Since parting at the gate that day, Xie Lin had not been to Chao Lu Yuan for three days and naturally did not meet Qin Miao.

  It so happened that Xie Xu was on leave today, and by rights he should have gone to the Nurturing Harmony Courtyard early in the morning to pay his respects to his ancestors.

  As soon as he arrived at the gate of the courtyard, he heard the sound of women's voices coming from inside. He hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and walked into the main hall.

  The old ancestor sat in the main hall with a frown on his face, listening to what Xie's mother was saying beside him. As soon as he saw him come in, he pulled down his face.

  "Ancestors." Xie Yan respectfully greeted Mrs. Xie.

  "Rebellious child, kneel down!" A loud shout came from the top of the hall, which was from Old Lady Xie. Such harsh words and severe tone made Sun Shi and Liu Shi, who were sitting at the lower end of the table, tremble with fear. Having been married into the Xie family for so many years, they had rarely seen the old lady get so angry. The last time the ancestor got angry was probably when Eldest Mistress Bai had that scandalous affair all those years ago.

  Xie Xuan didn't dare to be presumptuous, but seeing her grandmother not joking around, with a scowl on her face and her chest heaving, she immediately knelt down at her feet without saying anything.

  "What's wrong with you, learning how to raise concubines?! And still, you insist on bringing people into the manor, do you think this is a brothel?! I'm so angry... I'm so angry..."

  The old lady was so excited that her words were trembling, she picked up the dragon head cane beside her and swung it directly at Xie Yun's body.

  "I didn't!" Xie Yunhong's face turned red as she knelt on the ground in protest, her heart also filled with grievance.

  "You still say there's no one? Then I'll ask you, who is the person in the Rain Fragrance Pavilion?" The old lady glared with her eyes wide open, and her already wrinkled face twisted even more grotesquely due to the flames of anger.

  Sun and Liu looked at Xie Yan in surprise.

  What? The past two days, rumors have been circulating that Brother Xuan brought a woman into the mansion, and that woman is actually a prostitute! Sun Liu and the others are all daughters of officials, from a young age they were taught to be virtuous and looked down on or even despised those women who sell their bodies in brothels.

  Liu's straightforward and outspoken personality suddenly grasped the handkerchief tightly, saying with a tone of frustration: "Brother Yu, how can you be so muddled? How could you bring someone like this back!"

  Sun's expression was more subdued, and she looked at Qin Miao sitting next to her with some concern.

  Only Qin Miao hung her head, burying herself deeply. She didn't know that today's visit would bring up this matter, and the old lady asked her many times, but she responded calmly. This was something she hadn't even thought about herself, so naturally, she didn't know where to start.

  Xie Xuan subconsciously stared at Qin Miao as soon as the old ancestor mentioned Xin Xiang and her background for no reason. At this time, Qin Miao happened to raise his head and coincidentally met Xie Xuan's unjust anger.

  Is it disappointment? Anger? Or pity...

  Qin Miao couldn't help but shiver. Their eyes locked, the air was stagnant, and countless words swirled on the tip of her tongue, ultimately turning into a thread of sorrow. She lowered her head again, not thinking deeply.

  The morning's greetings ended in disarray, and Xie Xuan continued to explain to the elderly ancestor that things had happened for a reason, and not as she had thought or heard. She repeatedly guaranteed that she would handle Qinxiang's arrangements properly. The old lady made a fuss all morning, her temples throbbing with pain, and after sitting for a while, she was supported back to her room by Xie's nurse.

  As they were about to leave the Yanyi Institute, Sun pulled Qin Miao's hand quietly, wanting to speak but stopping herself, her eyes full of comforting expressions. This niece-in-law has a way with her, she can manage the household and is fair-minded, but after all, she's still young, and not long after getting married, her husband had an affair, it must have been very difficult for her.

  Qin Miao silently shook her head at her, still with a smile on her face, and patted her hand. Sun Shi truly felt that the girl in front of her had extraordinary mental strength.

  The crowd dispersed, and Qin Miao followed Xie Yan back to the Chao Lu courtyard. However, Xie Yan walked extremely fast, seemingly still in a state of indignation. Qin Miao helplessly pursed her lips, following him all the way to the door.

