Wanruo was so desperate that she really wanted to break up with him.

Xie Xianyu pursed his lips and said, "I didn't mean to find fault."

Wanruo was stunned. Why did he suddenly become so bad-tempered?

"What did the Third Madam do?" he asked.

Wanruo blinked: "Third Madam? Is it a thief?"

He stared at her for a while. He rushed back because he heard that there was a burglary at home. She was the one who discovered the thief. He guessed that this person was probably not simple.

But since she was pretending to be nice to him, he didn't bother asking any more questions. It wasn't a big deal anyway, so he just let her do what she wanted.

She felt uneasy when he stared at her, and avoided his gaze: "If it's nothing else, I'll leave first..."

But he grabbed her arm and brought her back. He lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "Clean it up, don't let anyone catch you."

Then he let her go and strode out.

Wanruo stood there in a daze, turned around and looked at his departing back, feeling a little confused.

She thought she was very good at calculating people's hearts, but she could never see through Xie Xianyu.

She had indeed done something bad that day, and she thought he would interrogate the thieves strictly. After all, it concerned the reputation of the Xie family and was a serious matter. But he let them go lightly.

Instead, he was fussy about her secretly changing her lipstick.

Xie Xianyu returned to the banquet, and many people came up to him with wine glasses in hand, greeting him.

Although Xie Xianyu was only a young man in his thirties, he already held an important position in the imperial court. His successful handling of the Jiangnan salt tax case had made him even more famous, and naturally, many people wanted to flatter him.

Xie Xianyu was surrounded by the crowd and soon lost sight of Wanruo.

Wanruo did not stay at the banquet for long. She ate just two bites and went back. She had already done what she was supposed to do that day and did not have the time to force herself to join a banquet that did not belong to her.

The banquet finally ended when night fell.

"Xian'er." The eldest lady had just seen off the guests.

"Dear."

"What do you think of Xuejun?"

"It's up to you, dear." Xie Xianyu's expression changed, but he obviously didn't have the patience to talk about this.

His purpose in getting married was simply to select a wife for the clan. His mother had been a wife for half her life, so naturally she knew better than him who was suitable to choose.

The eldest lady continued, "What about the eldest master's only daughter, Princess Duanmin? The eldest master also values you very much, but I think the princess is a little too spoiled. I'm worried that she won't be able to shoulder the responsibilities of a clan wife when she marries into the family."

Xie Xianyu frowned slightly, remembering that he had met Princess Duanmin once in the palace. She was indeed arrogant. If she were to make the decision, Wanruo would probably have a hard time living.

"As a princess of the royal family, it's inevitable that she'll be involved in factional disputes. For example, when the crown prince was appointed, there were constant disturbances in the court. Few members of the royal family would get involved."

The eldest lady nodded: "If that's the case, the Jiang family is the most suitable. The Jiang family has always been loyal ministers and never involved in party disputes."

Xie Xianyu's eyes flashed with sarcasm, but he didn't say much. He simply said, "It's up to you, dear."

Xie Xianyu took his leave.

Watching his departing figure, the eldest lady had a complicated expression on her face as she murmured, "This child, the older he gets, the harder it is to see through him."

Zhu Qing stepped forward and said, "Since the eldest son is in the court, he will naturally be more calm than before. Madam, don't worry too much. When it comes to marriage, doesn't the eldest son let you make the decision?"

The eldest lady curled her lips and said, "Maybe I'm just overthinking it."

Xie Xianyu returned to Songheju with an uneasy look on his face, his eyes gloomy and the atmosphere depressing.

The servants were all waiting cautiously.

Qing'an came in with tea and asked tentatively, "How about I go and ask my cousin to come over?"