Hearing this, Madam Jiang immediately sobered up and wiped away her tears, “You’re right.” 

She frowned slightly at the man in the guest seat, “Lord Lu, if you have any objections to this marriage, we can discuss it further.” 

“My daughter Guiyu has been frail since she was a child and has been raised as the apple of our eye. Her father and I are not in a hurry to marry her off.” 

The man had an outstanding appearance, with the grace of a clear breeze and bright moon, and the bearing of a white crane and jade pine. He was known for his integrity, uprightness, and impartiality, a model for all talented young men, and was often the focus of attention wherever he went. 

At this moment, everyone in the room noticed his momentary distraction as he stared at Jiang Qingyue. 

But Jiang Qingyue simply lowered her eyes quietly. 

“Lord Lu?” 

Mama Wang’s reminder brought Lu Tingzhi back to his senses. 

His gaze shifted, and he lightly parted his thin lips, “Madam Jiang is overthinking it. Tingzhi has no objections to this marriage.” 

“It’s just that the court intends to assign Tingzhi to handle snow disaster relief recently, so the wedding date had to be postponed.” 

Instantly, Madam Jiang’s tightly furrowed brows relaxed. 

But as if suddenly remembering something, she looked at Jiang Qingyue again. 

If it hadn’t been for that bitch in the second house switching her children, this excellent marriage should have been Qingyue’s. 

Madam Jiang suddenly felt heartache. 

How could fate be so cruel? 

Hearing Lu Tingzhi’s answer, Jiang Guiyu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. 

After he excused himself, she also got up and said goodbye to Madam Jiang, “Mother, I’ll go back first.” 

Madam Jiang was afraid she would catch a cold and gave her thousands of instructions. 

Once everyone had left, Madam Jiang dared to get up and hug Jiang Qingyue, “Qingyue, Qingyue, I’m so sorry.” 

After everyone unrelated in the room had retreated, she sobbed, “It’s not that I didn’t bring you back three years ago. Back then, your father’s position was unstable, and we really couldn’t afford any mistakes, so we could only let you continue to take Guiyu’s place.” 

“And Guiyu’s body… really couldn’t handle it.” 

“You’re both flesh and blood to me.” 

Jiang Qingyue held Madam Jiang down, a shallow smile on her lips, “Madam Jiang, I’m already out.” 

For some reason, she was smiling, but Madam Jiang couldn’t smile looking at her scarred hands. 

If it hadn’t been for good luck, meeting the new emperor’s ascension to the throne and granting amnesty to the world. 

Qingyue would have had to be a slave in that harsh land for a few more years. 

“Madam, I want to go see my eldest sister first.” 

Madam Jiang wiped away her tears with a handkerchief and nodded, “Your eldest sister has been thinking of you in her illness. Now that you’re home, you should go see her.” 

Jiang Qingyue pretended not to see and bowed before leaving. 

………… 

Que’er led the way to the outside of Liuxiang Pavilion, and Jiang Qingyue suddenly hesitated. 

She lowered her head to tidy up her clothes, afraid of being even slightly disrespectful, making her eldest sister uncomfortable. 

Que’er smiled as she looked at her, “Miss, you look great like this, there’s nothing wrong.” 

As she spoke, a person quickly walked out of Liuxiang Pavilion. It was Mama Xu, who had always served by Jiang Wan’yin’s side. 

As soon as Mama Xu saw Jiang Qingyue at the door, with her face similar to the eldest lady, she couldn’t help but burst into tears, tightly holding her hand and trembling. 

“Is this… Miss Qingyue?” 

In an instant, she noticed Jiang Qingyue’s scarred hands, and she sobbed even more, pulling her all the way inside. 

Before she even entered the room, she heard a somewhat hoarse cough, which was completely different from the two coughs heard in the front hall. 

Jiang Qingyue’s heart constricted, and she rushed into the room. 

Looking at the woman lying on the bed, pale and lifeless, she froze in place. 

On the way back, she had heard that Jiang Wan’yin was very ill, but she didn’t expect her to be so ill? 

In her memory, she had heard that the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, Jiang Wan’yin, was already famous throughout the capital before she reached adulthood, the most talented woman with unparalleled beauty. 

Now, she was skin and bones, her eyes were deeply sunken, leaving only a skeletal body. 

There was no trace of her former glory. 

Jiang Wan’yin raised her thin, bony hand, beckoning her to come over. 

When she came to her, Jiang Wan’yin squeezed out a smile. 

“Have you suffered? The Jiang family is sorry to you. I, your sister, apologize to you on behalf of your mother and father.” 

At this apology, Jiang Qingyue’s tears could no longer be held back, falling like rain. 

Since she could remember, she had been living in the Beijiang mine, and as soon as she opened her eyes, she was being beaten, scolded, and made to work. 

And there were always people dying. 

She thought her life would be like this, but in the end, she was told by her adoptive mother that she had been switched because they couldn’t bear to let their biological daughter suffer. 

She should have been the precious second young lady of the main house, she shouldn’t have had to live those dark ten years. 

Even if everyone knew the truth, knew that Jiang Guiyu wasn’t her biological daughter, they still couldn’t bear to let Jiang Guiyu suffer, saying that she was used to this kind of life and that she should just endure it for a few more years. 

At that time, she understood that even if she was the biological daughter, she couldn’t compare to the ten years of being together. They were already a family. 

In these few years, only her eldest sister had been secretly helping and taking care of her. 

But she didn’t expect that when she saw Jiang Wan’yin again, she would be so seriously ill. 

Jiang Qingyue wiped away her tears, took Jiang Wan’yin’s hand, and gently placed her fingers on her pulse. 

“I haven’t suffered much. But in the quarry these past three years, I learned some rudimentary medical skills. Let me take a look at you.” 

Jiang Wan’yin was surprised, “Where did you find the time to learn medicine?”