Chapter 176: The Prince Visits (Combined Chapter)

The carriage rattled as it returned home, the streetlights flickering in, making the interior of the carriage light and dark by turns.

Lin Fuyao wept silently, and Jiang Yuan saw it, but she did not comfort or coax her as she usually did.

Tonight, she had not wanted to come, but her mother had pestered and cajoled her into going to the Prince Leyang’s estate.

During the banquet, Lin Fuyao acted almost like a salesperson, dragging her around to introduce her to one noblewoman after another. If they were cultured, they would smile and exchange a few words with the mother and daughter; if they were not, they would express their disdain for the status of an illegitimate daughter with subtle expressions like sidelong glances or pouting lips.

This was not the first time Jiang Yuan had encountered such treatment, so her heart could no longer be stirred by it.

Opposite her, Lin Fuyao saw that her daughter was not coaxing her, and her silent tears gradually turned into soft sobs.

Jiang Yuan sighed helplessly and said softly, “Mother, please stop crying.”

Lin Fuyao seemed to have been waiting for her daughter to speak. Upon hearing this, she wiped her tears and said, “Waner, in the future, you must win some dignity for your mother. Find a husband from a respectable family with a title, and let those who look down on us see.”

Jiang Yuan, who had originally not intended to argue with her mother, could not help but retort, “Mother, with my background, how could I catch the eye of someone from a respectable family? Even if I were to shamelessly throw myself at them, I would still be looked down upon in the end.”

This last sentence was a reminder to Lin Fuyao not to introduce her to everyone she met. If this continued, even if she were to marry into a high-ranking family in the future, she would be slighted by her husband’s family, repeating her mother’s tragedy.

Lin Fuyao understood and murmured, “You will be nineteen at the end of this year; you have to get married eventually, right?”

Jiang Yuan turned her head to look at the spring night in Central Heaven outside the carriage curtain. After a long silence, she whispered, “Mother, don’t be anxious. Let’s wait a little longer. Perhaps if we wait a bit more, fate will arrive.”

Her fingertips unconsciously brushed over the lotus pattern on her cuff, while the image of a back clad in mottled green robes appeared in her mind. As early as last year, Jiang Xuan had privately mentioned that Ding Suian admired her.

Later, he even went directly to the Law Academy to find her once, but at that time, Jiang Yuan was full of fear, and deeply aware of her mother’s urgent desire to use her children to escape her current predicament, so she politely rejected him.

Since then, the two had never met again.

It had been more than eight months.

However, Jiang Yuan could always hear about him from her younger brother and her fellow students. Things like slaying demons in City, or displaying Divine Might while on an envoy mission to Southern Zhao.

In short, over the past half year, Head Ding had become a famous figure among their peers.

Her Law Academy classmate Xue Yunwan and others even organized an ‘An Society’ specifically to collect his lyric works, musical scores, and even gossip news.

Jiang Yuan sighed unconsciously, thinking that if she could have clearly explained the reason for her difficulty when she rejected him last time, he would probably have felt better, right?

“Waner, what are you thinking about?”

“Uh, nothing.”

Jiang Yuan gave her mother a gentle smile, then pushed the chaotic thoughts out of her head. Since it was like a flower in a mirror or the moon on the water, impossible to attain, she would not think about it anymore.

Back to Prince Leyang’s estate. After Yu Bowen’s family of three separated from Lin Fuyao’s family and walked back to their carriage, they suddenly heard a gentle, low call, “Wenyuan.”

Hearing someone call his courtesy name, Yu Bowen turned his head. Standing in the shadows by the wall was a man with a dashing and spirited appearance. Looking closely, oh, wasn’t this the Prince Leyang’s heir!

“Greetings, Your Highness. Why are you here?”

“I was waiting for you.”

Han Jingru’s tone was intimate, and his smile was elegant. Yu Bowen was quite flattered.

Behind him, Madam Zhang and Yu Ruiyan also stepped forward to pay their respects.

Although Prince Leyang was an idle Prince, his heir, Han Jingru, had married the sister of the Prince of Linping and was a legitimate royal relative.

Furthermore, with the imperial succession currently vacant, by age, the Prince of Linping was second only to Prince Anping. The situation was not yet settled, and anything was possible.

Besides, the circle Yu Bowen usually dealt with was centered around the Prince of Linping. It was just that in the Prince’s eyes, he was far less important than Han Jingru.

