“Third Sister?” Lin Jiayue looked at Jiang Jing, who had dressed herself up grandly today, and smiled faintly. She had been waiting for Jiang Jing for quite some time.

“Lin Yiniang?” Jiang Jing’s face showed embarrassment, not knowing why Lin Jiayue was calling her.

“Are you preparing to go to the opera house to pay respects to the madams?”

“Mm.” Tugging at the silver-embroidered hundred blessings trailing skirt she wore, Jiang Jing’s small face reddened, feeling very shy.

Today she would meet her future husband’s family, so she had dressed herself up very beautifully. The newly made long skirt paired with the hair ornaments and jewelry sent by Song Wan made her appear both delicate and wealthy.

Jiang Jing had never imagined she could look this beautiful.

“If Lin Yiniang has no business, I’ll go pay my respects to Sister-in-law first.”

Concubine Zhou had been giving her detailed instructions all morning, telling her to conduct herself well today. Now that she was about to meet Madam Lan, her heart was full of anxiety, so naturally she had no interest in exchanging pleasantries with Lin Jiayue.

Jiang Jing lifted her skirt to leave, but heard Lin Jiayue say: “Do you know what kind of person that Young Master Lan is? Have you ever seen him?”

“What nonsense is Lin Yiniang talking about? Which… which unmarried young lady has seen an outside man? What do you mean by this?”

Seeing Jiang Jing’s small face turn rigid, Lin Jiayue quickly said: “That’s not what I meant. I just have a few words I want to tell you… about the Lan family’s young master.”

After sending away the little maid by Jiang Jing’s side, Lin Jiayue pulled her to hide behind the artificial mountain in the crabapple garden.

Her gaze examined Jiang Jing from bottom to top, feeling increasingly displeased in her heart.

Both Jiang Man and Jiang Xingjian had said how wonderful that Lan family young master was, but she only found it ridiculous. A teenage girl who had never even seen the man was supposed to marry him and bear his children—how could such an arranged marriage possibly bring happiness?

Even if she broke up this marriage, she would be doing a good deed.

“You’ve never even met that Young Master Lan, yet you’re going to discuss marriage with him—isn’t that a bit too hasty? You’re only fourteen this year, aren’t you? As far as I know, that Young Master Lan is seven or eight years older than you—do you think the two of you will be happy?”

“Marriages are all determined by parents’ orders and matchmakers’ arrangements. Proper and well-mannered young ladies have never seen their husbands before. What exactly is Lin Yiniang trying to say?”

Jiang Jing knew that Lin Yiniang and Jiang Xingjian had been intimate without a matchmaker’s arrangement. What did she mean by coming to tell her these things now?

Jiang Jing turned to leave, but was blocked by Lin Jiayue again: “I know you don’t believe me, but I truly have your best interests at heart.”

Lin Jiayue was somewhat anxious: “I know everyone is saying this marriage with the Lan family is wonderful, but haven’t you thought about what this so-called ‘wonderful’ actually refers to?”

“It’s true that the Lan family is wealthy and noble, but why would a man from such a wealthy and noble family wait this long to discuss marriage, and then be matched with someone like you—a young concubine-born girl? Haven’t you thought about whether this so-called ‘wonderful’ is good for the marquis estate, or good for you?”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Jiang Jing clutched her handkerchief, her large eyes staring straight at Lin Jiayue.

It was because Lin Jiayue’s words struck her heart with every sentence.

She hadn’t seen that Lan family young master, so naturally she didn’t know what kind of person he was. Especially when Concubine Zhou and everyone around her said this marriage was extremely good, she felt even more anxious.

How could such a good marriage fall upon her?

Jiang Jing lowered her head, her breathing becoming somewhat rapid.

Seeing this, Lin Jiayue pressed her lips and said: “I won’t beat around the bush with you. The marquis told me that the reason this marriage was successfully negotiated was because Song Wan’s elder brother is acquainted with that Young Master Lan.”

“And the marquis estate promoted this marriage because the Lan family is wealthy and could help the marquis estate in the future.”

“But I always feel something is wrong.”

