“Mother…I…” Jiang Yaojie looked at Jiang Ling, whose face was tense, opened his mouth but did not say anything.
"Do you know you were wrong?" Jiang Ling asked, sitting next to Jiang Yaojie and looking at his restrained appearance.
“I…” Jiang Yaojie nodded slightly with his head drooping without saying a word.
"Alright, then let me ask you, what did you do wrong?" Jiang Ling continued to press.
"This..." Jiang Yaojie was shocked. His face was pale, he bit his lip tightly, and even large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. It was easy to see that Jiang Yaojie was very nervous at this moment.
Jiang Ling didn't speak, but poured a cup of tea and looked at the reserved Jiang Yaojie in front of her. Jiang Yaojie hesitated for a long time before finally managing to say, "I... I shouldn't have doubted my sister, and I shouldn't have lost my temper with her..."
At this point, Jiang Yaojie stopped talking, only occasionally glancing at Jiang Ling. Unfortunately, Jiang Ling's face remained tense, and Jiang Yaojie couldn't figure out what she was thinking at all.
An awkward silence spread through the room, and the atmosphere became extremely strange. Even Jiang Zhishan, who wanted to go inside to get something, was startled by the atmosphere and fled before she could even open the bedroom door.
Jiang Ling was neither annoyed nor impatient; she simply drank her tea while watching Jiang Yaojie.
Jiang Yaojie was confused and a little scared. He was confused because he couldn't figure out what his mother was thinking, and scared because he wondered if his mother would give him a good beating later.
Thinking of this, Jiang Yaojie decided to apologize first. He couldn't bear it if his mother angered him and beat him like she had beaten his grandmother before.
“Mother, I…I was wrong…” Jiang Yaojie repeated once again.
Jiang Ling's head throbbed when she heard Jiang Yaojie's dry apology. The reason she called Jiang Yaojie into the house was not to make him apologize, but to make him realize his mistake. Otherwise, what's the use of such a dry apology?
"Yaojie, that's not what I wanted to hear..." Jiang Ling sighed helplessly.
"Then...then what do you want to hear, Mother? Tell me, and I'll definitely pay attention in the future!" Jiang Yaojie asked earnestly.
"Sigh..." Jiang Ling sighed helplessly again. This time she really regretted it. If she had known she would transmigrate here, she would have simply read more books on parenting or romance. After all, she was completely clueless about both of these things in modern times.
Fortunately, Jiang Ling, with the mindset of "even if I haven't eaten pork, I've still seen pigs run," recalled her best friend's previous knowledge about dating and parenting and said, "It's not about what I want to hear, but rather, where exactly do you think things went wrong in this matter?"
"I... Mother, I don't think I should have lost my temper with my sister, but I don't know why, when I saw that hairpin on my sister's head, I lost all my rationality! I... I don't know why I was like this!" At this moment, Jiang Yaojie was like a child who had done something wrong and was at a loss. He scratched his head and said.
"Yaojie, what do you think of Miss Shen?" Jiang Ling asked bluntly.
"Huh? What? What's wrong?" Jiang Yaojie didn't expect Jiang Ling to ask such a question, and immediately blushed. He was already reserved, but now he seemed even more flustered.
Judging from Jiang Yaojie's facial expression, Jiang Ling guessed most of it, but Jiang Yaojie still needed to say it himself. Fortunately, Jiang Ling did not rush him and patiently waited for Jiang Yaojie's answer.
“I…I think she’s great. I…I don’t know why, but I just can’t decide what to do when I see her. Mother…I…” Jiang Yaojie was already blushing by the end.
Hearing Jiang Yaojie say this, Jiang Ling confirmed her suspicions. She hesitated for a moment and then said, "Yaojie, I know you're not young anymore, but there are some things I need to make clear to you. Miss Shen's family is very prominent. Although our family isn't lacking in anything, compared to them, we're just a small family. What if—and I mean just if—Miss Shen's father doesn't agree? What will you do then?"
“I…” Jiang Yaojie felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him when he heard Jiang Ling’s words. Yes, he had never considered these questions. He only knew that someone had inexplicably entered his heart, and this person would occasionally appear in his dreams. This person was Shen Congxin, who lived at home.
"Then...can I ask Master Shen for help?" Jiang Yaojie asked tentatively.
"What if Master Shen doesn't agree? What if your pleading is useless? What will you do then?" Jiang Ling continued to press.
Such a mismatch in social status is rare even in modern times, let alone in ancient times with its strict class system. Thinking of this, Jiang Ling felt she had to make Jiang Yaojie understand this today to prevent him from suffering even greater harm in the future.
"Then... Mother, what do you think I should do?" Jiang Yaojie was clearly much more dejected. He sat down next to Jiang Ling with his head drooping and whispered.
“Yaojie, I’m telling you this so you can be more clear-headed and rational. Today you scolded your sister without any regard for the facts because of a hairpin. If Master Shen disagrees one day, are you going to fight him?” Jiang Ling replied.
Jiang Yaojie wasn't stupid; on the contrary, he was very clever. He immediately understood Jiang Ling's intention. He nodded gratefully and suddenly knelt down in front of Jiang Ling, saying, "Mother, thank you for guiding me!"
As he spoke, he even kowtowed three times to Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling helped Jiang Yaojie up with a pained expression, and touched his forehead. Looking at Jiang Yaojie in front of her, she realized that he had grown taller than her at some point. He was no longer the taciturn and strange boy he used to be.
The matter between Jiang Yaojie and Shen Congxin has come to a temporary end. They are both just kids, and there's no lingering grudge between them.
The next morning, Shen Congxin appeared on the oxcart with the hairpin that Jiang Yaojie had given her.
Upon arriving at their small shop, Jiang Yaojie and Shen Congxin went to deliver goods, while Jiang Ling began to busy herself with preparing the soup base for the spicy hot pot.
After a busy morning, Jiang Ling was just about to take a break when Zhao Qianyu suddenly appeared out of nowhere, startling her.
"Auntie!" Zhao Qianyu patted Jiang Ling on the shoulder.
"You brat, you almost scared me to death!" Jiang Ling glared at Zhao Qianyu and said irritably.
"Auntie, is Yaojie here?" Zhao Qianyu asked Jiang Ling with a mysterious look.
Looking at Zhao Qianyu's face, which couldn't hide anything, Jiang Ling couldn't help but feel curious. Calculating the time, Zhao Qianyu should be studying at the academy right now, so why did he inexplicably come here to find Jiang Yaojie?
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling frowned and looked at Zhao Qianyu, asking, "Yaojie went to deliver goods, why are you looking for him?"
"Of course it's about the Shen family! Auntie, don't you know? A few days ago I ran into Jiang Yaojie and that Miss Shen in Guangping County..." Zhao Qianyu looked around and continued in a low voice, "The Shen family has already started taking action, Auntie, you can't be unaware of that, can you?"
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