Half in the river wind, half in the clouds

After completing the five steps of offering betrothal gifts, asking for the bride's name, offering good luck, offering betrothal gifts and asking for the date, the day of the wedding finally arrived in the spring of the following year.

Jiang Lan wore multiple layers of wide-sleeved, chest-length skirts, and finally a green wide-sleeved top made of shawl gauze. She wore a hairpin headdress made of colored glaze on her head, and her face was white and her lips were red.

It’s luxurious but not beautiful enough!

The groom who was beaten and ran away outside the door might return this outfit after seeing it.

Jiang Lan listened attentively to the noise of the "son-in-law" outside. Jiang Feng joked, "Brother Gao Hui has promised to protect his brother-in-law and will not let his aunt beat him too hard."

Jiang Lan absentmindedly picked up the tea on the table and took a sip, cursing, "Little girl, you're here to get beaten again!"

At this time, a chorus of shouts came from outside: "Brides, hurry up and get ready!" The groomsmen were all soldiers, and they were full of energy, shouting until the bride's eyebrows were trembling.

"It is said that you should apply rouge under the candlelight, and don't act like a spring in front of the mirror. There is no need to put on makeup all over your face, and leave your eyebrows for the painter to paint." The future brother-in-law Liu Nezhi, a warrior, can actually compose a poem to urge people to put on makeup.

Jiang Fei pushed Jiang Lan and said with a smile: "Big sister, my brother-in-law said that you don't have to draw the whole thing, just leave your eyebrows for him to draw for you."

After saying that, the two sisters hugged Jiang Feng and laughed together. Only Jiang Lan was fiddling with the corner of her clothes, but the smile on her face deepened. Her shy smile even made her makeup look better.

After much anticipation, Jiang Lan walked out of her boudoir with the help of Jiang Fei, and Jiang's mother covered her daughter's head with a towel. At that moment, Jiang Feng saw a flash of tears in Jiang's mother's eyes. Jiang Lan pulled Jiang's mother through the red veil and said, "Mother, my daughter is gone."

Jiang's mother's nose was sore, and she tried to hold back her tears and said, "My daughter is virtuous. She is getting married today. After marriage, she will be rich and worry-free, have many children and live a long life, and live in harmony with her husband."

Jiang Lan still held her mother's hand tightly and said affectionately, "Mother, you have treated me like your own daughter and have carefully raised me for many years. I always remember it in my heart. Today, I am getting married and I am going to ask you to be more patient when teaching Afeng in the future... Mother, Afeng is very good."

Jiang's mother finally burst into tears and almost fainted. She only gradually calmed down after being comforted by Nanny Sun and Aunt Gao.

Surrounded by the crowd, Jiang Lan walked towards Liu Nezhi and towards her bright new life.

Jiang Feng was reluctant to part with this elder sister who had given her love and warmth, but at the same time she was touched by the deep mother-daughter relationship between her and her mother. She looked at her mother crying bitterly, and her resentment towards her disappeared immediately.

They might have had a feud in their previous life, which is why Jiang Feng refused to come out of Jiang's mother's belly in this life, suffocating his twin brother to death. Not only did Jiang's mother have no son, but she also lost her fertility forever.

Yes. Yesterday at the second aunt's maid's place, Jiang Feng finally learned about this past event, and also finally understood the reason why he had been treated with indifference and disgust for so many years.

Jiang's mother was pregnant with twins, but she had a difficult labor on the day of delivery. It took her a day and a night to give birth to Jiang Feng. However, the baby boy who was born later was suffocated to death.

After a narrow escape, Jiang's mother finally got her child. When she looked at her two children with expectation, she was told that her son was suffocated to death. She was stunned for a long time, without shedding a single tear, but she never looked at her daughter again. Based on this, Mrs. Jiang concluded that Jiang Feng was a bad person and would bring disaster to the Jiang family. If it weren't for her aunt and father stopping her, she would have drowned Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng's misfortune was indeed unique! Ever since she was born, her grandmother had disliked her and only loved the children left by her first wife. Her mother resented her and treated her coldly, beating and scolding her at every turn; her father ignored her and completely let the three girls be managed by his second wife.

Jiang's mother was not a qualified biological mother, but she was a good stepmother. She was born weak and only followed the lead of her husband and mother-in-law. Her husband had high expectations for his two sons, so she did her best to provide logistical support for them; her mother-in-law was partial to the two daughters left by his ex-wife and was worried that they would be abused by their stepmother, so she tried her best to be good to Jiang Lan and Jiang Fei.

