Seeing that Song Wanning hadn't refuted her opinion, the old lady didn't want to find any faults. Blaming her again and again would only make her seem unreasonable. So she said coldly, "Tingbai has finally returned. Hurry up and call Xu'er over so that he can recognize his father. This will complete their father-son relationship and provide a source for the filial piety of the father in the future."
Wen Xu was the stepson chosen by the old lady for Wen Tingbo. He had been raised by Song Wanning for a year and was only seven years old.
Song Wanning thought of her past life. She had raised her son her entire life, but he turned to outsiders. She felt a pang of pain in her heart, but she still whispered, "I've sent someone to call him. I estimate he'll be here soon."
Wen Tingbai's expression became more complicated after hearing this. He knew that he had not married Song Wanning intentionally. However, seeing that Song Wanning was in her prime, because he was in such a situation and did not even have a biological child, he had no choice but to choose a second wife from outside.
Seeing Wen Tingbo's reaction, Cui Xiaoxiao felt a little uneasy and immediately tugged at Wen Tingbo's sleeve timidly. Wen Tingbo came back to his senses and stretched out his arms to embrace Cui Xiaoxiao.
Not long after, Wen Xu, the stepson whom Wen Tingbo had never met, came in accompanied by two maids.
Wen Xu was wearing a white robe embroidered with green bamboo. When he saw Wen Tingbai standing in the room, he was stunned for a moment and was too timid to step forward to recognize him.
Although Wen Xu is young, he has a good appearance. This child was adopted from the clan and was personally designated by the old lady. Even though the old lady doesn't like Song Wanning, she still loves Wen Tingbai in her heart and even pointed out a child with outstanding appearance for Wen Tingbai.
It’s a pity that this child can’t concentrate on reading and his temperament is unstable.
Song Wanning recalled how in her previous life she had gone through untold hardships to teach this child how to read and write so that he could pass the imperial examinations. She had been a little strict with him, but who would have thought that this child would blame her for being too controlling and not allowing him any freedom.
Ever since Cui Xiaoxiao came into the family, Wen Xu and Cui Xiaoxiao became as close as mother and son within two years. Later, she even teamed up with Cui Xiaoxiao to kick her out and let Cui Xiaoxiao become the mistress of the mansion.
Song Wanning thought about this and looked at Wen Xu. She felt that her past life was really not worth it. If she hadn't married Wen Tingbo, she wouldn't have ended up in such a situation. She didn't even have a child of her own, and she raised an ungrateful person who only favored outsiders.
Although Song Wanning was thinking this in her heart, she didn't show it on her face. She took Wen Xu's hand and pulled him two steps closer to Wen Tingbai, "Xu'er, meet your father."
Wen Xu raised his eyes and glanced at Wen Tingbai. Seeing that he looked serious, he stammered, "My son greets his father."
Just as he finished speaking, Wen Xu spotted the woman standing in front of him, behind Wen Tingbai. Cui Xiaoxiao's appearance was different from Song Wanning's, who was gentle yet aloof. She had a gentle expression, a dimple at the corner of her lips whether she was smiling or not, and she was always very close to children.
When Cui Xiaoxiao saw Wen Xu looking at her, she gave a very kind smile.
Wen Xu felt close to Cui Xiaoxiao when he saw her. He saw Cui Xiaoxiao take out a piece of candy from his sleeve and handed it to Wen Xu, "Child, have some candy."
Wen Xu subconsciously turned his head to glance at Song Wanning. Seeing her nod, he dared to take the candy and said, "Thank you, Auntie."
Seeing that Wen Xu was obedient and that Cui Xiaoxiao also liked this child, Wen Tingbai became a little closer to this child who was not related by blood. He just looked at Song Wanning and said, "Thank you for your hard work. You have raised the child very well in the past two years when I was away."
Song Wanning didn't show any joy when she heard Wen Tingbo's praise. She just said lightly, "This is all part of my job. If there is nothing else, Wanning will go down to clean up the yard for Miss Xiao Xiao."
Cui Xiaoxiao, who was standing behind Wen Tingbo, looked at Song Wanning carefully until she walked out of the front hall.
Cui Xiaoxiao hadn't expected that the woman Wen Tingbai had mentioned, who was married to him by his parents' order, would actually be so beautiful. This made her a little worried. She had no idea if they'd developed feelings for each other as they spent every day together at home.
After Song Wanning settled Cui Xiaoxiao in the west courtyard, she returned to the south courtyard where she lived.
Wen Tingbai was away all year round, and Song Wanning had never been unhappy living alone in the main courtyard. Now that Wen Tingbai was back, she lived in the South Courtyard, which gave her some peace and quiet.
As she looked at the account book of the daily expenses of the Marquis' Mansion, she thought of her previous life.
In his previous life, Wen Tingbai was only concerned with his romantic life with Cui Xiaoxiao, and he didn't care about the expenses of the mansion. Song Wanning was the only one who managed the food, clothing and daily expenses of the whole family, but Cui Xiaoxiao insisted on having the best food and other things.
Although the Wen Mansion was a wealthy family, every branch of the mansion spent money like water. In her previous life, she had used her own dowry to fill one hole after another, and ran around for the business of the various farms and shops of the Wen Mansion, so that the whole family could have enough food and clothing.
After being reborn, Song Wanning decided not to care about the life and death of this family anymore and just throw the hot potato of the housekeeper away to save her from being in a thankless job here.
Cai Que, who was standing nearby, noticed Song Wanning was lost in thought again and quickly reminded her, "Grandma, it's time for you to watch Xu'er write. Xu'er has a weak foundation and loves to play. You've always seen him reluctant to write. If Grandma isn't there to watch over him, it'll be hard for him to pass the imperial examinations."
Song Wanning smiled faintly after hearing Cai Que's words and said, "Let him be. I've been thinking about it recently. I've been too strict with him. I'm afraid it's hurting the relationship between mother and son. Even if this child doesn't pass the imperial examination, the Marquisate can still provide him with a title, so there's no need to worry about him not having an official position in the future. It's my fault for being too strict with him."
Cai Que felt strange. Song Wanning usually paid the most attention to Xu Ge'er's homework, but for some reason she suddenly changed. Cai Que didn't say much, just said yes.
As soon as Caique left the house, Cui Xiaoxiao came over following the voices.
Cui Xiaoxiao stood at the gate, looking at Song Wanning who was looking at the account book. Her eyes revealed an arrogance that Song Wanning didn't understand. "Song Wanning, is that you? Do you have time? Can we talk?"
A hint of doubt flashed in Song Wanning's eyes. This was the first time she had seen a girl like Cui Xiaoxiao who had no family background but was so proud. In her previous life, Cui Xiaoxiao often said strange words that Song Wanning did not understand.
Song Wanning recalled a time in her past life when Cui Xiaoxiao had come to see her, but she was so angry she had sent someone to chase her away. She was curious about what shocking words she could hear from Cui Xiaoxiao.
Song Wanning closed the account book and asked calmly, "What does Miss Xiao Xiao want to talk about?"
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