Liu Xiangning was completely bewildered—Master, I'm trying to help you! Besides, there are only a few people in this Marquis's mansion. Once the madam gets pregnant, who will do it if you don't?

Shen Mianmian glared at Liu Xiangning, then began to play the victim to the madam, "Madam, don't listen to her, I can't do it! Didn't I try before? I really can't! I can't even use an abacus!"

Ding said, “You can learn to use an abacus if you don’t know how. Have you forgotten how diligently you learned to write? I’ve seen your hard work.”

Chenmianmian really wants to cut off her own hand—you need to be more diligent! Why are you writing calligraphy practice books all the time?

"No, Madam, please listen to me. I wrote the calligraphy in order to... to pray for your well-being..."

Ding interrupted, "Then you can use the abacus to pray for me. Don't refuse. I can teach you if you don't know how. I'll teach you every day while I'm still a little pregnant."

Everyone knew that this showed the Madam's high regard for Concubine Shen, which also determined her position in the Marquis's mansion.

Chen Mianmian couldn't find a reason and could only accept it with tears in her eyes.

And so the matter was settled.

After practicing martial arts in the morning, Chen Mianmian will come to the main courtyard to learn how to manage the affairs of the manor. She will also eat lunch in the main courtyard and can only go back in the afternoon.

Ding was a man of action.

Immediately, Li Mama was ordered to take people to the Peony Courtyard to retrieve the shops that had been allocated to the young mistress and hand them over to Shen Mianmian.

Not only that, but they also distributed a lot of money, and told the outside world that the young mistress was unwell and could not manage the household affairs for the time being.

The news spread quickly throughout the Marquis's residence, and the servants were instantly in an uproar, knowing that the Marquis's residence was about to undergo a major change.

Is the young mistress unwell?

They didn't believe it. Everyone had eyes and saw that the young mistress returned unharmed. Moreover, she was so young, how could she have so many health problems?

There must have been some problem in the middle, otherwise why would she suddenly go back to her parents' house and stay for so long?

The gossip and discussions within the Marquis's residence are too numerous to recount here.

The Peony Courtyard, however, was completely quiet.

The once attentive servants have all disappeared. Even when they do work, they do it in a routine manner, without their previous enthusiasm.

Chu Xue returned in a huff, and as soon as she entered the room, she saw the young mistress reading a book.

Chu Yu quickly winked at Chu Xue, signaling her not to upset the young mistress.

Jiang Yinjin looked up. "What happened?"

"No...nothing happened..." Chu Xue stammered.

"Tell me, I'm not as fragile as you think." Jiang Yinjin smiled faintly, turning a page of her book, her eyes cold.

Chu Xue bit her lip. "Actually...it's really nothing, it's just...it's just...I was thinking of giving the kitchen to the young mistress..."

Jiang Yinjin interrupted, "Change your address. From now on, call me Miss."

"Yes, Miss," Chu Xue immediately corrected herself, "I just wanted the kitchen to make you a nourishing soup, but they said it wasn't mealtime and they couldn't cook. When I said I'd make it myself, they said it wasn't mealtime and they couldn't turn on the stove. It's outrageous!"

Jiang Yinjin understood. "Find someone to build a kitchen in the Peony Courtyard. We'll calculate the labor cost for them. We can just spend a little more. We'll treat this place as an inn."

Chu Xue stamped her foot in frustration, "Miss, why did we come back? We could have just told everyone you were sick, couldn't we?"

Jiang Yinjin paused for a moment, then put down her book, stood up and slowly walked to the window, looking at the desolate courtyard outside. "I have my reasons for coming back."

"but……"

Chu Yu ran over and tugged at Chu Xue's sleeve, which made Chu Xue shut up in grievance.

Jiang Yinjin turned around, looked at Chuxue crying, and laughed. "Fine, I'll tell you. I came back because I still need the status of the young mistress of the Marquis of Anning's mansion for the time being. I don't care how they treat me, since we're enemies anyway. They should pray that they never fall into my hands, otherwise, I won't let them have a good ending."

Chu Yu and Chu Xue were surprised—Miss still wants to use this identity?

They suddenly remembered that when they were at the Jiang residence, the young lady would occasionally conspire with the eldest young master in the study.

Why do I say it's a conspiracy?

Even if the eldest son and the young lady are siblings from the same parents, they are both adults and should avoid such contact.

Both of them were law-abiding and respectful people, yet they still did not allow outsiders to enter. Only the two of them were in the study. If it wasn't a secret plot, what was it?

The ladies had a plan, and they knew it.

Chu Yu whispered, "Let's not cause trouble for Miss. Let's go and find someone to build a kitchen."

...

That night.

The prince has returned, having drunk quite a bit of wine.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, the drunken prince insisted that his aunt help him up, and he wouldn't go into the room unless she did.

Helpless, Chen Mianmian could only go out and help the person inside.

Fortunately, Shen Mianmian practiced martial arts frequently, and although she was a woman, she was quite strong.

She finally reached the edge of the bed and was about to put the person on it when, for some reason, she plopped down on the bed herself, while the drunk man sat next to her, burying his head in her neck... acting crazy while drunk.

Liu Xiangning said, "Master, this servant will go and prepare the hangover soup right away."

Chen Mianmian glanced at the people beside her and then said, "No need, you can go down."

"???" Liu Xiangning was puzzled—shouldn't we prepare a hangover soup?

But she had no choice but to do as her master instructed.

After leaving the room, Xiang Ning went to scold Guan Shui—"The young master is drinking, doesn't he know how to stop him? Isn't he just causing trouble for his master?"

On the other side.

Chen Mianmian turned her head and said, "Alright, everyone's gone, stop pretending."

The man continued to act drunk and disorderly.

Chen Mianmian said coolly, "Next time you pretend to be drunk, don't focus your eyes too quickly. Take a half-beat longer, or don't focus at all."

"..." Bai Qingzhou.

Reluctantly getting up from the woman, the man was very unhappy. "Didn't you say: 'If you see through something but don't say it, you can still be good friends?' Why did you have to say it?"

Chen Mianmian raised an eyebrow. "I've said before, 'A dog bites Lü Dongbin and doesn't appreciate a kind heart.' You pretended to be drunk the whole way back, didn't you? What if you don't teach you and people see through you?"

Bai Qingzhou suddenly lay down on the bed and said helplessly, "I have no choice but to pretend to be drunk! They really want to get me drunk! They have a hundred reasons to do it! I've already drunk a lot, thankfully I have a high alcohol tolerance... Wait, Mianmian, do you remember last time Huo Rang tricked me, when I drank too much at the restaurant? I suspect they put drugs in the drinks. Normally, that amount of alcohol shouldn't have been enough to get me drunk."

Chen Mianmian interrupted, "I don't care how much you drink. I'm curious about what surprise Mr. Ouyang said there would be at this gathering. Is Mr. Ouyang lying to you?"

Mentioning this surprise, Bai Qingzhou's eyes lit up, and she suddenly sat up in bed. "You're not kidding me, it's a real surprise! At today's gathering, I actually saw someone who looks just like me... no, I should say I look just like him! Whether it's height or appearance, we're so alike! I didn't look so much like him before, it was only after I grew taller that I started to look like him."

"Oh? Who is it?" Chen Mianmian asked.

Bai Qingzhou, "Your Highness, Prince Jin."

"What?" Shen Mianmian exclaimed in surprise, "Prince Jin!?"