♂?，，

  Lin Lan was so focused on the old lady that she didn't notice Ming Zhu sitting next to her, and was caught off guard by Ming Zhu's words. Lin Lan felt a wave of panic and didn't know if Ming Yan's excuse could cover it up. Ye Zi slowly walked over.

  Everyone's gaze suddenly fell on Lin Lan, and they all sniffed their noses to smell.

  Ming Yun's face turned red with embarrassment, and he stammered: "I had a few too many drinks, and on the way back, I was jostled by a horse carriage and threw up all over Lin Lan..."

  Lin Lan brought her sleeve close to her nose and sniffed, saying: "You've all changed your clothes, how come the smell is still so strong?"

  Mingzhu giggled and said: "Isn't it that Second Aunt is also drinking?"

  Lin Lan smiled faintly: "I only had a small cup, it's the young lady of the Hou Mansion who brewed this green plum wine herself, she insisted that I try some."

  Ming Yun saw her grandmother's gloomy face and hastily went forward, saying: "Grandmother, did you come by boat? Why didn't you send a letter ahead of time so that I could go pick you up?"

  Li Jingxian was already displeased with Han's self-willed behavior, and took the opportunity to echo: "Yes, Mother, you've entered our household, and only now do I know; I'm truly being rude." He immediately turned towards Han, his tone cold and stern, showing great dissatisfaction. "You sent someone to fetch Mother, why didn't you inform me? What kind of logic is this, that Mother has arrived, yet as her son, I'm still idly at home, not going to welcome her? If word gets out, those censor officials will be delighted to have something to impeach!"

  As for this, the old lady was also unhappy. Mrs. Han wrote a letter to complain that she was not good at being a stepmother, and her husband not only did not sympathize with her but also repeatedly blamed her... If things continued like this, the family would be in turmoil, so she asked her to come to Beijing to preside over the situation. She didn't want to interfere with Rong Xian's family affairs, but thinking that now the Li family and even the entire Li clan had to rely on Rong Xian, if something went wrong in his household, it would affect his official reputation, so she brought her eldest daughter-in-law and rushed over. As a result, Mrs. Han secretly manipulated things, making her seem like an unwelcome guest, which was really unpleasant.

  The old lady glanced at Mrs. Han with a hint of guilt in her heart, thinking that Mrs. Han had not had an easy life all these years... After all, the Li family owed her one... and couldn't bear to blame her anymore.

  Facing Master's questioning, Madame Han said with grievance: "Master went to Liu Niang's place as soon as it dawned, I wanted to talk to Master but didn't have the chance."

  It's almost there~

  The old lady's eyebrows furrowed slightly, from entering the house until now, she found that there were indeed many problems with this family.

  Then seeing his father and mother were going to quarrel again, he hastily mediated: "Grandma, you must be tired from the long journey by boat, why don't you take a rest early today?"

  Just then, Yao's mother came back and said: "The houses where the old lady and the madam live have all been cleaned up."

  "Mother, I'll have my daughter-in-law accompany you to take a look. If there's anything that doesn't meet your satisfaction, she'll have someone make the changes right away."

  The old lady patted her waist a few times and laughed: "After sitting on the boat for two months, I'm almost shaken to pieces! Let's take a rest, all of you too!"

  It seems that now his mind is quite clever, with the arrival of his grandmother, he has a backing, and he must curry favor with his grandmother to win her over. He gave Ruo Yan a wink, and the two of them supported their grandmother on either side as they left.

  Li Jingxian stood up and said to Ming Yun and Lin Lan, "Let's go back and rest first! Don't forget to visit Grandmother at Chao Hui Hall early tomorrow morning."

  "Yes..." Li Mingyu and Lin Lan replied in unison.

  Mingzhu bowed her head and kneeled down: "Uncle, Mingzhu will take her leave first."

  Li Jingxian's eyes glanced at her lightly and nodded slightly.

  Mingzhu took two steps and turned around, looking at Lin Lan with a gloomy expression.

  Lin Lan raised an eyebrow and smiled coldly at the corner of her lips.

  Mingzhu hastily turned her head and quickly walked away.

  It's obvious that the old lady truly dotes on Ming Ze, but now that Ming Yun has grown up, even if the old lady is a bit cold towards him, she won't treat him badly. After all, he is her own grandson. However, the old lady's attitude towards her and Ruo Xuan is clearly different. When looking at Ruo Xuan, her gaze is warm and gentle, with a hint of a smile, and her affection is evident. But when looking at Ming Yun, it's just a casual glance, with a hint of dissatisfaction. Lin Lan had a ridiculous thought - would the old lady let Ming Yun take a break?

  A warmth around her waist, his large hand had wrapped around her. Lin Lan came back to herself and looked up at Ming Yu, whose handsome eyes were smiling as he said softly: "Don't think about it, let's take things one step at a time! If we really can't stay in this house, then we'll leave."

  "It's easy to say, but why should we leave? If we leave, won't that satisfy some people's hearts? I'm not going anywhere, persisting until the end is victory." Lin Lan said seriously with a stern face.

