Chapter 9

Without the annoying chatter around her, Mi Yao felt much more at ease.

However, her carefree state was disrupted again that evening.

After dinner, Mi Yao took a leisurely stroll around the mansion before deciding to continue reading the books she hadn't finished.

Hearing a noise at the door, she thought it was Shuanghua and the others. But when she felt someone standing by the bed, she turned her head and saw a chubby little boy wearing a red coat and a mink hat, staring at her.

Mi Yao: "..."

She craned her neck to look outside and asked, "Where's your wet nurse? Why are you running around like this so late at night?"

She had no intention of playing the role of a caring stepmother. After arriving, she immediately had the Xiao family's small kitchen cleaned up and ate meals separately from the Xiao family's children.

Xiao Shan didn't come to find her during this time, and she thought the Little Radish incident was over.

Who knew that she would come over again when it was time for bed, and she was clearly sneaking over without telling her brothers.

Xiao Shan nimbly climbed onto Mi Yao's bed, tucked himself into the quilt, wrapped his short arms around Mi Yao's waist, and bumped into her arms.

Mi Yao looked down at the little head that was nestled in her arms, startled by the softness, and happily rubbing against her.

I have so much to say, but I don't know where to begin.

When she cherished her new body, she thought that it was good that Xiao Chuan was born a widow and had a physical defect that made him unwilling to be intimate with women. What if she didn't hate him like the original owner did, and he consummated the marriage with her in the conventional way?

His delicate, fair skin and shapely, soft flesh were all his to enjoy.

Although she knew that being a "vase" (a pretty face but no substance) always comes at a price, she still felt awkward and occasionally thought about how to avoid getting close to the two of them.

After meeting Xiao Chuan in person, she was quite satisfied with his appearance and physical condition, and her resentment at being taken advantage of lessened considerably; she simply considered it a mutual benefit.

She's so calculating with those who provide her with food and drink, so now that Little Radish is taking advantage of her, shouldn't she be even more determined to settle accounts?

Mi Yao pinched Xiao Shan's cheek, which kept rubbing against her chest.

"You scared me so much that I didn't even wash my face with goat milk tonight, why are you still clinging to me?"

Xiao Shan looked up at Mi Yao blankly, taking her physical touch as affection, and continued to rub his head against the back of her hand, revealing his white teeth.

A child's face has a more unique texture than tofu; it's pink, smooth, and slightly chewy, yet so soft and cuddly that you can't help but love to touch it.

"Why are you acting like a little puppy..."

Afraid that she might hurt Xiao Shan's delicate face by pinching her, Mi Yao didn't dare to use too much force and let go after pinching her once.

"So why is that? I didn't hug you or smile at you, so why do you like me? Is this some kind of cheat code? If so, it's a really useless cheat code."

Mi Yao picked up the little radish from beside her, placed her on the quilt, and observed her expression face to face.

She wanted to know why Xiao Shan was so close to her.

But the silly little girl sitting opposite her, with a bright smile, was only three years old and couldn't speak yet. Even if she interrogated her fiercely, she couldn't get anything out of her.

"You came to see me because I have some delicious snacks?"

If she wanted some snacks, it was easy. She leisurely bought a lot of delicious snacks from various places, taking advantage of the fact that food can be stored for a long time in winter.

They even bought several recipes for the chef to study.

Unfortunately, Little Radish nodded and then shook his head, before hugging her neck and nuzzling her.

Little Radish couldn't speak, but Mi Yao could tell from his actions that Little Radish wanted to eat some snacks, but he came to find her because of her. In Little Radish's heart, she was more important than the snacks.

"So why is that?"

Mi Yao lowered her eyes to examine Xiao Luobo's appearance and clothing. The nanny of the Xiao family was not very responsible in taking care of the child, but she was quite serious about taking care of the child's clothing and hygiene.

During the day and now, Xiao Luobo is dressed in high-quality silk, and her body smells soft and fragrant. It is obvious that the servants of the Xiao family may neglect Xiao Luobo because she has no mother, but they dare not be cruel or abusive.

