Wang accompanied his wife after dinner and personally sent her to Xiangxiang Temple, taking a detour to the Long House.

  Ruan Shi nervously welcomed her and followed her in after she entered the door. Xie Hong heard that his mother had arrived, and he also hurriedly came out from the next room.

  Wang's face fell as he glanced at them and said, "Where is Qiqie?"

  Ruan Shi said: "Listening to your instructions, I will copy books in the room."

  Mr. Wang nodded and took a sip of tea with his head down.

  Xie Hong hastily said, "Mother, Qiqi can't just be wronged like this. Although Qiqi was in the wrong, but Jun'er is older than her, right? If he hadn't always been with our Qiqi so frequently, how could Qiqi have misunderstood his intentions towards her? Now that they've caused trouble and won't take responsibility for it, you must stand up for her!"

  "What's all the commotion?!" Wang shouted sternly.

  She was also in a bad mood. Because of this, she was scolded by Xie Qigong, so she was careful in front of Madame Ren. To say that these days she has been constantly criticized by Xie Qigong, which is rare in the past, and it's really unknown what god she offended, making everything go wrong for her.

  Looking at her beloved eldest son's worried face, she slowed down again: "What are you in a hurry for? There's still plenty of time ahead. How old is their family's Jun Ge now? It's still early to talk about engagement."

  Xie Hongdao said: "What if they have already booked with another family? This is a matter of early engagement, isn't it?"

  "Wang glared at him and said, 'I knew you'd be in a hurry! What's the point of rushing into an engagement? As long as there's no formal betrothal, there's still room for regret! Besides, even if we do get engaged, there's always the option to call off the wedding. Why must it be set in stone?!'"

  Xie Hong heard this and was overjoyed: "With mother's words, the son can rest assured." On one hand, he squatted down to massage her legs for her, while on the other hand, he asked Ruan Shi to come forward and pinch her shoulders.

  Wang pondered for a moment, then said: "Last time about the matter of the stolen invitation letter, I always felt that someone in the Zhao family was behind it. Rong'er is your biological brother, if they help you, your future days will be better. Go and investigate again to see who is against us."

  Xie Hong heard the pity in her words and was moved to reveal some genuine emotions, his eyes reddening as he said: "In this world, only a mother would think of her son with such wholehearted sincerity. Mother, rest assured, I will definitely find out who did this!"

  Xie Wan was reading under the lamp when Yu Xue walked in: "Miss, Ren San Gongzi has been pacing outside for a while."

  Xie Wan remained unmoved and continued to look at the account book.

  Yu Xue bit her lip and said, "Why don't you come in and see for yourself? If word gets out about the commotion at our estate, I'm afraid it will arouse suspicion."

  Xie Wan seemed to have not heard, staring at the account on her hand without moving, flipping through a few more lines before finally closing the book and saying: "Invite him over."

  In an instant, the doorway darkened and a figure of medium height walked in.

  Xie Wan bowed her head and watered a pot of orchids on the flower rack, saying lightly: "Please sit down, Ren San Ge."

  Ren Yun didn't move, and muttered: "Thanks to Third Sister for helping me out of this situation today."

  Xie Wan sat on the floor behind the desk, looking at him and saying: "Ren San Ge made a mistake, the one who helped you out of trouble is Big Sister, you should thank her."

  "Third sister!"

  Words flowed out of his mouth like jade, and his face was full of burn marks. A pair of bright eyes sparkled with candlelight, as if there were sparks flashing.

  "I, I really don't have anything to say to Chess Sister."

  Xie Wan looked at him for a moment and smiled quietly, "This is also wrong. As for how Ren San Ge treats Qi Jie Er, there's no need to tell me."

  Her eyes, which had sparkled with fire, now shone with a soft, gentle light.

  He knew that Xie Wan was not like any of the sisters he had known before. She always seemed a bit cold, a bit indifferent, and even this coldness didn't seem like it belonged to an inexperienced child. He vaguely felt that she seemed to understand herself, but her current coldness and indifference still deeply hurt his heart.

  He now stands in front of her who sits down, and he seems to be even shorter than her, her aloofness makes him feel so insecure.

  "Are you, are you angry with me?" He trembled his lips, and simply didn't know what to do. Thinking of the things he had done one after another, and the matter between him and Xie Qi was known by everyone in the Xie family, he felt ashamed. No wonder Sanmei looked down on him, it was really that he himself was too incompetent.

  Xie Wan felt that she was facing not a young man, but a flower raised in a greenhouse.

  Such a flower is indeed beautiful and delicate, but it's too fragile. If no one takes good care of it, the harm it suffers will be far more than this.

  She didn't need to avenge the betrayal of her past life's family, nor did she care about his attitude towards her in this life. In their past life, after Qi Song's death, they regretted the marriage, and in this life, because of losing Yu, they hastily broke off their relationship with Xie Qi, putting it into any lifetime, the Ren family was always so selfish and mercenary.

  She lowered her eyelids indifferently and said: "It's not that I'm angry, I just don't want to deal with people who don't take responsibility."

  "In charge?"

  Ren Shuai lifted his head, hearing this sentence, his heart was like being punched, but also had a few inexplicable excitement. Since getting to know her, she has never talked about such deep topics with him.

