The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

She only picked up on something else and said, "Our Marquis was born into wealth and is a good general who can defend the city."

"You shameless old man, you know how to praise people. Your master is clearly a mediocre talent, not as good as his father, and can't hold any real power in the court, yet you still praise him for having the talent to maintain the status quo."

"But there's a reason for that. Our Marquis is able to support the Marquis's Mansion and stand steadily in the capital. That's his great skill."

Furthermore, the next generation's heir is also a man of exceptional talent and bearing, much like our Marquis in his youth. With the grudges of the previous generation settled, he seized the opportunity to bring glory to our Marquis's mansion.

Granny Xie continued to praise, saying that with this combination of defense and offense, and with the changing circumstances, the Marquis's mansion has risen again.

"Oh dear, what you're saying makes me not want to die anymore. I'm just looking forward to seeing the Marquis's mansion after it's been greatly expanded and improved, as you described." The master and servant laughed for a while, in extremely good spirits.

"However, I think Zhang-ge'er is indeed a good child. Shen-shi does have some merits." At least she gave birth to an excellent heir for the Marquis's mansion.

"That's right. Don't you see who personally taught Zhang-ge'er, and who chose the Lady of the Marquis?" Granny Xie was probably a little too proud of her praise and didn't see the old lady almost rolling her eyes.

"Little Xie, you old rascal, you absolutely mustn't get ahead of this old woman, or my life won't be this lively."

"..."

---

At Baiyun Temple, Hua Sirong met the person sent by the Marquis's mansion to pick her up, who was none other than her old acquaintance, Granny Zhang.

This time, Granny Zhang was more respectful. After all, given her master's intentions, no one could predict what this person's future would hold.

If she were to be sent by the Marquis's mansion to a prince's residence, even as a concubine without any official status, with that face, she might have a chance to rise in rank.

To put it another way, there are plenty of young masters in the manor, but the most dazzling one is the heir apparent.

Cousins ​​are the most likely to succeed.

"The nanny said my aunt is going to take me to her mansion?" Hua Sirong's face showed disbelief at the right moment.

"Yes, Miss is living alone in the nunnery. Madam is worried, and Miss's maternal family is also concerned. Your father's clan has also sent people to the capital to look for her." This was what Granny Zhang said when she set off for Baiyun Temple, and she happened to meet the elder of the Hua family who came to the Marquis's residence for a visit.

In short, this place is no longer habitable.

Hua Sirong hadn't expected her clansmen to arrive in the capital so late; it was truly too late. They had traveled in constant fear, worried that their clansmen would capture them and take them back—which would be perfectly legitimate.

Now that our clansmen have arrived, it's inevitable that we'll have to meet them.

Whether it's using the influence of the Marquis's Mansion and the Shen family to temporarily suppress the Hua family members and send them back to their old home to observe mourning, or letting them stay in the capital to live as refugees, this matter needs to be resolved.

She couldn't bear the reputation of being unfilial and disrespectful.

"Thank you for your trouble, Granny. Let's pack up and go pay our respects to Aunt tomorrow. We'll be sorry to bother the Marquis's residence." As for her maternal grandparents, she was sorry, she had no recollection of having such relatives. She had never received a greeting or a small gift from them since she was a child.

To be honest, if her father hadn't passed away so suddenly and she hadn't had any other way to survive, she really wouldn't have remembered that she had two powerful relatives in the capital.

"You're too kind, young lady. I'll come to pick you up first thing tomorrow morning." This time, more than ten people from the Marquis's residence came and stayed in the monks' quarters at Baiyun Temple. The nunnery where the young lady was staying was small and there wasn't much room for outsiders.

The next day, a group of people set off at dawn, had lunch early in Huaqiao Town, and arrived at the Hou Mansion at 3:45 PM, entering through the side gate.

Upon entering the mansion, Granny Zhang led them directly to the main hall in the main courtyard where the Lady of the Marquis received guests.

Lady Hou had already received word from the gatekeeper that she would not make things difficult for her niece on their first meeting and was waiting there early.

When an aunt and nephew meet for the first time, regardless of any emotional ties, they're bound to have a good cry.

Guided by Granny Zhang, Hua Sirong knelt before her aunt, and when she looked up, her face was already streaked with tears.

The beautiful woman sitting in the hall had already gotten up and rushed over to her, taking her hand, wrapping her arms around her head, and pulling her close to her body.

Hua Sirong was buried in a soft mass, unable to pull herself away. She could only faintly hear soft sobs in her ears. "My child, my poor Rong'er, you were abandoned by your heartless parents at such a young age. How are you going to live?"

"My Rong'er is so beautiful, she looks about six or seven parts like my unfortunate third sister." As she said this, there was a moment of unease on her face, but the scene of the family reunion was so chaotic that no one noticed.

“When your mother was at home, she loved to follow me, her eldest sister, the most. Now that she’s gone, you’re left behind. From now on, you’ll stay with me. I’m your aunt, and as long as I have food to eat, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

"The Marquis of Muqing's residence is your aunt's home, but from now on, this will be your home. Good child, you're home. Don't be afraid, your aunt will protect you."

"Aunt, Aunt," Hua Sirong could only call out, unable to utter a single other word.

She didn't know how much of her tears were genuine, nor did she know how much affection her aunt, who was holding her, truly felt for her.

But at this moment, after days of running around, seeing this unfamiliar relative, who was also her aunt like a mother, she wanted to cry her heart out.

She cried because she was so young, without a father or a mother to rely on, and her cries were sincere and heart-wrenching.

The servants all came to persuade her, taking turns to persuade her, and only then did Madam Shen allow Hua Sirong to go to Qingwu Courtyard to recuperate.

“My son, you must be tired from the long journey. Go with Granny Zhang to Qingwu Courtyard to settle your luggage. You can stay there for now and see if you feel uncomfortable. If you don’t like it, your aunt will change you.”

You can have dinner in your own courtyard tonight, and go to bed early. Tomorrow morning, your aunt will take you to pay your respects to the old lady and introduce you to the ladies in the household.”

"Yes, Aunt, thank you for your care." Hua Sirong bowed deeply to Madam Shen again.

After crying, Madam Shen was quite tired. After seeing Hua Sirong off, she returned to the inner courtyard with the maids.

After being served by the maids and washing up, changing into some simpler clothes, eating a couple of pastries, and drinking a few sips of rose tea, I finally felt better.

"What do you think of my niece?" Madam Shen didn't necessarily want the maids to give a detailed explanation; she had her own opinion.

"The young lady is so beautiful." Wenqin had heard Zhang Mama say that before, but no matter how beautiful she was, it was not as visually striking as seeing her in person.

“My cousin is pitiful, but she is lucky to have such a good aunt as Madam. If I had had an aunt like Madam who loved her niece back then, I wouldn’t have been sold off by my eldest aunt.”