Li Xiqing walked up from behind, and picked him up in one swoop, laughing as he strolled to the carriage outside.

  *

  Leaning into her mother’s embrace, Xie Zhen slept soundly throughout the trip.

  When they were about to reach the entrance of Gao fu, Leng shi gently pinched her face to wake her up. “Little lamb, we’re here.”


  Xie Xun also climbed onto her lap. “Sis, sis……”


  Xie Zhen blinked sleepily, holding both her sister and Leng shi‘s hands as she got off the carriage. In front was the majestic Gao fu, standing taller than Xie fu’s biggest gates. Still it could not be compared to Duke Ding’s Residence. At a glance one could tell that it was built using gold, silver and jade, and the rich history of Duke Ding’s Residence was absent.

  Not only were the main red doors lacquered, but the copper door knockers as well.

  In front of the gate were numerous carriages, so they hadn’t arrived that early, as there were people who’d arrived even earlier. Seeing their invitations, the servant stationed at the front respectfully led them into the residence. Xie Liqing handed the box holding the gift they’d prepared to him. “Where is Official Gao?”


  Taking the gift, the servant replied, “The Official is currently at the main hall receiving guests. This servant will bring you there.”


  The banquet had yet started, as there was still an hour till noon. The men had gathered in the main hall to drink tea and converse, while the women, along with their entourage of maids, headed to the inner courtyard where the Old Madame stayed to congratulate her. However, too many people had come, and there wasn’t enough space for everyone to sit down, so the Old Madame had moved to the octagonal pavilion in the courtyard. All the women were there, admiring the rows of brightly-coloured flowers from a distance.

  A maid in a green jacket brought them over and said to the seated 70 year-old lady, “Old Madame, Madame Xie has arrived.”


  Although the Old Madame was an elderly woman, she was still young at heart, and had much more energy than other elders.

  She donned a fur headdress, wearing a rich purple set of robes embroidered with bamboos, and was smiling kindly.

  In the pavilion sat several younger Madames, and three of them were the daughters-in-law of the Gao family. The other two were Yang shi of Xun fu and the wife of an official under Xie Liqing respectively.

  Upon seeing Leng shi, the Old Madame stood up to welcome her. “Madame Xie has arrived, quickly come sit.” Looking down, she was enraptured at first glance. “These are Madame Xie’s daughters?”


  Leng shi introduced the two troublemakers. “Little Lamb, Xie Xun, this is the Old Madame.”


  Together they greeted her respectfully, their voices crisp and sweet.

  At once the Old Madame was immensely fond of the two. This Xie family really had good genes, just with a glance at the two girls, she could tell that no ordinary family could have raised and pampered them.

  Sitting back down, she helped introduce Leng shi to the others one by one. On her right the three daughters-in-law sat side by side, and on her left were Yang shi and Fang shi.

  The three daughters-in-law from Gao fu and Fang shi were incredibly respectful to her, especially Fang shi whose husband was a subordinate working under Xie Liqing. Only Yang shi‘s eyes weren’t lowered, her tone cold. Her arrogance was probably due to her thinking that her own husband’s wealth was much greater than everyone else’s.

  However unlike most people, Leng shi was also very cold and indifferent.

  She wasn’t like others who would deliberately make themselves seem superior, as she was naturally like this. Unless you were actually close to her, she generally gave off an icy feeling.

  She wouldn’t rush to obstruct others, and was definitely not deliberately malicious. Instead, she was always humble and modest.

  Yang shi unexpectedly met with a unmovable wall, and due to this, she wasn’t too happy and snorted quietly. It was quite soft, and only she was able to hear it.

  Xie Zhen and Xie Xun stood at the side to admire the flowers, and at the same time Xie Zhen glanced over at Yang shi and blinked before turning back to continue talking to her sister.

  Soon, a number of young ladies appeared in the pavilion. At the front was a six or seven year old girl dressed in a white jacket embroidered with butterflies and a threaded skirt. Her hair was in a complicated up-do, and she appeared to be in high spirits as she explained something to her companions. Her eyebrows were set high on her head, and coupled with a look of arrogance and pride, she gave off a domineering feeling.

