After He Le'an recovered from her injuries, she changed into men's clothing and went to the Rich and Noble Wine House. The staff at the Rich and Noble Wine House had already reopened for business after a brief rest. Cao Zhuang saw her coming and hastily invited her to the backyard, where he bowed his hands and said: "Thanks to your reminder that day, we were able to endure the hardships and not be forced into making false confessions, otherwise we would have been in trouble."

  "I've already spoken to the boss about this, and he'll personally thank Mr. Xue for you. This is a token of his appreciation." Cao said with a smile, handing her two bulging pouches, "Inside, there's also a small token of gratitude from everyone else. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid Rich and Noble Wine House wouldn't have made it, and we'd all be out of jobs. It's just a small gesture, don't decline."

  He Le'an accepted it calmly and said casually, "To be honest, when a powerful family looks for someone to cook a banquet, they usually find someone they have cooperated with or trusted. Why did they suddenly find our Rich and Noble Wine House this time? Fortunately, the matter didn't make too much noise. If the opposing side heard about it and used it to slander us, the wine house would be in trouble."

  Cao Zhuanggui sighed and said, "This Zhiyibofu originally looked for the Drunken Immortal's Residence in a neighboring town, but the Drunken Immortal's Residence had already been booked by another family. I have a good relationship with Dou Zhuanggui of the Drunken Immortal's Residence, so he introduced me to take over this business. I thought it would be a favor and also make some money for everyone, but unexpectedly, such an ordinary banquet turned out to be so chaotic."

  He Le'an pretended to be calm, while Cao Zhuang thought of the pain he had suffered and sighed, "From now on, I dare not mess with these muddy waters again. The reputation of Fugui Wine House cannot be ruined by me. Every day is just ordinary..."

  Going to the back kitchen, He Le An stuffed more than half of the silver in one of the bags into Xiong Shu's hands, smiling and saying: "I'm not alone, I don't need so much silver, consider it as a gift for my sister to buy some good food. You've been teaching me various dishes without hiding anything, this silver is nothing compared to that, take it."

  Uncle Xiong wanted to decline politely, but the big chef beside him laughed and said: "Disciples should be respectful to their masters, as a master, what's there to be polite about?"

  The whole Fugui Wine House knows that Uncle Xiong's wife and children died early due to a natural disaster, leaving behind a paralyzed daughter who needs care. On ordinary days, he would ask the neighbor lady next door to help take care of her in exchange for some silver. Also, because he is a distant relative of Cao Zhuanggui and the head chef, his salary is slightly higher than that of other chefs. People in the wine house are happy to let him pack up unsold items from the day or use them himself or send them to neighbors as gifts to build relationships.

  "This...". Uncle Xiong was quite embarrassed.

  He Lan'an hastily stuffed it into his arms and said, "I still have to run errands for the master's family to buy things, I'll go first."

  Leaving the Rich and Noble Tavern, He Lian'an rushed home, circling from the back door to the front yard, asking the group of young servants who were taking turns guarding the gate and patrolling, whether there was anyone unfamiliar around the Hou Mansion before the eighth day of the first month or even earlier.

  After getting a definite answer, she found several ordinary-looking small servants in the mansion who couldn't be recognized by others at a glance. Under the cover of night, they secretly slipped out of the mansion to investigate some things she wanted to know. Several days later, the small servants returned and reported back:

  "Miss, I went to Zui Xian Ju in the neighboring town and made some inquiries. It turns out that Manager Dou resigned and returned to his hometown around mid-last month."

  Last month, when Xiong Shu told her that Cao Zhanggui had taken over the banquet at Zhiyibo's mansion, Duan Zhanggui from Zhuixianju suddenly quit his job and returned to his hometown. It was said that no one believed there was no trickery involved. According to Ganju, a personal maid of Xue Hui, who obtained "evidence" from Xue Shizi, it seemed that after being used by someone, Duan Zhanggui would likely be silenced once and for all.

  Another servant respectfully said: "Miss, the two of us intercepted a sickly gambler from the residence of Zhi Yi Bo and after selling him several days' worth of wine table relationships, we finally heard from his mouth that originally, Mrs. Zhi Yi Bo had always disliked her eldest son who often went out on long trips."

  "Unexpectedly, Marquis Zhi Yi wants to give the position of heir to this eldest son who is rarely at home, but everyone in the Marquis's household knows that Madame favors the second son. Now they are making a fuss about giving the position of heir to this second son."

  That day's banquet, one after another, was indeed not just a 'coincidence'.

  He Le'an reminded the young servants to "forget" about leaving the house and rewarded them with twenty taels of silver each before dismissing them. As she returned to her own courtyard, Shi Qing welcomed her and said: "Miss, I've gone to the carpenter's place to pick up the flower-shaped pastry mold you ordered. This is an invitation card from the manor, how would you like to respond?"

  "Although I'm inviting someone to the manor for the first time, you're all too nervous." He Lan'an put down his heavy heart and smiled as he took over the delicate invitation cards that had been specially scented with jasmine flowers. "Miss Xue isn't a girl who likes to show off her elegant skills, just follow the usual rules and it'll be fine. Being overly enthusiastic will only scare them away."

  Shi Qing smiled and said, "You are calm, but the old lady has instructed that we must not be slow in serving Miss Xue. The servants should be more careful. According to what the old lady said, if our two families have more interactions in the future, it will only bring benefits to you, with no harm. Over the years, I've been following you and seen how kind you are to everyone, yet you don't seem willing to get close to anyone. It's rare for us to invite a young lady from another household to play at our manor, so we must be more attentive."