Sir Song, do you want to pledge yourself to me?

Xiaoyao Jian sneered and turned to Yao Yue, saying, "Young Master Liuying is in this state now. There's no use for him staying in your Wushuang Tower. How about selling him to me for ten taels of silver?"

Although Yao Yue was eager to get rid of Liuying as soon as possible to avoid causing trouble for Wushuang Tower, her face suddenly darkened when she heard the price.

He feigned surprise and replied, "This... are you kidding me? We spent more than ten taels of silver when we bought him back. Over the past few years, he's been given the best food, clothing, and other necessities according to the building's rules. We even hired a master to teach him skills. All in all, it must be at least one thousand taels of silver. If the customer wants to take Liuying away, we can't let Wushuang Building suffer any loss!"

Xiaoyao Jian seemed to have anticipated what Yaoyue would say. He chuckled and retorted, "Young Master Yaoyue, Liuying is now suffering from a case of pig-like madness and can no longer bring any benefits to Wushuang Tower. Staying here will only damage Wushuang Tower's reputation. If he gets sick again and scares other guests, the impact will be even worse. If you asked for a thousand taels of silver when he was well, I might consider it, but now... if you think ten taels of silver is too little, then I can add forty or fifty taels of silver and take him away. How about that?"

Liuying's current situation is indeed tricky, but fifty taels of silver is obviously far below Yaoyue's expectations.

Just as Yao Yue was hesitating, Xue Bi added fuel to the fire: "Master Yao Yue, fifty taels of silver is already a lot. Liu Ying is in her current state, and staying in Wushuang Tower would be a burden. Apart from us wanting to buy her and send her to please Master Wang, I'm afraid no one else would want her. Taking fifty taels of silver is better than losing a fortune, don't you think, Master Yao Yue?"

After some inner struggle, Yao Yue finally sighed and nodded: "Alright, fifty taels of silver, and Liuying will be yours. But you have to promise that if anything goes wrong with him in the future, it will have nothing to do with Wushuang Tower."

"Of course."

Xiaoyao Jian took out fifty taels of silver from his pocket and handed it to Yaoyue.

Yao Yue took the silver, feeling a mixture of emotions. He asked someone to fetch Liu Ying's indenture and give it to Xiao Yao Jian.

Xiaoyao Jian took the indenture contract, checked it carefully, and after confirming that it was correct, he and Xuebi each carried the still unconscious Zhao Fengnian and left Wushuang Tower.

Song Jinbai took Ji Nuan back to the Song residence.

In Hefeng Courtyard, Shen Songhe was talking to Mother Wu about the visiting cards she had recently received.

Shen Songhe took a sip of tea and looked at one of the visiting cards. "This Madam Qi, is she the wife of the newly transferred Tongzhi?"

Mother Wu smiled and nodded, explaining the information she had learned, "That's right, madam. This Madam Qi was originally the second daughter of Censor Lü in the capital. She later married the then-Chuanlu, who later became a Langguan of the Ministry of Revenue and is now the Vice Magistrate Qi."

Shen Songhe nodded slightly, a look of realization on her face. "Oh, so she's from the capital. I never saw her approaching me when I was in the capital before, but she's only been here a few days and she's already handed me four invitations."

Mother Wu said with a smile, "In the capital, she was the wife of a seventh-rank official, so she didn't dare to marry a lady of such high rank. Now that the prince is the official directly above Qi Tongzhi, it's natural for her to come and pay her respects to the lady."

As the two were talking, Song Jinbai and Ji Nuan walked in.

Song Jinbai asked curiously, "Nanny, what are you talking about? It's so funny."

When Mother Wu saw the two, she said with a smile, "Oh, the prince and the young lady are back. I was just telling Madam that we've received a lot of messages recently!"

Shen Songhe waved at the two, motioning for them to come and sit. After they were seated, she explained, "Since the news of my arrival spread, many people have sent visiting cards. Including today's, there are four from Prefect Qi. I was too busy before and didn't have time to see them. Now that I have some free time, I'm discussing with Mother Wu how to respond."

Ji Nuan glanced at the two thick stacks of visiting cards on the table and couldn't help but exclaim: "Aunt Shen, do you want to meet everyone one by one? That's too tiring!"

"They are all wives of local officials and wealthy businessmen. We can't not meet them all. Jin Bai is an official here, and he cannot do anything without their support." Shen Songhe patted Ji Nuan's hand, intending to teach her.

"It was fine when Jin Bai was alone. He only had to deal with officials and wealthy businessmen. After I came, the ladies in the harem naturally wanted to make friends with me. When you get married in the future, you will need to maintain these interpersonal relationships."

Ji Nuan nodded, indicating that she had learned her lesson. She continued, "Aunt Shen is new here and isn't familiar with the ladies. Meeting them one by one would be exhausting. I think it would be better to just hold a banquet and invite everyone to attend."

Song Jinbai echoed, "Mother, I think Nuan'er's idea is feasible. I've been in office for almost half a year now, and apart from the banquet I hosted for officials and wealthy businessmen at the restaurant when I first came, I haven't held a banquet at home. It's just right that you're here, so we can hold a flower viewing banquet and invite the ladies of the families to come and sit down. Then mother won't have to tire herself out every day."

Shen Songhe smiled and nodded, "Okay, that's settled. But your yard is indeed a bit dull. You have to have flowers to enjoy when holding a flower viewing party. The garden needs to be spruced up a bit."

Ji Nuan had been to the Song residence several times, and there really wasn't anything worth seeing here. "Aunt Shen, this is easy. Tell me what kind of flowers or plants you need. I know where to get the best ones, and I guarantee you won't lose face in front of outsiders."

"As expected, my daughter is the most caring and knows how to share my worries and solve my problems. In comparison, that brat only creates problems for me." Shen Songhe gently smoothed over Ji Nuan's long hair that fell on her shoulders and continued, "Nuan Nuan, if you don't mind the trouble, I'll leave it to you to arrange the flowers for the flower viewing banquet."

"Then why don't you stay here, Nuan'er? You'll be in charge of all the banquets and other matters in the mansion in the future. This is a good opportunity for you to learn and gain experience from mother's side." At this point, Song Jinbai suddenly looked a little embarrassed. He coughed lightly and added, "Well, anyway, we are getting married soon, and no one will be so tactless as to make irresponsible remarks about this matter."

Shen Songhe looked at her son and felt secretly amused. This kid was simply eager to bring someone home.

Ji Nuan saw through Song Jinbai's little tricks at a glance, but she pretended to be clueless and said with an innocent smile, "Have you forgotten? My house is right there in Elm Alley. If I study with Aunt Shen until late, I can just move in there."

Song Jinbai said hesitantly, "...Wouldn't it be too much trouble to run around?"

Ji Nuan smiled easily and said, "What's the trouble? It's just a matter of coming here in the morning and leaving in the evening. I have to eat lunch here with Aunt Shen at noon."

Seeing his son's frustrated look, Shen Songhe couldn't help but laugh.

- ??(?????) Please urge me to update! Thanks to Xuanying Baoer for the gift, thank you!