After some pleasantries and greetings, Han Jingru took the initiative to ask, “Wenyuan, I heard you have a cousin?”

“That’s right.” Yu Bowen looked slightly confused and reminded him, “My younger brother Jiang Jiao is in Yinyang with our uncle. He returned to the capital a few years ago, and Your Highness met him a few times.”

“Hmm~” Han Jingru realized he hadn’t made himself clear and had caused a misunderstanding, so he couldn’t help but smile, “Yes, yes, it has been three years since we parted, and I miss Brother Jiao very much. Besides Brother Jiao, don’t you have another cousin in Central Heaven?”

“Uh,” Yu Bowen seemed to have been asked about something embarrassing that he was ashamed to mention. His expression became conflicted as he said, “Yes. Jiang Xuan, who lives in Xingning Ward.”

Yu Bowen lowered his voice a degree, seemingly wanting to distance himself, “He was born to my uncle’s concubine. He is unlearned and foolish. I have never had any dealings with him. Has Jiang Xuan caused trouble again?”

Behind him, Madam Zhang and Yu Ruiyan exchanged a look. The former curled her lips, and the latter gave a reserved smile.

Since the men were talking, they couldn’t interrupt, but they used this method to express their foresight that they had long expected the’son of a concubine, stubborn and stupid’ to cause trouble sooner or later.

Yu Bowen’s disparagement of Jiang Xuan was not too unexpected for Han Jingru, but it made what he wanted to say next difficult to bring up.

He had always been subtle and circuitous in his speech. He had originally intended to say a few other things before bringing up the main matter, but thinking of the current situation, he simply didn’t follow Yu Bowen’s lead and said directly, “He hasn’t caused trouble. I actually have a matter that requires his help. Could you please introduce me tomorrow? Let the two of us pay him a visit.”

Not only was Yu Bowen stunned on the spot, but even Madam Zhang and Yu Ruiyan lost their composure, their mouths slightly agape.

Introduce him? Pay a visit?

How could these words be associated with Jiang Xuan!

“Is it inconvenient for you, Wenyuan?”

“No, no.”

Yu Bowen was very willing to help Han Jingru, but this matter he proposed was truly bizarre. Prince Leyang’s heir, Han Jingru, who was known for being adept at socializing, having extensive connections, and being the most respectable Young Master in Central Heaven, was actually asking Jiang Xuan to do something?

The 22nd of the third month. In the morning, Lin Fuyao’s family of three sat in the small dining room eating breakfast.

Both she and Jiang Yuan had some bloodshot eyes, presumably because neither mother nor daughter had slept well due to last night’s incident.

Only Jiang Xuan was heartless, a spoon in his left hand and chopsticks in his right, his hands moving as fast as flying.

Lin Fuyao found it annoying to look at and couldn’t help but scold him in a low voice, “You have no table manners and look like a mess! Eat slower!”

To tell the truth, Jiang Xuan, who was in the stage of a growth spurt, had not only grown much taller, but his figure had also slimmed down.

Coupled with the fact that his appearance was not bad to begin with, he could now somewhat live up to his nickname, ‘Cold-faced Silver Spear Brocade Jade Young Master, the most handsome in Central Heaven, second only to his older brother.’

It was just that pair of eyes that were always darting around sneakily, which detracted from his score quite a bit.

Early in the morning, seeing that his mother was picking a fight for no reason, the nimble Jiang Xuan didn’t retort. He just quickly shoveled the porridge and rice into his mouth, stood up, and said, “Mother, I’m going out.”

“If you’re not at home studying, where are you going to mess around?”

“I have an appointment with Liu Fuzhou. Today is the printing of the seventh edition of my older brother’s masterpiece, ‘tale of the red snake’!”

Lin Fuyao, who was already feeling stifled, heard this, and the bad memories of last night quickly surfaced in her mind. She slapped her chopsticks on the table with a snap and said sternly, “You are not allowed to go!”

“Mother, Mom, the best mother in the world~” Jiang Xuan brought out his coaxing skills that had worked time and again over the years. But this time, it didn’t work.

“Even if you call the Heavenly King’s grandmother today, it won’t work! Not only are you not allowed to go today, but you are not allowed to go in the future either! Also, what kind of older brother is that Head Ding? From now on, you are not allowed to call him older brother, and you are not allowed to associate with him anymore!”

