Chapter 11 – Likes Persimmon Brother

The plum blossoms at the entrance of the Western Garden were still budding.

Green moss crept along the courtyard walls, and a thin layer of frost on the ground had crystallized into icy flowers.

Xie Chengfeng shivered uncontrollably as he watched Xie Yixing slowly approach him.

Madam Wei blocked the Marquess of Chengming, who was about to intervene, and signaled the servants not to interfere either.

The Marquess of Chengming could only mutter weakly, “I just saw Yixing’s cuff button fall off and wanted to pick it up.”

Madam Wei immediately rolled her eyes at him. “Doesn’t the Marquess have official duties to attend to? I won’t be seeing you out then.”

Hearing Madam Wei’s clear order to leave, the Marquess of Chengming turned and walked away without hesitation.

Madam Wei glanced back at his quickly disappearing figure and teased the old nanny beside her, “The Marquess is probably itching to go back to leading troops again.”

No one knows a husband better than his wife. Although the Marquess of Chengming indeed felt this way, he was genuinely too busy to leave.

The bribery case involving the Yu family in the capital had reached a verdict—the entire family was imprisoned. As the leading branch among the nine affected, they all faced punishment.

Over a hundred members of the Yu family were scheduled for execution after the New Year. Time was tight, and he had to quickly find evidence to overturn the case and try to save their lives.

In addition to this, he had increased manpower to search for the missing Yu family maid across the capital and five nearby counties.

Human traffickers had become increasingly rampant in the capital. Even though some had already been caught, others still took chances. No household dared to let its guard down.

He had summoned Xie Yixing today specifically to remind him not to leave the estate without informing anyone.

If something like the last incident happened again, they might not be so lucky next time.

But halfway through his warning, Xie Yixing found him too nagging and walked away.

The Marquess had no choice but to humbly ask the nanny to keep an eye on both him and Yaoyao.

Before Yaoyao left the house, the nanny had specially tucked a thick cotton coat under her outer jacket to keep her warm.

With the added layers, Yaoyao looked even rounder from the side—like a plump little ball.

Madam Wei adored the sight of her so much that she couldn’t help herself. She picked her up and sat her on her lap. As she lifted her gaze, she locked eyes with her son’s cold, sharp stare.

Madam Wei quickly cleared her throat to cover her awkwardness and spoke to distract Xie Yixing. “Son, how do you plan to deal with this matter?”

Xie Yixing answered calmly, “He slandered Yaoyao. He can no longer stay in the marquis’s estate.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking too.”

Madam Wei nodded. “Your father and I have discussed it. When spring comes, we’ll send you and Yaoyao to the school run by the marquis’s estate. So your cousin…”

She didn’t finish her sentence.

She hadn’t wanted to keep him in the first place, but the Marquess had insisted out of pride.

Now, this incident gave them a perfect excuse to send him back. It was serendipitous.

However, before sending him back, there was still something else to be done.

She knew her son’s temper. He wouldn’t just let it go with one beating. And considering the vile things Xie Chengfeng had said about Yaoyao, he was bound to suffer more.

Xie Yixing ordered someone to drag Xie Chengfeng to the woodshed. As for what punishment he would face, neither Madam Wei nor the others knew, nor did they dare ask.

Having vented her anger, Yaoyao sat on Madam Wei’s lap clapping her hands joyfully, her soft voice as fluffy as cotton. “Persimmon Brother is amazing!”

Madam Wei’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “Then does Yaoyao like Persimmon Brother?”

“Yes!”

Yaoyao nodded without hesitation.

Besides her parents, eldest sister, and second brother, Persimmon Brother treated her the best.

He gave her pastries and helped her beat up the bad guys!

Yaoyao looked at Xie Yixing with sparkling eyes and noticed the eagle embroidered on his dark purple robe. He looked so elegant and noble.

Seeing her stare at her son, Madam Wei deliberately said again, “Since Yaoyao likes Persimmon Brother so much, why not stay with Auntie and become Auntie’s daughter-in-law?”

Yaoyao was only half-aware of what that meant.

She liked Persimmon Brother, but what did that have to do with becoming someone’s daughter-in-law?

What was a daughter-in-law anyway? Was it something you could eat?

Seeing Yaoyao blink her big eyes, Madam Wei realized she didn’t understand.

But when she casually glanced at her son, she caught an unexpected blush on his face.

Why was he blushing just because she teased the little girl?

Still, Madam Wei was in a fantastic mood. First, they had resolved a potential threat; second, she genuinely liked this chubby little daughter-in-law. If it weren’t for the Yu family girl, she would’ve arranged a marriage between the two kids right then.

