In comparison, Third Granny Huang was much more dignified when she entered the house.

  The Huang family was native to Qinghe, although the Huang family had a small population, they were truly a family of poetry and etiquette. The great-grandfather of the Huang family originally served as a junior official in the Imperial Censorate, later when the crown prince ascended to the throne, he was expected to be promoted, but he fell seriously ill and delayed for two years before re-emerging, however, he was unable to secure an appropriate position. He also had a few qualities of a true scholar, so he took the emperor's generous gift and retired to his hometown in Qinghe County.

  Although the Huang family has not produced a high-ranking official in recent years and their financial resources are not as strong as those of the Xie family, they have a good family tradition. So when Xie Rong returned home for the funeral some time ago, Qiu Ju told me that he had brought many gifts specifically for Madame Huang, including the pair of small, plain pearl earrings she is wearing today. And in front of Madame Huang, Wang Shi has never put on airs, being very warm and loving towards her son and daughter.

  What's more important is that after Xie Rong entered officialdom later on, Huang helped her husband a lot because she was knowledgeable about books and propriety.

  But she had an instinctive guard against the Xie family, and even though the Xie Yun in front of her seemed to get along better than Xie Tong, she still protected Xie Cheng a little.

  "Do you want it?" she asked Xie Yun, pointing at the fish.

  Xie Yun raised her head in some surprise, and gradually there was a look of surprise in her eyes, but after a moment that surprise faded away, replaced by calmness.

  "A gentleman does not take away what others love. This belongs to Second Brother, I really can't have it."

  Xie Wan said: "If you like it, I'll give one to you."

  Xie Yun shook her head, "If Third Sister doesn't mind me being a nuisance, I'll just come over and visit from time to time..."

  Before he could finish speaking, Xie Tong pulled him by the sleeve to one side and said: "What are you afraid of? It's not like you asked her for it, she herself said she wanted to give it to you, don't refuse a free gift!"

  Xie Yun furrowed her brow and said, "Didn't you hear what Second Brother said just now? This was specially bought by Second Uncle to give to Third Sister. Now that Second Uncle and Aunt are no longer around, Third Sister said she wanted to give it to me. I suppose it's because she lives here and is afraid of causing us trouble, so she said that. How could I take advantage of the situation?"

  "What's the hurry?""We didn't rob anyone. Besides, she showed us kindness, if you refuse her, aren't you disappointing her good intentions? In my opinion, Second Sister's birthday is next month, let's give this to her."

  Xie Yun's face turned red with anger as she glared at the Xie siblings not far away, her voice low and furious: "What right do you have to borrow Third Sister's things to give to someone?!"

  Xie Wan's ears were not deaf, and every word they said fell into her ears, but her face was calm and waveless.

  When they came back, she smiled at Xie Yun and said: "This fish is very delicate, Third Brother has never raised fish before, forget it, I'll just put it here. When you get familiar with it slowly, I'll give it to you again."

  They came together, and if she only sent fish to Xie Yun but not to Xie Tong, Ruan Shi would know in her heart that it wouldn't be comfortable. Huang Shi's status was originally higher than hers, and she also had a good reputation in front of her parents-in-law. Ruan Shi would think that the third house intentionally got close to the second house, and would either give birth to discord with the third house or directly make trouble with the third house. She didn't know about it. Originally, she was just using sending fish as an excuse to stir up trouble, so she never thought of sending any to Xie Tong.

  However, Xie Yun's words just now changed her mind again.

  Xie Yun saw her suddenly radiant smile, but was stunned for a moment. Having grown accustomed to her silence and few words in recent days, this sudden smile seemed like the clouds parting to reveal the moon, restoring her entire being to its former brilliance, making it impossible for others to gaze directly at her.

  "How can you talk without keeping your word?"

  Xie Yun didn't say a word, but Xie Tong got angry, "You were the one who said you'd send fish earlier, now you're taking it back and refusing to send it. What do you mean? Do you look down on us?"

  Xie Lang hastily explained: "Tong Ge, don't be annoyed, what Xuan Xuan said is right. This fish is delicate and will die if not handled carefully. It's just that we should put it here to raise for now, and when you know how to take care of it later, moving it then would be the same."

  Xie Wan glanced at them, slowly covering the fish tank with a copper wire mesh to prevent cats from getting in, and pressed down on it with a flower fork with a chrysanthemum on it. She then patted her hands and said: "Fourth brother isn't angry, why are you in such a hurry, third brother?" It's like saying I didn't give it to you, when is it your turn to take charge?

  Although it was a provocative sentence, when she said it, it carried a hint of playfulness, making it impossible to find fault with her.

  Xie Tong's face turned bright red, and after glancing at the bewildered Xie Ceng and Xie Yun, he suddenly stomped his feet and rushed out of the door!

  "You're bullying me!"

  Xie Lang hastily chased out of the door: "Tong ge!"

  Xie Yun was also somewhat at a loss. But seeing Xie Wan still inside the house, she again withdrew her leg that had stepped out of the doorway.

  He comforted her, saying: "Third sister, don't be afraid. Third brother is just a good face." For a moment he regretted and said: "It's all my fault. I heard that you have goldfish here and followed second brother over without asking for permission, causing trouble for you!"

