Xie Yuancheng waved the small purse I gave him; it had been so long, yet he had kept it so well that I couldn't refuse.

“This one is fine. I’ll arrange the rest. I’ll start embroidering a purse for you tomorrow. I’ll make sure it’s beautiful and then I’ll put it on you.”

"Yes~ I knew Ying'er was impatient. If you keep running around with us, she'll rebel in two or three days. She might even get in a bad mood and ride away on horseback."

"I didn't!" I went over and grabbed his neck. Xie Yuancheng lay there and let me do whatever I wanted. He would occasionally struggle a few times, which made me laugh.

“Ying’er, you murdered your husband. I’m going to write to your parents and see what they say about you.”

"If you dare write that, I'll ignore you!" I hugged my blanket and went to sleep on the other side. Xie Yuancheng tried to come closer again, but I just ignored him.

"I won't write it, I'm just saying it. How could I have treated Ying'er badly?"

"Good to know. Go to sleep now, I'm going to dream."

I patted Xie Yuancheng's outstretched hand, but he's shameless. He came over and hugged me tightly. I pulled back the blanket and tucked us both inside. It was still windy outside, and it wouldn't be good to catch a cold.

"Yuancheng~" I called out, thinking he was asleep, but the kid was just pretending.

"Ying'er, what's wrong?" Xie Yuancheng replied, and I pulled his hand and hugged him.

"I thought you were asleep. I just called out to put your mind at ease."

"Oh right, how could I forget? Ying'er is an insecure person. She always causes me trouble and makes me feel insecure all the time."

"Don't talk about me like that, you're no different yourself."

"Where would I get any?" Xie Yuancheng leaned over, sniffed, and then lay back down. He just loves to argue with me.

We'll talk about it tomorrow. I was exhausted today. I held his hand and fell asleep quickly. Thankfully, I didn't have any dreams. Things have been peaceful lately.

When I wake up in the morning, the air always feels damp, which is different from usual. I quickly cover my mouth and nose and then follow my senses to find it.

Our courtyard is right in the middle, so nothing could happen. Xie Yuancheng left me a note saying he was going to talk to his subordinates and told me not to wander around.

"Bizhu!" I called Bizhu over after I went out, and she came over carrying a watering can for watering the flowers.

"Madam, what's wrong?"

"Go find your sister and bring her over. I have something to tell her."

"The young lady has taken the young master and the others to the courtyard to discuss some matters and will not be able to come for the time being. If there is anything you need, you can speak with the steward."

"That's right. Tell the two stewards to hurry, so as not to disturb the people in the manor."

"Yes." The wine in the jade pot hadn't even escaped. I just felt something was wrong. It's good to be more careful. Right now, we're not just dealing with one family, but a whole group, including the entire fiefdom.

"Madam, you wanted to see me?" The butler arrived as soon as he asked. I told Bizhu to bring some basins of water and to ring the chimes in the courtyard louder.

After I finished everything, I asked the steward to come to the side and talk to him: "Steward Wang, were there any unfamiliar people who came into the mansion yesterday?"

"No, we haven't allowed any strangers in the manor since several unusual incidents have been discovered."

"Has any strange potion been sprayed in the mansion, or anything unknown?"

The butler immediately smiled: "Madam, really, there's nothing wrong. We're very careful with everything we use and eat in the manor, we wouldn't dare make a mistake."

"That's strange. When I got up this morning, I noticed a damp smell in the room. It didn't smell very pleasant, but Yuancheng had helped me mix perfumes before, and this one is somewhat similar."

"What does it resemble?" The butler looked nervous and asked if I should call the perfumer over, but I felt it was inappropriate.

"Was there anything unusual when Yuan Cheng went out this morning?"

"My lord is as usual, there are no problems. I will first check what has been done in the manor from yesterday to now, it is all recorded in the notebook."

Who is keeping these notes? Could they be deliberately hiding something?

"No, we have a secret recipe. If something is found to be wrong, we can find it in less than an hour, maybe half an hour."

I told the housekeeper to get on with it; this matter could be big or small, so it's best to be careful. Seeing the housekeeper leave, Bizhu came back, holding a small clock that had fallen to the ground, and asked...

"Madam, has something happened?"

"No, I just asked some questions. Why are you holding it? Weren't you just knocking on it?"

"Yes, it just fell off suddenly. It's strange. This was bought by the Marquis at a high price. He even said he would perform for his wife, so I dared not let it fall to the ground."

"I didn't see it yesterday?" I asked Bizhu to put the clock on the table so I could look at it slowly.

"It was delivered yesterday afternoon. The Marquis tapped it once and said the sound was wrong. The tuner arrived shortly afterward."

"Hmm, not bad, it's something he'll like." I asked Bizhu to inquire about the origin of the chime bells and the family that sent them.

Bizhu is so smart; I explained the general idea to her, and she understood. This thing was delivered yesterday, but I guessed she was playing with it and didn't see it.

The smell I caught this morning was no joke; there couldn't possibly be any unpleasant odor in the manor. Don't even mention me; Xie Yuancheng gets upset all day if he smells anything he doesn't like.

"Ying'er, I heard you were looking for something. I rushed back before we finished talking."

I was studying the little clock when Xie Yuancheng came in. He was dressed quite well today, like a peacock.

"Why are you dressed like this? You wore makeup last time, if you put on a little more this time, you'll look like... you know."

"I'm doing this for your own good, okay? You really like Mid-Autumn Festival evenings, don't you? The chime bells have already been delivered. I'll perform for you once they're tuned."

He's really turning into a peacock! I wonder how many girls would blush if he went out like that! I angrily sat down to the side, and Xie Yuancheng came over with the hat he was wearing on his head. He glanced at me with his eyes before sitting down next to me with a stool in his hand.

"My Ying'er~ What did I do to upset you again?" Xie Yuancheng was dressed like a woman dressed as a man today. His skin was so delicate, he was just missing a touch of rouge.

Did you wear some perfume this morning?

“I don’t need incense, just sachets are enough. I even had these sachets made by myself.”

"Really?" I helped him up, smelled him, but didn't find anything different; the scent was still very faint.

"What's wrong? I just heard the housekeeper say that you asked him to find something. Tell me quickly, your little Chengcheng will find something for you."

"It's nothing serious. Let's check the records first. You're not allowed to see anyone today. I'm telling you to stay here and not leave."

"Yes~" Xie Yuancheng leaned against me and smiled. He really looked just like Yu'er.