That way, Yaoyao would be her son’s child bride.

A round, adorable little girl like her—what a status symbol she would be when taken out!

But the old nanny beside Madam Wei thought her lady was going too far.

Yaoyao might be cute, but her background was unclear.

The young heir was the Marquess’s only son and the future head of the family. How could he marry someone with no status or background?

Then again, with the young heir’s current reputation, probably no girl would willingly marry him anyway.

Everyone in the estate—even the pet dogs—avoided the young heir. Only Yaoyao wasn’t afraid of him.

Could Yaoyao be the one destined for him?

Previously, Madam Wei had gone to a temple to pray for her son’s health. The high monk there had divined that he was missing a soul and spirit fragment, which could only be restored by someone with a Yin Sha fate.

But girls with a Yin Sha fate were considered ominous and usually secretly killed at birth.

Finding such a person was nearly impossible.

Madam Wei searched for two years, then gave up.

She hadn’t expected Yaoyao to appear and rekindle her hope.

After sending the two children back to their rooms, Madam Wei heard that her sister-in-law had arrived.

When she returned to her courtyard, she found her sister-in-law, Madam Tian, comfortably ordering the servants around to brew tea.

Though Madam Wei said nothing openly, she felt uneasy.

After the Wei family failed to produce any officials for two generations, they had to rely on marital alliances to maintain their status.

Among the sisters, Madam Wei had married the best. The Marquess of Chengming was young, accomplished in battle, and had never taken a concubine.

After she gave birth to the marquis estate’s only son, her sister-in-law began visiting every few days.

Madam Wei chatted idly for a while before using fatigue as an excuse to have her escorted to the guest room.

Wei Yuhui was her second legitimate daughter, half a year younger than Xie Yixing.

As soon as they were alone, Madam Tian pulled her daughter aside and asked warmly how she was doing.

Once she was sure her daughter was being treated well, she asked urgently, “How are you getting along with your cousin?”

At the mention of this, Wei Yuhui lowered her head in guilt.

Madam Tian instantly sensed something was wrong and pressed her. “Don’t tell me you cried in front of your cousin again? Why are you so useless?”

“Mother, I didn’t.”

Wei Yuhui lowered her beautiful eyes and whispered, “It’s just that Cousin doesn’t want to see me, and Auntie won’t let me approach him either.”

“What? How could that be!”

Madam Tian slammed the table in anger. She had assumed that by sending her daughter here, her sister-in-law would be sensible enough to create opportunities for the two children to bond. Many families would kill for such a match.

But instead, she locked her daughter in the rear courtyard and forbade her from seeing anyone? Was this a sign of disapproval?

Seeing her mother angry, Wei Yuhui quickly tried to console her. “Mother, it’s not really Cousin or Auntie’s fault. It’s just that Cousin now has a new girl close to him, and I can’t compete with her.”

“A new girl? What’s her background? Did you find out?”

Wei Yuhui nodded. “I heard she was abandoned, but because she saved Cousin’s life, Auntie and Uncle allowed her to stay and serve in his room.”

“Foolish, absolutely foolish!” Madam Tian’s eyes narrowed sharply. “My silly sister-in-law is such a fool! Even if she was a lifesaver, there’s no reason to keep her in the estate. A little silver would’ve been enough. She just said she was abandoned, and your aunt believed her? What if she’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing?”

Wei Yuhui softly defended, “Mother, maybe it’s not that serious. I’ve met this girl Yaoyao. She doesn’t seem like someone cunning.”

“Your aunt is foolish, and so are you.” Madam Tian glared at her. “Would a schemer write it on her face?”

Wei Yuhui stayed silent.

Madam Tian kept going like a gushing spring. “She’s definitely faking it. So young and already knows how to seduce men. Your cousin is completely bewitched by her now. What then? If she gets pregnant and gives him a child, what will you do?”

Seeing her daughter sit like a block of wood as she scolded, Madam Tian gave her a little shove on the head.

Wei Yuhui lowered her head in grievance.

Though still young, she had grown up hearing her mother constantly talk about marriage.

Afraid her daughter wouldn’t learn her lesson, Madam Tian brought up the bribery scandal that had rocked the capital. She added fuel to the fire, saying, “You remember the Yu family’s eldest daughter, right? A few days ago, their house was raided. The one who reported her father for corruption was the very student her father had taken in. They were almost engaged. He played the long game and then turned on them, leading to their entire family being imprisoned and all nine branches implicated. Do you want your aunt’s family to end up the same way?”