Chapter 538
Chapter 538
And although Cheng Qingli was capable of managing such matters, she was not yet formally married into the family, and Zhang Yanchu did not want to give others any cause for gossip.
Moreover, he only wanted the two of them to settle the engagement first.
Then he would have Jiang Yuanrang find an excuse to take Wen Xiu out of the capital.
They would not return to the capital until after Shangguan Mu had left.
"If you don't mind, we can hold both ceremonies together without any trouble," Li Tianyou agreed without a second thought. Besides, the two families lived close to each other, so they could simply prepare two sets of everything if needed.
It was not a major matter by any means.
"Exactly, exactly. If you don't mind, we'll have all the arrangements ready by then," Lady Yao chimed in hurriedly.
After all, back in Li'an County, even though Lady Yao had been in poor health, she had still managed banquets before.
Although the standards here in the capital were different, Lady Yao could still pull it off.
The engagement between the Li and Wen families was soon settled. When word got out, many people were taken aback.
"It was already well known that the Li family had found their long-lost son, and many families in the capital were hoping to marry their daughters into the Li family. Who would have thought the Wen family would get the first move?"
"Oh, the Wen and Li families are next-door neighbors after all, and that Miss Wen had the advantage of being closest to the water's edge."
"The Li family just married off a daughter, and now they're taking in a daughter-in-law. I wonder how much of a bride price they'll offer this time."
Everyone was also extremely curious about the scale of the betrothal gifts the Li family would prepare.
But by then, Jiang Yuanrang had already taken Wen Xiu and set out on the road toward Lucheng.
"Brother, be sure to take good care of Sister Wen Xiu along the way. We'll set off ourselves in a few days," Li Zhiwei said, unable to keep from giving instructions.
"Don't worry, sister. I will definitely take good care of Miss Wen," Jiang Yuanrang nodded in agreement.
"Zhiwei, dear sister, there's no need to fret. For this trip to Lucheng, I've brought Qiuyue, Qiu Shui, and Nanny Lin with me, and Brother has also arranged for Deputy General Fang to accompany us," Wen Xiu said, finding it a little amusing to see Li Zhiwei looking so anxious.
After all, Jiang Yuanrang only had Zhou Xu accompanying him on this journey, while she herself had two maidservants and a nanny, not to mention the sixteen guards led by Deputy General Fang that her brother had assigned to her.
Even if Jiang Yuanrang wanted to bully her, he simply wouldn't have the means, would he?
"Sister Wen, if anyone is foolish enough to offend you along the way, just hit back. If anything happens, I'll have your back," Li Zhiwei said, still worried that someone in the Jiang family might make things difficult for Wen Xiu.
"Rest assured, dear sister Zhiwei. If I truly suffer any grievance, I'll be sure to come running to you to complain and let our Princess Consort of An settle the score for me," Wen Xiu said with a laugh.
"Little sister, look at this situation—who exactly is bullying whom here?" Jiang Yuanrang said, feeling a bit disheartened as he pointed behind him. He only had Zhou Xu, whom Xu Heming had assigned to him.
But Wen Xiu had brought a full nineteen people with her, and there wasn't a single one of them he could hope to stand against.
"Brother, I'm not worried about you bullying Sister Wen Xiu. But if someone in the Jiang family has no sense and crosses the line, then don't blame us for being rude," Li Zhiwei said, looking at Jiang Yuanrang with a warning in her eyes.
In truth, her greater concern was whether the Jiang family might try to arrange some marriage for her brother.
At the thought, Li Zhiwei grew even more anxious.
She shouldn't have let Sister Wen leave with her brother first. She should have taken Sister Wen along with their own group instead.
It was all Xu Heming's fault. Why hadn't he finished what needed to be done?
"Miss Wen, in the Jiang family, no matter who dares to offend you, don't be polite—just hit back." Jiang Yuanrang felt rather displeased at the thought, so he said this to Wen Xiu as well.
