The next day.

Xu Rong slept quite well that night. She didn't have the problem of being a light sleeper, and both the Marquis of Ji'an's residence and the Marquis of Changxing's residence were just temporary lodgings for her.

She got out of bed and listened for a moment. Feeling that there was no movement on the other side, she tiptoed over, lifted the curtain, and saw that the warm room was empty, and the kang (a heated brick bed) was neatly arranged, as if no one had ever lain down there.

This second young master is reliable and thorough in his work, and most of the time he is trustworthy—except for that blunder last night.

Xu Rong stretched and called Bai Fu in, then tossed her the piece of silk cloth, also known as the "Yuanpa," so that she could deal with the people from Madam Xiao's side.

Bai Fu glanced at her expression, then hesitated, "Miss—"

Xu Rong: "Hmm?"

Bai Fu blushed and stammered, "Miss, are you... are you alright?"

“That’s great.” Xu Rong suddenly realized what she was saying, suppressed a laugh, and said seriously, “It’s just that my back is a little sore.”

Yesterday, I rode in a sedan chair on the city's ring road and it was very bumpy.

Bai Fu breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "That's good. Before he left, Madam asked me to tell him that she was afraid the Second Young Master might be reckless and hurt the Miss. If the Miss says she is not feeling well, she should try to dissuade the Second Young Master and not let him come back again."

Towards the end, she started to stutter again. She was still a young girl and didn't understand much about the inside story, and she was too embarrassed to bring it up.

Xu Rong, unaware of Madam Xu's words, seized the opportunity to subtly hint at the future: "It's alright. The Second Young Master has to study; he has no time to indulge in women."

She didn't tell Bai Fu the truth about the marriage. Firstly, it would be too troublesome to explain, and secondly, Bai Fu was just an ordinary girl. It wouldn't be necessary to add another worry to her mind and make her anxious every day.

Bai Fu nodded blankly: "Yes, the second young master got up before dawn, lit a lamp and was reading in the east side room. I heard the noise but didn't dare to go over and disturb him. I also told them to be quiet."

Xu Rong was quite satisfied with what he heard: "Very good."

Hong Liu and Qing Zao worked together to bring in all sorts of toiletries. After tidying up, Xu Rong sat down in front of the dressing table. This rosewood dressing table, along with the mirror box, was part of her dowry. It was delivered and set up the day before the wedding. The dressing table was brownish-yellow, with delicate and warm wood. The mirror was integrated with the dressing box, and every carved pattern showcased the craftsman's superb skills.

And they are rich.

"Shall I style your hair into a lily bun?" Bai Fu asked.

Xu Rong wasn't picky—the reason she wasn't picky was because this face was too good-looking; it looked good no matter what she did. She nodded indifferently.

After a quick combing, the effect was indeed excellent. Accessories were also easy to find; a gold filigree hairpin was all that was needed, with jade beads trembling at the temples, lively and radiant.

Bai Fu then found a set of vermilion plum blossom patterned jacket and skirt, which was pretty and fashionable. Just as she was about to help Xu Rong put it on, Qingzao ran in to report that Madam Xiao had sent a nanny to wait outside and request an audience.

This is to examine the Yuanpa.

Although Xu Rong had made preparations beforehand while holding her nose, she did not condone such corrupt and evil practices, and directly said to Bai Fu, "You go ahead, I'll put on my own clothes."

Bai Fu assumed she was just embarrassed, so she simply agreed and went out to deal with it.

He returned after a while and reported to Xu Rong: "Miss, that old woman was quite polite. She took her leave after looking around and didn't say anything."

Xu Rong lowered her head, tying her skirt sash, and hummed in agreement. This was within her expectations; even the most demanding families wouldn't make things difficult for her at this hurdle. It concerned her innocence, and a hot-tempered bride might just commit suicide on the spot to prove her innocence.

She shook her head and couldn't help but mutter, "If you believe in these things, it's very easy to suffer the consequences."

Because it's too easy to fake, almost costless. Like her, she just managed to get some chicken blood—Xiao Xin's might be a bit higher.

Xu Rong thought about it and found it funny again. She straightened her skirt and walked out, asking Bai Fu as she did so, "Has breakfast been brought?"

Bai Fu replied, "Xin Cheng has gone. It's been a while; she should be back soon."

Xu Rong nodded, lifted the curtain and went out; outside was the main room.

She stopped by the door of the main room, took a deep breath. The morning air was crisp and clear. Looking around, there was nothing to see. The courtyard was empty and small, with a cross-shaped path paved with white stones. There were only a few low trees on the left side of the courtyard wall. She couldn't tell what kind of trees they were. The servants had wrapped a red ribbon around one of them. At first glance, it looked festive, but upon closer inspection, the bare branches and trunks were gray. It was just a dead tree that would never come back to life in the spring.

But there is still hope in this courtyard.

Xu Rong turned his head to the side and heard a low recitation coming from the east side room on the other side.

At this moment, Xin Cheng appeared at the courtyard gate carrying a food box. Xu Rong smiled and said, "Please come out and have breakfast, Second Young Master."

Xiao Xin came out quickly. He had changed back into his everyday clothes, wearing a dark blue straight robe, with a square scarf covering his hair. His attire was simple, lacking the air of wealth and luxury associated with the wealthy and powerful, and he looked more like a young scholar.

Xu Rong was thinking that he should praise him for getting up at the crack of dawn, but before she could say anything, Xin Cheng had already walked up to her and called out in a wronged tone, "Miss!"

Without Xu Rong asking, she took the initiative to open the lid of the food box and show it to Xu Rong: "I went to the kitchen to get the young lady and the young master's breakfast, and they gave me this."

