Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

At this moment, in the Marquis's residence, the old lady had just woken up from a nap and was sitting on the couch drinking tea.

Granny Liu asked, "Madam, the Second Master and the others haven't returned yet. Should we send someone to the dock to check?"

The old lady said casually and indifferently, "What's so interesting to see? It's not like they don't know the way. Why would they need someone to pick them up? Don't the servants have to work? They're not so idle as to wait for them at the dock every day."

"But if the master finds out, I'm afraid..."

"What's there to be afraid of? It's their own fault for not coming back on time. Who can they blame?"

Granny Liu wanted to say something more, but the old lady impatiently interrupted her, "Alright, why do you care about them? He's just a minor prefect. What can he do when he comes back? Do you think His Majesty and the Regent will make him Minister of Revenue? Let alone Minister of Revenue, he wouldn't even be a Vice Minister of Revenue. Only that old man, Master, is so senile that he thinks he'll amount to something. Humph, in my opinion, that position might be even lower than a prefect."

Liu Mama thought to herself, although the Second Master was a prefect, that was still a fourth-rank official position, four ranks higher than the First Master's sixth-rank position as Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud. Even if it was lower, it couldn't be lower than the First Master's. However, although she thought this, she didn't dare to say it. After all, she had been by the Old Madam's side for more than forty years and knew her character better than anyone else. She was sure that if she spoke her mind, the Old Madam would definitely abandon her without hesitation and would not care about the slightest bit of master-servant affection. So she flattered her and said, "Yes, the Old Madam sees things clearly. This old servant is foolish."

"You've been by my side for so many years, and you still can't understand this," the old lady said arrogantly.

"The old lady is shrewd, and this old servant is no match for her. Fortunately, the old lady does not mind and allows this old servant to stay by your side. Otherwise, how could this old servant be so respectable now?"

"You know that much," the old lady said, then picked up her teacup and took a sip, clearly in a good mood.

Just then, a maid came in to report, "Madam, the Second Master and the others have returned. They said they will be back in the mansion in about an incense stick's time."

Upon hearing this, the old lady's face immediately fell, and her good mood vanished instantly.

Seeing this, the maid was terrified and lowered her head, at a loss for what to do.

Granny Liu didn't dare to speak and stood silently to the side.

Soon, everyone in the Marquis's mansion knew that Su Jing'an and the others were coming back, but the reactions of each branch of the household were quite different.

Apart from the old Marquis and Consort He, probably no one in the entire Marquis's mansion would welcome them back. Therefore, at this moment, only Consort He seemed very happy, while the old lady, the eldest son's family, and the third son's family were not very concerned.

Before long, Su Qianrou and the others returned to the gate of the mansion and got off the carriage.

When she saw that no one came out to greet her, Lin Rong's dissatisfaction reached its peak, but she didn't say anything, though her expression was not good.

Su Haoyu couldn't help but say, "It's one thing that no one went to the dock to wait for us, but now that we've returned to the gate of the mansion, not a single person has come out to greet us. Since we're so unwelcoming, why should we grovel back? We might as well find a house outside and live by ourselves."

"Xiaoyu, don't talk nonsense," Su Mingxuan scolded.

"That's right. They don't want us to come back, and we don't want to go back either, don't you think, sis?"

Su Qianrou did not answer, but to be honest, she did not want to live in the Marquis's mansion. After all, there were too many restrictions, and in such an unwelcome situation, she knew without a doubt that there would be a lot of trouble in the future. Therefore, if possible, she would like to set up her own household, but she estimated that it was unlikely.

Su Jing'an's expression wasn't much better. Although he knew the old lady didn't like him, he didn't expect her to go so far.

Just then, a carriage stopped in front of the Marquis's residence.

Immediately afterwards, an old man in his fifties stepped out of the carriage. He was dressed in a dark blue Qilin robe. Although he was already in his fifties, he was full of energy, with bright and piercing eyes. He had a pointed chin and a goatee, and he looked very dignified. He was Marquis Anping, Su Qianrou's grandfather.

After getting off the bus, he saw so many carriages parked there, and a group of people standing at the door, so he asked, "What's going on?"

Li Bo replied, "Your Excellency, it should be the Second Master and the others who have returned."

So the old Marquis went over and said, "Why didn't you go in? What are you doing standing at the door?"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at him, and then bowed and said:

"The son/daughter-in-law has met the father."

"Grandson/granddaughter/granddaughter-in-law has met grandfather."

"This humble servant greets Your Excellency."

"Why don't you go in?" the old marquis asked again.

Su Jing'an looked troubled, unsure how to answer.

Su Haoyu then said loudly, "Grandfather, we are waiting for the door to open."

Only then did the old lord notice the tightly closed gate. He then looked at the servants beside him, all of whom were unfamiliar faces. He seemed to realize something and felt displeased, but he did not show it. "Go in," he said.

“Yes,” Su Jing’an replied.

At this moment, Wang Ming excitedly ran out, "Second Master, Second Madam, you can go in..." Before he could finish the word "go in," he saw that the old Marquis was also there, and instantly became respectful, "This humble servant greets the Marquis."

The old Marquis said nothing and went in first, followed by the others.

Afterwards, everyone went to the main hall. The old Marquis had just sat down when the old lady arrived. She was stunned for a moment when she saw him, but quickly realized, "The Marquis is back."

The old marquis glanced at her but said nothing.

The old lady knew he was angry, but she didn't say anything and sat down next to him.

Su Jing'an and the others then bowed and said:

"The son/daughter-in-law has met the mother."

"Grandson/granddaughter/granddaughter-in-law has met their grandmother."

"This humble servant greets the old lady."

The old lady simply responded with a faint "Mm," and said nothing more.

A short while later, Lin Xiaoran rushed over, bowed, and said, "Daughter-in-law greets Father and Mother."

The old Marquis ignored her, while the old lady gave her a disapproving look. Lin Xiaoran, unaware of what was going on, looked puzzled.

The old lady couldn't help but curse him as an idiot in her heart.

Lin Xiaoran was unaware of what she was thinking. She turned to Su Jing'an and Lin Rong and said, "Second brother, second sister-in-law, I'm so sorry. As you know, I'm managing this huge manor now, and there are just too many things to do. I'm so busy every day that I don't even have time to eat. So, I'm sorry for neglecting you. Please don't mind."

Lin Rong could easily tell that she was showing off, but she didn't care, so she said, "Not at all, thank you for your hard work, sister-in-law."

"There's no such thing as hard work or not, it's all what we should do."

Lin Rong simply smiled politely and said nothing more.