Xie Xuan received a letter from Qin Miao yesterday evening, which mentioned that the princess had settled down safely. After the meeting in the big tent ended that night, Xie Xuan took some time to reply to the letter. The letter briefly mentioned the recent battle situation and told Qin Miao not to worry too much about the princess's affairs, but to take care of her own body instead.

  When the servant brought over the letter, Qin Miao and Xie Wei happened to be chatting with the old lady at her place, because after breakfast, the princess had come to Beiyuan to visit the old lady on her own initiative.

  The little servant handed over the letter to the maid of Beiyuan's house, and the maid directly sent it to the old lady's room.

  "Isn't it Ah Juan who sent a letter?" The old lady was eating the tangerine that Xie Wei had just peeled, and saw the little maid bringing in a letter from outside and handing it directly to Qin Miao, so she asked.

  Qin Miaoxiao smiled and said: "Yes, it was just sent over yesterday, and today it has been received. Ahuan still had time to write back, it seems that the war situation in the front is still relatively relaxed."

  "Hehe, big brother is busy, but he doesn't dare not to reply to sister-in-law's letter!" Xie Wei knew her big brother all too well. This sister-in-law who had finally been won back was truly being treasured by big brother like a precious gem. If it weren't for the fact that they happened to be in the middle of battle, big brother might have accompanied his wife every day until she gave birth."

  Thinking that sister-in-law is about to give birth, everyone in the family is very nervous, but only big brother doesn't know if he can come back to visit. However, Xie Wei, who doesn't know anything, also understands that national affairs are important. So she swallowed the words that had just reached her lips.

  "What did brother say? Is he okay?"

  Yi An, sitting next to the old lady, was also anxiously looking at the letter in Qin Miao's hand, which contained news about Xie Yan. Unfortunately, she couldn't openly look at it for now and could only feel anxious.

  Look at Qin Miao's expression when reading the letter, her mouth corners slightly raised, her eyebrows and eyes very relaxed, and her complexion even more gentle. Moreover, this letter was directly written to Qin Miao, so Yi An's heart felt an uncontrollable surge of sourness.

  The military and national affairs are so busy, but he can still take the time to reply to this woman's letter. It seems that the feelings between the two of them have been quite good in the past. Thinking again about her current situation, she has already moved into the residence, seemingly having an advantage with proximity, but someone else has long occupied the position of legitimate wife. Moreover, Xie Zhen is not even present at the residence now, and she doesn't even have the opportunity to express her true feelings.

  As she thought about it, her head drooped and she became somewhat despondent.

  The old lady was old but meticulous, from the moment she entered the house, she noticed that this royal princess was very considerate of her own granddaughter-in-law. Every time she spoke, she would intentionally or unintentionally glance at Qin Miao. And now, the person who was still talking and laughing suddenly seemed to sink into a low mood. The old lady was somewhat bewildered, unable to understand the princess's thoughts for a moment.

  "What did Ah Chun say? Is everything all right?"

  Qin Miao finished reading the letter, had someone collect it, and nodded towards Old Lady and Xie Wei. "Everything is fine, these past few days have been quiet, the war has paused slightly." She then humbly looked at Princess Yi'an and smiled: "The Marquis also asked me to convey his greetings to Your Highness, and to let you stay in the Marquis's residence with peace of mind."

  Yi An was delighted to hear that Xie Lin was still mentioned in the letter, and his depressed mood was suddenly lifted.

  "Really?! He... is really thoughtful..."

  Yi An was young after all, and as soon as she heard that her crush also cared about her, she didn't think deeply about the purpose of this concern. At the moment, her heart felt warm and fuzzy, and even her face turned a little red.

  Xie Wei didn't notice, but the sharp-eyed old lady and Qin Miao, who was as delicate as a crystal, caught this subtle change. The grandmother and grandson exchanged a knowing smile.

  In fact, Xie Lin didn't mention asking about her well-being in the letter. It's just that the family letter was read in front of the princess, and the princess was a guest, so it wouldn't be good not to mention it at all. Otherwise, it would seem that Xie Lin, as the head of the household, had no manners, which is why Qin Miao brought it up.

  Anyone with a discerning ear would know that this is just a polite phrase, but our princess doesn't know whether she's too naive or emotional, and actually reacts like this. This can't help but add to Qin Miao's suspicion, and probably the old lady's as well.

  After chatting with everyone for a while, they bid farewell to let the old lady rest. After Qin Miao and Gong Zhu said their goodbyes, they headed towards the flower hall in front. The recent household chores had been delayed due to the reception, and she still needed to focus on handling them.

  Yi An, on the other hand, dragged Xie Wei along to stroll around the garden with her. Qin Miao Ben also intended to have Xie Wei accompany him, to fulfill his duties as a host.

