On the way back to the mansion, looking at Jian Xu Bai leaning against the carriage wall with his eyes closed, Song Yi smiled and thought for a long time before saying: "Actually, I quite like the dish Jin Qi Yu Zhen."

  "I know." Jian Yu's eyes remained closed, his voice light as he said, "The dishes hadn't even been placed in front of you yet, and your gaze had already drifted over. So many dishes were served before and after, but I've never seen you so eager!"

  Song Yi smiled: "......"

  "So I took it away and felt great!" Jian Yu Bai said with a relaxed tone, "Especially, I also like this dish!"

  Song Yi smiled: "………………"

  She's wrong! This guy is not petty at all! He's a gentleman who seeks revenge even after ten years!

  Last night I endured silently, today I caught an opportunity and gave myself a treat!

  Still waving its own flag!

  No!

  No!

  Even resorting to such childish tactics as snatching dishes, and still having the nerve to tell her about it!

  This is not a gentleman's revenge, this is even more terrifying than a gentleman's revenge - this is clearly the revenge of a petty person.

  Song Yi Xiao secretly spat out a mouthful of blood, and after a while, she forcibly changed the subject: "Just now when we were having tea, older sister said that Ping An Er has caught a cold, do you want to send something over?"

  "It's fine, just send something over." Mentioning her nephew, Jian Yu furrowed her brow and opened her eyes to see that there were only Jin Xun and Qiao Chen attending to her in the carriage. Since they were both aware of what had happened at the Hengshan Wang Fu last time, she said, "He's doing well, nothing's wrong. Eldest sister just didn't find it convenient to bring him out, so she made up an excuse!"

  Song Yixiao also knew that Qingjiang Junzhu was making excuses, but as the new aunt, since her elder sister had said so, she should show some understanding - after all, the gifts didn't have to come from her dowry, and she could gain a good reputation for caring about her nephew.

  He nodded slightly, recalling what he had heard when he first arrived at Mingren Palace, and asked: "If you didn't catch a cold, then has the injury from several months ago fully recovered?"

  That time, the empress dowager and the princess of Jin were both shocked when they invited the imperial physician. It was said that Zhuo Ping'an accidentally fell from a high place and suffered severe external injuries. The Han Imperial Physician, who had been assigned by Emperor Xian to serve in front of the Princess of Qingjiang for many years, specialized in physical conditioning, so he wanted to invite someone else from the Imperial Hospital again.

  But unexpectedly, Jian Yu Bai listened to this and calmly said: "A few months ago he almost beat someone to death, what kind of injury did he suffer?"

  Song Yi smiled and was taken aback for a moment.

  Although Jian Yu Bai was annoyed with her, these social niceties would eventually have to be handled by her, and she didn't want her ignorance to embarrass the Yan Guo Gong Fu: "When Dr. Han took his pulse, he suddenly became ill and moved his hand, Dr. Han is old, how could he withstand it? He fainted with a broken head and bleeding on the spot! Eldest sister was afraid that Dr. Han would get into trouble, so she hastily sent someone to the Imperial Hospital - fearing that this matter would spread and affect Ping An's reputation, so she said that the doctor was invited for Ping An!"

  "It turned out to be like this!" Song Yi smiled and pursed her lips, not saying a word, with complex eyes glancing at him - if it weren't for the yellow jade pendant that Jian Yu Bai had stuffed into her hand back then, Qingjiang County's forced marriage would have been on her head by now, who knows what situation she would be in at this moment?

  Jian Yu Bai didn't bother to explain, and instead said lightly: "Among the things that the Emperor's uncle rewarded today, there is White Jade Golden Ginseng. This thing is of no use to us, so let's just keep one or two branches for reserve. As for the rest, we'll divide them up later and send some to Mother and Third Uncle."

  Song Yi Xiao was just about to respond when Jian Yu Bai suddenly remembered something and added, "Don't forget about your mother-in-law either!"

  "The daughter will be very happy to know that you said this." Song Yi smiled and hooked the corner of her lips, although what she said was true, but in her heart, there wasn't much happiness, instead, she felt a wave of pressure - Jian Yu Bai's expression of love for his wife, while not forgetting his mother-in-law, wasn't just to be a good husband and son-in-law, but to make her help him resolve his worries as soon as possible!

