The wind is gentle and the fun is endless

After returning to the Xu residence, Huanhuan and Xiangyue said goodbye to each other and returned to their respective residences. As soon as they entered Xin Garden, Huanhuan saw Youcheng and Xie Shen's servant Zhongjun at the main house door from a distance. The two of them sat casually opposite each other on the steps at the door, chatting intently.

"Who are you talking about? Master Shen? He knelt for a whole night? Why don't I believe it?" He waved his hand again, looking incredulous.

Zhongjun sighed with a sad face, "Why would I lie to you? Our young master actually knelt at the master's door for a whole night, and only then did the master relent and agree. But who knew that the young master's mother would never agree to it..."

While Huanhuan was listening to these words, the person had already walked to the door. Youcheng and Zhongjun saw her and stood up to salute her.

He smiled slowly and faintly, and asked, "Why are you here?"

Zhongjun replied, "My young master, young lady, and Mr. Qu are talking about something. We will wait here."

Hearing Xie Jin was there, her slow smile disappeared unconsciously, and she instinctively replied: "Oh, it's getting cold. If you feel cold, go to the side room and don't catch a cold."

Youcheng and Zhongjun bowed again to express their gratitude, then slowly went into the house without saying anything else.

After entering the house, I slowly looked around and found that there was no one in the main room. Suddenly, the sound of quarreling came from the study.

It was Xie Shen's excited voice: "Don't play dumb! Speak! I've said so much, how can you still be indifferent? Why won't you just let go?" To be honest, Huanhuan never knew that Xie Shen, who was always smiling, could have such a big emotional fluctuation.

Xie Jin's unusually calm voice followed: "What does your marriage proposal have to do with my wife being promoted as your wife's wife? This is clearly a far-fetched argument."

Xie Shen's anxious voice rang out again: "How many times have I told you this? As long as you give in, Mother will be made legitimate. Once she's legitimate and has status, I can ask for your hand in marriage."

Xie Jin sneered and said, "Brother, I'm afraid you've been deceived by my weeping lies since you were little. I know I must have been telling you all along - if it weren't for me interfering, she would have been promoted long ago. Not to mention that it's Daddy who has the final say on whether to promote her or not, brother, it's a pity that you've become foolish by following my side!"

Xie Shen's unhappy voice sounded again: "What do you mean? I'm not in the mood to play dumb with you."

Xie Jin spoke slowly, "I know I've always coveted the position of mistress. Although she comes from a humble background, she feels that as the only eldest son and the most senior of the family, the position of mistress should be hers. I told my brother frankly that this idea is ridiculous. There are many inherent requirements for a mistress in a household—virtuous and sensible, fair, or capable, but never one of them is being idle the longest. Look at the mistresses of other households; they either have one or two of these qualities, and some with outstanding qualifications have both virtue and ability. But what do I have? I want to be a mistress. To put it bluntly, is she worthy?"

How could anyone accept someone talking about their mother like that? Even Xie Shen, who was always gentle and playful, became a little angry. He immediately slammed the table and shouted angrily, "How is it unworthy!"

Xie Jin immediately slammed the table and angrily replied, "When my mother was alive, she fought for favors, disregarding discipline and repeatedly overstepping her bounds. She angered my mother to the point of illness, but she wasn't ashamed. Instead, she made no effort to conceal her smugness. She's simply despicable. Ask yourself, isn't the reason you're still unmarried because she's obsessed with climbing the social ladder, even smuggling in ulterior motives and using her own advancement as a condition, repeatedly trying to sabotage your marriage? Let me be clear, she's even threatened her only son's life in order to gain status for herself. She's simply the height of selfishness. How can someone like her be worthy of being the mistress of a household?"

Xie Shen must have been hurt too, as there was no sound in the room for a long time. Huan Huan was hesitating about what to do when he heard Xie Shen sigh and say, "Brother Qu, Xiang Yin is your sister, so why don't you try to persuade her?"

