I had heard that Zhou Mao had returned to Beijing, but I never thought that I would meet the couple again in such an unusual way.

"Why are you two ladies here? Everything is ready in Haitangju. Why don't you go take a dip in the hot spring to warm up?" The maid in the villa saw them and came forward to greet them with a smile.

"No, no, no, that's not necessary. We can just look around. That's all." Before Shen Xinyan could say anything, Yang shook her head and waved her hands to refuse.

"Bathing in hot spring? I will never bathe in hot spring in my life. Who knows if there are birds playing in the water." Yang muttered softly.

Shen Xinyan heard it clearly and the corners of her mouth twitched.

It seems that there is a psychological shadow.

The maid smiled and said, "Madam, are you interested in appreciating chrysanthemums? There are many rare varieties of chrysanthemums in the Chrysanthemum Hall ahead, and they are already blooming beautifully."

"That's good. Where is this Qujutang?" Yang finally became interested.

"It's just in front. I'll take the two ladies there."

"Miss Lao is here!"

Perhaps it was really fate. When it got dark and the two sisters-in-law were about to leave, they ran into Mrs. Wen of Zhou.

Looking at Wen's rosy face, her watery eyes that seemed to contain two pools of spring water, her graceful figure, and the charming and attractive temperament lingering around her, Shen Xinyan couldn't help but sigh at the kindness of God to this woman.

Her appearance remained the same for decades, her figure was slender and well-proportioned, and the belt around her waist not only made her waist look even slimmer, but also made her breasts look plump.

Wen Shi recognized them and was a little surprised at first, then she smiled and greeted them, "Madam Guogong, Madam San."

"Mrs. Zhou." Shen Xinyan returned the greeting politely.

After greeting each other, the two exchanged a few pleasantries and then got on their own carriages. Only then did Shen Xinyan realize that Yang's expression was quite strange.

Before she could ask, Yang sighed heavily and said in a low voice, "Second sister-in-law, I'm afraid I won't be able to look directly at Madam Zhou for some time. When I see her, it's like I'm seeing a lump of white flesh walking around. It's really, too disgusting to the eyes!"

Shen Xinyan was sneered so hard that she started coughing repeatedly.

Yang patted her back considerately, and said bitterly: "You are really a concubine's daughter who is not worthy of being on the stage. You have learned all the coquettish ways of that vixen. How can you be the wife of a principal wife at all!"

"And that Mr. Zhou, bah! It's a waste of his time to read the sage's book. He is such a lustful and hungry devil, and he still has the nerve to be a parent official and govern a region. He is a disgrace to all officials and scholars in the world!"

Shen Xinyan was somewhat amused. She felt that after so many years of fighting with her concubines and mistresses, Yang had gradually realized that it takes two to tango. She even began to realize that the key to all problems still lies with men.

She thought this was a good idea. Instead of resenting those beauties who kept striving to get ahead, it would be better to hold on to the man who fell in love with every woman he met.

The carriage sped along and soon returned to the Duke of England's mansion.

The two sisters-in-law said goodbye to each other and went back to their rooms.

As you walk through the gate of Funing Temple, you can hear the soft and cheerful laughter of young children from afar, which makes you feel happy too.

She smiled slightly and unconsciously quickened her pace when she walked into the house. She saw her youngest son, Xiangger, hanging on Wei Chenglin like a little monkey, as if playing hide-and-seek. He turned to Wei Yingzhi and giggled, but when he saw his sister making faces at him, he immediately hid his chubby face back in his brother's neck.

As they went on like this, the house was filled with the joyful laughter of the little ones.

The little boy was chubby, just as Shen Xinyan joked when he was born, the little guy not only looked very much like his father, but also his cheerful and playful personality was said to be exactly the same as Wei Junhang's when he was a child.

"Ah!" The little guy was the first to notice her. He let out a soft cry and drooled.

Wei Chenglin also saw her. He first wiped his younger brother's chubby face with a handkerchief, and then carried him forward.

"Mother!"

"Mom!" Wei Yingzhi also called out.

"The little rascal is bothering his brother again, isn't he?" Shen Xinyan smiled and pinched her son's cheek. She took the little boy who opened his arms and called out to her, and then asked Wei Chenglin: "You've worked hard on this journey. Is the mission going well?"

"It's not hard, it's going relatively smoothly. I'm sorry to have worried my mother." Seeing that Wei Chenglin, who was about to turn 18, was much more stable than in previous years. In the past few years, Emperor Yuanyou had been testing him and gradually assigned him some tasks, and he had never disappointed anyone.

Because of this, Emperor Yuanyou finally believed that Wei Junhang had not exaggerated, and that this boy was indeed better than his father.

"You must rest for a few days when you come back this time... Hey, don't pull it, it hurts, you little rascal!" She was admonishing her eldest son, but she didn't expect that the youngest son in her arms suddenly grabbed her hair. Not only did her neat bun become messy, but he also pulled the pearl hairpin on her head to the ground.

