Chapter 14

After visiting the governor's residence, Xiao Chuan borrowed Zhao Tianhe's steward and a head maid from Zhao's household.

The two were very enthusiastic, and in just one day, after Mi Yao finished eating and went out for a walk to digest her food, the Xiao residence began to take shape.

After Zhao Tianhe took over the Shu region, he changed the governors of several prefectures countless times. Now, Zhao Tianhe concurrently serves as the governor of Yizhou. He already had a mansion, so he gave the governor's mansion to Xiao Chuan.

I wonder if giving the governor's mansion to Xiao Chuan could be considered a waste.

The mansion has four courtyards, and everywhere you can see the luxurious and refined tastes of its former owner.

On her first day there, she was amazed by the mansion's eaves adorned with glass lotus flowers and its carved porch.

But upon entering the mansion, one sees Taihu stones covered in dust, a stagnant pond of withered lotus leaves, and rows of neglected and half-dead flowers and plants along the winding corridor.

She knew that this place was just a place for Xiao Chuan to stay, and he didn't care what the scenery was like in the mansion.

Since the host family didn't mind, she, as a stranger staying overnight, naturally wouldn't cause any trouble.

She only thought that after marrying Xiao Chuan, she would slowly tidy up the places she could see.

Seeing the mansion transformed under the steward's management, she wanted to applaud herself; she had indeed given Xiao Chuan a great suggestion.

I wonder if Xiao Chuan can keep the two stewards at the Xiao residence for a little longer. The New Year is coming soon and there are still a lot of things to take care of in the mansion. If no one is in charge, she will probably just hoard food and clothing for herself and won't care about the others in the mansion.

"I'm so glad to see Lady Yu. I hope she is well."

Pan, who was standing next to the head maid, saw Mi Yao leading Xiao Shan towards them and took the initiative to go and greet them. "Ninth Brother and I are adopted siblings. Ninth Brother is going to marry Lady Yu. Father asked me to come and see if there is anything I can do to help Ninth Brother."

Pan had seen Mi Yao in her previous life, and she was still amazed by Mi Yao's beauty when she saw her again.

She considered herself to be quite beautiful, but compared to Mi Yao, her beauty paled in comparison. Both had flawless, fair skin, but Mi Yao's whiteness was different from the others.

Like snow, like jade, like a fairy in a dream.

And her thick, jet-black hair—perhaps the climate and environment of Jiangnan were particularly nurturing, making Yu Nu so exquisite in every way.

Perhaps because she had something on her mind, the more Madam Pan looked at Mi Yao, the more she felt that she seemed different from her previous life.

In her previous life, Mi Yao was beautiful, but she was only a beauty in the mortal realm. Now, however, she is so beautiful that she seems unreal.

Thinking about it, Madam Pan looked at Xiao Shan next to Mi Yao. Xiao Shan was wearing a brocade hat with auspicious beasts, and two thin braids hung down from the hat. He was holding a small hand warmer and his eyes were shining as he looked around, finding everything new and interesting.

In her previous life, she was busy remarrying and didn't pay attention to anything about the Xiao family.

So we don't know what Yu Nu's relationship with Xiao Shan was when she first came to the Xiao family. So, did Yu Nu not dislike Xiao Shan at the beginning?

Or perhaps this method was used to lower Xiao Chua's guard, so that she could entrust the child to her with peace of mind.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mrs. Ma."

The Pan family was more particular about the etiquette of being a guest than the Ma family mother and daughter, so Mi Yao already knew that she was coming to help. She curtsied to her and then planned to change direction and continue her walk.

But it was clear that Pan hadn't said enough to Mi Yao.

“From now on, Yu Niang can treat me as an older sister. If there is anything inconvenient, just tell me. I felt an instant connection with Yu Niang, and we should visit each other more often in the future.”

When Mi Yao heard Madam Pan say that she felt a connection with her, but did not praise her beauty, she knew that Madam Pan did not truly feel a connection with her.

