It's time to go to bed after finishing everything.

  Qin Miao took a glance at Xie Yan, who was already lying on the bed, and pondered for a moment before taking out an object from the small drawer in front of the dresser and getting onto the bed as well.

  "This... for you..." The little person stretched out a small hand and handed over a small sachet, placing it right in front of Xie Yan.

  This is a golden silk sachet with gold thread embroidery. Xie Yan narrowed his eyes, staring at the white horse on the sachet for a moment, then turned to look at Qin Miao beside him, who had already blushed and turned back to pretend to be calm.

  "Did you embroider it yourself?" A clear and cold voice came from the bed curtains, a seemingly indifferent sentence, yet it made Qin Miao's face flush again for the first time as she gave a gift to a man. She subconsciously nodded, then suddenly remembered something and started shaking her head.

  She thought Xie Yun would quietly or slightly embarrassedly accept it, but unexpectedly he asked about the previous sentence. Is "female red owes well" written on my face? She secretly wondered in her heart.

  Qin Miao slightly lowered her head and honestly confessed, "My embroidery isn't... very good..." Unintentionally, her usual quick wit was gone, and she swallowed a few screws. "That... the palace's seamstress helped me with the basics, but this white horse is my own work!" This was also true, except that the shape of the white horse was drawn by the seamstress.

  She secretly raised her eyebrows and tried to ask: "Is it still pleasing to the eye?" Suddenly, she felt that this sentence had a bit of a self-defeating tone, so she quietly waited for Xie Yan's response.

  "Hmm, not bad." The tone was still cold and clear, but it made Qin Miao feel much more at ease. After all, her embroidery skills were indeed not good, and Xie Yan had always been one to not say excessive words. Now, this phrase "not bad" made Qin Miao suddenly understand as "it's done well, I quite like it".

  In this way, Qin Miao felt that their relationship had taken another step forward. The second attack was successful!

  Of course, that night was also peaceful and uneventful, each reporting back to their respective leaders.

  Because of Qin Miao's nagging about the third house the day before, on the second day after court, Xie Yan returned to his residence and went directly to the third house. Fortunately, Mr. Xie Rui of the third house had just returned from duty. Under Madame Liu's repeated invitations, Xie Yan was kindly kept in the third house for dinner.

  Qin Miao found out that Xie Yan was left in the third house for dinner, and her originally dull thoughts suddenly became lively. It seems that her husband is still very capable, and as soon as he finished speaking, he went to deal with it. Presumably on a cloudy day when she herself would discuss with Liu Shi again, she would definitely be able to relax a lot.

  On the second day, before Qin Miao went to the third house to find Liu Shi, Liu Shi herself came to find Qin Miao.

  "Aunt San! I was just saying what a lovely day it is today, and I was thinking of inviting you to go with me to Old Lady's courtyard to admire the flowers. And here you are!"

  Qin Miao wore a spring green shirt, fragrant and windy, and personally led Liu's wife to the small couch in the small courtyard.

  "Oh, people all say I know how to enjoy myself. But if compared with Sister Yu's wife, it's not even close." The Lyu lady had a natural red mole between her eyebrows, delicate and lovely. Every time she frowned or smiled, it was full of charm. It's no wonder that Master Xie Rui has been infatuated with the Lyu lady for many years and hasn't gone to those concubines he took in his early years."

  As a lady from the Huainan Marquis's residence, she had been dressed in silk and fed with jade since childhood. Moreover, her upbringing by a noble family made every matter and thing extraordinary. Facing such an aristocratic and privileged Liu, Qin Miao felt quite annoyed after several confrontations. Now that this Liu had taken the initiative to come to her door, could it be that Xie Yu had already spoken to Third Uncle?

  "Brother-in-law's wife, I'm a straightforward person, I don't take kindly to those crying and whining tricks."

  As soon as she opened her mouth, Qin Miao knew who she was hinting at. Er Fang Sun Shi was indeed a soft-hearted person, and last time when they discussed reducing expenses together, Sun Shi had been evasive for a long time, complaining about various difficulties, and occasionally wiping away tears and sweat.

  Qin Miao accompanied Liu's wife to sit on the soft couch, personally handing her a cup of clear fire white tea. "I'm also a straightforward person, I like Third Aunt who can speak straightforwardly and get things done."

  The words were already out, and Liu didn't care about anything else, so she went ahead and told her husband everything that had happened today: "Yesterday, your son came to see you about reducing expenses, was it you who told him to come?"

