The second wife kept the second master in check, preventing him from interfering in the couple's activities.

This time, with the news being confirmed, the Second Madam withdrew her staff from keeping an eye on the Second Master and even deliberately took him away, preventing him from returning to the mansion.

They relaxed their covert surveillance of Gu Ting and the other man, and happily began preparing New Year's gifts.

I plan to send some useful items to Gu Yan, who is studying at the academy, and Gu Jing, who is at the training ground.

With Gu Ting and his companion losing their spirits, they naturally had no desire to coax or make things difficult for anyone.

After leaving Xu Chen at the Marquis's residence, Xu Shaoqing stopped seeing him and waited for her parents to send a letter.

Xu Chen felt much better, and finally had some peace and quiet for a day or two.

But everyone overlooked a minor figure: Aunt Yang! Madam Yang knew everything about their plan.

She knew better than the second wife, since Zheng Jin had guessed what they were doing. Madam Yang had been listening the whole time.

Yang felt that she had been swallowing her anger and acting subserviently to her "daughter-in-law" all this time, but Xu Shaoqing, that useless girl, couldn't even hold onto the fat meat that was right in front of her.

Seeing that Xu Chen couldn't get a single hair out of his body, yet he was still living so comfortably in his mansion.

Feeling resentful, Zhou, the old nanny beside him, noticed. Coincidentally, her son was also working at the mansion and had been sent by Gu Ting to take care of Young Master Chen.

That very evening, Xu Chen noticed a change in the Marquis's attitude.

First, the food the servant brought was inedible; the menu was still six dishes, a soup, and a snack.

However, the food was all cold. The lard in the Dongpo pork knuckle had solidified, and the eggplant with spicy sauce had shriveled from the moisture because it was delivered late.

Needless to say, the soup was missing half a bowl, and the waiter nonchalantly bowed his head and apologized.

"Please forgive me, young master. I was just going to get the food when I tripped and fell, which is why I'm a little late."

Xu Chen was in someone else's home and didn't want to make a fuss, so he said, "It's alright! You may leave!"

Granny Cheng went to the Anbo residence to report back, and there was only a young boy about the same age as Xu Chen there.

He looked at the cold dishes and leftovers on the table and muttered discontentedly, "Young Master, this soup doesn't look like it's been spilled at all. Did he scoop out half of it and drink it?"

Xu Chen lost his appetite upon seeing this and casually grabbed two pastries.

After a while, they asked the servant to come in and prepare the food, but he was nowhere to be found; he had disappeared somewhere.

For the next few days, a meal like this was served every day.

The reasons given were varied and numerous, ranging from the long journey and the jostling while carrying the food to the accidental breakage of the lunchbox, or simply that the person was not feeling well.

They would jokingly ask for leave to go back and recuperate, but they would disappear for most of the day, making it difficult for them to even get water from their rooms.

By the third day, the young boy could no longer bear it and asked the servant boy in a rather annoyed tone,

"If you're not feeling well, we'll have someone else serve you, so you don't have to worry about not even being able to bring in a kettle of hot water."

When Zhou Mama's son, Dezi, heard the boy's question, he sneered and shoved him.

"I never imagined that someone so young could be so harsh."

The servant was unwell but still helped carry food and boil water. I don't know what you, little boy, are complaining about?

I've noticed that the young master has treated you well lately, but who would have thought you'd be so tactless and lacking in social skills?

"I advise you to shut up! How dare you act like this and try to bring trouble upon the young master? You heartless ingrate! I think you're hopeless!"

The boy sensed the veiled meaning in his words, realizing he had even insulted his own young master; his face flushed crimson.

"It's clearly you who doesn't do your job properly, yet you open your mouth and try to spout nonsense here, making false accusations!"

A servant like you is a disgrace and a source of trouble for your master; you will not have a good end!

Dezi, feeling humiliated by the scolding, reached out to hit Xiaotong.

Hearing the commotion, Xu Chen rushed out and shouted sternly, "Stop! Is this how the Marquis's mansion treats its guests? You resort to violence at the slightest disagreement!"

Caught off guard, Dezi felt a little guilty but forced a reply, "Young Master Chen has misunderstood! This child is putting on airs. I was afraid it would tarnish your reputation, so I thought of teaching him a lesson."

Xu Chen's face was as cold as frost, and his words were equally chilling.

"I dare not let a mere servant instruct my Xu family's sons!"

My child is well-behaved and knows his own limitations. He absolutely dislikes bossing others around.

When Dezi saw that Young Master Chen was really angry, he couldn't help but feel a little scared, but after looking around, he realized that no one nearby had seen or knew anything about it.

Feeling emboldened again, and remembering her mother's instructions, she thought that angering Young Master Chen might actually be a meritorious deed.

He glanced around again, and seeing that no maids or servants were passing by, he mustered his courage.

"I am a servant of the Marquis's mansion. No matter what, it is not up to a country boy to lecture me!"

After saying that, he flicked his sleeves, snorted, and walked away triumphantly!

The child was still young, and upon seeing this, his eyes reddened, and he almost cried from anger.

Xu Chen breathed a sigh of relief and comforted the child, "Alright, don't be angry. Go and pack your things, and we'll go find our elder sister to say goodbye and return to the Marquis's residence."

Upon hearing this, the boy immediately stopped sobbing and went to pack his things with a smile. After he finished packing, Xu Chen took him to say goodbye to Xu Shaoqing.

How could Xu Shaoqing agree? She dismissed him with just a few words.

As he was leaving, he ran into Dezi, who had gone to Xiuxia Courtyard to report something and was instructed by Granny Zhou to deliver an inkstone to the Third Young Master.

Having encountered this, they had no choice but to quickly put down the inkstone and follow Xu Chen back.

He didn't even receive a reward, and Xu Shaoqing even scolded him a couple of times.

"Just serve your young master well, why are you running around all day?"

If you dare to abandon your post again, even if you go to the Second Madam's place, you'll get a few lashes and be kicked out!

Dezi mumbled his apology and followed Xu Chen out of Moyuan Courtyard with a dejected look on his face.

Xu Chen still couldn't return to the Marquis's residence, and feeling somewhat stifled, he went to the lotus pond to get some fresh air.

Dezi was dissatisfied. "It's so cold, and the lotus flowers aren't even blooming. What's the point of going there?"

But they didn't dare to utter a sound. They had just been scolded, and now they obediently followed the young master to the lotus pond.

Standing before the shimmering water, a cool breeze gently blew by, and Xu Chen exhaled, feeling a refreshing sensation in his mouth.

Feeling much better, I stood there for a while longer, then felt a bit cold, so I turned around and prepared to go back.

Who could have predicted that he would suddenly slip and fall into the mud by the lotus pond, and immediately cry out for help!

When the young master saw that he had fallen into the water, the boy was so frightened that he shouted and tried to go down to rescue him, almost falling in himself.

He turned around and shouted urgently for Dezi to save the person, but Dezi just chuckled and crossed his arms, intending to watch the excitement for a while before going down.

The little boy cried loudly in distress. Wang Xing happened to be delivering something to his younger sister when he heard someone crying by the lotus pond, so he ran over to take a look.

Without hesitation, he jumped in and rescued the young master.

When Dezi noticed someone approaching, he pretended to come over as well, but Xiaotong became fierce and shoved him aside.

She turned away and begged Wang Xing to send the young master back, crying. Back in his guest room in the outer courtyard, Xu Chen developed a high fever that very night.

Granny Cheng took a fifteen-minute carriage ride back overnight.