Today, there was a funeral at the Jiang Manor as well.
But she was just a maidservant, no matter how close she had been to the Old Lady, she was still just a maidservant in status.
There was no grand ceremony.
And with the rebels around, they had to raise money for the rebels as well. The Old Lady was shocked, and Father Jiang Huaisheng was injured on his face.
The only one in the entire manor who could fight was Jiang Wan.
At this time, Jiang Wan's capabilities were particularly prominent.
She swiftly arranged for Aunt Yao's funeral, took stock of the family assets, and called a doctor for her father. But the doctor in the county town had only average skills and limited abilities. The doctor was not sure if Father's wound would leave a scar, and stammered: "Actually, this wound should be treated by Mr. Jiang from the Medicine Preparation Department. His medical skills are better than mine, and he is particularly adept at treating external injuries."
Jiang Wan: ...
The injury on Father's face was inflicted by that person.
Mrs. Jiang was heartbroken seeing her husband's injury, and her pregnancy was affected.
She almost suffered a miscarriage.
Jiang Rong was terrified.
He kept saying they couldn't go, couldn't go.
Aunt Yao left peacefully, but came back lying down.
Father was also covered in blood.
It must be the Jiang Feng family retaliating. They were getting revenge on Father for having Wu Liu injure Jiang Feng's face, so they slashed Father's face.
The Jiang family's guards were not intimidating either. Although they were sent by the Seventh Prince, with the rebels surrounding the county town, these few guards could not attack the rebels.
Moreover, the person among them with the best martial arts skills had gone to the banquet, and although he came back alive, he could no longer speak.
Someone had used two chopsticks to seal his throat, and if they had gone any deeper, he would have died.
Fortunately, in this chaos, Miss Jiang Wan remembered to call a doctor for him. Miss Jiang Wan is truly kind-hearted.
The more difficult the times, the more outstanding Jiang Wan becomes.
Mother could only cry and wail, Grandmother was so distressed she fainted, Father was injured, and her elder brother was as timid as a mouse. In this entire family, she was the only one who could hold things together.
She wanted to ask Grandmother, or her uncle - no, who that person was.
She had no leads at all.
She was a little panicked too.
They should have gone to the capital earlier. If they had, they would not have encountered these incidents.
In her dream, there was nothing about the Jiang Yu family, perhaps they were killed by the rebels.
But for now, this entire family could only rely on her.
She could not panic, could not collapse. It would be alright.
In the Capital City.
The Meng Family.
After returning home, Meng Shaoxia was immediately sent by his father to train at the military camp outside the capital. He was not allowed to bring a phone - oh, there were no phones back then.
The family's only child had gone traveling, with ample men and equipment.
At the first rumor of unrest, he was immediately summoned back.
But unexpectedly, the young man came back saying he wanted to get married.
He had given away the horse, the sword, and the jade pendant, and only he himself was left.
When asked about the family background of the other party, he said she was the granddaughter of Jiang Bai, the former Grand Preceptor of the Crown Prince.
The Meng Family was not overly pragmatic. Although the Jiang family had been demoted and the Grand Preceptor Jiang Bai had passed away, Jiang Bai's integrity was widely known. If the child was interested, the Meng Family thought this marriage would be quite good.
But upon further inquiry, they learned that the girl Meng Shaoxia liked was the daughter of the youngest son of the Jiang family, who had been expelled from the family for being unfilial and disrespectful.
No normal parent would easily agree to an in-law relationship with such a person.
Being unfilial and disrespectful was a serious crime.
As parents, they wanted to believe their child's judgment - if the child thought the other party was good, she must be quite decent.
But this implied there were other circumstances, either a complex identity or some scandal in the inner quarters.
In that case, the marriage would be even more inappropriate.
The family felt it might just be youthful passion.
Where in this world was there such a thing as love at first sight, promising one's life to someone after just one meeting? Those were just fabrications in romance novels to deceive young girls.
They sent him to the army to train rigorously for a while, and he should sober up, forget about it, and no longer be so obsessed.
Unexpectedly, Jingzhou Prefecture City was occupied by rebels.
The Emperor ordered the Meng Family to put down the rebellion.
With the New Year approaching, there would be many grand celebrations. The current Emperor was well-versed in music and dance, and was highly literate. He particularly enjoyed all kinds of grand celebrations. When he was happy, he would even personally participate in composing music and choreographing dances, sometimes even performing himself.
The late Princess Huiyun was also accomplished in this regard. Princess Huiyun had an extraordinarily gifted voice, and her singing could entrance the soul.
Listening to her songs was truly enjoyable.
Princess Huiyun was a legendary figure, blessed with exceptional talents. Heaven favored her immensely - she was of high nobility, possessed exquisite beauty, and had an unparalleled voice.
In those years, all the popular trends in the capital followed Princess Huiyun's every move. If she laughed loudly, noblewomen would imitate her loud laughter. If she covered her mouth, noblewomen would cover their mouths. If she accidentally fell while walking, noblewomen would pretend to fall as well.
Those were prosperous and enchanting years.
Back then, the Emperor was still a young man.
But things and people change.
The Emperor has grown old, and his authority has become heavier, while Princess Huiyun no longer makes public appearances.
But the Emperor has developed an even greater fondness for music and grand song and dance performances.
He enjoys this prosperous splendor.
Whoever disrupts his parties will be put to death by his command.
Imperial orders cannot be disobeyed. The Meng Family's direct lineage had dwindled significantly.
So this time, it was Meng's Father who led the expedition himself.
The old Meng patriarch was still guarding the borders.
On the day the great army set out, General Meng Qingshe (his mother had dreamed of a snake when he was born, and it is said that snakes have strong reproductive abilities, birthing many snakes in one litter, hence the name Qingshe, which is almost like Meng Zhao Di or Meng Zhao Mei) saw a young man with a square face resembling his own in the ranks.
The army could not be delayed from setting out.
Meng Qingshe could only deal with his mischievous young relative later.
Meng Shaoxia had gone to great lengths to join the ranks as a common soldier.
He was very worried. Jingzhou Prefecture City had been occupied by rebels, and he did not know if Brother Jiang's family was still safe.
His heart was filled with anxiety, longing to fly immediately to that small village courtyard with the two trees.
He missed those two trees.
