Gu Xi smiled slightly and said nothing more - she had said everything she needed to say, and the rest was up to others to say.

For example, the second young lady, who looked very proud and arrogant, was actually just a little girl spoiled by her family. Her emotions were all on her face, and people could tell at a glance that she was not as good as the fourth young lady who looked eccentric.

However, it was a bit beyond her expectation that Miss Pei was so naive.

Maybe it’s because we are in the small town of Lin’an?

Gu Xi and the second young lady walked slowly towards where she lived.

The second young lady bit her lip and frowned.

No, she had to find a way to figure out how Miss Yu entered and left the Pei Mansion.

There are too many people in Lin'an City who want to curry favor with the Pei family. She doesn't like anyone using the Pei family's name as a stepping stone to achieve their own selfish interests.

But Gu Xi was a guest and they just met, so she couldn't say much in front of Gu Xi. But when Gu Xi went back to the inner room to change clothes, she couldn't help but ask the old woman who had taken care of her since she was a child to check on Yu Tang.

The old woman couldn't help but frown and said, "Second Miss, that's the clan's business. If you don't like this person, you can just say a few words to him for the sake of face. Why bother going to this muddy water? Besides, you're going to get married soon. When you go to your husband's house, you'll have to rely on your parents' support. If your parents' family spreads any bad words, you'll lose face in your husband's house. I think you should just forget about it!"

The second young lady refused to give in and said, "I just can't accept that someone is using our Pei family as a target! I just want to know the reason behind it. Grandmother has also taught us that we should not be gossipers but also should not be fools. That young lady Yu is not simple. She can please my great-aunt in every way. This is not something that ordinary people can do."

The woman had no choice but to agree, but she still repeatedly reminded her: "No matter what I find out, you must keep it to yourself."

The second young lady waved her hand impatiently, and the old woman retreated.

In the inner room, Gu Xi was adjusting his clothes in front of the mirror while asking He Xiang to keep an eye on the second young lady. He whispered to her, "After all, we are not at home. Be careful."

This was not the first time He Xiang had done this. She smiled and said, "Don't worry, I know what to do. Not to mention the Second Miss, I have also sent people to keep an eye on the Fourth Miss. We will not let the Pei family find out."

Gu Xi nodded with satisfaction and asked her, "Do you have enough money?"

This time she only brought two or three close servants with her. If she wanted to know what was happening around her, she could only use her power to bribe the servants of Pei Mansion. But during the few days they lived in Pei Mansion, they also found that although the Pei family seemed to be in chaos because Old Master Pei was widowed and the eldest branch lost its position as the head of the clan, in fact, the Pei family was not in chaos at all. They did not dare to approach the well-known maids and servants in Pei Mansion, so they could only bribe some maids and servants who did rough work, and then infer what this person was doing through observation.

He Xiang smiled and said, "It's enough. We still have more than 150 taels of silver left!"

Gu Xi felt a pain in his flesh.

When her brother left Hangzhou City, he left her a banknote of 1,000 taels. This time when she came to Lin'an, she thought she would need the silver, so she asked someone to exchange it for 300 taels and brought it with her. In just a few days, she had spent 150 taels and had not used any of it yet.

But there is nothing that can be done about it. Who made them so helpless?

Gu Xi asked again: "Do you know why the first wife asked Mrs. Shen to help her deliver the letter?"

He Xiang went out and looked around. Seeing that everyone was busy with their own things, she whispered to Gu Xi, "She said she had something to ask her sister-in-law from her mother's family. She was afraid that Mrs. An would be unhappy, so she asked Mrs. Shen to deliver the letter."

Gu Xi raised his eyebrows.

Did I say something bad about my mother-in-law?

No, if I said something bad, it should be about my brother-in-law Pei Yan.

But was it Pei Yan who took the position of clan leader or was it the deceased old lady who was partial to him? This matter must be investigated clearly.

She doesn't want to marry someone who is talked about by others and can't even keep his position stable!

Gu Xi said to He Xiang, "Please bring some cakes. I will go and greet Mrs. Shen first, and then talk to the Second Miss."

I don't know how her brother thought of Mrs. Shen. Mrs. Shen is also a strange person. She doesn't like money or socializing, but only likes a good reputation. As long as you hint to her that this involves her reputation, she will immediately fall into the trap. It makes people feel both pitiful and ridiculous.

I just don’t know how the first wife impressed Mrs. Shen?

Shen Shanyan was quite pitiful, marrying such a wife. Fortunately, he did not work in the officialdom, otherwise, no one could predict what kind of trouble this Mrs. Shen would cause!

He Xiang left immediately.

Gu Xi smiled as she looked at the beautiful girl in the mirror, whose clothes were simple but whose delicate jewelry gave her a touch of elegance.

The person in the mirror also smiled.

Only then did she leave the inner room with satisfaction.

Perhaps for the convenience of plum blossom viewing, the warm pavilion of Pei's villa was built in the plum forest on the back mountain.

Sitting in a pavilion with a ground dragon burning, drinking refreshing white tea, looking at the dotted red plum blossoms, and smelling the faint plum fragrance, the life of a god is just like this.

