After being reborn, her aloof ex-husband and her crazy deceased husband got into a fight.

After leaving "Lingqiao Pavilion", Gan Cai'er and her party took a carriage back to the Lan family's old house.

The first thing Mo Yun did upon returning to the house was to go to the study to find Lan Tingzhou. He then told her about how Gan Cai'er had been upset and cried because of the unsuccessful attempt to buy the house.

"She cried?"

Lan Tingzhou paused, holding the book, then raised his eyelids and stared intently at Mo Yun.

Mo Yun nodded and replied with certainty, "The young mistress cried so hard. Xiao Hong tried to comfort her for a long time, but she couldn't. In the end, her eyes were swollen from crying."

Lan Tingzhou lowered his eyes, remained silent, and clenched his fists.

Gan Cai'er is not a crybaby. Apart from in bed, he has seen her cry no more than five times.

Lan Tingzhou felt a strange, subtle unease, as if his heart had been twisted and stabbed.

"Is it because the price couldn't be agreed upon?" Lan Tingzhou asked calmly.

"No." Mo Yun shook his head.

"Why is that?"

"Uh... they say that the young master's surname clashes with the homeowner's, which is bad for the homeowner."

Lan Tingzhou raised an eyebrow and looked at Mo Yun.

"The owner of that house believed in the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams. He consulted a fortune teller who said that anyone whose surname contained a color would be unlucky for him, especially someone with the surname 'Lan'."

Mo Yun touched his nose. He also found the reason strange, but there were people who actually believed it.

Lan Tingzhou narrowed his eyes slightly and tapped his fingers lightly on the desk a few times.

"Doesn't his surname clash with anything else?"

"Huh?" Mo Yun was taken aback, bewildered by the question.

"Well, I don't know. When the young mistress and the shop assistant went into the house to talk, I was in the carriage and didn't go in with them."

"Is such a small matter worth crying over?" Lan Tingzhou chuckled lightly, seemingly somewhat disdainful. "Couldn't you have bought it under someone else's name first, and then transfer the ownership?"

Mo Yun slapped his forehead, suddenly enlightened by Lan Tingzhou's words. "That's right! If we can't buy someone with the surname Lan, then let's find someone else with a different surname and buy them first!"

He knew it! The young master would definitely have a way!

"Tomorrow, go to the brothel and find out more about this matter," Lan Tingzhou instructed.

"Okay!" Mo Yun happily agreed.

"Don't tell the young mistress before things are done," Lan Tingzhou continued.

"I know."

Mo Yun came in with a worried look on her face, then left with a cheerful expression.

"What are you grinning about? Did the young master reward you with money?" Mo Yan asked curiously, seeing Mo Yun's two different faces.

"Hehe, we're moving to a new house. The new house is big and beautiful, and we don't have to worry about repairs. Isn't that something to be happy about?"

"Really? That's wonderful!" Mo Yan exclaimed happily.

You must understand, when they stepped into the Lan family's old mansion yesterday, they were utterly devastated. Since being bought into the Lan household by Gan Cai'er, they had never suffered such hardship. Although they knew that it would definitely be repaired and reinforced in the future, its dilapidated state couldn't be fixed in a day or two.

The two of them talked for half the night and are already prepared to endure hardship for a long time.

To everyone's surprise, just one day later, they received the good news that they were going to move to a new house. How could they not be happy? Just as the two were enjoying themselves, Xiao Hong came in carrying a food box.

"What are you two laughing at? You look so carefree."

"What, no one's on duty in the study? A whole bunch of you are slacking off outside!"

"Sister Xiaohong, Young Master Wenshu doesn't like crowds. He told us to wait outside until he needs to call us." Mo Yan smiled and stepped forward, reaching for the food box in Xiaohong's hand. "Sister, what good things have you brought for Young Master this time?"

"Go away, go to the side." Xiao Hong stepped aside, avoiding the matter of the inkstone, and turned the food box around.

"This is osmanthus cheese that Miss specially packed for the young master. You're clumsy, so don't spill it."

As she spoke, Xiao Hong, carrying a food box, pushed open the door to the study.

Lan Tingzhou had overheard the conversation outside, so he wasn't surprised when Xiao Hong came in.

