Flowers in full bloom

As they were talking, they heard the voices of the maids and servants outside greeting them, and then they saw Rong Jin pulling Xiao Yuan in, followed by a group of children of all ages. They all called out to Grandma and gathered around Old Madam Pei. Old Madam Pei was so happy that she hugged them left and right, and was overjoyed.

Pei Canghai, Marquis of Dingbei, has one wife and two concubines. After giving birth to three daughters in a row, Mrs. Pei's belly stopped moving. She was a little anxious, so she asked one of her maids who came with the dowry to be her concubine. Unexpectedly, when the concubine was four months pregnant, she also started vomiting and having back pain, and had morning sickness. She asked a doctor to feel her pulse, and found that she was indeed pregnant. It was a double happiness, and Marquis Pei was overjoyed. After full term, the concubine gave birth to his eldest son, Pei Jingyuan.

Four months later, Madam Pei safely gave birth to the eldest son Pei Jingyang. In the following years, she gave birth to the second son Pei Jingxuan and the third son Pei Jingyan. Three years after giving birth to the eldest son, the aunt became pregnant again in the fourth year. Unfortunately, she suffered a severe hemorrhage during childbirth, resulting in two deaths and the loss of the baby girl.

When Mrs. Pei was pregnant with her third son, she took care of the Marquis and promoted the Marquis's concubine to a concubine. The concubine was also very hardworking. Not long after, she gave birth to twins for the Marquis, named Pei Jingping and Pei Jing'an. Unfortunately, the youngest Pei Jing'an was born with deficiencies, so he was weak since childhood and could not practice martial arts. Although he was carefully raised, he could not pass the imperial examination to become an official after he grew up. So now he has been taking care of his health while managing some of the Marquis's fields and farms, but he can't work too hard. After getting married, he gave birth to two sons, and he was in good health.

When Pei Jingyang, the eldest son, was nineteen years old, he married Han, the youngest daughter of Han Changsong, a fifth-rank Hanlin scholar. After giving birth to his eldest daughter Pei Ruyi and second daughter Pei Manju, he finally gave birth to Pei Rongjin, the eldest grandson of the Dingbei Marquis's Mansion, in the expectation of everyone.

Pei Rongjin also has a younger sister, the thirteen-year-old Pei Zhenzhu, a ten-year-old half-sister, and a seven-year-old half-brother, the same age as Xiaoyuan. These two siblings were born to Pei Jingyang's concubine. There are six sons in the Marquis's Mansion. Each son married a wife and concubine, and had sons and daughters, and they became a large group now. Hua Lei looked at this large group of children, big and small, and was really dizzy and couldn't tell who was who.

After a while, the ladies and concubines of each room also came over. Madam Han, who was wearing a dark blue brocade dress with wide sleeves and a water pattern, came in last. She greeted Madam Pei without looking away, nodded imperceptibly to several sisters-in-law, and sat down in her seat, pursing her lips and saying nothing more.

Hua Lei pulled Xiao Yuan forward to greet her. Madam Han just nodded slightly without saying a word. Zhen Zhu, who was sitting next to her, smiled at Hua Lei but also did not speak. Hua Lei smiled and withdrew, sitting back in her original seat.

When everyone arrived, the maids began to serve the dishes. During the meal, no one spoke, only the occasional sound of porcelain bowls colliding. Hua Lei felt a little depressed, probably because in her previous life, whenever she ate with her family, they would talk and laugh. After coming here, she has been dependent on Xiao Yuan, and she usually talks with Fu Bo and others when they dine together. Looking at Xiao Yuan who was sitting at another table, he was eating very properly, as if he was used to it. Maybe because there were so many people, it took more than half an hour to clear the dishes after dinner. After sitting and talking for a while, seeing everyone leave, Hua Lei also took Xiao Yuan to say goodbye to Madam Pei and returned to Qihuayuan.

Hua Lei took Xiao Yuan to his room. Since he had already taken a bath in the front yard before dinner, Qing Lu and Qing Shuang came in with water for washing his face and hands. After watching Xiao Yuan wash up, change his clothes and go to bed, they gave him a few instructions and went back to their room. They felt it was still early, so they read a book for a while before washing up and going to bed.

Lying on the bed, thinking about the attentiveness of Mrs. Pei and Rong Jin, she felt touched. She also felt helpless when she thought about Mrs. Han's tightly pursed lips and the fact that she didn't smile at all after she greeted them. She still didn't know whether the people in the Marquis' Mansion knew about the joking engagement between Marquis Pei and her grandfather. Judging from Mrs. Pei's attitude, she was very attentive to her and Xiaoyuan. She just didn't know whether this attentive care was out of pity for the daughter of an old friend or something else.

But looking at the look on Madam Han's face, she should not like her. Could it be that Madam Han knew about this fake engagement and felt that she was asking for trouble and that she would have to cling to Rong Jin in the future, so she was unhappy? Hua Lei thought about it from another perspective. If she were Madam Han, she would not like her either. Not only did she lose her parents and have a brother who was a burden, but most importantly, she was from a rural family and had no family education since she was a child. How could she be worthy of the noble family of the marquis? She might even become a joke in the capital. Hua Lei sighed softly. Although she did not intend to cling to Rong Jin by moving to the marquis' mansion, she did want to take advantage of the power of the mansion.

In today's society, power is really too important. When I negotiated contracts with private schools, especially some large private schools, as soon as I revealed my relationship with Dingbei Marquis Mansion, the other party's attitude immediately changed a lot. Even if they really disdained Hualei, they would no longer show a trace of it. Even if there was no contract, they would still politely send Hualei out. It was the same in the printing house. Although Gui Jijiu never gave Hualei a cold shoulder from beginning to end, he still felt it clearly during the verbal confrontation.

During this period, Hua Lei pretended to casually say that she would move to the Marquis' Mansion in the second half of the month. In this case, it is estimated that Gui Jijiu would not be so ready to buy the engravings, and would not so easily give her the sales rights of the private school and bookstore in Shangjing City.

From the time I arrived in the capital until now, everyone in the courtyard has been busy every day, working without stopping. In two months, the restaurant and the bookstore only earned eighty taels of silver, and this was a result of great effort on my part.

The bookstore only had a revenue of six taels in the first month. Although there was no rent to pay, there was not much left after paying the monthly wages of two people. Taking advantage of the power of the Marquis' Mansion, she was able to gain a lot of money. Hua Lei couldn't help but sigh that she really couldn't resist the temptation of power. In addition, what Xiao Yuan could learn in the Marquis' Mansion family school might be difficult to learn outside, not to mention that his stay in the Marquis' Mansion would help him in his future imperial examinations.

In this era, it is a hundred times more difficult to cross the class than in the past. And I can also improve myself in the Marquis's Women's School. Hua Lei thought that if Madam Han knew what I was thinking, she would probably scold me for being shameless.

Hua Lei tossed and turned in bed for a long time, but finally she made up her mind, closed her eyes, and decided to stop thinking about it. Let them scold her and let them look down on her. She had already gotten here anyway, so she should seize the opportunity in front of her and see what happens in the future later.