"Mother, elder brother, you're here!"

Wang Jingshui jogged over, plopped down on the stool, and clung to Xu Chunxia's arm affectionately.

"Yes, Mother is here." Xu Chunxia was a little nervous. She had come to the Yan family for a banquet before and hadn't looked closely enough to realize that her mother-in-law's house was so big. It took her a long time to walk to the second courtyard. Her daughter told her that she lived in the third courtyard. Xu Chunxia swallowed hard.

The Yan family seemed to be much wealthier than she had imagined.

No wonder they've been pulling their own strings all this time.

They probably just wanted to make sure her family was too poor and would hold Jing Shui back.

Xu Chunxia was wildly imagining things.

"Sister Yan—"

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, Qian Yulan and Liu Yunwan arrived with their niece.

Qian Yulan's voice was as loud as a bell. Standing in the corridor, she could shout from a distance and everyone's eyes would turn to her.

Yan Xia stood up and went to greet her.

"Sister Qian, Sister Liu, you two have finally arrived! Oh, these must be your nieces, right? Look at them, each one is so pretty and beautiful, like flowers. Are you tired from walking all the way from the front yard? Come and sit down, Auntie will get you some iced drinks."

Yan Xia warmly welcomed them.

"Haha, they only give it to them, but not to us two old folks?"

Qian Yulan laughed and scolded.

"Here you go, Sister Qian, whatever you want to drink, we have it all. Come on, come sit down."

Yan Xia linked arms with the two men on either side, while the three girls followed behind, and together they arrived at the pavilion.

Seeing them head towards the pavilion, Jing Shui also took her mother and brother with her.

"Xiao Ji, bring out some iced drinks, both sweet and sour, so the children can choose for themselves." Since the iced drinks needed to be chilled, they were kept in the kitchen and not brought to the pavilion.

There were only pastries, sliced ​​fruits, and freshly brewed hot tea on the table.

"Okay, Auntie, I'll take the maids to fetch it right away." Xiao Ji said with a smile, and left with the maids.

The house where Qian Yulan and Liu Yunwan lived was just an ordinary courtyard house, without a garden, courtyard, pond, or fruit trees.

Although they had visited the Yan residence when Tuanzi held her full-moon celebration, they only stayed in the front courtyard for a meal and did not come to visit the back.

So this was the first time I had stepped into the second courtyard.

The two sat on benches in the pavilion, looking around with curiosity in their eyes.

The pavilion was draped with light gauze on all sides. A gentle breeze blew across the face, causing the gauze to flutter and bringing a floral fragrance that was refreshing and delightful.

The pavilion is located in the center of the courtyard, with a pond on the right. Looking up from the pavilion, you can see red, yellow and white carp swimming slowly in the pond. At this time, the sky is bright and the sun shines, and the light reflects on the water, creating shimmering waves.

Although the courtyard is not large, it is square and surrounded by various flowers and a few fruit trees. The flowers are blooming in competition, vying for beauty and exuding fragrance, but the osmanthus is slightly better.

Some of the fruit trees still have fruit on them, but they're not very big and look like they're for ornamental purposes; I doubt they'll taste good.

A young woman, dressed as a maid, was sitting at a stone table outside the pavilion on the left.

He was actually playing a seven-stringed zither.

The music wasn't loud, but it touched their hearts deeply. A gentle breeze carried the notes past their ears.

Everything you see is green.

You can still smell the fragrance of osmanthus flowers at the tip of your nose.

Everywhere is full of life, making people feel comfortable, the summer heat disappears, and it is peaceful and cool.

"Sister Yan, your house is so nice! No wonder I always ask you to come out for a stroll, but you always say you're too busy. If I lived here, I would be happy to stay here for the rest of my life without ever leaving the house. It's so comfortable! In the summer, you can sit in this pavilion to cool off, listen to your maid playing the zither, and eat some fruits. Oh my, life is like that of an immortal! I'm so envious! Is there another three courtyards in the back, and is it as big as this?"

Qian Yulan looked at Yan Xia with envy in her eyes.

"It wasn't like this when I bought it. You should have seen it as you came from the first courtyard. The original courtyard was rather small, with piled blue bricks on the ground and only a few jars in the middle for decoration. Before I moved in, I had it renovated. The first and third courtyards weren't altered much, but the second courtyard was expanded and landscaped. These fruit trees and flowers were all moved here after I moved in..."

Yan Xia explained for a long time, and only stopped talking when Xiao Ji and the maids brought over iced drinks.

There were four plates of iced drinks, each containing six cups, with four different flavors to choose from.

"Oh dear, no wonder the fruit looks so small. It must have been damaged when the tree was moved. It's alright, it'll be fine in a couple of years. You can't even call this courtyard a courtyard anymore, you've turned it into a garden, haha. By the way, what flavors are all these iced drinks? They look so colorful." Qian Yulan asked again.

Four maids were standing in a row in the pavilion.

Since the table was small, there wasn't enough room for all four plates of iced drinks, so each person could only choose one.

"Madam Qian, the first dish is physalis extract tea, which has a rather sour taste. The second dish is watermelon juice, which watermelon lovers will definitely enjoy. The third dish is mung bean and lily bulb drink, which is cooling and nourishing and not too sweet. The fourth dish is honey pomelo tea, which is sweet and sour, and made with wild honey picked from the mountains and the first batch of ripe pomelos. Madam Qian and everyone else can choose according to their own taste."

Yan Xia gave Xiao Ji a look, and Xiao Ji understood immediately.

She walked over to the maids and introduced them one by one.

“I like sour drinks, so I’ll go with the first flavor,” Liu Yunwan said first.

"Then I'll have watermelon juice, I love watermelon." Qian Yulan followed suit and chose the second option.

"What would you ladies like to drink?" Yan Xia asked with a smile when she saw the three girls were too shy to speak.

"Aunt Yan, I'd like to drink honey grapefruit tea~"

“Aunt Yan, I’m the same as Fourth Sister.”

Qian Yulan's two nieces both speak softly and appear very well-behaved and sensible.

"Xiao Ji, take this over to the two young ladies," Yan Xia instructed.

"Okay, Auntie, ladies, here's your honey grapefruit tea." Xiao Ji responded quickly, placing two glasses of iced drink on the table.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The two girls were very polite and thanked them in unison.

Even though she knew Xiao Ji was a maid, she still thanked her.

Yan Xia saw this and slightly curled the corners of her lips.

"Where is Miss Liu? What would you like to drink?" Yan Xia asked considerately when she saw that Liu Yunwan's niece was not speaking.

"I'm fine with anything. I'll just have that mung bean and lily drink. I had it when I went to Jiangnan County before, and it tasted pretty good. I don't know what the others taste like, so I'll pass." Liu Yunwan's niece pointed to the mung bean and lily drink but didn't seem inclined to get up.

It seems she wants Xiao Ji to serve it to her.

Xiao Ji understood.

I brought it to her.

But she didn't even give Xiaoji a proper look, let alone say thank you.

Xiao Ji silently stepped back and stood next to the maid.