“Mother!” Now, Jiang Xuan was finally worried.

Just then, an old servant of the family rushed in, his expression both nervous and strange.

“Madam, Prince Leyang’s heir and the nephew of the Princess, Young Master Yu, have come to visit with gifts.”

As soon as the old servant finished speaking, Lin Fuyao, who was full of anger, stood up as if in a stress reaction. When she spoke again, she was stuttering, “What, what is he here for again?”

Jiang Yuan, who was beside her, also stood up. Besides being apprehensive, she was also somewhat puzzled. The reason her mother was so nervous was that in the early years, when Yu Bowen was a teenager, he often brought his friends to cause trouble at their home.

As a concubine, Lin Fuyao had a natural fear of all the Yu family members, and the one she had the biggest headache about was this Young Master Yu.

But ever since Ding Suian taught him a lesson at Zhangtai Willow last year, Yu Bowen had never bothered their family again. What was wrong today?

Jiang Yuan frowned, forming a cute little knot. Then she realized that an important clue had been missed in the old servant’s words, so she couldn’t help but say, “Uncle Lin, you just said, visiting with gifts?”

“Yes.” Uncle Lin pushed the gift list he had been holding in front of Lin Fuyao further forward. The latter then reacted and hurriedly took it to look.

On the gift list were textiles, cosmetics, porcelain, jade, and stationery. Although not particularly expensive, it could definitely be considered a generous gift.

“What, what on earth is he trying to do?”

The more it was like this, the more afraid Lin Fuyao became. At this time, Uncle Lin said, “The heir and Young Master Yu said they wanted to visit Young Master Jiang. That is our Brother Xuan.”

“Visit. Brother Xuan?” Lin Fuyao and her daughter turned their heads in unison to look at Jiang Xuan, who was about to sneak out the door.

Jiang Xuan naturally heard it too. Upon hearing this, he straightened up instantly and turned around slowly. He pondered deeply for a few moments, then said, “Mother, see! My son told you earlier, I am someone who doesn’t make a sound, but when I do, I startle everyone. Prince Leyang’s heir must have heard of my literary and martial talent, ‘Cold-faced Silver Spear Brocade Jade Young Master, the most handsome in Central Heaven, second only to his older brother,’ and specifically came to visit because hearing of a reputation is not as good as meeting in person! Uncle Lin, lead the way. This Young Master will take time out of his busy schedule to meet the heir.”

“Hahaha, brother, I have long been ‘intimately acquainted’ with Your Highness. Seeing you today, this younger brother is deeply impressed!”

In the small flower hall of the Jiang family, as soon as they met, Jiang Xuan played a big one. It scared Lin Fuyao, who was following behind, until her face changed color.

Oh son, if you don’t know how to use idioms, don’t use them. ‘Long having a spiritual connection’ and ‘having sexual intercourse’ are not the same thing!

Yu Bowen turned his head to look at the ground in embarrassment. Being stuck with such a cheap relative was truly a disgrace to his ancestors for eight generations.

Fortunately, Han Jingru only paused for a moment and then laughed out loud, “Brother Xuan is unconstrained, pure, and simple. Wonderful! Wonderful!”

Both sides sat down as host and guest, and Lin Fuyao sat by, her heart in her throat. Normally, she shouldn’t be here in a male-only setting. But she couldn’t rest easy.

Firstly, she was worried that her son would speak inappropriately and offend the noble guest. Secondly, Han Jingru had prepared generous gifts to visit, and she was afraid her son would be cheated. So she disregarded etiquette and stayed in the flower hall.

Jiang Xuan was indeed unreliable, and instead of testing the other party’s intentions, he started bragging about his book publishing business and enthusiastically gifted Han Jingru two sets of deluxe, revised, collectible illustrated editions of “Jin Ping Mei” and “tale of the red snake.”

Han Jingru happened to have the ability to make people feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze. Not only did he not despise Jiang Xuan, but he enthusiastically chatted with him about the content of the two books.

“The world only sees the romance in it, but few glimpse the brilliance of the author’s writing. Even though Ximen Qing had wealth, he could not escape the backlash of ‘desire.’ Writing about his deep courtyards and many wives and concubines is actually dissecting the greed in the human heart and exposing it to the world. This book can be called a strange book.”

Interpreting the lewdness in the book as desire both avoided embarrassing Lin Fuyao, who was present, and had depth.

