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

On the way back, Xue Qingwan remained deep in thought.

How can she become the person Gu Huaizhou cherishes most?

Gu Huaizhou has three paths to take if he wants a promotion.

Either find a powerful backer or solve a major case.

The former approach is definitely not going to work; Xue Qingwan herself has no powerful backers, so how could she possibly help him?

So, there's only one path left.

He needs to solve a major case, the kind that would make Gu Huaizhou a household name.

She lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside. She saw people coming and going on the road, and many carriages were heading out of the city.

Xue Qingwan asked Bao Qing, "Why are so many cars leaving the city?"

Baoqing glanced at it and replied, "The day after tomorrow is the winter solstice. The ladies and young ladies of high-ranking officials and nobles will go to the temple to burn incense. Some will even stay overnight at the temple to fast and pray for blessings for themselves and their families."

"Pray for blessings?" Xue Qingwan pondered these words carefully, and suddenly, a calculating glint flashed in her eyes.

If those ladies were kidnapped by bandits, wouldn't Gu Huaizhou have performed a great service?

When the time comes, wouldn't it be a great achievement for her to help Gu Huaizhou rescue these ladies and young women?

……

Akifuin.

Xiao Tao walked briskly into the room and handed Song Wenjun a letter: "Madam, this is a letter that Madam Xue asked me to give to you."

Song Wenjun took it, opened it, and took a look.

It turned out that Lady Xue had invited her to go to Huguo Temple to offer incense.

Every year around the winter solstice, the sisters would go together.

Song Wenjun frowned slightly, looking somewhat troubled. She was too busy to get away this year.

It seems I can't go with Xue Shi.

She said to Xiao Tao, "Tell the servant who came to deliver the message that I will not be going this year. When they return, I will invite them for tea to apologize."

As the year draws to a close, she has many things to prepare.

Yan Yan is becoming more and more clingy to her, and will cry and make a fuss if she doesn't see her for even a short while.

Also, this year is the old lady's 60th birthday, which needs to be celebrated properly.

Several young ladies in the household are also coming of age, and preparations need to be made for their coming-of-age ceremonies as well.

There are also miscellaneous matters concerning the estate and the household, and so on and so forth...

Song Wenjun felt like she was so busy she was practically running around like crazy.

She wanted to go out for some fresh air, but she couldn't get away.

Xiao Tao instructed her maid to deliver a message to the messenger, then returned to complain on behalf of Song Wenjun: "The lady of the house handles all the big and small matters, but now she can't even catch her breath."

She poured Song Wenjun a cup of tea and handed it to her, saying, "If you ask me, you might as well just hand over the power to manage the household."

Song Wenjun smiled and said helplessly, "If I hand over the power of the household, it will be inconvenient to do anything. Just the matter of sending people out will be inconvenient. I will have to ask for permission for everything. I would rather be more tired myself than put myself in a passive position."

"But you need to take care of your health, Madam."

"Okay, I'll be fine after a while."

Song Wenjun opened the account book and began to look at it carefully again.

A short while later, Zhou sent someone to deliver another message to her.

The messenger was a newly transferred maidservant to Zhou's side, known as Cui Mama.

He's chubby and looks quite honest.

Upon arriving at Song Wenjun's courtyard, they stood respectfully outside the gate, waiting for orders.

"Come in," Song Wenjun said.

Only then did Cui Mama lift the curtain and enter the room. She took a few steps forward, walked up to Song Wenjun, bowed, and then said, "Young Madam, the First Madam sent this old servant to convey a message to you: the First Madam is going to Huguo Temple to offer incense tomorrow, and she wants you to make preparations."

"Mother is going?" Song Wenjun was a little surprised, as Zhou Shi had never been willing to go in previous years.

She complained about the cold weather and the long journey, so why has she changed her mind this year?

Madam Cui replied respectfully, "Madam originally did not want to go, but this year is the old Marquis's sixty-sixth birthday, which is a hurdle. Miss Biao said that the incense at Huguo Temple is very popular and will surely protect the old Marquis, so Madam decided to go."

It was Xue Qingwan who suggested it. Why did she instigate Zhou to go to such a far place to burn incense for no reason? What was she planning to do?

Song Wenjun never underestimated Xue Qingwan; she was indeed different from the one in her previous life.

The person is still the same, but his mind is much clearer and he has many more ideas.

Song Wenjun was still somewhat wary of her.

She thought for a moment, then asked, "Is the Marquis going?"

"Since the First Madam is going, the Marquis will naturally accompany her."

Song Wenjun nodded, somewhat unable to fathom Xue Qingwan's intentions.

If she wanted to seduce Gu Huaizhou, she could have done it within the manor; there was no need to go so far.

It seems she had other ideas.

Song Wenjun thought for a moment and said to Cui Mama, "Since it is my mother-in-law who is going on the trip, let's take a team of guards with us tomorrow, just in case something goes wrong."

"Don't worry, young mistress. The Marquis is traveling with the Imperial Guard. I heard that things have been unsettled lately with bandits appearing. The official road is full of carriages belonging to ladies and young women from various families. I'm afraid there might be trouble, so the Marquis is escorting them all the way."

"People from the Imperial Guard, bandits?" Song Wenjun frowned. In her previous life, she was the one who went to Huguo Temple to offer incense.

I didn't see any bandits either.

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became, with a feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

After sending away the nanny, Song Wenjun hurriedly wrote a letter to Xue Shi, repeatedly instructing her not to go to offer incense the next day.

Then, he handed the letter to Xiao Tao and sent someone to deliver it to Lady Xue.

Before long, the messenger returned.

Song Wenjun hurriedly asked, "What did Sister Xue say?"

The messenger was a servant from Qiufeng Courtyard. He ran so fast his face was red and his breath was ragged: "Madam Xue, she, she's not here."

"Not here? How could that be?" Song Wenjun asked, puzzled. "It happened so close together."

"I heard from the people in the manor that Madam Xue is afraid of the crowds tomorrow, so she has already set off early."

Song Wenjun stood up abruptly, "Did she bring any attendants with her?"

The servant thought for a moment and replied, "There are five or six attendants, two maids and two old women. Accompanying Madam Xue is one of her cousins."

Song Wenjun felt a chill run through her body. If Huguo Temple was truly in danger tomorrow, the few people that Xue Shi brought would definitely not be able to stop it.

She closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down.

When she opened her eyes again, Song Wenjun's gaze hardened. Whether the matter was true or false, she had to prepare for the worst.

Song Wenjun said to Xiaotao, "Bring Qingshan with you and come back to my parents' home."

"Now?" Xiao Tao asked anxiously, "It's about to get dark."

"I can't control that much."

Song Wenjun was extremely anxious; she had to inform her sister-in-law not to go to Huguo Temple.

We also need to borrow some people from our elder brother.

The eldest brother travels around all year round, and he has a team of people who all know martial arts.

These men were all seasoned veterans, no less so than the Imperial Guards.

No matter what, she would protect the Xue family.

The carriage traveled swiftly, arriving at the Song residence shortly after the incense stick had burned.

Song Wenjun jumped off the carriage and walked quickly into the mansion. Her sudden arrival made Song Jinshu very happy, and she hurriedly came out to greet her: "Miss, why have you come back at this time?"

"Brother, where is my sister-in-law?" Song Wenjun asked.

Song Jinshu, oblivious to the anxiety on her face, calmly replied, "She went to Huguo Temple to offer incense."

"What? Why would they leave at this time?"

"Little sister, haven't you heard? There will be a lot of people offering incense tomorrow. Your sister-in-law was worried that if she went too late, she wouldn't be able to get a good meditation room, so she set off early."