  Xie Wei took Yi An to the west garden, where it was now in full bloom. The various flowers and shrubs in the garden were all blooming beautifully. Wild roses had crawled out from under the wall, forming a vast sea of flowers that looked like brocade from afar. Wisteria and lilac were scattered delicately in front of the roses, while peach trees had already shed their blossoms, but pure white pear blossoms were now blooming with great enthusiasm.

  Two little girls saw such a spring scene and were in high spirits. When they spoke, they became much more casual.

  "Sister Wei, I heard that the madam is from Hangzhou? She's petite and delicate, not quite like the women from our northern region." Yi An asked casually while shaking a branch of pear blossoms in her hand.

  Xie Wei was delighted and, without thinking much, responded naturally: "Yes, sister is indeed from Hangzhou. However, Princess, don't look at sister's delicate appearance, she's quite capable and not inferior to men in any way."

  This young lady is very admiring of Qin Miao. On ordinary days, Qin Miao takes care of all the big and small matters in the house, and none of the servants dare to disobey her. Even the two aunts from the second and third branches of the family, who used to often quarrel with each other over household matters, rarely had any disagreements after Big Sister married into the manor, and they were all very satisfied with Qin Miao.

  She is now engaged in matchmaking, and her ancestors let her learn more about managing the household with Qin Miao. On ordinary days, she has nothing to do but follow Qin Miao around like a tail, seeing more of her naturally knows this sister's skills. That can be said, can't help but admire.

  "Oh ~ is that so......" Upon hearing Xie Wei's admiration for Qin Miao, Yi An felt a lump in her throat and became even more uneasy.

  "That's right. Even my brother listens to his sister-in-law, and he rarely goes against what she says. You say my sister-in-law is very capable! But my brother also pities her, sometimes... maybe just giving in to her, haha." Xie Wei had a gossipy look on her face, laughing so hard that the corners of her eyes were about to fly up.

  Even Lian Xieyan listened to Qin Miaoyan's advice and followed it, yet still pitied her?

  Crack!

  Unconsciously, Yi An had already snapped the pear blossom branch in her hand...

  Unfortunately, our simple-minded Xie girl didn't notice because two familiar little rascals happened to run up in front of her.

  "Hello Wei Jie!"

  Two little buns puffed up their small faces and sweetly called out to Xie Wei.

  "Aren't you two supposed to be in school today?"

  These two kids are Qin Xun, the only child of the Qin family, and Zhang's child who is his study partner.

  Xun Geer, being more familiar with her, naturally "reported" to her: "Today the teacher was sick and took a leave of absence, so we practiced writing characters on our own. Hmm... just came out to play for a bit... just for a moment."

  Saying that, he went to look at Zhang Jia's little boy next door: "Really just for a moment."

  Xie Wei looked at the two kids who had run over earlier, still quite cheerful, but as soon as they were asked about going to school, they were afraid of being told on by their aunt and quickly clarified the "truth".

  "Really just a moment?" Xie Wei deliberately teased them, her face slightly sinking.

  The little ones saw her turn serious, nodding vigorously, using a lot of force. "Really really!"

  "Alright, I won't tell your aunt. But just play for a bit and then go back to review your lessons. Otherwise... Hehe..." Xie Wei said with a hint of a smile, you two little rascals understand!

  The little guy is indeed young and easy to fool, really only played for a while and didn't appear in the garden again. I guess it's afraid that Qin Miao will come to check on him.

  "Are these the children of your second and third wives? They look adorable." Yi An saw that the two children had delicate and chubby faces, just like the porcelain dolls her father had given her when she was a child.

  "No, the bigger one is my sister-in-law's nephew from her maiden family. The smaller one is his study partner."

  Yi An didn't understand at first, but guessed a bit in the next moment. "The Qin family also lives in the mansion?"

  Xie Wei nodded naturally. "Yes, big brother sympathizes with sister-in-law's family, so let her natal family live with us together. Look, from here to the west is our mansion's West Garden. Qin family's big brother and his family live in the West Garden."

  It really was worth spending the day with Xie Wei, and Yi'an gained a lot of understanding about Qin Miao and the entire Qin family. She also learned a lot about why the Qin family had moved from Hangzhou to Xunyang in the past, and later on why they ended up living in the Xie residence.

  After returning to her own room, she told all of today's gains to her confidant palace maid and let her deliberate.

  It seems that this Marquis Xie is not ordinary in his fondness for that woman.

  Yi An nodded very uncomfortably, she wasn't a fool either. Not just Xie Yan, but all the masters in this mansion were very good to Qin Miao, especially Old Madam and Xie Wei, who treated her like one of their own.

  "What am I supposed to do? Is there no hope for me? Am I just going to stand by and watch, doing nothing?"

  Xin Fu comforted her with a couple of words, and then very firmly gave her a direction: "In the next few days, you should first calm down and not be disturbed, have more contact with Xie Niang, and figure out Qin Miao's bottom line. It's not too late for us to make plans."

  Even though what Heart's Desire said was reasonable, Yi An couldn't fall asleep for a long time that night.