Not afraid of thieves breaking in, but afraid of thieves remembering.

  Like a feeling, he chattered on and on with Zhiyi, saying all sorts of nonsense. He told him to be careful on the road, to take good care of his sister-in-law and children, not to be greedy and let the children suffer, and so on. In the end, Like a feeling felt that there was nothing more to entrust, and he thought about going back to serve that master, but Zhiyi spoke up again.

  "Li Xiao's eldest illegitimate son," Zhi Yi chose his words carefully, "it's actually suitable for this child to be raised by your side. However, after all, he is the eldest illegitimate son, so you shouldn't take it lightly either. If necessary, you can hand him over to Eldest Brother or me... After all, I have a long-standing relationship with Li Xiao, and I won't let him go astray or become a threat to you."

  Tears gushed out like a flood, and she flung herself into Zhiyi's arms, wailing uncontrollably. "Brother is so good to me, but I have no way to repay him," she sobbed. "He always thinks of me first." In fact, she had thought the same thing before - if this eldest son was really difficult to raise, she would persuade Li Xiang to give the child to Zhiyi or Zhili, believing that their upright character and subtle influence would not let the child grow up crooked. But she had only thought of it, and didn't expect Zhiyi to bring it up himself.

  Zhī yì rén yóu rú qíng bào zhe zì jǐ, guò le hǎo yī huìr, zhè cái shēn chū shǒu lái, qīng pāi tā de jiān, "hǎo le, dà hǎo de rì zi, bié kū kū tí le." Jiàn rú qíng lóu zhe hái zi chī lì, biàn bǎ yù jiě ér bào le guò qù, "nǐ èr sǎo réng zài lǐ tóu, jìn qù hé tā liáo liáo ba."

  As if trying out tears, nodded.

  Three years have passed, and Yu Shi has grown from a humble official's wife to a capable and virtuous helper. Her speech and actions are now governed by a set of rules, and it can be said that her mother-in-law, He Mama, and her powerful husband, Zhi Yi, have also made significant contributions.

  Yu Shi was instructing the servants to carry the trunks and luggage onto the carriage, while also ordering someone to bring tea over. She invited Ruo Xue to sit down and have some tea, saying "These trunks were all packed up a long time ago, they just need to be carried onto the carriage now. It's just that everything is in disarray everywhere, don't mind it sister, come quickly."

  "Sister-in-law, Yu Jie is still so young, and you haven't even fully recovered from childbirth yet. You're going to exhaust yourself with this long journey. Second brother really has no consideration for others."

  Yu smiled and said, "Originally planned to stay for only a month, but who knew so many things happened, so I decided to take a long vacation and have a good reunion. Your brother was most worried about you, his sister, now seeing that you're doing okay, he can finally put his heart at ease." As she spoke, she thought of something else and her face showed a desire to speak but hesitated.

  It's strange, "Sister-in-law has something to say but it doesn't matter if she says it."

  "Uh, did your brother-in-law sleep well last night?"

  The fox-like woman looked puzzled and asked, "King Wang slept quite well last night, what's wrong, why are you asking, sister?"

  Yu Shi found it somewhat difficult to speak out, "That bowl of soup for Wang Ye was actually not a hangover soup, but a calming spirit soup."

  Suddenly, Ruqing's expression changed and she asked with a mixture of laughter and tears, "Sister, why do you want to make an Anxin Tang for our Wang Ye?"

  Yu Shi hummed for a long time, then said: "This is what your brother meant. He originally wanted to get his sister's husband drunk, but he didn't expect that his sister's husband had such an unusual capacity for liquor, so he resorted to this trick..."

  Like a wooden puppet, she still didn't quite understand why Yi wanted to get Li Xiao drunk, and when he couldn't get him drunk, he gave him a calming tea instead.

  Yu Shi saw Ru Qing's puzzled expression, sighed silently, and couldn't help but say in one breath, "I heard that your husband is quite mischievous in the bedroom, so I took this measure to prevent you from not getting up early today." Of course, Yu Shi hadn't finished speaking yet. Zhi Yi had originally planned to get Ru Qing drunk and then have someone send her back to the Wang Manor, but unfortunately, he didn't expect Li Xiao to come running over either, so he simply got Li Xiao drunk as well. Unfortunately, Li Xiao's alcohol tolerance was unusually good, so they could only change their plan.

