On the tenth day of the month, a heavy rain fell in the early morning. Xie Wan was awakened by the thunder and decided to go to the pavilion to read books.

  Outside, the rain poured down in sheets, beating against the sky well until a lone plum blossom was submerged in the mud. The petals floated on the surface of the water like small boats tossed about on a stormy sea. The banana leaves were also torn apart along their veins, resembling old fans that had been used for years by an elderly woman. Everything looked disheveled and chaotic.

  As the sky gradually brightened, she extinguished the lamp on her desk. Yuxue happened to be walking in with a small stove of millet porridge that had just been cooked, although she walked under the corridor, but there was still a layer of fine rain powder splashed on her sleeves and hair, even the air in the room was slightly moistened, with a hint of early spring.

  Jade snow covered the window, just about to turn around and come back, but from the other end of the courtyard came another string of raindrop sounds. She pushed open the window again, only to see Wang's little maid Moon Lily and Yu Fang walking in together under an umbrella, with raindrops falling onto the umbrella and splashing out water flowers several feet away.

  Arriving at the corridor, Yufang said through the window: "There are guests in the mistress's room, let's have breakfast in the main courtyard."

  Jade Snow walked out of the door and glanced at Moon Lotus's trouser legs, furrowing her brow: "It's raining so heavily, can't we just eat inside instead?"

  Yuè Líng bowed his head and said: "This is unclear, Madam only instructed me to invite Third Young Miss over."

  Yu Xue bit her lip and stood for a while before turning around and entering the house.

  Xie Wan had already heard. Although she didn't care about this meal, since Wang knew it was going to rain heavily and still wanted her to come over for breakfast, he must have prepared many ways to invite her. She was just stalling, but in the end, she would still have to go.

  Besides, she always felt it wasn't that simple.

  She crawled out from behind the bookcase, "Where are my wooden clogs?"

  Jade Snow not only helped her put on wooden clogs, but also wrapped her in a raincoat and wore a bamboo hat.

  But even so, when I arrived at the main courtyard, my pants legs were still wet and my shoes were icy cold. Fortunately, Yuxue had already prepared dry shoes and socks and brought them over, and first changed into them outside the door while Yufang blocked the way, before entering again.

  In the flower hall, not only was Wang there, but Ruan was also there. What's more puzzling is that Xie Qigong sat at the top, his face looking very uncomfortable.

  Xie Wan went forward as usual, sweetly greeting Wang Shi and politely bowing to Xie Qigong. Then she nodded at Ruan Shi and sat down on the small velvet stool where she usually sat.

  Suddenly, several cases beside Xie Qigong were slapped by him, "You made such a big mistake, and you still have the face to sit here?!"

  It was actually the Hongmen Banquet.

  Xie Wan's eyes dimmed and she slowly stood up, "I don't know what kind of basket Master is talking about?"

  Xie Qigong pointed at her, seemingly out of breath and unable to speak coherently.

  "Master, please speak slowly, Miss Yu is still young, don't scare her." At the same time, he looked at Xie Zhu and sighed: "You child, how can you be so naughty? I ask you, was it you who beat Li Ershun, who used to work for your family in Huangshi Town?"

  Li Ershun... "I hit it." Xie Wan nodded.

  Xie Qigong's face was again filled with rage. Wang patted his thigh and said, "My little ancestor, you've gotten yourself into big trouble! Do you know who Li Ershun is now? He's the house servant of County Magistrate Zhao, and you beat him up. How can County Magistrate Zhao save face? This morning, he stormed in, furious, to file a complaint, and even questioned Master, asking if he was intentionally trying to provoke him!

  Li Ershun was clearly an apprentice in a blacksmith's shop, how did he become a servant of County Magistrate Zhao?

  "Still not kneeling?"

  The table jumped up again.

  Xie Wan knelt down with a stomach full of doubts, her eyes sweeping past Ruan Shi, just in time to catch a glimpse of the schadenfreude at the bottom of her eyes.

  This matter doesn't need to be thought deeply, it's obvious that someone is taking advantage of the situation. Is it Xie Hong and Ruan Shi, or Wang Shi? Are they doing this purely to control the second house, or do they have other intentions?

  They just can't get any real benefits from manipulating the second house, and Wang's family has been in power for so many years, they won't be so foolish. So there must be another purpose.

  Suppose Li Ershun really became a servant of County Magistrate Zhao, and she really admitted to this crime. She still had Xie Zhen on top of her, so the blame would not fall on her head, but rather Xie Zhen would take responsibility for dereliction of duty. At most, she would only receive a minor punishment.

  Xie Qigong might very likely take him to the county government office to admit his guilt and accept punishment.

  If Xie Lang yielded to Li Ershun and admitted his mistake, it would not only confirm the rumors of his affair with the maid, but also make Li Ershun even more arrogant from then on. At the same time, it would also cause people in Qinghe County to look down on Xie Lang and even the entire Second House.

  This resulted in direct losses, damaging Xie Liang's reputation and his performance on the trial stage in February. Even if Xie Wan was certain that this Shengyuan trial was a sure thing for Xie Liang, what Xie Qigong feared most was someone tarnishing the Xie family name and affecting Xie Rong's future prospects.

  Qinghe County is so small that even a tiny thing like this can spread far and wide.

