But soon, as the emperor arrived at the palace banquet, Xiao Yunrou put the matter aside. Because it was the No. 1 Scholar Banquet, the protagonists were Su Qingmo and others. There were never blind people who would cause trouble at the banquet in the palace. Halfway through, the emperor issued an imperial decree, conferring Su Qingmo as a fifth-rank Hanlin, the second place was sent to Jingzhao Prefecture, Su Qingyun was appointed as a county magistrate, and other Jinshi were arranged one after another.

Su Qingmo will take up his post in three days, and Madam Su will also be returning to Yunzhou, so Pei Yuanxuan will naturally follow him. Although the masters in the Marquis's mansion are reluctant to let their eldest grandson go so far away, they have made up their minds after hearing the advice of Master Su. Fortunately, Pei Yuanjin is still here, so Xiao Yunrou can be regarded as having someone to rely on.

Pei Yuanan is only two months younger than Pei Yuanxuan, and now Pei Lingfeng has arranged for a teacher to come to the mansion to teach him. Although Pei Yuanan colluded with outsiders to harm the mansion in his previous life, he eventually suffered the consequences and was killed. Although Pei Lingfeng doesn't like him, Shen Tang is dead in this life, and he doesn't want to bring the hatred from the previous life to the present. If Pei Yuanan can behave himself, he doesn't mind giving him a future.

After Dou Jingshu's death, the Marquis' Mansion returned to its former tranquility. Zhuang stayed indoors to take care of the baby, while Xiao Yunrou took care of the daily chores and teased the second son, until Nanny Xu finally got to the bottom of the matter.

"I didn't expect she would have such thoughts. For so many years, I didn't realize anything."

Xiao Yunrou sighed after listening to Nanny Xu's report. She looked up at the bouquet she had just arranged. It was deep and shallow, with great layers. The blooming flower in the middle was clustered together, but she could pinch it off with just one hand.

"Now that there are no troublemakers in the mansion, it's difficult for her to take action. Send someone to keep an eye on her."

Xiao Yunrou spoke in a cold voice and ruthlessly pinched the flower to pieces.

"Before, I was in the light and she was in the dark. Now it's time to switch sides. If you want to harm my child, you should be aware that you will die."

Nanny Xu lowered her head and listened, and couldn't help but sigh in her heart that her young lady was becoming more and more arrogant.

"By the way, my second brother and his family will be returning to Beijing in a few days, so remember to clean the yard." Xiao Yunrou suddenly thought of the second wife who was about to return, and couldn't help but smile.

"Just now I was still saying that it's not easy to catch her. Isn't it a good time for my second brother to come back home? Send two little girls to my second brother's yard to do some sweeping work."

Madam Xu responded in a low voice. Xiao Yunrou looked at the bouquet that had been broken into pieces by her, her eyes dark.

A few days later, Pei Lingyun returned to Beijing with his wife and children. As soon as he returned home, he went to Zhiningyuan to pay a visit to Shen. Shen had not seen her youngest son for several years, so she was naturally very concerned. She was especially happy to see Pei Lingyun's two children. She immediately took out a lot of good things for the two children, which made the second wife Ye Ruoli laugh.

"Mother had been talking about my second brother and his wife all the time. Now that they have seen us, she must be so happy that we have two such adorable grandchildren." Xiao Yunrou spoke only after she saw that Shen was finally tired and put the two children back to Ye.

"My sister-in-law is always teasing me. Xuan'er and Jin'er are also very cute." Ye smiled softly, then asked with doubt: "Why don't you see Xuan'er?"

"Xuan'er followed the eldest lady of the Su family to Yunzhou, and went to become Su Gong's disciple." Shen was in a very good mood, thinking of her eldest grandson and speaking happily.

A dark light flashed in Ye's eyes. She had just returned to Beijing, so she naturally didn't know anything about the Marquis' Mansion, including Pei Yuanxuan's trip to Yunzhou. After she looked at her son, she showed joy on her face.

"With Su Gong's guidance, Xuan'er will surely become a great man. Who knows, he might even become the top scholar in the future."

Although nobles can have a good future relying on their family, some of them will take the imperial examinations to prove their talents. Such people are often more likely to be valued by the emperor.

"I just wonder if Lin'er will be lucky enough to go to Yunzhou to learn from Mr. Su in the future?"

Ye was a little tentative, and even Pei Lingyun and Shen looked at her with burning eyes. Xiao Yunrou smiled faintly and held Pei Yuanjin's little hand.

"I don't know that, but you all know that grandpa is old and has limited energy. The academy is now managed by my uncle and second uncle. If Lin'er wants to study in Yunzhou in the future, I will write a letter to my uncle."

The implication was that Xiao Yunrou had no say in the matter, but since Su Gong was famous, they couldn't force him to do anything, so they couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

"Mother, my second brother and his friends are tired after the long journey. Why don't we let them go back to the courtyard to rest? Now that they have returned, they will stay in the capital. Are you afraid that there will be no chance?"

Shen nodded and hurriedly asked Pei Lingyun and his family to go back and rest. Seeing this, Xiao Yunrou also left.

At dusk, as soon as Zhenyuan Hou returned to his mansion, he called Pei Lingyun to his study. After the Spring Examination, Zhenyuan Hou resigned from the post of Minister of Personnel and was replaced by a candidate that the emperor had long favored. Zhenyuan Hou became idle again. Pei Lingfeng was transferred to take over the Imperial Guard and became the emperor's trusted minister.

