As she was not a member of the Xie family, Sun Miaorou simply stood at the back with the maids. When Qin Miaoyu entered, she didn't notice her, and when serving tea to the second mistress Sun, she didn't dare raise her head too high to look at her elders, so she didn't get a clear look at Sun Miaorou standing behind her, assuming it was just one of the second mistress's maids. It wasn't until the people of the same generation came to pay their respects that she finally noticed Sun Miaorou's presence.

  The scene at Qingfengpu that day was still vivid in her mind, and Sun Miaorou couldn't help but feel regretful after she left. The one hundred taels of silver she had managed to save with great difficulty were unexpectedly swindled away by someone, and the unhappiness in her heart didn't need to be said.

  Although she had a faint guess in her heart that the person who had confronted her that day was likely to be Miss Qin, she still held on to a thread of luck. It wasn't until today when she saw Qin Miao and Xie Yan walking towards her with a gentle smile that she finally acknowledged this undeniable fact.

  At this moment, Xie Wei was leading a group of peers to pay respects to Qin Miao. Sun Miaoru's identity was quite embarrassing, and she had been hesitating about whether to step forward or not. Until the two young boys from the third house called out "sister" in their childish voices, Xie Wei also noticed Sun Miaoru.

  "Qiaoru, you come to see your sister-in-law too." Xie Wei thought that since Erniang brought her own niece today, she must also want to meet her. But when she called out like this, it made Qin Miao a bit embarrassed, and he quickly signaled to Yulu who was still guarding the door.

  Sun Miaoru saw Xie Wei nodding her name, and softly asked the Sun in front of her. After hearing what Sun meant, she could leave. She then walked with small steps, gently and elegantly to Qin Miao's side.

  Sun Miaorou is also a small beauty in Hangzhou, with an oval face, white skin and beautiful appearance, slender and delicate figure, with the style of a small family's jade. Now standing in front of Qin Miao, who is also a beautiful person, she does not yield much.

  "Jade saw her sister-in-law!" She spoke in a gentle tone, like the sweet song of an oriole in March, pleasant to hear.

  Qin Miao smiled and deliberately bent down to help her up, looking left and right: "Ancestor, you tell me, this cousin of mine is really good-looking! I don't know how you've been raising her since she was a child..."

  Sun Miaoru's face turned red and white with praise, but she knew she was joking about herself. However, since she was under someone else's roof and this wasn't the Sun family's territory, with the old lady still present, she couldn't say much more.

  Luckily, Sun intervened and took over the conversation: "Ah Nuan, you're still talking about Miao Ru? Look at yourself, with a face as beautiful as yours, are you going to let other girls from good families go out?"

  The Sun family has been in charge of the Xie family for many years, and they have always been smooth and clever. This time, as soon as the words came out, several members of the Xie family laughed. They looked at Qin Miao one moment and then at Sun Miaorou the next, all praising the good water and soil of Jiangnan, saying it was especially nourishing for people.

  Qin Miao looked at the time and saw that it was almost up, then she saw Yu Lu looking around outside the door, so she beckoned her to come in.

  She only saw her kindly pulling Sun Miaoru's hand, slightly apologetically saying: "Just now I didn't know my cousin was here, so I didn't prepare a gift for my cousin beforehand, I hope you won't mind." After finishing speaking, she took the brocade box from Yu Lu's hand, which was divided into four grids, each grid containing a square handkerchief.

  "This is the new fragrance sachet from Qin's Clear Wind Shop, with embroidery of spring orchid, summer lotus, autumn chrysanthemum and winter plum, which can be matched with different clothes for use in all four seasons. My cousin looks so beautiful and elegant, I think if you wear this exquisite sachet, it will bring out your charm even more."

  At the sight of the brocade box and handkerchief, it was clear that they were fine things, with intricate designs and made from high-quality materials. The price must have been steep. However, Sun Miaorou also knew in her heart that although the handkerchief was nice, it was still an expensive gift, just like the ones Qin Miao had given to other family members earlier. Moreover, her own gift was a belated one and hadn't even been included on today's gift list, which made her feel somewhat depressed.

  The second wife, Sun Shi, was also depressed. Although Sun Miaorou was only her niece, the four pieces of cloth and Xie Wei's famous Lake Pen were incomparable in value. The discomfort she had felt earlier became even more intense.

  The new daughter-in-law was busy with the morning rituals, and the Xie family got up early. The children were already clamoring to eat steamed buns and drink soup. After the rituals were over, everyone followed Old Lady Xie to the side hall, where various breakfast dishes had been prepared. The whole family accompanied the old lady for a leisurely breakfast that lasted for quite some time, chatting and laughing together in a lively atmosphere. Today, the old lady was in high spirits, and they even had leftover rice porridge from last night, which delighted Xie's wife to no end.

  Er Fang Sun was attending to the old lady while worrying about another matter. Just now in the main hall, Old Lady Xie had not actively mentioned letting her take over the management of the Hou Mansion. Did the old lady think that Qin Miao was still a young girl and not good at managing things? Thinking about it, this new wife was only fifteen years old, and even if there were rumors before that she was capable in the Qin family, most likely they were just made up to find a good marriage match.

