In the backyard, Song Yishang wore a casual red skirt with white undergarments, a goose-yellow hundred-flower scarf half-tied and half-hanging down, leaning lazily against the couch; her black hair was loosely tied into a falling horse bun, with a jade hairpin slanted in from the neighboring shop of Taoli Building.

  The silver hairpin, under the sunset outside the western window, refracted countless glories, shining so brightly that even Jin Xun's eyes couldn't be opened wide, and had to lower his head a bit: "...Ji Su is about to stop Gong Ye, but Grandma really won't go to persuade him?"

  "He's furious right now." Song Yi chuckled and said, "Ji Su has been serving him since he was a child. If even he can't persuade him, what use am I, someone who just entered the household a few days ago? It would be pointless to go, and I'd only end up getting scolded for nothing."

  "Ji Su is just a lowly servant, how can she compare to you?" Jin Xun knew she was making excuses and hastily said, "Moreover, Master Gong has always been fond of you, if you go, he might not be angry."

  He said in a low voice, "If you don't go, Master Gong will be furious and it will be hard to dispel his anger. When he comes back later, won't he still have to tell you?"

  Don't forget you're going to share a bed with him, you can hide from the first day but not the fifteenth!

  "I'll go over and give him a good scolding, then he'll calm down later. Will he still be able to put on a good face for me?" But Song Yi had already thought it through, "Rather than getting hit twice, why not just wait here? Either way, we only need to get past this one hurdle."

  That's gotta pass too!

  "You're not going to coax now, will you still be able to coax later?!"

  She was so anxious that she almost vomited blood, fortunately Li Yu hastily came in and reported: "Madam! The fifth young lady of the Pei family has arrived, the master asks you to go to the front hall immediately to welcome her!"

  "Yi Jie?" Song Yi smiled and immediately sat up, "It's said that Pei University Scholar fell ill after she was taken in as a foster daughter by her mother-in-law and never recovered. She's coming over now, could it be..."

  She quickly changed into a set of guest-seeing clothes and rushed to the front, where Pei You Rui had already been welcomed into the flower hall for tea.

  Song Yixiao was shocked when she entered the door - Pei Youdui had suffered from the princess's horizontal knife and love, and then suffered from her father's illness. In this situation, no matter how haggard she looked, it was not surprising.

  But the girl sitting in the guest seat sipping tea, although she had obviously lost a lot of weight since they last met, was neat and tidy, calm and composed, with a bright and piercing gaze between glances, and an air of dignity all over her body, without any signs of depression or despair.

  "Hasn't Bae University Scholar recovered yet?" Song Yi laughed at the sight, thinking she had come to report good news, and found it strange. "Good news is not like bad news, whether it's early or late doesn't matter, it's almost curfew now, why did Sister Yi still come in person?"

  "Perhaps it's because they're afraid Ming Er and Jian Yu won't be there tomorrow?"

  She was thinking and had already gone forward to pay respects to Pei You Rui, Pei You Rui hurriedly raised her hand to support her, and warmly smiled: "Today I've disturbed you all!"

  "What's wrong with what sister said?" Song Yi hurriedly smiled and said, "We're all family, saying it's a bother is too polite!"

  Pei You Rui heard this and smiled slightly, no longer being polite, saying directly: "I've come back this time because I have something to ask of you."

  "Sister, please say!" Song Yi and her husband in the upper room said in unison.

  "My father's illness has not improved, and the other day an old doctor said that it might be related to being unaccustomed to the water and soil of the capital. When Pei Youxi mentioned her father's serious illness, her eyes flickered slightly, revealing a hint of abnormality, but it was quickly covered up, and she returned to her usual warm and dignified demeanor. 'He suggested that Father return to his hometown to rest for a few days, or he might recover! So Father decided to resign and take me back to Youzhou - we'll leave in ten days, and there's no time to deal with many of our properties, so I was thinking of asking you to help us take care of them, is that possible?'"

  Jian Yu and Bai exchanged a glance: the Pei family traced back to its roots, indeed the descendants of the famous Pei family of Youzhou in the previous dynasty. The problem was that this branch of the Pei family had settled down in the imperial capital since their ancestors' generation, and except for major festivals, they never returned to their hometown. This talk about not being used to the water and soil of the imperial capital was clearly just an excuse!

