Chapter Eighty-Seven: The Death of Aunt Ye

  Xu Mingxia rushed over to hug Ye Yiniang, and the two women burst into tears. Li Minzhi stood aside and advised, "Mother-in-law, Xia'er, you mustn't grieve like this, it's not good for the child in Xia'er's belly."

  As soon as she heard the word "child", Xu Mingxia immediately stopped crying, and Li Minzhi quickly took out a handkerchief to gently wipe away the tears on her face. The action was extremely gentle, full of care and concern. Ye Yiniang saw this and couldn't help but feel comforted in her heart. She had originally thought that Li Minzhi was a spoiled rich kid, not a good match, and that Mingxia would not have a good life following him. She had also been secretly sad and crying about it at night. But she hadn't expected that this kind of man could be so gentle and loving. Seeing how he treated Mingxia, she couldn't help but think that Mingxia marrying him was actually a good match. When she accidentally heard from the two maids who were guarding her that Mingxia was pregnant, she knew that her precious Mingxia's marriage to the Imperial Censor's family was set in stone. From then on, she prayed daily to Buddha, hoping that Mingxia would give birth to a boy.

  Aunt Ye rebuked Xu Mingxia with a stern gaze: "How could you not take care of yourself? This is no place for you to come, hurry up and leave."

  Xu Mingxia excitedly said: "Mother, daughter has finally taken you out!" Her eyes sparkled brightly, making Li Min's heart itch. If only Xu Mingxia could look at him like that too. Unfortunately.

  One sentence made Ye Niang's tears burst out again, and she choked: "In these days, you didn't come to see me. I thought you didn't put me in your heart at all. You were unmoved by my suffering. But I never wanted to believe that you are such a cold-blooded person. It turns out that I was wrong about you. My Xia'er is the best.

  Xu Mingxia heard this, and her tears were about to burst out again. She was just about to speak when Li Minzhi hastily stopped her, saying that if the mother-daughter pair continued talking like this, it would be dark soon. They still had to hurry back to the Li family! He spoke softly to Ye Yiniang: "Mother-in-law, let's talk about other things later. There's plenty of time. Let's leave here first."

  Yè Yí Niáng nodded, and Xú Míng Xiá stepped forward to support her, but was strictly refused: "You are now pregnant, every word and action must be careful. The person who needs the most support right now is you, yet you're doing well, turning around to support others!"

  Xu Mingxia smiled wryly: "Mother, that's because it's you! I wouldn't bother helping anyone else."

  Yexi's mother felt a warmth in her heart when she heard this, but she still said: "Xia'er, you must be extremely careful at this time. I'm not old and can still walk on my own, so I don't need your support. Do you understand?"

  Xu Mingxia heard this, looking at Ye Yiniang who was hunchbacked, with half-white hair and a face full of wrinkles, couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart. Li Minzhi reminded her on the side: "Can't cry, child, child!" Xu Mingxia forcibly held back her tears.

  A group of people arrived at Xu Mingxia's courtyard. Xu Mingjin watched as the crowd carefully supported Ye Yiniang and took her to the bedroom inside, Xu Mingxia called out to Qiao Yin: "You go to Master's place and tell him what I said, from now on Ye Yiniang will live in my Xuanxia Residence, please ask Master for his permission."

  Qiao Yin nodded and went quickly. Xu Mingxia then came to the bedroom to see Ye Yiniang. The two had not spoken a few words, when a servant came to report: "Young lady, big brother's wife, Master ordered me to invite you both to Chunhuiyuan for lunch! In addition, Master has agreed to let Ye Yiniang live in Xiangxia yuan from now on."

  Xu Mingxia was about to speak, but before she could, Ye Yiniang said: "Xia'er, you and Minzhi hurry up and go! Don't keep Old Madam and Master waiting. Today, you're the guests, so follow their lead and hurry up! I'm not feeling well, so I won't be going. You represent me in expressing my gratitude to Old Madam and Master for agreeing to let me out."

  Yè Yí Niáng's words made Xú Míng Xiǎo tear up again, but she also knew that Yè Yí Niáng was telling the truth. As a guest today, she shouldn't be keeping Yè Yí Niáng company here and making her father and grandmother wait for her over there. After exchanging a few more words of comfort with Yè Yí Niáng, Xú Míng Xiǎo reluctantly followed Lǐ Mǐn Zhī to the Spring Breeze Courtyard of Old Madam Xú.

