Chapter 149: Speak Quickly If You Have Something To Say
“If you truly haven’t made up your mind about marrying me, you shouldn’t have come to visit late at night. Just find an opportunity during the day to make it clear to me.”
“Miss Jiang, that’s not what I meant. You misunderstood. It’s not that I don’t want to marry you. I’m afraid you’ll regret it. I don’t want to harm you…”
For some reason, Second Master Yu didn’t want Jiang Ruanxi to misunderstand. He, who usually disliked explaining, still spoke up to explain.
“You keep saying you won’t harm me, but the things you do keep harming me. If Second Master Yu really doesn’t want me to regret it, then from the very beginning, you shouldn’t have come to find me, helped me, or even set the engagement.”
“Your regret now is not a good thing for me; it’s insulting me. This marriage was clearly designed by you, yet now you’re asking me to consider it. Second Master Yu, are you toying with me?”
Jiang Ruanxi carried some anger. “If Second Master Yu truly doesn’t want it in his heart, then take the token and go back. Tomorrow, I’ll have the Zhong Family send the betrothal gifts back. This marriage won’t happen, so be it.”
Anyway, she was now alone, bearing the name of a Zhong Family Miss. She was someone who had died once anyway, and she no longer cared about those reputations.
Second Master Yu probably hadn’t seen her truly lose her temper, and moreover, misunderstand his meaning. He was simply amused and exasperated.
At this moment, he no longer had those concerns in his heart and picked up the token that had fallen on the ground.
This thing that so many people in the Qin Dynasty wanted was actually regarded by her as dirt.
“Miss Jiang, I’ve already given you the choice, so don’t regret it.” The cold aloofness in his eyes receded, replaced by unwavering determination. “But you no longer have the chance to regret it.”
Afraid she would get angry again, Second Master Yu left these words and turned to leave directly.
Watching his back, Jiang Ruanxi couldn’t calm down for a long time.
Thinking of what he had just said, she felt very uncomfortable in her heart.
She didn’t know what was wrong with her today either.
Ever since her rebirth, she hadn’t had such big mood swings, but upon hearing he was unwilling to marry her, she felt inexplicably angry and couldn’t help saying angry words.
She always felt it wasn’t like her previous self.
Jiang Ruanxi sat down and gulped tea. She didn’t sleep all night.
**
The next day, the Yu Family sent several bolts of superior cloth.
The third day, they sent a chest of silver.
After that, the gifts sent each day became more precious than the last.
Almost every day, they sent things over.
“Eldest Daughter, the Yu Family treats you so well. Yesterday it was supplements, today it’s cloth. It’s as if they’re afraid you’ll suffer in the Zhong Family. You didn’t see Second Miss; her eyes turned red with envy several times.”
It seemed like spoiling, but only Jiang Ruanxi knew in her heart that this was Second Master Yu apologizing for that night’s matter.
Actually, she had already figured it out long ago. If Second Master Yu truly lacked responsibility, he wouldn’t have asked for her willingness at all.
He was probably truly afraid that she would suddenly die on the wedding night like the previous several misses.
She couldn’t help but feel both amused and annoyed in her heart.
“Madam, do you not like it?” Seeing Jiang Ruanxi keeping a straight face, Hong Ye asked doubtfully.
“It’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just that I don’t go out these days, so these things are actually useless to me.”
These past few days of Second Master Yu’s behavior had long dissipated Jiang Ruanxi’s anger.
She also felt a bit guilty in her heart for her anger that night, getting angry without distinguishing right from wrong.
Although their marriage was formed out of mutual need, to be fair, Second Master Yu had indeed helped her.
Both emotionally and rationally, she should thank him.
That night, she had been busy being angry and forgotten about this matter.
“This servant thinks so too. When the time comes to marry, they’ll have to be carried back. How troublesome…”
Hong Ye chattered on, and Jiang Ruanxi said again, “Forget it, send them to the storeroom.”
“Eldest Daughter, Second Miss is here.” Soon, Mama Lu came in and said.
Before Jiang Ruanxi could speak, Zhong Xintong rushed in. “Zhong Ling, you sure put on airs. Don’t you know whose place this is? Even I have to be announced to see you? Do you really think you’re a Zhong Family young miss?”
“Second Sister, if I’m not a Zhong Family young miss, would Grandmother have brought me back?” Jiang Ruanxi sat to one side and said indifferently.
Zhong Xintong didn’t buy it at all.
“Don’t think that just because you’ve returned here, this is your home. Let me tell you, with your mother’s lowly status, this will never be your home.”
Jiang Ruanxi looked at Mama Lu. Clearly, she didn’t know about the Zhong Family’s previous matters.
Mama Lu nodded. She hadn’t figured out what happened with Zhong Ling’s mother. Jiang Ruanxi couldn’t lash out and could only change the topic. “Second Sister, you’ve come to sister’s courtyard. Surely it’s not just to say these useless things?”
“Of course not…”
Jiang Ruanxi saw that from the moment she came in, she had been staring at the two bolts of cloth Hong Ye had just left on the table, her eyes not blinking once, and immediately understood what was going on.
“Second Sister, say what you have to say quickly. I need to go out soon.”
“Go out?” Zhong Xintong looked puzzled.
The Yu Family had sent so many things, yet she still needed to buy more.
Mama Lu said, “Second Miss doesn’t know, but the Yu Family originally sent someone to measure Eldest Daughter for clothes. But the Cloth Shop madam said that because there are many styles of clothes, they can’t be brought to the manor, so they asked Eldest Daughter to go directly to the Cloth Shop, where she can choose the ones she likes on the spot.”
“That Cloth Shop on West Gate Street?”
“Exactly.”
The clothes made by the Cloth Shop were the newest, most fashionable, and best-looking styles in Lingnan.
Moreover, getting clothes made at the Cloth Shop was really too difficult. One had to wait at least several months, and each time only one outfit could be made.
She, Zhong Ling, was just a wild girl from the countryside. What virtue or ability did she have to receive such treatment?
And they even invited her to the shop to pick freely?
These should all have belonged to her originally.
Zhong Xintong was full of jealousy but suppressed her anger. “Sister, you may not know that when the Yu Family came to propose marriage, this marriage wasn’t actually meant for you.”
This little girl’s thoughts were all written on her face. Jiang Ruanxi didn’t need to guess.
“Oh, is that so…”
“Don’t you want to ask why?”
“Why?” Jiang Ruanxi asked with a half-smile, following her words.
Zhong Xintong smugly didn’t notice the mockery at the corner of Jiang Ruanxi’s mouth.
Seeing that although she was a bit perfunctory, she had finally taken the bait.
“The Yu Family originally took a fancy to me, but I thought of sister alone on the manor, lonely and helpless, so I begged Father to give this marriage to you. Logically speaking, sister’s betrothal gifts were actually yielded to you by me.”
Hong Ye had put the things in the storeroom and, upon returning, happened to hear this sentence. She stumbled.
She’d seen shameless people, but never one this shameless.
“Oh? I didn’t expect sister to be so magnanimous.”