Jiang Xuan felt he had found a kindred spirit and even presumptuously asked Han Jingru to write a preface for the two books. The latter actually agreed on the spot and took the opportunity to chat about “tale of the red snake,” “Brother Xuan, I heard that this tale of the red snake was adapted from last year’s demon slaying in City?”

“Yes!”

“Is Head Ding Ding Shuian in the book based on the deeds of Head Ding?”

“Yes!”

“In that case, you are very familiar with Head Ding?”

“That’s natural, he is my older brother!”

“My apologies, my apologies. Head Ding has repeatedly made great contributions to the country, but I have never had the opportunity to get close to him. I never thought he was Brother Xuan’s older brother! Since that is the case, I will host a banquet at Zhangtai Willow the day after tomorrow. Brother Xuan, please invite Head Ding for a gathering, and let’s drink to our heart’s content, how about that?”

Lin Fuyao, who was beside them, only then understood. Prince Leyang’s heir prepared gifts to visit, and after such a big detour, it turned out he wanted to invite Ding Suian to a banquet through her son!

On the other side, Jiang Xuan had already agreed readily, “Easy, easy!”

Having achieved his goal, Han Jingru was not in a hurry to leave. He chatted with Jiang Xuan and his mother for a while longer, and in his words, he was extremely respectful to Lin Fuyao.

At the end of the Si hour.

Han Jingru took his leave. Lin Fuyao stood up to see him off, but the former said politely, “In terms of seniority, I am a Junior and should address you as Aunt. Please stay seated, Madam; Brother Xuan can see me off.”

Because of his words, Yu Bowen, who was beside him, also had to bow awkwardly, “Please stay seated, Madam; this Junior will take his leave.”

“Hahaha, Mother, wait a moment, I will see off these two brothers.” Jiang Xuan raised his arm to lead the way, “Brother Han, Cousin, please.” His appearance was spirited and full of Vitality.

At this moment, no one dared to scold him for calling Lin Fuyao mother anymore.

Lin Fuyao knew that the other party was only being so polite because they needed something from her son, but she still couldn’t stop a huge sense of satisfaction from arising in her heart. However, looking at the figures of her son and Prince Leyang’s heir laughing as they walked further and further away, a sense of loneliness arose in the bottom of her heart.

“Mother.” A moment later, Jiang Yuan, who had been quietly staying in the next room and listening to the whole conversation, walked in slowly. Seeing her mother sitting blankly on the chair, her eyes red again, she couldn’t help but walk up, take Lin Fuyao’s hand, and say softly, “Mother, why are you crying again?”

“It’s nothing.” What Lin Fuyao was thinking in her heart, she couldn’t say out loud. Today’s brief experience of being respected was only because her son was close friends with that Head Ding. This experience was wonderful, but unfortunately, it could not last. After all, that Head Ding was just her son’s friend, not her own son.

“Waner, has Head Ding been promoted? Why does Prince Leyang’s heir suddenly value him so much?”

“I am not very sure.”

Lin Fuyao asked suddenly, but Jiang Yuan subconsciously lied first. If she said it directly, it would make her seem too focused on Ding Suian. After a few breaths, she said as if unintentionally, “Oh, right, daughter accidentally heard someone say that he was valued by Your Highness, and now he is appointed as some Commander of the Main Army Division. Commander of the Main Army Division.”

“The Commander of the Main Army Division that Madam Li and the others mentioned last night?” When official women gathered together, it was inevitable that they would mention recent political hot topics. Lin Fuyao did indeed hear several ladies talking about the Commander of the Main Army Division being in the limelight last night, but at the time she never thought that this currently popular person in Central Heaven was the little Squad Leader she had met at the Prince’s estate the year before last.

‘I bet with you, sister, he will definitely stand out within three years!’ Lin Hansu’s words from back then echoed in her ears at just the right time.

Lin Fuyao thought quietly for a moment, then suddenly looked up and stared at her daughter’s face, which resembled her Maternal Aunt, for a long time, until Jiang Yuan felt uncomfortable being stared at, “Mother, what’s wrong?”

“I remember, back in City, he taught you two songs, right?”

Lin Fuyao’s eyes were still slightly red, but her expression had become serious, “Later you said that being able to break through the realm smoothly was related to this. We people need to know how to repay kindness. In a few days, you invite Head Ding to come home for a simple meal to express our gratitude.”