Inside Zhang Fu's mansion, the rear residence.

  Bang! Crash!

  "Hey, I'm telling you, auntie, please keep your voice down. The master can't stand it when the women in the backyard are jealous. Be careful... or someone with a grudge might hear!"

  On the floor of the inner chamber, scattered all over were shards of exquisite flower vases. Several young maidservants were hastily gathering them up, fearful that at any moment they would again provoke the wrath of the one with a bad temper upstairs.

  The beauty is beautiful, but the whole body's evil spirit and resentment, only the wet nurse who has been by her side since childhood dares to come forward to comfort her, while others remain silent.

  This beauty is none other than Third Madame, who was previously favored by Zhang but now faces a crisis of losing favor.

  "This is infuriating! I'm on guard against the scoundrel who's making a move on me, and also on guard against another person using their old tricks. But no matter how much I guard against it, I still can't prevent that sly seductress from suddenly appearing at my door."

  The owner of the jade-like fingers, stained with cinnabar, tightly grasped and manipulated them, struggling with herself. The more she did so, the more flustered and at a loss her master seemed to become, with only a bellyful of anger waiting to be vented.

  Ke San's aunt wanted to vent her anger on the fox spirit in her mouth, the new fifth aunt who had just entered the mansion.

  And this fifth aunt is now gently and softly waiting in Mr. Zhang's study, playing the pipa with slender fingers, singing a melancholy tune.

  Willow threads are long, spring rain is fine, and the sound of flowers leaks out. The geese on the border are startled, the crows in the city rise, and the golden pheasant on the painted screen.

  Fragrant dance thin, through curtain screen, melancholy thanks to the pool pavilion. Red candle back, embroidered curtain hanging, long dream you do not know.

  The pipa's sound is like that summer rain, jade-like and green, dripping into the heart, resonating in the ears. And those winding melodies, mournful and long, lingering around the beams.

  Mr. Zhang prided himself on being elegant and refined, and he especially loved this kind of elegant singing with lyrics set to music. After one song was finished, he leaned halfway back on the couch, raised his hand and called for Fifth Madam to come before him. Fifth Madam had been born with charming eyebrows and eyes, but she also had a talent for poetry and literature, and she was best able to satisfy Mr. Zhang's desire for romantic companionship.

  How can such a beauty fail to capture the heart of this noble lord?!

  She leaned lazily against his chest.

  "My family is just capable of this much. Filling in words, singing songs, and numbing myself."

  Magistrate Zhang's heart itched slightly as he was teased by her small hands, and he casually caught the mischievous little hand, placing it in his palm to massage. "Don't worry, I will definitely get justice for you."

  The Xiangxiang girl who had been silent for a long time, how could she appear in the Futaifu mansion? This is going to take the story back.

  That day, Bo Feng finished dealing with Xiang Xiang and immediately took people to pack up her things and led her out of the Hou Mansion. To be honest, Bo Feng was quite relieved that Xiang Xiang and Xie Yun had reached this ending. After all, his master's attitude had thoroughly shattered Xiang Xiang's unrealistic fantasy of climbing up to become the mistress of the Hou Mansion.

  After the person left the government office, Po Feng arranged for him to be settled in a temporary rented house. Although the house was not large, it looked similar to the Ziwei Lane of those years, but at least it was an independent house with its own gate. It would also be convenient for him to come and go in the future.

  Po Feng knew that Qin Xiang would be temporarily unhappy after going through this matter, so he didn't rush to mention his intention to marry her. He just asked Lao Tai Tai to take good care of her and came to the mansion from time to time to visit her.

  He had originally planned that after a long time, Qingxiang's thoughts would have completely dissipated. He would accumulate some military merit and rely on his own master to rise up the ranks again. At that time, he would save money to buy a house, and Qingxiang would think that being with him was also a good ending. Moreover, the two had already had private relations, so getting married shouldn't be difficult, it just needed time.

  But no matter how well he calculated, he still underestimated the unwillingness of this Xiangxiang girl. Her unwillingness had once stemmed from not being able to get Shuai's favor and sit in the position of the Hou Mansion owner. But now her unwillingness came from Po Feng. She acknowledged that Po Feng was very kind to her, but there were many men who had been kind to her before. In her eyes, Po Feng was just a servant of the Xie family from start to finish, nothing more. And she, no matter how poor, was once the daughter of the Liu family, the legitimate granddaughter of the Grand Tutor. Why should she degrade herself to marry someone with a lowly birth, enduring all sorts of hardships with him, and maybe after ten or twenty years, or perhaps never in this life, be able to sit in a high position?

  So, Jinxiang escaped.

  She escaped by a hair's breadth, inexplicably, relying solely on her resentment and dissatisfaction with the current situation, without any direction. As soon as she escaped from the safe place prepared for her by Po Feng, she immediately regretted it.

  Why? Because she never thought that a weak woman as beautiful as her, traveling alone, could attract the attention of so many street rascals. So she ran all the way, her hair scattered, until she fell under the hooves of Liu Shiyue's horse at Zhang Fudai's house.

  Liu Shiyeh was a capable and trusted aide of Zhang Fudai. He could handle external affairs with ease, and also had a knack for finding beautiful women to serve as concubines. And this beauty, in the chaos, fell onto her side, immediately catching Liu Shiyeh's eye.

  After being beaten that night, Zhang Mou was anxious and uneasy all day. Liu Shiyé, who had been following Zhang Mou for a long time, knew best what his master needed at this time - a warm kang, gentle care to soothe his wounds.

  Qin Xiang was thus brought into the mansion by him. After someone tidied up Qin Xiang, and presented her to Lord Zhang for a look, he indeed took a liking to her.

  At first, Xiang was unwilling, she had been aiming for the position of the main mistress from the start. But unexpectedly, she was brought into the mansion and made a concubine, even though the person she served was a fourth-rank official.

  Magistrate Zhang initially didn't make things difficult for her, only letting her accompany him to chat, play the zither, and sing songs. It wasn't until later that she found out this Magistrate had a grudge against Xie Yun and Qin Miao, and his injuries were also courtesy of the couple.

  People are indeed strange creatures, who had previously thought of a good future for themselves and were unwilling to be concubines. Now that they have met the enemy of their enemy, that is an alliance. It's still a powerful alliance, so I decided to bring out my skills and try to win over this Mr. Zhang.

  It's clear that Zhang Gonggong has fallen for this. After hearing the distorted and discounted stories of Qin Miao's struggles in the imperial harem, Zhang Gonggong's protective desire for the beauty in his arms was ignited. New grudges and old hatreds were unleashed all at once, resulting in the increasingly intense rumors within Jiangdu City.

  However, it is clear that Jinxiang is not satisfied with the rumors, and so is Zhang. Therefore, the two are often entangled, with a reason for their love to sink, and also a reason to complain about their grievances.

  Qin Miao, however, was unaware that the rumors were actually written by Xingxiang, a defeated general under her command. She had been busy instructing people to clean up the mansion and had even set aside a section north of the main house. Every detail was personally overseen by her.

  Xie Laotaijun is finally coming to Xiangyang!