The one who came to deliver the letter to Yu Tang was A Tiao.

Seeing Yu Tang, he hurriedly stepped forward, bowed and said, "Miss, the young master asked me to come. He said that he has received your letter and will do as you wish. He also said that everything is fine at home and you don't have to worry. The deal has been done. We will celebrate when you go back." After that, he took out a letter from his pocket.

Yu Tang smiled and nodded, opened the letter and started reading immediately.

In addition to what Ah Tiao said, Yu Yuan also praised the ten paintings of Master Zhang in the letter, saying that the merchant was very satisfied and wanted to buy the paintings for ten taels of silver per painting. Yu Yuan wrote to her for two reasons. First, he wanted to make this deal - the merchant was engaged in the embroidery business, and came to their house to buy boxes and cages in order to make the goods in the shop more complete and make the embroidery business better. Therefore, the business of the two families would not only have no conflicts, but also promote each other. Second, he wanted to discuss with her whether to give money to the Zhang family if the paintings were sold to the merchant? How much money should be given to Master Zhang?

Also, because the merchant was about to leave Lin'an for his hometown in a few days, his family was responsible for delivering the finished boxes and cages. This matter had to be decided before the merchant left Lin'an. He had just received Yu Tang's letter and immediately sent A Tiao to deliver a reply.

Yu Tang covered the letter and thought for a while, then wrote a letter back to Yu Yuan.

Selling the paintings was allowed, and the money from the sale could be split in half with the Zhang family, but a contract had to be signed with the merchant, stating that the ten paintings belonged exclusively to the Yu family, and that the merchant could only use them in their shop and could not resell them. If they had to resell them, they had to inform the Yu family in writing and get their consent, and they would have to pay the money again.

As it was getting late, it would take at least an hour and a half to get back to Lin'an City. As soon as Ah Tiao received the letter, he stood up, said goodbye, and returned to the Yu family.

Pei Yan knew that in addition to Yu Tang staying in the villa, Mrs. Shen and Gu Xi were also there. With outsiders present, it was not convenient for him to go directly to greet Old Lady An, so he went back to his own courtyard first. After washing and changing his clothes, he sent someone to ask Old Lady An when it would be convenient for her to see him.

But before the person he sent out could reply, he heard that someone from the Yu family had come to deliver a letter to Yu Tang.

He couldn't help feeling surprised.

As soon as Yu Tang sent the letter back, her family immediately replied to her, without even waiting for a day. Could something have happened at home?

Pei Yan thought about Mrs. Yu's illness, and also about the thirty acres of good farmland that the Yu family had bought from Li Duan's family...

He called Hu Xing, who was serving Old An, in and asked, "What happened to Miss Yu?"

Hu Xing has been wholeheartedly helping Old An in the villa these days. He knows which dishes the young ladies and distinguished guests eat more and which ones they eat less every day. He has not heard about what happened to Miss Yu!

He was stunned for a moment.

Pei Yan was originally dissatisfied with his ability to do things, but later, because he saw that he had flattered Lao An, and Lao An also needed someone who was easy to use, he turned a blind eye and let him continue to be the chief steward. Now seeing him like this, Pei Yan was even more dissatisfied, and this dissatisfaction was directly expressed on his face.

He said sharply, "What? Don't you know?"

A few days ago, the Third Elder had killed all the males over the age of five in a family of servants who had served the First Elder's family for many years, and sold all the women and children. The whole family was trembling with fear, and they were all talking about how the Third Elder was neither as kind as the Old Lady nor as tolerant as Old Lady An, and was completely unlike a member of the Pei family. Some people even envied Hu Xing for turning a disaster into a blessing, and going to serve Old Lady An in advance.

Hu Xing couldn't help but secretly feel lucky, but also terrified. When Pei Yan asked him this, he shuddered, his legs went weak, and he almost knelt down. It took him a long while to speak, and he stammered, "Miss Yu and the other ladies have a good time. They get up early and go to bed early. Sometimes they take a walk along Mingshan Lake. Just now, I went to Meilin with the other ladies to appreciate plum blossoms..." He was about to cry, "I really didn't find anything wrong with her!" Then, his intuition made him bolder and said, "Besides, Miss Yu is a lady from a family. Even if I want to know something, Miss Yu won't talk to me!"

Pei Yan's expression brightened up.

Hu Xing secretly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling as if he had escaped death.

But then, he began to reflect on how he could have said that he couldn't get close to Miss Yu, and why Pei Yan's expression brightened up because of what he said...

For a moment, he felt as if he knew something extraordinary.

Hu Xing looked at Pei Yan with a different look.

Pei Yan didn't take Hu Xing seriously, so naturally he didn't pay attention to his subtle changes in expression.

He thought for a moment and said, "Are Miss Yu and the others still in Meilin admiring the plum blossoms?"

Hu Xing said hurriedly: "Yes, he also wrote a poem."

At least I can answer a few words, which is somewhat useful!

Pei Yan glanced at Hu Xing expressionlessly and said, "Take a message to Miss Yu quietly and ask her to wait for me by the plum forest for a while. I have something to ask her."

Don't look at what's inappropriate, right?

Why did he have to bring the letter?

Hu Xing felt very bitter, but he dared not show it. He not only bowed his head respectfully, but also pretended to be overjoyed and said loudly, "I'll go right away!"

