"Dahuai Village? You mean you're going to the Wei family?"

Wei Jingnian's voice unconsciously rose a few decibels; he was more than willing, as he had always been a lively person.

Upon hearing that the two girls planned to go to Dahuai Village, he started talking non-stop, saying, "Dahuai Village is far from Pingnan Village, not much closer than Fushui Village. It takes a whole day to go there and back. You definitely won't be able to finish in one day. Why don't you stay at my house for a while?"

"Although my cook isn't very good at cooking, his soups are alright. You can try them when the time comes. If you decide to go, I'll write to my father right away and tell him to prepare well. He definitely won't treat you two badly."

Before the two women could respond, Wei Jingnian was already overwhelmed by their enthusiasm.

Wang Xueru hesitated and said, "It's not impossible, but I need to discuss it with my parents first."

Although the Wang couple had spoiled and pampered her since she was a child, and basically granted her every wish, it would not be good for the girl's reputation to let her go out and stay overnight at other people's houses.

Sure enough, when Master Wang heard about this, he was the first to disagree. "Xue Ru, you're being ridiculous! How can a young lady stay overnight at a man's house? Although I know you have feelings for Jing Nian, this is still unacceptable!"

"Dad, I went to take care of important business, it's not what you think!" Wang Xueru said coquettishly.

Wang Shicheng sighed, feeling helpless towards his daughter, and said earnestly, "Xueru, if this gets out, how will you ever get married? What if that Wei Jingnian has second thoughts?"

He thought his daughter had come up with this self-degrading idea to win Wei Jingnian's heart, and he strongly disagreed with it.

Wang Xueru rubbed her forehead and said seriously, "Father, that's not true. Although I admire Brother Jingnian, I have always followed the family precepts since I was a child. This trip to Dahuai Village was to prepare a birthday gift for my godmother."

"Why don't you just have the servants take care of these trivial matters?" Wang Shicheng asked, puzzled.

Wang Xueru disagreed. "Father, my godmother has always treated me well. This time, for her birthday, I will do everything myself. When she sees my heartfelt wishes, she will definitely be even happier. If I let the servants do everything, what does it have to do with me?"

"Besides, as long as we keep our godmother happy, it will only benefit our Wang family. Can those rumors outside drown our daughter?"

These words truly resonated with Wang Shicheng. Unlike others, most businessmen inherited their businesses from their fathers, benefiting from their ancestors' legacy. But he had worked his way up from a shop assistant in a caravan to where he was today.

Back then, he finally managed to marry the prefect's wife, which provided Xue Ru with such a powerful backer. In the future, when it comes to marriage, she won't be looked down upon because of her social status.

After much deliberation, Wang Shicheng looked at his daughter with only helplessness in his eyes. "If you insist on doing this, then I'll choose a maid to accompany you, and I'll feel at ease."

“Father, Miss Sun is traveling with me,” Wang Xueru explained.

Wang Shicheng still objected, "That won't do either. We should at least pick someone you're comfortable with to serve you. What if the maids from the Wei family don't understand your preferences?"

"Father, just one day!"

Not even for one day!

No matter how stubborn Wang Xueru was, she couldn't out-stubborn Wang Shicheng, and in the end, she assigned A Cui to help take care of her daughter.

Once the matter was settled, the group hurriedly packed their belongings and met in the front hall.

"Have you found a carriage yet?"

This was what Wei Jingnian cared about most. He still vividly remembered his experience of riding in an oxcart last time he came. In the middle of the night, the memory of that time, which was worse than death, would wake him up.

Sun Miao'er covered her mouth and laughed, suggesting that the experience must have frightened Young Master Wei quite a bit.

Wang Xueru had already made all the preparations and said, "Don't worry, the carriage is covered with cushions and the cooks in the manor have made some snacks. I guarantee you'll arrive at the Wei family home in comfort."

The carriage was waiting at the back door. After all, it was an unmarried woman going out, so it was not appropriate to make a big fuss or be too ostentatious.

Sun Miao'er stepped onto the stool and was just lifting the curtain when she heard a voice behind her.

"Where is Miao'er going? Aren't you taking your teacher with you?"

Fu Yuchi leaned against the door frame, looking at her with a nonchalant expression and raising an eyebrow.

Sun Miao'er turned around abruptly and blurted out, "Master!"

Wang Xueru peeked out from behind the curtain and exclaimed in surprise, "Mr. Fu is here too?"

"Yes, Miss Wang, I was entrusted by Miao'er's grandmother to protect her safety. Dahuai Village is so far away. What if we encounter bad guys on the way? Fortunately, I, Fu, know a little bit of martial arts. I can fight back against bad guys. These days, the world is not peaceful."

“Then let’s go together. Mr. Fu is very knowledgeable and experienced, it would be good for him to come along,” Wang Xueru said readily.

Wei Jingnian was not happy to hear this, and said quietly from the carriage: "Who knows Dahuai Village better than me? Our Wei family has been in Dahuai Village for dozens of generations."

"Okay, okay, Brother Jingnian, we're all counting on you to show us the way!"

Wang Xueru responded.

Fu Yuchi got into the carriage and naturally sat down next to Sun Miao'er. Wei Jingnian and Wang Xueru sat opposite them. There was a small tea table in the middle of the carriage with some snacks on it.

Sun Miao'er had never ridden in a carriage before, and it was indeed much more comfortable than an oxcart. However, with four people sharing the carriage, it was quite stuffy, so she could only lift the curtain with her hand to let the wind in.

Wei Jingnian's mouth never stopped throughout the journey, either introducing the local customs and culture of Dahuai Village or explaining the relationships within the Wei family to them.

After all, there were just too many people in the Wei family.

Sun Miao'er hadn't taken it seriously when Aunt Liang talked about the concubine in the Wei family, but now that Wei Jingnian was telling her, she was surprised.

“My grandfather had a total of eight children, four boys and four girls. However, only my father and my aunt were born to my grandmother. The others were born to my aunts and do not count. My youngest uncle is only two years older than me.”

Sun Miao'er remembered that a few years ago, the old man Wei had helped Jin's father buy a concubine. He was really vigorous in his old age. With his grandson about to get married and have children, the old man Wei still had such leisure time.

"Speaking of my grandfather's concubines, there were so many. If you count those who died of illness or ran away, you could count them on two hands."

Wang Xueru listened with great interest, "My family has enough to handle with just one concubine, Aunt Qin. Brother Jingnian, how could your grandfather possibly manage with so many concubines?"

"We have to deal with it even if we can't, because he likes it!" Wei Jingnian said.

Sun Miao'er knew that Wang Xueru was using a diversionary tactic—and sure enough, she immediately asked, "Then Brother Jingnian wouldn't be like that too?"

"How could that be! Sons don't resemble their fathers. Look at my dad, how devoted he is, he only has my mother!" Wei Jingnian hurriedly explained, afraid of ruining his image as a virtuous gentleman.