As for Jiang Feng, she was a nobody to her father and a scourge to the whole family in the eyes of her grandmother. Therefore, Jiang's mother stopped caring about her.

Jiang Feng originally thought that as a concubine, Jiang's mother had to deal with her mother-in-law's suspicion and leave a good reputation. She had to do some face-saving work to demonstrate her kindness and charity and her determination not to mistreat her stepchildren.

She also once speculated sinisterly: Maybe she had met an extremely scheming mother, and all her kindness was just a facade to cover up her "praising to death" stick. She was lurking, ready to deal a fatal blow to a few "burdens" at the critical moment.

After all, most scripts about stepmothers are written like this.

However, Jiang Feng later discovered that Jiang's mother was really good to Jiang Lan and Jiang Fei. Not only did she teach them knowledge, needlework, household management, etiquette and reason, but she also taught them according to their hobbies and specialties, and raised the two girls to become models of ancient ladies. All the ladies in Liangzhou loved them.

It was true that she disliked Jiang Feng. The disdain in her eyes was even more than that of Old Lady Jiang.

Jiang Feng is not a little girl fighting for candy. She has the mature soul of a 24-year-old modern woman. Their mother-daughter relationship is inherently empty, and she doesn't care about the different treatments.

She just thought that in another world, her real mother gave her all her love.

Whether it was disdain or friendliness, Jiang Feng took it all in stride, because without expectations, there was no disappointment or joy either.

Jiang Feng lost interest in the ceremony that followed. She walked around the corridor and came to the backyard. The tall apricot tree was planted when she first crossed over. In four years, she had already accepted this body and the ruthless teasing of fate. The road ahead was long, and she would be alone and helpless. When she was slandered, her grandmother would not stand up for her; when she had conflicts with others, her father would not stand up for her; when she got married, her mother would not shed tears for her...

She didn't care. She wasn't discouraged. She just hoped that her parents in that world would be healthy and happy. She promised them that she would live a happy life!

At that time, the spring rain was like silk.

Her clothes were half wet, her face and eyes were stained with tears, like an elf leaping out of a spring. The apricot blossoms on the tree, about to bloom, made her look like a flower fairy.

Long, long time later, Shen Guxing still clearly remembered this first encounter. She was just sitting there quietly, but somehow she opened his heart and lived in it.

In the blue sky and mountains and sea, only the flower fairy can do this.

The Qilian Mountains in the southwest of Liangzhou are towering, and the Tengger Desert in the northeast is endless. Only the central part is flat and easy to travel, which is a natural oasis. Since Emperor Gaozong, the control over Liangzhou has been strengthened step by step. Emperor Wu also established the Hexi Protectorate in Liangzhou, and elite soldiers and generals gathered in the northwest to continuously conquer the Turks. Liangzhou once developed fertile land, abundant resources and rich people. Its prosperity was higher than that of Youzhou and Guangzhou.

However, since last winter, the grasslands have been covered with heavy snow, resulting in a shortage of grass. Countless Turkic livestock starved to death and began to harass Liangzhou. The former general led his army to a failed campaign, and the Turks abducted more than a thousand border residents. Later, Guo Qianguan became the governor, won a victory, and opened a trade to sell food to the Turks, and the border was finally stabilized.

Since this battle, a purge is inevitable. Liu Nezhi, who just married a beautiful girl, is successful in love and career, and has repeatedly made contributions and has been promoted to a general under the command of Jue. Jiang You and Gao Hui, a young man next door, have also made contributions.

Of course, there are also many unlucky people.

The uncle of this young man was one of them. Captain Shen led his army to ambush the Turks and was suddenly hit by a sandstorm. He was trapped in the desert for many days before being rescued, but he also lost half his life. After all, the northwest is not as prosperous as Chang'an. This time, Shen Guxing specially brought the imperial physician to treat his unfortunate uncle.

Because the Jiang family was marrying off their daughter, he came to give a gift on behalf of his bedridden uncle.

"Don't cry, girl. You might get soaked."

She is tall and graceful, gentle as jade, and her voice is more penetrating than spring rain. Even though I have seen all kinds of young handsome men in my previous life, I still think that the one in front of me is the ceiling of appearance.