  From a distance, she yelled, “Grandmother”, and flew into the Old Madame’s embrace.

  Though the Old Madame told her to be careful, the girl’s actions were well-received in her heart, and she smiled as she asked, “Where did Tong Tong bring her little sisters to today?”


  The girl was actually the eldest granddaughter of the Gao Family–Gao Tongtong–the daughter of the principle wife–the First Madame. Behind her were the daughters of the Second and Third Madame, along with Fang shi’s daughter Ye Zhiying. Out of all of them, Gao Tongtong was the eldest and tallest, while the rest looked to be around four to six years old, and Ye Zhiying just so happened to be around Xie Zhen’s height.

  Gao Tongtong pointed to the garden in front. “I took them to the pondside to look for a bit. There are lotuses there, and they’re very pretty when they open.”


  The Old Madame disagreed, saying, “The pondside is quite wet and slippery, next time don’t bring the little girls there.”


  Gao Tongtong pridefully said, “Grandmother forgot that I can swim very well! If they were to fall in, I would definitely be able to save them!”


  That was also unacceptable. Seeing that the Old Madame was about to discipline her, the First Madame immediately brought her to the side. “What Grandmother says is right, you’re not allowed to talk back.”


  Gao Tongtong wasn’t mollified, but she still said, “I understand.”


  The First Madame Xu shi introduced Xie Zhen and Xie Xun to her. “These are Madame Xie’s daughters, they’re both younger than you, so today you should take good care of them.”


  Hearing their names, the two troublemakers turned around, and they surprisingly turned out to be incredibly pretty.

  As the two pair of eyes stared at her, Gao Tongtong hesitated before saying, “You want me to take care of so many people, how exactly am I supposed to take care of all of them?”


  Since young her looks had been praised by many people, and she herself believed that she was extremely good-looking, but today in front of these two girls she actually felt inferior. Especially the one on the left with a cinnabar mole on her head. She was so pretty that she seemed to be a small fox who’d appeared straight from a painting. As such, she disliked her on sight.

  Xun shi glared at her, and she immediately took her earlier words back. “I know, I know, I’ll take good care of them.”


  In just an hour, many ladies streamed in continuously, many of them with children. The children all grouped together, and with a glance, one could tell that the two jade-like dolls at the side of the pavilion were the most eye-catching.

  Wherever they stood immediately looked like a scene from a painting. Xie Xun reached out for the chrysanthemum on the stage, but sadly she was too short, and couldn’t pluck it no matter how long she tried to.

  Xie Zhen finally couldn’t take it anymore, and tiptoed to help her. When she was just about to pluck it, she heard someone at the back whisper, “Madame Li has arrived.”


  Aunt Song?

  Big Brother Xiao Yu had come?

  She turned around, face filled with surprise and excitement.

  Unfortunately there was no one beside Song shi, and there wasn’t even a hint of Li Yu’s shadow.

  He hadn’t come? Immediately, Xie Zhen pouted, disappointed. Big Brother Xiao Yu was so pretty, she’d really wanted to take a few more good looks at him.

  Translator Comments:

  Sorry for the late post! We’ve been busy with life. Liz added a link to PayPal on the front page.

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  Also:

  *SPOILERS FOR TLJ AHEAD*

  TLJ reignited my passion for Reylo the tenssiooonnnnn. I hope they don’t pull another Luke/Leia and make them siblings because I will actually scream. Kylo I hope you weren’t lying about who Rey’s parents are. Luke’s death was slightly sad but I think his time in this series has passed. It was nice having him in TLJ. Maybe he’ll get a cameo in the next episode. Poe is actually a very likeable character. I liked Hux in TFA because I found him slightly funny, but there wasn’t a lot of Hux in TLJ. I don’t really know how they’re gonna do Leia without Carrie Fisher, but I’m hoping that they won’t replace her with another actress because that may actually cause a riot. Also I love how literally everyone on ao3 predicted that they would have a force bond. CP30 was not my favourite as usual and I actually winced when they threw around BB8 because metal! What if he gets dented. R2 had another cameo. Yoda was a nice surprise too.

  *SPOILER OVER*