  If you can't do it within the estimated time, you will have to endure a lot of unhappiness and suffer a lot of grievances. In the end, you may even have to pay back with interest!

  "After returning to the mansion, Jian Xu Bai still wants to interrogate Cui Lian personally!" Song Yi smiled and thought of this matter again, "I don't know what kind of backup plan that maid has prepared, and what will Jian Xu Bai do in the end?"

  Neither of them spoke again after that.

  After returning to the Yannational government house, he first returned to the inner room to rest and relieve his fatigue, washed his face, changed his clothes, and then went to the main hall to summon the slaves and servants of the combined government.

  Song Yi Xiao looked at the crowd below, about a third of whom were quite old, and couldn't help but be speechless for a moment: "I said that Jian Yu Bai, who would never humiliate himself unless absolutely necessary, how could he be bothered by such trivial matters? If all these people were left behind after his grandfather retired, wouldn't that be too many?"

  She estimated that there would be at least three to five hundred people coming to kowtow!

  Those who are not worthy to be in the presence of their masters, and those who are not good at abandoning their posts, are not even counted among them. Song Yi Xiao felt that amidst the complexity of personnel, she couldn't help but feel surprised: "In the past, since Grandfather had passed down the title to Jian Yu Bai, skipping over his own son, he should have been very fond of him. But how could he leave behind such a Yan Guo Gong Fu?"

  Jian Pingyu was in the year when Jian Xu Bai was five years old, he resigned and passed on his title. It was also in the same year that Jian Xu Bai was taken into the palace by the Empress Dowager to be raised.

  At that time, Jian Pingyu's daughter had already married out; the eldest son and his family would accompany him back to their hometown; the second son became a son-in-law and naturally lived with the elder princess in the elder princess's mansion; as for the youngest son, he was already a widower at that time, even if not, he was not a duke and could not live alone in the ducal mansion.

  So Jian Ping Yu left, and the Yan Guo Gong Fu was empty.

  In this case, why did Jian Pingyu still leave so many people here?

  Can't bear to scatter or take them away?

  Song Yixiao felt that Jian Pingyu, a high-ranking official of two dynasties and the most powerful man in the country, should not have become so muddle-headed in his old age.

  Intentional?

  Very much like it - but if you want to cheat your grandson, why give him the title?

  "This Jian family must have had something happen to them too, otherwise this mansion wouldn't be so strange?" She sighed in her heart, although she was now a member of the Jian family, but such family secrets, Jian Yu Bai didn't tell her, and it wasn't good for her to casually ask after just entering the house.

  "With so many people, there are only the two of us in this mansion, why do we need so many servants?" After all these people had paid their respects and it was getting dark, the couple returned to the back, hastily had dinner, bathed separately, and returned to their room. Song Yi smiled and said, "I think the staff in this mansion should be reduced!"

  Jian Xu Bai said, "I thought so too, but when I just got back, I mentioned it once and those old things made a big fuss. At that time, I was busy with official duties and didn't have the energy to bother with them, so I let it go for the time being. I'm afraid they think they've won, now you're bringing it up again, it's going to be quite lively!"

  Hearing the sarcasm in his tone, Song Yi thought for a moment before asking: "How many of those people are left over from grandfather's time and need to be given face?"

  "Slaves are just slaves." Jian Yu Bai said lightly, "You don't need to care who they were left behind by, or worry about giving face to anyone. As long as they're disobedient and get in the way, just deal with them - even if it means driving them all out, it's no big deal. We can always buy more people to come in. Either way, we won't lack people to order around."

  It seems that last time "a few old things" made him quite angry.

  Song Yixiao pondered his tone and emotions, vaguely feeling that he didn't seem to have much respect for Jian Pingyu either. She became increasingly bewildered about the situation between the three generations of the Jian family.

  "It's called 'a teacher has a reputation to uphold.'" She pondered for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "It's certain that someone will be let go, but if we don't consider the elders' faces and simply dismiss them without reason, it's inevitable that all sorts of rumors will spread, and in the end, it'll only worry the elders! So, we must find a reason."

