal wife. Moreover, Madam Sun has given birth to a daughter for Ning Chunlin. Even if you want to kick her out, you can’t. You can’t let the descendants of the Prince’s Mansion wander outside. Besides, Madam Wang, you don’t need to worry too much about things that haven’t happened yet. Didn’t you say that the Princess Consort’s health is failing? How could she have the strength to attend any banquets?”
As she spoke, Jiang Yuwei stood up, looked at Wang Ma, and continued:
"If the masters in the Prince's Mansion really disapprove of Madam Sun's behavior, they will certainly have ways to deal with it. At most, they can find Ning Chunlin a decent second wife, or take a few more obedient concubines to suppress Madam Sun's arrogance. In any case, these are not things we should worry about. If there's nothing else, we should get some rest. We have to get up early tomorrow to travel."
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