Lin Jiayue touched Jiang Jing’s long hair and said worriedly: “Previously, the marquis estate couldn’t make ends meet and needed a strong marriage alliance partner, but now that the marquis estate has me, there’s no more need for these things. You’re only fourteen this year—how could Song Wan use a young maiden’s youth to exchange for silver?”

“She’s counting on you to support the marquis estate, but has she ever thought that after you marry into the Lan family, you surely can’t ask the Lan family for silver to subsidize your natal family, can you?”

Hearing this, Jiang Jing’s heart trembled: “This… this can’t be.”

How could she, as a married-out daughter, ask her husband’s family for silver to subsidize her natal family? Moreover, she was only a concubine-born daughter—only her birth mother Concubine Zhou was close to her. Why should she be used to fill the gap when the marquis estate lacked silver? A daughter-in-law who constantly asked her husband’s family for silver—how could she possibly be loved by her husband’s family?

Could it be that Sister-in-law hadn’t thought about her future situation?

Jiang Jing was so panicked that a thin layer of sweat appeared on her face, not knowing what to do for a moment.

“Although I haven’t met that so-called Young Master Lan, I think that if he’s already this age and still hasn’t taken a wife, there must be some serious problem.”

Lin Jiayue pulled Jiang Jing close and said with a frown: “Ever since Xingjian told me that Young Master Lan is acquainted with Song Wan’s elder brother, I finally understood the crux of the matter.”

“Song Wan is probably using you as a favor to give to the Lan family.”

She had also thought about this for a long time before figuring it out.

Lin Jiayue had never believed that Song Wan couldn’t see clearly the future situation of the two estates, but Jiang Xingjian seemed to have his heart covered with lard, insisting over and over that she wouldn’t play tricks in such important matters.

But how could tricks not be played?

A girl’s marriage was all too easy to exploit.

In this era, all women, whether they married well or poorly, could only grit their teeth and swallow it down. Jiang Jing was also a concubine-born daughter with no background or support—Song Wan could manipulate her however she wanted.

“By marrying you into the Lan family, she can receive praise from Consort Jiang, Jiang Xingjian, Old Madam, Madam, and everyone else. She can also make the Lan family owe a favor to her elder brother. She kills three birds with one stone, with only you being wronged—who could say such a scheme isn’t brilliant?”

Lin Jiayue frowned and said: “I admit I have selfish motives—I don’t want this marriage to succeed and let her receive everyone’s praise. But I’m also sincerely thinking of you.”

“This marriage clearly benefits everyone else but will only make you suffer alone. Think it over carefully yourself.”

Everything she said was sincere. As for whether Jiang Jing would cleverly resist or mindlessly obey Song Wan, that was beyond her control.

After Lin Jiayue finished speaking, she walked out from behind the artificial mountain.

Lin Jiayue left freely, but left Jiang Jing alone behind the artificial mountain, sweating profusely. Even when her maid came looking for her, she still appeared absent-minded.

Her small face was deathly pale, almost frightening the little maid to tears.

“Miss, what’s wrong with you? Please don’t scare Xing’er.”

With red eyes, angry and anxious, Jiang Jing recounted Lin Jiayue’s words to Xing’er.

“Miss, is what that Lin Yiniang said true? Does Young Master Lan really have problems?”

“I don’t know either, but she said one thing that wasn’t wrong—how could such a good marriage fall upon me?”

No one in the marquis estate had ever cared about her. Since childhood, she and Concubine Zhou had been bullied by Concubine Liu. In the past, even a favored servant woman dared to push them around. Although Madam had never suppressed them, she had never asked about them either, as if they didn’t exist in the estate.

How could someone of her concubine-born status get any good marriage match?

Concubine Zhou in the marquis estate was a handle to control her. If she couldn’t obtain silver for the marquis estate, the people in the estate would inevitably use Concubine Zhou to constrain her.

The more Jiang Jing thought about it, the more frightened she became. Grabbing Xing’er’s hand, she said: “I can’t just sit and wait for disaster. If it’s truly as Lin Yiniang said, my and Concubine Zhou’s days in the future will be even worse than before.”