After seeing the baby, Madam Xu said, "Old Madam, Fei'er couldn't come out today. We haven't seen each other in days, so let me visit her."

  This was a reasonable request, and Old Madam Lu naturally wouldn’t object. She had someone lead Madam Xu to Feiqiong Courtyard.

  Qin Yunyun and Qin Shuying followed behind, along with the maids and Nanny Liu they had brought along.

  When they arrived outside Feiqiong Courtyard, Qin Shuying’s steps faltered. Her whole body felt like it had been plunged into icy water, chilling her to the bone. Her legs felt as if they were weighed down by a thousand pounds, making it impossible to lift them.

  Feiqiong Courtyard, of course, was where Qin Yaoyao used to live.

  After Qin Yaoyao's death, it was renamed Feiqiong Courtyard, and the furnishings had been repced according to Qin Feifei's preferences. But the trees outside and the eaves and pilrs of the house could not be changed, so at first gnce, it still looked the same.

  It seemed as if Feng'er was still running under the eaves…

  "Miss."

  Ziteng noticed Qin Shuying's strange behavior and gently shook her hand.

  Qin Shuying snapped out of it, lowered her eyes, and concealed the emotions within.

  As soon as they entered, Madam Xu couldn’t help but begin to compin, "Fei'er, your mother-in-w…"

  But she stopped herself, as she couldn’t say more with Qin Shuying, an outsider, present.

  Qin Feifei didn’t look well; it seemed she was still upset with Old Madam Lu. However, when she saw Qin Shuying, her eyes suddenly lit up.

  But upon noticing Ziteng, that brightness turned into a fsh of anger, though she quickly masked it.

  After several failed attempts to gain favor with Qin Shuying and hearing from Nanny Liu about the happenings in the pace and Qin Yongtao’s attitude, Qin Feifei realized that this younger cousin was now a cash cow, one that needed coaxing and fttery.

  After some pleasantries, Qin Feifei said to Qin Shuying, "Seventh Sister, I’ve never seen you dressed like this before. These jade ornaments are so exquisite and elegant—truly rare to see."

  Her tone seemed casual, like sisterly concern, but her words carried hidden intentions.

  In the past, if her elder cousin admired something, Qin Shuying would have gdly given it to her. Many things had been taken from Qin Shuying in this way. However, Qin Shuying merely smiled and nonchantly said, "It’s nothing special. This jewelry only cost seven or eight thousand taels of silver. And look at Ziteng’s set of yellow jade ornaments—how do you find it? It’s not expensive either, just three or four thousand taels. If Third Sister likes it, I have another set. I can gift it to you someday."

  Qin Feifei’s chest tightened. A maid wearing jewelry worth three or four thousand taels—how could she possibly accept a gift like that? Wouldn’t that equate her to a maid?

  But she prided herself on being refined and understanding. Having made a fool of herself in front of Qin Shuying a few times before, she now wanted to regain some ground. She feigned a pyful scolding look and pretended to be upset. "You little girl, even your sister gets teased by you."

  Ziteng watched her feigned warmth and sneered inwardly.

  Qin Yunyun, however, couldn’t contain her anger and said, "Seventh Sister, we’re all family. How could you say such a thing? Ziteng is just a maid. How can she be compared to Third Sister?"

  Qin Shuying smiled and replied, "You’re right, Sixth Sister. I didn’t think it through. Of course, Third Sister is noble and incomparable to Ziteng. Third Sister, please don’t joke with me like this again."

  Seeing a set of jewelry slip through her fingers, Qin Feifei was eager to say something, but Qin Shuying quickly added, "Third Sister is truly blessed. In the future, Third Brother-in-w will surely provide you with even finer things. Ziteng’s jewelry is merely common trinkets—Third Sister wouldn’t even need to look at them."

  Qin Feifei was both embarrassed and annoyed, but she had to maintain her facade of elegance. She forced a smile and said, "Seventh Sister, you rarely visit me, yet you still tease me. You really deserve a scolding!"

  Madam Xu sat silently, stewing in jealousy. She was furious with Qin Shuying.

  Why was this girl casually wearing jewelry worth thousands of taels, while even a maid like Ziteng wore such valuable ornaments? Her own daughter was the sister of an imperial consort but cked the wealth to match, forced to make do with the same few things.

  After a performance of sisterly affection, Qin Feifei called for a maid and said, "The winter jasmine flowers in the backyard are blooming beautifully. Take Sixth Sister and Seventh Sister to have a look."

  The Qin residence certainly wasn’t cking in winter jasmine flowers. This was clearly an excuse to send Qin Shuying away.

  There was no need to guess what mother and daughter would talk about. Qin Shuying responded with a nod and said, "Sixth Sister hasn’t seen Third Sister in a while. Why not stay and chat with her? I’ll go take a look myself."

  Qin Yunyun was naturally eager for this arrangement, and Madam Xu and Qin Feifei were equally happy to see it happen. Qin Feifei gave the maid a few more instructions, and Qin Shuying left Feiqiong Courtyard with Ziteng in tow.

  The maid was around eleven or twelve years old, unfamiliar to Qin Shuying, likely one of the newer servants purchased ter. From her attire and demeanor, she seemed to be a capable maid under Qin Feifei’s service.

  Most of the current servants in the Lu household were unfamiliar faces, except for Yuan Mama. It seemed that many of the old staff had been dismissed after Qin Yaoyao's death.

  The Lu residence was not rge, so it didn’t take long for Qin Shuying and the maid to reach the clusters of dense winter jasmine flowers, which were indeed blooming vibrantly and beautifully.

  However, there were only a few clusters of flowers, and it took just a short while to look at them all.

  The maid, knowing Qin Feifei’s intentions, naturally tried to stall Qin Shuying. She began to make conversation, saying, “Seventh Miss, although our residence is small, its location is excellent. Just behind us is Zhengxi General's mansion. Normally, the servants from the General's mansion pass through here to buy groceries and do errands. I often see them. It's truly a grand residence, being the home of a top-tier general. Even the servants there dress and live in a luxurious manner."

  There was no need for the maid to expin this; Qin Shuying already knew very well.

  Zhengxi General’s mansion was one of the three remaining first-css hereditary noble titles granted at the founding of the dynasty, holding an exalted status. The mansion itself covered a vast area, with everything from pavilions to forests and kes, each feature exquisite and unparalleled.

  It was said that dies and madams who attended banquets there often didn’t dare to wander around casually, as they would inevitably get lost. However, the scenery of the mansion was so breathtaking that people couldn’t help but get captivated by it, leading to several cases of guests losing their way each year.

  The Lu residence was situated in the southeastern corner of the General's mansion, sharing a street with its eastern side gate. But many other official families also shared this same street.

  Having lived here for several years, Qin Shuying was naturally familiar with the surroundings. She even knew many of the rumors about the General's mansion, though they were just stories, distant and irrelevant to someone of her standing.

  Back then, after meeting Liang Zhe, she quickly dismissed those stories from her mind.

  Seeing Qin Shuying showing little interest, the maid began to run out of things to say. She grew anxious, worried that Qin Shuying might decide to return to Feiqiong Courtyard.

  At that moment, Qin Shuying pointed to a spot in the distance and asked, “What is that pce? Why does it look a bit scorched?”