"Don't worry, I'm not foolish enough to just stand there and let them bully me, am I?" Wen Xiu thought to herself that these siblings really were cut from the same cloth—their minds went to the exact same place.
Still, she truly didn't think anyone would dare offend her.
If it ever did happen, she certainly wouldn't stand there quietly and swallow her anger.
Otherwise, it would be her elder brother's reputation that suffers.
"Mhm, that's right, hit back. If it gets too much, just avoid them for now, and when I arrive, I'll get revenge for you." Li Zhiwei nodded in agreement.
Jiang Yuanrang shot his sister a look of reproach—her words made him sound rather useless.
Wen Xiu was, after all, his betrothed. He wasn't so incapable that he couldn't protect his own person.
Besides, within the Jiang family, it was only the second branch that caused trouble, and now that branch had just one illegitimate son of no account left; the rest were probably still nursing their wounds.
Even if they had the heart to make things difficult for Wen Xiu, they'd hardly have the means to do so now.
As for Madame Jiang, Jiang Yuanrang thought her temperament to be gentle by nature, so she surely wouldn't make things hard for Wen Xiu.
What's more, she had long hoped he would marry soon; knowing he had settled on a marriage, she would certainly be happy for him.
As for those people in Lucheng, Jiang Yuanrang figured that anyone with half a brain wouldn't dare to offend Wen Xiu.
And given Wen Xiu's status, even the county magistrate of Lucheng would be eager to curry favor with her—how could he ever dare to bully her?
Besides, his future brother-in-law had even sent Deputy General Fang with sixteen guards to stay by Wen Xiu's side.
And Second Miss Chen was even more formidable—she had not only requested a personal shadow guard from the Emperor but also secured a matron from the Empress herself to accompany Wen Xiu.
Any one of them, taken out alone, would be enough to outrank a county magistrate.
The most unremarkable person by Wen Xiu's side, he feared, was himself. At that thought, Jiang Yuanrang's heart felt a little sour.
Has your status now become unworthy of Miss Wen?
He wondered if it was still too late for him to take the imperial examinations.
The carriage slowly made its way toward Lucheng, and along the entire journey, Jiang Yuanrang remained deeply downcast, which left Wen Xiu rather puzzled.
"What's the matter with Mr. Li?"
Seeing Jiang Yuanrang like this, she couldn't help but feel curious—could it be he didn't want to go back?
Or perhaps he didn't want her to come along with him?
"You and I are betrothed—do you have to address me so formally?" Jiang Yuanrang felt a pang of unhappiness upon hearing Wen Xiu still call him "Mr. Li."
"Then what would you like me to call you?" Wen Xiu was confused—where did this anger come from?
She hadn't provoked him at all on the journey.
"Call me Tingzhou-gege." Jiang Yuanrang looked at Wen Xiu and blurted it out.
"Shameless?" Wen Xiu blushed the moment she said it.
Such an intimate form of address—Wen Xiu felt she could hardly bring herself to say it.
"Tell me, if I went and aced the imperial examinations to become the top scholar, would it still be in time?" Jiang Yuanrang propped his chin on his hand, speaking with a hint of sullenness.
"This was what you were unhappy about the whole way?" Wen Xiu struggled to hold back a laugh as she looked at him and asked.
On this matter, she really wasn't trying to discourage him.
Which top scholar hadn't spent ten years studying by lamplight in bitter diligence?
At Jiang Yuanrang's current age, instead of taking a path that didn't suit him, he'd do better to choose the direction he was already skilled in.
"Is it not allowed?" Jiang Yuanrang said, though even he lacked confidence as he spoke.
"Compared to passing the imperial examination, there are more important things that need you to do," Wen Xiu said hurriedly, not wanting to dampen his enthusiasm.
Before they knew it, they had reached Lucheng.
The carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the Jiang family residence.
Jiang Yuanrang stepped down and personally helped Wen Xiu out of the carriage.
"Who are you looking for?"
Just as Wen Xiu was taking in the sight of the Jiang family's front gate, a sudden female voice sounded from the side.