Pei Yan snorted coldly.

Yu Tang didn't think much about the letter after receiving it. He whispered a few words to Lao An and found an excuse to leave the warm pavilion.

Miss Wu had just finished a six-character quatrain and couldn't help but ask, "What is Sister Yu going to do?"

Several people were writing poems together. Gu Xi was the first to finish, the third young lady was the second, and Yu Tang was the third. The second and fifth young ladies followed closely behind, and the fourth young lady was still writing a poem with her head down.

We all prepared to write and show them to Mr. An, Mrs. Shen, and the Second Mrs. for comments.

Old An didn't think much about it.

Since Yu Tang knew about the strangeness of the Li family's sale of land, Pei Yan must have known it too.

She guessed that Pei Yan should ask Yu Tang about this matter.

But this matter should not be known to these little girls, so the old lady just turned a blind eye and said with a smile: "Everyone has something wrong. You, child, should pretend to be ignorant when you should, and answer directly when you should. You need to practice more before you can go out." After saying this, she glanced at the second wife.

The second wife laughed and replied, "Don't worry, I will teach her well."

Old An just said "hmm", and the matter was over.

Gu Xi's heart was in a state of confusion.

It was obvious that the servant of the Yu family came to see Yu Tang for something, but when Yu Tang came back she just said that someone from her family came to ask her about things in the shop. She even kept out what Old An wanted to know. And now he walked out of the poetry meeting in such a swagger. No matter how she thought about it, she felt that things were not simple.

But He Xiang's thoughts are more complicated than Gu Xi's.

She found an opportunity to get close to Gu Xi and whispered in her ear: "Miss, the third master has gone up the mountain."

Yu Xi raised her eyebrows.

He Xiang knew that she wanted to hear more details, so she quickly said, "I just went to inquire about Miss Yu and found out that the Third Elder has not come to greet Old An yet. I heard that he will come after dinner."

So what is Yu Tang going to do?

Gu Xi felt vaguely uneasy.

The second young lady still hasn't figured out how Yu Tang suddenly appeared.

She winked at He Xiang.

He Xiang understood and quietly left the pavilion.

After a while, the fourth young lady finished her poem.

The Second Miss teased the Fourth Miss: "We are all waiting for you!"

The fourth young lady pouted in dissatisfaction: "Didn't I say we were going to have a barbecue? It's you who are going to write poetry, and I have nothing prepared at all."

"How are you going to prepare?" The Third Miss joked with the Fourth Miss, "Read Bai and Li before coming?"

Bai refers to Bai Juyi, and Li refers to Li Bai.

The fourth young lady retorted guiltily, "Is it not possible?"

Everyone laughed.

Lao An said, "Then let's read the fourth girl's poem first."

The fourth young lady shyly asked the maidservant to pass the poem to her.

Gu Xi asked, "Aren't we waiting for Miss Yu?"

Old An smiled and said, "It's getting late. Aren't you going to have barbecue later? Let's not wait for her."

Gu Xi pursed his lips and smiled, then walked forward to watch the poem composed by the Fourth Young Lady, but half of his mind was paying attention to when He Xiang would be able to come back.

In just a stick of incense, the lotus fragrance appeared silently in the warm pavilion again.

This time, He Xiang didn't need to find an opportunity. Gu Xi directly said that she was going to the official office and took He Xiang to stand in the deserted plum forest.

He Xiang's face looked a little solemn.

She said, "Miss, what's the matter with Miss Yu? She went to see the Third Elder!"

Gu Xi was stunned, yet he felt an inexplicable sense of relief in his heart.

She said in a deep voice: "What's going on?"

"I don't know exactly what happened." He Xiang whispered, "I came out of the warm pavilion and slowly followed the direction Miss Yu went. I found that the road led to the pavilion next to Mingshan Lake. In addition to Miss Yu, there was also a young man wearing a white cloak in the pavilion. I wanted to go closer to take a look, but I found that there were seven or eight guards standing in the dark around the pavilion. I was shocked. They said it was your personal maid. You asked me to go back to the house to get something, but I got lost and got away. Later, I met Manager Hu again. After a few probing words, I learned that the young man was the third elder of the Pei family."

Gu Xi was silent for a while, then asked, "What does the Third Elder look like?"

He Xiang blushed and whispered, "He is very handsome and has an elegant temperament... Among the people I have met, only the eldest son can compete with him."

Gu Chang is a famous handsome man in Hangzhou.

Gu Xi's face also felt a little hot.

But when she thought of Yu Tang, she couldn't help but frown.

What is Pei Yan going to do?

Did Mr. An not know that he was meeting with Miss Yu in private? Or did he know but tried to hide the truth from them?

Then in what capacity did Miss Yu appear in front of Pei Yan?

After all, she and her brother were still careless. They didn't expect that there was a woman like Miss Yu in Lin'an City.

Is she going with Miss Yu? Or is she trying to make Miss Yu disappear from Pei's house?

Gu Xi was a little undecided for a moment.

She said to He Xiang, "Can you find out the relationship between Miss Yu and Mr. Pei San? Especially whether Mr. An knows..."

If Old An knew about it, then what was the Pei family planning?

This is what she should pay attention to and care about.

Gu Xi took a long breath.