  In the Chunhui courtyard, Mrs. Xu and others waited left and right, but no one came. Some impatient people had already begun to complain, such as Xu Mingying. However, she had just spoken two words when she was stopped by Mrs. Xu's extremely stern gaze. The rest of the people didn't dare to speak up either. Xu Mingjin had anticipated this situation and had eaten some snacks beforehand, so he wasn't suffering as much as everyone else.

  When the young servant came to report that Big Sister and Eldest Brother-in-law had arrived, everyone let out a sigh of relief. Old Lady Xu's eyes also lit up.

  Finally, Xu Mingxia led Li Minzi in and apologized to Old Lady Xu: "Grandmother, granddaughter is late because she talked too much with her aunt, please punish me along with Father."

  "What's all this talk about punishment or no punishment? Come on, let's sit down and eat! We've been waiting for you two." said Mrs. Xu.

  Xu Ruoyi originally wanted to scold the two of them a few words, but his mother had already said it before him, and he really couldn't say anything else, so he could only glare at Xu Mingxia with a blaming gaze.

  Xu Mingxia and Li Minzi both took their seats. Xu Mingxia raised her head to take a look, and Xu Mingjin was sitting right next to her.

  Everyone started eating, and Xu Mingxia suddenly pointed to a dish of sweet and sour fish diagonally above Xu Mingjin and said: "Sixth sister, big sister wants to eat that dish of sweet and sour fish, but can't reach it. Can you please help sister pick some?"

  Xu Mingjin turned his head to glance at Xu Mingxia, then looked up at the sweet and sour fish above him, before turning back to Yu Zhu behind him: "Yu Zhu, since Qiao Yin is not by Big Sister's side, you go attend to Big Sister first! I don't need your service here. Also, later on, you go find Qiao Yin and get the wages for the work you're doing in her place." As he spoke, he winked at Yu Zhu.

  Yu Zhu listened to Xu Mingjin's instructions and hastily stepped forward, using a public spoon to pick up a sugar vinegar fish and put it in Xu Mingxia's bowl. Then she said: "Eldest Miss, do you want to eat anything else? I'll serve you again." Her attitude was as respectful as possible. Xu Mingxia heard this and felt a surge of anger rising up inside her. She smiled and said: "Sixth sister, you've always been generous with your spending, why are you being so petty about such a small amount of money?"

  Xu Mingjin smiled slightly and said, "This is Yu Zhu's wages, it has nothing to do with me. Eldest sister, are you always so neglectful of the people around you? How can the master be having a meal, and as a maid, not only did she not serve the master, but she also sneaked away to slack off. Yu Zhu did her work for half a day, what's wrong with collecting her wages? If I were to say it, this kind of person should be fined a month's wages, see if she dares to slack off again!"

  Xu Mingxia's anger rose from her heart, and she coldly laughed: "Qiao Yin was sent by me to serve Ye Niang, not to be lazy."

  "Oh? Is that so?" Xu Mingjin smiled and turned to Li Minzhi, "Sister-in-law, it turns out that sister only brought this one maid from her husband's family? She is pregnant, you are being too careless!"

  After hearing Xu Mingjin's words, Old Lady Xu and Xu Ruoyi both looked at Li Minzhi with unkind eyes, as if he had abused Xu Mingxia.

  Li Min said calmly, "Sixth sister misunderstood. Today, I came with Xia'er and brought four maids and two old ladies. She's pregnant, how could I dare not bring more people to help?"

  "Oh." Xuming Jin suddenly realized: "So the elder brother-in-law brought four maidservants with him." She thought for a moment and said: "Could it be that those people are all slacking off? My elder sister obviously doesn't have anyone serving her. What's the use of these slaves? If this were our Secretary's mansion, they would have been chased out one by one long ago."

  Xu Mingxia's face turned red and white. Xu Ruoyi's expression was gloomy, saying: "Son-in-law, you come to explain what is going on here? Can't our Xia'er even order a few servants around in the Li family?"

  Li Min hastily stood up and explained urgently: "Father-in-law, what's going on, I'm not very clear about it either. Why don't we call those people over and ask them?"

  Xu Ruoyi nodded.

  Xu Mingjin's sharp eyes discovered that after listening to Li Minzhi's words, Xu Mingxia's face suddenly turned pale.

  Xu Mingjin sneered, guessing Xu Mingxia's thoughts. She was just jealous that he was about to marry the second prince and wanted to show off in front of him before she got married. To satisfy her own abnormal desires. Why should Xu Mingjin tolerate her enslavement? Every young lady has a maid serving her, if she wants to eat something, she can just order her maid to bring it, why does she have to command him? Does she think he's a servant or a slave? Sister won't get angry, you think sister is a vegetarian?

