Sir Song, do you want to pledge yourself to me?

"Oh, look at what this kid said." Seeing Ji Nuan's refusal, the aunt immediately turned to Ji's mother and said, "Xiaomei, I heard from the villagers that your family bought a few acres of land and are preparing to build a new house. Is this true?"

"Yes, we have started digging the foundation today." Ji's mother responded.

The aunt's eyes rolled and she asked again, "I heard that the money for building this house was all earned by Ji Nuan from collecting herbs. How much money does it take to build such a big house?"

"Nuannuan is lucky! She accidentally picked a ginseng root in the mountains and sold it for three hundred taels. Otherwise, how would we have the money to build a new house?" Ji's mother didn't want others to know that the money was earned by Ji Nuan. She just said three hundred taels on purpose, saying it was just enough to build the house. Rumors spread faster than the wind in the village, and she was afraid that someone with bad intentions would have bad intentions.

The aunt-in-law slapped her thigh and shouted, "Oh, God, this is so lucky!" She wanted to pull Ji Nuan's hand, but Ji Nuan calmly gave way.

"Ji Nuan, next time something good happens, don't forget me, your aunt! Also, you have to think carefully about the nephew from my mother's side that I just mentioned to you, and don't miss the good opportunity..." The aunt continued her nagging with a smile on her face.

Ji Nuan and the younger generation beside her were a little impatient after hearing this, but they did not respond directly due to courtesy. At this time, Ji's mother interrupted her aunt-in-law and said, "Oh, sister-in-law, Xiao He's marriage is settled, and your family must have a lot of things waiting to be dealt with. Don't waste time here, go back and get busy."

As soon as Ji's mother finished speaking, her aunt's face froze slightly, and she was obviously a little unhappy with Ji's mother for interrupting her. But she also knew that it was pointless to continue to argue here, so she had to stop talking in anger.

"Oh, yes, yes, yes, you see, I've been so happy that I've forgotten the time. There's indeed a lot waiting for me at home, so I'll go back and get busy first." As the eldest aunt spoke, she stood up, her eyes darting around Ji Nuan. She had originally come here specifically to discuss Xiao He's marriage, but on the way, she heard a lot of people talking about the second wife buying land to build a new house. She had a plan in mind: to introduce Ji Nuan to her incompetent nephew, thinking that with Ji Nuan's ability to collect herbs, she could also support her nephew.

After sending her aunt away, Ji's mother turned around, looked at Ji Nuan with soft eyes and said, "Your aunt is right. You are at the age of marriage. Someone asked before, and your father and I turned them down on your behalf. We wanted to keep you for two more years. What do you think now?"

At Ji Nuan's age, her parents had never mentioned her marriage before, which she found quite strange. But now that her mother asked, she frankly expressed her thoughts: "Mom, I'm still young. I want to learn medicine well first. As for marriage, there's no rush."

Mother Ji sighed lightly and said earnestly, "Nuannuan, I know you have ambitions, but girls have to get married eventually. If you meet the right person, you might as well give it some thought."

Ji Nuan held her mother's hand and said, "Don't worry, Mom. I know what to do."

In another small courtyard in Taohua Village, Song Qiuniang was chopping grass for pigs, and her mother twisted her arm from time to time.

"Look at you, aren't you close to that girl from the Ji family? Don't you know when she dug up a ginseng?" Song's mother scolded.

Song Qiuniang's arm was twisted so hard it hurt, but she didn't dare to say a word, feeling very aggrieved. She stopped what she was doing, looked at Song's mother with grievance, and said, "Mom, I really don't know when Ji Nuan found the ginseng. Although we seem to be very close, she wouldn't tell me about such a big money-making thing."

Upon hearing this, Mother Song frowned even more tightly. "How can you be so useless, little girl who pays for things? You usually look quite smart, but you are useless at the critical moment."

Song Qiuniang felt even worse after hearing what her mother said. She knew her mother liked her younger brother more, so she could only work hard every day so that her mother would pay more attention to her.

"Mom, it was Ji Nuan's luck that she was able to dig up the ginseng. Even if I knew when she dug it, it wouldn't be mine." Song Qiuniang said weakly.