"Today, Miss and I went to Wangjing Restaurant. Their Osmanthus Cheese is a specialty of Beijing. Miss specially packed a few bowls to bring back for the young master and son to try as well."

Xiao Hong deftly took out a small bowl of osmanthus cheese and handed it to Lan Tingzhou: "Miss asked me to warm this cheese just now. It tastes best when eaten hot. Please eat it quickly, young master."

The osmanthus cheese has a warm, lustrous color with a light, creamy yellow hue on the surface. Once taken out, it fills the room with a milky aroma. The cheese is fragrant and smooth with a creamy texture, sweet but not cloying.

Lan Tingzhou couldn't resist, eating one bite after another, and soon the bowl was empty. For once, a hint of embarrassment appeared on his face.

He inwardly berated himself, thinking that he had lost his temper over a mere bowl of cheese.

"Young master, could you smile more often in the future?" Xiao Hong suddenly asked.

"Hmm?" Lan Tingzhou glanced at Xiao Hong, not understanding the meaning behind her seemingly random question.

"My young lady likes to see people laugh. If you laugh more, she will be even happier."

"Also, although my young lady is not good at music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and songs, she is the best person and has the kindest heart!"

After speaking with a stern face, Xiao Hong packed up the bowls and left with the same stern face.

Only Lantingzhou remained sitting there, completely bewildered.

Has this girl eaten gunpowder today?

At the same time, Meng Yu also learned that Gan Cai'er had gone to buy a house that day. He was feeding the fish by the pond in the mansion at the time, having nothing to do.

"Young Master, Miss Lan really went to buy that house!" Feng Zhao excitedly reported to Meng Yu.

"But she didn't buy it in the end."

"Oh? Why?" Meng Yu asked, raising an eyebrow.

“She said her husband’s surname is Lan, which is a surname that clashes with yours, so she won’t buy it.” Feng Zhao paused for a moment before continuing, “She also said that her own surname is La, the kind of La that’s so spicy it’s deadly.”

After speaking, Feng Zhao glanced cautiously at his young master, only to see Meng Yu twitch his lips and smile.

"Heh, so they really want to distance themselves from me," Meng Yu scoffed lightly, a hint of mockery in his voice.

"However, Zhao Mingchang said that the young lady from the Lan family accepted the token."

"Tsk, she didn't want the house I offered. But she accepted the token Zhuo Wu gave her?"

Meng Yu, quite displeased, tossed the fish food in his hand into the pond, attracting a school of fish to feed on it, which stirred up many waves in the pond.

Feng Zhao felt that something was off about those words. Why did they sound so sour? Zhao Mingchang was just a martial artist recruited from the northern frontier, dark-skinned and burly. What was there for the young master to be so sour about? Did the young lady of the Lan family possibly have a crush on him?

Feng Zhao gave his young master a strange and puzzled look.

The following evening, after a busy day, Mo Yun returned home and immediately went to his study.

"What? The homeowner isn't selling anymore?" Lan Tingzhou frowned.

"Yes, today I went to that house with the shop assistant, and Steward Zhao said that his young master no longer plans to sell the house."

"Understood, you go down first."

Mo Yun hesitated for a moment: "Young Master, today when I entered the mansion, I took a walk around. I found that there were hardly any people living there. The huge mansion only had a few servants living there and maintaining it. It was practically deserted."

"Young master, why don't you go and talk to him another day?"

Mo Yun felt that the failure to reach an agreement today was mostly due to her own stupidity and inability to speak properly.

"Well, I see."

After Mo Yun left, Lan Tingzhou stood up, walked to the window, and carefully examined his former home. What met his eyes was devastation and ruin. He couldn't help but sigh; this was indeed not a good place to live.

It was one thing for me and Lanting to return, but Gan Cai'er had been pampered and spoiled since childhood. When had she ever suffered such hardship?

It's rare to find a house she likes, so I should think of something else. Perhaps I should visit the Du family mansion in Baihua Lane and try to negotiate the price.

Forced buying and selling is not the act of a gentleman. But if the imperial court is collecting taxes at great expense, then there shouldn't be any problem, right?