  Very soon, the four maids were brought over, and Li Minzhi personally interrogated them. The four maids stammered and stuttered, unable to say anything. Madame asked why they hadn't been attending to her needs. Li Minzhi recalled Xu Mingjin's words: "What use are such servants? If this were our own household, we would have driven them out long ago!" He couldn't help but say: "Will you speak or not? If not, I'll drive each and every one of you out!"

  At this, the maids couldn't bear it anymore and finally dared to tell the truth: "On the way here, Third Young Master's wife specifically instructed us not to come forward to serve. We were just following Third Young Master's wife's instructions! Third Young Master, please don't drive us out!"

  Li Min couldn't help but turn his head to look at Xu Mingxia, he never thought that Xu Mingxia would still be thinking of scheming against Xu Mingjin after designing him and ending up marrying this infamous young master. Is Xu Mingjin really so easy to scheme against? From their brief encounter just now, Li Min already knew that Xu Mingjin was not simple. However, this is a waste of words, if he were simple, how could Xuan Yuan Qi Yu still be thinking of her after all these years? Could she have married the second prince? Is being a princess something anyone can do? Can she go from being an unknown village girl to someone everyone envies? Why doesn't Xu Mingxia use her brain? It seems that before Xu Mingjin gets married, it's best to limit her visits to the Xu household as much as possible. These two are indeed a couple, their thoughts are surprisingly consistent.

  Xu Ruoyi's face turned iron-green, and he glanced at Xu Mingxia without saying a word. In fact, he was too lazy to speak. He had thought that after Xu Mingxia got married, her temperament would improve a bit, but now it seemed that while circumstances might change, one's inherent nature was hard to alter! Forget it, he didn't want to bother with her anymore; she could just go ahead and cherish herself.

  Mrs. Xü didn't expect that Xü Míngxiá would still not get along with Xü Míngjǐn. Hadn't she already instructed her to be on good terms with him? With the Second Prince's consort as a sister, others wouldn't dare bully her either. If everyone knew they didn't get along, wouldn't that just trample her to death?! This Xiá, why was she so stubborn and didn't know how to compromise?! Mrs. Xü anxiously looked at Xü Míngxiá with a worried heart. Seeing her getting angry and staring at Xü Míngxiá, about to say something, Mrs. Xü hastily said: "What are you kneeling there for? Hurry up and attend to your Young Mistress! Xiá, come, eat."

  Xu Mingxia finally suppressed the anger in her heart and stopped speaking, only thinking to herself, why Xu Mingjin was not willing to fulfill even such a small wish of hers. She just wanted to experience the privilege of having an imperial prince's concubine serve her food, so why couldn't Xu Mingjin satisfy her?

  Several maids heard Mrs. Xu's words and looked at Li Minzhi with hopeful eyes, hoping that he would let them off as Mrs. Xu had said. Li Minzhi glanced over and said, "Get up!"

  Several maidservants cheered and scrambled to their feet, standing behind Xu Mingxia with their hands hanging down, waiting to attend to her.

  Xu Mingjin turned his head and slowly ate the dishes in his bowl. Yu Zhu stood behind Xu Mingjin, smiling as she served him food.

  The meal was eaten with unbearable oppression.

  After dinner, Xu Mingxia took Li Minzhi to visit Ye Yiniang again, and then bid farewell to the two of them, Xu Lao Furen and Xu Ruoyi.

  Xu Mingjin returned to Feicui Garden and said to Qiu Yun and Yu Zhu: "The marriage between Chun Xing and Shuangzi should also be arranged. You two help take a look and choose a good day."

  As soon as this matter was brought up, Qiu Yun and Yu Zhu were like they had taken stimulants, enthusiastically discussing with Xu Mingjin.

  "Miss, is it at the end of this month? The wedding dress for Chun Xiang has not been embroidered yet!" Qiu Yun said.

  Xu Mingjin smiled and said, "Let the embroiderers in Linglong Pavilion help finish it. Isn't this still not enough to get married? Anyway, Zhuangzi is now a boss of some sort, you're not anxious, but others are!" Suddenly, she thought of something, her eyes lit up, and she said, "How about I design Spring Hua's wedding dress? Since the imperial son's wife's wedding dress is provided by the Imperial Household Department, I won't be able to wear my own designed clothes. Why don't I design a wedding dress and let the embroiderers in Linglong Pavilion help with the embroidery, and finish it before the wedding ceremony? What do you think?" After finishing speaking, her eyes sparkled as she looked at Autumn Cloud and Jade Bamboo.

