People are actually quite fragile in the face of fate. But fate doesn't always tease you, and often gives you a chance to realize your past misunderstandings about yourself after walking down a wrong path. However, there are also people who are not only stubborn but also biased, refusing to follow their destiny, ultimately leading to their downfall.

  The Osmanthus feast of Xie's mansion was held in a small garden between the main courtyard and the west garden.

  On this day, the weather was fine. In the garden, fragrant flowers were in full bloom, and the scent filled the air. In a pavilion by the water, Old Lady Xie sat in the main seat, with guests from all directions sitting around her, chatting and laughing with the old lady. And Xie Wei was seated next to Old Lady Xie's closest position.

  Today, all the women who came were from respectable families in Yangcheng, and their conversations were all polite and courteous. The old lady had not been so lively for a long time, and throughout the whole process, she was smiling and laughing, looking very happy.

  However, among the ladies who came, many of them were hiding a curious heart. What are they curious about? Naturally, it's about the wife of Xie Houye, who is still in the midst of the storm in Jiangdu City. But unfortunately, the host who sent out the invitation has yet to appear until now. These curious people have long been craning their necks and straining their eyes in anticipation.

  Finally, someone impatient asked, "We've been here for so long, yet we still haven't seen the host of this banquet."

  The banquet was arranged by Madame Hou, and the invitation was also issued by her. However, after waiting for a long time, the host still did not appear.

  The old lady put down the teacup in her hand and said with a smile: "It's really made you all wait for a long time. My daughter-in-law is indeed hardworking, when she first married my son, she was busy with everything inside and out. Now that we're in Xunyang, she has her own shop, and it's even busier. She must still be busy now, she greeted me early this morning and asked me to chat with you all for a while. But it's also hard on you all, I can only chat with you."

  As soon as he finished speaking, he loudly ordered Xie Wei to bring up the newly baked Osmanthus cake, Osmanthus pastry and Osmanthus wine.

  Everyone listened and looked, the old lady's eyebrows were kind and gentle, and when she mentioned Mrs. Hou, she had a proud attitude. If someone came in halfway through and didn't hear everything, they would have thought she was praising her own granddaughter. The hostess spoke of this, and all the ladies followed suit, with some people even flattering her with a few words, saying that Mrs. Hou was a capable person and thanking Old Lady Xie for her good fortune.

  Madam Zhang of the Fu Tai Mansion did not attend today, but she still sent someone over. As she was only a concubine and normally couldn't appear in large gatherings, all the seated ladies thought that no one from the Fu Tai Mansion had come.

  So during the break, someone finally couldn't hold back their curiosity and quietly chatted with a close female friend about today's top gossip in town.

  "Look, no one from the Zhang family came today, did you notice?"

  "I took a look around as soon as I came in and didn't see anyone."

  Another person stepped forward, whispering with a smile: "She's probably not going to be able to leave the house for a long time. Saying she's sick, who believes that? The mansion has lost so much face, it's truly unheard of."

  "But, however... Zhang Daren, you said that such a refined and elegant person could actually... do something so despicable."

  "Keep your voice down, after all that official has a high position and great power, be careful not to implicate your family."

  “……”

  It was originally a few scattered women gathering together to whisper, as the topic heated up and more people joined in. Three or five of them, it was actually enjoyable for the old lady to listen to.

  When everyone was freely discussing the jokes of Zhang's mansion, it didn't occur to them that today Zhang's mansion actually had a female relative come, but she was just a concubine. A concubine does not enter the main hall, this is the etiquette of people with status. Therefore, many madams and young ladies have never seen this person before. This person also knew her place, found a secluded corner, sat quietly drinking tea, did not talk to people much, but silently observed the movements in the water pavilion.

  Xin Xiang held a warm teacup, sitting quietly. She was waiting for someone, the woman who looked down on her and wanted to pull her off her horse.

