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

"Stingy! You want to buy the information from me for ten taels of silver?" Xiaoyao Jian glanced at Ji Nuan, a teasing smile on his lips. "Well, since you're quite capable, I'll tell you reluctantly. The person who bought your life was very cautious and didn't place the order personally. Instead, it went through several hands. But who am I? I finally found out who was behind it."

Ji Nuan revealed her thoughts at the time, "You want to know who is so bored that he would spend 100,000 taels of silver to ask you to kill a little peasant girl?"

Xiaoyao Jian glared at her and said in fake anger, "Do you still want to know who wants to kill you?"

"Okay, okay, blame me for talking too fast, okay? Go ahead, go ahead." Facing the arrogant heroine, Ji Nuan coaxed helplessly.

Xiaoyao Jian finally nodded in satisfaction, looking very confident and righteous: "Humph! I'll cover all my expenses in Kaiyun Mansion these days. Consider it your compensation to me."

Ji Nuan, "Okay, okay, okay. Then who did you find out in the end?"

"The Second Prince, Xiao Jitang," Xiaoyaojian said, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "How did you offend him when you were so far away in Kaiyun Mansion?"

Ji Nuan shrugged, looking innocent: "I don't even know this person, and I've never been to the capital. God knows how I ended up incurring his hatred."

Xiaoyao Jian: "Tsk, I heard you're engaged to the prefect from the capital. Could that be related to this? Men only bring trouble! Forget it, it's none of my business, worry about it yourself!"

Ji Nuan fell into deep thought after hearing this, and thought that it was indeed possible.

Of the people she knew, only Song Jinbai and Jun Xianlan were from the capital. If they were trying to stop her from detoxifying Jun Xianlan, they should have done it long ago. The fact that the Song family had just requested permission for the marriage and the assassin arrived shortly afterward was too much of a coincidence.

Could it be that he really has a grudge against Song Jinbai? Unable to find an opportunity to deal with him, he's turning to someone who's vulnerable? This seems highly likely. It seems I'll have to ask Song Jinbai a question the next time I see him.

After thinking about this, Ji Nuan jumped off the big rock lightly, patted the dust off his body, and said to Xiaoyao Jian: "It's too late, let's go, stay at my house tonight."

Xiaoyao Jian also jumped off the stone and refused, "No, I'll come see you tomorrow. If I go to your house now, I'm afraid everyone in your family will have a sleepless night. I'm leaving now."

As she spoke, she leaped up and floated towards the city like a falling leaf, quickly disappearing into the night.

Ji Nuan looked at Xiaoyao Jian's receding figure, and it took her a long time to come back to her senses.

She secretly speculated: Perhaps the Xiaoyao Sword, like her, came from another world. The gesture she'd used when she'd drawn the sword just now was like the immortal cultivators in the movies, requiring some kind of magic to summon their natal sword. Or perhaps she also had a personal space, but was using this method to conceal its existence out of caution?

This matter is too complicated. If the other party doesn't say anything, she will just pretend she knows nothing.

She shook her head, put these chaotic thoughts behind her, turned and walked towards home.

On the fourth day of the eighth lunar month, Song Jinbai and his mother Wu, dressed in fine clothes, arrived at the Ji family with their four maids.

Ji's mother is the mother-in-law who likes her son-in-law more and more. She used to treat Song Jinbai with enthusiasm, and now she treats him with even more love.

After the two sides greeted each other, Song Jinbai found an excuse to take Song Huai to find Ji Nuan.

Seeing him anxious to leave, Mother Wu was delighted. She beamed at Mother Ji and said, "When the prince was in the capital, he avoided all those girls. Madam was worried he'd end up alone. Who would have thought his match would be here in the Kaiyun Mansion?"

Ji's mother also had a smile on her face. She agreed, "As the saying goes, a thousand miles of marriage are connected by a thread. Maybe that's what happened to them."

Mother Wu's brows were even more transfixed. She continued, "That's right! Madam, did you know? The fortune teller's horoscope is also very auspicious. He said it's a match made in heaven!"

When Ji's mother heard this, she was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. She kept saying, "That's good, that's good! Thank you Buddha for blessing us and making everything go smoothly!"

"Madam, please take a look at these four maids. They have been specially trained by Madam and are prepared to be given to Miss Ji as helpers." Mother Wu said, pointing to the four maids standing neatly aside.

Upon seeing this, the four maids all bowed to Ji's mother again, their movements and behavior being standard and proper.

Mother Ji carefully examined the four women, noting that they all had delicate features, neither overly outstanding nor ordinary. She couldn't help but recall the way in which the maids of wealthy women might be chosen as concubines after their marriage. Could these four be the concubines the Song family had prepared for Song Jinbai?

The smile on Ji's mother's face unconsciously faded. She said politely, "How can this be so embarrassing? Nuannuan already has Xiangqing and Xique to help her. In a few days, I will buy her a few more little girls to serve her."

As soon as Mother Wu saw Mother Ji's face, she knew she had misunderstood. She quickly explained, "Madam, there's no need to worry. Madam has sent these four maids here. From now on, they will belong to Miss Ji and will only obey her orders. Each of these four maids has their own specialties, and they've taken years to train. Look at Xueqing, she's the best at hair and makeup, and she understands etiquette and rules. Xuemei is a female doctor who knows some medical knowledge. Xuexiang is good at managing the shop and is also a good accountant. And as for Xuebi, she's quite skilled, and you can rest assured that she'll be by your side, isn't she?"

After hearing this, Ji's mother finally realized that she had misjudged him. She quickly smiled and said, "I see. Having four helpers like this around Nuannuan really puts me at ease. Thank your wife for me."

Seeing that Ji's mother had dispelled her doubts, Wu's mother was relieved. She knew best how important this marriage was to the prince, and she couldn't let anything go wrong.

"You are too polite, Madam. You only have one son, the Crown Prince, so of course you want to make every possible effort for the couple."

Ji's mother smiled with satisfaction. It seemed that the Song family was truly satisfied with this marriage. From the four maids they had chosen, it was clear that they had put a lot of thought into it.

"Your wife has worked so hard, thinking of so much." Ji's mother said with emotion, "Nuannuan is blessed to have such a loving mother-in-law."

As they chatted, Aunt Zhou walked in carrying a basket filled with fresh vegetables. Seeing a strange woman and four young girls sitting in the main room, she immediately lowered her usual loud voice, glanced at Mama Wu and the others, and turned to Ji's mother, "Oh, are there guests?"

Mother Ji found it funny to see Aunt Zhou being so cautious, but she also understood her caution.

She smiled and replied, "Yes, Nuannuan's marriage has been decided. This is the mother in charge of the family. The day after tomorrow, the in-laws will come to propose marriage. If you are free, come and help."

- ??(?????) Thanks to Xuanying Baoer for the many gifts. Hugs! I'm so ashamed that I couldn't find the gift record before! Thanks to the Baoer who kept urging me to update, letting me know that people are looking forward to it. Hugs and flowers again!