  It seems that she finally understood the meaning and blushed, not knowing whether to scold her sinister brother or thank him for his concern.

  At this time, Ru Yu thought that Li Xiu had also woken up and should hurry back to serve him. However, Ru Yu had a lot of things she wanted to talk to Ru Qing about: "Sister, do you still remember Huang Zi Jing?" Seeing Ru Qing's confusion, she added: "His wife is the younger sister of the Crown Prince's consort."

  As if suddenly enlightened, he asked: "I remembered, what's the point of bringing her up?" Ru Xing's mind flashed with a bright idea, "But something happened to the Huang family, didn't it?"

  Yu nodded, "The Huang family secretly collaborated with the Tartars, and the evidence of their crime was already conclusive. Last year, the whole family was punished. The men were all beheaded, the women were demoted to a lower social status, and Miss Huang, whom you had met before, was also punished and became a recluse after marrying. The youngest Miss Huang was sold into a brothel, but later she was bought by a local wealthy merchant and sent to your brother's house."

  As for Qingshu, he is now in a position where he can be sent as a tribute to the beautiful people, but will he accept it?

  Yu's tone was relieved, "Your brother is a good person, he refused. Unfortunately, that despicable thing insisted on being sent to your brother's house. Your brother was annoyed and asked me to find a day to get rid of this person again. I didn't expect this girl to cry and beg in front of me, swearing to be my servant and not having any improper thoughts, only asking me to give her a place to stay and not sell her out to suffer the humiliation. I found this girl quite pitiful, so I softened for a moment and kept her, only letting her do some miscellaneous chores. But unexpectedly, this girl was two-faced, repeatedly running to your brother's face, pretending to be clever and charming. Later, your brother got annoyed with her and threw her into the laundry room. But unexpectedly, this girl was even more vicious, and actually escaped when no one noticed."

  As if awakened by a voice, he asked: "Sister mentioned this person to me, shouldn't there be other instructions?"

  Yu nodded, "This girl has some skills, last time I saw her at Yang's house."

  "Yang's family?" His expression turned solemn, "The Yang family of Qingchang Hou?"

  Yu nodded, "Exactly, I don't know what kind of trick she used, but she actually became the personal maid of Miss Yang." Yu said this and also felt that there was something strange about it. "That girl also recognized me, unexpectedly this person is quite a character, seeing that I recognized her, she didn't panic, instead she calmly greeted me. I couldn't bear to expose her identity."

  As if deep in thought, the Yang family was enfeoffed as a marquis at the beginning of the dynasty and had been prosperous for three generations. It was only natural that they were considered a prestigious family, and it would not be an exaggeration to call them a family of great wealth and honor. Usually, those who could serve by the master's side were not outsiders who could be bought and directly placed beside him. Generally, they had undergone careful training, starting from doing odd jobs in the outer courtyard, and gradually developing into the inner courtyard based on their character and work ethic. Those who could be selected to serve as personal attendants were either born and raised within the household or were slaves who had been trained for many years and had a clean record. Therefore, it was impossible for Huang Jiaxu, who had escaped from her previous owner's house last year and arrived in Beijing, to be sold into the Qingchang Marquis' estate and immediately assigned to serve as an attendant by the young mistress's side. Even being a third-class maid was not permitted, let alone serving as a personal attendant.

  That Huang family's daughter was able to escape from Zhiyi's palm and all the way to Datong, entering Yang's mansion, and becoming Yang Qining's personal maid. Either she had extremely good luck or this person is indeed a treasure that should be protected.

  However, no matter how formidable Huang's daughter is, she is just a maid of Yang Qining. As a woman with a humble background, even if she wants to take revenge, it's unlikely that she can turn the tables. Let's put her aside for now. What she cares about most at present is still the fate of Princess Yingcheng from the Daiwang Mansion.

