The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

Du Mingxian seemed to realize something belatedly, and she said somewhat embarrassedly, "I just got back, and I didn't know where I should go, so I thought I would follow Fourth Uncle."

Wen Yibin nodded slightly, knowing that she didn't understand, and simply instructed the servant beside him, "Miss, please go to the old lady's courtyard and tell her that I will change my clothes and then go to pay my respects to her."

"Yes."

With a servant leading the way, Du Mingxian immediately walked towards Madam Wen's courtyard. She kept her eyes straight ahead and walked with proper decorum, just like a young lady from a wealthy family.

Many servants secretly glanced at her. Those who saw one side of her face thought she was very beautiful, but those who saw the other side felt it was a pity that her face was injured.

They soon arrived at Shou Kang Courtyard. The servants in the courtyard were quite friendly when they saw the young servant, but they were extremely surprised when they heard Du Mingxian's identity and immediately went inside to report.

Du Mingxian stood in the courtyard.

After a while, a servant came to report that the old lady had invited her in.

Du Mingxian was prepared for being neglected. After all, the original owner's stepmother was the old lady's niece. Even if she was the old lady's granddaughter, judging from how the mansion had ignored the original owner for so many years, it was clear that the old lady did not like the original owner as her granddaughter.

There was a faint scent of sandalwood in the old lady's room. When she entered, the old lady was sitting in the main seat, gently stroking her prayer beads. She stopped when she saw her come in.

"Granddaughter Wen Huan greets her grandmother."

"Come here quickly, come to Grandma, let Grandma take a good look at you."

Du Mingxian obediently stepped forward and placed her hand in the old lady's palm.

The old lady's hands were soft, warm, and very smooth, while Du Mingxian's hands were rough and clearly showed signs of manual labor.

When the old lady touched Du Mingxian's hand, she was slightly taken aback. She even looked down at Du Mingxian's hand and saw the calluses on her hand, and a look of heartache flashed in her eyes.

"You've suffered a lot over the years."

Du Mingxian quickly shook her head, "With the clansmen taking care of her, Huan'er isn't suffering."

The old lady looked sorrowful as she spoke, "I never expected something like this to happen. You must have been terrified."

"Yes." Du Mingxian also made a pained expression appropriately.

The old lady patted her hand, "It's good that you're back. That kind of thing won't happen again."

Du Mingxian nodded slightly but did not reply.

Before the two could finish speaking, a wealthy woman adorned with jewels walked in, followed by a girl of about twelve or thirteen years old who bore a striking resemblance to her.

"Mother, Huan'er."

Du Mingxian understood; this was the original owner's stepmother. She bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, Madam."

“You should call me Mother,” Madam Wen corrected with a helpless expression.

Du Mingxian lowered her head and remained silent, offering silent resistance.

When Madam Wen saw her like this, a look of disgust flashed in her eyes, but she quickly calmed down.

The old lady stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "The child has just returned; it's been many years since we last saw him. He needs time to adjust."

Madam Wen quickly accepted the offer, saying, "Yes, yes."

"Please sit down since you're here. Huan'er just got back. Keep her company and have a chat."

Madam Wen glanced at Du Mingxian, "Mother, Huan'er has suffered on her journey. Let her go and wash up first, then she can come and talk to you."

"Very well, I was just too happy to think straight." The old lady urged Du Mingxian, "Girl, go quickly."

"Granddaughter takes her leave."

Du Mingxian left the courtyard and stood with Chuntao at the entrance of Shou Kang Courtyard. No one came to guide them or tell them where to wash up.

"Miss, what do we do now?"

Du Mingxian chuckled, "Let's go for a stroll."

Chun Tao followed Du Mingxian and soon the two arrived at the inn outside, where they asked for hot water to wash up.

"Miss, wouldn't it be inappropriate for us to leave the manor directly?"

"Don't worry about it." Du Mingxian waved her hand. "Have you heard anything from your side about what kind of family the Wen family wants to marry me off to?"

Moreover, she felt that the Wen family had ill intentions in taking her back.

"There's no news yet, but it should be soon."

Du Mingxian was somewhat suspicious. Based on her understanding of the organization, things should have been quite quick. How could there be no news yet, or any other arrangements?

The two were talking on one side, while on the other side...

As Madam Wen emerged from the old lady's courtyard, she asked her maid, "Where is she?"

"This servant has not received any news yet, this servant will go and inquire now."

"Go quickly."

Madam Wen led her daughter back to her own courtyard.

Wen Shiyan pouted, "Mother, is that my older sister who killed my brother? She's obviously no good. When she comes back this time, Mother, you must teach her a good lesson."

Madam Wen turned around and glared at her daughter, then glanced around before scolding her in a low voice, "You're becoming more and more ill-mannered. You don't even know how to read the room before you speak, blurting out whatever comes to mind?"

“Mother is doing a good job. Which servant in this mansion would dare to talk nonsense?” Wen Shiyan wasn’t worried at all. She hugged Madam Wen’s arm and acted coquettishly, “Mother, I’m going to teach her a lesson.”

"Let's calm down for now. The person has just returned, so let's not go too far. We don't know what your father's attitude is yet."

"Yes, I know, I will test the waters first."

Just then, the maid who had left earlier came over with a worried look on her face, "Madam, something terrible has happened."

Madam Wen frowned. Her head maid was always calm and collected; what could have made her so flustered? "What's wrong?"

"Madam, the eldest young lady has left the manor."

"Leave the residence? Where could she go? Does she have acquaintances in the capital?"

"I heard that after the eldest young lady left the old lady's courtyard, she found that no one would take her to the courtyard. She asked two servants, but they didn't know where the eldest young lady would be assigned. So the eldest young lady left the mansion with her maid."

Madam Wen was slightly alarmed. "Have you found out where they went?"

"Inn."

“She’s cunning. She came back without saying a word and just left. Is she trying to intimidate me?” Madam Wen stood there for a long time. “Xiao Lan, take two people and go and bring the young lady back yourself.”

"Yes."

"Keep them calm and bring them back first, then we'll talk about other things."

"Yes, this slave knows."

Xiao Lan left, and Wen Shiyan became even more dissatisfied. "Mother, I'm going too. I want to see what she's up to. Running off to stay at an inn is just bringing shame to the family."

Madam Wen glanced at her daughter, pondered for a moment, and then shook her head. "You can't go. Let Xiaolan go. She doesn't deserve you to go in person."

“But Mother, it was Fourth Uncle who personally went to pick her up.”

"It doesn't matter, but you can't go now."

"Yes, then I'll wait for her to come back in the yard. As soon as she comes back, I'll give her a piece of my mind."

Madam Wen originally wanted to take things slowly, but Du Mingxian caused a huge scene as soon as she returned, so she didn't want to interfere with her daughter anymore. "Be careful not to upset your father."

"Don't worry, Mother. Even if Father is angry, it will definitely be Father who is angry with her, not with his daughter. Father loves me the most," Wen Shiyan said with great confidence.