)

  From start to finish, Qi Shen's expression was calm and collected, as if this were an insignificant matter, she didn't seem to care at all. However, the hatred that seeped through her words made Hua Ruoyu's clever mind feel a chill.

  From now on, San Shu would no longer be the same San Shu as before.

  That woman, though sharp-tongued, had never truly been heartless, died in that moment when she lost her child.

  The inside of the house is indeed a place that can change people's lives. Who doesn't have beautiful illusions when they get married? If they become ruthless, it's also because of the environment forcing them to be so. They want to protect themselves and their children. You don't cheat others, but others will cheat you. This is a choice that anyone would make.

  Lowering her eyelids, Hua was as calm as ever, but in her heart... would she also become that kind of person someday?

  It seemed like she was thinking, Qi Shen raised the corner of her mouth and smiled, "Afraid? You should be afraid. If you weren't married to Qi You, with your temperament, anyone else would only have been bullied. This Qi Manor is still a man, Qi You has a sense of responsibility and won't always think about which maid in the house is pretty."

  She hummed softly, although she didn't say it explicitly, but Qi Shen's words had also included the old master, which was somewhat disrespectful. Hua Ruchu couldn't refute her, as bringing a pretty maid to bed was a characteristic of young masters from noble families, and this had been the case for several generations.

  "As before, I'll admit that I have feelings for you. I'll say a few more words to you, whether you listen or not is up to you, if not, just consider it my monologue."

  Hua Ru didn't have any, but she got up and poured a cup of tea and placed it within her reach.

  "Qī Shěn watched her quietly, until she sat down on the edge of the bed again before saying: 'As I expected, you didn't see it. This girl actually understands everything, but is just a bit too soft-hearted. A temperament like this will suffer losses in any household. You still need to make some progress.'"

  She picked up the teacup and blew on it, but didn't drink. She continued, "This Qi Manor is much more peaceful than when I first got married. If I had entered this manor back then, haha, if I weren't from the Shen family and hadn't seen all those twists and turns, I would have fallen already."

  " Qi Fu's third house, Eldest Uncle, was also a well-known figure in Taiyuan back then. Later on, something happened and he became low-key, as for what exactly happened, I'd rather not say. Second Uncle is just a useless mess, if it weren't for Second Aunt having some cleverness to smooth things over, deceiving those above and below her, Old Master would have taken action long ago. I'm waiting to see what tricks she has up her sleeve when the matter can no longer be covered up."

  "As for our house, the old master is temporarily in Sanli, which is the best place to go, but the old master has no legitimate son, this is the biggest regret. The concubines of several houses have tried their best to give birth, and I am not having any more children. Later on, they will probably come to me one after another to ask for help in raising their children. Ha ha, do you really think Shen Lianxiang is a fool? You've ruined my chances of having children, and now you want me to help you raise yours? Dream on."

  At this point, Qi Shen's voice dropped, as if she was saying to herself. She quickly came back to her senses and continued, "I've digressed, what I want to tell you is that among these three families, there is one person who needs to be particularly careful and guarded against."

  She straightened her body, and Qi Shen approached Hua Ruochu, saying in a low voice, "Don't think it's Qi Lin, the one you should be careful of is Qi Wu, your mother-in-law, she's the most hidden and unpredictable person."

  This time Hua Ru was really surprised, her mother-in-law could...

  He is not a difficult person to see through.

  "Haha, unexpected, right? If it wasn't for some unintentional things, I wouldn't have thought that the eldest sister who has never had the upper hand in the mansion would actually have such a deep mind, able to pretend to this extent, and pretend for decades. I admire her."

  "Why did Third Aunt want to tell me these things?"

  "Just reminding you."

  Hua Ru's face showed a simple puzzlement, "Even if my mother-in-law is as you said, deep and reserved, I am her daughter-in-law, no matter what she plans, she shouldn't harm me."

  "A person who can sacrifice everything for their own benefit, is there anything they can't do? Their interests don't necessarily align with yours, you're thinking too simply. Also, those who have never experienced the struggles within the palace will never understand that it's a battlefield without bloodshed."

  On her way home, Hua Ruyi was still thinking about the ambiguous words that Qi Shen said to her. She didn't understand why he wanted to say those things to her.

  Even if Qi Wu was indeed hiding deeply, what did he want to get from her by exposing it?

  She tried to forget what he said, but she felt that Qi Shen wouldn't say those things for no reason. If it was just a reminder, she wouldn't believe it even if you killed her.

  Hua Ru was a little regretful about this trip, and it took a lot of effort and thought to sort out the lawsuit that filled her mind.

  Back in the courtyard, after dismissing the maids' greetings, Hua Ru saw that the courtyard was lush and green, and she felt a bit more at ease, as if the tension brought by Qi Shen's presence had been alleviated somewhat.

  "Dong, you go first, Uncle will follow." Dong Fei came forward and said softly.

  Hua nodded slightly, "Think of a way to get some easy-to-grow flowers and grasses, this courtyard is still a bit monotonous."

  "Yes."

  Qī Yòu was drinking tea in the flower hall when he saw her come in, and just as he was about to ask why she was so late, but upon seeing her rubbing her forehead while walking, his words changed to "Your face looks so terrible, has Third Aunt been giving you a hard time?"