  "Miss, I didn't know you could design wedding dresses?"

  Xu Mingjin gave her a white eye and said with a complacent tone: "What can't I do for your family's young lady? A mere wedding dress is nothing, just a small dish!"

  "Miss, I think Spring Apricot would be very happy to wear the wedding dress you designed yourself, but I think it's better to ask for her opinion."

  Xu Mingjin thought for a moment, patted Qiu Yun's shoulder and smiled: "So, I'll leave this glorious and great task to you. Anyway, you might not have seen Chun Xiang that girl yet. Also, ask them about their opinions, which day is better for the wedding? And where should we buy a new house? Hurry up, ask clearly, I still need to prepare dowry for Chun Xiang!"

  Qiu Yun was stunned and said: "Miss, are you still preparing dowry for Chun Xing?"

  "Really!" Xu Mingjin smiled and said: "In the future, when you girls get married, I will prepare dowries for each of you, and they are genuine dowries, not those that deceive people." In a wealthy family, the mistress would usually give a dowry to the maid who was getting married, but it was only worth one or two hundred taels of silver. The dowry Xu Mingjin mentioned was at least worth a thousand taels of silver. Anyway, she had money and didn't care about silver.

  Xu Mingjin felt deeply moved, in her past life whenever she was struggling to make ends meet, she always regretted not earning enough money. She never thought that here, she wouldn't have to worry about wealth at all.

  The autumn cloud blushed. But there was no blush on Yu Zhu's face, she lowered her head and said: "Miss, as a dark guard, I am not allowed to get married."

  Xu Mingjin said strangely, "Why can't the Dark Guards get married? Are they not human? Don't they need to carry on their lineage? Do they have to live alone until old age? Isn't that pitiful?" She got angrier as she thought about it and told Yuzhu, "I don't care how other Dark Guards live, I can't control them. But Yuzhu, I don't want you to remain unmarried for life. When the Second Prince returns, I'll take you away from him and you will no longer be a Dark Guard. You'll just be my maid, so you can find a reliable husband like Chunxiao and Qiuyun, get married, have children, and live an ordinary yet happy life."

  Yu Zhu was stunned for a moment and said: "Miss, please allow me to think about it. After all, I've never had the idea of marrying someone as a slave."

  Xu Mingjin said: "I understand, this matter is not urgent, wait until the second prince returns, you just think about it."

  Jade Bamboo nodded.

  Miss, so it turns out that getting married is just about whether the other person can take care of you or not? But whether they're reliable or not, that's not something you can see, right? However, the Second Prince is definitely someone who can take care of you. Hehe.

  Xu Mingjin glanced at her sideways and said, "Marrying a Han is marrying a Han, wearing clothes and eating food. As long as these two points are satisfied, having a good temper and being a decent person is enough. The second prince is of course reliable. It's just that it's too troublesome."

  Qiu Yun and Yu Zhu opened their big eyes together and asked: "What's wrong?"

  "Being an imperial princess, you have to dress up every day, right? But that ceremonial attire is too exhausting. Every move and gesture has to be dignified and proper, or else there's no majesty to speak of. That's already tiring enough. And then, every now and then, I have to go to the palace to see my in-laws - not just any ordinary in-laws, but the Emperor and Empress! Each time it's like going into battle. And what about my brother-in-law? He's not just any ordinary brother-in-law, but the Crown Prince and future Emperor! My sister-in-law is the Crown Princess and future Empress, so I have to fawn all over them. And then there's the Second Prince, who's already 20 years old. Once we're married, the Empress will probably send people to take my pulse every day, hoping that I'll get pregnant right away. If I don't get pregnant, she'll be worried that I'm too weak and can't bear children. Next thing you know, I'll have to drink all sorts of tonics every day. The Empress won't be satisfied until she's stuffed the Second Prince's chambers with more women. He won't dare refuse, and neither will I. And then I'll have to watch as he takes in new concubines - will that make me happy?"

  Xu Mingjin finished speaking and withdrew his eight fingers, turned around to look, but surprisingly didn't see Chun Xiang and Qiu Yun. Xu Mingjin was shocked, how did these two people quietly slip away? Didn't you see that I was just getting started with what I was saying about your young lady? This is too unsupportive, also too disrespectful! While he was wondering, suddenly a burst of laughter came from the ground, Xu Mingjin looked down and found Qiu Yun and Yu Zhu laughing and rolling on the ground. No wonder he couldn't find them earlier, his gaze was too high. Xu Mingjin squatted down, looking at the two who were laughing without any dignity, and really wanted to tell them: in the future when going out, never say that you are my maidservant, Xu Mingjin's.