  As the ladies thought, Mrs. Zhang had been staying indoors ever since and was too ashamed to see anyone. In fact, it wasn't just Mrs. Zhang; Lord Zhang had also taken a leave of absence, citing a relapse of his old injury. The concubines in the mansion were also suppressed by Lord Zhang and were not allowed to have unauthorized contact with outsiders, all of them were forbidden from going out for leisure.

  But she still came, with the invitation card handed over from Xie's house to Zhang's house, and she came in a grand manner. This is where Quanxiang excels, she has the skills to make Lord Zhang open the way for her, and also make Lady Zhang helpless.

  She can only come today, she must come. Because she knows that Zhang's reputation has been damaged and the Xie family will not stand idly by, they will definitely make a big deal out of it. At that time, whether Zhang can still be called Zhang or not is uncertain. So, taking advantage of the opportunity, she doesn't mind taking the risk of self-destruction, directly taking action. As long as she can make Qin Miao uncomfortable and humiliate the Xie family, her own situation is no longer a consideration.

  Just as she was waiting quietly, there was a commotion on the corridor in front of the waterside pavilion. A group of maids and servant girls, arranged in two rows, were surrounding a young woman who was walking slowly towards them.

  "I'm really sorry everyone, I'm late, I'm late, I apologize to everyone!" Before the person arrived, a clear and powerful voice floated into the pavilion first.

  Everyone heard the sound and came, all looking at Qin Miao. Her skin was as tender as jade, her face like an egg, wearing a light yellow shirt with a moon-shaped gauze. Her eyes were smiling, her cherry lips pale, her petite figure delicate yet not lacking in grandeur. This was the first impression of the ladies on Madam Hou.

  Everyone's eyes gathered and Qin Miao smiled and nodded. However, when she swept her gaze to the unremarkable corner of the book, the corners of her mouth involuntarily curled up slightly, calm and confident. And Xingxiang, who met her gaze, felt a little guilty for a moment. But Xingxiang was also a person with a strong personality, and soon calmed down.

  "Anu, come here!" The old lady saw Qin Miao enter and hurriedly beckoned her to come over. "You're sweating heavily, look at this sweat."

  It's still hot outside and she's a hot-tempered person, rushing all the way here, her forehead is indeed sweating. The old lady took out her own handkerchief and wiped it for her again and again.

  Xie Wei happened to pass her a cup of tea and said with a smile: "Help you cool down, drink it quickly!"

  This was a usual scene when the three of them were together, but it drew suspicion from many of the women present, and even more envy.

  As a married-out daughter, who doesn't want to get along with her mother-in-law and have a harmonious relationship between grandparents and grandchildren, as well as be close with her sister-in-law? But good fortune is indeed something that can only be envied.

  Everyone says that the old lady is kind and loving, today I saw her, she's really as kind as Guanyin! A woman emotionally expressed everyone's thoughts, although it's a bit exaggerated to compare her to Guanyin Bodhisattva, but roughly that's what people mean.

  "It's not, my family's ancestors loved the younger generation. In the future, ladies and girls will come to our house more often, come and go frequently, grandma will be very happy. Is that right, grandma?" Qin Miao continued with the words of the lady.

  Repeatedly saying "understood, got it" and other similar phrases of apology for troubling someone.

  Qin Miao took the opportunity to wink at the old lady, who immediately understood and pulled her hand, patting it gently as she said: "Look at you, you've lost some weight, not like when you first came, with that round little head. Alas, if I were to make you thinner, your grandmother would surely argue with me."

  Qin Miao pretended to be innocent: "How could that be? You don't know my grandmother's temperament, do you? She has a sharp tongue but a soft heart."

  "That's true, I've never been able to outtalk your grandmother. However... " The old lady suddenly paused and smiled to herself, "She always ended up giving in to me..."

  This was a banquet hosted by the Xie family for their guests, which should have been a joyful occasion with pleasant conversations. However, as soon as Qin Miao entered, it turned into a duet between her and the old lady, with only the two of them chatting and joking like grandmother and granddaughter. What's even stranger is that the other guests didn't find it boring at all, listening to their conversation which was sometimes moving, sometimes humorous, they felt warmth and no longer had any doubts, instead they felt more admiration.