The third young lady was the first to call out: "Barbecuing here is too unsightly. The plum fragrance has turned into the smell of grease. Instead of barbecuing today, why not enjoy the plum blossoms? Sister Gu and Sister Yu are both here, so we can play drinking games or write poems. Dad said that the class will start after the Lantern Festival this year, and I still have three six-character poems to finish!"

As she complained, Yu Tang was secretly surprised and asked, "Did the mansion hire a female teacher?"

The third young lady nodded and said, "We sisters are all studying together."

Gu Xi glanced at Lao An, who was sitting at the top with a smile on his face, and said crisply, "I can do either! I love eating, and I also love reading."

The fourth young lady giggled.

The Fifth Miss looked at her mother and Old An with hesitation, and murmured, "No, isn't there still more than a month before the New Year? There's no need to be so anxious!" After that, she looked at Yu Tang for help.

Yu Tang knew that Gu Xi was good at poetry, painting and rhythm, and that Gu Xi would definitely be the center of attention when playing or writing poetry. But she really didn't want to let down this beautiful scene.

She smiled and said, "Why don't we raise our hands? The minority obeys the majority."

The third young lady immediately raised her hand and said, "I agree with appreciating plum blossoms!"

The fourth young lady hesitated and did not raise her hand for a long time.

The fifth lady looked at the fourth lady.

Gu Xi covered his mouth and laughed beside him, as if he really could do anything.

Yu Tang sighed inwardly and raised his hand: "I agree with writing poetry."

She certainly hasn't written any masterpiece, but she has no problem writing a doggerel.

The thought flashed through her mind, and she even thought a little maliciously that she could cheat by using the Yongmei work that Gu Xi was proud of in her previous life. This would definitely surprise Gu Xi and make him feel aggrieved. It would definitely be very interesting.

But she was just thinking about it.

She might be so mean to Gu Xi about other things, but she would not plagiarize other people's talents such as poetry and painting just to gild her own face.

But as soon as she finished speaking, Miss Five looked at her angrily, as if she had done something unforgivable.

Yu Tang suddenly realized.

Miss Five probably thought she was one of their accomplices. She went against Miss Five's wishes, and Miss Five must be angry.

Yu Tang tried hard not to laugh out loud.

Little girls are so interesting, they see things in either black or white, straightforward but cute.

But she still felt that grilling here was like burning the piano and cooking the crane, so it would be better to find another place.

But at this moment the fourth young lady jumped out, raised her hand and said, "I want barbecue!" After that, she glanced at Gu Xi.

Gu Xi's heart shuddered.

It was a big mistake.

If she had known this, she should have stood up earlier like Miss Yu did.

At this time, should she agree or disagree?

Gu Xi has a headache.

The fifth young lady didn't notice all this. She was overjoyed and said, "I want some barbecue too!" Then she looked at the second young lady eagerly.

Two to two, the attitudes of the Second Miss and Miss Gu are both important, but she intuitively feels that Miss Gu will definitely follow the crowd, so the attitude of the Second Miss is more important than Miss Gu's.

The second young lady smiled disdainfully and said, "I agree with plum blossom appreciation! Let's go to another place for the barbecue."

Gu Xi sighed and could only say, "I agree with plum blossom appreciation, too!"

The fifth young lady pouted and pulled the fourth young lady's hand.

The fourth young lady giggled and said with a look of unwillingness, "We still have our great-aunt, Mrs. Shen and the second aunt here, so we haven't lost yet!"

Mrs. Shen glanced at the Fourth Miss with some disdain but said nothing, as if she was unwilling to argue with them.

The second wife looked unhappy. She walked over and touched her daughter's head with a smile, and said softly, "I vote for your third sister."

This time the situation is hopeless.

The fifth young lady stamped her feet and called out "Mom" coquettishly.

The Second Wife and Old An all laughed.

Finally, everyone decided to enjoy plum blossoms in the afternoon and have barbecue for dinner.

The fifth young lady was still a little unhappy, so the fourth young lady took her to sweep the snow off the plum petals and whispered to her in a voice that everyone could hear: "My mother said that we can put it in a bowl and bury it in the ground, and take it out to make tea in the summer."

"But we have to pick it in the morning, right?!" Miss Five said bewilderedly.

"Oh!" The fourth young lady didn't care. "There shouldn't be much difference between morning and afternoon, right? Anyway, I don't want to write poetry."

The Fifth Miss giggled and said, "We can pick plum blossoms! We can bring them back to our grandmother and put them in a plum vase. The whole house will be filled with the fragrance of plum blossoms."

The fourth young lady asked, "The bottle should be inserted in the morning, right?"

The fifth young lady was stunned.

Everyone laughed.

Lao An recruited two people and said, "You two naughty boys, stay here and write two poems for me. This will not only meet the needs of the scene but also help you complete your homework. Isn't this the best of both worlds?"

The two of them agreed dejectedly, which made everyone laugh again.

Madam Ji and the others had already brought over the prepared writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone. After placing the four treasures of the study, they told Old Lady An, "A servant from Miss Yu's family has brought a letter."

Everyone was surprised.

Old An said to Yu Tang kindly, "Go and see what it is, so I can rest assured."

Yu Tang was also very curious, so he bowed and followed Aunt Ji out of the warm pavilion.

Gu Xi gestured to He Xiang calmly.

After a while, the lotus fragrance disappeared.