  "Hahaha!" Yuzhu laughed until she was out of breath, saying intermittently: "Miss, how did you think of this? The Second Prince is not that kind of person, this situation won't happen."

  "What if it really happens?"

  Yu Zhu rolled her eyes and asked, "Miss, would you stop drinking water because you might choke to death?" Xu Mingjin shook her head. Yu Zhu continued, "Would you stop eating because you might suffocate to death?" Xu Mingjin shook her head again. Yu Zhu said, "Then, Miss, would you not marry the Second Prince just because of the possibilities you mentioned earlier?" Xu Mingjin shook her head once more. Yu Zhu smiled and thought to herself: It seems I need to find an opportunity to tell the Second Prince about what Miss said. He needs to work harder, as Miss doesn't have confidence in marrying him! Alas, which young lady from a wealthy family in the capital wouldn't be envious of this marriage? And yet, Miss still looks so miserable. Poor Second Prince, you'll have to pay a lot more!

  Xu Mingjin was speechless.

  Qiu Yun watched in amazement, her admiration for Yu Zhu was like the endless Yellow River. She could actually render Miss speechless, this was Qiu Yun's first time seeing such a thing!

  The three of them said a few more words, and Xu Ming Jin hurriedly reminded Chun Xiang about the matter of Spring Apricot, urging Qiu Yun to leave the mansion and ask questions.

  Xu Mingjin sat in front of the drawing board, starting to think about how to design a wedding dress. Although she wasn't a fashion designer by profession in her past life, she had seen many traditional Chinese wedding dresses and had even researched them a bit when she was engaged to be married. When Xu Mingxia got married last time, Xu Mingjin went to give her a gift and saw the bright red wedding dress she wore, which was beautiful but somehow lacking something and seemed stiff. At that moment, she thought of the exquisite and intricate wedding dresses she had seen in her past life and had the idea to design a wedding dress herself. The matter with Chun Xiang gave her an excuse to do so.

  Xu Mingjin pondered for a long time before finally picking up her brush, and she painted very quickly. An hour later, she put down her brush. Yu Zhu rushed over to take a look and immediately exclaimed: "Wow! It's so beautiful! Miss, isn't it a bit wasteful to give this to Chun Xiang?" Yu Zhu thought to herself: This wedding dress should be worn by the miss, it's too beautiful. She had never seen such a beautiful wedding dress before!

  Xu Mingjin joked: "Isn't it, Yuzhu is thinking of keeping it for herself to wear? Don't worry! When you get married, I'll definitely design a wedding dress that's even more beautiful than this one for you, how about that?"

  Miss, I didn't mean it that way! Why can't Miss understand her own mind? Weren't the two people very tacit before? Jade Bamboo missed the time when she and Xu Mingjin were in perfect harmony.

  Xu Mingjin blinked and said, "That's not what I meant, so what do you mean? Oh, you want me to keep this dress for you to wear, and have Chun Xiang redesign one? That's okay too, you're both my favorite maids, whoever wears it is the same..." Xu Mingjin secretly laughed, that little girl was always good at interrupting and joking!

  Jade Bamboo: “......”

  In the evening, Autumn Cloud returned and brought two good news to Xu Mingjin: First, Chun Xiang and Zhang Tuo's wedding date was set on October 28th. It's just half a month away from now. Zhang Tuo had used all his savings plus the silver borrowed from Fan Yicheng to buy a small courtyard with two entrances near the Second Prince's mansion. Moreover, Chun Xiang could move around freely now and when she heard that Miss wanted to design her wedding dress, she nodded repeatedly, getting emotional.

  Xu Mingjin listened, not feeling happy, but instead worried and said: "Spent all the savings? And also owed a debt? Then does he still have money to marry Chun Xiang? Did I promise Chun Xiang to the wrong person?..."

  Qiu Yun and Yu Zhu were speechless, in their opinion, Zhang Shuozi was just an orphan who could afford to buy a small courtyard on that street in the capital where only the rich lived. It was already not easy, but Miss actually looked down on him. Chun Xiang was just a maid, wasn't she? However, Miss really cared about Chun Xiang and thought she deserved a better family, marrying Zhang Shuozi would be a waste of her. Perhaps Miss felt the same way about us too? For a moment, Qiu Yun and Yu Zhu's hearts were filled with emotion.

  "Alright, let's put that matter aside for now. What about the other thing?" Xu Ming thought to himself, it seems that when Chun Xing gets married, he should give her some more silver as a dowry.

