The military households are no longer limited to just two families; and as long as Song Liyun asks for help, there are plenty of people in the military camp for her to choose from.
Just look at Lin Tao and Zhou Xiang at Tianxiang Tower, and those few young soldiers; their monthly pay is twice what it was in the camp, and everyone envies them.
Now that his worries had been exposed by Old Master Zhang, he became agitated: "Old Master, I was just saying that, I really didn't embezzle a single penny!"
Old Master Zhang snorted twice: "Master Xue didn't embezzle, but he couldn't keep his family in check and was easily influenced!"
Xue Zhuang's face flushed red. He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly stood up and hastily cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Old Master is right, I have learned my lesson!" He then hurriedly left.
He was so flustered that he didn't even dodge the waiter who came to serve tea, and was almost knocked over by the impact: "Oh dear, old man, what's the rush, Master Xue? No wonder I saw Madam Xu still waiting outside!"
Old Master Zhang frowned: "What is she doing here? Did she run into Miss Song?"
The waiter placed the freshly brewed tea in the cup before mumbling, "Madam Xu ran into Miss Song and they seemed to exchange a few words, but Miss Song ignored her."
Old Master Zhang stroked his beard and thought for a moment: "Forget it, if I can't live a good life, there's nothing anyone else can do."
As Song Liyun left the guild hall, she indeed encountered Xu Yan'er, who was rushing over.
From afar, Xu Yan'er, now a mother, wore a gold hairpin and a bright silk dress that made her even more radiant. Beside her was a young maid with blond hair, holding a child of about one year old.
She had become much fuller-figured, her face was fair and tender, and she exuded the charm of maternal love, making her even more beautiful than her previous youthful self.
Xu Yan'er stopped abruptly when she saw Song Liyun. With a hint of pride, she raised her hand to straighten her hair, which had been askew by the gold hairpin, and said in a high-pitched voice, "Ah! Isn't this Miss Song? It's been quite a while since I've seen you. Why aren't you as fair-skinned as before... you've become even darker and thinner!"
That's not good. You're still a young lady. Don't ruin your health just to earn a few taels of silver. Those things are for men to do.
"Should I give you a recipe from my family that's specifically for nourishing the body?"
Song Liyun travels all over the country, and even though she pays attention to skincare, her skin can't compare to that of Xu Yan'er, a young woman who stays at home taking care of her child.
But her aura has long since made people overlook whether her skin is fair or not.
At least Zhao Tingduo and Wan Yanming never said that.
Even Lin Qingyuan, who is known for being picky and gossipy, seemed unaware of this problem.
Song Liyun didn't want to talk about beauty with Xu Yan'er.
Her gaze swept quickly over Xu Yan'er before shifting her target. Without stopping, she said indifferently as she passed by Xu Yan'er, "You should just be a good little bird in your cage and mind your own business!"
Seeing Song Liyun leave in a somewhat "disheveled" manner, even turning her head away and not daring to compare herself to her, Xu Yan'er was immediately delighted.
She had always harbored some inexplicable dissatisfaction with Song Liyun, probably a subconscious desire to compare herself to her.
It started when Song Liyun brought that annoying Xiao An along and made things difficult for him.
Xiao An, such a silly kid, managed to outshine himself.
Later, Xue Zhuang followed Song Liyun to choose a house, and his attentiveness, running around like a servant, made her feel jealous.
Fortunately, she managed to steal Xue Zhuang from her bed and pull him into her quilt.
Although she was always worried that Xue Zhuang and Song Liyun had an affair, she was also quite pleased with herself.
It wasn't until the bandits entered the town and nearly died in the fire, only to be saved by Song Liyun, that Xue Zhuang felt grateful and Xu Yan'er finally restrained herself and dared not cause any more trouble.
But now that Xu Yan'er has given birth and become a mother, while Song Liyun is still unmarried, the comparison in her heart can no longer be suppressed.
Unfortunately, Song Liyun left too quickly, and she didn't even get a chance to show off her chubby son.
Xu Yan'er puffed out her chest, which was clearly stained with two mounds of milk on her silk dress, and called out to Song Liyun's back with a smug look: "If you don't get married soon, you'll be an old maid. Or I can introduce you to a family."
Looking at how dark and old you are now, even if you were rich, I doubt any man would want to marry you.
I'm magnanimous, I won't hold it against you, but I'll at least help you find a widower with land at home..."
"Shut up!"
Xue Zhuang strode over, but he didn't see Song Liyun leave. He only heard his wife shouting in a shrill voice.
Xu Yan'er was startled by Xue Zhuang's sudden shout.
Since she gave birth to her son, she has become a great contributor to the Xue family. No one in the family can make her angry, and even Xue Zhuang has to coax her to be happy.
"Brother Zhuang, you...you yelled at me?"
Xu Yan'er looked incredulous, her lips trembling as if she was about to cry.
Xue Zhuang was already in a bad mood, and now that they were on the street, he felt the veins on his forehead bulge when he heard Xu Yan'er shout those words to Song Liyun.
Although there were still people on the street looking in their direction, he wasn't worried about others gossiping, but rather whether Song Liyun had heard anything.
Seeing Xue Zhuang's unfriendly expression, Xu Yan'er angrily snatched her son from the maid's arms and secretly pinched the child's bottom.
"Wow!"
The rosy-cheeked little baby suddenly burst into a heart-wrenching cry.
This is the experience she has gained over the past six months: no matter how much she annoys Xue Zhuang, as long as the child cries, Xue Zhuang will soften.
This time, however, her plan backfired. Xue Zhuang didn't apologize gently as usual; instead, he walked home with a dark face, asking, "Is your older brother still here?"
Xu Yan'er's heart skipped a beat. Ignoring the child's crying, she quickly picked him up and followed behind, saying, "Brother Zhuang, my older brother came because he missed me. Please don't send him away!"
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