  Here is the translation:

  "Speaking of which, Jian Yu's face turned pale, and his tone suddenly changed. 'It wasn't me who provoked Cui Tong, but what she did last night, others don't know that she was worried about your health, it's just that in my eyes, it's extremely improper!'"

  "I said I'd punish her." Jian Yu spoke calmly.

  "As you said, nowadays many slaves in this mansion are thinking of deceiving their masters." Song Yi smiled and ignored his words - to deal with that maid in a perfunctory manner, not even able to clarify the charges, unable to eradicate the problem or resolve future troubles, but instead easily earning herself a reputation for being jealous and narrow-minded, was she someone who could be so easily fooled?

  Smiling faintly, he said his purpose, "So before dealing with them, it's best for the people around us to set a good example!"

  If the leader makes a mistake, he must be severely punished in order to convince the masses!

  Jian Yu Bai listened to her words and frowned, saying: "What do you plan to do?"

  "Didn't you say you were going to ask her yourself today?" Song Yi smiled and threw the question back, "I'm just reminding you - as for what exactly is going on, shouldn't we wait until you've finished asking questions before discussing it? Maybe she has some bitter intention or a reason that's worth forgiving."

  With an unclear smile, Jian Yu Bai raised his eyes and asked: "If she really comes up with a reason worthy of forgiveness, you've lost your prestige, what will you do then?"

  "It's easy to add crimes, what's the worry about not having an excuse?" Song Yi smiled carelessly and played with the bangle on her wrist. "Moreover, the slaves in this mansion are so arrogant that even you think they're troublesome, can't find a handle? However, I'm new here, and now that I've left this courtyard, I don't even know the way, wanting to disperse these slaves in the mansion is not something that can be done overnight!"

  Jian Yu Bai glanced at Geng Lou, pondered for a moment, and didn't say whether it was good or bad. He only said, "It's late, let's settle down first."

  This man is indeed a vengeful one - last night he was rejected by Song Yixiao, and today after entering the account, although both of them had removed their outer robes and were only wearing undergarments, he gazed at Song Yixiao's exposed icy skin and jade bones, his eyes surprisingly calm without any ripples, clearly having made up his mind to not consummate the marriage for now!

  He put on a proud and indifferent attitude, Song Yi Xiao's emotions were complicated, but she didn't have the nerve to take the initiative to make up with him, so she didn't mention it either. The lights went out, the two of them shared a bed, yet they carefully avoided even touching arms, as pure as could be.

  "Tomorrow I must come up with a reason to deceive Qiao Chen and Jin Xun!" Song Yi thought to herself, "Otherwise, if Mother finds out about this matter, she might scold me for being willful!"

  The next morning, the two got up early. Cui Tong, as usual, served Jian Yu Bai first and then looked at Song Yi Xiao who was still selecting hairpins and suddenly reported: "Master, previously when you were getting married to Madam, someone took advantage of the chaos to switch the Night Black Ointment. It was discovered yesterday. What do you think should be done about this?"

  She was humble in demeanor and gentle in tone, but when she lowered her head, the corners of her mouth curled up into a self-satisfied smile: Jian Xuwu didn't like the affairs of the lower servants in the mansion, how could this person who had served him since childhood not know? In the first place, he chose to marry Song Yixiao because he thought that although she was of low birth, she could handle those people.

  Now Song Yixiao has just entered the door and everyone hasn't fully recognized her yet, but she has already found a breakthrough!

  Next, even if things are handed over to Song Yixiao for investigation, the first achievement has already been achieved!

  "You're just a small concubine! If it weren't for Master needing a virtuous main wife, you wouldn't even have a chance!" Cui Xiao thought disdainfully. "When it comes to relieving Master's worries, you can't compare to me! Besides the position of main wife, don't think about anything else!"

  She was rubbing her fists and palms, excitedly waiting for Jian Yu Bai's orders - not far away, Song Yi Xiao gazed at the figure in the mirror, but hooked up his lips.

  After a brief silence, he said coldly: "The Yan State Duke's mansion now has a mistress. What do you ask me about the affairs of the rear courtyard?"