The mistress has no feelings, why do you provoke her?

The old lady touched his face with concern and said, "Look how pale you are. Have you not been eating or sleeping well?"

Shangguan Mingcheng had no way to express his suffering, as the Lan family was keeping a very tight rein on his studies.

Every day is spent memorizing texts, and there's simply not enough time to rest.

But he dared not voice his opinion, for fear of angering the Lan family.

He glanced at Madam Lan cautiously, and seeing the coldness in her eyes, he dared not utter another word.

When the old lady saw this, she knew what had happened. Although she felt sorry for her grandson, Lan was still his biological mother.

As her grandmother, she couldn't interfere too much.

They could only subtly remind Lan Shi: "You lock yourself in your study every day and don't interact much with your sisters. Although studies are important, family ties are also important. If you continue studying like this, you might go crazy."

Although the words were spoken to Shangguan Mingcheng, they were meant for the Lan clan to hear.

Lan understood the meaning behind the words but didn't take it to heart.

Her son will inherit the title in the future, so she cannot be negligent.

"What the old lady says is true, I've got it in mind." Madam Lan smiled slightly at the old lady, clearly letting it go in one ear and out the other.

Whether we turn back or not, things will remain the same.

Shangguan Mingcheng had long been used to his mother's attitude and naturally no longer had any hope for her.

The people inside appeared to be on good terms, but each had their own agenda.

The third wife, Madam Qin, has only one daughter, who just turned sixteen this year and is of marriageable age.

Having no son to rely on, she could only pin her hopes on her daughter, hoping she could marry into a powerful and wealthy family.

Since she was born out of wedlock, there was no hope for her to become the head wife of the household.

She used to think about marrying her daughter into an ordinary family, so that she could at least be a housewife.

But things are different now. Song Wenjun has returned, and she is still engaged to the King of Chu.

If we can win over Song Wenjun properly, perhaps her daughter can enter the Prince's mansion and become a concubine.

Therefore, the second wife, Madam Lan, and the old lady did not value Song Wenjun, but the third wife did not.

She wanted to use Song Wenjun as a stepping stone to secure a bright future for her daughter.

She's just a woman from a merchant family; how smart could she be?

Just then, a maid ran in and respectfully said to the old lady, "Madam, the Princess, the eldest young lady, and the young master have arrived."

The old lady straightened her posture and put on a faint smile: "Please come in quickly."

The maidservant left, and soon after, Princess Nanyang, Song Wenjun, and Xiao Jinyan entered the room.

All eyes were on the young lady of the royal family, some with curiosity, some with disdain, and some with contempt.

The merchant's wife was just lucky.

Compared to these pampered young ladies raised in royal palaces, they must be vulgar and unfit for refined manners.

However, after Song Wenjun walked in from outside...

Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief.

She was wearing a silk brocade skirt with cloud patterns, worth a thousand gold pieces, and a satin skirt with gold-embroidered butterflies and flowers on the bottom.

She wore a unique and exquisite headdress, and the jade pendant at her waist was made of high-quality Hetian jade.

Even the embroidered shoes on her feet were inlaid with pearls.

She walks with a graceful and charming gait, like a willow swaying in the breeze, but the sharp glint that inadvertently flashes in her eyes makes her a force to be reckoned with.

With a powerful presence, she stepped forward gracefully to greet the old lady: "Wenjun greets the old lady and her two aunts."

Song Wenjun was like a beautiful and noble peony, exuding an aura of wealth and nobility.

So much so that even the old lady felt inferior when she saw her; in terms of her attire, no one in the entire capital was more elegant than her.

What happened to the promise of being shabby and unpresentable?

Princess Nanyang secretly laughed when she saw the old lady and the second and third wives' faces.

She knew these people's true colors all too well, which is why she asked Song Wenjun to dress up in her finest attire.

In hindsight, she was right.

The old lady was shocked inside, but her face remained calm: "Get up quickly, don't be so reserved, sit down."

"Thank you, Madam." Song Wenjun stood up, her face beaming with a smile. "It's our first meeting. To show my filial piety, I've prepared a gift for you and my two aunts. I hope you won't find it offensive."

After she finished speaking, she waved her hand, and two servants carried in a huge object, along with several maids carrying trays.

The tray was covered with a red cloth, and it was bulging and I didn't know what it was.

But what the two servants were holding wasn't hard to guess; Madam Lan guessed it was just a folding screen.

No big deal.

Qin, from the third wife's family, looked quite curious.

The old lady smiled faintly and said, "You're a thoughtful girl."

She could tell it was a screen, but didn't pay it any mind.

Song Wenjun lifted the cloth covering it, revealing the true nature of the screen.

The entire screen was carved from jade, with auspicious clouds, cranes, and pine trees, symbolizing the old lady's long life, wealth, and peace.

The landscape on the screen is made of gold leaf and silver thread, with pearls resting on the waves, a masterpiece of craftsmanship and exquisite beauty.

The wooden support beneath the screen is made of rosewood.

Sunlight shone on the screen, emitting a faint golden glow that was dazzling to the eye.

They had never even seen such a wonderful thing before, let alone seen it before.

Qin was so shocked that she didn't know what to say. Such a treasure must have cost hundreds of thousands of taels to make.

She couldn't help but look at Song Wenjun again with a scrutinizing gaze, her eyes now filled with a hint of respect.

She must be incredibly wealthy to be able to easily come up with tens of thousands of taels of silver to make the old lady smile.

The old lady smiled broadly, saying "Good job!" several times, her eyes filled with genuine joy: "You're such a thoughtful child, I really like you."

"As long as the old lady is happy, her granddaughter will be content."

The Lan family also looked forward to the gifts to come.

If someone can give the old lady such a nice gift, then she, as the aunt, must be quite good herself.

Song Wenjun had several maids come forward and unfurl the red cloth covering the items, revealing two sets of jadeite and gold-inlaid headdresses, three hair combs, a pair of hairpins, a pair of hair ornaments, and a pair of mutton-fat jade bracelets.

Such luxurious headdress immediately made the second and third wives' eyes widen in astonishment.

This headdress must cost at least ten thousand taels of silver.

Song Wenjun was so generous; the two were so happy they didn't know what to say.

Next were the two younger sisters, who were still too young. Song Wenjun thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out what to give them.

So, they each received a gold brick, engraved with their names.

In addition, there were two pieces of fine jade and a silver note.

The two younger sisters were also very happy and gladly accepted it.

Finally, there was Shangguan Mingcheng. Song Wenjun had done her homework before he came, as this younger brother was quite special.

She held the highest position in the household and was also the most favored by the old lady.

Song Wenjun gave him a set of writing implements, the brush was made of wolf hair, the handle was made of fine sandalwood and inlaid with jade.

The ink is of the finest Huizhou type, which writes smoothly and flows like lacquer on paper, with a lustrous black color that does not fade over time.

The paper was of the finest quality, Xuan paper, and the inkstone had a distinguished provenance.

This inkstone was used by the great calligrapher Song Yi two hundred years ago. Song Wenjun went to great lengths to buy it from a calligraphy enthusiast.

Regardless of its preciousness, the sentiment behind it was enough to deeply move Shangguan Mingcheng.

What he wanted most was this Fang Congxing inkstone.