When she returned to the flower hall, she saw Fang Birong sitting quietly by the side with a decent smile on her face. Occasionally, she turned her head to talk to Fang's second daughter Wei Yingyu. Her expression was so calm and composed that if Shen Xinyan had not witnessed the scene in the garden with her own eyes, she would not have believed that she had been humiliated in front of her not long ago.

She had to admit that setbacks were indeed a good way to train people. Fang Birong in this life was many times more cunning than she was in her previous life.

After all, before her affair with Qi Liuxiu was exposed in her previous life, Fang Birong had never suffered any setbacks. Under the care of the Grand Princess and Fang, and even her own, no one dared to embarrass her in person, which allowed her to smoothly arrange her marriage with Minister Xu's legitimate son.

She looked around and found that Wei Qiongshu was missing, and even Mrs. Zhou Er was nowhere to be seen. From the conversation between two women not far behind her, she learned that Mrs. Zhou Er had already said goodbye and returned home.

"Second aunt, isn't Lingfu here?" Wei Chengqi, who had walked up to her side at some point, asked timidly.

Shen Xinyan lowered her head and met his little face which was somewhat similar to Fang's. His black and white eyes showed a bit of expectation and a bit of timidity.

"Linfu stayed in the mansion and didn't come with us." Shen Xinyan was a little surprised that he would ask about Linfu.

Although she didn't like his mother, she still liked the child somewhat. However, out of consideration for Fang and to avoid unnecessary trouble, she would usually keep a distance from him.

"Oh..." Wei Chengqi's face quickly showed disappointment, "Then Second Aunt, I'm going to Third Sister's place."

"Go!" From a distance, Shen Xinyan saw Wei Yingmin waving at her brother. She just glanced at the girl and then looked away.

Fang's little daughter, like her, treated Wei Chengqi as her lifeblood and protected him tightly. Shen Xinyan was unwilling to argue with the little girl, and ignored her behavior of treating her like a scourge.

In addition to her son Wei Chengqi, Fang also has three daughters. The eldest daughter got married a few years ago and is now living abroad with her husband; the second daughter, Wei Yingyu, is eleven years old this year. She is a real taciturn person and you won't get a word from her even if you have time; the youngest daughter, Wei Yingmin, is only nine years old... Shen Xinyan feels that although this little girl is young, she is very smart.

"Brother Qi actually came to look for Lin Fu on his own initiative. Could it be that he and Lin Fu have some contacts on a regular basis?" After Wei Chengqi left, she couldn't help but ask Chun Liu beside her.

Chunliu thought about it and shook his head, "I haven't noticed this. Usually, Lingfu is either learning calligraphy with the fourth lady or practicing martial arts with the eldest master. The rest of the time, he is mostly in the lady's room. Occasionally, he will go to the prince's study to serve him."

Lingfu always kept his identity in mind. In addition to studying and practicing martial arts, he would also fulfill his duties as a "servant" whenever he had time. Shen Xinyan was served by Chunliu and several other maids, and he could not help, so he ran to Wei Junhang's study and served him in a serious manner.

But Wei Junhang thought this kid was quite interesting and did not chase him away. Instead, he deliberately made him run around in circles and sometimes even played tricks on him. He stood straight and steadily, letting Lin Fu, who was only as tall as his waist, help him change his clothes.

Lin Fu was a simple-minded man. He did not even think that the other party was teasing him. He was grateful that the prince did not mind his short stature and clumsiness, and he served him even more attentively.

After Shen Xinyan found out, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and she also talked about that person in private who was so dishonest that he even bullied children. However, after learning about it, Rongfu still earnestly defended the prince who "never despised her at all", and thought that the other party was a very good person.

One of the two men was willing to fight, while the other was willing to be beaten. Seeing that Pingfu seemed to be more energetic because he was finally not a "freeloader", Shen Xinyan could only turn a blind eye gradually.

When Wei Qiongshu appeared, although she tried her best to conceal it, Shen Xinyan still noticed the worry in her brow and was puzzled for a moment.

Until suddenly news came from the front yard that there was a reward from the palace to celebrate the princess' birthday.

The whole room was filled with laughter.

The gift from the Emperor and Empress was a great honor, and they specifically stated that it was to celebrate the Princess' birthday, which was enough to show how much the Emperor favored her. I just don't know if this was because of the Duke of Wei's Mansion or because of the Grand Princess. After all, Wei Qiongshu had celebrated her birthday many times this year, but it was the first time that she received a gift from the Emperor and Empress on her birthday.

Wei Qiongshu was also obviously stunned. She only reacted when she heard waves of congratulations from around her and the maid urging her to go and thank the emperor.

The ladies of the British Duke's Mansion who stayed in the hall naturally felt the enthusiasm of the ladies present.

This enthusiasm continued until the banquet was over, and everyone in the Duke's Mansion said goodbye to Wei Qiongshu and got on the carriage back home.

In the carriage, little Yingzhi was held in Wei Junhang's arms and had already fallen asleep from exhaustion. Even Wei Chenglin looked a little tired.

"Your Majesty and the Empress' actions today are somewhat puzzling." Shen Xinyan said to herself.

"What's so confusing? Your Majesty is our cousin after all. It doesn't matter if a cousin gives some gifts to congratulate his cousin on her birthday. As for the Empress, Your Majesty has given her gifts, so even if she is unhappy, she has to express her gratitude." Wei Junhang said indifferently.