  "Uncle Lao and Miss Yan's wedding has been settled. Since Uncle Lao is in a hurry to return, Yan Zhifu decided that their wedding will be held on the 10th of next month in Liu City. After the wedding, Uncle Lao will take Miss Yan back to Beijing." Qiu Yun said with a joyful smile.

  Xu Mingjin said with a smile: "It seems that this year is a series of happy events!" She turned her head and looked at Qiuyun and Yuzhu, sighing: "When will I be able to get married too? I'll have no regrets then!"

  Qiu Yun and Yu Zhu were both lost in thought, one gazing up at the roof, wondering what could be on it besides spider webs, while the other stared at her toes, as if a flower had suddenly bloomed there. No one paid attention to Xu Mingjin. It was as if no one had heard what Xu Mingjin had just said.

  Xu Mingjin let out a sigh and lamented in her heart: Look at how she's been reduced to this, even her personal maid dares to ignore her. Alas.

  "Autumn Cloud, have this drawing sent to the Linglong Pavilion. Tell them to speed up and finish it as soon as possible." Xu Mingjin instructed. As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a lightness in his hand, and the painting had already disappeared. Xu Mingjin turned around and saw Yuzhu holding the draft, smiling: "Miss, Autumn Cloud just went on an errand. Why don't I go instead of her this time?"

  Xu Ming thought to herself, whoever goes will go anyway. So she nodded and said to Yu Zhu: "Go quickly and come back quickly."

  Jade bamboo ran quickly.

  Xu Mingjin looked at Yu Zhu's back and couldn't help but ask strangely: "Why do I feel like Yu Zhu is fleeing in a hurry?"

  Behind him, autumn clouds smiled but did not speak.

  Xu Mingjin thought for half a day and couldn't think of anything, so he had to give up.

  Nothing else to do, Xu Mingjin looked left and right, finally decided, go take a bath and sleep!

  Yu Zhuo took the draft and first ran to Xuan Yuan Ze to write a letter. Sent it over with a carrier pigeon. Then went to Ling Long Pavilion to hand over Xu Ming Jin's tasks.

  These two days, Xu Mingjin was idle at home with nothing to do. Extremely bored.

  Mrs. Xú brought her daughter to play at Xú Míngjǐn's place today. Seventh Miss Xú Míngcàn is only two months old, with a pair of round and bright eyes that are exceptionally clear. Xú Míngjǐn originally liked children very much, so upon seeing this, he hurriedly went forward to hold her. Mrs. Xú was delighted to see her daughter getting close to Xú Míngjǐn, carefully placing her daughter into his arms.

  Little Jin Can blinked her big, black eyes at Xu Ming Jin, pouting her small mouth as if she was about to cry. Xu Ming Jin quickly thought of something and waved the jade bangle on his right hand in front of her face. As expected, Little Jin Can's attention was drawn away, and she immediately forgot about crying. She stretched out her small hand to grab the bangle from Xu Ming Jin's hand, but he was already struggling to hold her. Although this child was small, she was quite chubby. Xu Ming Jin nearly threw her off, quickly using both hands to adjust her body in front of him and holding her tightly in his arms.

  Mrs. Xue let out a sigh of relief beside her. She knew that Xu Mingjin absolutely had no ill intentions. And she didn't need to go against such a small girl either. However, girls who hadn't married yet and didn't have experience holding babies often wouldn't pay attention and would accidentally drop the baby. Just now, Xu Mingjin was very careful about this point. Mrs. Xue was extremely satisfied.

  Xu Mingjin held him for a while, feeling tired, and handed Little Mingcan to her wet nurse's hands, sitting down to chat casually with Mrs. Xu.

  "Madam Xu slowly took a sip of tea and said to Xu Mingjin: 'Jin'er, the one in Qixia Temple is almost gone.'"

  "Cough, cough," Xu Mingjin choked on a mouthful of tea, feeling uncomfortable, and Yu Zhu hastily patted his back. He felt slightly better and asked in surprise, "Mother said it was Ye Yiniang? Is she going to pass away soon? I saw her just the other day and she seemed fine!"

  Mrs. Xu sighed and said, "She's just lingering on. Actually, she's been in a bad state for some days now. If it weren't for her worrying about Xia'er's well-being, fearing that she wouldn't be doing well, she would have held on to her last breath. Now that she knows Xia'er is doing great, with a loving husband and a child on the way, her heart can finally rest. She won't make it."

