Chapter 142
Lunch was a bit greasy and messy. Dinner was light porridge and side dishes.
Even light porridge and side dishes could be made delicious. The porridge was bubbling with vibrant green leaves.
There were freshly made pastries and pickled vegetables.
That evening, Jiang Yu showed off her cooking skills in a solid way.
She even showed off a bit of technique.
The pastries were deep-fried into flower shapes.
They were both beautiful and delicious.
Consequently, Meng Shaoxia ate the second “taste of heaven” following the one he had last time.
This time it surpassed the last.
The last time was at the Jiang Family.
This time was still at the Jiang Family.
Meng Shaoxia ate very earnestly.
Jiang Yu loved to eat, and she also loved watching others eat earnestly.
She felt that anyone who wasn’t devout about eating certainly wasn’t a good person.
Such people were hypocritical and not worth getting to know deeply.
(Jiang Wan: You might as well just read out my ID number.)
Last time this dashing young hero came, the whole Jiang Family didn’t think anything was wrong.
It was mainly because the other party’s conditions were too good, and theirs were too poor, so they didn’t think much of it, nor did they dare to.
But this time, this Little Square Face had a weary look on his face and was smiling at Jiang Yu like a fool.
Except for Jiang Yu, the whole family noticed something was off.
Aunt Yin’s eyes were like a mine detector, scanning back and forth.
She wasn’t scanning the Meng Family youth.
She knew this was the Meng Family’s only heir.
She had seen Meng Shaoxia’s Father when he was young; he was just like that, with a square face.
She had seen Meng Shaoxia’s grandfather, and he also had a square face.
The Meng Family members were very easy to recognize.
Aunt Yin was scanning Jiang Yu.
Although she stood on the side of The Eldest Miss, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything derogatory about the Meng Family.
In the capital, the men of the Meng Family were basically the candidates every lady wanted to choose as a son-in-law.
Little Square Face might not be the look that young girls in the boudoir liked, but he was certainly the look that every mother-in-law liked.
Aunt Yin inexplicably had a feeling of, “No way, no way, what kind of dog-shit luck has The Eldest Miss encountered?”
Lady Qin also reacted.
After the meal, Jiang Changtian was more direct, smiling and saying, “Young Master Meng, are you here to retrieve your horse? The horse still recognizes you, which shows the depth of your bond. And this jade pendant—Sister Yu was ignorant and accepted such a valuable item. We have been uneasy holding onto it. After keeping it for so long, it can finally be returned to its rightful owner.”
Aunt Yin took a look and thought, “Good heavens.”
The jade had actually been given away.
She inexplicably felt a sense of mission to give The Eldest Miss extra training.
After marrying into the Meng Family, she would definitely have to go out and meet people.
She couldn’t be someone who couldn’t be presented.
It couldn’t really be a case of a blind cat meeting a dead mouse.
In an instant, the whole family felt like they were bracing for battle.
Jiang Mianmian even stopped playing with ants and stared curiously at the square-faced youth.
Oh, wow, this youth’s gaze at her sister was different.
Seeing everyone so serious and grave, as if they were about to discuss a major event, Jiang Yu asked, “Do you need me to go check the door?”
“Pfft!”
Meng Shaoxia, who had been very nervous, couldn’t help but laugh when he saw little Sister Yu asking with a nervous look on her face.
Then, he nimbly knelt down with a “thump!”
“When I, Shaoxia, returned to the capital last time, I made my intentions clear to my parents. I, Shaoxia, admire Miss Jiang Yu and wish to take Miss Jiang as my wife. It was only due to the chaos of war that I could not return in time. We have been separated for a long time, yet my feelings have not changed. My parents could not make it, but I begged for my grandparents’ consent and brought my grandfather’s letter. This jade pendant is a token for my proposal.”
Meng Shaoxia looked at Jiang Yu.
He continued, “I, Shaoxia, hereby swear that if I can marry Miss Jiang, I will walk through life with her, never take a concubine, and never have eyes for another. It is just that my family has few descendants; it is likely due to our family line. If we are not blessed with offspring in the future, we can adopt children from the clan.”
Jiang Yu was just watching the excitement at first, then suddenly realized she was the excitement.
Then she heard about children.
Jiang Yu’s face immediately flushed red.
Because A-Cui was pregnant… she had also roughly figured out why one could get pregnant.
What was wrong with this person? Was he saying his family had an illness and couldn’t conceive?
That was quite pitiful.
Surely he wasn’t looking for her because of that?
