Tanxiang thought that the marquis just hadn’t heard her clearly. And so, looking endearingly pitiful, she repeated, “The back of Madam’s hand was cut very badly. The wound won’t stop bleeding. Madam is afraid that it’ll scar and has already cried for a long time.”


  Marquis Moyu flipped a page and indifferently said, “Then, go look for a doctor. What’s the use in telling me this? I don’t know how to bind up a wound.”


  As Ji Man raised her arms to allow the tailor to take her chest measurement, she curled her lips and thought; Wen Wan was trying to give Marquis Moyu a way out of this awkward situation. Unfortunately, Ning Yuxuan was deliberately being obtuse and unwilling to take this way out.

  Her intuition told her that there would be a good show to watch soon.

  Tanxiang stood there for a while before helplessly leaving. By now, everyone in the residence knew that the marquis and his wife were in the midst of anther cold war.

  This cold war lasted a lot longer than previous ones because Wen Wan didn’t take the initiative to lower her head in apology. Instead, she ate and drank whatever she liked. In the passing, she would occasionally leave the residence and was always in high spirits when she came back.

  —


  Watching this from the sidelines, Jinse felt that the current situation was a good opportunity for herself and started seeking Marquis Moyu for favor.

  And so, Ji Man’s life became more relaxed. Holding a bag of melon seeds to snack on, she watched this entertaining show.

  —


  With a face full of indignation, Gancao entered the room and called out, “Master.” Seeing Muxu by Nie Sangyu’s side, she paused and gave a small salute, “Older sister Muxu.”


  Muxu slightly nodded. She was feeling rather unsatisfied. Although Nie Sangyu had rewarded her for sending news of the household to her while she was away, these two young servant girls had served her master for the past two months and she felt that she was no longer as close to her master as before.

  Once this type of feeling came up, Muxu became very worried. She wanted to spend more time and talk more with her master, but unfortunately, there were some topics that her master would rather tell these two young servant girls instead of herself.

  “Muxu, bring over this design to the embroidery building. Tell them I want clothing with this type of design. If it’s even slightly wrong, then there won’t be any bonus.” Ji Man casually put a clothing design into Muxu’s hand and indicated for her to leave.

  Muxu gritted her teeth, cast a glance at Gancao, grudgingly accepted the design, made a sound of agreement, and left the room.

  It was only now that Gancao started talking again. “Master, this servant and Dengxin saw an unspeakable sight when we went outside to buy snacks.”


  “What’s wrong?” Ji Man curiously asked.

  “Have Dengxin come over to tell you. This servant isn’t able to say it.” With her forehead tightly furrowed, Gancao pulled Dengxin into the room

  Ji Man looked at Dengxin. The latter was also showing an indignant expression. “Master, do you know that the capital has a poetry association? A high official’s children founded this association several years ago. Its members consisted of young masters and young ladies, as well as old masters and old madames. Anyone that loves poetry and can pass the test for Tonghao Poetry Association can join. It doesn’t matter if you’re a noble or a commoner, or if you’re married or single. The members only care about poetry.”


  Ji Man raised her eyebrows. It was surprising that this type of organization would exist in this dynasty. “So?”


  “When we were outside today, we saw a group of young masters and ladies from Tonghao Poetry Association heading towards Luoyan Pagoda. We don’t know when Madam was accepted into that association, but we saw Madam and a couple of young masters teasing each other while they were walking. She didn’t have the slight intention of avoiding suspicion.”


  “Teasing?” Ji Man twitched her lips. “They were probably just discussing poetry.”


  “Not true. This servant was so close to them and Madam didn’t notice this servant at all because she was too focused on talking with those men,” Gancao explained, “The passerbys were even praising her. They said that another talented woman has joined Tonghao Poetry Association, that her poems are exceptional, and that many young masters are pursing her. She’s even taken the title of the capital’s most talented woman from Luo Qianqian.”


  Only a few days had passed. Wen Wan was doing a pretty good, ah. Feeling impressed, Ji Man said, “Isn’t this good? The people in the capital all think highly of Tonghao Poetry Association. There are many talented people in this organization. The two of you shouldn’t discriminate against married women.”


  “But……” Dengxin clenched her teeth and said, “Her behavior is too shameless. She’s not showing any care towards the marquis’s household’s reputation.”


  “Why are you worried when the marquis isn’t concerned?” Ji Man waved her hands. “Go and take some of snacks with you to eat on your way out. I’m going to the southern courtyard.”


  “Understood,” said the two servant girls.

  —


  Tonghua Poetry Association was the equivalent of high society in modern day. You gained prestige just by being accepted into the association. Even if Marquis Moyu found out, he wouldn’t blame Wen Wan. Perhaps, he might even think more highly of her. Even if someone said that Wen Wan was flirting with other men, Marquis Moyu wouldn’t believe this gossip because of Wen Wan’s normal persona.

  Ji Man was just going over there to share gossip with Errong.

  —


  After listening to Nie Sangyu’s gossip, Errong raised her eyebrows in response. “Tonghua Poetry Association? I’m also a member. I just haven’t gone there to debate poetry with them in a while. The members have high standards. How could they have accepted Wen Wan as a member?”


  Ji Man shook her head. How would she know?

  After considering for a bit, Errong said, “I’ll go there tomorrow to join in the fun too. The spring flowers had recently blossomed and it’s time for Tonghua Poetry Association to have more frequent gatherings. I’ll bring back definite details about this situation back for you tomorrow.”


  The past period had been boring, so hearing some gossip would be welcomed. Ji Man patiently waited.

  But, the end result was Ning Errong indignantly coming to see her before the afternoon had even arrived. She sat down in front of her, angrily slapped the able, and said, “My cousin must be a blind idiot!”


  Ji Man choked on her tea and coughed a few times to clear her throat before asking, “What happened?”