  Just as she was thinking, the voice of Old Lady Xie rose: "Now that the Hou Mansion finally has a real mistress, it's time to have a proper appearance." She turned her head kindly towards Sun Shi and smiled: "In recent years, thanks to Erniang, the Hou Mansion has been managed properly. Now it's time to relax and take good care of your children. Let you and An Nuan take over the household chores today, and also guide her more often during this period."

  The Sun family's worries were still fulfilled, and it came so quickly that there was no delay for even a day. It seems that before, I didn't think carefully, and I didn't expect Old Lady Xie to attach such importance to this new wife. Now that things have come to this point, she can only temporarily agree: "Where is the daughter-in-law suffering? They are all due shares. Now that Master Hou has a wife, of course, there should be a Master Hou's wife in charge of everything."

  "An Nuan, I'll hand over the account books and tally cards of the manor to you when I return. From then on, it will be up to you to take care of them." Sun Shi had managed the household provisions for many years, so her words were proper and faultless.

  Qin Miao had long expected this to happen, but she hadn't rested enough yet. For now, she could only continue: "Ah Nuan is so silly, Second Aunt will have to teach me more when she returns." The little girl's smile was so innocent and carefree that even Sun Shi almost believed it to be true. But since the matter concerned the inflow and outflow of tens of thousands of taels of silver, she didn't believe that Qin Miao could be as careless and thoughtless as she appeared on the surface.

  After a busy morning, everyone was tired. When Old Lady Xie suggested dispersing, no one stopped her anymore.

  Qin Miao followed Xie Yan to the Chao Lu courtyard, and they walked in silence. It wasn't that Qin Miao didn't want to make conversation, but after this short period of interaction, she discovered that her husband was a very cold person, and even the best jokes couldn't amuse him. This made her feel very defeated.

  At this moment, Xie Yan stopped at the fork in the road and didn't move forward. Qin Miao hastily caught up to him, looking at him sideways with a hint of curiosity.

  "There's something going on in the study, I won't be returning to the Qinglu Courtyard for now. Don't wait for me for lunch, just go ahead and eat." It wasn't a discussion, but an announcement. Qin Miao could hear the difference in tone. She responded with a subdued "Mm-hmm" as she watched him leave in another direction.

  Returning to Chao Lui Yuan, without Xie Yun, Qin Miao suddenly felt a lot more relaxed and flopped down onto the soft couch.

  "Mother, I think my husband doesn't get along with me very well."

  Mrs. Li had just entered the house and saw Qin Miao lazy in the corner: "This girl has seen it early, but the young master's temperament is a bit cold. However, this is not a big deal, you are blind to each other. It will be better to get along with each other more in the future, it has always been like this since ancient times."

  Qin Miao's eyes lit up, after all, she didn't have much experience in this area. On the other hand, Li Nai Nai could always come up with a lot of sayings about men and women. "Really?!"

  "That's natural. You look good, and you're smart, there isn't a man who wouldn't like that." After saying this, he handed Qin Miaodan a bowl of sweet soup.

  "This morning, I had nothing to do and roughly understood the situation in the mansion, so it's convenient for you to take over the management of the rear courtyard later. Also, you should meet the servants in the Imperial Concubine's Palace, as they are all from the same palace, and it's better to get familiar with them early." Li Mama and Zi Xuan were both originally people from Qin Old Lady's Jingfeng Hall, and had been accompanying the old lady and Qin Miao in managing the rear courtyard. This time, she was chosen to go to Beijing, also hoping to help Qin Miao in the rear courtyard.

  Qin Miao quickly finished the sweet soup and put aside her sorrowful thoughts, speaking seriously: "It's fine, when it comes to people from our own yard, we can use them with a clear conscience."

  Before long, Li Ayi led the people over. The original owner of Chao Lu Yuan was only Xie Yan, and now there were Qin Miao, and the number of servants had also increased. In addition to the two personal maidservants, Zi Xuan and Yu Lu, brought by Qin Miao, plus Xie Yan's two original maidservants, Ru Hua and Ru Mo, there were four first-class maidservants in total. At the same time, there were six second-class maidservants in the courtyard, as well as some sweepers and rough-handed maidservants.

  Qin Miao met the people, regardless of their rank, and gave them varying degrees of rewards, which was considered a welcome gift for newcomers. Like painting and ink, they were all seasoned and calm about Qin Miao's rewards, but the other maids were overjoyed. After all, in the past when the young master was at home, they couldn't get close to serve him, nor did they have much chance of being rewarded. Now that the lady had just arrived and was rewarding them generously, how could they not make a good impression?

  "Isn't it said that besides Ruhua, there is another personal maid of Master Hou named Xingzhi?" Qin Miao recalled that when they were on the boat earlier, Mama had inquired about some news that did not include Rumo.

  Madam Li stepped forward to explain: "Two days ago, Master Hou arranged for Xingzhi to wait on duty at the Listening Rain Pavilion in the front yard. So she took her place as a substitute."

  "It was like this, I knew."