Rushing hastily, Qi You arrived at the main hall a bit late, and all the dishes were already on the table. Fortunately, Hua Ru had made excuses for him as soon as he arrived, so it didn't seem rude.

  "Grandfather, grandmother, I'm late."

  The old man looked at him and slightly furrowed his brow, "Sit down."

  "Yes."

  "Let's eat."

  Hua Ruchu still stood behind the two elders to serve, and everyone sat back beside Qi You only after they had eaten half of their food, hastily taking a few more bites.

  After dinner, the old man did not leave as usual, and the men of the Qi family did not dare to move.

  The old lady looked around and said, "Now that everyone is here, it's a good opportunity for me to say something. Now the third generation has all grown up and started their own families. My husband and I are getting older and our energy is declining. Everyone should take care of their own small family. You'll still have to come back and serve us eventually. It's exhausting from dawn till dusk, no one can relax. From now on, let's just eat in our respective courtyards."

  This is a great thing, Hua Ru glanced at Qi You with a hint of shyness, and quickly lowered her head to hide the joy in her eyes.

  The Qi Wu and Qi Lin families were also delighted, having served their in-laws for several decades. No one dared to say they had done so entirely of their own free will, and being able to avoid these tasks was the best outcome.

  But the goods still have to be sold.

  Qilin smiled and said: "Can't I come to accompany you for meals from now on? How can this be good, since the day I entered the Qilin family gate, morning and evening have always been here, I'm afraid that in the future every morning and evening I will not be able to control my footsteps coming here, at that time you can't drive out your daughter-in-law."

  "You come every day and I won't drive you away. How about this, in the future, during a rest period, one day will still be at the main house, and other times can be arranged by yourself, what do you think, old master?"

  "Alright, let it be."

  "It's settled then, I'll take a look at which day is suitable and confirm the date later, we can just count down the days after that."

  "Yes, I'm listening."

  The old man glanced at Qi You and went to the study with his hands behind his back, some things are better left for them to settle on their own.

  With the old man gone, the atmosphere in the house became a bit more lively. The old lady looked at Hua Ru Chu and asked, "Yu's wife, how is Yu's concubine doing? What did the doctor say?"

  "Don't worry, the doctor came a few times today and the fever has subsided. The maids are taking good care of her and she should be fine with some rest."

  "That's good, fever can be recurring, you instruct them, no matter what happens, don't disturb Yu'er, he's been running around all day and is already exhausted, without a good night's sleep, how can he have good spirits."

  "Yes, I'll send a reliable maid to Green Willow's place. If there's anything, just let my daughter-in-law know and it won't disturb the master."

  The old lady nodded in satisfaction, "It's good to handle it this way. You too, Yu'er, having a fever isn't a serious illness, with so many people serving you, there's no need for you to worry, rest well and don't miss the important things."

  "Yes, grandmother."

  "Alright, I won't keep you any longer. Go back home early and don't come tomorrow or the day after, I'll take it easy for two days."

  "Yes."

  The two of them walked slowly at the back, and every time they came to an intersection, a family would leave. Qi Wu turned her head to say a few words to her daughter-in-law, but when she saw her son standing there, she immediately lost interest. As for this unfilial son, she really didn't know how to get along with him.

  Qifeng turned around with his hands behind his back and glanced at his son and daughter-in-law, "Go back and rest early."

  "Yes, parents go slowly."

  Finally left with only her own people, Hua Ru Chu deeply exhaled a breath, raised her head to look at the red sunset on the horizon, and suddenly felt an infinite sense of grievance in her heart.

  When will such days come to an end? She overestimated her patience after all, and couldn't hold on for long.

  "Tired?"

  Hua Ru's footsteps paused for a moment before she quickly smiled and replied, "No, it's just that the number of people in my mother's household is much simpler compared to the Qi Manor, I need some time to get used to it."

  Qī Yòu glanced at her, and they didn't speak again on the way. Huá Rúchū suddenly understood that Qī Yòu hadn't believed her answer; this man was astonishingly perceptive in some ways.

  The sky gradually darkened, and under the tree, there were still two people sitting.

  "How is Green Willow doing? I heard they invited several doctors over today."

  Through the swirling mist, their gazes met in mid-air, and Hua Ruyan stood tall and unflinching under his scrutiny.

  Qī Yòu tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing an expression that didn't seem like an expression. "My body is ruined."

  "Did Green Willow really say that to you?"

  "Guess again."

  Hua Ru raised an eyebrow, letting her guess the riddle? Isn't it too easy? Zhi Ruo's intentions were too obvious, and even Lu Liu, who was in on it, couldn't see clearly, and might even think of a way to personally send her to Qi You's bed.

  "It seems like this is going against the host."

  "In large and influential families, this kind of person is never in short supply."

  Born in a humble background, this is the only way to find a way out. How many maids do not want to work hard for it? Once they succeed, they become half-masters, even if they are not favored, they are better than being servants. If they are lucky enough to have a child, their life will be secured, even if they have to raise the child by the mistress's side, she won't have to worry about being sold out of the house easily anymore.

  If Zhi had more opportunities than other maids, she would have been a decent person, but she was still an ambitious one. The encounter with Qing Liu was the best opportunity for her to rise to prominence.

  "Will Qi Daguizi allow such a person to get what they want?"

  The tone of teasing doesn't seem so dignified, but Qi You strangely didn't feel disgusted, on the contrary, when speaking with him in a serious and proper manner outside, it made him uncomfortable.

  "I want to promote whoever doesn't need to eat canteen food."

  It's not like that, Hua Ru nodded in agreement. Except for Lü Liu, Qi You had never touched the maids by his side. He was different from other young masters. Just talking about the master of the Qi family, there were many nameless and insignificant maids, even her father-in-law, Qi Dà Lǎo Ye, had two in his study, enjoying the beauty of adding fragrance to his sleeves.

  At this point, Qi You really threw everyone else off by a big margin.

  "What does Lü Li want me to do?"

  "Can you make her body recover?"

  "I'm no divine doctor, at most I can just send her a few boxes of tonic medicine."

  Kan Qiyou frowned, and Hua Ruchu hastily interrupted again, "I know, I know. Auntie taught us not to give things that can be easily obtained as gifts."

  "Aunt?" Qi You looked at her, the Huas had a very simple family structure, as far as he knew, there was no aunt.

  "The old palace maid who came out of the palace, we in Yangzhou are used to calling such a person 'auntie', which shows respect and is also easy to call." Hua Ruojin explained, "Before I got married, my mother spent a lot of money to hire two aunties to teach me and the accompanying maids the rules of our big family. Mother... didn't want me to be looked down upon, nor did she want the people around me to cause me trouble."

  No wonder she was so familiar with the rules of the mansion, it turned out that she had learned them before, and a veteran palace maid who had been in the palace for decades was enough to be married into the royal family.

  "You have a good mother."

  "Of course, my mother is the best." Hua Ruochu acknowledged without hesitation. Compared to other big families, although they may have less wealth and nobility, they are absolutely more at ease. The children are all filial, and Father is especially good in front of Mother, never letting her know about his extramarital affairs that might hurt her feelings.

  Ke Hua knew from the beginning that her mother was aware of it, she just turned a blind eye and let things be.

  Such skills are essential for people living in a large family, just like her, can't she tolerate those concubines?

  The difference lies in that she didn't pay with her emotions, whereas Niang loved Father.

  P.S. It seems that there is a problem with the main power line in our community, and it's still being repaired now. I'm posting this chapter using my mobile phone, and it's driving me crazy!