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

In Granny Zhang's eyes, Hua Sirong was an exceptionally beautiful girl, surpassing even the most outstanding young lady in the Marquis's mansion. However, Granny Zhang viewed her with prejudice, believing her to be a jinx to her family, which diminished even Hua Sirong's exceptional beauty.

It's a pity she's wearing mourning clothes. Otherwise, she could have been handed over to a retired palace maid for a period of time to train her, and then given to the royal family as a concubine. That would have been a great help to the young masters and ladies of the Marquis's mansion.

As for Hua Sirong, she fled here because she didn't want to be a concubine.

As for Granny Zhang, she didn't take it to heart at all.

Is being a concubine to a landlord in the countryside comparable to being a concubine to a member of the royal family?

Even for a noble family like theirs, there were plenty of merchants lining up to send their eldest daughters as concubines. If it weren't for the backing of a noble family, how could the small Hua family possibly send their daughter to the royal family as a concubine?

I'd be laughing in my sleep.

Granny Zhang's demeanor was neither servile nor arrogant. "Greetings, Miss. I am an old woman who serves the Lady of the Marquis. My surname is Zhang, and everyone in the manor calls me Granny Zhang."

In public, she represented the face of the Marquis's mansion. No matter how humble Hua Sirong's background was, she was still the lady's niece. Before the lady's attitude became clear, she knew how to handle the situation appropriately.

"Greetings, Granny Zhang." As she was someone close to the Lady of the Marquis, Hua Sirong greeted her, and Granny Zhang accepted half of the greeting.

Afterwards, Granny Zhang casually asked about some trivial matters concerning her arrival in the capital and her current life at the temple. The two talked back and forth for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before stopping.

She then received a message from Hua Sirong asking her to convey her regards to the Lady of the Marquis, and only then did she leave with a smile.

Originally, they were going to stay overnight at the temple, but now they couldn't wait and headed straight to the capital, hoping to return home before curfew.

Watching Granny Zhang's departing figure, Wang Mama thought about the tea money she had just given, wondering if Granny Zhang would say a few good words for her to the Lady of the Marquis.

"Miss, is this all settled?" After what Granny Zhang did, Wang Mama didn't know whether she should still have any expectations for the Marquis's mansion.

"Let's do our best and leave the rest to fate. Let's get ready and move to the nunnery first." The religious ceremony is over, so it's not appropriate to stay in the temple any longer.

They had inquired about the nunnery next to Baiyun Temple over the past few days, and it seemed like a good place for them to stay temporarily.

Muqing Marquis's Mansion

"Madam, Granny Zhang has returned and says she has something to report." Upon hearing the maid Wenqin's question, Madam Shen paused in her action of taking out her hairpin.

After she looked in the bronze mirror and slowly removed the extra headdress from her head, and then called a maid to do her hair, she finally spoke.

"Granny is back? I remember she went to Baiyun Temple to deliver silver. Why is she so late and rushing back to the manor instead of staying overnight at the temple? Did something happen?" He seemed to be talking to himself. "Please come in and talk to Granny."

Granny Zhang greeted her master and saw that he was preparing to retire for the night. It seemed that the Marquis was staying elsewhere again tonight.

"Madam, this old servant has disturbed your sleep." Granny Zhang's old face was all smiles, a far cry from the unapproachable demeanor she had outside.

Lady Hou waved her hand, "Granny, you must have something important to attend to after your long journey." She then dismissed the maids in the room, leaving only Wenqin, who served her personally.

Wenqin brought a small stool for Granny Zhang so she could sit down and reply.

Granny Zhang was a dowry maid specially hired by the Shen family when the Lady of the Marquis got married, at a high price. Over the years, she had gained some influence in front of the Lady of the Marquis. She unceremoniously sat on half of the stool and began to talk about the trip to Baiyun Temple.

"...This old servant originally intended to stay at Baiyun Temple for one night and absorb some Buddhist energy, but guess who I met?" She didn't keep her in suspense and continued, "I actually met the only daughter of your third sister's family, the little girl from the Hua family."

Lady Hou was indeed somewhat surprised. "Oh~ my third sister's only daughter. I remember a few days ago, my family sent a message saying they received a death notice from the Hua family in Xishan. The deceased was my third sister's husband. Is that true?" She almost thought she had misremembered.

"That's true. You went to the palace to take care of the Empress Dowager while she was ill, and your health was not good enough. You also had to worry about all the affairs in the mansion. It was almost the end of the year, but you still specially assigned Shunping's family to go to the funeral." Wenqin confirmed.

"Then why is my niece not at home observing mourning for her parents, but has come to the capital?" Madam Shen took a sip of strong tea. She wanted to go to sleep, but this was another matter to discuss, and she was afraid she wouldn't be able to finish talking about it in a short time.

Granny Zhang took out Wang Mama's script again, learned it once more, and then repeated what she had later gotten out of Hua Sirong.

"Tsk tsk, my niece is such a pitiful child. What do you think, should I give in to her wishes and bring her to the Marquis's mansion to be raised?" The Marquis's wife disliked this niece she had never met before; even at such a young age, she was quite scheming.

"Oh dear, Madam, are you saying that this old servant has fallen for this young lady's tricks?" Granny Zhang was thinking that this girl was just a pretty face with no airs of a proper young lady.

"There weren't any temples along the way from Xishan to the capital? Why did you suddenly decide to visit a temple just when you got to the edge of the capital?" If you really wanted to show filial piety, why didn't you do it earlier?

Granny Zhang wanted to say that it was the hundred-day memorial service for her in-laws, but seeing the lady's current state, she decided to keep quiet.

Lady Hou thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of intellectually crushing everyone else. In truth, she wasn't entirely sure, but years of living in the inner quarters had instilled in her a habit of assuming the worst of others.

This can be considered a blessing in disguise.

She continued, "Besides, there are so many people burning incense at the temple. How could I have run into Granny by such a coincidence? But seeing that she's just a young girl and has fallen out with her clansmen, I, as her aunt, can't appear too heartless. I have to save face."

She took out a favorite hairpin from her makeup box and played with it, a slight smile playing on her lips. "That way, practice makes perfect. I'll trouble you to go to Baiyun Temple later and tell you that I, as her aunt, will invite her to come to our house for a visit." If she didn't do this, her family wouldn't let her off the hook.

In that case, she would accept the compliment.

"But didn't Madam say that the cousin wasn't as harmless as she seemed?" Granny Zhang was also becoming uncertain because of what her mistress had said. She couldn't very well bring a troublemaker back to the mansion.

Not only was her cousin the first one she discovered, but she also had to personally go and bring her back. If anything happened to her later, she, as the head maid, would be resented by her masters.

Lady Hou was happy to say a few more words to this somewhat shrewd old woman, "Old woman, you've seen Miss Biao today, what do you think of her?"

It's unlikely there were many good things to say. In the nanny's mouth, only the seventh young lady born to the madam was the most outstanding, good in every way.