Jiang Feng quickly calmed down and bowed, "You are a distinguished guest who has come from afar. My father and brother are both in the front hall."

She had just been the first to be criticized because of the strict gender separation a few days ago, so now even the most handsome guy could only be a passing cloud for her.

"I am indeed rude." He said this but didn't move his feet. He looked at Jiang Feng carefully for a moment, with a smile in the corner of his eyes, and said seriously: "It seems that I have met the girl before somewhere. How come you look so familiar! Have you been to Chang'an?"

Jiang Feng replied: "No."

The man bowed his head and pondered for a moment, then said in a clear voice: "It is true that I have never seen you before. But I think you look familiar, so I consider you an old acquaintance. Today we are just meeting again after a long separation."

Then he clasped his fists and said in a bright and clear manner: "My name is Shen Guxing, nice to meet you, young lady."

Although the above tactics for picking up girls had been first told to Lin Daiyu by the romantic Jia Baoyu, Jiang Feng still felt better after hearing them.

She turned slightly to the side and said, "Meet Mr. Shen."

Shen Guxing asked again: "May I know your name, young lady?"

Jiang Feng said: "My humble name may disgrace your dignity."

Shen Guxing knew that the girl didn't want to say it, so he said self-deprecatingly: "I didn't expect that these ears would become so noble today!"

Jiang Feng found what he said interesting and smiled lightly, but did not respond.

Shen Guxing was shocked by that smile. Her eyes were bright and charming, and her face was so charming that even the apricot flowers on the tree lost their color.

He was stunned, and when he came to his senses, he felt very rude, and his ears blushed. He said softly, "Miss, please lead the way to the front hall. Thank you."

Lead the way! This small courtyard with two entrances needs a guide! Although he looks good, I guess his brain is not very good enough.

But he said politely, "Okay. Mr. Shen, please come this way."

As she said this, she turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation - to please him because he was really pleasing to the eye.

In front of Jiang Feng, she walked gracefully, like a thorn in the back;

The other side of the young man followed slowly and strolled leisurely in the garden.

As soon as they walked out of the Chuihua Gate, they saw the maid of the Duwei family coming hurriedly. When she saw the two of them, she said, "So the young master is here. Madam, please come over and greet us."

The young man stopped for a moment, clasped his hands together and said to Jiang Feng: "I am so lucky to see you today."

Jiang Feng smiled and returned the greeting.

Shen Guxing's arrival caused quite a stir in the circle of the daughters of officials in Liangzhou.

It stands to reason that there are many young men in Liangzhou, but if you count carefully: Gao Hui looks good, but he is a little bit stubborn. He made a bet with a girl by hitting her forehead. Jiang Feng was hit by the "Vajra Finger" and his eyes were full of stars; Jiang Feng's two brothers, one only knows how to read books and the other knows how to wield swords and guns. The second brother even used the nesting dolls sent by Guan Shanyue as a target, and the girl's eyes turned red after one arrow; Guan Shanyun and Guan Shanfeng are not bad, but it's a pity that the former indulges in mountains and rivers and never goes home all year round, and the latter got married and had children early. The remaining sons of the county magistrate's family are always looking for flowers and willows. Dou Ding is very naughty, and the young son of the captain's family is a playboy, so all the girls avoid him.

Shen Guxing, a young man from Chang'an, was named Yiye. His mother was a close relative of Empress Wu, and his father was a third-rank official in charge of grain and grass, who died of illness two years ago. Although the Shen family was prominent and they were royal relatives, they were always cautious in their words and deeds, and were upright officials. They did not follow the same path as Wu Sansi, so they were respected in the court.

Shen Guxing himself was a rare talent, gentle and upright, and had a good reputation in Chang'an City. He passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen and now only waited for his appointment as an official.

Surrounded by a group of girls, Guo Qinru dumped out all the gossip she had heard.

"It is said that they are also discussing marriage..." She added at last.

This young man, who was obsessed with a group of girls, got along very well with the eldest brother of the Jiang family. Jiang Zuo asked him for advice on preparing for the exam and he was generous in giving it to him. He even wrote dozens of pages of Spring Examination strategy overnight and gave it to Jiang Zuo. It was obvious that they appreciated each other. Jiang's father and mother liked Shen Guxing more and more, and even the Jiang and Shen families became friendly with each other.