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Jiang Zhankui furrowed his brow, “Sister, why keep bringing up the past? It’s been so long, there’s no need to dwell on it.”
Jiang Jiu pouted and fell silent.
Lu Man hesitated to respond to her younger sister. Even though she was young, Lu Man herself initially believed that Jiang Zhanwei was helping her. Even the cunning Princess Changting and the several Masters who had been immersed in court politics for many years were unaware of Jiang Zhanwei’s ulterior motive when he went all out to “protect his wife” that day.
Recalling that day’s events made Lu Man uneasy. The criticisms from those people felt like knives, leaving her emotionally scarred. Just as those wounds were starting to heal, Jiang Zhanwei would pour salt on them again.
Although Jiang Zhanwei claimed to regret his actions, the sweet letters he sent were enough to make one sick. Maybe he did genuinely regret it and wanted to continue their relationship. However, the past pain was still real, and the memories were still painful, shaking her to the core. Even if she were to be naive, she couldn’t easily trust his words again.
Suppressing her inner anger, Lu Man smiled as she saw the children off.
The next morning after breakfast, Mama Duan forcibly took Song Mo away. Song Mo no longer cried, feeling that behaving like Xie Kaipei by crying when leaving was too childish and embarrassing.
After getting herself ready, Lu Man dressed Jiang Yue in a silver-red embroidered satin shirt, matching skirt, and embroidered shoes, making the little girl look adorable.
Unable to resist, Lu Man planted a firm kiss on the little girl’s cheek, causing her to giggle uncontrollably. Seeing a silver thread of drool, Lu Man wiped it away with a handkerchief. The little one already had eight baby teeth and often drooled.
Once Jiang Zhankui and Jiang Jiu were ready, Lu Man, along with the children, pushed Jiang Yue in the baby carriage towards the Crane Hall. This baby carriage was another one of Lu Man’s “inventions”, she had drawn up the plans and had it constructed outside.
In the hall, aside from the groom and bride, all the masters were present, including the three-month-old Third Miss Jiang Zhen, who was being held by a nursemaid and seated on the last embroidered stool on the right.
Upon seeing Jiang Yue, the Old Marquis’s eyes crinkled with joy, beckoning, “Quick, place little Yue on the Buddha’s bed.”
Princess Changting, being wise, balanced the situation by inviting her grandson from the eldest son’s branch, Dewen, to sit beside her, as she noticed the Old Marquis’s partiality.
Dewen, who was already three years old, joyfully ran over with short legs and squeezed into the Princess’s embrace upon being called.
Lu Man deliberately glanced around and didn’t see old Madam Zhu and Jiang Ling. Was it intentional not to invite them when they were invited during her own ceremony?
She couldn’t help but feel resentful about the events during her own ceremony. Those were already challenging times for her, and these people intentionally brought back old Madam Zhu to cause trouble for her.
In a voice audible to everyone, she playfully asked Young Madam Han, “Why wasn’t Grandmother Zhu invited?”
Young Madam Han was puzzled and asked back, “Why would we need to invite Grandmother Zhu for our family ceremony?” After realizing her mistake, she blushed.
Lu Man casually remarked, “Oh, I see, we don’t need to invite Grandmother Zhu for our family ceremony.”
Back then, to survive, every time she knelt down, she was scolded, had to admit her mistakes humbly, and her self-esteem had fallen to dust. Especially that hateful old Madam Zhu, her words were extremely harsh.
And then there was the despicable Jiang Zhanwei, who so publicly defended her, portraying himself as a dutiful son enduring humiliation for the sake of elders and the family, only to divide the family later and build his success on her sacrifices.
Things had changed drastically over the past two years. She not only survived but also cured the Old Marquis’s illness. Now, she sat confidently here, earning respect and trust from almost everyone present, even more so than most family members. Her daughter sat by her side, receiving their adoration…
Reflecting on Old Madam Lu’s words about reaching this point due to abilities, generosity, and intelligence, Lu Man acknowledged the abilities and intelligence but felt she hadn’t yet fully embraced the generosity. The scolding by old Madam Zhu and Second Master Jiang that day was unforgettable. And as for Jiang Zhanwei, he had gone too far…
Princess Changting knew that Lu Man was still upset about the past incident. She hadn’t even known about the invitation extended to her Sister-in-law Zhu at the time, thinking it was her husband’s sister and didn’t give it much thought. Reflecting now, she was certain that Hong, aware of Zhu’s disdain for illegitimate children, deliberately invited her to humiliate Lu Man and drive her away.
