Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

Zilanyuan

Lin Rong stood in front of several bolts of fabric, carefully selecting them, and then instructed, "Qinghui, take this lotus-root colored fabric to Shutong Courtyard for Shiyu, and also take this light blue one."

"Yes".

Then, Lin Rong looked at it again and said, "This feather-blue one is also nice. Yunmeng, take it to Yushang Pavilion and have them make a set of clothes according to Xiaoyu's size."

"Yes, madam."

"And what about Rou'er's? What color do you think she should get?"

Qinghui touched the hibiscus-colored fabric and said, "This servant thinks this is quite suitable for Miss."

Yunmeng chimed in, "This servant also thinks this is a good piece of clothing. It's springtime now, and this color is perfect for wearing."

"Well, let's take this one then. Send it to Yushang Pavilion. As for the rest, let's put them in the storeroom for now."

"Yes, this servant will take it right away," Qinghui replied happily.

"You silly girl, I told you to take it to the storeroom, not to give it to you as a reward. Why are you so happy?"

Li Mama smiled and said, "Madam, you don't know this, she was afraid that you would send it to Pear Fragrance Courtyard and Plum Blossom Courtyard to Aunt Liu and the Second Miss again."

“Ha, they don’t deserve it. They can forget about getting even the slightest benefit from me again.” Then he added, “I’ve been too good to them all these years, which has made them forget their place. As a result, they dared to scheme against Rou’er time and time again, and even wanted to kill her.”

"Yes, thankfully the young lady is clever and didn't let them succeed," Li Mama chimed in.

"They're such ingrates! It's a waste that the eldest young lady treated the second young lady so well, always thinking of her when she had something good. But instead, they not only schemed against the eldest young lady, but also poisoned her, trying to kill her. They're utterly heartless bastards," Qinghui said indignantly.

Just as Lin Rong was about to say something, she heard the sound of bowing coming from outside, "Greetings, Master."

Lin Rong then gave Qinghui and Yunmeng a look, and the two instantly became obedient.

A short while later, Su Jing'an walked in.

"Greetings, sir."

"Hmm," Su Jing'an responded faintly, then walked to the couch and sat down.

Lin Rong followed and asked, "What brings you here today, sir?"

"It's been a long time since I've come to have a meal with you. Today I'm not busy."

"It's rare that Master has some free time... Granny Li, have the kitchen prepare some of Master's favorite dishes and send them over," Lin Rong instructed calmly, then walked to the side and sat down.

"Yes," Li Mama replied, and then went out.

Qinghui and Yunmeng had already left with the cloth when Su Jing'an sat down, so only Lin Rong and Su Jing'an were in the room at this time.

Lin Rong picked up her teacup, took a sip, and remained silent.

Su Jing'an then asked, "Are you making clothes?"

"Well, now that the weather is getting hotter, I was thinking of making some cool and refreshing clothes for Xuan'er, Rou'er, and Xiao Yu."

"Isn't there one for me?"

"If you wish, sir, I will have Yushang Pavilion make two more sets."

Su Jing'an glanced at her, knowing she was resentful of him, and sighed inwardly, saying, "No need."

Lin Rong did not say anything about this.

Then, Su Jing'an saw the roster on the table, picked it up and flipped through it. "This is... a roster, but it's all men."

"Now that Rou'er is getting on in years, it's time for her to choose a husband."

"Have you found a suitable one?"

"No, I don't want Rou'er to marry out of the city, so I wanted to look for a suitable family in Yangzhou. But I couldn't find a suitable candidate. Gu Mingxuan, the eldest son of Master Gu, is quite good. He is outstanding in both talent and appearance. However, his family background is ultimately a bit too low."

"There's no rush. If we can't find it in Yangzhou, we'll look in the capital. I've heard that Madam Song is quite popular there, so perhaps we can ask her to keep an eye out for a suitable match."

"The imperial city... I'm afraid they look down on us, and Rou'er will inevitably suffer injustice in the future."

"Today, Grand Tutor Song summoned me, and he was implying, both openly and subtly, that the Regent Prince seems to intend to transfer me back to the capital."

"Really?" Lin Rong looked at him with surprise.

Because of Su Wanshan's matter, Su Jing'an had not dared to see her. But today, upon hearing this news, he thought she would be happy to know, so he came over. Sure enough, he nodded and said, "Hmm, it's pretty much true."

"What Grand Tutor Song said should be correct, but why did the Regent suddenly ask you to go back?"

"As far as I know, Minister of Revenue Lu was recently held accountable by the Regent for corruption and abuse of power, and is now in prison and will be executed in the autumn."

"You mean the Regent wants you to go back and become the Minister of Revenue?"

"The position of Minister of Revenue is probably unlikely; I reckon it should be a Vice Minister."

"The position of Vice Minister is a third-rank official, which is two ranks higher than your current position."

"Since the decree has not yet been issued, let's pretend we don't know and wait until it comes down."

"Hmm," Lin Rong said, thinking of something, "I originally planned to have Wan Shan marry Young Master Gu, but now it seems I'll have to postpone it."

"Let Wan'er marry Young Master Gu."

“Young Master Gu and Rou’er are not a good match, but he and Wan Shan are quite suitable. Now, Young Master Gu has already passed the imperial examination and I heard that he will also participate in the imperial examination next year. If he passes, he will definitely have a bright future. If Wan Shan marries him, she will definitely live a worry-free life in the future.”

"Why did you suddenly decide to have Wanshan marry him?"

“I know what Master is thinking. Master feels that since she treated Rou’er that way, I will definitely not treat her well. Therefore, he suspects that I may have some kind of conspiracy, right?”

"My wife is overthinking it. I did not think that way."

Lin Rong continued, "To be honest, sir, I really dislike her, I would even say I loathe her. If I could, I would hate her... but I can't. That's why I want to marry her off as soon as possible, thinking that out of sight, out of mind. Also, if she has any more bad intentions, I don't think she'll be able to use them on Rou'er. Rou'er can guard against it once or twice, but she can't guard against it every time. I can't imagine what I would do if Rou'er were really harmed by her one day."

Su Jing'an couldn't help but feel guilty, "I'm sorry to you and Rou'er."

“It has nothing to do with the master. He is too busy with official duties to care about so many things. If we are to be honest, it should be my dereliction of duty. As the legal mother, it is my duty to discipline my children. However, I let her follow Aunt Liu. Otherwise, she might not have become like this.”

"What does this have to do with you? Blame Aunt Liu. If she hadn't been so bad at disciplining Wan'er, she wouldn't be so vicious. She's so young yet so wicked... Guards, make Aunt Liu kneel in the courtyard for two hours to reflect on her actions."

Lin Rong snorted coldly in her heart and said nothing more.