  Xie Wan said: "I'm fine. It's just that I let Fourth Brother have a good laugh at my expense, so it's not fair to him."

  Although Xie Yun was not willing to take away what others loved, she still felt uncomfortable with her sudden change of heart. Seeing her say this now, he suddenly felt a good impression in his heart. However, due to the disturbance caused by Xie Tong, they parted ways unhappily and lost interest in staying any longer, so he bid farewell and left. Xie Wan escorted him to the gate and asked him to convey her greetings to Huang Shi.

  Madam Huang was busy with the funeral at home and her husband had just returned from Beijing, so she couldn't help but be busy for a few days. These two days have been relaxed, but she felt a little anxious and short of breath, so she stayed in the house to rest. Yesterday, when the contract documents were signed between the Xie family siblings and the Qi family, she didn't show up either.

  At this time, Ai Zi returned home listlessly and couldn't help but ask. Xie Yun told her mother everything without hiding anything, then said: "Tong Ge is also too much, last time he took my inkstone away without even saying hello, now he's hitting on San Mei again, where does he look like a brother! Oh, right, San Mei asked me to greet you for her."

  Huang heard that Xie Wan only planned to give the fish to one person, and later suddenly regretted it. He felt a sense of relief in his heart, but these things couldn't be explained to the children, and they wouldn't understand anyway. So he quickly comforted him and instructed him that when he saw Xie Wan again, he would also ask about her well-being on his behalf. Then he let the young servant take him down to have some snacks.

  Here, Huang's mind was idle and he thought of Xie Hong and his wife who strongly persuaded Xie Qigong to keep Xie Liang and his sister, and couldn't help but anxiously say to Qi Pianpian who was sewing beside him: "I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing."

  Qie's nurse, who had been with her since she was a child, naturally understood what she meant by this incoherent remark. She smiled and said: "Whether it is good or bad, we will close our doors and live our lives, and it has nothing to do with us. So although Grandma's cold is not good in many ways, it also has one advantage - that we didn't get involved in yesterday's mess."

  Huang also laughed: "That's true too. We mind our own business and don't interfere with others."

  "Fortunately, our third master has already passed the imperial examination and is now a high-ranking official. If we can just hold on for another two or three years until he gets a proper government position after his term as a Hanlin scholar is over, then we can bring Grandma, Yinger, and Yong'er to join us in Beijing. That way, we won't have to bother with all these messy affairs anymore."

  Huang remembered Xie Rong, but a hint of melancholy appeared between his eyebrows.

  Xie Yun left soon after Wu's mother came back and talked with Xie Wan in the house for a while before coming out again.

  Wu's mother left, Xie Wan stood beside a chrysanthemum cluster watching the autumn butterflies catch cicadas, Luo Sheng came in.

  "Master Luo asked Xie Lang: 'Now that the young master and miss have returned to the mansion, what about the people in the house in Huangshi Town, as well as the fields and shops? Please give us some instructions, so we can follow your orders.'"

  Xie Lang said: "The people in the house will naturally stay to watch the house, and the people on the fields and shops are all doing their jobs, do we need to make other arrangements?"

  Luò Shēng heard this and his eyes instantly couldn't hide a hint of disappointment.

  Xie Wan threw down the flower branch in her hand and walked to Xie Liang's side, saying calmly: "Luo Guan Shi, there are five people in the mansion. Please transfer Yu Xue and Yu Fang to Dan Xiang Yuan. We don't need so many people in the mansion now. Brother has Yin Cui and Wu Xing serving him, and I have Yu Fen and two others, as well as Wu Xiaojie, which is enough. Qiu Ju and Bao Mo are young and can't do much. They signed a death contract, but you can return their contracts to them. The rest of the people are under live contracts, give each person ten taels of silver as a settlement fee and let them go. First spread the word, then come back for the silver."

  Luo Sheng and Xie Liang were both stunned by her well-organized plan. Xie Liang hastily said, "Don't you want Qiu Ju anymore? We can afford to raise her!"

  Xie Wan said: "Although we can afford it, there's no need to waste too much. Moreover, the young masters in the mansion only have two personal servants, and the young ladies only have two personal maids, while the rest of the rough servants are assigned by the mansion. If we keep so many people, aren't we afraid of being gossiped about?" What she really wanted to say was that they were living here for free, eating food provided by the mansion, although this place was originally their home, but now Wang Shi was in charge, and they were waiting with wide eyes like lanterns to take control of them. She couldn't just hand over a handle to be grasped by others.

  "How can this be good?"

  Xie Lang's face was filled with anxiety, feeling that this wasn't right. Xie Wan, however, had a resolute expression.

  Luo Sheng couldn't help but look at Xie Wan with a few more inquiring glances, and after a moment, he said: "If the second young master has no objections, I will do as the third young lady says."

  "You——"

  "Brother!" Xie Wan pulled on his sleeve and said to Luo Sheng, "Luo Guan Shi, you can go. As for you, we'll double your original pay. In the future, matters of the second house will still require Luo Guan Shi's hard work."

  Since Xie Teng moved out of the house, Luo Sheng has been following him, and it's been over a decade now. I once heard my father say that he had never made any mistakes, but later on, because his siblings went to the Qi family, they no longer had any property to manage, so he left them. Now is the time to use people like this, she must be kept.

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