Half in the river wind, half in the clouds

Because Li Longye had sent someone to report the news the day before, there were already a bunch of people guarding the gate of Jiang's mansion.

Although Jiang Feng knew that Jiang's mother had sprained her ankle, she still felt resentful that the family had left her alone on the mountain. After returning from the disaster, she saw that Jiang's mother had lost weight and couldn't help but sigh in her heart. There was nothing she could blame them for. Maybe they simply thought that marrying into the royal palace was a good way out.

Jiang's mother had been living a miserable life for the past ten days. The guards of the palace said respectfully that the miracle doctor on the mountain was eccentric and did not allow outsiders to see him. But she could not rest assured, so she asked Jiang You and Liu Nezhi to accompany her to Qiu Mountain, but they were stopped at the foot of the mountain. Jiang You rolled up his sleeves and was about to take action, but was stopped by his son-in-law, "These people are the prince's personal followers, you can't be reckless."

Jiang's mother beat her chest and stamped her feet, unable to sleep or eat for days. Li Longye's move was obvious to her. Seeing this, Jiang's father had already thought about marrying his daughter to Li Longye. To make matters worse, the Wen family also received news that her "prepared" son-in-law had also flown away.

Li Zan was talking to Jiang Jingxiu over there, "Master Jiang, you don't have to be polite. The prince said, 'My sister died at the age of nine. I miss her day and night. Now that I see Miss Jiang San, it's like my sister is reborn. I'm really happy!' That's why the prince has taken better care of her. I hope Master Jiang won't mind."

When Jiang's father heard the sudden change in tone, and mentioned the relationship between brother and sister, he couldn't help but suspect that something had happened to Qiu Shan? He was even more panicked at the moment, and hurriedly bowed and said, "How dare my daughter compare to Princess Huaiyang? Your Majesty, I am flattered by your kindness."

Li Zan said, "Your Excellency, there is no need to do this. You should move around more often in the future. I dare not stay any longer. I have to go back and report. I will take my leave now."

Everyone hurriedly bowed and saw him off.

Jiang Feng swept over the area, and only Mrs. Jiang looked as energetic as ever. As for the rest, Jiang's father's beard, which had never been messy, was now messy, Jiang Fei looked exhausted, and his eyes were red and swollen like peaches. His two brothers also looked quite tired. The worst was Jiang's mother, who looked several years older, and wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes in just a few days.

Jiang Feng and Jiang's mother were rarely intimate. Seeing Jiang's mother's expression, he finally couldn't bear it. He suppressed his inner resistance, climbed up Jiang's mother's neck and said coquettishly: "Don't worry, mother, I'm fine! The miracle doctor has brought back my daughter's health. It's comparable to... comparable to a yellow ox pulling a plow!"

Jiang's mother spat and said, "You are talking more nonsense."

Jiang Feng exaggerated the interesting things in the mountains. In her vivid description, the miracle doctor was tainted by the mortal world and was just a shy old man with a goatee. On the contrary, the birds and beasts became immortals. The crested ibis and eagles even used the "Thirty-Six Stratagems" to compete for the nest; it was obviously just a red-feathered pheasant, but she said it was a phoenix nirvana. In fact, she just roasted the pheasant when she "roasted a whole chicken"; she also praised the birds in the mountains for following the laws of nature, singing every day at the hour of Yin, and the dawn came with the sound of a bird, but she did not mention that in order to sleep in, she directed Li Zan and his group to chase the turtledoves all over the mountain...

Nanny Sun was very surprised when she heard this. She had clearly seen those scenes, so why were they not as interesting as what Jiang Feng described?

Father Jiang, however, sighed when he heard about the apricot planting: "When I first started studying, I didn't believe the story of Dong Feng selling apricots as a tiger. Now that I'm over forty, I know how many great people and hermits there are in this world. There are certainly many legendary stories, but we just can't see them in person. It's a great fortune for Afeng to have this adventure!"

The family sat together, talking about all kinds of things. Jiang's mother looked at the time and asked the servants to set the table. When the food came, Jiang Feng was drooling: fried basil leaves, stir-fried celery with white root, stir-fried meat with wild rice stem, three bamboo shoots soup, shrimp and fish sauce, lotus meat, stir-fried pheasant with chestnuts, and eight-treasure tofu. Jiang's father never liked extravagance, and the daily family banquets were basically simple and full. This time, everything flying in the sky, running on the ground, and swimming in the water, both meat and vegetables, was all available at once, which was also rare.

Old Mrs. Jiang pouted and scolded Jiang's mother for wasting money: "But she drank too much without restraint and caused the whole family to be in chaos. It seems like she has done a great deed."

Jiang's mother lowered her head, not daring to argue. Jiang's father, who always watched the show, rarely said, "Mother, what are you talking about? Seeing that Zuo'er is about to take up his post, your wife will also go with him. This time, she will not be able to return for at least a year or so. Let's take this opportunity to have a good family reunion, firstly for Afeng's recovery from a serious illness, and secondly to show filial piety to you."

Old Lady Jiang looked better, but she was still rude: "I am an old woman with half of my body about to be buried in the ground. I don't care whether you are filial or not. But if I am gone one day, you can't treat Fei'er harshly."

Jiang Feng felt like a thorn in his throat. Is there anyone more qualified as a stepmother than Jiang's mother? !

Jiang Fei's face turned slightly red. She hugged Old Lady Jiang's arm awkwardly and forced a smile, "Grandma, aren't you drunk? If anyone treats me badly, Mother will be the first to disagree."