Pei Lingyun successfully secured a position as Vice Minister in the Ministry of Rites by relying on the connections of Marquis Zhenyuan. Since the former Minister of Rites was Xiao Hongyu, and the two families were relatives, Xiao Hongyu helped Pei Lingyun to say a few words to the new Minister of Rites, and Pei Lingyun quickly gained real power after taking office.

Xiao Yunrou was in charge of the Marquis' Mansion. Ye had been exiled with Pei Lingyun for several years, and she felt a little uncomfortable when she returned to the Marquis' Mansion. Without power and having been away for many years, she could not handle anything except the people she brought back and placed in the yard, and could only secretly sulk. She wanted to ask Xiao Yunrou for some convenience, but she found that Pei Lingfeng had changed a lot in the past few years since she left. He treated Xiao Yunrou as a treasure and loved her, which made her hesitate to think about it. She was ready to wait and see the situation in the Marquis' Mansion before making any plans.

Of course, Ye knew that she couldn't control the family, and Zhenyuan Marquis would never agree. But she was not happy with Xiao Yunrou's beauty in front of her. She thought of Pei Lingyun's three concubines in the backyard, and then looked at Xiao Yunrou's favorite concubine. She used to think that the two were similar, but this time she found that they were very different, and she was secretly jealous of Xiao Yunrou.

Xiao Yunrou didn't know what Ye was thinking. The things she gave to the second house were all based on the previous standards. In her impression, Pei Lingyun was a very capable person. After the family split in the previous life, he became a second-rank official, and that would not change in this life.

Thinking that Pei Lingfeng had the most important position of the commander of the Zhong family's imperial guards in his hands, Xiao Yunrou even slept with peace of mind. A few days later, Mu Yunlan sent Xiao Yunrou a message, and Xiao Yunrou went out early in the morning and ran into Ye at the second gate.

"Where are you going, sister-in-law?" Mrs. Ye smiled, and Xiao Yunrou did not hide the truth from her and told her that Mu Yunlan had asked her to go shopping.

"I have been sorting out the things I brought back since returning to Beijing. Today is a rare free day. I wonder if I can shamelessly go out with my sister-in-law?"

Xiao Yunrou thought about it and felt that it was nothing to worry about. "Of course."

Ye was also a native of Beijing and was very familiar with the streets and alleys of Beijing. So after meeting Mu Yunlan at East Street, he went directly to Fenghua Pavilion.

“The things in the capital are different from those in the northwest. Although both are grand and luxurious, the things in the capital are still more exquisite.” Ye sighed after picking out two sets of jewelry.

Xiao Yunrou looked at the hairpin on Ye's head. It was exquisitely crafted and made of good materials. It was indeed far inferior to the one in Fenghua Pavilion, but most of the ones in other shops were of the same style.

"My sister-in-law is probably spoiled by the things in Fenghua Pavilion. If you put this set of clothes outside, someone will also snatch it away."

Ye touched her hairpin and smiled indifferently as she listened to Xiao Yunrou's words.

"After all, I am a woman. Who doesn't like these beautiful jewelry and dresses? After using the things here, if I use something slightly inferior, I will feel that everything is wrong with it."

Xiao Yunrou smiled and didn't say anything, she picked a set of purple jade headpiece. Mu Yunlan was a little uninterested, so he just picked up a hairpin and left. But Ye not only took the first two sets, but also picked some more at the back.

For a family like theirs, when they bought something in a store, most of the time they would have the shopkeeper send someone to deliver it back home. Except for the occasional payment on the spot, the money was also settled monthly. Ye put the things together with Xiao Yunrou's and had them delivered back home, which obviously meant that he would calculate the money together with hers.

Xiao Yunrou roughly estimated how much money there was in her mind, and asked the shopkeeper to pack it up without caring. Ye's smile became even deeper.

Then they went to the cloth shop and the garment shop, and Ye returned with almost full loads. Mu Yunlan also saw through Ye's little thoughts, and quietly pulled Xiao Yunrou's sleeve and nodded.

"It's okay. My second brother's wife just returned to Beijing, so of course she should buy some things from the capital so as not to lose face when she goes out." Xiao Yunrou looked at Ye who was still choosing with great interest, her eyes full of indifference.

"You can't be so picky. It's not like the mansion doesn't make clothes and buy jewelry for her every season. She uses her own money to go shopping. She's not being polite and putting hers together with yours, but she still asks you to pay for it."

Xiao Yunrou smiled faintly. She was never the kind of person who would let anyone take advantage of her. If it was just a small amount of money, it would be fine. Ye's money today was at least two or three thousand taels. She was not a sucker, so why would she use her own money to support the second wife? Her relationship with Ye in two lifetimes was not as good as Zhuang's.

"I know it in my heart, don't worry."

Seeing that Xiao Yunrou knew what was going on, Mu Yunlan stopped talking. After Ye had chosen, she could not bear to see Ye's face, so she went back to the mansion without eating together. Xiao Yunrou smiled at Ye's smiling face. When the things were delivered to the mansion, Xiao Yunrou took the list sent by the shopkeeper and sneered when she saw that Ye's things were worth 2,300 taels. She paid her share directly and then had the things selected by Ye delivered to her yard.

"Madam, all these things should be recorded in the account and deducted from the monthly allowance. You don't have to deduct all of it. You should always leave some for the household expenses."

Xiao Yunrou called the accountant over, gave him some instructions, and then returned to the courtyard. The monthly allowance of the Marquis's Mansion was just enough to cover the expenses. With Ye's purchases, it was already very expensive for her to deduct more than half of her monthly allowance.