  "No." The freshly brewed tea was a bit hot, Hua Ru had just picked up the cup and put it down again, Qi You pushed over one that had cooled down just right.

  Hua Ru Chu really was a bit thirsty, after finishing the tea in the cup and pushing it away, "Let's switch."

  Qī Yòu liked this kind of intimacy, with a gentle gaze watching her instruct the maid to refill her tea.

  "Everyone go down, I'll have a private conversation with my brother-in-law."

  "Yes."

  Hua Ru Chu wasn't one to beat around the bush, so she repeated what Qi Shen Shi had said and asked at the end, "Qi You, help me analyze this. What is she after? Why did she tell me all these things?"

  Qī Yòu's face turned ugly, although he had a bad relationship with his mother, he couldn't bear to hear others speak of her like that, and yet he couldn't think of anything to retort.

  His father's affairs were some of that, and he had nothing to do with him, so he didn't bother to investigate. His mother was even more so, in his heart, a woman who couldn't influence him at all, and he didn't want to get involved in family matters, let alone pay attention to them. Not paying attention doesn't mean that they really don't exist, when no one mentions it, some things can't be linked together, but after San Shu said it, many things have become traceable.

  "Qī yòu?"

  Qī Yòu raised his head and looked at her, saying in a low voice, "Third Aunt, remember these words in your heart, don't mention them to anyone, anyone."

  Hua Ru nodded repeatedly, "I naturally won't tell others, it's just... between husband and wife, there are some things that can't be hidden. Qi You, I hope we can communicate more in the future."

  Because of this sentence, Qi You's mood improved a lot, and his face color eased up, "You can tell me anything."

  "How about you?"

  "Really?"

  "You don't need to tell me about your business?" As soon as the words were out, Hua Ru Chu felt a bit uneasy and added, "It's fine if you don't mention things that have nothing to do with me."

  Qī Yòu looked at her deeply, "As long as you ask, I will tell you."

  "This is... a promise, okay? Hua Ru didn't feel quite at ease and looked away, tucking the hair behind her ear, saying 'I won't ask things I shouldn't'."

  Qī Yòu's eyes flashed with a quick smile, because the heavy feeling brought by Sān Shěn's words was finally all thrown away. "Keep an eye on your mother's side, wait for me to investigate clearly before saying anything."

  "Alright." After some thought, Hua Ru Chu continued, "Although men don't usually get involved in household matters, I think it's still better for the people at home to understand each other clearly, so as not to be taken advantage of."

  "You mean to say..."

  "No." Hua Ru Chus shook her head, "Don't think too much, I just spoke out of feeling. There are too many insiders, it's too easy to find a loophole. The Qi manor... shouldn't be able to withstand the turmoil, right? Today's incident at Lao Fengxiang will likely be used by those with ulterior motives. As for Zhenmei's marriage, I'm afraid there will be some trouble. It's best to take the initiative and choose someone from our side to settle the engagement, or else things might change."

  Qī Yòu's eyes flashed with a hint of guidance, "Will the Second Prince intervene?"

  "He won't intervene, I'm sure. Tao Ce Fei will definitely not let go of this opportunity, this kind of trick is second nature to her." Oops, slipped up, Hua Ru Chu blinked and before Qi You could speak again, she continued "By the way, I've studied Tao Ce Fei before, she's a very intelligent and capable person. Don't be fooled, husband, when we were in Yangzhou, I had already heard of her and was quite curious about her."

  "Have you found out?"

  ...and indeed, Hua Ruojin touched her temples and hair again, she didn't, when she made this gesture it was because she felt insecure inside, "Tao Ce Fei is very clever, wants to prove herself as a capable person, not willing to be mediocre, has quite some ambition, that's what I think of her, no, no."

  Qī Yòu didn't say yes or no, Huá Rúchū has learned her lesson this time, she's being more reserved, someone who has lived two lifetimes naturally has a sense of superiority, when others mention something that happens to be what she knows, she can't help but want to speak up, normally it's fine when she's just chatting with the maids by her side, but now it's not okay, unintentionally her thoughts are easily led astray by Qī Yòu, this habit needs to change.

  Noticing her wariness, Qi You stopped his questioning in time and changed the subject.

  However, this sentence is indeed useful. People in the inner courtyard really need to figure out the situation before acting, or else they might end up suffering losses and being implicated together.

  "Alright, Master Gugu, dinner is ready."

  "It's a bit stuffy in the house today, let's go to the courtyard and have dinner."

  "Depend on you."

  The two of them sat down under the tree, waiting for the girls to serve the dishes. At this time, it was still early in the day, and the red glow filled the sky, casting a golden red hue over everyone in front of them.

  "Can you drink without getting drunk?"

  One sentence was about to slip out, but Hua Ru bit her lip and said in an overly affected tone, "It's fine if I just drink a little, but would it be okay for me? Wouldn't that be too improper?"

  "There's only you and me here, no disturbance, bring wine."

  "Yes, it is."

  This chapter is written a bit more confusing and heavy, with foreshadowing and plot progression. The reminder from Third Aunt will be useful later on.

  The demons also want to get rid of these household chores and write something exciting, but these are necessary pains before excitement. I'm so suffocated while writing this. (If you like this work, welcome to subscribe and reward me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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