Jiang Ran’s face instantly flushed, looking even more charming than the peach blossoms in March, making Long Zhan’s heart flutter.
Long Zhan approached and kissed Jiang Ran’s forehead.
Startled, Jiang Ran quickly looked around.
Confirming no one saw,
Jiang Ran then relaxed, giving Long Zhan a playful glare, “If my sisters saw this, they’d think you were harassing me…”
With a smile in his eyes, Long Zhan said, “No, they wouldn’t think that. They’ve all been through it. They know what it means to be unable to control one’s emotions.”
…
For Jiang Ran’s coming of age, Jiang Yan invited quite a few guests.
Among them were Su Chengong and his family.
Su Chengong now works at the Hanlin Academy; not having become a top scholar, he started as a lowly-ranked commoner, but has since been promoted to a fifth-rank Doctor of the Five Classics.
Compared to him,
Su Jizong never passed the exams, so his father arranged for him to marry. His wife is a simple farm girl, pretty enough, with a decent temperament, and has already given birth to two sons.
Su Jizong still hasn’t given up on the imperial examinations, balancing work and study, but he just can’t pass.
He came this time too, but dared not speak a word to Jiang Yan.
Fearing she might settle old scores.
Of course, Su Jizong could have chosen not to come, but he was unwilling to miss out, having lived for so long without even knowing what the capital looked like.
Lin Fen never imagined Jiang Yan would climb so high; now, she was filled with envy and jealousy.
Because compared to her, Su Xiangxiang was truly pitiful.
After Song Jinxiu’s incident, Su Xiangxiang returned to her parents’ home, and no matter how Song Jinxiu’s father pleaded, she decided not to keep the child.
Who would have thought. Not only did the childbirth cause heavy bleeding for Su Xiangxiang, but the child was also born. She could no longer bear children after that. Su Xiangxiang therefore harbored a deep hatred for Song Jinxiu and this child. The child, having not even had a sip of milk, was sent away by Su Xiangxiang through Lin Fen to Song Jinxiu’s father, for whom she also demanded a sum of money. Finding a good family to marry into was not easy for her in this condition. Lin Fen thought about finding her a more modest match. Before she could find one, Su Laoda had already arranged a family for Su Xiangxiang. The man had lost his wife, leaving behind two children, and his family was fairly well-off, running a blacksmith shop. By rights, such a family was suitable for Su Xiangxiang. But she actually despised him for being several years older than her. She insisted on marrying into this family. Su Laoda couldn’t persuade Su Xiangxiang otherwise and bluntly told her that if she didn’t marry, he wouldn’t care for her anymore. Fearing that her father would truly abandon her, Su Xiangxiang reluctantly agreed to the marriage. However, once married, she was anything but compliant, causing chaos. Her new husband, angered by her behavior, struck her. Perhaps he didn’t notice, but Su Xiangxiang’s head hit the side of a stone mill, directly causing her to become mentally impaired. When Lin Fen came to visit her daughter and learned of this, she was furious and caused a huge scene, insisting that her daughter could no longer live with this man, forcing him to write a divorce document. With her daughter in such a state, Su Laoda felt guilty and naturally did not blame Lin Fen. Afterwards, he took Su Xiangxiang to see doctors everywhere. But despite visiting many doctors, she did not recover. When Jiang Ran held her coming-of-age ceremony, Su Xiangxiang, seeing her dressed so beautifully with lovely ornaments in her hair, demanded to take them. Su Laoda’s expression changed instantly, and they quickly stepped forward to restrain her. Pulling her back, seeing no one spoke up, Su Laoda couldn’t help but say to Lin Fen, “How were you watching her! I told you not to bring her, but you insisted. Look at what’s happening now.” Lin Fen, somewhat uneasy, replied, “I can’t keep my eyes on her all the time, there are moments when I’m distracted. If we didn’t bring her, would you leave her alone at home? You wouldn’t be at ease either!” “Enough, shut up.” Su Laoda was truly exasperated with them. Lin Fen was not willing to let it go like this; during dinner, she whispered to Su Laoda. “Husband, why don’t you ask Da Ya for help? They are so influential now, they could surely get an imperial physician to treat Xiangxiang. If she gets treated by an imperial physician, she might recover soon.” Su Laoda was somewhat tempted. When Jiang Yan invited them to the capital to help with the workshop, after agreeing, Su Laoda said to Jiang Yan, “Da Ya, can I ask you for a favor?” “Go ahead!” Jiang Yan responded. Su Laoda didn’t beat around the bush and spoke out directly. Su Laoda’s brother helped him say, “Da Ya, if you can help, please do. Xiangxiang’s condition now is really frustrating; she can’t even find her way back home.” Jiang Yan thought for a moment and agreed. Not long after, Long Zhan prepared betrothal gifts and proposed to Jiang Ran in front of everyone after lunch. Lin Fen was green with envy. How could the fates of these sisters be so good! Jiang Yan married a prince. Jiang Wan, although divorced, had previously married well. Jiang Ling married the prince’s brother. And Jiang Ran, she had it even better. The Emperor himself sent betrothal gifts to marry her. This news soon reached Ji Ye and his family, who were both envious and jealous, but their current relationship made it awkward to do anything. Nevertheless, they still pushed Jiang Dahai to mend the relationship. They helped Jiang Dahai prepare a considerable amount of betrothal gifts and had him bring them to the Prince’s Mansion.
Chapter 159: Making You Look Bad?
