Chapter Twenty: Leaving the Mansion Without Hope

  Yao Yan returned from the Zhen Guo Gong Fu and first went to Mrs. Lu's place for a visit, chatted with her for a while before returning to Qi Xiang Yuan. Yao Feng Ge was delighted to see her, asked her to change clothes in her room, prepared fragrant tea and fresh fruits, and personally came to the backyard to talk to her.

  Yao Yanru was still surprised that Yao Fengge had come over in person. After all, there were still differences between the legitimate and illegitimate children, and if Yao Fengge had something to say, she could have called her out front to talk about it. Coming over in person with food and drink was really a bit too much.

  Could it be that the weasel is paying New Year's respects to the chicken? Yao Yan thought silently.

  As for the tactics of this elder sister, Miss Yao was really a bit intimidated. She asked herself that in her modern brain, there were several hundred years of cultural accumulation more than Yao Fengge, but in terms of intrigue and deception, she was not her opponent at all. A modern person like her had to admit defeat.

  Yao Fengge didn't know what Yao Yanyu was thinking in her heart, and she pretended not to see the slight nervousness in her eyes, as if Yao Yanyu shouldn't be nervous at all. After all, she had come to see her precisely to make her feel a little uneasy.

  "Was it fun going to Zhen Guo Gong Fu today?" The eldest sister held her younger sister's hand, and she was so gentle and kind.

  "It's great. The second daughter of the National Duke is indeed a good-natured person, generous and open-minded, not petty. She's also very kind to me." Yao Yan said hurriedly.

  Yao Fengge nodded reassuringly: "That's good, you're all gathered together to discuss chess, there must be some excitement, did you win or lose?"

  "My chess skills are quite ordinary, I'm too embarrassed to show off. But I've learned a lot from following Xuan sister."

  "In the future, go out and play often, and you'll gradually become familiar with it. Playing the piano, chess, books, and paintings are not a proper profession anyway. If you like them, play with them; if you don't, then forget about it. Getting along well with the girls from various official residences is what's truly important."

  Yao Yan was taken aback, what does this mean? What is meant by going out to play often in the future?! Am I not supposed to leave the city and live a quiet life alone in the villa? Who wants to go to the Marquis's mansion to play with those girls?

  Yao Fengge saw Yao Yanyu's silence and smiled even more warmly: "I know you're a sensible person, this courtyard is too small, and Third Master often comes in and out, and you're not a little girl anymore. After all, it's inconvenient for everyone to live together. So I was thinking of arranging another courtyard for you to live in elsewhere in the Hou Mansion. However, Second Brother said that since you don't want to stay here, it's also okay to go out and live."

  Yao Yan's words immediately gave her hope, as long as she could leave the Hou Mansion, she was willing. Because once she left, she would have nothing to do with Su Yuxiang and the Hou Mansion, at most she would be the younger sister of the third wife of the Hou Mansion.

  Yao Fengge spoke while carefully observing Yao Yanyu's expression, knowing that her younger sister was truly unwilling to stay in the Hou Mansion. Whether she looked down on Su Yuexiang's concubine position or was unwilling to be under her own elder sister's eyes, since she didn't want to, Yao Fengge naturally delighted in helping her achieve her goal.

  "So, I discussed it with Second Brother, and he suggested that we renovate and furnish our family's house in the capital, buy two more houses for people with a clean background to serve us, and have you move in. This way, sister will be comfortable and at ease, and I can also take care of you."

  Yao Yan sighed silently in her heart, thinking that if she wanted to go live at the Zhuangzi, she would have to put in some more effort. But by now, Yao Fengge had already brought out Yao Yanyi, and even if she said more, it was unlikely to bring any benefits. With their parents not around, as a concubine-born daughter, how could she dare not listen to the words of her elder sister and brother?

  "Thank you, sister, for your trouble in arranging this." Yao Yan said as she stood up and slightly bowed.

  "Are you still telling your sister these things?" Yao Fengge smiled and pulled her to sit beside him, carefully thinking and saying that the house had always been guarded and cleaned by someone, only because they hadn't used it for many years, fearing that those slaves had secretly rented it out. Tomorrow, she would ask someone to take a look, clear out all the unrelated people, re-purchase some household items, select a few usable servants, and call over several guards from the Hou Mansion, and so on.

  In short, it's all about being considerate and polite, saying things like: I've caused trouble for my sister, thank you for going out of your way to help me, sister is tired, and my heart is uneasy.

  Yao Yan Yi rushed to the capital before Mid-Autumn Festival, ostensibly for official business, but in reality he was socializing at various princes' and nobles' mansions. As the Governor-General of Liangjiang, it was natural for Yao Yuan to flatter the Emperor and the inner palace, but as an outer official, it wasn't suitable for him to be too close to the Grand Ministers of the Imperial Cabinet. Yao Yan Yi used visiting his sister as a pretext to engage in private activities, which was very convenient.

  After handling official business in the capital for several days, with Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, it was impossible to return to Jiangnan for the holiday. Moreover, Ding Hou personally asked him to stay, and Yao Yan Yi also wanted to spend more time with his sister, so he followed suit and stayed at Ding Hou's residence to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival.

  Although mourning rituals prohibited grand weddings and lavish banquets, the imperial court's victory brought joy to the emperor and empress. From the palace to the common people, everyone added a touch of celebration to their daily lives. People quietly held family gatherings behind closed doors, which was also understandable.

  The Mid-Autumn Festival is a relatively important holiday, and the relatives of the Dingguo Mansion all come and go. Mrs. Lu handles those Mid-Autumn gift lists every day, and she can't win against the hard work. Coincidentally, Yunniang has fallen ill again, and Feng's family is taking care of her and cannot share worries with others. Yao Fengge has just recovered from a serious illness and needs to recuperate, so it's clear that having many daughters-in-law is a good thing.

  Sun accompanied Mrs. Lu every day, helping her deal with these trivial matters, welcoming and sending off guests, and everything went smoothly, as if she was in her element.

  Madam Lu originally didn't care much about the second daughter-in-law, after all, the Hou Mansion's family business would be handed over to the eldest son in the future. The second and third branches would eventually separate and govern themselves. The second son was in charge of the Jinlin Army and was the emperor's confidant. As long as the second daughter-in-law didn't make a big mistake, the second branch would not go wrong in the future.

  It turns out now that Sun's family is quite talented, handling things steadily and skillfully, vaguely surpassing the Feng's.

  Madam Lu recalled that the wet nurse who had been taking good care of Yun's sister was driven out by the Fang family not long ago, and soon after, Yun's sister fell ill. She casually brought up this matter when there was no one around.

  Sun was a shrewd person and never said much about the affairs of Da Fang and San Fang, only saying that his elder sister-in-law also loved her daughter dearly.

  At night when no one was around, Mrs. Lu sighed to her maid Lian and said that Madam Feng was narrow-minded and couldn't control the overall situation, and she was also suspicious by nature, so in the future, she might not be able to take charge of the household for her eldest son, and wouldn't become a virtuous wife.

  The old lady hurriedly persuaded: "The young master's wife is still young, Madam can slowly teach her for a few years and she will definitely improve."

  Mrs. Lü continued: "That's all well and good, but the fact that she still can't give birth to a legitimate son for Ping'er even now is truly infuriating."

  This made the nanny not know how to advise her, and as for Feng's age, she wasn't young either. She had been married into the Hou household for over eight years and was now twenty-seven years old, but all she had was a five-year-old daughter, and there was indeed no hope of having more children.

  The eldest grandson of the Long House! This matter is related to the great affair of the hereditary marquis, and ordinary people do not dare to speak out.