The most praiseworthy thing about her is her face. If a woman wanted to befriend her, she would definitely mention it and praise her to get closer. But Madam Pan deliberately ignored it. No matter what Madam Pan's intentions were, she felt that the two of them did not need to have much contact.

With a slight smile, Mi Yao replied politely, "Of course."

"Shan'er, your Tiger Head brother has come with his aunt. Would you like to play with him?"

Noticing that Mi Yao wasn't very enthusiastic, Madam Pan half-squatted down and spoke gently to Xiao Shan.

As soon as she mentioned the tiger's head, Xiao Shan frowned and took a step back, hiding behind Mi Yao.

Upon seeing this, Madam Pan was stunned.

Grandma Ma often said that the Xiao family children had a good relationship with Ma Hu, and that if Xiao Shan grew up and wasn't too stupid, she would arrange a marriage between Ma Hu and Xiao Shan.

It now seems that Granny Ma didn't tell the truth at all.

"But did Brother Tiger bully Shan'er? Shan'er, tell your aunt, and your aunt will punish him for you."

Xiao Shan remained hidden behind Mi Yao. Seeing that Madam Pan kept talking to her, she looked up pleadingly and blinked, hoping that Mi Yao would help her deal with the situation.

Seeing how cute she was, Mi Yao reached out and picked her up.

However, she regretted it as soon as she picked her up. Even though Xiao Shan wasn't heavy, the thick clothes she was wearing added a lot of weight to her, making it a bit of a pain to hold her.

So she handed the little radish to Shiya, who had practiced carrying a basin, without hesitation.

Seeing Mi Yao's undisguised disdain, Madam Pan sneered inwardly. Yu Nu was no different from her previous life's perception of her—arrogant and spoiled, even her acting was poor and full of flaws.

“Shan’er is easily embarrassed. She was too shy to answer Madam Ma’s question. I’ll ask her privately later. If Young Master Ma has done anything to bully Shan’er, I’ll tell Madam Ma then.”

Mi Yao didn't try to gloss over the matter by saying that Xiao Shan hadn't been bullied. Instead, she planned to ask Xiao Shan privately if he had really been bullied. If Pan Shi, as his mother, was truly impartial, why was she pretending to be magnanimous?

"That's how it should be."

Pan agreed without taking it seriously, but who would have thought that a moment later, her son’s cries were deafening. She rushed to the scene and just happened to see Granny Ma grabbing Xiao Liang by the collar, her hand raised high, clearly about to hit him.

"stop!"

"If you dare to lay a hand on me, don't expect to leave the Xiao family unscathed today."

Mi Yao's threat was uttered at the same time as Pan's.

After parting ways with Madam Pan, Mi Yao originally planned to balance work and rest, going back to her room to lie down for a while after walking around for a while.

On her way back, she bumped into Xiao Liang's nanny, who was wandering around like a headless fly. She knew that something must have happened to Xiao Liang. Since Xiao Yi was away at school and not at home, and no one was protecting Xiao Liang, she asked him what had happened.

"Why aren't you letting her loosen your master's clothes!"

Mi Yao glanced at the Xiao family servants who were hiding to the side, letting Xiao Liang be dragged along, and said sternly.

As soon as she finished speaking, with Shuanghua taking the lead, the other servants of the Xiao family immediately pried open Granny Ma's hands, restoring Xiao Liang's freedom.

"Mother……"

Xiao Liang didn't dare let Mi Yao see the tears on his face. He wiped them away hastily with his sleeve before sniffling and calling out to Mi Yao.

"come over."

Seeing that Granny Ma was about to throw a tantrum, Mi Yao said to Xiao Liang.

Xiao Liang hesitated for a moment, then walked to Mi Yao's side.

As soon as he arrived, Xiao Shan struggled to get down from Shi Ya's arms and took a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe his tears.

"Shan'er..."

Xiao Liang was about to stop crying, but when he touched his sister's fingers wiping his tears, he couldn't help but open his mouth and burst into tears again.

