Lin'an City is surrounded by mountains on three sides. The Tiaoxi River slowly flows from east to west around Lin'an City and flows into the Qiantang River, becoming the main route for the people of Lin'an to leave the city.

Pei's mansion was built in Xiaomei Lane in the east of the city. The houses built along the hillside were arranged in an orderly manner, occupying the entire Xiaomei Lane. The small river that was introduced from the Tiaoxi River, meandered down from the backyard of Pei's mansion, and merged into the Tiaoxi Pier was called Xiaomei Creek by the people of Lin'an City. Because Xiaomei Creek was the only river in the city that led to the pier and could be sailed, after passing the government office and the school in the city, river houses and small vendors began to gather on both sides of the river. Although it was not as prosperous as Changxing Street in the west of the city, which was full of shops, it was no less lively than Changxing Street in the west of the city.

On a summer morning, before the sun rises, the air is filled with the freshness of grass and dew.

Yu Tang wore a white silk flower and a plain summer cloth skirt, and supported her mother as they walked through the riverside houses on both sides of Xiaomei Creek.

Xiaomei Lane was still in sight, but sweat was already appearing on his forehead.

She took out a snow-blue silk handkerchief and wiped the sweat off her face. Only then did she look at her mother, Mrs. Chen.

Seeing that her temples were also wet with sweat, Yu Tang hurriedly handed her a handkerchief and whispered, "Mom, wipe your sweat too!"

Chen shook her head, took out her handkerchief to wipe her sweat, praised her and said, "You don't have to worry about Mom, just take care of yourself."

Yu Wen, who was walking in front of them, couldn't help but complain: "I said to hire a sedan chair, and you said it was disrespectful to the dead. You have finally recovered a little, don't overwork yourself and collapse again. In my opinion, you shouldn't have come. I can just bring Atang here."

Chen was tall and thin, with a pale face. Her long-term illness made her delicate eyes and eyebrows look pitiful like a pear blossom in the rain. She smiled and comforted Yu Wen: "Okay, okay, I know you care about me. I will do my best and not let you and Atang worry. The old lady of the Pei family has been very kind to me. If I were in good health, I should go to the temple and kowtow every three steps to pray to the Bodhisattva to bless him to ascend to heaven as soon as possible. It's just taking advantage of his kindness and being lazy to go to burn incense for him without any pain." When she said this, her eyes became dim.

Ever since she learned of the death of the old lady of the Pei family, Chen has felt uneasy.

Yu Tang hurriedly comforted his mother: "Mom, you also said that the old lady of the Pei family is kind and compassionate. She won't care about these things. When we have the chance in the future, we will go to the temple to pray for the old lady of the Pei family."

Chen nodded.

Yu Wen told the mother and daughter, "The Pei family is a large and powerful family. Although the three branches have divided the family, they have not divided the clan. The branch of the old lady of the Pei family lives in the east road, and the Pei family's ancestral hall is also on the east road. But the old lady of the Pei family is lying in state, and there are too many people who want to pay tribute, so they are lying in the side hall of the main entrance of the middle road. The male guests burn incense in the side hall, and the female guests have two other places to burn incense on the east road. One is for the female relatives of relatives and old friends, and the other is for neighbors like us. When you go in, remember to follow the women in charge, and don't go to the wrong place."

After three days of burial, the funeral hall began to open to the neighbors.

Yu Wen had some connections with the Pei family because of Chen's medical treatment, and he was also a scholar, so he went to greet them in advance. He had been helping the Pei family these days, and today he brought his wife and daughter to pay homage to the old lady of the Pei family.

Chen had never witnessed such a large-scale funeral before, and she felt a little worried, so she responded anxiously.

Although Yu Tang had lived two lives as a human being, she was detained in the backyard of the inner house by the Li family. She always went out secretly and had never experienced such a situation. However, she felt that she had been tortured by the Li family for those years, and she would become stronger when facing a strong opponent. Even if something went wrong, as long as it did not involve interests, the Pei family should still be generous and would correct it if there was something wrong, and encourage herself if there was nothing wrong. She was not very worried.

Perhaps it was because there were many people in Lin'an City who had benefited from the Pei family, and today was the first day that the Pei family opened the mourning hall. Along the way, she found that many small vendors beside Xiaomei Creek were not open, and there were not many people walking around. When she arrived at the county school, she found that there were no classes in the county school and a white banner was hung.

Yu Wen sighed, "If these students in the county school had not received support from the old lady of the Pei family, how could they have produced several scholars every few years? Now that the old lady of the Pei family has passed away, no one knows who will be in charge of the Pei family. Everyone is very uneasy, and most people are afraid that they will not be interested in studying..."

Chen heard this and said, "You didn't believe Lu Xin's lies, did you? You let the third house take charge instead of the eldest house? This will cause trouble, right?"

Even in the imperial court, the eldest son of the legitimate wife is the heir.

Yu Wen hesitated for a while and whispered, "It's not surprising if there are such rumors. The eldest master died of illness in his prime, and his two sons were not yet adults. They had never been involved in the Pei family's affairs before..."

Chen argued, "Isn't there someone in charge of this family? Who is born with the ability? As long as you are willing to learn, you can do it!"

Yu Wen hesitated and said, "But I heard those people talking about how the two young masters of the Pei family were from their uncle's family, and the two old masters were not good at numbers since they were young... Maybe that's why the rumors spread."

But if this happens, the Pei family will inevitably get into trouble.

When brothers are of one mind, they can cut through metal.