  "Next month on the sixth day of the first lunar month is the day when Princess Changxing will be demoted to a humble position. Although everyone says that the princess is unjust and Pei Yougui is innocent, it's really unbearable for a noble lady like her to fall to the point where she receives sympathy and pity from all, high and low. It's really hard to stay in the imperial capital any longer." Song Yi sighed inwardly, but was also powerless, and for a moment didn't know how to advise her.

  "Pei Shibai has not returned to Youzhou for many years, and it's not convenient for him to live in the ancestral house on that side either." Jian Xubai was also a bit caught off guard by this matter, and after hesitating for a moment, he said, "Several of you brothers are currently serving outside, so you can't help. Only sister, you accompany Shibai back to his hometown, but Shibai has not yet recovered from his illness, it's really hard for people to feel at ease!"

  He also knew that Pei He wanted to resign, and more than half of them wanted to let their daughter change her environment. He didn't dare to persuade him much, but tried to mediate, "Or, it's already October now, after the New Year, I'll take a long vacation and accompany you and Shi Bo on a trip?"

  "You two are not outsiders, so I'll be honest." Pei You Rui heard this and remained silent for a long time before speaking in a hoarse voice, "As for the matter on the sixth of next month, to be honest, I've already let it go and don't care about it anymore. But Father..."

  It goes without saying that Jian Yu and Bai Fu were already speechless.

  The parents' hearts are all alike!

  Except for a tiny minority of weirdos, most parents have always been generous with their affection and pampering towards their flesh and blood.

  When children are wronged, parents are often angrier and more resentful than their children.

  A blow on the son's body is a pain in the mother's heart.

  So what Pei You Rui can forgive, Pei He may not necessarily be able to do.

  "It's also my fault, a few days ago I was careless and told a silly maid, who leaked it to Father." Pei You Rui sat with a dignified posture, her expression still calm, but tears gradually welling up in her eyes. "Father spat out blood at the time! I asked the Imperial Hospital's chief physician to personally attend to him, and only then was his condition stabilized! But after the doctor finished writing the prescription, he specifically called me out to the outer room to remind me that Father can't withstand any more shocks! If we were to stay in the capital, with the Empress Dowager's grand ceremony, how loud would the drums and music be? The newly built Changxing Princess's estate is only two streets away from my Pei family's residence... What if Father were to hear about it on that day..."

  She was choked with emotion and couldn't go on speaking.

  Jian Yu Bai looked at his wife as she handed over the handkerchief, and when he turned away, his eyes were also red-rimmed. He couldn't say anything more to let the Pei family father and daughter continue staying in the imperial capital.

  He raised his hand to cover his forehead, closed his eyes for a moment, and then said in a hoarse voice: "Since that's the case, sister, do you have anything else to say? Please give all your instructions at once!"

  "There's nothing else." Pei You Rui forced a smile, "Father means that my older brothers and I are all mediocre and may not have the opportunity to enter the imperial court as officials in the future. But the house in the capital was passed down from our ancestors, so it wouldn't be good to sell it. So we'll still need your help to take care of this place in the future."

  As for other industries, "The capital has no owner, those shopkeepers and landlords have been doing it for many years, but not every one of them is reliable. I'd rather sell them all - after all, it's better than being cheated by them in the future!"

  She felt a bit apologetic, "It's just that my brother and sister-in-law are not in the capital, and with Father only having me by his side, when I leave, I have to bring all the capable people with me, so there's no one left to take care of these things. These days are also rushed with packing up, thinking it over, I can only entrust you guys!"

  Jian Yu Bai nodded in agreement, seeing Pei You Rui's relaxed expression, and was about to bid farewell. Knowing she was worried about Pei He, and the night curfew was approaching, it wasn't good to detain her, so he called out to Song Yi Xiao: "Go to the warehouse and fetch those two white jade golden lotus flowers!"

  This is the last two white jade golden lotus of the State of Yan's public house, but the couple has always been safe and sound, yet it is Pei He who needs it more.