  When it comes to the Ying Cheng County Master, Yu Shi smiled and was somewhat pleased with the misfortune of others. "It's also a pitiful thing. Because Huang Zijin's wife and King Dai's concubine are biological sisters, and the evidence of Huang Zijin's collusion with the Tartars is conclusive, although the King Dai's mansion did not participate in it, it was also used as a cover-up flag. The king was personally reprimanded by the emperor and punished for three years, and half of his property was confiscated. King Dai's concubine, because she was close to her sister Huang's wife, was actually given death. Ying Cheng County Master, although she has the blood of the imperial family, as the daughter-in-law of the Huang family, the entire Huang family was beheaded, even if she could rely on the King Dai's mansion to avoid punishment, this life would be over. Since the Huang family was confiscated and executed, this Ying Cheng County Master was taken back to the King Dai's mansion, but later somehow, she was sent to the villa again. Heaven is pitiful, what a person who used to show off their power." Yu Ding said with endless sighs.

  After careful consideration, the Huang family was uprooted, and the substitute queen was also implicated and given a death sentence. This led to the county main's husband leaving her and returning to his own home, causing her to lose her birth mother as well. Although she was the legitimate daughter, her status in the palace would definitely be greatly reduced from now on. The future prospects of this county main were already clear, thinking about how the mother-daughter pair had given her a taste of their power earlier, she couldn't help but feel a thrill of schadenfreude and cursed them as having gotten what they deserved.

  After having a good time at the Yu's, I returned to my carefree abode, but felt miserable. Because Li had already woken up and as soon as she got out of bed, her thunderous voice scared all the servant girls half to death.

  Just as he was about to enter, he bumped into the muzzle of a rifle and couldn't avoid being scolded, "Where are you running off to so early in the morning? You've never gotten up this early before."

  Men are usually unreasonable when they have a headache. With a gentle tone, she walked up to him, took the hot tea from Xiang's trembling hands and handed it to him, "The young master cried loudly, so I went to take a look. Your Highness, don't be angry, it's all my fault. Come, drink some tea, moisten your throat, and relax."

  Li Xiu took the tea and drank it all in one gulp, then handed the teacup back to Ru Qing with a smile. Ru Qing happily took Li Xiu's clothes and helped him change, then personally combed his hair for him. However, Ru Qing's own hair was always combed by her maid, so she wasn't very skilled at combing men's hair. She grabbed one strand here, only to have another fall out there, and after half a day of trying, she still couldn't get it right. Looking in the mirror at Li Xiu, whose face had already turned dark on one side, she smiled foolishly and said: "Sigh, this isn't my fault either. When he was in his chambers, he learned eighteen different martial arts, unfortunately, combing hair wasn't one of them."

  Li Xiang's stiff face finally couldn't hold on, and he gave in, but soon he put on a straight face again and said, "Let's go call Yatou over." Every time he saw her, she was always smiling, as if she never had any worries or troubles. Even when he was angry with her, she could calm him down with a smile, unlike some spoiled young ladies who would throw tantrums and act arrogant. Looking at her smile for a long time, he himself also felt more relaxed, and couldn't help but follow her smile, even though he knew she was flattering him and trying to win him over. But thinking of her soft and cute face, he still couldn't help but soften his heart.

  As soon as the words were spoken, Ruoxi immediately called for Chen Xiang to come and help Li Xiu fix her hair. After dinner, they went to the front yard, where Ruzhen and Zhong Jin, Rumei and Yang Qitai, and Rushan and Li Lü arrived one after another. A round of greetings and heart-wrenching goodbyes are omitted for now, only to say that when Li Xiu saw Zhiyi, she was so angry that she wanted to rush up and beat him up, while Zhiyi pretended not to see her and smiled at Ruoxi, saying: "Next month is my birthday, have you thought about what gift to give me?"

  "Brother, what kind of gift do you want?" she asked with a tilted head.

  Zhi Yi glanced at Li Xiao and said, "Sister's needlework is extremely good, so make a robe for your brother. Don't make it too thick, just make one for all seasons."

  Li Xiang however refused, displeased: "Now that Qing is already my wife, it's not quite right for her to make clothes for another man?"

  Everyone sensed the gunpowder smell in this and looked at Zhiyi, wanting to see how he would respond.

  Sister making clothes for brother is a matter of course.

