The daughter of a noble family is reborn, and she is doted on by her godmother.

"Lord Zhu, you are too kind. Our Marquis specifically emphasized that we must treat you well and asked me to find out what you like to eat so that we can prepare it for you at noon."

Zhu Ling waved his hand, "Steward, you don't need to trouble yourself. How could I let the Marquis's mansion spend money like this?"

At the same time, Zhu Ling gave Xing Xiaoyu a look, and Xing Xiaoyu went outside and asked the others to unload some things from the car.

"The Empress Dowager knows that we have come to Changgan to take up our posts. Since we female scholars have served the Empress Dowager in the palace for a period of time, the Empress Dowager specially asked me to bring these things to the Marquis."

As Zhu Ling spoke, she introduced the items that had been moved to the housekeeper. "This is the gift list. I have delivered the items to their proper places, which can be considered as fulfilling the Empress Dowager's decree."

When the steward heard that it was a gift from the Empress Dowager, he also became serious, accepted it with both hands, and held the gift list above his head with great solemnity.

"Thank you for your hard work, Lord Zhu."

"It's just running errands for the Empress Dowager; it's what we, as subjects, should do."

Zhu Ling then exchanged pleasantries with the steward, while Yun Yuke took the opportunity of moving things to look around the courtyard of the Marquis's mansion.

The courtyard was deep and secluded, with winding paths leading to quiet spots. From the moment I entered the Marquis's residence, I could feel a sense of composure.

The ancient brick walls, nestled behind verdant bamboo, exude a dignified air, bearing the marks of time. Stepping into the front hall is like traversing a corridor of time, entering a tranquil yet luxurious world.

The reception hall for Zhu Ling and his entourage appeared to be a side room in the front yard. The dark marble floor was polished to a mirror shine, and a landscape painting with profound artistic conception hung on the wall, depicting lively mountains and rivers with swirling clouds and mist.

A long rosewood table sits quietly under the window, upon which rests a small bonsai and several ancient books exuding the fragrance of ink.

Yun Yuke has been in this society for a long time. To be honest, she has seen many different objects, both luxurious and rustic, simple and complex, as well as all kinds of houses and buildings.

However, it is rare to find a residence like the Marquis of Ankang's that combines nobility, antiquity, and understated elegance all in one place.

Yun Yuke still felt a bit of awe towards Marquis Ankang. She had originally thought that Marquis Ankang was just a tyrannical person, or rather, a nouveau riche.

It was only upon arriving here that I realized that this Marquis Ankang still harbored many secrets.

Zhu Ling also looked around at the decorations in the room. "The Empress Dowager once said that the Marquis of Ankang once lived with her. The Marquis himself has extremely high taste. At that time, many items offered to the court were not worthy of his attention. Seeing them today, they are indeed extraordinary."

These words were not made up by Zhu Ling on the spot. When they were in the capital, the Empress Dowager had mentioned her nephew. Of course, some of the information was not said by the Empress Dowager herself, but more of it came from the female officials who had served the Empress.

Zhu Ling was about to continue flattering him when he suddenly heard some noise coming from the front hall.

“Cousin! You can’t look down on me like this… He’s my… husband, and we have three children together…”

It was a rather high-pitched female voice. Yun Yuke thought it sounded somewhat like the voice of the woman she had heard at the Yunxing Inn before. However, it was intermittent and not very clear.

The butler also heard this and bowed to Zhu Ling, saying, "Excuse me, I'll go and take care of this first."

After everyone else was cleared out, the other constables handed over their belongings to the Hou family. Once that was done, the other constables were settled in the flower hall.

There were many outsiders around, so Yun Yuke didn't act alone. Instead, she stood behind Yun Yuke as before.

Those who came together generally obeyed orders and followed the rules, so everyone was relatively quiet.

I thought I could finally hear the argument in the front hall, but the people there seemed to have lowered their voices, so I couldn't make out anything.

