The entire Marquis's mansion regrets it? Too late, their little one has become the darling of t

Cui Ruixin ordered someone to keep an eye on the third branch of the family.

Upon learning that the maid from the third branch of the family had led Chen Dongxi to the garden to admire the flowers, he immediately orchestrated a chance encounter.

"Greetings, Madam." Manao, a maid from the third branch of the family, quickly bowed to her.

"Greetings, Madam." Chen Dongxi hurriedly bowed, mimicking her manner.

"You must be the child my third brother brought back. You're quite handsome. What's your name?" Cui Ruixin smiled gently.

“Reporting to Madam, my name is Chen Dongxi,” Chen Dongxi answered timidly.

Cui Ruixin looked down on her unsavory appearance, but since she wanted to use her, she naturally wouldn't show her disgust.

She smiled and waved to her, "Don't call me Madam anymore. Just call me Auntie like Yao Yao and the others do."

Chen Dongxi moved closer to her.

Cui Ruixin reached out and gently touched her face, praising, "What an adorable little girl! The moment I saw her, my heart filled with joy, as if I were seeing my own daughter. Why don't you come with me to sit in my courtyard for a while?"

Hearing her gentle voice and looking at her kind face, Chen Dongxi couldn't help but nod in agreement: "Okay."

"Come on, I'll show you around." She smiled and took Chen Dongxi's hand.

Agate quickly followed.

Cui Ruixin gave Qiu Chan a look.

Qiu Chan hurriedly stopped her: "Sister Agate, you don't need to come along. Miss Xi'er is being taken care of by us. I will personally take her back after lunch later."

"But Madam instructed me to keep a close eye on Miss Xi'er." Agate still intended to follow.

"What, are you trying to take this opportunity to go to the main house and find out what's going on in our courtyard?" Qiu Chan raised her eyebrows and pinned a blame on her.

Agate quickly shook her head: "I didn't mean that."

"Then you don't need to follow," Qiu Chan said hastily as she watched the lady walk away. "I promise to return Miss Xi'er to you safely. If I can't, I'll pay with my life."

Having said all that, Agate felt embarrassed to keep following her any longer and had no choice but to return to the third house's courtyard first.

Cui Ruixin led Chen Dongxi back to the courtyard and ordered several servings of tea and snacks to be brought up.

He then removed the gold hairpin from her hair and handed it to her.

"Look, do you like this hairpin?"

Chen Dongxi's eyes widened, and he blurted out, "Gold?"

“Yes, it’s gold.” Cui Ruixin nodded with a smile. “We are destined to meet, so consider this my gift to you.”

"This is too precious, Madam, I cannot accept it." Chen Dongxi quickly returned the gold hairpin.

Cui Ruixin gave her a reproachful look: "I just said, don't call me Madam, call me Aunt."

Chen Dongxi blushed and stammered, "Auntie."

"Oh, so good." She replied with a smile, and then, without saying another word, she put the gold hairpin back into Chen Dongxi's hair bun.

"As the saying goes, one should not refuse a gift from an elder. Since you call me Aunt, please accept this gift."

"But it's too precious..." Chen Dongxi touched the gold hairpin, feeling both happy and apprehensive.

“A young lady should wear more expensive jewelry,” Cui Ruixin said, pointing to the pastries on the table.

"Try these snacks. There are savory and sweet ones. Which one do you like?"

Chen Dongxi felt a little sore in her nose.

My aunt is so gentle and considerate; she's really good to her.

"Oh dear, why don't you try some first? Once you've tasted it, you'll know what you like. If you like it, come and chat with me often." Cui Ruixin ate some snacks with her.

Chen Dongxi picked up the pastry and tasted it carefully.

Seeing that there were crumbs of pastry on the corner of her mouth, Cui Ruixin personally took a handkerchief and wiped them clean for her.

Chen Dongxi's eyes instantly reddened.

If her mother were still alive, she would surely be just as gentle and loving as her aunt.

"Oh dear, why are you crying?" Cui Ruixin pulled her into her arms and gently patted her back to comfort her.

In fact, she smiled and was already very confident in her plan.

How could this country girl, who has never seen the world, possibly withstand her methods?

A moment later, she released her grip on Chen Dongxi and looked at the small silver lock on her chest with feigned surprise.

"Who gave you this? It's so small."

Chen Dongxi instinctively covered the small silver lock.

She thought it was very precious and valuable, which is why she wore it.

Judging from what my aunt said, it seemed like it wasn't worth much at all.

Her face flushed as she replied, "It's a gift from my uncle, Shen."

Cui Ruixin gave Qiu Chan a look, and Qiu Chan immediately understood, saying sarcastically, "No way, the Shen family is so rich, and all they give is this thumb-sized safety lock? That's too stingy."

"Hey, what nonsense are you talking about, girl? This is just a kind gesture from your elders." Cui Ruixin verbally stopped her from continuing, but secretly winked at her to keep talking.

Qiu Chan muttered, "Yes, yes, it is indeed a kind gesture. But I remember when the Second Miss came back, she was wearing a gold necklace with a palm-sized peace lock pendant on it, which was also a gift from the Shen family. Isn't this a bit too biased?"

The blush on Chen Dongxi's face gradually faded, replaced by a pale complexion.

She forced a smile and said, "After all, Yaoyao is Aunt Shen's biological daughter, so it's only right that Uncle Shen treats her well. As an outsider, I'm already very fortunate to have received this silver lock."

“Who said she’s their biological daughter? She was picked up by the Second Master!” Qiu Chan said quickly.

"Shut up, don't say another word!" Cui Ruixin shouted sternly.

"This servant knows her mistake." Qiu Chan cooperated well, immediately admitting her mistake and retreating.

"Little sister Yaoyao, you're not Uncle and Aunt Shen's biological daughter?" Chen Dongxi looked shocked.

“That’s definitely not the case.” Cui Ruixin nodded.

"But you can't mention this in front of them. They treat Yaoyao like their own daughter. After all, they had a big argument with the old master and madam over Yaoyao, and it took a lot of effort to get her into the Yu family's genealogy."

Chen Dongxi was deeply hurt.

Cui Ruixin pointed to her clothes and changed the subject: "Don't worry about this too much. I think your third sister-in-law treats you quite well; she even bought you new clothes."

Qiu Chan chimed in, "What do you mean 'very good'? It's clearly just a rip-off. What young lady goes to a shop to buy ready-made clothes? They all have someone come to their home to take their measurements and have them custom-made. I don't even know how many outfits the Second Miss has ordered each quarter."

"Mind your own business and get out of here." Cui Ruixin waited until she finished speaking before pretending to be displeased and shooing her out.

Chen Dongxi stood there, tears welling in her eyes, her mind filled with thoughts of: "They're not even related by blood, so why is Yu Ningyao so lucky to be the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion?"

Cui Ruixin gently took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears and said softly, "Don't cry, don't cry. Your aunt will send someone to make you some clothes. Our Xi'er is so pretty, she should wear more pretty clothes."

The gentler she was, the more uncomfortable Chen Dongxi felt.

In the end, she couldn't hold back anymore and burst into tears, throwing herself into Cui Ruixin's arms.

"Waaaaah, Auntie, you're the best to me."

……

Shen Jinzhu entered the palace with her daughter, unaware that Cui Ruixin was sowing discord while she was away.

Her mind was filled with palace rules and etiquette, and she was terrified of making a mistake and bringing shame upon herself and her daughter.

"See the Imperial Concubine."