"Even if your heir doesn't pledge allegiance to the eldest prince or the crown prince, don't offend others too much, understand?"

"Young Master Yao, you've said that too late." The logic is sound, but the situation has changed now.

Xiao Wu sighed, "Just a few days ago, the young master told the young mistress that he wanted her to be his only wife, and that no one could shake her position."

"Didn't you see? The young mistress came to the young master's courtyard today as if she were in her own home, she was very comfortable. Even the rumors that the cousin was going to marry into the family have been circulating in the mansion, but no one dares to mention it anymore."

"Then you should try to persuade him!" Yao Zhijie said anxiously, slapping his thigh. "You have to try to persuade him. We can't let him go astray because of a woman."

As he spoke, he slapped himself again. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have disturbed him when he and my cousin were reciting poetry and admiring the moon in the library. Look at how stupid I am! I'm so stupid!"

Yao Zhijie slapped himself twice more.

"I remember, you must persuade your crown prince."

He gave Xiao Wu some instructions, then stopped letting Xiao Wu see him off and walked out alone.

After walking a few steps, I happened to pass by Jiang Shuwan's courtyard.

He felt a pang of guilt as he recalled how Jiang Shuwan had been sitting and talking to him just moments before.

The woman was exceptionally beautiful, with a serene and composed demeanor, strikingly bright eyes, and an air of composure that remained unfazed even in the face of imminent danger.

"Miss Jiang, I truly admire you."

"Whether it's the commercial taxes you've managed or your overall demeanor, I admire you greatly."

"But, it's better to die than to die, my friend. I'm so sorry, please don't blame me."

"Don't blame Pei Yanzhi for your divorce. Don't worry, if you are exposed about the commercial tax, I will definitely speak up for you."

After saying that, Yao Zhijie put his hands together and bowed towards Jiang Shuwan's courtyard.

Feeling a little better, he then started walking forward.

But as he walked, he realized that he seemed to be a little lost.

It was already completely dark, and it started snowing heavily again. The maids and servants had all gone to take shelter from the snow. The paths in the large garden were complicated and numerous, and he had been wandering around for half an incense stick's time without finding a way.

I could only wander around inside aimlessly.

"How embarrassing for a grown man to get lost!"

As they were talking, his foot slipped, and he fell hard on his bottom in the snow. Not only did his bottom hurt, but his clothes also got wet.

"Is this God's punishment for my guilty conscience?"

With his hands covering his face, Yao Zhijie looked utterly dejected.

Suddenly, a surprised voice came from the right rear.

"It's you again?"

"Why are you stealing from the Marquis's mansion again?"

"You stole these clothes too, but the material is quite nice."

Looking down, Yao Zhijie saw a girl in pink squatting in front of him. She was talking as she grabbed his sleeve and touched it.

"Good material, but it doesn't seem to be the kind of clothing from our Marquis's residence."

"You go out to steal things every day, and you haven't been beaten to death yet."

The clear-eyed girl was actually the one who had mistaken him for a thief last time.

On a cold, snowy night, she wore a long pink silk dress embroidered with red plum blossoms. Her face was bare of makeup, and her skin glowed with a delicate plum fragrance that he could smell with every breath.

Yao Zhijie was taken aback and hurriedly stood up and backed away.

Pei Shushu thought he was going to run away, so she grabbed his hand and said, "Why are you running? That's the front yard. If you go out there and get caught, you'll be beaten to death. Go out the back door."

As he spoke, he pulled Yao Zhijie toward the back door, deliberately avoiding people, and escorted him step by step to the back door, then unlatched the door and sent him out.

"You can leave now, and don't come here again. This is a third time. Our Marquis's residence is not a place you can come and go as you please. After today, I will tell my sister-in-law to punish the old woman in the back courtyard for dereliction of duty."

"And don't steal anything anymore. You were lucky if you weren't caught before. If you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet eventually. Don't take chances, understand?"

As she spoke, a pair of delicate hands pushed him away.

"that--"

Yao Zhijie finally came to his senses. He reached out his hand as if to explain something, but Pei Shushu looked at his hand in surprise.

What happened to your hand?

His hands had chilblains, and after being slapped a few times, they were red and swollen.

Actually, I—

“You’re a pitiful person too.” Pei Shushu didn’t give him a chance to explain. She just felt sorry for the thief. He hadn’t stolen anything when he came to the Marquis’s mansion last time.

I don't know where I stole a decent set of clothes, but I was cold, hungry, and got frostbite.

The young girl immediately took off the small purse from her waist and gave it to him along with the few taels of silver inside.

"Take this money to pay for your medical treatment. Please don't steal anymore. Your sister-in-law's shop will be hiring again in a few days. You have hands and feet, so you can find a job. Oh, and don't say that I told you to."

As she was about to close the door, Yao Zhijie quickly grabbed the doorframe, his eyes burning with intensity as he stared at her. "What's your name?"

"..."

Seeing her looking at him warily, Yao Zhijie quickly changed his tune, "You've been kind to me, I just want to repay you."

"I don't need you to repay me."

"Well, I need to know my benefactor's name, right? Hey, don't close the door!"

The back door was slammed shut, but Yao Zhijie stood there for a long time, unable to come to his senses.

All he could think of was the girl kneeling in front of him, dressed in white snow and red plum blossoms.

If someone can address the young master as "sister-in-law," then she must be a daughter of the Marquis's household.

As far as he knew, the first wife only had one Pei Jing, so she must be a girl from the third or fourth wife's household.

I wonder if there are any families like that...

"Sister-in-law, is the old woman who guards the back gate shirking her duties? I just saw a sleazy-looking person loitering around in the garden."

Pei Shushu said this as soon as she entered the room, which startled Jiang Shuwan. "Describing her as lewd?"

"Yeah, he doesn't look like a good person at all."

"In that case, I'll tell the old women to be careful."

Jiang Shuwan didn't ask any further questions. She was sorting through the invitations she had received. She had some free time earlier, but none of the banquets in the capital invited her.

Once the tax law was implemented and the situation was settled, these ladies remembered her again, and within just a few days, a pile of invitations accumulated on her desk.

This lady or that lady, they all invite her to admire flowers and drink wine, none of them are of higher status than her, so whether she goes or not is not very important.

However, I do have an invitation from Princess Li Yuyan of Nan'an, and I can't very well refuse it.

Firstly, Li Yuyan is the daughter of the Prince of Pingnan, of noble birth. She was raised in the palace since childhood, and even the princesses born to the Empress and Consort Gao did not have the same status as her in front of the Emperor.

She couldn't refuse such a position.

Secondly, this was the first time Li Yuyan had invited her. In her previous life, she had attended a banquet with the Earl's wife, but because the Earl's family was not of high status, she was always seated in a corner and was only a acquaintance of Li Yuyan.

There was no grudge between us in our past lives, nor any enmity in this life, so he shouldn't make things difficult for her.

“Sister-in-law, you can’t go. The princess likes my brother.”