  "I told you she's just a guest!" Xie Yun stopped in her tracks, turned around and walked step by step towards Qin Miao who was still panting.

  He was originally tall and majestic, and such a step-by-step pursuit made Qin Miao feel somewhat oppressed.

  He continued to speak: "It's just a small matter, you've actually gotten our ancestors worked up. Are you still not satisfied with the chaos?"

  Qin Miao was shocked, he was originally a man of few words, usually gentle and courteous to her, but today he completely lost his temper because of that woman. What about his demeanor? What about his bearing? Had he forgotten all about them?

  The pent-up frustration of many days was stirred up by him, like a crack in the ground that opened wider and wider.

  "Do you think I'm the one who actively sought out our ancestors to argue with them?! Do you really think that of me?!"

  Even if he didn't love her, at least after so many days of being together, she thought he should have some understanding of what kind of person she was. It turned out that she had been wrong all along, and he never understood her! No, maybe it's that he never planned to understand her in the first place!

  She didn't want to bother with Xie Xun anymore, as pointless excuses were never her style. She walked directly past Xie Xun's tall stature and into the courtyard, only to find a woman walking towards them with a smile.

  It was still early morning, and the night fog had not yet dispersed. The woman's figure emerged from the mist, her every move full of charm.

  "Is it you?!" Qin Miao was stunned. Wasn't this person the little girl she had met at the Ministry of War that day?

  The maidservant of Chaulu Yuan saw her master return and hurriedly wanted to go forward, but was preempted by the woman.

  "Xin Xiang pays her respects to the lady! As a young woman who has just entered the manor, I have not had the chance to see you before, so today I waited here specifically to pay my respects to you." Xin Xiang curtsied elegantly and glanced past Qin Miao with a charming smile, looking towards Xie Yan who was standing behind her.

  Such brazen provocation made Qin Miao lose his good temper after being stifled all morning.

  "How dare you! You're flirting with Master Hou right in front of me, who gave you the nerve?"

  Jingxiang did not expect Qin Miao to be so furious, thinking that since it was their first meeting, they should still leave some face. Little did she know, today she was out of luck and encountered the furious Qin Miao.

  "You're just a guest, don't cause trouble for no reason. Behave yourself, otherwise the Hou Manor has many ways to drive people away."

  After finishing speaking, she turned around with a proud face and quickly walked into the main house.

  Qin Xiang was ridiculed, her face was already unable to hold on, and Xie Yan was still in front of her. Her two packages of tears were even more difficult to hold back, and they fell down with a rustling sound.

  The beauty sheds tears, heart-wrenching, and her soft sobbing voice is even more heart-rending to the listener: "Lord Hou~~~~"

  "You go back first, don't wander around for no reason." Xie Yan brushed past her, leaving the words in the wind.

  Qin Xiang wiped away tears with her handkerchief, saw Xie Yun and didn't plan to comfort her a few words, extremely resentful and crying ran out of the Chao Lu courtyard.

  Qin Miao had just stepped into the main hall when Xie Yan followed closely behind. Mo He and Zi Xuan, the personal maidservants, saw that both masters were red-faced and didn't dare to come forward to persuade them.

  "Qin Miao, you are the lady of the marquis's manor, not one of those common women from the streets!"

  "Are you heartbroken because someone scolded you?"

  "You!"

  Xie Yun's face turned pale with anger: "You know I didn't mean it that way..."

  "What does that mean. She has already had deep feelings for you for a long time. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to great lengths to pretend to be the Marquis's person and deliver food to the Ministry of War, nor would she have given you flirtatious glances in front of me."

  "How did you know she had been to the Ministry of War..."

  "How was I supposed to know? Xie Yun, have you forgotten that day I went after her? Luckily, at the time, I thought she was just someone's wife, and didn't realize she was yours!"

  "She's not my person!" Xie Yun growled in a low voice, with an air of righteous indignation.

  "Alright, today I, Qin Miao, will trust you once again. You say it's not, then it's not. But if you go back on your word..."

  Qin Miao suddenly didn't know how to continue the sentence. If he really broke his promise, if he really had something with her, where would he go from here...

  She sat dazed on the soft couch, momentarily losing her bearings...