"What's going on, A-Jia? Why are you, an adult, arguing with Xiao Erlang?"

Seeing Xiao Erlang's appearance, Madam Pan felt a headache coming on.

Today, when she came to the Xiao residence, Granny Ma insisted on coming along. However, upon seeing that the person in charge of the Xiao family's affairs was the steward of the military governor's residence, she realized that there was no benefit to be gained and so Granny Ma turned and left.

She thought Granny Ma had left the Xiao residence, but little did she know she had gone to Xiao Liang's courtyard to show off her power.

"Look what he's done to Tiger Head!"

Even when Mi Yao arrived, Grandma Ma didn't think she had done anything wrong, pointing to her grandson sitting on the chair next to her.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Ma Hu raised his right cheek, letting everyone see his face, which had been hit by Xiao Liang but had no marks left. He also pulled down his pants, letting everyone see the red marks on his legs that were almost gone.

"Xiao Erlang hit me, so Grandmother should beat him to death!"

After saying that, he jumped off the stool, intending to pull Xiao Liang out from behind Mi Yao.

Shiya and the others naturally wouldn't let him get close to Mi Yao.

Tiger Head, unable to break free after his arm was grabbed, glared at Mi Yao and said, "You vixen, I'll beat you to death too!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Mi Yao stepped forward and slapped him across the face.

The crisp sound echoed in the courtyard. Mi Yao did not hold back just because the child was a child. After hitting her, she spread out her numb and hot hands and let the wind cool them down.

"What kind of upbringing is this? Are you here as a guest or to run wild?"

"You shameless woman, how dare you hit my grandson."

Mi Yao's slap not only stunned Ma Hu, but also left the others in the courtyard speechless. Granny Ma was the first to react, raising her hand and rushing towards Mi Yao, wanting to stand up for her grandson.

"Why aren't you stopping them?"

Fearing that Granny Ma might go mad and injure her own maid, Mi Yao looked at the servants serving in the courtyard, especially Xiao Liang's nanny.

Once Mi Yao's gaze fell upon them, the group had no choice but to stop her.

But they didn't dare offend Granny Ma, so although they managed to stop her, they were slapped several times.

"Several people can't even stop one person, they're completely useless. I don't know why Xiao Lang would keep you in the manor to serve him."

After Mi Yao finished speaking, the group became much more energetic, and Granny Ma's hair was pulled out of shape, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Oh no! Murder! This wicked woman has murdered someone! Help!"

Pan was stunned, not expecting things to develop this way so quickly.

She didn't want to deal with Granny Ma, but she couldn't ignore her son's deafening cries. She pulled Ma Hu aside and looked at the handprint on his cheek.

Even if she didn't care about this son, she still felt embarrassed by being beaten.

"No matter what, Madam Yu should not have laid a hand on a child."

“He insulted me. Am I supposed to be powerless and let him insult me? If you feel sorry for him being beaten, you should teach him properly and not let him grow up to be a stupid person who can take a beating. Hitting him would be too tiring for my hands.”

As she spoke, Mi Yao shook her hand in disgust, showing no intention of being diplomatic.

“The child didn’t mean it, you’re an adult and shouldn’t have taken it to heart… and you hit him so hard, Tiger Head is only four years old.”

Noticing the subtle change in Pan's tone and the sudden welling of tears in her eyes, Mi Yao turned around as if she had noticed something.

Before anyone could react, she had already run up to Xiao Chuan's crimson and gold-embroidered robe, grabbed his sleeve and gently shook it. Though there were no tears in her eyes, her watery eyes were overflowing with grievance: "Waaah, Xiao Lang, someone bullied me and even cursed me with the most nasty words."

As he spoke, he opened his palm.

"Look, my hands are all red, it hurts so much."

Xiao Chuan looked down at the woman's fair and delicate palm. It was indeed red, but he couldn't tell if it was from an injury or swelling, or simply from being reddened by the wind.