Chapter 232: Go Harm Someone Else's Family

*Pfft*, Du Ruo almost sprayed her tea.

It was Jiang Zhan after all. She thought...

Also, how could a legitimate daughter of a Prefect's family demean herself to be a concubine? What's more, Jiang Li was just a small head constable, not some royal relative.

It was her overthinking.

Du Ruo took a sip of tea to calm her shock, then smiled, "Madam, being able to look up to our Zhan is Zhan's honor. It's just that our Jiang family is a rural family, and we are not well-matched in status; I'm afraid we are not worthy of Miss Ruonan."

"Hey, what worthy or not worthy? Neither I nor the old master are people who are so stuck on family status."

Lady Lin's tone became even more intimate, "Especially the old master, he praises Jiang Zhan endlessly, saying he is intelligent, handsome, and knowledgeable, and will surely achieve great things in the future. The only shortcoming is that he is a bit weak."

Speaking of this, she paused, "Our Ruonan has been strong since she was a child, and her kung fu is good; she can just happen to protect him. Two people, one literary and one martial, one active and one quiet, how well-matched, don't you think?"

It does sound quite well-matched.

But Du Ruo didn't want to form this marriage.

It wasn't that she had any opinion about Lin Ruonan, and it wasn't that she looked down on the Lin family, she just simply felt the timing wasn't right.

"Madam's kindness, I am extremely grateful." Du Ruo put the teacup back on the table and politely refused, "Zhan is still young, and he will soon participate in the Prefectural Exam. This is the most critical time for him. My husband and I have already reached a consensus that we will not consider Zhan's marriage for the next two years, so as not to distract him."

Lady Lin expressed understanding but did not accept it.

"Lady Du's words are wrong. As the saying goes, 'meet a good person first and get married, meet a noble person first and establish a career'. Maybe Ruonan and Jiang Zhan are each other's good people?"

"Besides, if Lady Du is really worried about affecting Jiang Zhan's studies, we can set the marriage first, and it won't be too late to get married after Jiang Zhan passes the Provincial Exam."

In short, the son-in-law wanted to run away?

Not a chance!

Since they had blocked all the retreat paths, Du Ruo couldn't say anything more for a while.

"How about this, Madam, I can't make the decision alone. Let me go back and discuss it with my husband."

She smiled, "My father-in-law and mother-in-law are no longer here, and we, as the older brother and sister-in-law, can't take it all upon ourselves. We still have to ask for Zhan's own opinion. If he is willing, then naturally everyone is happy; if he doesn't have that intention, we can still be on good terms, so as not to cause unhappiness, don't you think?"

Lady Lin nodded repeatedly, "That is exactly how it should be."

Although she said so, she had already made up her mind in her heart.

Since the decision-making power was in Jiang Zhan's hands, it would be even easier to handle.

Jiang Zhan had received the old master's favor during the last county exam, and it was the old master who chose him as the county's top scholar. If the old master personally went to propose to him, he reckoned Jiang Zhan wouldn't dare not agree.

Thinking of this, Lady Lin sighed secretly.

In order for her daughter to marry into a good family, she could only discard her old face.

Speaking of which, it was also helpless.

Originally, a Prefect's daughter wouldn't worry about getting married. Lin Ruonan's two older sisters married quite well, and both married into higher families.

But when it came to this youngest daughter, the couple started to worry.

Lin Ruonan had been wild since she was a child. She wasn't interested in the things girls liked. Her two older sisters were learning needlework, embroidery, accounting, and managing the household, while she slipped out to climb trees, catch birds, and fight with people.

For this, Lady Lin didn't know how many times she had been angered to the point of fainting.

She had punished her and scolded her, but unfortunately, it didn't work at all.

Later, there was really no way. She couldn't beat her to death, right? So she had to turn a blind eye, letting her mess around as long as it wasn't too excessive.

It was fine when she was young, but now that she was at the age to get married, it was even more of a headache.

Among families of equal status, who would be willing to marry such a daughter-in-law? Wouldn't the house be in chaos?

But if she found an ordinary commoner as a son-in-law, she felt unwilling.

Seeing that her daughter was almost seventeen, Lady Lin was so worried that her hair turned white, and she couldn't eat or sleep well.

It just so happened that she heard about her daughter being saved by Jiang Li yesterday, and she suddenly had a flash of inspiration, thinking of Jiang Li's younger brother, Jiang Zhan.

Although Jiang Zhan was a farmer's son, his father was the famous and brilliant Jiang Mo Nian!

Jiang Mo Nian's son, how bad could he be?

Not to mention his character and appearance, just the title of county top scholar alone, as long as there were no major mistakes, his future would surely be bright.

Wasn't this the best son-in-law sent by heaven?

The more she thought, the more excited she became. When she rested that night, Lady Lin told her husband about this.

Prefect Lin agreed fully.

