The Wang family returned the next day, taking advantage of the fine weather. Xie Wan was waiting for Xie Ceng to finish school at the second gate when a carriage full of people arrived, each face beaming with joy. Xie Wan couldn't help but smile and ask: "Did Madam kick up a golden treasure on the way?"

  Wang Shi responded to Xie Liang or Xu Ke, but every time she was in front of Xie Wan, she would still put on a gentle and loving face. She smiled: "It wasn't me who kicked the golden treasure, it was the eldest uncle of the Ren family who picked up the treasure! The eldest uncle took the path of the Ministry of War last month and entered the Five Cities Military Command as the deputy commander, but Madame Ren didn't believe it and kept it under wraps until yesterday when the eldest uncle specially accompanied Madame Ren to Nanyuan to celebrate her birthday, that's when this matter was exposed!"

  Xie Wan smiled and looked at her, then said: "This Ren family's eldest uncle has been promoted to an official position, but it's not Third Uncle who was promoted, what does it have to do with us?"

  Wang and Huang looked at each other and smiled, saying: "The Xie and Ren families are close, naturally there is a relationship. You're still young, you don't understand these things, it's hard to explain to you."

  Xie Wan's eyes rolled around, and she clapped her hands: "I know! As the saying goes, it's easy to be an official when you have someone in the imperial court. If Ren Jia's uncle becomes an official, he will definitely help promote Third Uncle as well, right? If Third Uncle can get a real job before the Imperial Academy disperses, that would be even better!"

  At home, every younger generation is a descendant of Confucius and Mencius. Xie Qigong also wants to make the Xie family an official family. Now that these words have come out of Xie Zhuang's mouth, no one feels surprised, thinking that they have heard their father and brother mention it many times before, and only know a little about its superficiality.

  Wang and the others were laughing, Xie Wan was also laughing.

  Zeng Mi was just a declining earl, while Xie Rong came from a scholar-official family and had high aspirations to become a famous minister. He would not lower himself to curry favor with Zeng Mi, who relied on connections to rise to power. Moreover, the Five Armies Military Office was not as proper as the Shuntian Prefecture Government Office, and Xie Rong would not want to get involved with those people. In fact, most of the literary officials in the imperial court looked down on them.

  The Xie estate wasn't as harmonious and filial as it seemed on the surface, nor was she as gentle and harmless as she appeared. While accumulating power, she didn't hesitate to occasionally sow seeds of discord among the people in the Xie estate, watching them take root and sprout.

  She alone countered the entire Xie household, and the confrontation was ubiquitous.

  Xie Wan heard that Xie Lang had returned to his room and also bid farewell from the upper house.

  Wang sent away the others and left only Huang by his side, suppressing a smile as he asked: "Lang's news came from where, do you know?"

  Huang said: "The daughter-in-law didn't know, it was only that day when I unintentionally heard it from Yuanshu's mouth. At the time, I didn't take it to heart, thinking where would we not know and let the children know first? Afraid of Yuan Shu being overly anxious, I didn't dare ask further. Who knew that this trip to Renfu actually confirmed the matter."

  Wang furrowed his brow and sank into thought, then said after a moment: "It's not right to ask, but the two children of the second house have indeed done something. However, you should have told me beforehand, so I could be prepared. Now it's just us going empty-handed to meet the third young master of the Guang En Bo Fu, losing face in front of others is one thing, but later on if we need to ask for anything, it won't be easy."

  Huang's jaw dropped, and he looked down at the ground with his eyes cast downward.

  Wang didn't look at her and just said, "Anyway, the Ren family has a close relationship with our family, and the children get along well. Isn't their third young master fond of playing with several older brothers? If nothing else, let the older brothers invite him to come over and play. The Ren family has always had dealings with the government, and Rong'er is in the capital... if they can help find a job for Hong'er at the yamen, that would be a great merit."

  Huang's eyebrows slightly rose, and she nodded: "The daughter-in-law understands."

  "Go back to your room and rest. Have the Zhous come in."

  Tuesday's family came in.

  Wang said, "The second house has been operating outside the government for so many years, and it's likely that they have their own channels of information. Have someone keep an eye on Ping Ge, see who he usually comes into contact with. And then there's San Nainai's side..."

  Huang returned to her room with a heart as full as a stuffed bun.

  "Madam, you're really muddled! Between the two masters, who's more reliable? Now that there's a ready-made official's son, she doesn't help him climb up, but instead thinks of ways to get that good-for-nothing eldest son to scheme for benefits! Luckily we prepared ahead and secretly asked Madame Ren to congratulate Master Zeng on our behalf. Otherwise, if Madam had sent the gift out, wouldn't it be a loss for both Madame and ourselves, and end up benefiting the main house instead?"

  Huang furrowed his brow and remained silent.

  "Mother doesn't have to worry about it, anyway. Our third master is absolutely better than the eldest master. If Madam wants to be biased, let her be biased. In the future, we'll see who she'll rely on to support her in her old age after Master passes away!"

  Huang's family was silent for half a day, and sighed: "You also know that San Ye is not a person who doesn't know anything. The two words 'filial piety' are put in the front, even if she favors the eldest son, San Ye will not treat her badly."

  This is enough to make Qi Guo Guo speechless.

  "Huang said: 'You go get paper and pen, I'll write a letter to him.'"