  Xu Mingjin absolutely did not believe that Ye Yiniang would simply give up her life just because of that one lash, plus worrying about Xu Mingxia. Ye Yiniang was originally such a strong and fierce person! Xu Mingjin believed that Ye Yiniang's death had a large part to do with Xu Furen's doing, as revenge for the harm Ye Yiniang caused her during childbirth. But did Xu Furen secretly give her slow-acting poison while Ye Yiniang was locked in the Buddhist hall and no one paid attention? Or did she just order someone to mistreat her in secret? This was something that Xu Mingjin could not know. Ye Yiniang was her enemy, and since Xu Furen had helped take care of Ye Yiniang for her, she would only feel happy about it. As for Ye Yiniang, if she sympathized with her, then she was an idiot.

  In fact, Xu Mingjin's guess was not wrong. The reason why Ye Yiniang became like this in just two short months is that Mrs. Xu secretly arranged for someone to put slow poison in her food. Mrs. Xu hated Ye Yiniang to the bone. This was something Xu Mingjin knew, but what he didn't know was that when Mrs. Xu was a child, she had once accidentally bumped into Ye Yiniang, who was then still the proud daughter of the Ye family. She had been beaten up badly by someone sent by Ye Yiniang and still had a fist-sized scar on her calf to this day. This grudge, Mrs. Xu had remembered until now.

  "Does Father know?" Xu Mingjin asked. She was concerned about how Xu Ruoyi would react if he only knew half the story.

  Mrs. Xu nodded and said, "This matter was told to me by Master."

  Xu Mingjin couldn't help but praise Xu Furen in his heart: How can this Xu Furen be so clever? Obviously, Ye Yiniang was made to look like this by her, yet she still pretends to be completely unaware and says that when Xu Ruoyi told her, she even burst into tears. Absolutely unbelievable! Even if Xu Ruoyi had suspicions before, looking at her expression, he would absolutely not believe it was her doing it. Brilliant!

  "Do you know, elder sister?" Xu Mingjin asked.

  Mrs. Xü shook her head: "The master said that a few days ago, Xiǎoér saw Yè Niáng and was so happy, if she heard this news now, she would definitely not be able to bear it, and she's still pregnant! If she couldn't take it and something happened to the child, it would be Yè Niáng's fault. Therefore, the master only sent someone to tell Dà Gūyé about it, and told him not to tell the two sisters."

  Mrs. Xue said, with a flash of cold light in her eyes. If Xu Mingxia hadn't taken the initiative to bring Ye Niang out of the Buddhist hall, she wouldn't have given Ye Niang that lethal dose of poison ahead of time. Daring to harm her child and her life, yet still wanting to live a comfortable life, what a beautiful thought! Mrs. Xue thought angrily, she would absolutely not allow it!

  Xu Mingjin took one look at Xu Furen's expression and understood that his guess about Ye Yiniang not living for much longer when Xu Mingxia insisted on releasing her on the day she returned home was correct. And it had already happened, hadn't it?

  "Xia'er, mother has something to tell you." Madam Xu suddenly said with a serious face. After finishing, she looked at Qiuyun who was standing beside her.

  Xu Mingjin understood her meaning, and with a glance, Qiu Yun silently backed down. Only then did Madam Xu struggle to speak: "Actually, the day when Chan'er was born, although the imperial physician that Jin'er invited and those midwives saved my life. However, I had already been injured to the root, and from now on, I won't be able to have any more children." As she spoke, tears fell from Madam Xu's eyes.

  Xu Mingjin was shocked and said: "But, the imperial physician didn't say anything that day?"

  Mrs. Xu sighed bitterly: "It was I who begged them not to tell the master, a woman who cannot bear children, the master will never set foot in my courtyard again. This is also something that can't be helped."

  "But Father will eventually find out about this matter."

  "Even if I knew, it would be two or three years later. By then, the master will be over 40 and should not be so enthusiastic about taking a wife or concubine. Even if he takes a concubine, by that time, I will have nothing to fear. The few ladies in the house now have been barren for many years, and there won't be any new life born here. My position as mistress can only be secure then. I only have Rong'er, this one child, and I hope you can take good care of her, little sister. Don't worry, I will make sure she treats Xuan'er like a biological older brother. Everything in the house from now on belongs to Xuan'er."