Originally, he liked Jiang Zhan very much, and being able to become in-laws with Jiang Mo Nian, he could laugh in his dreams!

And so, this scene happened today.

It was just that Lady Lin didn't expect the Jiang family's attitude to not be enthusiastic.

She could understand it. Not to mention the Jiang family, even she herself wouldn't be willing to marry such a daughter-in-law into the house; just looking at her made her angry.

*Sigh*, who told her to be the one who crawled out of her own belly? No way, better plan and send her off to harm someone else's family...

Thinking of this, Lady Lin couldn't help but feel a bit guilty toward Du Ruo.

She stood up, took Du Ruo's hand, and walked out, smiling, "Lady Du, follow me to the small garden. I'll introduce you to a few madams; they are all families with some face in Lingbi Xian."

Du Ruo nodded in thanks, but when she reached the door, she suddenly remembered something and stopped.

"Madam, can I wash my face first?"

Wash her face?

Lady Lin was surprised first, then realized, and blamed herself by tapping her own head, "Oh, look at my old muddled head. Lady Du came from Yugui Shan, dusty and tired, I forgot about this."

Her gaze swept over Du Ruo, and she smiled, "Might as well change this men's clothing too, so others won't ask questions."

Saying this, she called for the maid.

"You two take Lady Du to the third young lady's room and serve her well."

Thinking about it, she added, "Didn't I have the embroiderer make several sets of dresses for the third young lady before? You pick the best-looking one and help Lady Du change into it."

The two maids agreed.

Du Ruo hurriedly declined, "No need to trouble, Madam, I'll just wash my face."

"It's not a trouble at all, Lady Du, don't be polite with me."

Lady Lin thought in her heart, anyway, they would be one family sooner or later, so it was necessary to help her daughter build a relationship with her sister-in-law now, "Ruonan never likes to wear those, and they are a waste lying there. Now that you can wear them, it's just right to make the best use of them!"

Since things had reached this point, if Du Ruo refused again, she would appear too ungrateful.

She thanked her again and followed the maid into Lin Ruonan's room.

Lin Ruonan wasn't in the room right now, she didn't know where she went. The maid led Du Ruo to a small compartment in the back, where there was a large wooden barrel.

Soon several old women brought hot water and poured it into the barrel.

The door closed, and the maid reached out to take off Du Ruo's clothes.

Du Ruo was very uncomfortable and stepped back, "I'll wash myself, you wait outside."

The two maids looked at each other and covered their mouths and laughed.

One of them said, "Lady Du, don't feel embarrassed. We also help the third young lady bathe like this. We guarantee we won't look around."

Du Ruo was speechless.

This wasn't a question of whether they looked or not, but it was really awkward.

But thinking about it, forget it. If she insisted on letting the maids go out, they would probably start acting pitiful and shedding golden beans, saying Madam would punish them or something.

It was all the same routine.

Du Ruo didn't act coy anymore, stripped herself in a few strokes, sat in the wooden barrel, "Come on, I'm ready."

Outside, Lady Lin was standing in the corridor thinking about things.

Lin Ruonan didn't know where she popped out from and shouted loudly behind her, "Mother!"

Lady Lin was startled.

Turning around, she gave her daughter two heavy blows, "You broken child, running around all day, not doing proper work, just knowing how to scare your mother!"

"I say, Mother, don't think that just because you're old, you don't have to be reasonable." Lin Ruonan rolled her eyes, "Wasn't it you who said it was inconvenient for me to be there and told me to avoid it first?"

Lady Lin was speechless for a moment.

Lin Ruonan looked around, "Where is Sister-in-law Jiang?"

Lady Lin pointed her chin toward the room, "I told the maids to serve her in washing up."

It's a pity that she looks so ugly, I hope she looks better after changing clothes, otherwise those madams will only look down on her.

No way, the world judges people by their appearance, no one can be an exception.

"Right, Mother, how did the talk go? Did Sister-in-law Jiang agree to let me be her sister-in-law?" Lin Ruonan asked casually.

Lady Lin glared at her, "Who would dare agree to someone like you?"

Lin Ruonan's eyes lit up, "Didn't agree? That's good."

She didn't want to get married at all, especially to that kind of weak scholar who couldn't even truss a chicken; it was boring.

"..." Lady Lin was so angry she almost fell backward, reaching out her finger to poke her daughter's forehead fiercely, "What sin did I commit in my previous life to give birth to such a monster, specifically to anger me!"

Lin Ruonan hurriedly escaped, "Mother, getting angry often makes people age fast, you know."

Mother and daughter were making a scene when the door suddenly opened with a *creak*. The ones who came out were the maids, and their expressions were very strange.

Seeing this, Lady Lin frowned, "Where is Lady Du?"

The maid hesitated, "Lady Du, she, she..." ===== CHAPTER 233 =====