"My gongzi is a fool!" Luo Qingyang bursts out as soon as they're alone in her tent. "How can he look at someone so kind and lovely and skilled and—”
Jiang Yanli laughs softly. "It's a good thing we're not engaged then. I can spend time with someone who appreciates me."
When they arrive in the Yiling Supervisory Office, Jiang Yanli freshly recovered from fever, Jiang Cheng in a coma, and Wei Wuxian nearly at the end of his rope, Jiang Yanli does what she does best—acts as the warm, nurturing support for her brothers. But she's tired, too.
When the time comes to transfer a golden core to Jiang Cheng a different choice is made.
“Do you understand what this means? For me?” he asks, eyes flicking back and forth as he searches her face. “And you approve?”
She smiles as she reaches out and cups his chin. “Our XianXian is very brave,” Jiang Yanli says, not quite answering his question yet. “I knew you would find a way to save him but you cannot make this sacrifice.”
He shakes his head…
When the time comes to transfer a golden core to Jiang Cheng a different choice is made.
“Do you understand what this means? For me?” he asks, eyes flicking back and forth as he searches her face. “And you approve?”
She smiles as she reaches out and cups his chin. “Our XianXian is very brave,” Jiang Yanli says, not quite answering his question yet. “I knew you would find a way to save him but you cannot make this sacrifice.”
He shakes his head. “There’s no one else,” Wei Wuxian says, tears already forming in his eyes. “I promised I’d look after him.”
“You cannot look after him if you don’t have a core,” Jiang Yanli says, gently. “But I’m not doing much with mine.”
An explosive misunderstanding leaves Jiang Cheng assuming he's escaped matchmakers forever and Yu Ziyuan assuming she can solve her son's singleness with the right young man. Only one of them can be right. But what will Jiang Cheng do when the last name on the matchmakers' new list is his friend, Nie Huaisang?
Of all the prisons in which she's spent time, Lotus Pier may be the kindest.