However, Song's mother didn't seem to listen to her daughter's words. She was still immersed in her own thoughts, muttering to herself: "You are with her every day, why don't you have her luck..."

Song Qiuniang couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. She wasn't liked by her parents, disrespected by her younger brother, and had endless chores to do every day. Meanwhile, Ji Nuan had the love of her parents, the doting of her three brothers, the careful guidance of Doctor Du, and the admiration of Meng Ran. As a girl, why did Ji Nuan get so much?

That evening, Song Qiuniang was half-pushed and half-shoved out of the house by her mother, so that she could get close to Ji Nuan.

Ji Nuan was playing with her two nephews by the banyan tree, their laughter and chatter non-stop. Seeing Song Qiuniang, who hadn't been seen for a few days, Ji Nuan was stunned for a moment.

"Nuannuan, why didn't you ask me to go with you when you went up the mountain to collect herbs these days?" Song Qiuniang's voice was a little aggrieved, her eyes flickered, and she didn't dare to look directly into Ji Nuan's eyes.

Ji Nuan saw through her thoughts at once, knowing she was just trying to gain some benefits from him by being close to her. Noticing the curious gazes pricked up at her, Ji Nuan immediately put on a pitiful expression, her voice choked with sobs, and spoke in a completely Ziwei accent: "Qiuniang, I have always regarded you as my best sister. Whenever there is something delicious or fun, you are the first person I think of. But how can you say that? It's as if I am deliberately distancing myself from you. I feel so sad."

She sniffed twice, her voice trembling as she continued, "I remember that day when we went up the mountain to collect herbs. I accidentally rolled down the hillside and was in so much pain I couldn't get up. I kept waiting for you to save me. I waited and waited, until dark, but you still didn't show up. I still don't understand how you could be so cruel to leave me there all alone."

When the people around heard this, they couldn't help but gasp and were shocked by Song Qiuniang's behavior. They didn't expect that Song Qiuniang, who seemed gentle on weekdays, would be so cold and heartless.

Ji Nuan's performance left Song Qiuniang completely dumbfounded. She stood there blankly, her face turning pale and blue, completely unaware of how to deal with this sudden situation.

Ji Nuan didn't finish her words yet, and continued with an extremely sincere performance, "Qiu Niang, I really want to thank you. If it weren't for you, how could I have found ginseng at the bottom of the hillside? Without ginseng, how could our family have three hundred taels of silver to build a new house? So, Qiu Niang, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!"

Ji Nuan's words were tinged with sarcasm and irony, making everyone around them laugh. Song Qiuniang was extremely embarrassed. She had wanted to use this opportunity to get close to Ji Nuan and gain some benefits, but she didn't expect to find herself in a dilemma.

"Nuan girl is so kind-hearted. Even though Qiu Niang treated her like that, she could still thank her in return." An aunt said with emotion, and the people around nodded in agreement.

"Yes, the Yinzhu family is really lucky. Their daughter fell down the hillside but was unharmed. She even got a ginseng for free." A relative said, his tone full of envy.

"This Qiu Niang is really a born bad person. Even in this situation, she still pretends nothing happened and comes to Nuan Yatou." The old man in the village shook his head and sighed, expressing his dissatisfaction with Song Qiu Niang's behavior.

……

Faced with the pointing and gossip of the crowd, Song Qiuniang finally couldn't bear the pressure anymore, and ran away crying with her face covered.

Ji Nuan raised his eyebrows slightly as he looked at her back.

Ji Shan came to Ji Nuan at some point, flicked her forehead lightly, and said with a smile: "Naughty!"

Ji Nuan touched her forehead that was hit embarrassedly and asked, "Brother, when did you come?" She didn't do anything, just punished Song Qiuniang a little.

Ji Shan looked at her lovingly and replied, "I came here just after Song Qiuniang arrived. You clever girl, you thought I didn't know?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Nuan glared at Ji Shan, then turned and walked back home, unable to hide a smile on her face. She knew that no matter what she did, her family would unconditionally support and love her.