Of course, this was no challenge for Yun Yuke. She concentrated her mind, released her divine sense, and focused her attention to hear what the people in the front hall were talking about.

“Cousin, it was just once. You don’t know how difficult it is to deal with those remote and impoverished places! When we tried to contact those people, they wouldn’t listen to us at all.” The female voice was indeed the same one we had heard at the Cloud Travel Inn; it was Liu Jie’s newlywed wife.

"Tenth Sister, please be quiet." The Marquis of Ankang's voice came, sounding somewhat helpless.

"Third brother, don't stop me, let me speak." The woman's voice was choked with sobs as she pleaded with her brother.

“Madam, it is my fault for failing to complete the task assigned by the Marquis. I am very grateful that the Marquis is willing to give me the opportunity to gain experience. The Marquis has high expectations of me, which is his way of trusting me and testing me. I will work harder in the future.”

Liu Jie seemed to be comforting her from the side, speaking gently and sincerely.

Upon hearing this person's voice, Yun Yuke clicked her tongue inwardly.

You scoundrel, you're so fickle. No matter the cost, I can't let Aunt Hua be ruined by you.

The people in the hall paused for a while, then began to speak again.

“Brother-in-law… well, you’re older than me, it’s a bit odd, but let’s still call you that,” Marquis Ankang continued.

“I know these tasks I’ve assigned you won’t be easy, but contacting merchants in various regions is part of the Deng family’s future plans. Not many members of our generation of the Deng family have achieved anything significant. Although my aunt, the Empress Dowager, is already in a high position, many of her senior officials still frequently cause problems. We must plan for the future.”

"Don't blame me for being demanding. Since the goal hasn't been achieved yet, let's get things done first."

Liu Jie waited a while before continuing, "Yes, I will follow your orders, Lord Marquis."

"Okay, after you send Tenth Sister to the capital and settle her in, you can continue with your work. You can go now, I still have things to do."

The people inside seemed to have finished their conversation, and the Marquis gave them the order to leave. The other two seemed to want to argue, but in the end, they didn't continue speaking.

Fearing something might happen, Yun Yuke still didn't withdraw her divine sense.

It worked as expected; the female voice spoke again.

"Cousin, I'm sorry, I went a bit too far just now."

“We’re family, no need for formalities. I know you. How are you? Need some money? I’ll have the old steward give you some more. You can take the child and rest in Changgan for a month before heading to the capital.”

"Yes, I understand."

"Brother-in-law, you should spend this month with your sister. Don't let her down, or else... you know how ruthless the Deng family can be."

"Rest assured, my lord, I will never let Wanyi down."

Only then did she truly hear the sound of those people leaving the front hall. Yun Yuke withdrew her divine sense and composed herself.

After waiting a while, a man and a woman were seen passing by the flower hall. At the same time, the old butler who had left earlier returned to the place.

"Our Marquis invites Lord Zhu to come over."

Zhu Ling and Xing Xiaoyu went together. Several constables, including Yun Yuke, were left behind.

This was something they had all agreed on before they came. Yun Yuke was disguised as a constable, and it would be better to blend into the crowd. So, at this moment, Yun Yuke deliberately did not go near them.

The distance between the front hall and the flower hall was manageable, so listening to their conversation with her divine sense was no problem for Yun Yuke.

Zhu Ling glanced at Yun Yuke secretly, and seeing that Yun Yuke gave her a reassuring look, she felt relieved.

Yun Yuke released her divine sense again, listening to Zhu Ling and the others' words, as well as the conversation between the couple who had just left.

“My cousin is really too strict. I know you have done a lot for my family and it has been very difficult for you. I was thinking of pleading with him to be more lenient.”

"Wanyi, it's alright. It's an honor for the Marquis to think highly of me."

It turned out to be intimate words between the couple.

"Speaking of which, do you think the Marquis is fond of beautiful women? If we had one of our people by his side... wouldn't it give us some leeway in dealing with him if we sent him a concubine?"