  If Xie Langxiao's scandal about beating the old servant with his younger sister and being disowned by his grandfather due to moral decay were to spread, those few shops under the name of the second house would be affected even if business was not affected. The apprentices in the shop would be worried - let alone now when the shop needs to recruit more people, who would still want to come and work for this money after hearing this rumor?

  No skills, no customers, no integrity and reputation, let alone standing firm in business.

  If the other party really had this intention, and came for the several rooms that Er Fang was about to open, then even Xie Hong couldn't have made such a move. Without Wang Shi, how could they have pushed Xie Qi Gong out as the judge?

  Wang's family is formally reaching out to the second house, isn't it?

  "I don't know how to tell this to the old master either."

  After a while, she stared at the ground and slowly said, "That day I went to Huangshi Town to take a stroll. Li Ershun blocked my car and spoke wildly. Although I'm not talented, I have a 'Xie' character on my head. At that time, I was so angry that I taught him a lesson on behalf of the old master and wife."

  Xie Qigong's face sank as he said, "Speak clearly! What do you mean by 'teach us a lesson'?! What exactly did he say?"

  Xie Wan stared at the pattern on the bluestone bricks on the floor and said, "Since Master asked, I naturally dare not hide it. That Li Ershun said that the Xie family's ancestors were deceitful and stole the Chen Pijiang's family property, and even replaced the descendants that belonged to the Chen Pijiang with those of the Xie family. I don't know who Chen Pijiang is, so I naturally refuted it, but Li Ershun became even more pleased with himself."

  She stopped here.

  The temperature suddenly dropped at the beginning of the upper rhyme, and Xie Qigong's voice trembled. "What else did he say?"

  Xie Wan still stared at the ground and said, "He continued to say that it was because the Xie family's beams were not straight and the pillars were crooked, so they would marry a widow into the house. I said our family didn't have any widows, he said Madam was a widow, I said our old master was still alive, how could Madam be a widow?!"

  Someone in the front row sucked in a breath of cold air and made a scratching sound with their fingernails on wood.

  The air pressure has dropped to freezing point.

  Xie Wan continued to say: "He ridiculed me as a foolish and ignorant girl, saying that if it weren't for the old master marrying a rustic widow and bringing her back, how would he have done such a thing as sending someone to deliver a concubine to the young master's room before the mourning period was over? Then he slandered Madame by saying that two months ago she sent a maid to ask his mother Li Shu about Brother and Yu Xue, and even asked if Brother had any intention of taking Yu Xue as a concubine?"

  "I certainly don't believe that the maids by Madam's side are all so delicate and would go around inquiring about such things. Besides, if Madam had inquired about these matters, then regardless of whether or not Brother and Yuxue were clear of wrongdoing, as the mistress of the Xie household, she wouldn't have been able to make the decision to summon Yuxue alone to serve in the Xiao Xiang courtyard."

  "But he actually knew Su Luo's name and could describe her sister's appearance. It seems that in order to spread rumors, he had put in a lot of effort privately. So when I saw him slandering Master and Mistress, I couldn't help but hit him. Master, Mistress, I know I was too rash and should have come back to report first, but I was also afraid that he would take the opportunity to spread more rumors outside and ruin your reputation, so I took matters into my own hands. Master, please punish me."

  She nodded and raised her small face.

  Xie Qigong and Wang sat at the top, already furious with a pale face. Even Ruan, who was usually clever, was scared out of her wits, not knowing where to look.

  Regardless of whether Li Ershun actually said these words, now that they have come out of Xie Wan's mouth, not only did she scold Xie Qigong and Wang back with not a single dirty word, making them speechless, but also cleverly turned the reason for her beating around, in this situation where outsiders are attacking the Xie family, who can say that she was wrong to hit?

  Wang stared at the delicate little face below, relaxed his clenched molars which had become slightly sour, and covered his forehead with his hand, closing his eyes.

  What does she look like a child under nine years old? If she is only nine years old, it would be too clever! The family history of the Xie family has been hidden so well that even Xie Hu and Xie Yun may not know clearly. She is so young and knows very few people, why does she know so clearly? Moreover, when Su Luo went to find Li's mother and son, how did she know?

  At the Wang's house, Li Ershun told everything about what had happened in Huangshi Town. His flattery was not fake, and his anger towards Xie Wan was also real, so afterwards she recommended him to become a servant at the Zhao County Magistrate's house.

  If Li Ershun really said those words to Xie Wan, how would he know why she came to see him at the Wang's house? And how could he be so nervous when he saw her, and as soon as she asked about Xie Wan beating him, he immediately began to accuse Xie Wan with a flood of words, instead of being evasive and trying to cover it up?

  She firmly believed it was Xie Wan who was telling lies.

  But at this time, it's useless to call Li Ershun over for questioning. Xie Qigong has already been prejudiced against Li Ershun by Xie Wan's words, and even if he doesn't fully believe them, he won't give Li Ershun another chance. If only she had brought Li Ershun with her when she came to report to Xie Qigong!

  Who would have thought that on the eve of the festival, a little yellow-haired girl would stir up trouble?

  ——————————

  After much deliberation, I've decided to change Xie Wan's age from 5 years old to 8 years old when she was reborn. That means at the current point in the story, she should be around 9 years old. I'm extremely sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused everyone, but it seems more reasonable this way. Moe~!