“I, Shaoxia, felt a kinship with Miss Jiang at first sight. I like Miss Jiang’s warmth and straightforwardness, I like Miss Jiang’s sincerity toward her family, I like Miss Jiang’s beauty, and I like Miss Jiang’s excellent culinary skills. I, Shaoxia, have no other strengths, but I have been strengthening my body since childhood and am in good health. I should not die prematurely and will definitely be able to take good care of Miss Jiang. I beg for your consent.”
Meng Shaoxia was from a military family.
He didn’t like beating around the bush.
Seeing his beloved again, he said all these words in one breath.
Because he had seen much life and death.
He was afraid that if he didn’t say it last time, and didn’t say it this time, he wouldn’t have the chance to say it next time.
Jiang Mianmian was so surprised she stuck her finger in her mouth.
So direct.
After Aunt Yin pulled her finger out and wiped it, she finally reacted.
Jiang Yu’s face and even her neck turned red, and she was a bit dumbfounded.
Then she thought, this Little Square Face was certainly not as good-looking as Father, but she actually didn’t find him annoying.
Of all the men she knew, he was the only one she could think of living with without feeling so repulsive.
However, she still looked up at her parents in a daze.
Jiang Feng looked surprised, going from feeling a sense of mutual appreciation to the feeling of “I treat you as a brother, but you treat me as a brother-in-law.”
Then he felt a bit surprised; this Brother Meng’s eyesight wasn’t very good.
Although he loved his sister and certainly couldn’t say anything bad about her, if he had to marry a girl like Jiang Xiaoyu, he felt he would easily be angered to death. No way, no way.
Qin Luoxia was a bit surprised; this was a big deal, a big deal.
She looked at her husband, waiting for him to make the decision.
As for what Jiang Changtian was muttering in his heart, that was unknown.
Jiang Mianmian watched as Father acted surprised and then said, “After you left, there was the chaos of war. The village was attacked by bandits, and the whole village resisted with all their might, which is how we survived. In troubled times, human life is like grass. When the imperial army came, we did our utmost, enduring hunger to provide provisions. When Great Marshal Zi’s army came, we also did our utmost, enduring hunger to provide provisions. To survive, we can be Rebels, or we can be mountain bandits. Although we have accepted the amnesty now, the situation is chaotic. We are willing to betroth Sister Yu to you, but are you willing to stay here for three years before returning to the capital?”
Qin Luoxia’s eyes lit up. This was good; right under their noses, they could rest easy.
Her husband was indeed impressive, making the recruitment of a son-in-law sound so high-sounding.
If he could stay for three years, he could stay for thirty.
After thinking for a moment, Meng Shaoxia replied, “I grew up in the Meng Family. The Meng Family motto is to protect the country and its people, and one must not wield a blade against innocent civilians. This is the cornerstone of my existence in this world. If my principles do not exist, then neither do I. I am willing to stay here for three years, but I cannot go against my moral principles.”
“Agreed!”
Jiang Changtian personally helped Meng Shaoxia up and said affectionately, “Little Meng, do you prefer to live in the south room or the north room? I noticed your taste leans toward sweet. Sister Yu makes delicious sweets; I will have her make more in the future.”
At night, Jiang Mianmian climbed onto her sister’s bed.
Squeezing into her sister’s arms, she asked curiously, “Sister, are you happy? That Meng Shaoxia proposed, what do you think?”
Jiang Yu pinched her sister’s cheek and said, “You must not call him by his name directly. If Great-Aunt finds out, she will scold you. What could I possibly think? With the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers, marriage is not something one can discuss oneself. Whatever parents arrange is certainly the best.”
Jiang Mianmian didn’t believe it. How was that possible? Could the brainwashing really be that successful? She must have her own thoughts.
She poked her sister’s soft belly and said, “Does Sister not like Brother Meng even a little bit?”
Jiang Yu covered her head with the quilt, covering Jiang Mianmian as well. It was pitch black under the quilt.
She then said, “He is the first person from my childhood to adulthood to give me something, and after I took it, I didn’t have any bad luck. I think he is quite a good person.”
After speaking, Jiang Yu worried she might corrupt her sister, so she quickly added, “You must not be like this. Whatever you want, tell us, and we will get it for you.”
The warm air from her sister’s speech sprayed onto Jiang Mianmian’s face.
Jiang Mianmian lowered her head, and her head bumped into her sister’s chest; it was soft.
Jiang Mianmian thought to herself, “It’s really fast. That little girl who used to steal osmanthus cakes is already getting married.”
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