This confused her even more. It wasn't that he was suffering and asking for help, so it was just that he simply liked her?

"Could it be that your brothers are afraid you'll upset your stepmother, so they're just trying to scare you in front of her? You're too young to understand, so you're afraid of me and trying to please me this way?"

Without any concrete clues, Mi Yao could only hold Xiao Shanyuan's rolling body and guess wildly.

She had a good memory, so she clearly remembered that in the book, the original owner didn't like Xiao Chuan's three children, and the three children were afraid of her and avoided her.

The book does not describe the plot involving Xiao Shan sticking to the original owner.

"Is my wife speaking to me?"

Shuanghua was tidying up in the side room when she heard a noise inside. She went in and saw that the quilt on the bed was bulging and there was a small person in Miyao's arms.

"What brings you here, young lady?"

"She walked over by herself. It looks like the nanny washed her face and feet, and then she sneaked out of bed."

"Should I take the young lady back, or should I tell the wet nurse and wait until the young lady falls asleep?"

Seeing that Mi Yao didn't seem to reject Xiao Shan and even seemed to like him, Shuang Hua felt both strange and at ease.

In the past, the master liked Huan Langjun, but later she stopped liking him and became much colder. Now she is kind to Xiao Xiaoniangzi and seems to have a bit more of a living presence, which makes those who serve her close at hand feel a little more relaxed in her presence.

"Go tell them to go to sleep first, then we'll talk."

It was late at night, and Mi Yao didn't want to hear the child crying. After instructing Shuanghua, she looked at Xiao Luobo and said, "You can sleep here with me, but don't wet the bed. If you do, no matter how much you try to be naughty, don't expect me to let you sleep in my bed again."

Xiao Shan understood that he shouldn't wet the bed and that it was time to sleep. He nodded and lay down next to Mi Yao, looking like he was being a very good boy.

Mi Yao didn't want to interact with her, so she picked up a book.

After reading a few lines, she glanced to the side and saw that Xiao Shan was still looking at her with his eyes open, but his eyelids were drooping and he was keeping his eyes closed for longer and longer periods of time. She couldn't help but chuckle softly.

This makes falling asleep so easy.

"My elder sister actually kept that little girl. I don't know what she was thinking. She's just a little girl who can't speak. She just hugged her and wouldn't let go, and she softened!"

Upon hearing that Xiao Shan had come to see Mi Yao again, and that Mi Yao had even arranged for someone to sleep in her bed, Yu Xiu said with dissatisfaction.

If it's my brother-in-law's biological child, fine, but if it's not his own, why spoil him like that?

Living in the Yu family, she understood all too well the competition for resources among siblings, so she worried that Mi Yao was too devoted to the three younger ones, and that they would turn against her when they grew up, making all of Mi Yao's kindness go to waste.

Shuanghua dared not respond to Yu Xiu's words. Yu Xiu's complaints were boring. Just then, she saw Xiao Shan's nanny coming to look for someone. She glared at her and said angrily, "You can't even keep an eye on a child. Letting her run to my sister's place all the time, I think you must have been bullying her behind her back because she can't speak properly. Otherwise, why would she be like this?"

Upon learning that his younger sister had run off, Xiao Yi also went out of his room to look for her. Hearing what Yu Xiu said, he paused and looked at his sister's nanny.

The three siblings lived in the same courtyard. Xiao Liang and Xiao Shan were still young, and each had a personal nanny to take care of them. The younger brother never said that his nanny treated him badly, but Shan'er couldn't speak, so it was hard to know what Nanny Fan was like to Shan'er in private.

“Miss Yu, I’m innocent! I’ve always taken good care of you. I just went to the outhouse, and who knew you would come here to see Madam? It must be that you’re close to Madam and want to see her all the time.”

“My elder sister is very strict. No matter what you did before, you must be loyal to your duties now. If there is a next time, see how my elder sister will punish you.”

Seeing Xiao Yi standing to the side, Yu Xiu remembered that he had caused her to be scolded by Mi Yao, and glared at him: "If you want to find your sister, go to my elder sister's house and ask her for her."