  One autumn rain one cold, by the time it reached the Yeefeng Temple inside two cypress trees also started falling leaves, it was already possible to eat hot pot.

  Xie Wan had Wu Xing build a small stove under the wall of a small courtyard in the back, where he would simmer some hot soup or congee on ordinary days. When the autumn rain started again, she had Wu Mama bring out the small copper hot pot they had brought from Huangshi Town, and then had Yu Xue go to the main kitchen to get several catties of lamb legs, mushrooms, and meatballs, etc., and they would have a hot pot in the Baoguang Hall.

  Zhengmao was drooling at the side of the small stove, staring at the mutton soup boiling in the pot. Yufang walked in and said, "San Nainai is ill. I heard that San Ye sent a letter from Beijing, but no one knows what it says. When San Nainai saw the letter, she cried for half a day, then got a headache and fever. The doctor was called over, and Daguang gave her some medicine to eat. She just fell asleep now."

  Yu Fang's affairs are becoming more and more detailed, Xie Wan took the copper chopsticks in her hand and stirred the charcoal fire in the stove, saying: "Tomorrow noon you personally cook some lily porridge, and we'll go take a look in the afternoon."

  Yu Fang said: "Aren't you going in the afternoon?"

  "Never mind," Xie Wan put down the copper chopsticks and smiled: "It's nothing important."

  Xie Rong and Huang's feelings are very good, so he won't write a letter to Huang for no reason. Now the government has no major events, Huang is usually virtuous, he can only have one possibility, that is, Huang wrote a letter to suggest that he take the road of Guang Enbo Fu. Zeng Mi even if he was appointed as the deputy commander, it's not necessarily going well in the court, Huang estimated that he just mentioned it and let Xie Rong keep an eye on it and socialize with him.

  But little did she know that this move was the most likely to make Xie Rong feel disgusted. Because once they begged in front of Zeng Mi, no matter what happened in the end, as long as Xie Rong stood firm in the court afterwards, this past would be like slapping gold on the face of Guang En Bo Fu. For someone like Xie Rong who was determined to achieve his goal, with this stain, how could he continue to be a noble and clean official?

  In fact, when Xie Wan first mentioned Zeng Mi to Huang Shi, she was not sure if Xie Rong would ultimately refuse to take this path without hesitation, as she had thought. However, because of the uncertainty, she needed to verify it. Revealing this information to Huang Shi was just her way of testing the waters and indirectly understanding how Xie Rong would respond.

  Why can a small ant break through a dike? It is because these insignificant drops accumulate day after day, month after month, and finally achieve success with one effort.

  Xie Wan's advantage lies in her ability to know some things that others can't predict. If she doesn't make the most of it, it would be a waste.

  I had a great time eating hot pot.

  What a rare opportunity for rebirth! If one doesn't enjoy eating and drinking to their heart's content, letting themselves play in the mortal world, and savoring this extra life of blessings, wouldn't that be a waste of Heaven's kindness? And so, because he ate too much, Luo Xuan slept relatively late. When he got up early, Luo Xuan had already been waiting for half a day in the main hall.

  Luo Xiang didn't see her until she had finished a steaming bowl of Jin Hua ham noodles and a bowl of chicken soup.

  "I'm sorry." She sat down behind the desk with a full of apology. To match her height, the desk was a long table used by famous scholars in the Wei and Jin dynasties. She sat on the floor on a velvet cushion, which made her appear more casual and generous.

  "You're here about the shop, aren't you?" she said straightforwardly, opening a thick account book on her desk. "I've been thinking carefully about what you said these past few days, and I feel that with just this little income, it's not enough to support our expenses. For now, living in the mansion doesn't count for much, but after brother passes the imperial examination, the days of spending money will arrive. We'll need to hire a tutor, invite a master of ceremonies, go to the capital, and prepare for the exam. And before long, it will be time for him to get married."

  As she said this, she glanced at Luo Sheng. The corners of Luo Sheng's mouth indeed curled up into a faint smile.

  She cleared her throat and said seriously, "Marriage between men and women is a matter of course, what's there to laugh about? The point of saying all this is that I think it's not enough to just open one store in Li Zi Alley."

  Lu Sheng sat up straight and listened respectfully.

  Xie Wan hesitated for a moment, then said: "I plan to take back the four shops I have in hand and operate them myself. I've checked, two of them in Qingyuan Prefecture, one has expired last year, the other is next March, and the one in Yangliu Hutong, Qinghe County will expire in September. So, by winter next year, we can at least fully open."

  "Those two shops in Qingyuan Prefecture, you'll be sourcing all the goods from Jiangnan. The goods must be good and the prices must be fair. For now, these two shops in Qinghe County will still mainly sell mid-range silk fabrics. Also, I remember that the storefronts in Huangshi Town are quite cheap, and there aren't many shops selling silk fabrics there either. You can rent a shop on the main street first, specifically to sell the leftover goods from our four shops at low prices."

  Luo Sheng was stunned for a moment after listening, and said: "Miss wants to start her own business?"

  Xie Wan closed her book and glanced at him, "Can't I?"

  Luō Shēng subconsciously shook his head, but immediately asked: "Miss, are you sure?"

  "Try it and you'll know whether you can grasp it or not." She said with a smile.