The room fell silent again. Just when Huan Huan thought Xu Qu wouldn't reply, he heard Xu Qu calmly say, "You were so excited, your lips were moving too much, and you were talking too fast. I didn't fully understand what you were saying."

This is, you don't plan to take care of it?

Huanhuan was still confused when she heard the sound of a chair being pushed. Then Xie Shen came out dejectedly. He looked shaky and his eyes were a little red.

Xie Shen looked up and saw Huanhuan. He could see that he was completely immersed in the sadness of having his sore spot touched and the frustration of not being able to persuade him.

Instead, she slowly turned red and white, with an expression of embarrassment at having overheard a secret. When Xie Shen approached her, she couldn't help but whispered, "Master Shen, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I just happened to be back."

Xie Shen said nothing, but just clasped his hands together weakly in a bow and left.

After slowly watching Xie Shen's figure disappear, he turned to look at the study door. Just as he was hesitating whether to go in, he heard Xie Jin sigh softly and said in a depressed tone, "Brother Qu, you see, it's always those people with low morals, bad conduct, more ambition than ability who stir up trouble. They only want to grab power and profit but don't know how to take responsibility. They do a lot of annoying and disturbing things and still feel justified."

Xie Jin's tone was completely different from the firmness he'd had earlier in his argument with Xie Shen. It was filled with dependence, a mixture of complaint and confession. Huanhuan gave a wry smile. Huanhuan could hear it, but Xu Qu couldn't. But that didn't matter. Xie Jin's actions and expressions clearly conveyed that. But what about Xu Qu? What would he think, how would he respond?

In the miserable wait, Huanhuan heard Xu Qu reply: "You always handle it well."

Xu Qu's tone was calm as usual, and one couldn't tell what he was feeling, but it seemed like a heavy blow to Huanhuan's heart. The feeling was sour, bitter, and astringent, a mixture of all five flavors.

Xie Jin seemed very satisfied with this reply and said with a smile: "Brother Qu, you are always the best."

Xu Qu then said, "It's getting late. Go back and get some rest. You have things to do tomorrow."

"Okay..." Xie Jin said as she lifted the curtain and walked out of the study. She was originally smiling, but when she looked up and saw Huanhuan in the main room, she couldn't help but be stunned. She stopped and stood there looking at Huanhuan. Huanhuan said nothing, just looked at her quietly, the two of them just staring at each other expressionlessly.

Soon, Xu Qu appeared at the door of the study. Seeing Xie Jin stopped at the door, he looked over Xie Jin's head with confusion. When he saw Huan Huan in the room, his originally calm face suddenly turned ashen.

Xie Jin was blocking the doorway, so Xu Qu couldn't get out. He could only ask from a distance, "When did you come back?"

When Xie Jin heard this, he turned around to look at Xu Qu, then turned back to Huanhuan and bowed and said goodbye. Huanhuan returned the greeting calmly, still saying nothing.

After Xie Jin left, Xu Qu walked up to Huanhuan, looked at her hesitantly, and said, "Xie Shen was here just now. They were talking about their family matters."

He slowly forced a smile and said, "I came back early and saw Master Shen."

Then the two of them fell silent, as if they wanted to say something but hesitated. They both wanted to say something, but were afraid of overthinking it and saying too much, so they didn't know whether they should speak or not.

Finally, he slowly said, "It seems like you two have a very good relationship. They didn't shy away from telling you about such a private matter."

Xu Qu looked at him and replied, "They've been like this since they were little, so they're probably used to not being shy with me. Their family is also full of troubles."

She nodded slowly, thought for a moment, and said, "I've heard people say before about Miss Xie Jin's extraordinary talent, but today I really feel..." She paused slowly, then smiled faintly and continued, "Miss Xie Jin is indeed quite outstanding. She must be someone who has the qualifications to be a mistress as she said, right?"

Was Huanhuan asking Xu Qu? What kind of answer did she expect? She didn't know.

Xu Qu looked at it for a long while and said, "Everyone understands the principles, but the difficulty lies in whether one can put them into practice."

Huanhuan was just wondering what Xu Qu meant when Cheng came in to report that her aunt had arrived.