Recalling the scene at that time, Lu Man had to feign strength, admit her faults when scolded, and couldn’t even cry… She glanced at the Old Marquis beside her, who was happily playing with little Yue while holding a snack.
The Old Marquis’s illness had been cured by Lu Man and many changes in the family, including the matter concerning the Crown Prince, were all credited to Lu Man’s actions…
Princess Changting sighed and said to Lu Man, “Good child, we wronged you that day. Since you married into our family, you have been respectful to your elders, supportive of your husband, kind to your younger relatives, and have helped our family flourish. In short, everything is going well, and Grandmother is pleased.”
It was rare for a family member to apologize publicly, and the others couldn’t stay silent any longer.
Marquis Jiang was the first to speak, “As the saying goes, time reveals one’s true colors. Zhanwei’s wife is a good child, talented and virtuous, well done.”
The Old Marquis chimed in, “Fool, I knew Zhanwei’s wife was a good child long ago.”
Third Master Jiang also chuckled, “Father is wise, we have learned from you.” After some excessive flattery, he blushed a bit himself, adding, “Zhanwei’s wife is virtuous and kind, with exceptional medical skills. The health of our mother and father is all thanks to her. Uncle thanks you for that.”
Third Madam, Madam Huang added, “And even Zhanyan, thanks to Zhanwei’s wife, I shudder to think about what could have happened.”
Second Madam, Madam Lin chimed in, “Not just Zhanyan, but also Zhanyu. We have always appreciated Zhanwei’s wife’s kindness. Second Master has been in high spirits these past few months, especially with Zhanyu’s illness significantly improving due to Lu Man discovering the Night Yellow Flower. She chuckled, “Back then, we didn’t understand, we were mistaken about Zhanwei’s wife, but now we know. Ha ha ha…”
After everyone had praised her, Lu Man stood up, kneeled to thank the Princess and the elders, and said with a smile, “I am truly unworthy of such praise from Grandmother and the elders.”
But MC is using her husband, too. Instead of using $$$ and the Princess’s contacts to look for her servants herself, she waited and waited and waited until her husband came back and had him find them. Instead of dealing with her family by herself, she let him do all the talking even though she had all the evidence ready and could have done it herself even if it cost more effort. Instead of clearing her grandfather He’s name herself, she’s waiting for her husband because she lacks the ability to protect herself. But when he uses her to get what he wants, she has a problem with it? It’s mere humiliation whereas his life will be in actual danger when dealing with the Crown Prince’s opposition. He had initially planned to divorce her – but she had planned to be divorced as well!!! Why is it a problem that he had plans that aligned with hers. Oh, right because it was going to be before she was ready and able to take his family assets with her. Doesn’t she always advise his concubine-born siblings to not covet what’s not theirs? Instead of coveting his money back then, she should’ve used her modern knowledge to make her own money for security instead of being upset that he planned to dump her with less than what she wanted.
i thought i was the only one feeling Lu Man a bit over the top 😭 i get it if she still doesn’t want to trust Zhanwei, but she acted like she was badly backstabbed is SO not right. Like he was FORCED to cancel his marriage with his fiance and instead marry a random woman his family has choosen and not bcs for his wellbeing, but for his grandfather like imagine being in his shoes. i’ll be hella mad too. come on, the start cant be beautiful when u’re forced to be together by ur family like that. Lu Man herself was thinking for divorce at the very beginning how can Zhanwei CANT think to divorce her when he himself was in bad situation? she acted all wronged, badly hurt so much when she was also using him for her situation like?????? if the author just stated she doesnt want to trust him again after she heard that gossip from shu girl and her friend, i’ll be fine with it. being hurt when she first heard that was also okay bcs the night bfre they literally just confessed to each other. but to be this far and still acted u’re the only one in pain when both of u are actually the same in using each other bcs this is a ‘contract marriage’ at the beginning of the story. like make it make sense.