Wei Chenglin was just about to go forward and hug his brother away, but Wei Yingzhi was quicker than him and stopped the little bad boy who was giggling after doing something bad, and slapped him on the chubby butt.

"No grabbing!"

It didn't hurt at all when she hit him, so the little guy was not afraid at all. He just smiled happily at her and his saliva started flowing again instantly.

Taking advantage of the opportunity when her daughter carried the troublemaker away, Shen Xinyan went into the inner room, took off her beaded jewelry, tied her hair into a simple bun, and changed into comfortable and simple casual clothes.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to rest for long. His Majesty has asked me to go to the Five Cities Military Division to participate in maintaining order in the capital during the Wanshou Festival." After she came out and coaxed her little son to follow the wet nurse, Wei Chenglin told her the next task.

Shen Xinyan sighed and complained a little: "Your Majesty is really a jerk. I finally finished the task, but you didn't even let me rest for a few days. I have to do this task again."

Although this was a sign that Emperor Yuanyou valued his son, seeing her son running around everywhere, she couldn't help but think of the injuries, big and small, he had suffered in his previous life, and she always felt a little uncomfortable.

"So, brother will also be at home on Longevity Day, right?" Wei Yingzhi's eyes lit up and she interrupted.

Wei Chenglin nodded: "It should be there."

"That's good. I'm going to go see the lanterns on this year's Longevity Festival. With you here, mom can't say anything." Wei Yingzhi was even happier.

"If you were more obedient and didn't run around, why would I keep you here?" Shen Xinyan poked her forehead helplessly.

Wei Yingzhi was not annoyed, and smiled as she covered her forehead: "Anyway, I must go this year. If you don't agree, I will find Dad and ask him to go with me!"

Shen Xinyan shook her head helplessly.

"Your brother was busy with work. Even if he was able to be at home that day, how could he have time to accompany you to watch the lanterns?"

"What's the big deal? He's going to patrol, right? He'll see it then." Wei Yingzhi disagreed.

Wei Chenglin sat for a while and then left because he had other things to do. Shen Xinyan then asked her daughter, "Where is your cousin Hui?"

"Not long after you and Third Aunt went out, your eldest uncle sent someone to pick her up and bring her back home!" Wei Yingzhi answered casually as she flipped through her brother's clothes with great interest.

"Have you ever heard what it was about?" Shen Xinyan asked casually.

"It seems to be because of cousin Feng's marriage."

Shen Feng is older than Wei Chenglin. He is already nineteen this year and is about to reach the age of twenty, but he still has no marriage. Jing'an Bo is very anxious and asks Shen Xinyan to help find a daughter-in-law. However, none of the girls he has found so far can make Shen Feng agree to the marriage.

Shen Xinyan remembered that Shen Feng in his previous life had never married before he disappeared. So although she was still looking for a suitable girl very seriously in this life, she did not hold out much hope that Shen Feng would agree.

It was exactly as she thought.

What gave her even more headaches was her eldest son's marriage.

After she broke off the engagement with Prince Ning's Mansion, the Grand Princess once again looked for a girl from the mansion of Lord Xie from the Ministry of Rites. However, she would have thought that the girl "accidentally fell into the water and died" just after the two families exchanged tokens and the engagement was not finalized.

The two marriages she chose in a row did not end well, especially when she learned that Princess Changning of Yunyan Mountain's condition had gradually improved after the cancellation of the engagement. Rumors that Wei Chenglin was unlucky in marriage began to spread in the capital, and the eldest princess was so angry that she smashed several precious vases in succession.

Even Shen Xinyan was extremely angry.

Let’s not talk about the marriage with Prince Ning’s Mansion for now, and just talk about the girl from the Xie Mansion. It was obvious that the girl was shameless and eloped with someone. The Xie Mansion couldn’t afford to lose face, so they simply announced to the public that she died in an accidental fall into the water, and just pretended that they no longer had this daughter.

The Xie couple even humbled themselves and begged them to keep the secret in order to save the face of the Xie family.

Now, the Xie family has saved its reputation, but the dirty water has been completely splashed on her son.

With such a reputation of being unlucky in marriage, even if Lin Ge'er is outstanding, it will be difficult for him to get married.

Next up is my niece Shen Huiran's marriage. Now that Shen Huiran has reached the age of marriage, this marriage can no longer be delayed.

She rubbed her forehead with a headache, sighed deeply, and looked at her daughter who was studying her youngest son's clothes. She felt even more stressed.

My daughter is fourteen this year, and most girls of this age have already started looking for marriages. So within the next one or two years, she must arrange a marriage for her.

She didn't know why, but many things in her life had been going smoothly, except for the marriages of these young people she cared about, which were more troublesome than the last.

Pingfu was lucky enough, as he had the imperial concubine in the palace to arrange things for him. Moreover, given his status and qualifications, there were many families in the capital who wanted to marry their daughters to him.