Old Madam Xu held Li Shiyue's hand: "Where did you come from? Did you come all this way just to find your aunt?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shiyue suddenly felt ashamed. She glanced at Madam Yang before saying, "There is something."

Rarely seeing her so hesitant, Old Madam Xu, while puzzled, also chuckled: "What's wrong? Could it be that you've really gotten into trouble?"

Li Shiyue sighed softly, "If I get into trouble, Grandmother will have to help me."

Madam Xu and Madam Yang both stared at her. Li Shiyue sighed softly, "Just now, my third cousin went to Chengyu Pavilion. I know that men and women should be kept separate, so I spoke with my third cousin in the corridor."

“My third cousin said he had just returned from work and, knowing that I love jade ornaments, specially brought me a new jade hairpin. At first, I didn’t dare to accept it, but my third cousin said he had prepared one for each of his sisters as a New Year’s Eve gift.”

“I’ll keep it. It’s just that jade ornaments are too fragile. I didn’t hold it properly and the jade hairpin broke. I was afraid that my third cousin would ask about it in the future and misunderstand that I have feelings for him, so I rushed over.”

The guilt and fear on Li Shiyue's face were just like the fear of doing something wrong.

Madam Xu seized on the key point in her words: "Sanlang went to Chengyu Pavilion to find you, and even wanted to give you a hairpin?"

Li Shiyue nodded, her eyes clear: "Yes."

Madam Xu and Madam Yang exchanged a glance, and Madam Yang spoke up: "You've accepted the jade hairpin?"

Li Shiyue looked puzzled: "My third cousin said that all the sisters in the family had them, so I accepted them."

Seeing the strange expressions on Madam Xu's and Madam Yang's faces, she twisted her fingers and hugged Madam Xu's arm tightly, saying uneasily, "Should I not have accepted it? But my third cousin said it was a token of his goodwill and that all the sisters in the family should have a share, so I accepted it."

Madam Yang glanced at the unreadable Old Madam Xu, a gentle smile on her face, and reassured her, "It's nothing, it's not a big deal. Erlang often brings things back for Liu Niang and the others."

"A small item, wishing you peace and safety year after year. If Sanlang asks, just tell him the truth. Sanlang treats you sisters the same way as Erlang."

Li Shiyue nodded hesitantly, then lowered her eyes.

"What's going on? With me and your aunt here, what are you afraid of?" Old Madam Xu's expression was inscrutable as she continued to stare at Li Shiyue's hand.

Li Shiyue raised her eyes and said in a low voice, "I don't know what my third cousin, or the other cousins, think of me. I just don't know how to get along with my husband."

"I feel more comfortable with my sixth cousin than with my husband."

Her expression was somewhat cautious and uneasy. For some reason, Madam Xu thought of the day before Li Shiyue had just entered the mansion.

“Grandmother, do you remember that the day before I entered the manor, a steward named Wang came to the manor?”

Madam Xu pondered for a moment: "There really is such a person. I remember that day he insisted on seeing me, saying that you had caught a cold and were staying in Shangjing County."

"The one who said he was escorting you to the capital was the nephew of one of the concubines in the Earl's mansion. He's an outsider and came specifically to ask me to send someone to pick you up. By the way, how has that young master been taking care of you since you entered the mansion?"

It wasn't that Old Madam Xu had forgotten things; these days, Li Shiyue was right in front of her, and she didn't even remember that he was just a nephew of a concubine in the Earl's Mansion. She just assumed that Xu Yunci had made good arrangements for him.

As for the matter in Shangjing County, neither Xu Yunci nor Li Shiyue dared to tell her, because they were worried that Old Madam Xu would be concerned about Li Shiyue and might not be able to handle it, so they kept it a secret.

When Madam Xu mentioned the young master of the Meng family, Madam Yang's expression changed. Apart from the Duke and Duchess of Rong, Xu Yunci had not told anyone about this.

Li Shiyue lowered her eyes, her eyes reddening: "If I tell you, Grandmother, you must promise me not to get angry, and please don't ruin your health over someone who isn't worth it."

Madam Xu's smile faded, and she tightened her grip on Li Shiyue's hands: "Tell me, your grandmother won't get angry."

With Madam Xu's assurance, Li Shiyue said in a low voice, "Father dotes on Aunt Meng, and that young master Meng is Aunt Meng's nephew. If it weren't for you and Grandmother's planning for me, Father would have almost agreed to marry me off to Meng Zhuo."

“That day in Shangjing County, Meng Zhuo attempted to do something indecent to me, and Chunling desperately protected me, which is why she was injured.”

Li Shiyue looked up and looked at Madam Xu with concern: "Fortunately, my cousin arrived in time and protected me. I'm fine, just a little frightened."

My cousin had Meng Zhuo imprisoned in the capital for intentional assault, and then complained to the emperor about my father's favoritism towards his concubine over his wife. The emperor issued a memorial, and only then did my father divorce Meng Zhuo. He then hurriedly prepared my mother's dowry and sent it to the capital.

Madam Xu was not unaware of everything; she knew what Xu Yunci had said in front of the officials, but she assumed her grandson was avenging Li Shiyue.

Even though Xu Yunci didn't mention these things before Li Shiyue entered the manor, she could tell that Xu Yunci and Li Shiyue were concerned about her health.

The reason she brought this up today is probably because she was frightened by the fact that Si Lang had proposed to her and San Lang had given her a hairpin.

Madam Xu's face turned ashen: "A young man who acts so dissolutely and even dares to hurt people deserves to be in jail."

"You too, keeping such a big thing from me. But Steward Wang is loyal to you."

Li Shiyue sniffed: "Steward Wang used to be my mother's confidant. I brought him with me when I left the Earl's Mansion. He is an outsider and has always been arranged by my cousin to work in the front courtyard."

"It's all thanks to his quick thinking; otherwise, with my cousin not here, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to see you properly."

“In the Earl’s mansion, Meng Zhuo took advantage of his father’s favor towards Aunt Meng and moved in with great swagger. When my grandmother was alive, she could protect me to some extent, but after she passed away, he would come to the courtyard to wait for me every few days. During that period, I was really worried and afraid.”

“Grandmother, I don’t have any issues with my cousins, it’s just that I’m not very good at getting along with my husband.”

Old Madam Xu looked distressed, while Madam Yang, who was standing to the side, was even more indignant. As a mother of two daughters herself, she naturally knew that Li Shiyue was probably left with a considerable shadow.

Xu Yunyang gave her a hairpin, and she was still so worried when it broke.

Madam Yang stepped forward and tenderly embraced Li Shiyue, gently soothing her anxious heart: "Don't be afraid, this is your home now, it won't happen again."

Li Shiyue had only pretended to speak her mind, but faced with Yang's gentleness, all the grievances she had suffered poured out like a flood unleashed.

People usually keep their grievances to themselves, but once they enter a place of tenderness and affection, those grievances become as overwhelming as a flood, impossible to resist.

Li Shiyue cried in Yang's arms for a while before stopping. Old Madam Xu had somehow gotten a handkerchief in her hand and was wiping her cheeks.

In a gentle voice, she said, "Don't cry, go to the back and wash your face."

Li Shiyue nodded, looking at the tear stains on Yang's clothes, and lowered her head in embarrassment.

Madam Yang didn't think anything of it: "You've spoken your mind today. In the future, never keep anything to yourself. You must tell me and the old lady."

You're still so young, and you're carrying so many burdens in your heart. What if you get sick from holding it all in?

Li Shiyue lowered her eyes shyly: "Okay, I'll listen to my aunt."