  Xie Wan looked at him, her face without a hint of warmth, "Qiqia is still a girl after all. If you were responsible, how could you make things so difficult for her? After this commotion, how can she show her face in the future? You like to play with someone, but when you think it's troublesome to be with her, you immediately shirk responsibility and clear yourself of blame. Is that what you call being responsible?"

  Ran Jun's face suddenly turned cold and sweat beads emerged from his back, "Third sister..."

  "From now on, Brother San doesn't have to come looking for me anymore."

  Xie Wan interrupted him and said bluntly: "I don't like playing with you."

  The bright moon outside the door is in the sky, and the clear moonlight sprinkles under the trees, reflecting a patch of mottled light.

  Ren Yun didn't even know how he walked out of the Windy Courtyard, and Xie Wan's last sentence was more piercing than her expression.

  He may not even know why he has such high expectations for Xie Wan, but her determination makes him feel extremely uncomfortable, as if the painted bird he had carefully taken care of in his childhood had suddenly flown away, or as if the agate ornament he had finally managed to get from his father had been accidentally broken by him. From now on, he doesn't need to go look for her again; this sentence was like a knife twisting in his heart.

  He returned to the Xiangxiang Temple in a daze, kicking over a flower pot at the corner of the wall. Madame Ren heard the noise and came out, seeing him in this state, she couldn't help but be frightened again.

  "What's wrong with you?"

  Madam Ren held his face in her hands, as if a precious treasure had been damaged.

  Ren You looked at his mother and suddenly burst into tears in her arms.

  Mrs. Ren was both shocked and anxious, but he just felt sad and refused to say why he came. Mrs. Ren was deeply afraid that he would be frustrated all day and really get sick from the shock, so she took him into the house and comforted him carefully.

  He finally calmed down and lay on the bed, then called his personal servant to come into the room and asked: "Where did Third Young Master go just now?"

  Before, when Ren Jun and Xie Wan were talking, the little servant was guarding the door outside. At this time, he didn't dare to hide anything, so he told everything from start to finish.

  Mrs. Ren was shocked to hear this, she didn't know that nine-year-old Xie Wan could have such insight! Such words, not to mention Xie Qi couldn't say it, even Xie Wei might not be able to say it. During the day, she felt that her son treated this Xie San differently, wasn't it just a temporary novelty and curiosity?

  She clenched her fists and paced back and forth in the room, calling for her trusted maid Yu Niangniang, "If it's really because of that nine-year-old Third Young Miss that Brother Rong has become so infatuated, what is to be done?"

  Yu Niang listened to the story and couldn't help but fall silent for a while, thinking of Xie Wan who she had met during the day. She said: "I think these three girls are quite different from Erniang, although this maturity is astonishing, it's precisely because of this that they give people peace of mind. What Sheng San Niang said during the day was right, I think if we want to find a match for Jun'er, then this third girl would be more suitable than the other three."

  Mrs. Ren shook her head, "Although Third Auntie praises these three girls to no end, she ultimately lacks parental upbringing. At just nine years old, she says such things, it's truly startling. This girl is not bad, I also like her, but as a match for my son Rong, it won't do!"

  The old lady thought for a moment and said, "Madam's concerns are not unreasonable. However, these three girls are still young. They have witnessed the death of their parents with their own eyes, so it's understandable that they have become mature beyond their years. As for our son not being responsible and not liking to play with them, I think that's just childish talk."

  Mrs. Ren sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed after listening to this persuasion.

  This makes sense too. After all, it's because she dotes on her son that she thinks Xie Zhu is not good enough for him - her son is handsome and has a good temperament, and what's more, he's sincere towards Xie Zhu; how could she possibly look down on him? It's probably just the girl's family being overly particular.

  Thinking of this, her heart felt a bit more at ease, but she still said: "Marriage is not a trivial matter. Xie Zhuang wants to enter the Ren family's door, and it's still necessary to wait for me to look up to her for two years before talking about it. At such a young age, with such a cold and hard heart, if this continues in the future, won't Jun'er be wronged?"

  The lady is right.

  Yu Niang helped her change clothes, saying: "After all, she is the legitimate daughter of the Xie family, and among those wealthy young ladies who are on good terms with the Ren family, none can match these three sisters in terms of status and appearance. Moreover, her uncle Qi Da Ren has a relationship with our master, which adds another layer of closeness. In the future, the dowry for the second daughter will also be substantial, so if she really marries into our family, we won't lose out either."

  Madam Ren scolded her: "What's this nonsense about eating losses? You're talking as if we're the ones who are after their dowry!"

  She smiled and helped her lie down: "After all, it's better than Chess sister who can't get anything. We don't want the bride's dowry, but if it gets out, we'll be ashamed, won't we? Our elder aunt is still in Beijing, Guang'enbofu, as a young lady! The younger brothers and sisters of our mother's family will inevitably come to Beijing as guests, how can they have too humble an origin?"

  "Let's talk about it in two years," said Mrs. Ren with a sigh. She turned over and faced the inside, closing her eyes.

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  Compilation notice: On August 1st, it will be on the shelves, and three more votes are sought to secure a pink ticket! Little buddies, don't forget to vote for me, okay? Very important! Love you guys!