It's really hard to be a stepmother!

Although Mrs. Jiang said it was a waste, she ate without hesitation. Except for Jiang's mother who couldn't drink because of her leg injury and Jiang Feng who nearly lost his life after drinking, Mrs. Jiang, Jiang's father, Zuo, You and Fei all drank. It was a happy occasion, and the gloom of the past few days was swept away.

Although Jiang's mother had difficulty walking, she still arranged for Jiang Feng to rest. When they returned to the main house, Nanny Sun had already answered Jiang's father's question. She bowed to Jiang's mother and continued, "Master, Madam, I think the prince has a crush on our girl..."

Although Jiang's mother had been prepared, she was still shocked when she heard what Nanny Sun said. She asked anxiously, "Ah Feng has been in Qiushan these few days. We have tried to visit him several times but failed. Has he...did he do anything shameful?"

"Don't be afraid, Madam. Of course not. Not to mention that our young lady is a very polite person, I think the prince is also a man of affection but not of ceremony. Except... except for being intimate, he has never violated the rules."

In Qiushan, Nanny Sun had been a light bulb for more than ten days under Li Longye's sharp eyes. Now she was still uneasy to recount the situation in the mountain in person. But she also knew that Jiang's mother was extremely anxious, so she had to tell her everything she saw and heard in detail.

When Nanny Sun went down, Father Jiang's tea had already gone cold. The couple looked at each other in silence, and Father Jiang sighed first and said, "You and Zuo'er should reject the Shen family's boy as soon as possible when you come to Beijing this time."

Seeing that Jiang's father had made up his mind, Jiang's mother patiently advised in a low voice: "Master, let's think of a way. With Ah Feng's stubbornness, how can she enter the palace? If she could be as thoughtful and sensible as Ah Lan and Ah Fei, I would dare to ask for the wealth! But I am just worried that her temper will cause trouble and eventually affect the family! If I had known this earlier, I would have decided on Ah Hui earlier even if Fei Er resented and hated me."

"I know very well that Prince Qi Dafei is definitely not a good match, but now that things have come to this, I am a small official of the ninth rank and my words carry no weight. Even if the prince forces us to marry him now... I am afraid we can only endure it..." said Jiang's father.

Seeing that Jiang's father was unmoved, Jiang's mother said softly, "Ah Feng has always been opinionated. Just look at what she did with Yuan He. How old was she at that time? Nine years old, right? When she knew that I had arranged for her to marry Yuan He, she picked up a pair of scissors and cut off a large lock of her hair. If it wasn't for Nanny Sun stopping her... Well, after that incident, I didn't dare to force her to get engaged. It has been delayed until now, but I didn't expect that a very good marriage would be ruined."

Father Jiang was also quite moved after hearing this. He sat up and said, "That girl looks gentle, but she is not vague at all when it comes to major issues. But how can my aunt's family compare to the prince's palace? Yuanhe is not even a fraction of the prince's. What else is there for Ah Feng to be unwilling about?"

Jiang's mother said, "I don't think so. Afeng has only met the prince once or twice, once at Alan's banquet."

Seeing her husband sitting up straight and listening attentively, Jiang's mother continued, "The second time was in Jiuyue Tower. Youran said that the prince chased them all out and left only Afeng in the inner room, and the two chatted for more than half an hour. At that time, the prince might have been tempted, and how could Afeng, who has always been smart, not know? But she didn't say a word about it, and even Madam Lu and Youran were intimidated by her and didn't reveal a single word. Coincidentally, she had always resisted the marriage with Yuanhe, but she agreed after meeting the prince. Everyone has their own aspirations. I think she would rather marry Yuanhe than the prince."

Father Jiang was stunned for a long while before he said, "She is just a young girl, how can she understand the importance of this matter. If what Nanny Sun said is true, the prince is a noble person, and he will listen to Afeng's words 80% to 90%. What else can she not be satisfied with with such a man as her husband! I don't blame her for being a little bit temperamental about the marriage of my aunt, but if the prince really likes her, it will be a blessing that my family can't even ask for, how can I let her do whatever she wants!"

Jiang's mother had never seen Jiang's father so determined. She had always been able to change her husband's mind with just a few words, but today, she had talked her mouth off but he remained unmoved.

It can be seen that wealth and honor come first, and everything else comes second.

But Jiang's mother was not one to give up easily. After a little thought, she said softly, "I have spoiled her all these years, and she has become ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth. But since the master has made up his mind, we should still think long and hard. Otherwise, given the girl's temper, if she really cuts her hair to become a nun, how can we explain to the prince? If things go wrong, the marriage may not be concluded, and we will offend the higher-ups."

Father Jiang thought about Jiang Feng's usual behavior and felt that she could really do such a thing. He couldn't help but feel nervous, but still said firmly: "Is she going to rebel against the heaven?"

Jiang's mother struck while the iron was hot and said, "She doesn't care, but we have to take care of the whole family."

Father Jiang was worried, rubbing his eyes and said, "Today, General Li also said that the prince only treats Afeng as a sister, and he didn't say it for sure. Let's wait and see, maybe there will be other opportunities."

Jiang's mother's goal has been achieved. As long as Jiang's father is timid and doesn't rush to curry favor with the prince, it will be fine. For the rest, we can only take it one step at a time.

He then washed up and let Jiang's father rest without saying anything else.