  Li Xiu's face looked unpleasant, "You have a wife and are a great general, what kind of clothes don't you have? Just call the needlework to make it, why bother with such trouble?" He thought Ruoxi was carefree? Having to manage the large Wang Fu,

  He's already busy running around attending social events and taking care of family matters, but he still comes to cause trouble, really unforgivable.

  Zhī Yì said solemnly: "You don't understand this, it's called heart's intention, get it?"

  Li Xue's face turned black, as if he was afraid of being scolded. He hastily pulled him over and guaranteed his good behavior to Zhiyi.

  The fabrics for the seasonal clothes are not many, but also require a lot of effort. After the Chinese New Year, there will be many things to do in the palace, and it's estimated that we'll have to work overtime too. But what Zhiyi said is right, no matter how light or heavy the gift is, what matters most is the thought behind it.

  Li Xiao's face sank, "There are many needlework in our palace, don't worry, I will definitely make ten or eight of the best for you to bring."

  He didn't waste words with Zhi Yi and just said one sentence: "I only want something made by my sister's own hands."

  Li Xiu was furious and gnashed his teeth, but unfortunately, Zhiyi didn't care about him and instead turned to ask Rutian and others for gifts.

  "Really, you're not even comparable to my daughter Hong. Don't make me sew clothes for you, give them to someone else instead." Never met anyone like this before, so brazenly asking for gifts without any shame.

  He thought for a moment and said, "Well, just do as you like."

  Finally, at nearly noon, Zhiyi set off. With tears in her eyes, she beckoned with her hand. Zhiyi looked at this younger sister and, in front of Li Xiao, couldn't say a word. She only said: "If this guy has bullied you, come to Datong, I'll support you."

  Li Xiao's face turned gloomy again, but as soon as he spoke, his expression changed to a joyful smile and he nodded, "Yeah, at that time, brother and sister-in-law must not look down on me."

  At this moment, Li Xiu's face also turned black on the side that was not originally dark.

  After seeing off Zhiyi, it was noon. He Shi suggested that everyone eat lunch together before leaving, but Li Xun's expression was not good and he directly refused.

  "Your Highness, I'm really a bit hungry. Let's eat before we go."

  Li Xiang originally wanted to say that she could eat some snacks, but thinking about it in front of her sister, she still gave her face and reluctantly agreed. Ruo Xin immediately became excited, but also didn't want to be too excessive in front of people, so she just used a hypocritical smile to express her gratitude.

  Her smile was indeed genuine, and after a month of getting to know him, she had a basic understanding of the man. He was someone who yielded to softness but not hardness. As long as it wasn't about his stubborn side, he was generally easy to talk to.

  Li Xue pretended to be fierce and glared at her, sticking out his tongue, pulling her hand and saying: "Let's go, we'll go inside the house, it's too cold outside." Although she was wearing a thick cloak, her legs were numb with cold.

  Fang Jinglan gazed at her little daughter's delicate and lovely face, and couldn't help but soften her voice as she said to Li Xiao: "Your Highness, please come in. We only have simple tea and plain food, I hope you won't mind."

  Li Xidao said: "Father-in-law's words are too serious, with elder sister in charge of the household, the dishes are also extremely good."

  Then a line of people entered the house, and as soon as Ben wanted to hold Lu's hand, he was pulled away by Rumi first.

  "Fourth sister, let's go and talk privately." Then, without saying a word, she pulled Ruhua into the inner courtyard, heading towards Wulang Pavilion instead of the dining hall. Ruhua asked, "Third sister, do you have something to say to me?"

  "Cut the crap, do you think I'd harm you?"

  She followed her to the boudoir, just like in the old days, and had the maid block the doors and windows, not allowing anyone to enter or hear anything.

  Ru Mei didn't mince words and said to Ru Xiang: "You'd better be careful with that little girl from my family."

  As if possessed, he subconsciously thought of Li Xue and suddenly exclaimed: "Could it be that she still hasn't given up?"

  Ru Mei frowned: "Last night when I went back to pay respects to my mother-in-law, as soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I heard my mother-in-law scolding and cursing. Then Qīnìng suddenly shouted that 'the daughter will not give up, if her mother does not agree, she will go to the palace and ask the empress dowager to issue a decree of marriage'."

  "What's next?"

  As if shrugging her shoulders, "Later on, I found out that I didn't dare say anything anymore."