  Li Ming allowed a faint smile to escape, and he pulled her closer. The early winter wind had already begun to seep into their bones with its chill, but his heart was warm, all because of the little woman in his arms. She was like a small, resilient weed that grew in the mountains - no amount of wind or rain could knock her down. No matter what difficulties she faced, she never backed down, always standing firm and unwavering... At first, when he signed the contract, he had only thought of her as a useful ally, but now his heart ached for her. He didn't know if beneath her strong exterior, there was also a fragile heart. When she smiled, did she feel pain in her heart?

  "Is it clear now?"

  Li Mingyun lowered his eyebrows and looked at her: "What?"

  "Dad seems to be on our side now, he's getting less polite to the old witch," said Lin Lan.

  Li Mingyun said with a sigh: "Now that Liu Niang is in favor, the old witch can't help but be jealous and resentful, Father naturally wouldn't like it."

  "I told you she was lifting a rock to hit her own foot. She originally wanted to please her father, but ended up finding big trouble for herself." Lin Lan sneered.

  Li Mingyu sighed: "The family is getting more and more lively."

  Lin Lan said with a pretended calm tone: "It's lively and good! Everyone is fighting together in a mess."

  Li Mingyun was taken aback and lost his smile: "Aren't you afraid they'll join forces against you?"

  Lin Lan raised an eyebrow: "It's not impossible, but I'm not afraid. Let them come if they want to, mess with me and I'll give them a good scolding."

  Li Mingyun looked at Lin Lan suspiciously: "You have this skill?"

  Lin Lan shrugged and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Aren't I just encouraging myself? This is what they call the Ah Q spirit."

  Li Mingyun didn't understand: "What god?"

  "Hurry up and let's go! This wind is freezing me to death."

  The old lady finally settled down, leaving behind in the house only her son Li Jingxian.

  "Don't blame Autumn Moon either, she has her difficulties. If there was any other way, she wouldn't have asked this old lady to come out of retirement," said the old lady.

  Li Jingxian stood with his hands hanging down: "The son is just strange that she didn't discuss it with her son beforehand, and likes to take charge of everything herself."

  The old lady glared at him: "Still have the face to mention her, can't you just do it yourself? Ming Ze may not be as good as Ming Yun, but think about how much hardship he has endured. If he had been treated like Ming Yun since childhood, following his father's side and having a decent home, he wouldn't be worse than Ming Yun. It's normal for parents to have biases, just like the ten fingers on our hands are of different lengths. But this bias can only exist in our hearts, not on our faces. When one bowl of water is not level, it hurts the child's heart and creates discord between brothers..."

  Li Jingxian gritted his teeth in anger, for Han Shi had told his mother many bad things about him! He admitted that he owed Ming a debt of gratitude, but he had been trying hard to make amends. Even when he failed the exam this time, he didn't blame Ming too much. If anyone was at a disadvantage, it was Ming who had almost lost his life.

  "Don't give me that disgruntled look, Mingyun. This child has grown up now and should be taught well. Don't think that just because you're proud of yourself, you can disregard your elders. A stepmother is also a mother, and disrespecting her is unfilial. If he were more respectful to Autumn Moon, she wouldn't have been so hard on him." The old lady scolded.

  Li Jingxian was again stifled, and he plucked up the courage to say: "Mother only listened to one side of the story. Ming Rong has been respectful to Qiu Yue since returning to the capital, but Qiu Yue secretly plotted against him several times, almost causing Ming Rong to lose his life."

  The old lady showed a look of surprise and then regained her composure: "What you're saying, is there any basis for it?"

  Li Jingxian said: "Family ugliness is not publicly disclosed, how dare the son openly investigate? But things are very clear, and the son can only advise Mingyun to be more patient."

  The old lady nodded slightly, her eyes dazed, as if lost in thought. After a long while, she said: "No matter what, whether it's towards children or wives and concubines, one must be fair and just. Only then will people's hearts be at peace. You should know that unfairness is the root of all troubles. I've already wronged Autumn Moon once, I couldn't bear to do something foolish like favoring a wife over a concubine again."

  Li Jingxian couldn't help but sweat, and because of his resentment towards Han Shi recently, he rarely went to Han's house. He hastily said: "Mother's teachings are remembered by the son."

  The old lady's face softened, and she said with a heavy heart: "Let the past go, now that you're in a high position, it's natural to attract envy. Only when your family is at peace can you have no worries. I won't be able to help much, so just stay here for a while and help tidy up the rules!"

  (Li Jingxian was already displeased with Han's self-willed behavior, and took the opportunity to echo: "Yes, Mother, you've entered our home, and only now do I know; I'm truly impolite." He immediately turned to Han, his tone stern and cold, showing great dissatisfaction. "You sent someone to fetch Mother, why didn't you inform me? What kind of logic is it that when Mother arrives, the son is still idly at home, not going to welcome her? If this gets out, those censor officials will have a field day!")

  About this, the old lady was also unhappy. Han Shi wrote a letter to complain about her bitterness, saying that being a stepmother was not easy, and Master Li not only didn't show sympathy but also repeatedly blamed her... If things went on like this, she feared that the family would be in turmoil, so she asked her to come to Beijing to take charge. She originally didn't want to get involved in Rong Xian's family affairs, but thinking about it now, the Li family and even the entire Li clan were all relying on Rong Xian. If something went wrong in Rong Xian's household, it would affect his official reputation, so she brought her eldest daughter-in-law and rushed over. As a result, Han Shi secretly kept this from them, making it seem like she was an unwelcome guest, which was really unpleasant.

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