Yu Xiu wanted Xiao Yi to cause trouble for Mi Yao so that Mi Yao would know that the Xiao family children were annoying, but Xiao Yi was young but calm and knew that Mi Yao would not hurt her sister, so he did not go to find anyone and returned to his residence.

*

Mi Yao didn't know when she fell asleep, but she was woken up by being pressed down.

After groggily touching the little ball of flesh on her chest for a while, Mi Yao carefully placed it aside with her eyes closed.

After a moment, Mi Yao recovered and suddenly opened her eyes. Looking to the side, she saw that it was indeed Xiao Shan, whom she had taken away last night.

She clearly remembered that Xiao Shan had been carried back to his residence shortly after falling asleep on her bed, so why was he here again?

She glanced at the sky, which was not yet fully bright, and was too lazy to ask someone to carry her away again, so she generously gave her a small piece of the bed.

When Xiao Shan went missing this time, Granny Fan immediately made a scene.

Mi Yao's residence had guards at the gate, which prevented her from making a scene near the side room and waking Mi Yao.

When Shuanghua heard that Granny Fan had woken up both young masters, she couldn't help but think that the nanny was too stupid. Last night, Xiao Shan had sneaked into Mi Yao's room once, and if he didn't see her this morning, he was probably looking for Mi Yao.

If you find someone is not there, you should quietly come to the room to ask. You're afraid of making a mistake and causing trouble, waking up the young masters and making them worry. I really don't know if you came here to be a servant or a master.

After dismissing Granny Fan, Shuanghua went to check on Mi Yao and Xiao Xiaoniangzi, and seeing that they were sleeping soundly, she didn't disturb them.

After Bai Ri Mi Yao woke up and finished her breakfast, she told her about it.

Mi Yao usually doesn't have much of an appetite for her first meal of the morning, but with a little rascal sitting next to her who enjoys everything, she ate a couple more bites than usual.

She was initially in a relatively relaxed mood, but after hearing Shuanghua's words, she started to feel annoyed.

"Does the Xiao family have no one in charge?"

"There are nineteen servants in the mansion. There is no steward. When the servants have any disputes, the accountant is in charge and judges right and wrong."

A male protagonist who wants to achieve great things has such a messy home. No wonder he only found out after the original owner tormented his child to death.

Mi Yao had never considered that the Xiao family had no one in charge, and she immediately regretted being too harsh on Granny Luo.

If this were Luo Mama, she would definitely be happy to take charge of this matter, but if it were her, she would only want to be a vase and a lazy bum who doesn't care about anything and whose daily life is taken care of by the domineering male lead.

Mi Yao's gaze swept over the people in the room, finally landing on Little Radish, who was happily watching her after eating his fill.

Little Radish had a chubby face, and with the winter's heavy winter clothes, she originally thought Little Radish was a ball of meat.

But when she touched him on the bed, she found that Little Radish was neither thin nor fat; there was only a soft layer of flesh on the bones of his wrist.

Either this little radish is naturally thin and has this body shape, or the little radish has a good appetite here but doesn't usually eat well.

"If I find you a nanny you like, will you stop bothering me?"

Mi Yao leaned closer to Little Radish and proposed a deal.

Little Radish clearly didn't understand what she meant. He blinked and moved closer to Mi Yao, rubbing his face against hers.

Her soft face carried a scent similar to her own.

It wasn't just his face; after sleeping on her bed for a while, Xiao Luobo's whole body smelled pleasant to her, making her less and less averse to his closeness.

Realizing this, Mi Yao paused for a moment, assuming that Little Radish had not agreed.

So when Xiao Yi and the others came to pay their respects, she said to Xiao Yi, "Keep an eye on your sister. If the servants don't serve her properly, tell your father to handle it."

After saying that, he didn't care whether Shan Jie'er would cry or not, and let Xiao Yi and the others carry her away.

She didn't intend to take the blame herself, but that foolish old woman barged in, feeling wronged, and wanted her to shift the blame onto Shan Jie'er to clear the servant's name.