The Xiao family prepared a sumptuous banquet to entertain Mrs. Wen and Nanny Ruan. After the meal, Xiao Jingkang personally escorted the two back to the Wen Mansion.
Tong Mingyu ordered the servants to clean the embroidery building, which had been officially named "Yaoyuan Building", carefully from inside to outside, because when Nanny Ruan came again the next day, the three of them would move there to live.
Tong Mingyu felt like her daughter was about to leave her, and she felt lost. She was sad as she worked. Even when the family gathered for dinner, she was still in a low mood.
"Ping'an, you really made your second uncle proud. Well done." Xiao Jingtai said shamelessly.
Xiao Jingkang glared at his second brother and said, "That's my daughter, okay? Why are you so excited?"
"Ping'an is worthy of praise. Tell me what reward you want." General Xiao has always been very generous to his little granddaughter.
Qin shook her head and smiled without saying anything. There probably weren't many good things left in the master's private storehouse except for the large items that could not be moved and the weapons. Almost all the things that could be given away were given to his two little granddaughters. He even promised to leave the large items to his granddaughters for their dowries in the future.
I want freedom. I want to play for a few more years, is that okay? Knowing that it would be useless to say anything, Xiao Yao simply remained silent.
"Ping'an doesn't look as happy as you guys!" Xiao Jingyan admired his niece's frustrated expression and said happily.
"Happy? Why wouldn't I be happy?" Xiao Yao raised her chin towards her Fourth Uncle, a smile spreading across her face. The person who loved to base his happiness on the suffering of others was none other than her Fourth Uncle. Speaking of which, why hadn't there been any news from Miss Yu recently? Otherwise, Fourth Uncle would have been too busy being upset to tease her.
"Oh, so this is what happiness looks like. This is the first time I've seen it!" Xiao Jingyan continued to tease his little niece.
Should I bribe a servant to pass a note to Miss Yu tomorrow, indicating Fourth Uncle's daily routine, and attaching a route map or something would be nice, right? Xiao Yao thought wickedly.
On the other hand, Yuan Yutong also told her husband what happened today in detail. The couple unanimously decided to thank their sister-in-law and Xiao Yao.
"Sister-in-law, thank you and Ping An for what happened today." Xiao Jingmin stood up and thanked her solemnly.
"There's no need for family to be so formal. Besides, I didn't do anything at all. Maybe Nanny Ruan thought Ping'an needed a playmate, so she agreed to accept Ruyi. It's really not my credit." Tong Mingyu didn't dare to take credit for it.
"It would be great if I had a daughter, then the three sisters could study together. I heard that even Duke Qing invited Nanny Ruan, but she politely declined. This shows how excellent and outstanding our Ping An and Ruyi are." Li Jiaoying was envious for a moment, and then told everyone the rumors she had heard.
"Be safe, come to my second brother." Xiao Yi had grown into a handsome young man. His appearance was slightly inferior to Xiao Jingyan's, but his masculine aura was much stronger than Xiao Jingyan's. He was currently preparing for the imperial examination next autumn, and then the spring imperial examination. With his grades, getting into the second place shouldn't be a big problem. After that, he planned to stop studying and instead find a job, marry, have children, and live a leisurely life.
Xiao Yao slowly walked towards her second brother. The man before her was just as scheming as her fourth uncle, but her fourth uncle was more open-minded, the kind who would act on his evil ideas without saying anything. Her second brother was the complete opposite, the kind who would act without saying anything, leaving no trace of him even if you tried to settle accounts with him.
"Learn the rules from Madam Ruan. You'll be six in a few months. You can't be lazy anymore, okay?"
Xiao Yao was just about to open her mouth to argue, "No way," when she heard her second brother speak again: "Learning rules for girls is almost the same as studying for boys. They are both necessary steps and absolutely cannot be omitted." In the blink of an eye, her younger sister has to start preparing for the future. Time is really cruel!
"She should study hard," Xiao Yang commented pertinently. Even though he considered his sister the best and most outstanding, wouldn't it be even better if she could be even better? Seeing how happy everyone in the family seemed, Nanny Ruan must be a very good person. Who knows, maybe his sister will become a truly distinguished lady in the future!
