Binding Spring Love

"Third sister?"

Lin Jiayue smiled slightly as she looked at Jiang Jing, who was dressed up so elegantly today. She had been waiting for Jiang Jing for a long time.

"Aunt Lin?"

Jiang Jing looked embarrassed, wondering why Lin Jiayue had called her.

"Are you preparing to go to the theater to pay your respects to the ladies?"

"Um."

Jiang Jing blushed, looking quite shy, as she tugged at her silver-embroidered, hundred-blessing-patterned floor-length dress.

Today she was meeting her future husband's family, so she dressed up beautifully, wearing a newly made long dress and the headdress and jewelry given to her by Song Wan, making her look both delicate and wealthy.

Jiang Jing never imagined she would be so beautiful.

"If Aunt Lin has nothing else to say, I'll go and pay my respects to my sister-in-law."

Aunt Zhou had been giving her instructions all morning, telling her to behave well today. Now that she was about to meet Madam Lan, she was feeling uneasy and had no intention of exchanging pleasantries with Lin Jiayue.

Jiang Jing lifted her skirt to leave, but Lin Jiayue said, "Do you know who that Young Master Lan is? Have you ever seen him?"

"What nonsense is Aunt Lin spouting? What... what unmarried young lady has ever seen a man from another family? What do you mean by that?"

Seeing Jiang Jing's angry expression, Lin Jiayue quickly said, "That's not what I meant. I just have a few words I want to say to you... about the young master of the Lan family."

After sending Jiang Jing's maid away, Lin Jiayue pulled her and hid behind the rockery in the Begonia Garden.

She looked up at the river view, her displeasure growing.

Jiang Man and Jiang Xingjian both praised the young master of the Lan family, but she found it laughable. A teenage girl, who had never even met the man, was to marry him and have children—how could such an arranged marriage possibly be happy?

Even if she broke up the marriage, she was doing a good deed.

"You haven't even met this Young Master Lan, isn't it a bit too hasty to talk about marriage with him? You're only fourteen this year, right? As far as I know, Young Master Lan is more than seven or eight years older than you. Do you think the two of you will be happy?"

"Marriages are all arranged by parents and matchmakers. Respectable young women have never even met their husbands. What exactly is Aunt Lin trying to say?"

Jiang Jing knew that Aunt Lin and Jiang Xingjian had been having an affair without a matchmaker, so what did she mean by coming to say these things to him now?

Jiang Jing turned to leave, but Lin Jiayue stopped him: "I know you don't believe me, but I'm really doing this for your own good."

Lin Jiayue said anxiously, "I know everyone is saying that this marriage with the Lan family is great, but don't you ever think about what exactly this 'greatness' means?"

"It's true that the Lan family is wealthy, but why would a man from such a wealthy family wait so long to arrange a marriage, and even marry a young illegitimate daughter like you? Haven't you considered whether this so-called 'good' arrangement is good for the Marquis's mansion or for you?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

Jiang Jing held the handkerchief in his handkerchief, his big eyes staring straight at Lin Jiayue.

It was because Lin Jiayue's words struck a chord with her.

She had never met the young master of the Lan family, so she naturally didn't know what kind of person he was. Especially when Aunt Zhou and everyone around her said that this marriage was excellent, she became even more uneasy.

How could such a good marriage have fallen into her lap?

Jiang Jing lowered his head, his breathing becoming more rapid.

Seeing this, Lin Jiayue pursed her lips and said, "I won't beat around the bush with you anymore. The Marquis told me that the reason this marriage was arranged was because Song Wan's brother knew the young master of the Lan family."

"The reason why the Marquis's family recommended this marriage is because the Lan family is wealthy and will be of help to the Marquis's family in the future."

"But I still feel something's not right."

Lin Jiayue stroked Jiang Jing's long hair, saying worriedly, "In the past, the Marquis's mansion needed a powerful marriage partner because of its financial difficulties, but now that the Marquis's mansion has me, it no longer needs them. You are only fourteen years old this year. How can Song Wan exchange the youth of a young girl for money?"

"She was hoping you would bring honor to the Marquis's family, but did she ever consider that after you married into the Lan family, you wouldn't be able to ask them for money to support your own family?"

Jiang Jing's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this: "This...this is impossible."

How could a married woman like her ask her husband's family for money to support her own family? Besides, she was only a concubine's daughter, and only her birth mother, Aunt Zhou, was close to her. Why should the Marquis's mansion need her to make up for its lack of money? How could a wife who constantly asks her husband's family for money possibly be loved by them?

Didn't your sister-in-law think about her future situation?

Jiang Jing was so flustered that a light sweat broke out on his face, and he didn't know what to do.

"Although I have never met this so-called Young Master Lan, I think there must be something very wrong with him not being married at his age."

Lin Jiayue pulled Jiang Jing along, frowning as she said, "Ever since Xingjian told me that Young Master Lan knew Song Wan's brother, I've finally figured out the key to this matter."

"Song Wan is probably using you as a favor, giving you away to the Lan family."

She thought about it for a long time before she came up with this idea.

Lin Jiayue never believed that Song Wan couldn't see the future situation of the two mansions, but Jiang Xingjian seemed to be blinded by greed, repeatedly saying that she would not do anything underhanded in such an important matter.

But why can't I use my hands and feet?

A daughter's marriage is the easiest thing to exploit.

In this era, all women, regardless of whether they married well or poorly, had no choice but to swallow their pride and endure hardship. Jiang Jing, being an illegitimate daughter, had no background or support, making her easy prey for Song Wan.

"By marrying you into the Lan family, she can gain the praise of Consort Jiang, Jiang Xingjian, the Old Madam, and everyone else. She can also make the Lan family indebted to her brother. She kills three birds with one stone, only hurting you. With such a shrewd method, who wouldn't sigh in admiration?"

Lin Jiayue frowned: "I admit I have selfish motives. I don't want this marriage to succeed so that she can receive everyone's praise, but I'm also genuinely thinking of you."

"This marriage is clearly beneficial to everyone, but it will only bring you suffering. You should think about it carefully."

She spoke from the heart, and whether Jiang Jing would cleverly resist or mindlessly submit to Song Wan was beyond her control.

After Lin Jiayue finished speaking, she walked out of the artificial hill.

She left gracefully, leaving Jiang Jing alone inside the artificial hill, sweating profusely. Even when the maid came looking for her, she still seemed absent-minded.

Her face turned deathly pale, nearly frightening the little maid to tears.

"Miss, what's wrong? Don't frighten Xing'er."

With red eyes, Jiang Jing relayed Lin Jiayue's words to Xing'er, both angry and anxious.

"Miss, is what Aunt Lin said true? Is there really something wrong with Young Master Lan?"

"I don't know either, but she was right about one thing: how could such a good marriage fall to me?"

No one cared about her in the Marquis's mansion. From childhood, she and Aunt Zhou were bullied by Aunt Liu. In the past, even a favored old woman dared to bully her and her daughter. Although the madam never suppressed them, she never paid any attention to them, as if they did not exist in the mansion.

How could someone born out of wedlock like her possibly find a good marriage?

Aunt Zhou's presence in the Marquis's mansion is a handle that can be used to control her. If she cannot obtain money for the Marquis's mansion, the people in the mansion will inevitably use Aunt Zhou to control her.

Jiang Jing grew increasingly frightened as he thought about it, and grabbed Xing'er's hand, saying, "I can't just sit here and wait to die. If what Aunt Lin said is true, Aunt Zhou and I will probably have an even worse life than before."