The next day, Shao Jinxin went to see Shao Wenxuan and said, "Zhixian (the grandson to be adopted) stays here all day long, is he disturbing your peace and quiet?"

Upon hearing this, Shao Wenxuan put down his book. "Uncle, what are you saying? Zhixian is the most obedient person imaginable. Come and see the calligraphy he has been practicing these past few days."

"Good, good, good." Shao Jinxin took the paper and looked at it. It was not bad, but his purpose was not to look at the words.

He casually placed the papers on the table. "I was thinking that since you and Zhixian get along so well, shouldn't we pick a date soon to have Zhixian adopted?"

Shao Wenxuan lowered his head. "What you said is also what I was thinking, Uncle. However, I need to discuss this matter with Jia Mu before I can give you an answer."

“Jia Mu is just a woman. You are his biological father. What can you do if you make a request? Adopting Zhi Xian is also to carry on the Shen family line.”

Before Shao Wenxuan could reply, Granny Qian came to find him on her young mistress's orders.

"What lineage are you talking about? My young lady will carry on the Shen family line. Before he passed away, the old master instructed my wife that if there was no male heir, she should find a husband for her."

"Sir, did you kneel before our master and agree to this? We will not adopt a child from another family."

Granny Qian came to find Shao Wenxuan to talk about this matter. They had heard rumors in the mansion that a son of the Shao family was to be adopted by Shao Wenxuan and Shen Wan (Shen Jiamu's mother).

This was, after all, someone else's residence, and Shao Jinxin was speechless with embarrassment upon hearing this.

After saying these words, Granny Qian nodded slightly and left without bowing.

Shao Wenxuan quickly caught up with her in a few strides, then asked breathlessly, "How is your young lady's health now? Has it improved?"

"No need for you to worry, sir. Miss is taking her medicine on time. However, we are short of some medicinal herbs at home. Please have Hezi go out and buy some at noon."

Shao Jinxin smiled and said, "If there's anything missing, our Shao family owns a pharmacy, so we can just have them deliver it directly. There's no need to send the servants out again."

Granny Qian glanced at him and, without any hesitation, told him all the medicinal herbs he needed.

Her young mistress instructed her to be as flamboyant as possible. In any case, at this stage, Shao Jinxin only wanted the best for her and wouldn't dare to do anything outrageous.

Upon learning that his daughter was unharmed, Shao Wenxuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then glanced timidly at his uncle.

Shao Jinxin was so angry that his head ached. He nodded and left, too angry to utter a single word.

…………………………………………………………

Wang Yan was having breakfast in Ruixuelou when Mu Yin explained that the name of the courtyard was personally chosen by the old master of the Shen family.

Because Shen Jiamu was born in the capital, on the day the old man opened his first branch in the capital, not only did it snow, but the Shen family also had its first grandchild.

Wang Yan pretended to listen with great interest, but in reality, she had a soup dumpling in her hand and her whole attention was on the dumpling.

The method of making soup dumplings originated from the capital. People at the time described these dumplings as moving like a lantern and still like a chrysanthemum.

When lifted, it resembles a lantern; when put down, it resembles a chrysanthemum.

The method involves mincing the pork into a paste, then adding salt, sugar, pepper, oil, soy sauce, and filling.

The soup dumplings in the capital city don't contain aspic; instead, water or broth is added in small amounts several times until the minced pork has completely absorbed the broth.

Then add sesame oil and stir in one direction until well mixed. Sesame oil is used to lock in moisture and enhance aroma.

Mix flour with cold water to form a soft dough, then add raw flour three times and knead each time. Knead the dough thoroughly until it's smooth and elastic for making the buns.

The dough for soup dumplings is very important; it should be rolled out thinly around the edges and thicker in the center, with 21 pleats.

Steam over high heat for half an hour, then remove from the steamer. The skin is thin and the filling is generous, with a savory and rich flavor. Make a small opening, pour the broth into a bowl, and slurp it down in one go.

The soup dumplings in the capital are large, while in Jiangnan, although they are wrapped in the same way, the dumplings are much smaller. Wang Yan ate five in one go before she even had time to drink her porridge.

At the inn, Wang Ying's breakfast consisted of a bowl of red bean porridge and steamed buns, but the filling was shrimp.

It tasted delicious and fragrant, and she ate a whole basket by herself.

The key issue is that I'm incredibly anxious, and I feel like eating something can calm me down.

Wang Ying started feeling her eyelids twitching from the moment she started eating breakfast.

Sure enough, after finishing her meal and returning to her room, the girl named Ye Zi, who had come to stay at the inn with her, spoke up in a flustered manner.

"Miss Wang, today is our second day staying outside."

My mother instructed us that if we didn't receive a reply from the Shen family in three days, it meant they were imprisoned. She wanted us to report them to the authorities!

Wang Ying looked at her and said, "We followed you and Granny Qian the whole time you came. When did you say that?"

The girl choked for a moment, then spoke again, "I hope you believe me, sister. I have not lied at all. Aren't Madam Wang and your sister also in the Shen residence? How could I dare to use their lives and fortunes as a pretext to deceive people?"

