Seeing the Minister's wife standing there with an awkward expression, Xiao Yunying quickly came to her rescue: "My parents are probably still angry about Zuo Lanzhi's matter, and they took it out on everyone in the Zuo family. Please don't take offense, Madam."

The Minister's wife clenched her hands and said somewhat nervously, "It's normal to be angry; it's my fault."

Xiao Yunying couldn't help but offer a few more words of advice: "Madam, the past is the past. There are many days ahead. You should live well for yourself, instead of living in regret and guilt because of a mistake that you didn't make. If you are unhappy, others will also feel burdened."

"Mother knows, mother knows." The Minister's wife felt a little better because she felt that her child still cared about her. "Then mother will go back first. You should rest well. Mother will come to see you again in a few days."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunying frowned subconsciously.

Seeing her like this, the Minister's wife was afraid that she would say something to refuse, so she hurriedly left the courtyard and got into the carriage, not giving her a chance to refuse.

Xiao Yunying chased after them to the door: "Hey, take your things with you."

Everyone acted as if they hadn't heard anything, and the carriage sped away without stopping.

Xiao Yunying turned around and glanced at the boxes in the yard: "Why can't you explain it clearly?"

Mu Lianrong, who had been peeking around in the kitchen, finally came out: "Daughter, did she bring you something?"

Seeing that Mu Lianrong was trying her best to pretend not to care, Xiao Yunying smiled and said, "Mother, don't worry, I've made it clear to her that I won't go with her."

Mu Lianrong's expression relaxed a little: "Mother is not worried about this. Mother just came to bring you hawthorns, who knew we would run into each other like this."

Xiao Yunying smiled at her mother's self-deceptive explanation and didn't continue teasing her.

Xiao Shanhai also came out: "Did the Minister's wife give all of this? What kind of things are they?"

The elderly couple had never seen anything like this before. They knew that the woman was the wife of a high-ranking official, and the gifts she received must be very valuable, so they dared not touch them carelessly.

Xiao Yunying said with distress, "They're all flashy but impractical things. I told them I didn't want them, but they insisted on keeping them."

Madam Luo had no reservations and casually opened the box closest to her, where a pair of white jade vases came into view.

Mu Lianrong immediately grabbed Xiao Shanhai's sleeve tightly.

This thing looks very valuable; it's something that the elderly couple could never afford in their entire lives.

Besides, there are several boxes of these...

Madam Luo examined the vase carefully: "The jade material here is quite good; it's not some cheap imitation."

Xiao Yunying glanced at them indifferently. She wasn't short of money right now, and these things really didn't interest her.

"Luo Sheng, could you please tell the farmhands to hitch up a cart and bring a few more people to take these things back?"

Madam Luo closed the box: "These things are quite valuable, aren't you going to keep them?"

Xiao Yunying's tone showed no reluctance: "If you're going to break it off, then break it off cleanly, so that it won't be brought up again later."

Mu Lianrong was finally relieved and released Xiao Shanhai's sleeve.

Luo Sheng admired her decisiveness: "Alright, then I'll deliver it myself."

"Then let's go in the afternoon, it's almost lunchtime."

Xiao Yunying knew that Luo Sheng would probably say something to the Minister's wife, but she didn't care whether the Minister's wife would be sad or upset.

A short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one; a clean break would save them both a lot of trouble.

——————

For the next few days, Xiao Yunying was kept at home and not allowed to go out until she fully recovered.

Mu Lianrong brought food over every day, and Granny Chang, following Madam Luo's instructions, stewed various soups every day. In just a few days, she gained several pounds and her complexion became much rosier.

That morning, while eating breakfast, Xiao Yunying said, "Yunwan, I need to go into the city later. Would you like to come with me?"

Before Zheng Yunwan could speak, Luo Xin interjected, "I want to go too."

"Okay, let your Aunt Yunwan take care of you."

Luo Sheng asked, "What are you going to the city for?"

"It's getting a bit chilly now. I'm going to order some cotton and fabric from Sister Cheng Yue, make some new winter clothes for the farmhands, give Sister Cheng Yue the blueprints for decorating Jinxiu Pavilion, order some charcoal in advance, and go to the blacksmith to make a few furnaces for the chicken coop and cowshed. I also need to go to Shijinfang to take a look. There are so many things I haven't done yet."

"Then I'll go with you."

Xiao Yunying thought for a moment and said, "That works too."

After finishing their meal, they took a carriage directly into the city. When they got off the carriage in the city, Xiao Yunying gave Luo Sheng several blueprints and silver notes.

"Could you help me order a furnace from the blacksmith's shop, and also order some charcoal? Just tell the shopkeeper it's for me. The charcoal can be shipped out and stored with the Chen family's later; he'll know."

Luo Sheng took the banknotes and blueprints somewhat blankly: "And what about you?"

"Yunwan and I will first go to Jinxiuge to take a look, then go shopping, and finally go to Shijinfang to check the accounts. You can also go shopping by yourself after you finish your business. We will meet at Shijinfang in the end."

Luo Sheng seemed a little incredulous that Xiao Yunying would make such an arrangement: "I'm not going with you?"

Xiao Yunying didn't think there was anything wrong with it: "It's more efficient to split up, it'll be faster this way. Besides, it's inconvenient for us girls to go shopping with a man like you. Go on, we're leaving too."

Luo Sheng stared at their retreating figures for a long while before sighing and resignedly running errands.

As arranged, Xiao Yunying went to Jinxiu Pavilion first. Her happy face disappeared when she saw a group of people gathered in front of the pavilion and heard a chaotic argument coming from inside.

She released Luo Xin's hand: "Yun Wan, please keep an eye on Xin'er for me."

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