After dealing with all the elders of the Xie family, Xie Ziyuan followed Ding Huizhu back to the Xie family's old residence.

Xie Zian stood at the door, his youthful brows and eyes arrogant, but the moment he saw Xie Ziyuan, all his thorns seemed to disappear.

He quickly walked down the steps to greet Xie Ziyuan, "Sister!"

Xie Ziyuan smiled as she looked at the boy, who was now much taller than her. "Hmm, you've grown taller again. How have you been lately?"

The two chatted as they walked inside. A sumptuous meal had already been prepared in the kitchen, steaming hot and waiting for Xie Ziyuan.

Xie Ziyuan glanced at the housekeeper, Aunt Wan, and other servants standing at the door, her tone tinged with nostalgia, "Nothing in the house has changed much."

She was very thoughtful and even brought gifts for everyone in the family—even the maids.

"By the way, where is Zhang Ma?" Because Zhang Ma held a special position among the servants, considered a half-master, Xie Ziyuan always treated her with great respect, and the gift she bought this time was different from that of the other servants.

Ding Huizhu was taken aback. Zhang Ma used to like to hang around the main building all the time, but she had been coming less often lately, only worrying about Xie Li's daily life.

Xie Li wasn't here today, so she simply didn't even show her face!

Ding Huizhu felt a little unhappy, wondering what Zhang Ma was trying to do. She said indifferently, "She's probably in the backyard. Don't worry about her. Let's eat."

Xie Ziyuan didn't ask any more questions, but after finishing her meal, she took the gift and went to the small courtyard behind the artificial lake.

She walked across the small garden in the backyard and saw many vegetables planted in the open space next to it, and couldn't help but smile.

Hearing noises coming from Zhang Ma's small house, she knocked on the door and went inside, saying, "Grandma, your vegetables are getting better and better..."

She bumped into a woman wearing a cheongsam and a cashmere sweater, and paused in surprise.

The other woman had a graceful figure, and even wearing a cheongsam didn't stop her from carrying two buckets of water with great speed. Her long black hair was even more lustrous and smooth than Xie Ziyuan's.

Seeing Xie Ziyuan standing in the courtyard, he put down the bucket and asked, "Miss Ziyuan?"

Xie Ziyuan smiled and said, "Excuse me, I'm looking for Aunt Zhang. Are you her niece from her maternal family?"

She assumed the other person was a relative of Zhang Ma, since he looked to be under forty and well-maintained.

Aunt Zhang: "..."

The old lady was secretly delighted and said with a smile, "It's me! Miss Ziyuan, you're finally back. Why don't you come in and sit down?"

After a long while, Xie Ziyuan finally understood what was going on. She looked up and examined Zhang Ma again, still feeling a little dazed.

The Xie family didn't think much of Zhang Ma's changes, since they had witnessed the old lady change little by little, and there was a process of acceptance for them.

But Xie Ziyuan was different. When she went to the capital, she even took Zhang Ma's pulse. The old lady was old and had all sorts of health problems. She was just an ordinary old lady.

The person in front of me did not resemble the old lady with a full head of white hair and a face full of wrinkles in my memory at all.

The impact of this is considerable.

Xie Ziyuan gave the gift to Zhang Ma, who thanked her politely. Xie Ziyuan keenly sensed that Zhang Ma was not as close to her as before.

She returned to the main building, saw Ding Huizhu, and asked with a smile, "Mom, Zhang Ma has changed so much, I almost didn't recognize her."

Ding Huizhu frowned: "It's all because of Xie Li's bad influence. The old lady dyed her hair black and even started wearing makeup..."

I really don't know what Zhang Ma is thinking. She's so old, yet she's trying to look young and beautiful. What is she trying to do?