  With a burst of anger, he gritted his teeth and said, "You're up to no good."

  Ru Mei sneered: "Not at all, after I went in to pay my respects to my mother-in-law, that girl of mine unexpectedly came over and started fawning on me, but it didn't scare me so much that my bones turned soft."

  After a moment of silence, she asked: "Third sister thinks that she really has made up her mind to marry your brother-in-law?"

  Ru Mei nodded, "It's almost there. This girl's temperament has always been that if she can't get something, she'll want it even more and will try every means to get it, regardless of the cost."

  It's as if they're obsessed, this is probably what they mean by a stubborn personality, once they've made up their mind about something, they'll charge forward without hesitation, no matter how much it costs them, even if they end up with a bloody nose, if they succeed then that's fine, but if they don't, then it's even more troublesome.

  Yang's family is a prominent and powerful one, and Yang Qining is deeply favored by Old Lady Yang. With the influence of the Yang family, if they were to seek an audience with the Empress Dowager, it would be impossible to avoid being granted a marriage. At that time, how would she handle it?

  Anyway, based on Yang Qining's temperament, even if she didn't force Li Xiu to divorce his wife and remarry, she would definitely be able to secure the position of side concubine. With such a formidable and arrogant side concubine, her future prospects will be even brighter.

  As she paced back and forth, her snow-white jade face was heavy with worry, her eyebrows tightly furrowed. Suddenly, she thought of a plan.

  As she slowly turned her head, the jade hairpin on her head shook violently, "Third sister."

  Ru Mei was also worried about Ru Qing, although the proportion of concern was small, but there was still a sisterly affection, so she said: "Do you have a plan now?"

  "Even if the Wang family's secondary wife has a good name, she is still just a concubine. I don't believe that the esteemed House of Candidates would allow her to become someone else's concubine! Especially not Celebrating Prosperity Candidate Master, who holds the position of Five Cities' Military Commander and wields immense power. If his own biological sister were to become someone else's concubine for personal gain, stooping so low as to be subservient and humble, I don't believe he could bear it! And what about Third Brother-in-law? As the commander of the Twelfth Battalion, he is also a figure who commands respect. I don't believe he could tolerate this either!"

  "Like a beautiful eyebrow raised," "Your brother-in-law looks gentle, but he's always been concerned about his reputation, so he definitely won't tolerate it. Eldest uncle, eldest uncle is the same too."

  "That's it then." As the emotions slowly sank into her heart, "Although Mrs. Yang is heartbroken for her daughter, she will eventually compromise with her, but Duke Qingchang and Third Brother-in-law, they would never let their own biological sister lose face like this."

  "So..."

  "So, this matter still needs to trouble Third Sister."

  "What can I do?" Mei was initially taken aback, but quickly understood, "You mean, you want me to persuade your brother-in-law to come forward and stop this himself."

  As expected, this beautiful fruit has really grown up and learned to think for itself.

  "It's not just that, we also need to join forces with Lord Qingchang to stop it." Even if Lady Yang insists on her own way, she can't ignore the fact that her own son will be humiliated for the sake of her daughter's marriage.

  Ru Mei thought for a moment and felt that Ru Qing's plan was not bad, so she nodded, "Mm, I'll do my best." She couldn't get along with her mother-in-law, but got along well with her elder sister-in-law, and her husband treated her quite well. As long as the two Yang brothers stepped out to stop this matter, even if Yang Qining turned the sky upside down, she wouldn't be able to marry into the Jing Wang Fu.

  As he held Rumei's hand, he said sincerely: "Thank you, Third Sister."

  Mei waved her hand and said, "No need to thank me, we're family." She wasn't one for sentimental talk, so after a couple of sentences she changed the subject and said in an unpleasant tone, "This time I played the role of traitor, if my mother-in-law finds out, she'll definitely flay me alive. So, you have to remember this favor and return it sooner or later."

  "Understood, understood. This time, Third Sister really helped out Big Sister a lot. Big Sister will definitely remember this in her heart and never forget the great kindness."

  Rumei felt that she had helped Rumei a bit, and was quite proud of herself. She raised her head proudly and said, "Alright, it's getting late, let's go out for dinner."