  Xu Mingjin listened to this and understood that Mrs. Xu had come to seek cooperation. In the future, she would marry the second prince and become the noble princess of the second prince. If Xu Mingxuan could get her love, he would be able to find a good family when he grew up. As a return, she would treat Xuan'er as her own child and stand on the side of her sister and brother in case anything happened. In fact, thinking about this, Xu Mingjin admired Mrs. Xu very much. She couldn't raise children herself, so she put her hopes on Xu Mingxuan, the only male heir of the Xu family. Her own daughter was close to her sister, the princess of the second prince. Without doing anything, she could sit stably in the position of Mrs. Xu in the mansion. It was really a clever move.

  What? Are you asking if Xu Mingjin agreed or not? Of course, she did. Even if she becomes the second prince's consort in the future, she will still need her natal family's support. By choosing to cooperate with Lady Xu, the Xu family will become a powerful backing for her in the future. Besides, Mingxuan is only nine years old this year, and having a mother who relies on him is not bad either. At least when Mingxuan grows up and chooses a wife, Lady Xu will discuss it with herself rather than randomly arrange a marriage for Xuan'er. In any case, Xu Mingjin thought about it from all sides and felt that this was a mutually beneficial matter.

  Xu Mingjin smiled and held Xu Furen's hand, saying: "Don't worry, Mother. Since Cui'er is so adorable, I will take good care of her. You can rest assured. Even when I get married next year, I can still bring Cui'er over to play."

  Madam Xü was delighted when she heard Xu Mingjin's words and understood that she had agreed to her request.

  Xu Mingjin suddenly remembered something and said: "Mother, you wouldn't have secretly sent someone to tell Eldest Sister about what happened to Aunt Ye, would you?"

  Mrs. Xú's smile froze for a moment, and she said somewhat unnaturally: "How...how could that be?" Mrs. Xú was secretly alarmed, how did Miss Xú Liù's eyes become so piercing? It seemed as if they could see right through to one's inner heart.

  Xu Mingjin glanced at Mrs. Xu and said slowly, "Mother doesn't need to take action. With Eldest Sister's temperament, it's already fortunate if she can live a good life; if not, that's normal. You really don't need to go so far as to not let her off either. Sometimes, one thought is heaven, another thought is hell. Letting others off is also letting oneself off. Mother should think carefully about this!"

  Mrs. Xu's pretty face turned red at what Xu Mingjin said, and she explained: "I haven't sent anyone to tell Big Sister yet."

  Xu Mingjin smiled and said, "Can mother put her mind at ease now? It seems that today I saved Xu Mingxia's child's life, haha. A smile that says unspeakable mockery."

  Mrs. Xue knew about the grudges between Xu Mingjin and Xu Mingxia. However, she didn't expect that Xu Mingjin wouldn't even think of taking revenge on Xu Mingxia, even when the opportunity was right in front of her, she still didn't want to take revenge on Xu Mingxia. This is just Xu Mingjin's temperament...

  After Madam Xü left, Qiū Yún flashed out from the inner room and said to Xü Míng Jǐn: "Miss, since Big Miss had been so vicious to you, why didn't you just let Madam Xü do it? After all, it wasn't your hand that moved."

  Xu Ming Jinbai gave her a glance and said, "That's an innocent little life, how can you talk about it so lightly? If you didn't know, that's fine, but if you did, of course, you should advise against it. It's also a way to accumulate virtue for yourself!"

  "Ah." said Autumn Cloud, and then fell silent.

  At this time, Yu Zhu returned, she was delighted to bring in a bag of wedding candies and said to Xu Mingjin: "Miss, these are Chun Xiang and Zhang Shuo's wedding candies, do you want to eat them?"

  "Want it? Of course I want it." Xuming Jin walked over and took a piece of candy from Yuzhu's hand, tossing it into his mouth. It was really sweet.

  Two days later, Ye Yiniang quietly left without a word.

  Xu Ruoyi finally remembered the husband-and-wife relationship he had with Ye Niang over the years, and personally went to Qixia Temple, where he wept bitterly for a long time.

  Because Ye Niang was a concubine, the funeral was hastily and simply arranged.

  Of course, Xu Mingxia didn't find out about this until after she had given birth to a boy without any issues. That's a story for later.

  On the day of the funeral, Xu Mingjin stood far away, seeing off Ye Niang's coffin as it was carried out of the Shangshu Mansion from the back door, with a complex expression.

  Mother, the one who killed you has also suffered and died, rest in peace!

  This matter was concealed by the Xu family without revealing a single drop of water, and it wasn't until much later that the Ye family found out about it.

  Mrs. Xue finally breathed a sigh of relief because of Ye's death, and from then on, the only one the Ye family could rely on was her!

  One day, Xu Mingjin suddenly received a letter from Xuan Yuan Jinglin.