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

Song Wenjun took Xiaotao to Zhou's courtyard, leaving the child in the care of the wet nurse.

Since she took over the household, she has brought back all the old staff, so she feels very at ease.

The person in charge of the courtyard now is someone she brought back from her parents' home; their surname is Xu.

She was an honest and upright person, and Song Wenjun valued her highly. She was also very devoted to him.

Passing through the long covered corridor, the scenery of the mansion gradually comes into view.

The courtyard house, with its three entrances and three exits, layered rockeries, pavilions, lakes, and even a back garden, was quite luxurious.

Two stone lions guard the entrance to the Marquis's mansion, which is very grand with its red doors and green walls.

Song Wenjun had no interest in appreciating the scenery, but she was drawn to a sudden sound.

The voices came from two maids: "This cousin is really something. She gave us a hard time as soon as she entered the manor. She's just a cousin and born out of wedlock, yet she dares to try to enter through the main gate. She's too audacious."

"Who can argue with that? Besides, her mannerisms are extremely disliked. And she keeps spouting nonsense about equality for all people. She's just asking for trouble."

"But she's really down-to-earth, and she doesn't even let us kneel before her, which is just unbelievable."

The two maids were slacking off in the corridor when Song Wenjun overheard their conversation.

She heard it, and naturally, Qi's mother heard it too.

He immediately turned stern and went over to scold her: "You little sluts, who gave you the right to be so talkative here? Don't you want your wages this month?"

Madam Qi was a servant of Madam Zhou, and she was used to acting arrogantly and domineeringly. All the servants in the mansion were afraid of her.

The two maids turned pale with fright and knelt down on the ground with a thud: "Mother Qi, please spare us! We will never dare to do it again."

Before Qi's mother could say anything more, Song Wenjun spoke up: "Never mind, let's go, your mother-in-law is waiting."

Upon hearing this, Madam Qi didn't say anything, but she glared fiercely at the two maids.

Song Wenjun appeared calm on the surface, but her heart was subtly turbulent.

This cousin's personality seems quite different from her past life.

She remembered that in her previous life she was timid and didn't dare to speak loudly to people. She only became bolder after she gained a foothold in the mansion.

She was an illegitimate daughter, so her family couldn't possibly treat her like a proper mistress.

Could something have gone wrong here?

Filled with various speculations, Song Wenjun stepped into Zhou's courtyard.

Before even entering the house, one could hear a woman's charming laughter coming from inside.

Song Wenjun smiled slightly, having made up her mind. It seemed that her cousin had also had a wonderful encounter.

Let’s take a look first.

She stepped into the room, where a servant had already lifted the curtain to let her in.

When Song Wenjun arrived, several people were already sitting inside.

Whether it was Zhou's intention to elevate this cousin or not, she even summoned Min, the wife of the second wife who rarely went out.

She was the wife of Gu Siqi, the son of the old Marquis's principal wife.

She was more than ten years older than Song Wenjun and was an opportunist.

Now that the old Marquis has lost his title, he has long since taken his concubines to a mountain villa to live a life of seclusion.

Therefore, now that the Zhou family is in charge, she often comes over to curry favor.

Zhou didn't like the people in the Second Hospital, but she used her as a pastime to relieve her boredom because she was clever and quick-witted.

Standing beside Madam Min, wearing a light-colored jacket, was her eldest daughter, Gu Qinghe.

She's only fifteen years old this year, and she's grown into a fairly good-looking young woman.

She was just as shrewd as her mother, with upturned eyes and a mean-spirited look even at a young age.

This Miss Gu is also a very scheming person.

She was determined to marry into a wealthy and powerful family, and knowing that her father was unreliable, she followed her mother in trying to curry favor with Zhou.

She just wanted to find herself a good marriage partner.

As soon as Song Wenjun appeared, she became the focus of everyone in the room.

She was young and grew up in a wealthy family; with fair skin and delicate features, she was a natural beauty.

In addition, she has a dignified demeanor. Although she is a newlywed, she is now in charge of the household and therefore has an air of authority.

Therefore, when Song Wenjun appeared, everyone's hearts skipped a beat, and they all involuntarily stopped laughing.

Song Wenjun first greeted the old lady, then looked at Madam Min and said, "Second sister-in-law."

She nodded slightly, which was considered polite.

Lady Min had a good impression of her, after all, under Song Wenjun's care, they had always lived a life of luxury.

He smiled and said to her, "You've just finished your postpartum period, you still need to be careful to recover. It's windy outside, why didn't you wear a cloak when you came out?"

After saying that, she took Gu Qinghe's hand and said to her, "Silly girl, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and greet your third aunt."

Gu Qinghe hurriedly performed a greeting: "Greetings, Third Aunt."

"Get up quickly..."

Before Song Wenjun could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a sudden voice: "Aren't you tired of praying like this every day?"

Saying such things in this setting, especially in front of the host, is extremely impolite.

Even Zhou was stunned.

Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice, which was none other than the newly arrived Miss Xue Qingwan.

However, she did not realize that she had done anything wrong.

Instead, he looked at everyone with a puzzled expression: "We're all family, is there any need to be so polite?"

Seemingly seeing the confusion of the crowd, she chuckled lightly: "Perhaps I am too wild to understand the rules of the capital. I hope you will not take offense."

Despite saying that, they didn't offer any apology whatsoever.

There wasn't even a trace of shame on his face.

Xue Qingwan was actually quite good-looking; her appearance was considered outstanding among the young ladies of the capital.

However, their overall demeanor is far inferior, making them seem somewhat unpresentable.

It significantly lowered her perceived attractiveness.

Her makeup, in particular, seemed quite different from that of the ladies of the capital.

More daring, more flamboyant.

Like a cluster of intense roses, beautiful as it may be, it's just too blatant.

Zhou opened her mouth before regaining her senses, and playfully slapped Xue Qingwan's hand: "You silly girl, what nonsense are you talking about?"

In fact, she didn't blame Xue Qingwan for being rude; on the contrary, she liked her very much.

Because what she needed was someone like Xue Qingwan, who acted boldly and spoke without restraint.

That would be perfect for her to use as a tool.

Zhou was especially pleased that it could dampen Song Wenjun's arrogance.

Xue Qingwan replied coquettishly, "Okay, Auntie."

Zhou then smiled and said to everyone in the room, "This brat has been wild since she was a child, and she has a boyish personality. Don't take her seriously."

Everyone knew that Zhou was biased towards her. Min chuckled twice and chimed in, "Miss Biao is carefree and innocent. How could we blame her? There's no need for such formality among family members."

As soon as she spoke, Gu Qinghe hurriedly followed up: "I quite like Sister Xue. I heard you know martial arts, is that true?"

Xue Qingwan arrogantly raised her chin: "Knowing a few basic punches and kicks doesn't count as martial arts. I'll show you sometime. If you're willing, I can teach you a couple of moves. It's better for girls to learn some self-defense techniques."

"Okay, okay, okay." Gu Qinghe nodded hurriedly, a hint of longing in her eyes, which only subsided after Madam Min rolled her eyes at her.

The daughters of wealthy families would never learn those things; it would make them a laughingstock.