Bai Zihua lay listlessly in front of Xiao Yang:

"You don't understand, I'll tell you right now that I'm just a handyman, and the fruit and vegetable shop has nothing to do with me. Otherwise, they would have wanted to put the fruit and vegetable shop under their own names! It's really speechless! Even Chen Meng said she's never seen a grandmother like this!"

Xiao Yang didn't know how to comfort Bai Zihua, so he could only listen silently as Bai Zihua poured out his suffering!

"The imperial edict has arrived! All personnel of the Xiao family, come out to receive it!"

Upon hearing the imperial edict, everyone came out to receive it!

The Song couple had never seen an imperial edict before and were at a loss for what to do!

Xiao Yang walked up to Song Dahai and his wife, took one of their hands, and knelt down on the ground!

"By the grace of Heaven, the Empress Dowager hereby decrees: I have returned to the palace today and am deeply missing my grandson. Therefore, I hereby summon you to the palace. This is the imperial decree!"

"Third Young Master, accept the decree! The Empress Dowager said that you must bring her granddaughter-in-law along!"

It's Li Gonggong, the chief eunuch serving the Empress Dowager!

After thinking for a moment, fearing that Xiao Yang might misunderstand and cause him to be punished as well, Eunuch Li walked up to Xiao Yang and said something:

"Does the Empress Dowager mean that her granddaughter-in-law must find out?"

Xiao Yang...

Didn't I already say that?

Seeing Xiao Yang's bewildered expression, Eunuch Li simply stated, "The Empress Dowager's meaning is that you don't have to go, but your granddaughter-in-law must go!"

Xiao Yang...

This is truly a biological granddaughter-in-law, but a fake grandson!

Song Yan'er, who was listening nearby, was absolutely ecstatic!

Grandma, you're amazing!

Song Yan'er got her wish and saw Xiao Yang's expression change. She looked at Xiao Yang smugly and said, "See? I'm still the most charming one!"

Xiao Yang...

I highly suspect that you gave the old lady some kind of magic potion. She's practically "dying," yet she doesn't see her grandson but goes to see her granddaughter-in-law.

Shen Meng and Bai Zihua watched from the sidelines, all smiles!

Chen Meng: "Yan'er, how did you manage to win over Grandma Xiao Yang? You're amazing! You even managed to win over the Empress Dowager of a nation! Can you teach me?"

Song Yan'er...

There's really no way to teach this, because the two are from the same hometown! As the saying goes, when people from the same hometown meet, their eyes well up with tears!

Before Song Yan'er could refuse, Shen Meng changed her mind again: "Forget it, not all old ladies are the same! As for my old lady, forget it, let's not talk about her!"

Bai Zihua reached out and embraced Chen Meng:

"It'll be alright. My cousin is here. Let's ask him for advice. We'll move out too. I bought the whole yard next to his. It's a bit small, but it's enough for the three of us!"

Chen Meng looked at Bai Zihua with a face full of surprise: "Really? That's wonderful! Yan'er, we'll be neighbors from now on! That's really great, thank you, husband!"

In truth, Shen Meng was well aware of Bai Zihua's predicament. Because of her own bad temper, those people dared not openly confront her, but Bai Zihua was caught in the middle, which was truly unpleasant for him! However, Shen Meng had no choice but to pretend not to see it in the past, otherwise, there was nothing she could do, since filial piety is of paramount importance.

So although no one could make Shen Meng suffer, she felt incredibly stifled every day looking at Bai Zihua's appearance! This led to what Bai Zihua described as a major argument every three days and a minor argument every two days!

Shen Meng was also doing this for Bai Zihua's own good. By doing a little something herself, they would turn their attacks on her and wouldn't have time to cause trouble for Bai Zihua!

But in fact, he had a lot of energy and didn't miss a single opportunity to cause trouble for Bai Zihua!

Of course, Shen Meng was unaware of all this; she was oblivious and always thought she was doing a great job!

Bai Zihua glanced at Shen Meng, who was clearly in a much better mood!

Shen Meng and Bai Zihua had been husband and wife for four years, so she understood Bai Zihua's hints instantly!

Although Xiao Yang is the grandson of the old chief magistrate, he has a lot of influence in the Bai family because of his relationship with the fourth prince. As a result, the Bai family members, who are not very discerning, are very tolerant of him!

Then, Shen Meng bowed deeply to Xiao Yang and Song Yan'er: "Cousin, cousin-in-law, we'll be relying on you for our happiness from now on! We hope we can become neighbors soon!"

Xiao Yang...

Song Yan'er...

I don't want to be neighbors with a chatterbox. If Chen Meng moves in, Song Yan'er can already imagine what life will be like in the future!

There may be no peace and quiet left!

But when I think about how they are my important partners—after all, they are in charge of two of my three most profitable jobs—I feel I should help them if I can! Otherwise, I'll be in a bad mood every day and won't be very serious about my work!

Song Yan'er looked at Xiao Yang and said, "Husband, they are so pitiful, please do me a favor and help them!"

The two poor souls nodded simultaneously, then stared intently at Xiao Yang!

Xiao Yang...

What can I do about this? Even an upright official can't settle family disputes! Besides, it's my uncle's family matter. I can't interfere in my uncle's family affairs, can I?

But seeing the expectant looks in the three people's eyes, Xiao Yang couldn't bring himself to refuse.

"Okay, I'll give it a try!"

But we still need to talk to my uncle and grandfather about this!

But my parents are still living together and we don't separate the family. Since this is a special case, no one says anything about me moving out!

My cousin's situation is different from mine!

Sigh! What a fate I have!

The next morning, Xiao Yang, Song Yan'er, Bai Zihua, and Shen Meng entered the palace together!

News has spread that the Empress Dowager is terminally ill and will soon pass away!

However, apart from announcing Xiao Yang's death yesterday, the Empress Dowager has not seen anyone else!

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