"I take back what I said that day. I hope you can become a lady soon." Xiao Rui said this encouragingly, and glanced at his sister intentionally or unintentionally. If the two sisters could balance each other out, combining Ping'an's intelligence and Ruyi's cuteness, the family might... probably... should be able to cultivate a lady.
"Sister, you don't have to be afraid. If that nanny dares to bully you, just find someone to tell me. Fifth brother's kung fu is not practiced in vain. Ouch, it hurts, why are you hitting me again, mother?" Xiao Jun was caught by his own mother before he finished his heroic act of saving the beauty.
"Auntie, could you be a little gentler?" Xiao Qi came over slowly to put out the fire.
Xiao Jun rolled his eyes helplessly. If he was really in danger, when his sixth brother arrived, the only thing he would have to do was collect the body.
Tong Mingyu was already in a bad mood today, and she knew full well that her daughter didn't genuinely want to learn from Nanny Ruan. This kid was actually so fearless as to stand up for his sister and cheer her on. This was unacceptable. Anyway, her son was tough, so she could just give him a few smacks to vent her anger.
"Grandma, I am your grandson, help me!" He knew it was useless to call others, but only his grandmother cared about him, so if he didn't call now, when would he call?
"Let go of my grandson's ears, boss, and stop your wife." Qin loved her grandchildren the most, but today her granddaughter brought honor to herself and her family. When she goes out in the future, others will surely envy and compliment the Xiao family. Thinking about that scene, she really hopes that tomorrow is the day to go out for a banquet.
After a lively dinner, everyone returned to their respective courtyards.
Xiao Jingkang had noticed his wife was in a bad mood. After asking her the reason, he couldn't bring himself to offer words of comfort, as he realized he was feeling very bad too. If only he hadn't built that embroidery building—no, it should be called Yuanyao Building—then his daughter could still stay with him and his wife. It was too late to regret it now. He would talk to his daughter someday and see if she could come back to Yayuan every two or three days to stay overnight. Otherwise, how would he survive?
Xiao Jingmin was also discussing today's events with his wife. The appearance of Nanny Ruan disrupted their plans. Originally, the family of three were going to return to Songjiang in a few days, but now they had to leave their daughter behind and go back together.
"I wonder if Ruyi would be sad if she heard the news that she would be left behind." Xiao Jingmin tried hard to imagine the scene where his daughter and he were inseparable. After imagining it for a long time, he finally came to a conclusion that such a situation would basically not happen.
Yuan Yutong also looked at her husband as if he were an idiot. She knew her daughter well. Apart from crying sincerely when her sister left, she had never seen her shed tears. It seemed that without a bloody lesson in front of her, this person would not give up.
"Aren't you worried about Ruyi? Let's go see her."
"Let's go. If Ruyi is sad, we can comfort her." Who said that the wife is cruel? Look at her. What a good wife and mother she is!
Who knows who will need comfort by then! Yuan Yutong couldn't help but think.
Xiao Yuan was indeed still awake, and was imagining his new life.
"Ruyi, father and mother will return to Songjiang in a few days. Will you be sad staying here alone?" Xiao Jingmin asked tentatively.
"I'll be with my sister, right?"
"Yes, you learn the rules together, attend classes together, eat together, live together..." As Xiao Jingmin narrated, the light in Xiao Yuan's eyes bloomed again and again, and no matter how you looked at it, it made people feel that it was exactly what he wanted.
"So, Ruyi needs to learn to take care of herself, be sensible, and be strong." After his concluding remarks, Xiao Jingmin didn't receive any reluctance or pleading from his daughter. Could it be that his daughter was heartbroken enough to cry silently? Such a pitiful child! Why don't we just go back to Songjiang together?
"Oh, that's great. I can finally be with my sister every day. You guys go back and don't worry about me. Haha, I'll be so happy that I can't sleep tonight. What if I can't sleep with my sister tonight?" After saying that, he turned around, grabbed his coat and put it on. He couldn't wait any longer.
Yuan Yutong had left long before her daughter's eyes sparkled. She couldn't afford to be hurt, but she could afford to hide. Xiao Jingmin was left alone, like a woman in the inner chambers, stunned and numb. Finally, Yuan Yutong, with a kind heart, returned and dragged him back to his room.
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