  Xie Wei carefully observed the various reactions of the people below, secretly applauding in her heart. Suddenly, she gave a glance to the grandfather and grandson duo, praising them.

  It turns out that Qin Xiaoniang's maternal family and the Xie family have a deep connection. From their conversation, it is not difficult to see that this little girl's marriage to Xie Houye was also decided from an early age, and it was a perfect match. It seems that the rumors circulating in the streets about Qin Niangzi seducing Zhang Fudai but failing, and then flirting with Xie Houye, were purely nonsense. Without considering the relationship between the Qin and Xie families, just looking at Mr. Zhang's behavior, one can guess that the rumor was just a rumor and not credible.

  Qin Miao saw that the fire was almost ready, and smiled at Old Lady, then turned to invite the guests to drink tea and wine, changing the subject. For example, women's favorite topics such as clothes, makeup, and jewelry. This was again her forte, and when she got excited, she simply let the maids bring out the good things she had collected one by one to share with everyone, causing a stir among the crowd.

  Don't mention Xingxiang waiting, Qin Miao is also waiting. Just now at the banquet, she said so much, but Xingxiang didn't make a move. In her heart, she was somewhat relieved for Xingxiang's sake. After all, no matter what Xingxiang wanted to do, in Qin Miao's eyes, it would be an unwise move of "螳臂当车".

  Ke Qin Miao hoped she would settle down from now on, but Jin Xiang didn't want to give herself a chance to settle down.

  Qin Xiang had met the old lady before, and the old lady was very pleased. With a gentle swaying of her willow waist and a gait that seemed to produce lotus flowers, her face showed three parts weakness and seven parts charm, she rose from that inconspicuous corner and walked in front of Old Lady Xie, making a deep curtsy with great elegance and poise.

  The old lady and Xie Wei were both startled, and they looked at Qin Miao together. Since Xiangxiang quietly left the Xie residence on her own, neither of them had seen this person before.

  Later, Qin Miao mentioned it once in the letters back and forth, informing her of the whole story. The old lady immediately felt that Xie Yan's handling was perfect, neither disappointing An Nuan nor failing to live up to the legacy of a loyal minister. However, she never expected to run into this person again today.

  Both of them were somewhat frightened afterwards, but Qin Miao's expression remained calm and composed as usual.

  "Xiangxiang, it's been a long time. Since that day we parted ways, I don't know where you went, why didn't you say goodbye to us before leaving?" Qin Miao sat beside Old Lady, with a calm and collected face, speaking as if discussing household chores, the smile on her lips not diminishing in the slightest, making people feel very concerned and courteous.

  However, Qin Miao is not used to such elegance and fragrance. Humph, pretending to be elegant!

  She didn't want to bother Qin Miao, she just wanted to state what was on her mind one by one to the old lady and the various onlookers present.

  "Does madam still remember me? I thought that since madam has been away from the mansion for two years, traveling alone outside, she would have forgotten that there is someone like me in the mansion?"

  As soon as this was said, the women all showed surprise and suspicion in their eyes. Leave the mansion? Alone? Still wandering around? This means that the madam of the marquis's manor had not been in the manor, could it be that she went to a temple to cultivate her mind? This is something that often happens in official families, but for someone so young to go and cultivate their mind, isn't it just because they've done something wrong? Thinking carefully again, just now this little girl called Quanxiang also mentioned that the madam was wandering around outside, how can a person cultivating their mind be wandering around?

  Everyone was filled with worries and speculations. Xiang saw the few people in front of her, all frowning and thinking deeply, obviously having doubts.

  Once you have doubts, you will investigate. Once you investigate and it sounds reasonable, then that is the fact.

  Qin Miao, you think that after running away for two years, you're very carefree. Can you really still be the steady and calm lady of this marquis's manor? A merchant's daughter is just a merchant's daughter, how can she understand the rules and thoughts of a noble family?