Chapter 18 : The Big Girl is Such a Fool!

Soon after, He Songning walked out of Xue Qingyin’s courtyard.

The young servant hurriedly approached and asked, “Young Master, are you going to Qingfeng Courtyard now?”

Qingfeng Courtyard is where Xue Qinghe lives.

He Songning paused for a moment and said, “I’m going to pay my respects to my mother.”

The young servant was stunned for a moment, but couldn’t quite put his finger on what felt off, so he quickly followed He Songning to the courtyard where Madam Xue resided.

The old woman guarding the door was woken up by the sound and immediately said, “Madam has already gone to bed. If the Young Master has something to say, it would be better to come tomorrow.”

Had this been any other day, He Songning would have simply returned to rest and sent someone with some gifts to Madam Xue the next day.

After all, there was no real mother-son affection; he was only playing the role of a “son” who was courteous enough.

But today, after hearing these words, He Songning suddenly realized something deeper.

… Madam Xue had not truly gone to bed.

She harbored resentment in her heart but didn’t know how to face her son, so she had sent him away.

He Songning’s eyes flickered for a moment, then he softly said, “It’s alright. I will just bow at the door to pay my respects.”

The old woman was stunned for a moment.

Then she reacted, smiling as she led He Songning inside. “The Young Master truly has a pure and filial heart!”

Normally, He Songning wouldn’t have felt anything when hearing such praise.

But today, he felt a slight discomfort.

Because he knew that he had never felt any “filial piety.”

What he thought internally was not apparent on his face.

He followed the old woman all the way to the door and, lifting his robe, knelt down on the spot.

The servants were startled and quickly asked, “Young Master, what are you doing?”

Normally, He Songning never knelt before Madam Xue.

After all, Madam Xue was easy to coax, and he had many ways to do so.

Whenever Madam Xue got angry, he could calm her down in a few days.

He Songning, being from a different background, would never kneel before Madam Xue.

But today, as he knelt down, he realized it wasn’t that uncomfortable.

He had never met his biological mother.

So, he treated this as if he were kneeling before his birth mother…

Inside, Madam Xue heard the movement and hurriedly opened the door.

She frowned and said, “What are you doing?” She was dressed and, as expected, hadn’t gone to bed.

“I made a mistake. I had matters to attend to during the day and didn’t manage to come and apologize to you earlier.” He Songning said in a deep voice.

Madam Xue bent down as if to help him, but then stopped herself. She asked, “Do you truly know your mistake?”

Her tone carried a hint of sobbing.

He Songning was momentarily stunned, then continued, “I do. I used to think that Qingyin was rebellious, and I lost my patience as an older brother, ignoring her everywhere. I almost made a great mistake and caused her to lose her life. How you protected her today, I will also protect her from now on…”

Madam Xue’s tears immediately flowed down.

She couldn’t hold back anymore and grabbed He Songning’s arm, pulling him up. “Alright, alright. As long as you understand, don’t kneel anymore. If you kneel too long, your knees will hurt when it rains.”

He Songning suddenly remembered what Xue Qingyin had said, “Mother’s bones ache during rainy weather.”

Madam Xue ushered him inside and ordered someone to bring sweet soup.

“Wait… bring something else. Your sister loves sweet soup, but you don’t like it.” Madam Xue said.

She kept He Songning inside to chat, and only after he finished the soup did she let him leave.

By the time the hour had grown late, it was naturally not the time to visit Xue Qinghe.

So, He Songning returned to his own residence.

In the Qingfeng Courtyard.

The maid Qiu Xin waited for an unknown amount of time, and finally returned to Xue Qinghe dejectedly.

“I’m afraid the eldest young master won’t come today…”

A look of disappointment flashed across Xue Qinghe’s face.

Qiuxin said bitterly: “It must be that the lady doesn’t allow him to come again!”

Xue Qinghe wanted Qiu Xin to stop talking nonsense, but swallowed the words back when they came to her lips. Because she thought, what else could it be for except this reason?

She lay on her back: “Turn off the lights.”

Qiuxin had no choice but to respond.

The room soon returned to darkness.

The expressions of the master and servant were shrouded in darkness and could not be distinguished.

Xue Qingyin had a dream that night. She dreamed that He Songning smiled at him, and then suddenly grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp and ferocious teeth.

Then she was so scared that she threw herself into King Xuan’s arms.

King Xuan stared at her sinisterly. My goodness, he is even more terrifying than He Songning!

She didn’t sleep very well this time.

Fortunately, Mrs. Xue was in a good mood today. During breakfast, she called her to her side, touched her ear, and said, “I have some free time today, so I will take you to the farm on the outskirts of the city and to several shops in the city…”

As soon as these words came out, everyone at the table was stunned.

Mrs. Xue turned around and asked again, “A Ning, are you free today?” “If you are free, go with your sister. You can also introduce her to the people in charge under you.”

He Songning’s eyelids jumped: “Mother means…”

Mrs. Xue smiled and said, “Your sister is really considerate. She is worried that you are too busy with your studies, so she asked me if there is any way to reduce your burden. It’s a pity that my nephews from my mother’s side are not very motivated… So I thought, just let your sister take over. She is not young anymore, she must not just eat and sleep like before!”

Mrs. Xue said this very appropriately, without mentioning that it was Xue Qingyin who took the initiative, in order to avoid conflicts between the brother and sister.

But Xue Qingyin still felt a chill on her body.

He Songning was looking at her.

He stared at her deeply for a moment, and then gently moved away.

He Songning responded, “I’m afraid I can’t spare the time today, so I’ll ask Jin Xiang to come with you. If there’s anything happening in the shop on weekdays, report it to him first and then send it to me.”

Mrs. Xue smiled, “Okay, Jin Xiang used to be a shopkeeper and he’s always smart. With him accompanying you, it will be much easier for your sister to get started.”

Xue Chengdong didn’t say anything until the meal was over.

He said that all the affairs of the family were handed over to Mrs. Xue to take care of, and that he would not interfere anymore.

He Songning sent someone to summon the man named Jin Xiang.

Mrs. Xue went back to her room to get the account books and other things.

Xue Qingyin stood under the eaves and waited obediently.

“Qingyin is a little confusing.” He Songning’s voice suddenly sounded in her ears.

His voice was low and a little playful.

Are you holding a grudge?

Xue Qingyin turned her head and looked up at him, her eyes full of innocence.

She said, “Brother is so smart, what can’t you understand?”

He Songning raised his hand and stroked her head, but said nothing more.

When did the change begin? He thought.

Xue Qingyin in the past was like a beautiful bowl, and what was in the bowl was clearly laid out.

Xue Qingyin now is more like a thin-necked porcelain white jade. At first glance, it seems that the things inside can be seen clearly, but if you look closely, there is fog lingering.

Interesting.

He Songning didn’t know that Xue Qinghe fell behind him at this time, watching him “gently” stroke Xue Qingyin’s head.

Qiu Xin, the maid next to him, almost broke her palm.

Madam Xue actually handed over so many industries to a fool like the eldest girl to manage!

The master didn’t even care!

Isn’t she afraid that she will ruin the Xue family’s industry?

Now even the eldest son has reconciled with her…

They are siblings again…

Then what about our girl?

Are we going to live the same way again?

Qiu Xin really hates it!