  Qin Miao and Liu had crossed paths several times, so she was also used to her straightforward approach. She gently put down the teacup in her hand, wiped her mouth before saying: "Yes, it seems that reducing expenses is not entirely our women's business, it's better for the uncles to know about it. I won't be able to inform Third Uncle myself, so I'll have to trouble you, sir."

  "Alright, since everyone has to cut back, I have something to say today." The lady from the Liu family adjusted the butterfly-shaped hairpin on her temple and cleared her throat. "The second house is currently supporting a guest who is the niece of the Sun family, she's not even someone from our noble household. But all the expenses are calculated as if she were one of our noble young ladies, how should this expenditure be accounted for? Are we supposed to support idle people in our noble household?"

  The Sun and Liu families had never gotten along. The Liu family looked down on the Sun family's poor origins, while the Sun family disapproved of the Liu family's overbearing behavior. The two families had also clashed in the past due to a dispute over control of the household, all of which Qin Miao was aware of. However, the Liu family was still from a good background, and it seemed unbecoming for them to be making an issue out of Sun Miaorou's situation. Nevertheless, Qin Miao couldn't say much about it. If one were to reason things out carefully, the Liu family's words weren't entirely unreasonable. Given that the Hou household was struggling financially, it wasn't right for them to be supporting idle guests.

  "Third Aunt, this young lady from the Sun family has only come to Beijing to visit relatives and will only be staying for a few more days. It won't cost too much silver. As a guest, the Hou estate should naturally provide her with convenience according to her status."

  Liu's eyebrows twitched, and the red mole seemed to sink a few points. She was obviously unwilling to accept Qin Miao's words, and she retorted in a bad mood: "According to you, it seems that in the future, any stray cat or dog can use the name of a guest to hang out in the Hou Mansion and eat and drink together. Doesn't Sun Jia's daughter want to take advantage of her time in the capital to arrange a high-profile marriage for herself? Are we, the Weiyuan Hou Mansion, still going to prepare dowry for her? What a joke!"

  Arranging a marriage? This layer of Qin Miao didn't think of it, but listening to what Madame Liu just said, there's some meaning to it. Otherwise, why would someone investigate their relatives and not return home even after the New Year, as if they're planning to stay by Sun Shi's side as a half-daughter. Anyone who has any connection to the powerful Weiyuan Marquis' household will naturally have an easier time doing things than she does with her mere seventh-rank county magistrate daughter identity.

  This is indeed an oversight on my part, and I didn't consider it thoroughly. It's no wonder that Qin Miao didn't pay much attention to the subtle thoughts between women in the back house, so she didn't care about the true intention of Sun Miao Ru "staying" in the Hou Mansion. But now that Liu Shi has revealed a bit, for fairness' sake, it's not right to let the Hou Mansion continue to support Sun Miao Ru. However, I have already discussed and agreed with the second house, and now going back on my word to cut off Sun Miao Ru's allowance seems somewhat unkind.

  After some deliberation, Qin Miao had no choice but to resort to a secondary plan, which was also the most expedient way to keep all parties at peace.

  "Third Aunt, what you said is not unreasonable. Sun girl came to Beijing to stay as a guest, also in order to accompany Second Aunt more. As the mistress of the Hou Mansion, I naturally cannot reject her filial piety. Otherwise, Sun girl and I are considered fellow townspeople, from now on all her expenses will be borne by me, Qin Miao. Is that alright?"

  The Liu family originally wanted to use this matter to expose the small thoughts of the second house, Sun Shi, and also to poke at the face of that little girl from the Sun family. Unexpectedly, this daughter-in-law actually took it upon herself to take responsibility, directly letting the second house off the hook. This made her feel somewhat uncomfortable in her heart. However, she was also a cunning person, knowing that what Qin Miao was doing now was an act of offending people. Since they were willing to personally take responsibility, there was no need to confront the Hou family head-on.

  Only to see Liu's mouth twitching, wanting to speak but stopping herself, Qin Miao knew that this matter was probably settled.

  After seeing off Liu's family with good words, Li's mother-in-law, who was guarding the side, called out to Qin Miao and complained: "Madam, why do you have to give face to the second room, especially that Sun Miaorou, I think she is not a simple person at all."

  Qin Miao sighed: "Mother, I'm at a loss. Who made me not consider this when I was dealing with the second wife? Now I can only pay for myself, otherwise the second and third wives will have opinions, and how can I be the mistress then? It would ultimately cause trouble for Master Hou. However, Sun Miao Ru is just a guest, so it's worth spending some silver on her. If not, I'll use my own silver to cover it, no harm done."