If there is internal conflict, even the biggest tree may fall down.

Yu Wen and Chen fell silent at the same time.

Seeing that the atmosphere was not good, Yu Tang smiled and said jokingly, "Dad, why is the place where the Pei family lives called Xiaomei Lane? There is not even a plum blossom in Xiaomei Lane, nor anything related to plum."

She had wanted to ask this question in her previous life.

I just couldn't find anyone to ask.

Yu Wen smiled and said, "Of course you can't see it. I heard about it from Tong the shopkeeper last time. It is said that when the ancestor of the Pei family brought his family to Lin'an to avoid the world, he found a wild plum tree and built a house next to the tree and named it Xiaomei Lane. However, the Pei family prospered and gradually expanded outward. The old plum tree had long been part of the inner house, and ordinary guests could hardly see it. But the name of Xiaomei Lane remained."

The family of three climbed the slope slowly and arrived at Pei's house.

It was all white outside the gate.

The servants were busy but not chaotic as they moved around.

Seeing Yu Wen, a manager-like person came forward to greet him: "Mr. Yu is here, please sit in the side hall."

Yu Wen pointed at Chen and Yu Tang and said, "Zhuo Jing and my daughter have received great kindness from the old lady. No matter what, we must come and kowtow to the old lady and burn incense."

There are too many people like this.

The steward politely bowed to Chen and Yu Tang, called over a stewardess in mourning, and asked her to take Chen and Yu Tang to pay homage to Old Lady Pei.

Chen and Yu Tang exchanged some polite words and followed the old woman eastward.

Only then did Yu Tang have time to look around the Pei family's mansion.

As expected of a huge building occupying Lin'an City, there is a courtyard that can accommodate at least 20 carriages in this mountainous and land-scarce Lin'an City. The trees beside the courtyard are mostly thick, with lush branches and leaves, and umbrella-like crowns. The welcoming pine tree is taller than a person, with twisted branches and branches that stretch out more than three feet. The corridors that rise up are green tiles and red railings, with blue-green patterns painted on the top. The pillars are all wrapped in white silk, and the green trees on both sides are decorated with white silk flowers as big as bowls.

How much money does this cost!

Yu Tang was shocked in his heart.

Then something even stranger was discovered.

Along the way, she didn't see a flower of any color other than white.

Rich families like to plant trees that symbolize fertility and prosperity, especially this season, when pomegranates and date trees are in bloom. Not to mention these trees, even common trees like hibiscus, crape myrtle and roses are not seen.

Yu Tang paused for a moment and looked carefully at the tree with branches sticking out beside the corridor.

The maid who had been keeping an eye on the guests noticed something was wrong immediately. She slowed down her pace and asked softly, "What are you looking at, young lady? Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Chen also turned around in confusion.

Yu Tang quickly retracted her gaze and took a few steps forward to catch up with Chen. She was afraid that the old woman would misunderstand her for peeping into the inner chamber and being uneducated, so she explained, "I think this tree looks like a pomegranate tree, but it has no flowers..."

The old woman was stunned.

Perhaps because he was afraid that Yu Tang would misunderstand that the Pei family's pomegranate tree did not bloom, he thought for a moment and said, "It was blooming. Didn't the old lady pass away? The old masters and young masters in the family were uncomfortable with it, so they asked for it to be cut down."

This is the reason.

Yu Tang was stunned.

Chen was also surprised and asked, "Did they cut off all of them?"

It's obvious that the Pei family's property is very large, and there are many flowers and trees planted. How much manpower would it take if they all had to be trimmed?

The old woman must have suffered greatly from this. Hearing this, she smiled bitterly and said, "Who says it's not true? Ever since the Third Elder complained that the abandoned flowers were too blooming, the three chief stewards have been busy with the funeral and instructing people to prune the flowers for two whole days. We have been following them up and down, and we can't even lift our hands."

"Thanks for your hard work!" Chen said sympathetically, "It will be fine once you are through this busy period."

Perhaps because Chen was speaking very sincerely and her tone was gentle and incomparable, the old woman looked at Chen carefully and said, "My husband's surname is Ji, and everyone calls me Aunt Ji. If you have anything to say, you can ask someone to come and talk to me."

Those who can be addressed as "Auntie" are not ordinary respectable maids. Most of them are servants who have served the Pei family for several generations. They may also be smart and capable, relied on by the master of a certain family, and are in charge of local affairs.

Chen politely called her "Aunt Ji".

Yu Tang's heart was in turmoil.

Chen couldn't hear it, but she did.

The one who doesn't like red flowers is the third elder, the ones who are busy with funerals and instructing people to prune the flowers and trees are the three chief stewards, so what are the first chief steward and the second chief steward doing?

Could it be that the Pei family has really changed its ways and rearranged itself in a place where no one else can see, as Lu Xin said?

She remained calm and innocent, and asked the old lady with curiosity: "The Pei family is indeed the leader of Lin'an City. There are three chief stewards. How many ordinary stewards are there? My father knows Tong, the shopkeeper. He said that Tong is very knowledgeable and powerful. Is Tong the steward or the chief steward of your house?"

Aunt Ji's eyes softened as she heard this, and she said, "Tong the shopkeeper is my father-in-law."

In other words, Aunt Ji's daughter married Xiao Tong, the shopkeeper.

"Oh my, what a coincidence!" Yu Tang and Chen exclaimed in low voices. Yu Tang even vividly told Aunt Ji how she knew the father and son of the Tong family, and praised the young shopkeeper Tong.