Wang Ying sneered again, "What you said is absolutely right. At the time, we said that my mother and sister would go back with you to explain that your young lady was rescued by us."

It's been two days already, why haven't they returned yet? I think I should go ask them, but I should probably go to the outer gate of your Shen residence to inquire!

Upon hearing this, the girl panicked. "Sister, no! I really didn't lie to you. If you come here like this and get harmed by that villain, what will we do?"

After Ye Zi finished speaking, she knelt down with a thud, raised three fingers, and swore to the heavens, "If my Shen family has any intention of harming my three benefactors, may my entire Shen family suffer a terrible death!"

Being young, he didn't know how to prove or refute his own claims. After swearing, he looked at Wang Ying in a panic.

"Even if you are worried about Madam Wang and your younger sister, you should report it to the authorities and let the officials search the Shen residence. That would be safer, wouldn't it?"

Wang Ying looked at her, then blurted out, "Yes, then let's go now."

After saying that, they grabbed her and left without waiting for her to agree or not. What's wrong with this family?

Ye Zi quickly declined, "It's only the second day. Why don't we wait until tomorrow? If it causes a misunderstanding, it won't be good for the reputation of our Shen family."

My mother (Granny Qian) said to wait patiently for three days, and then she would definitely repay our benefactors handsomely!

Wang Ying was furious. They were just a few strangers she had met by chance! What exactly were they trying to drag into all this?

Regardless, Wang Ying no longer wanted to play along with them.

It seems they are not afraid to report to the authorities, but they insist on waiting until tomorrow. Why is that?

Never mind, let's just use this trick to force them to send my sister and mother back.

If the people watching nearby know what's good for them, they'll send her mother and sister back. If they don't, she's really going to the government office today.

Ye Zi couldn't break free from her, so she had no choice but to be dragged to the back. Along the way, she was thinking about what kind of strategy she should use to persuade Wang Ying to come back.

I've already told this older sister about 80-90% of what my mother told me. Should I tell her the rest?

But her mother said to go and complain to some official, and that this matter must be kept secret. As for why, she didn't know!

But she has no choice now. If she really can't stop this woman, she will tell her everything.

Even the most foolish person would know that filing a false complaint or contacting the wrong person could be fatal to the young lady's plans.

Wang Ying pulled her out through the back door of the kitchen in the backyard, so the people who were guarding them in the front yard didn't know that the two of them had gone out.

Ye Zi steeled her heart and was about to tell him everything.

Suddenly, Wang Ying turned around, pulled her into a nearby alley, and made a shushing gesture.

After confirming that she wouldn't be discovered, Wang Ying was furious. Why did things have to go from bad to worse?

The reason was simple: I happened to run into that short guy with the scar from that day!

Between two evils, choose the lesser. Although she didn't know what Miss Shen was really up to, Wang Ying could still sense that they probably didn't have any major malicious intent.

But this scarred man was different; with his fierce and menacing appearance, Wang Ying instinctively felt the urge to hide when she saw him.

Seeing the scarred man walk away, Wang Ying quickly turned around and left the alley, pulling Ye Zi along as they ran back to the inn.

“Go tell the men your household sent that I’ve seen that scarred man; he’s been wandering around here. Tell them to protect us.”

Ye Zi was extremely embarrassed and quickly ran out to find the people on their side. It turned out that this older sister had already noticed that they had sent people over.

She went down and gave a few instructions, then returned and gave Wang Ying a fawning smile.

"What exactly do you mean? Why have you summoned us, mother and daughters?"

Ye Zi lowered her head, "Please don't worry, sister. We really have no ill intentions towards our benefactor."

Wang Ying was furious. She had asked the same question several times already, but the other person kept repeating the same thing over and over.

So she simply kept quiet. Since she couldn't get any information from her side, Wang Yan also started probing Qian Mama in the mansion.

"Granny, I see that no one in the manor has any doubts about what the young lady did. If you need my mother and me to be witnesses, let's go and talk about it now. My sister is still waiting for us outside."

Moreover, we have been away for some time and are about to return to our hometown in the capital. My father is in charge of the kitchen in the Marquis's mansion, and he is busy during the year-end season, which is why we were able to come out.

Besides, we're not here to play around; we're here to take some of the finest Jinhua ham back with us.

If we linger any longer at the manor, we won't have enough time. If the head of the household's criminal investigation department comes down to punish us, I'm afraid my father will be in trouble.”

Granny Qian raised an eyebrow. "You're servants of the Marquis's mansion? Then why were you three women allowed to come to Jiangnan at the end of the year? To travel such a long way to buy ham?"

Wang Yan nodded, "Yes, but all three of my family members have already redeemed themselves. We came here for two reasons: first, to travel, and second, to bring back some ham."

However, if his return is delayed, and his father is still working at the Marquis's residence, it will surely anger the head of the Red Case Office.

Granny Qian smiled and said, "What's the big deal? Our family also has shops in the capital."

A batch of top-quality Jinhua ham was just delivered a little over a month ago, and I'm sending a letter now to have a carrier pigeon deliver it.

"What's your father's name? Did you have them deliver it directly?"

Wang Yan was speechless.