An Chunming clenched his fists, his face full of stubbornness.

He was pushed hard by the big and strong cook, and before he could react, he almost fell backwards.

Xiaoqiu, who was walking over, saw him and helped him up, so he didn't fall.

After standing firmly, he quickly looked behind him and found that it was the maid beside the lady.

He hurriedly looked around and saw his wife not far away.

The cook in front of him was obviously a little panicked. "Is it Xiaoqiu? Is it something Madam wants to eat? Or is the breakfast not to her liking?"

Xiao Qiu straightened the man and withdrew her hand. She said slowly, "No, Chef Zhang, I heard you guys arguing from a distance, and the lady asked me to come and ask what's going on."

Chef Zhang's eyes flashed with a trace of guilt. "Here's what happened. I don't know which servant stole the meat and vegetables from the Second Young Master's room. He came to the kitchen to ask me about it. How would I know what happened?"

"I was busy preparing the ingredients for lunch and didn't have time to discuss it with the Second Young Master. In my haste, I accidentally hurt him."

Although An Chunming was not favored in the mansion, he was the master after all, and Chef Zhang was the servant. The maidservant beside Dong Shuangyan saw this scene with her own eyes, and she was worried that Xiaoqiu would go and complain.

An Chunming protested unwillingly, "But I clearly came to the kitchen to get the food myself today, and when I opened it, the meat and vegetables were still gone!"

Chef Zhang said nonchalantly, "How would I know what's going on? There are so many people coming and going in this kitchen."

Xiaoqiu has been following Dong Shuangyan since she entered the An family, and no one bullies them, but they also know a little about the following things.

Maintaining a proper smile, Xiao Qiu said calmly, "Mrs. Zhang, I hope you can remember your identity. The Second Young Master is still the Second Young Master after all."

"Also, please stop using those shady methods of yours. They're making people laugh at you."

She finally warned, "This time I'm the one asking, but next time it might be Madam herself."

Without caring that the other person's face was pale with fear, Xiao Qiu turned around and was about to leave. However, she had not taken two steps when she was stopped by An Chunming behind her.

"Thank you very much."

Xiao Qiu turned around and smiled, "You should thank the Madam and the Young Master."

An Chunming lowered his head and thought for a while, looked at the mother and son who were still waiting in the distance, and followed Xiaoqiu silently.

He walked all the way to Dong Shuangyan who was waiting on the side.

Before asking An Chunming why he came, An Chunming took the initiative to thank Dong Shuangyan, "Thank you, ma'am!" His tone was sincere and solemn.

In this family, he was most afraid of his wife at first, but later he found that the servants were the most hateful.

Once the masters fall out of favor, the servants will immediately take over their heads.

And it was obvious that he and his mother were among the unpopular ones.

At first he also suspected that the lady was trying to trip them up.

But judging from what happened today, it has nothing to do with my wife.

He turned around and thanked An Jingzhi again, "Thank you, brother."

Dong Shuangyan had no expression on her face, just nodded slightly. If her son hadn't taken action, she would have pretended not to see it.

Instead, An Jingzhi acted like a good brother, patting his shoulder with a smile, "Don't be polite, we are brothers."

An Chunming was very surprised. He obviously didn't expect the other party to be so easy to talk to and so kind.

"If you have any difficulties in the future, come to me, big brother."

He turned to Xiao Qiu and said, "What's going on? How dare the servants in the mansion speak to the master like that?"

Xiao Qiu explained briefly that after the servants in the mansion learned about the original owner falling into the water, they thought that the lady would take revenge on Shen Xiaoniang and the others, so they acted on their own initiative.

Xiaoqiu skipped over the points that were unfavorable to the lady and the young master, and only said that the servants were bullying their master.

An Jingzhi said to An Chunming with a serious expression, "If something like this happens again, just come to me."

Now is the time to improve his favorability. The higher the official position of this adopted brother becomes in the future, the more benefits he will gain. This is called early emotional investment.

An Chunming is already ten years old. He grew up in the mansion and understands the ways of the world.

"Thank you, brother."

Although he couldn't understand why An Jingzhi was so kind to him, he could only take it one step at a time.

After Dong Shuangyan and An Jingzhi walked away, she asked curiously, "You have so many younger brothers at home, why do you treat An Chunming so well?"

An Jingzhi said leisurely, "Which of those brothers isn't eyeing my position? It's as if without me, the eldest legitimate son, those illegitimate sons will inherit the family fortune. They're not honest at all."

"Chunming seems very smart, and he and his mother are honest and kind, not making trouble. They have a good relationship, and maybe he can help me when he grows up."

Dong Shuangyan thought seriously about her son's idea.

That’s true. In the future, this property will definitely fall into the hands of her son.

But when she looked at her son's current appearance, even if she doted on him, she knew that he might not be able to bear the family business, and that he might even squander it.

I am afraid that after I pass away, my son will have no one to take care of him.

After carefully considering An Jingzhi's statement, Dong Shuangyan felt that it seemed possible.

Anyway, An Chunming is a bastard's son. As long as he is still alive, no matter how outstanding he is, he can never threaten his son's status.

Maybe I can win over the other person and he can become my son's right-hand man in the future.

But before that, she had to investigate what kind of personalities An Chunming and his mother had.

I arrived at the billiard hall while thinking about it.

Looking at the large sign in front of him, An Jingzhi proudly introduced it, "Mom, how is it? Isn't this calligraphy quite impressive?"

He asked someone to ask a teacher from the academy to help him write it.

Most of the students in the private school where he studied before were children of merchants. He was quite capable and different from other teachers who only focused on studying.

He is a teacher with a relatively flexible bottom line.

Dong Shuangyan was educated and learned some words from her father, a scholar, before she left home.

He nodded and said, "This is good calligraphy."

Led by An Jingzhi, they walked into the billiard room, which was different from the layout of ordinary restaurants filled with tables and chairs.

As she stepped in, she saw a huge open space with two tables like the ones she had seen in the mansion before.

On both sides of the table, there are many small tables and long stools placed against the wall.

An Jingzhi pointed at those places and introduced them, "These places are for people to watch and rest, and drink tea. When the time comes, these tea and snacks will also be a source of income."

I took Dong Shuangyan to the second floor for a quick look. Compared with the first floor, the decoration on the second floor was more luxurious and exquisite. Of course, the charges were also higher.

"It costs a hundred coins to play for half an hour. Is anyone willing to come?" The price is really too expensive.

One hundred coins are enough to buy a pound of oil at their grocery store.