  Jian Yu Bai said, "The medicine that Shibo takes, those rare ones, sister made a list for me. I'll gather some over the next few days and you can bring them with you when you leave, so it won't be inconvenient later."

  Pei You Rui did not decline either of these, and gratefully nodded her head.

  After sending off the white jade and golden lotus, the couple saw her out the door together, watching her go for a long time before returning to the backyard with heavy hearts.

  They didn't have the heart to quarrel anymore, and they couldn't even be bothered to eat. They began to discuss how to deal with this matter: "Yi Jie has said it so seriously, it seems that Pei University Scholar really can't stay in the Imperial Capital anymore."

  "Now it's already October, the imperial capital is cold, let alone Youzhou which is even farther north?" Song Yi smiled with concern, "As the saying goes, 'Hu Tian eight months will fly snow', this cold and frozen land, Elder Sister is just a woman, and Pei University Scholar is still ill, this journey is indeed difficult!"

  "I'd like to advise them to go to Jiangnan, but those few gentlemen from the Pei family are just juren, and to be honest, they don't have any special talents. As a result, the places where they serve are all remote and desolate, not one of which is suitable for retirement!" Jian Xuwu pinched his brow, feeling anxious and annoyed, "Tomorrow you go to your mother's place and tell her about this matter - try to make it sound as pitiful and grievous as possible! Try to make her cry and feel ashamed and regretful!"

  Song Yi smiled: "......" His own son?

  "Then tell your mother to ask one of the brothers to transfer to Jiangnan for work, so we have an excuse to invite them to go to Jiangnan for retirement - although they will leave the capital this time, no matter where they go, it's extremely humiliating, but going south is better than going north at least?" Jian Yu's face was gloomy. "Jin Su has always been arrogant and even dared to defy the emperor's uncle, such a personal favor, we can't persuade him! Now that time is pressing, if mother takes action in person, there might still be a glimmer of hope!"

  Song Yixiao finally understood his good intentions and solemnly nodded: "I will definitely try my best!"

  "Take the meal!" Jian Yu Bai waved his hand and called in the servant.

  With Pei You Rui's arrival, the inevitable battle between the two was dispelled, and everyone let out a sigh of relief, secretly rejoicing.

  But not reconciling doesn't mean reconciliation either.

  At night when settling down, the two of them couldn't help but show each other a cold face once again.

  But even so - the next day early in the morning, when Jian Xu Bai got up, he still didn't forget to wake his wife!

  Of course, he didn't forget that the two were still quarreling, so after confirming that Song Yisheng had opened her eyes in a daze, she didn't order her around like before, but instead looked at her with a cold face and remained silent.

  Song Yi Xiang, still in a daze, exchanged a bewildered glance with him.

  After a while, the former finally came to his senses, let out a silent sigh, turned over and got off the couch, took the official robes and helped him put them on.

  This morning, the couple cooperated tacitly, but still refused to speak, making the servants who came up to serve them nervous again, and they simply wanted to kneel down and kowtow a few times, begging them not to make trouble anymore!

  But the resentment of the lower people has not been felt by their masters at all.

  Song Yi forced a smile to send off her husband, returned to the room and lay down on the couch for more than half an hour, then got up again to dress and ordered someone to drive the carriage to rush to the Jin State Princess's residence.

  It's already early morning, normally everyone except patients should be up by now.

  After Song Yishang was welcomed into the back hall, her maid hesitated and reported: "The princess is too tired from yesterday and hasn't gotten up yet. Please wait a moment, milady, I'll go in and inform her!"

  "Since you're tired, how can I disturb you?" Song Yi hurriedly said, "I've been waiting just for that!"

  Before the eunuch could speak, a figure flashed in at the doorway - it was Jian Li Kuang striding in. Song Yi Xiao naturally hastened to rise and pay his respects to his father-in-law.

  "Get up!" Jian Li looked at her lightly and said after sitting down, "No need to be polite."

  Song Yixiao thought he was looking for his mother-in-law, so she just greeted him. But Jian Li Kuan stood up and said: "I heard that the state of Jin asked you for a batch of artisans, you agreed, but never sent them over? Is there any difficulty?"

  It's all because of you, Jian Yi!