Youen lit a candle and burned the letter to ashes. After composing herself, she returned to the courtyard.
Just as she stepped into the yard, she heard knocking at the main gate.
Su Yang, hearing the noise, quickly rose to answer the door.
Outside were people from the Jiang family.
Recognizing the Jiang residence’s steward, Su Yang asked without much thought, “Are you all here looking for Young Master Jiang?”
The steward nodded, peering into the courtyard as he replied, “We heard our young master had come to the Teacher’s residence, so we’ve come to intrude.”
“Please wait a moment, I’ll fetch Young Master Jiang right away.” Knowing the Jiang family was anxious to find Jiang Yunnan, Su Yang said no more and promptly brought him out.
Jiang Yunnan didn’t recognize any of these people.
He couldn’t even recall the steward’s name and dared not return with them.
If he went back and the Jiang family discovered he was an imposter, what would he do?
He silently glanced back at Su Youen with a pleading look, hoping she would rescue him from this dire situation.
Youen cleared her throat. Jiang Yunnan thought she was coming to his aid, his heart warming with a relieved smile.
Fellow villagers are fellow villagers—they come in handy at critical times.
However, the next moment, Su Youen turned around with utmost nonchalance and entered the house without looking back.
Jiang Yunnan: I’ve never met such an unreliable friend in my life.
The Jiang residence wasn’t far from the Su family, both located in the southern part of the city.
Thus, it didn’t take long for Jiang Yunnan to arrive at the Jiang home.
Although he had mentally prepared himself along the way, stepping through the Jiang gate still left him stunned for quite some time.
Su Youen had said his family was wealthy, but she hadn’t mentioned they were this rich.
The entire Jiang estate was absurdly large, every building constructed in resplendent glory. Combined with today being Jiang Yunnan’s wedding day, the whole residence was adorned in joyous decorations.
It was the very picture of a lavish, nouveau riche mansion.
The Jiang family was the wealthiest household in all of Xingchuan Village.
Even in the entire Suzhou city, the Jiang family’s wealth ranked among the top.
Old Master Jiang was a vulgar man who loved money. He had no appreciation for elegant furnishings or architecture, preferring only what looked opulent at first glance.
Although such estate decor appeared extremely out of place in Suzhou city, he stubbornly favored this style.
He firmly believed that others’ opinions of the Jiang residence didn’t matter, as long as he was happy living there.
Jiang Yunnan broke out in a cold sweat. Did they have to flaunt their wealth so blatantly…
While he was still marveling at the sight, a booming, hearty shout suddenly came from nearby: “My son! We’ve finally found you! My boy!”
Immediately followed a massive hug rushing toward him. Unable to dodge in time, he was enveloped in the embrace, nearly suffocating.
“My son, it’s just that Miss Lin. If she doesn’t want to marry, then we won’t marry her. Without the Lin family, there are still the Zhao, Wang, Song, Sun, and Li families. With so many young ladies in Suzhou city, does it matter which one we marry? My son is so handsome, which family’s daughter wouldn’t be worthy of you?”
After listening to this chattering monologue, Jiang Yunnan managed to guess his identity.
This must be Old Master Jiang, his father.
Then who was the person beside his father?Jiang Yunnan glanced at the woman beside his father, but the moment their eyes met, she shot him a glare. Startled, he quickly averted his gaze and didn’t dare look again.
The woman’s icy voice cut through the air: “How could the Lin family be compared to ordinary households? Master Lin is the Prefect of Suzhou, and Miss Lin is the daughter of a Prefect. I ask you, where else in all of Suzhou could you find another Prefect’s daughter?”
“What does it matter that she’s a Prefect’s daughter?!” Master Jiang finally released Jiang Yunnan.
The mere mention of this subject infuriated him. Despite Miss Lin’s notorious reputation, his wife insisted on forcing their son to marry her.
He was utterly exasperated. Marriage was the most important event in one’s life, yet his wife refused to let their son decide for himself, instead meddling with this mismatched pairing.
Now look what happened – Miss Lin fled the wedding, and their son briefly ran away from home for an entire afternoon.
Both families were left embarrassed and displeased. What a complete mess!
“Our Yunnan is handsome, accomplished in both literary and martial arts – in what way is he unworthy of that Prefect’s daughter?! It’s the Lin family who doesn’t know what’s good for them! In my opinion, our son would be better off marrying any other family’s daughter than one from the Lin family!”
Hearing this, the woman merely stared coldly at Master Jiang without responding.
Master Jiang immediately backed down, lowering his voice to explain: “Don’t misunderstand, my dear. I’m not blaming you for choosing this match for Yunnan. I’m just upset that the bride ran away on their wedding day – this will sound terrible when word gets out.”
It was only then that Jiang Yunnan realized this woman was Lady Jiang, presumably his mother.
Though whether she was his biological mother remained uncertain.
After all, given how terrible Miss Lin’s reputation had become, only someone who wasn’t his real mother would arrange such a marriage for him.
Lady Jiang sneered: “Ultimately, you Jiang family members don’t trust me. No matter which young lady I choose for Yunnan, as long as I’m the one who selects her, you’ll never be satisfied, isn’t that right?”
Master Jiang began sweating nervously upon hearing this.
He was clumsy with words and wanted to explain but didn’t know where to begin.
Although dissatisfied with this marriage arrangement, he had always kept these thoughts buried deep in his heart, never daring to voice them.
After all, this match had been personally arranged by his wife.
Her words couldn’t be disobeyed, nor dared he disobey them.
Jiang Yunnan clearly recognized the awkward situation.
He lazily settled into a chair, pulled the fruit plate closer, and quietly began cracking melon seeds.
From start to finish, he never intended to mediate between the two.
He actually hoped they would argue more fiercely – that way they wouldn’t notice his presence, and his identity as an imposter in the Jiang family would be exposed later.
Just as he settled in to quietly watch the drama unfold, he heard Master Jiang shout: “Son! Put down those melon seeds immediately! You’ve been allergic to those since childhood, have you forgotten?!”
Jiang Yunnan’s seed-cracking motion faltered slightly, his entire face instantly flushing red. Suddenly he felt uncomfortable all over.
Damn, he was done for.
He genuinely couldn’t understand – why would anyone in this world be allergic to melon seeds?
What ridiculous character settings had Ergou written for this role?!
Master Jiang hurriedly instructed the Jiang family steward: “Water, fetch water! Send for the physician, quickly go get Physician Su!”
While vigorously patting Jiang Yunnan’s back, “Spit out what’s in your mouth quickly, my child! How could you be so desperate? It’s just a broken engagement, nothing serious! You shouldn’t torment yourself by eating this stuff!”
Jiang Yunnan felt utterly helpless.
If he had known earlier that he was allergic to this thing, he would rather be beaten to death than touch it.
The doctor soon arrived at the Jiang residence.
Lying on the couch, Jiang Yunnan’s entire face had swollen up, his eyes too puffy to even open.
He couldn’t see what the doctor looked like, but the voice sounded rather familiar.