Xu Rong glanced at it; there was porridge and snacks, and she didn't see anything wrong with it, so she asked, "What's wrong?"

Xin Cheng pointed to one of the dim sum dishes: "Girl, look at this shrimp cake. The edges are all browned and burnt, and it smells like it's been frying. It's obvious that they took some leftover vegetables from somewhere and fried them again to fool us!"

"Yeah?"

Xu Rong took the plate of shrimp cakes out of the food box and examined them carefully. To be honest, she couldn't see anything burnt or greasy about them. Half a year of her life as a lazy aristocrat was not enough to cultivate her true (picky) aristocratic taste.

Xiao Xin glanced over, said nothing, but his eyes revealed understanding.

Seeing this, Xu Rong asked him, "Did the Second Young Master also notice?"

Xiao Xincai said, "There was a shrimp cake dish at last night's banquet."

Xu Rong nodded in agreement.

If it matches up, then there's no doubt about it.

She glanced at the shrimp cakes again; they were all in good condition, so they shouldn't be leftovers from the meal. It was more likely that they had prepared too much food and then served it to her.

Such leftover and reheated snacks are not spoiled, but they are usually consumed by the servants themselves and are never sent to the master's table.

Xu Rong looked at Xin Cheng: "Alright, put it down for now."

Xin Cheng refused, growing impatient: "We can make do with this, but how can the young lady eat it? I asked the kitchen to change it, but they refused, saying that all the masters in the manor eat like this, and we newcomers are hard to please. How could that be? They're clearly just deliberately bullying us—"

"Don't talk about bullying or not," Xu Rong interrupted her. "I believe they didn't mean it that way."

Xin Cheng was taken aback: "Girl?"

Although it's said that a married woman is supposed to be subservient to her husband's family, her daughter isn't like that. Even just last night, she wasn't like that. Could it be that after a good night's sleep, she suddenly woke up and wanted to try and regain her former submissiveness as a new bride?

Xin Cheng was not happy about it. She hadn't been by Xu Rong's side for long and had quickly gotten used to Xu Rong's original style. If the master could handle things, the servants would have something to rely on. Who wanted to go back to the old ways?

Xu Rong looked at her puffed-up face and said with amusement, "Why don't you put it down? Doesn't your hand get tired from holding it like that?"

Since Xin Cheng couldn't really handle it, she had no choice but to put the food box on the table and reluctantly set out the bowls and chopsticks.

Xu Rong stopped her, saying, "No need, I won't eat, and neither do you."

Xin Cheng was surprised again: "Huh?"

Xu Rong slowly stood up and said, "I didn't know that the Marquis of Changxing's mansion was in such dire straits that the entire household was eating leftovers from the previous day. Since that's the case, we shouldn't add to the burden of the Marquis's mansion and his wife. Let's find our own way to make a living."

She looked around the main room and said, "Go and call Qingzao, Hongliu, and everyone else from outside, as well as everyone in this courtyard, and we'll go out to find a restaurant to eat at."

Xin Cheng was stunned for a moment, then shouted, "—Yes!"

He turned around excitedly and rushed out.

A commotion soon erupted in the courtyard as maids rushed out from every corner. Some were delighted, some were bewildered, and some struggled and resisted: "What are you doing? I'm not going! How can you go out without informing Madam? Let go! Cai Die, go tell Madam quickly—"

"Sister Cuiting, I've been grabbed too, I can't run away."

"What about the second young master? Doesn't he care?" Cui Ting craned her neck to look around in the courtyard, and her eyes lit up when she spotted Xiao Xin: "Second young master—"

Xu Rong smiled and looked at him: "Second Young Master, would you do me the honor?"

Xiao Xin turned his gaze away from the courtyard and succinctly said only one word: "Go."

If Xu Rong hadn't misheard, his word was not only resolute, but also showed a strong desire to try.

**

So the master and his servants, a large group of them, swaggered out of the mansion. The gatekeeper didn't know whether to stop them or not, and he couldn't stop them either. He could only quickly send someone to report to Madam Xiao.

Madam Xiao was already up, dressed neatly, and having breakfast when she heard this, her ebony chopsticks froze in mid-air: "—What?"

The maid who delivered the message was also confused, saying, "They said we're going to eat at a restaurant outside."

The explanation is quite clear, and it is precisely because it is clear that it appears absurd—on the first day of marriage, instead of paying respects to the parents (in-laws) and serving tea, they run out of the mansion to eat at a restaurant?!

Madam Xiao was furious, but her anger was so intense she couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Sending someone to chase after them seemed like making a mountain out of a molehill, and it would also expose the family scandal. But if she didn't chase after them, she couldn't swallow her anger.

The young woman standing to the side serving the meal gently advised, "Madam, perhaps my second brother and sister-in-law are too playful. You can teach them when they return."

That's all we can do.

Madam Xiao took a deep breath. She couldn't eat a single bite of the rich and fresh breakfast in front of her. She put down her chopsticks and ordered, "Go and tell the Marquis. Also, tell your second uncle and aunt not to rush over."

The Changxing Marquis's Mansion was much more prosperous than the Ji'an Marquis's Mansion in terms of population. There were three brothers in the Xiao Marquis's generation. The third branch was a son born out of wedlock and had already separated. Now, the second branch, the Xiao Er Master's family, still lived in the mansion.

The young woman—Xiao Lun's wife, Chang Shuyin—knelt down and said, "Yes."

Madam Xiao then turned to the maid who had delivered the message, her gaze sharpening: "Go tell the gatekeeper that Erlang and his wife have returned and bring them to me immediately!"

The girl was terrified. She quickly agreed and ran away.