Chen thought about it and felt that it would be better to choose Luo Shenyuan than Xuan'er. Luo Shenyuan had no biological mother and was already grown up. How could he still be close to Lin?

Thinking about the recent visits to Old Lady Luo to pay her respects, and how Old Lady Luo's face never looked good when she saw her, Chen Shi also felt a little uncomfortable. She couldn't say anything and could only put on a smile to cheer the old lady up.

She called in her mother, who was serving her, and said to her, "It couldn't have been Second Master's idea to record Luo Shenyuan as a legitimate child. It must have been the Old Madam's idea. Since it was the Old Madam's idea, we must also express our gratitude in order to please her."

Chen decided to give two maids to Luo Shenyuan.

She heard that there were no maids in Luo Shenyuan's room, and that putting two people next to him would prevent her from knowing what happened in the future. The old lady suddenly praised Luo Shenyuan, and who knew what she was thinking.

After much thought, Chen felt that sending a maid was a great idea, and immediately asked the maid to pick out two good-looking ones to send over.

Luo Shenyuan moved out of the small courtyard and lived in Fengxietang.

Lin Hairu selected a few maids from her own staff to serve him. At the same time, she was a little hesitant about whether she should send a maid over.

Luo Shenyuan was served by servants and maids, but none could possibly be as good as a maid. However, Luo Shenyuan was almost an adult, so sending maids to serve him was inconvenient. Luo Huaiyuan, on the other hand, had two beautiful maids who served him. They were his concubines.

She went to ask old lady Luo for advice, but she saw Luo Shenyuan teaching Yining. Luo Shenyuan called her mother, and she was still a little embarrassed. She coughed before agreeing.

In a few days, Luo Shenyuan would be going to the Imperial Academy in Baoding Prefecture to take the provincial examination. While his other two brothers were studying hard, he was not in a hurry and came to supervise Yi Ning's recitation. Luo Yixiu came to look for Yi Ning to play, but Yi Ning was afraid to go. Luo Shenyuan asked her to recite the Book of Songs, but she stuttered.

Luo Shenyuan was reading a book about the appraisal of bronze and stone inscriptions. When he heard Yi Ning recite something wrong, he repeated the correct one and asked Yi Ning to recite it again.

Yi Ning carried it on her back for half the afternoon. She was delighted to see Lin Hairu, and with a smile, she asked her to sit down while she went to the small Buddhist temple to fetch her grandmother.

Luo Shenyuan looked up and said to Yi Ning, "Come and sit down and continue carrying it. Let Xuezhi go find it."

Neither the previous life's Yining nor the present Yining had much interest in studying. Perhaps because she truly lacked talent, Yining didn't push herself too hard. Instead, she made up for her shortcomings with her strengths, focusing her energy on needlework and other pursuits. She tried her best to appear gentle and humble, which in turn earned her grandmother's favor.

Now is the time to read more. Yi Ning sat down and continued to memorize, thinking that while others have their heads pierced by a needle, she had her third brother supervising her studies, so it was not much different.

Xuezhi went out to find Mrs. Luo.

Just as Yi Ning was reading, "I climbed over that wall, looking toward the gate. Not seeing it, tears welled up in my eyes," Mrs. Luo returned. She watched her, book in hand, sitting cross-legged on the bed, her face soft and pale, like a porcelain doll. Luo Shenyuan sat beside her, reading his own book. Only Lin Hairu sat there, unable to understand anything, uncomfortable and a bit bored.

Old Mrs. Luo held Mother Xu's hand and walked over, asking Lin Hairu what she came to see her for.

Luo Shenyuan was present, so what could Lin Hairu say?

She gestured for Mrs. Luo to go to the inner room to talk, but Mrs. Luo took a sip of tea and said, "They are both your children. If there is anything you can't say, just say it."

Lin Hairu glanced at Luo Shenyuan and thought, according to what Old Lady Luo had said, he would take the imperial examination. Then she said, "Shenyuan has moved to Fengxietang, and I'm thinking of sending some people over to look after him. Things are different now; since he's a legitimate son, the ceremony is different."

Mrs. Luo nodded and said, "This is a good thing. Just do it. No need to ask me."

"That being said, I'm still undecided about who to send." Lin Hairu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Shenyuan is sixteen this year. I heard from the nanny that when the eldest young master in the mansion was this age, he had maids to serve him in his room..."

When Yining heard this, he understood why Lin Hairu came.

Mrs. Luo pursed her lips. She hadn't expected Lin Hairu to come to her to talk about this. She hadn't considered this before.

Before Mrs. Luo could say anything, Luo Shenyuan looked at the book and said, "Mother, there's no need for that. My aunt has already given me two maids."

Lin Hairu was stunned: "You said your aunt gave you two girls?"

When did this happen? Why hadn't anyone told her? And she had no idea.

Luo Shenyuan raised his head and looked at Lin Hairu, and asked slowly: "Mother doesn't know?"

Lin Hairu couldn't help but feel a little nervous. She glanced at Old Lady Luo and found that she was also looking at her. Chen's aunt, a neighboring aunt, had actually given two maids to Luo Shenyuan. She had never paid any attention to Luo Shenyuan before! What did Chen mean?

"My aunt sent it over last night, and I accepted it," Luo Shenyuan said calmly, "so you don't have to send it." He had long known that his stepmother was not scheming, but today she had a new idea. This happened right under her nose, and she was completely unaware of it. She must have been even less aware of what was happening elsewhere.

No wonder Mrs. Luo was worried about her coming to protect Yining.

Seeing Luo Shenyuan's calm expression, Yi Ning remembered what Mrs. Luo had said about the girl who was killed by a vicious dog. At that time, no one except Mrs. Luo knew that it was not an accident.

She saw her third brother holding a book in his right hand, curled unnaturally. Suddenly, she remembered a story she'd heard. It was about a lame general on the battlefield, who fought with extraordinary bravery and was more brutal than most. It's said that people with certain disabilities are more ruthless...

It’s a pity that my aunt didn’t know about that.

Mrs. Luo finally came to her senses, nodded, and said to Lin Hairu, "Since your sister-in-law has already sent it off, you don't have to worry about it anymore." She then said to Luo Shenyuan, "Tomorrow your father will take your eldest and second brothers to see Inspector Song. You should go with them. Although Inspector Song is not presiding over the provincial examination, he is a good friend of Zhang Hanlin, who is assigned to supervise the examination. You can ask him for advice when the time comes."

Luo Shenyuan stood up and answered.

Old Mrs. Luo didn't seem to want to care how Luo Shenyuan would treat the two girls.

Yi Ning wondered in her heart, is this considered as Grandmother's tacit approval...