That guy had made me bear the blame so many times since I was a child, so what was the point of giving his sister a favor? He would have to ask for more favor from him in the future!

"You really deserve a slap in the face. Do you think you can criticize the Empress?" Shen Xinyan was startled by the disapproval in his words towards Empress Zhou, and said in an angry tone.

Wei Junhang smiled and said nothing more.

As everyone knows, Empress Zhou was not the original wife of Emperor Yuanyou. When Emperor Yuanyou was still the Prince of Rui, his original wife was Princess Zhao of Rui. At that time, Zhou was only the concubine of the Prince of Rui. Unfortunately, Zhao was unlucky and died of illness before the Prince of Rui ascended the throne, while Zhou became the master of the central palace.

There was a pair of children in the car, so Shen Xinyan didn't say anything more. She turned her head and saw Wei Chenglin leaning against the car with his eyes closed, as if he had fallen asleep. She quickly took the blanket and gently covered him.

When he woke up early the next morning, Lin Fu quickly put on his clothes and shoes, then took his small wooden basin and went outside to fetch some water for washing. He had only taken a few steps when he saw Chunliu coming towards him with a cup of warm water.

"I thought you'd be awake by now. Come, wash up and go to the main room for breakfast."

"Madam, are they back?" Lin Fu asked expectantly, his eyes sparkling.

"Of course I'm back. Yesterday..." Before Chunliu finished her words, Pingfu had already run towards the main house with his short legs.

"Hey, you haven't washed yet!" Chunliu's voice echoed behind him, but he didn't hear it.

"Madam!" Shen Xinyan wanted to ask if the children were awake, but Lin Fu's clear and loud voice accompanied by his hurried footsteps came from outside.

"Why are you running so fast!" She shook her head helplessly, but was surprised that he was so impatient.

You should know that when this little serious boy comes to the main room alone, he always asks the little maid to inform him in a proper manner, and only after getting permission does he come in and greet the guests in a proper manner.

Pingfu pursed his lips shyly, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her and blinked a few times.

Shen Xinyan's heart softened when he looked at her. She smiled and pinched his cheek: "You ran so fast, but do you have something to say to me?"

"Yes, ma'am, Mr. Lu told me to go to his place in the future and he will teach me!" Lin Fu couldn't wait to tell her the good news.

Shen Xinyan was stunned. After a while, she asked in disbelief, "Mr. Lu?"

Could it be the Mr. Lu she thought he was?

"Yes, yes, it's Mr. Lu." Pingfu smiled so hard that his big eyes narrowed into two slits.

Shen Xinyan was stunned for a moment, but finally couldn't help but smile. She touched his head and said approvingly, "It's amazing that Mr. Lu accepted you as his disciple!"

Mr. Lu was the great scholar who was personally invited by the Duke of England to enlighten Wei Chenglin that day.

Seeing Chunliu chasing in breathlessly and dragging Pingfu down to wash up, Qiutang said with a worried look on her face: "Madam, if Pingfu follows Mr. Lu, I'm afraid there will be some trouble."

Shen Xin frowned, and it was at this moment that he remembered that this Mr. Lu with a strange temper had rejected the children of the first and third houses. If Fang and Yang knew that Mr. Lu refused to teach their children and insisted on taking a "servant" as his apprentice, I'm afraid the mansion would be a little uneasy.

"It's not us who begged Mr. Lu to accept Pingfu. It's because Pingfu is smart and Mr. Lu took a liking to him, so he took him in on his own initiative. How could there be any trouble?" Xia He looked disapproving.

"Just because you think this way, does it mean that the first and third wives can also think this way? What if they insist on thinking that it is the Crown Prince's wife who is causing trouble and start making a fuss? I am afraid that by then..." Qiu Tang glared at her unhappily, with worry deepening between her brows.

"What does this have to do with our wife..." Xia He was a little unconvinced, but she felt that Qiu Tang's words made sense, so she just muttered something and stopped talking.

Shen Xinyan frowned. Qiutang's worry was very likely to come true. Other things were fine, but when it came to her son, Fang would not let it go. As for Yang, she was the one who wanted to make the world chaotic. If someone stepped forward, she would do her best to make the situation even more chaotic.

But...

Thinking of the sparkling eyes when Lingfu mentioned that he could study with Mr. Lu, she made up her mind and said calmly, "Don't pay any more attention to it. Xia He is right. This matter is all decided by Mr. Lu. It has nothing to do with us. Since we have a clear conscience, we are not afraid of what others say."

Seeing that she was determined to do what she wanted, Qiutang wanted to persuade her again, but she heard the voices of Xiaoyingzhi and Lingfu talking outside, so she had to swallow back what she was going to say.

"Here, I don't like this one anymore. I'll give it to you!" The little girl raised her head proudly and stuffed the jade pendant with the word "Fu" engraved on it into Pingfu's hands.

"Well, I'll keep it for you. I'll return it to you when you like it." Pingfu scratched his ear.

"I already said I don't like it, why are you still saying it? It's disgusting! I hate the word 'Fu' the most!" The little girl stamped her feet, glared at him again, snorted again, and ran into the house with her arms outstretched like a little bird, "Mom..."

Chunliu, who was following behind the two of them, wanted to laugh when he heard this.

He didn't like you, but he snatched it from your cousin Tao? He snatched it, and he even said, "Your name is not Fu, what are you doing with this jade pendant with the word Fu on it?"