The woman said, "You must be Yanran."
Yanran hummed in agreement. "Who are you?"
The woman reached out her hand, and the maid's expression was somewhat complicated, but she still respectfully placed a purse into her hand.
The woman opened her purse and handed it to Yanran: "This is candy, have some."
Yanran: "... Didn't your mother tell you not to eat things given by strangers?"
The woman was taken aback, and couldn't help but show some displeasure.
But she quickly composed herself and introduced herself, "Speaking of which, I should be your cousin."
Yanran blinked. "My cousin, I wouldn't dare say more, but there should be several hundred."
And that's not all.
The woman's throat bobbed; she had probably never been so rebuffed before, but for some reason, she forced herself to endure it, and said dryly, "I am Jiang Ruo, and my mother is Princess Yongchang."
Yongchang was the title bestowed upon the Third Princess.
The fact that she received this title indicates that she held a certain level of respect with the emperor.
Yanran: This name sounds familiar.
But who is this?
Jiang Ruo said, "Yanran has never met me before, so it's normal that she doesn't recognize me. You... are really good-looking, and have a great personality too..."
Yanran chuckled.
Whoever it was, she was certain it was an interesting cousin.
Putting everything else aside, this blatant and ridiculous boasting is something most people wouldn't do.
"Cousin," Yanran said, "Didn't you attend Consort De's birthday banquet?"
Jiang Ruo, not understanding what was going on, replied, "I didn't go, I was sick... but I'm better now, I won't let my illness bother you."
Yanran said she wasn't afraid of Jiang Ruo passing on her illness to her, but she was afraid of being infected by Jiang Ruo's silliness.
My cousin seems to be a little mentally unstable.
"Then you must have heard that I had some disagreements with Consort De, right?"
Having heard about it, one should keep a respectful distance.
See how considerate she is, proactively reminding you not to make any mistakes.
Jiang Ruo: "I've heard... you, you're very courageous, very brave."
Yanran:???
They're still praising her?
And it's so stiff.
Jiang Ruo has been praised since childhood; when has she ever praised anyone else?
Therefore, this skill was truly unfamiliar to her.
"Cousin, you did a great job." Jiang Ruo tried her best to appear genuinely sincere.
Yanran was completely speechless.
Really, why isn't Mother here?
The Empress Dowager was always worried about him.
I'm just a nine-year-old child; I can still Wuji.
The Empress should see this; this cousin, who's probably nineteen, is so embarrassing she'd want to dig her toes into the ground.
"Alright, cousin," Yanran said, "Just say what you want to say. I need to go see my cousin now."
The implication is that there's not much time to beat around the bush with you.
Jiang Ruo hurriedly asked, "Cousin? Which cousin of ours?"
Surprisingly, he became very outgoing.
Yanran: "My cousin."
"I'm your older cousin, so I'm practically my younger cousin too," Jiang Ruo said.
Yanran was speechless.
But no matter how she asked, Jiang Ruo just said she was fine and that she was just passing by.
Yanran: I didn't check the almanac before going out; today is not auspicious for going out.
This cousin who was passing by actually followed her to the Tang Family.
Meng Yulan was quite surprised to see Jiang Ruo.
What brings this strange creature here?
If there were Four Great Wicked Women in the capital, and now we're ranking four more, these two would definitely be among them.
Yanran to fame overnight, and her subsequent rise to prominence goes without saying. Jiang Ruo, on the other hand, has been a master of manipulation for many years, and her reputation is already well-known.
However, Meng Yulan and Jiang Ruo didn't have much interaction, so her understanding of her was limited to legends.
Although Jiang Ruo is a bit pretentious, she prefers to do so at home; she is also somewhat aloof and doesn't like to associate with noble ladies.
However, her reputation for "bullying and dominating men" spread like wildfire after Wen Heng married into the family.
Yanran met Meng Yulan's questioning gaze and helplessly shrugged.
What could she do? She couldn't shake off the clingy pest; she was desperate.
My cousin, who came to my door, must have taken the wrong medicine.
Meng Yulan calmly invited Jiang Ruo to sit down and have some tea.
Jiang Ruo surprisingly echoed Yanran's words, "Auntie, you don't need to bother. Auntie looks so young, Little Tangyuan is so... robust."
Everyone: "..."
Only Little Tangyuan, oblivious to everything else, sucked her finger while watching Jiang Ruo.
She likes handsome older brothers and beautiful older sisters.
Yanran looked at Meng Yulan and said, "Aunt, what are we going to do?"
Even the toughest meat is afraid of clingy plasters and unwarranted flattery.
Whatever she feared, Jiang Ruo would do.
Meng Yulan said, "You flatter me, Your Highness."
Jiang Ruo quickly said, "Aunt, there's no need to be so formal. Just call me Ruoruo."
Yanran rested her chin on her hand and said, "Cousin, County Princess, did you just chat about whatever place you happened to be passing by?"
This person is really unpleasant.
Just tell me what you need; whether I can grant your request is another matter.
This indecisiveness is truly baffling.
Jiang Ruo had pushed herself to the limit today. Hearing Yanran's words, she couldn't help but lower her head and rub her handkerchief, her fingertips clenching so hard that her nails turned white.
"Actually, actually... I was just passing by, it's nothing, I'll take my leave now."
After saying that, he actually stood up and fled in panic.
Yanran:???
She and Meng Yulan looked at each other, both wondering what Jiang Ruo was up to on this trip.
Yanran's imagination ran wild, and she suddenly slapped her thigh. "Aunt, could it be that she has a crush on my father and wants to be my concubine?"
My God, that's almost possible!
Otherwise, why would she send over one compliment after another?
Pah!
She doesn't deserve it!
Meng Yulan scolded, "Don't talk nonsense. Jiang Ruo has been married before."
"She's married? Her husband doesn't even care about her; he's got no brains."
"I heard they later divorced..."
Something flashed through the cat's mind, and she caught the key point.
"Aunt, is her husband Wen Heng?"
It was her!
It matches up! It finally matches up!
She said the name sounded familiar; she'd heard it before.
"Yes," Meng Yulan said. "What, you know him?"
Yanran: "Oh, we're more than just acquaintances. I even helped him on the way."
She recounted how she met Wen Heng on the road and how she introduced Wen Heng to the border town.
Meng Yulan nodded after listening, but still looked somewhat puzzled.
Yanran saw that Little Tangyuan wanted to play with Jiaojiao, she went over and picked her up and put her on Jiaojiao's back.
The Little Tangyuan emitted a silvery laugh.
Because she's often outdoors, she has a slightly tanned complexion, which makes her look very healthy. When she laughs, she reveals her white teeth, and her smile is incredibly healing.
Well, she's a bit unlike Meng Yulan's daughter; she's grown up to be... wild.
"Yanran," Meng Yulan began, "Did you leak the fact that you encountered Wen Heng on the road?"
"No, I'd completely forgotten about it."
Not to mention leaks.
Meng Yulan pondered for a moment, "That's strange. How did Jiang Ruo know?"
Yanran countered, "Does Jiang Ruo know?"