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

He San retorted, "I'd be happy to follow my husband wherever he goes, even if he's just a minor official."

He Zhizhu was so angry that she was speechless.

Hua Sirong tried to smooth things over, saying, "It seems that the men you sisters married all had education in them."

He San was very talkative. "That's really true. Eldest sister married into a family that is considered scholarly. Second sister married Scholar Xin. Although they are poor, eldest brother said that he is a promising talent."

He Zhizhu knew she would never marry a scholar, so she couldn't help but look down on him and didn't hold back her words.

"Is the man my eldest sister married a scholar? I think he's just a scholar in disguise, but he's a womanizer."

He San stared wide-eyed, while He Si seemed hesitant to speak.

He Zhizhu scoffed, "What, does it mean that if I don't mention it, my brother-in-law won't be that kind of person?"

“You all saw it, every ten days or half a month, my eldest sister would come back to cry to my mother.”

My mother hid, so she wanted to go to my grandmother and cry her heart out.

"To be honest, at first, I really felt that my older sister had been wronged."

But then I saw that every time she left her parents' home, she never returned empty-handed, and I finally understood. She wasn't just crying about her miserable life.

She's clearly using her brother-in-law as an excuse to squeeze money out of the family.

He San's eyes widened, and he blurted out, "No way."

After all, if it were her, she would never have the face to go back to her parents' home and complain about how bad her life was. Being trampled underfoot by a concubine every day, is that something to be proud of?

He Zhizhu rolled her eyes again, "Do you think my older sister is still the same older sister she was before she got married?"

She's now a woman trapped in the tangled mess of life, and a rather unreasonable one at that.

He San couldn't help but shudder. "Will we become like that after we get married?"

In an instant, she thought of the Jin family again.

Jin is sometimes just that kind of unreasonable person, and she's the kind of person who tries to get her husband's family to help her get something out of them.

He Zhizhu couldn't help but laugh, "You'll be staying in the capital after you get married. I bet you'll end up just like your older sister."

However, if you leave the capital, then we'll have no chance to meet again.

He Si suddenly spoke up, "Why does Seventh Sister keep saying that Third Sister is leaving the capital after her marriage?"

"Could it be that you secretly went somewhere and learned some fortune-telling skills behind our backs?"

He Si, of course, did not believe it. She simply mistakenly thought that He Zhizhu had learned something from the Shen family, especially about He San's marriage, which was why she could speak so eloquently at this moment.

He Zhizhu immediately shut up, her face instantly turning awkward.

Hua Sirong knew the reason, but she couldn't say it.

However, she was quite satisfied that she had managed to get even a little bit of information out of He Zhizhu today.

"Oh dear, I think I smell roasted chestnuts. You guys keep playing, I'll go take a look outside."

After saying that, Hua Sirong got up, put on her shoes, and left.

Sure enough, a maid brought in a plate of roasted chestnuts a short while later.

He Zhizhu casually asked, "Where is Miss Biao?"

The maid replied that she had gone to change her clothes, and He Zhizhu didn't take the matter to heart.

Hua Sirong, who was changing clothes, happened to bump into Qiu Kui, the one who had acted suspiciously at the plum blossom banquet.

"Okra Girl".

When Qiu Kui suddenly saw Hua Sirong, and there were no servants with her, a hint of panic flashed in her eyes.

Especially after Hua Sirong called her name, she stood three steps away from her with a smile, staring at her without saying a word.

But Qiu Kui felt that Hua Sirong saw right through her.

Seeing that the okra was stunned by her, Hua Sirong found it very amusing.

She led the person to the dressing room, then suddenly leaned close to Okra's ear, lowered her voice, and said with a smile, "I know what you did to me at the plum blossom banquet."

Startled, Okra took a step back, bumped into a stool, and fell to the ground. "I, no, this servant, this servant doesn't know what Miss is talking about."

Hua Sirong wouldn't let her off the hook, pressing closer, "Do you know your master's secret?"

Okra was taken aback.

Hua Sirong lifted her chin. "I heard you're quite close to one of the young master's servants, a man named Qiuyi?"

Okra looked pleading and shook her head slowly, saying, "We two servants are not born into the household. We were bought into the manor from outside many years ago, and we met at the slave trader's place."

And because one of them was assigned to the Seventh Miss's courtyard, and the other was assigned to serve the Eldest Young Master personally, they were able to contact each other more often than others.

Hua Sirong gave a mischievous smile, "Really?"

Okra quickly nodded, "Yes, Qiuyi is a few years older than me, so I've always thought of him as an older brother."

Hua Sirong gently stroked Qiu Kui's cheek with her fingers. "Is he your sweetheart?"

Okra slumped to the ground, her eyes lifeless.

In wealthy families, servants were not allowed to exchange gifts privately unless the master arranged the marriage.

Moreover, she was serving the unmarried seventh young lady. If her affair with Qiuyi were discovered by Madam Shen, and if they were lucky, their mistress would grant them their wish.

If you're unlucky, you'll get a beating, then the pieces will be sold off separately—that's the usual practice of wealthy families.

Her dejection lasted only three seconds before Qiu Kui regained her boundless courage. "Young lady, young lady, I beg you, please spare us lowly people! I'll kowtow to you, I'll kowtow to you..."

Hua Sirong grabbed Qiu Kui's hand as she kowtowed, "No, if your forehead gets cut, your seventh daughter will be asking you all sorts of questions."

The okra's newly accumulated strength vanished in an instant.

There were other important guests waiting for Hua Sirong inside, so she didn't have much time.

She didn't keep him in suspense any longer, "I don't know if you know your master's secret, but I can kindly give you a piece of advice."

You'd better break up with your Qiuyi brother as soon as possible, after all, you're the most useful person to your girl.

You know your daughter has changed; her ambition means she's destined never to marry an ordinary nobleman.

And you will surely live with her in that extremely luxurious place.

Do you think you still have a chance to be with your beloved Qiuyi forever?

Seeing the dazed look in the okra, Hua Sirong gave a meaningful smile and left only one sentence: "Think about it carefully yourself!"

Once you've figured it out, you can chat with Aunt Wang in my yard for a bit.

She's getting on in years now, and talks a lot. She loves chatting with you young girls.

When Hua Sirong returned, she saw the three young ladies peeling roasted chestnuts.

As Hua Sirong wiped the water from her hands with a handkerchief, she teased them, "Oh, you're all planning to expect to be waited on hand and foot today?"

He San still had a chestnut in his mouth. "It tastes better when you peel it yourself."

"I think next time we shouldn't let the girls bake it, let's do it ourselves, that'll be more fun."