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  The fragrance of the incense wafts through the spacious and quiet eastern wing. Ming Xuan slowly raises her head, revealing a neck as white as jade. She gently blinks her long, curly eyelashes, and in her tone, there is an unspoken sense of resignation and determination: "Marry, grandmother, your granddaughter will marry him."

  A gentleman does not stand under a wall on the verge of collapse.

  The Pei family now looks very prosperous, but the will of heaven is hard to predict. If Director Pei still does not want to gradually let go of his power at this time, then one day he may collapse like a giant tree that has been hollowed out, without any warning signs. Originally, just because of the surname "Pei", she should have stayed far away from it.

  Mr. Pei is such an inscrutable man, he understands endurance more than himself and is better at disguise, this kind of lurking, it seems that there are also greater and more ambitions. In normal circumstances, such a man would be impossible to get involved with, which also goes against her original wishes, she just wanted to live a simple and peaceful life, but if she marries Pei Jingchen, where can she still have a peaceful day?

  But now, none of these things matter anymore.

  Marrying into the Zhen Guo Gong Fu and cutting off Han Xiu's entanglement, this is Ming Xuan's chance to catch her breath.

  As for what happens next... If the master of the Pei family is worthy of being a good match, then she will do her best to escape with him and start anew, and in the future, they can find a good place to settle down and live a life that they have always dreamed of. If he's not, then she has at least five years to plan ahead, and by then, she'll only be 22, still young and beautiful, everything is still within reach.

  This answer was just to her liking, but for some reason, Mrs. Zhu felt a heart full of bitterness and acidity. She tightly hugged Ming Xuan, with scalding tears falling from the corners of her eyes. "Good child, it's been hard on you."

  Ming Xuan's mouth curled up with a few strands of smile, she seemed to be nonchalant as she shook her head "Grandmother has been worrying about her granddaughter day and night, the granddaughter is grateful but hasn't had time to feel wronged. You once said that roads are created by people walking on them. How do you know that this time, the granddaughter won't create a path that others can't imagine?"

  She took out a handkerchief from her bosom and carefully wiped away the tears for Old Lady Zhu, then suddenly said with a hint of coquetry: "June 26th is Wu's big wedding day. Calculating it this way, the engagement with the Pei family must be concluded hastily within these two months. No matter what. The Pei family is also a centuries-old noble family, naturally different from the Yan family before. Grandmother has to speak with Eldest Aunt on behalf of her granddaughter. If the dowry is too shabby, it won't just lose face for the granddaughter."

  Madam Zhu couldn't help but burst out laughing at the sound of "pfft", her gloomy face disappearing, she reached out to pinch Ming Xuan's cheek and said with a smile: "Grandma was worried that you would be heartbroken, who knew this little thing had already started calculating the dowry. Don't worry, Eldest Aunt will definitely not treat you unfairly this time."

  This is the maternal family of Pei Huanghou. Even for the sake of the noble concubine's face in the palace, Madame Hou did not dare to simply give 5,000 taels of silver as dowry to send off Xiang sister. At that time, she would have given more private goods, and it was all for the sake of the Hou Mansion's face.

  Ming Xuan crouched down beside Old Lady Zhu's knees, her bright eyes gazing at the wisps of smoke rising from the incense burner. Her heart was filled with a mix of emotions, but she wished that this time, she could get married smoothly...

  The Pei family quickly invited a matchmaker to visit the house, ask for the name, and receive the gift. The engagement letter was personally written by the Director of the Imperial Observatory, which is a very auspicious sign. After receiving the auspicious letter, they began to prepare for the wedding ceremony, as they had to rush to get everything done before June 26th, when the bride would leave her natal home. The Pei family asked the Imperial Observatory to calculate the most auspicious date and finally set the wedding day on June 10th.

  During this time, Ming Xuan, in order to prevent being threatened by Han Xiuxiu again, except for going to An Taiyuan every day to pay respects and talk to Zhu Lao Furen, she only stayed in Shu Yu Ge, not daring to take a step out. She thought that even if the Han family was nearby, as long as she behaved herself and locked herself at home, she didn't believe he had any way of entering the inner courtyard of this mansion. As for the Pei family, Han Xiuxiu temporarily couldn't shake off Pei Xiang's authority, and she also didn't know how to deal with it, having an inexplicable confidence in Master Pei, believing that he could safely avoid Han Xiuxiu's schemes.

  Taking advantage of her noble birth, if Pei Jingchen is still being manipulated by Han Xiu, then she should also give up on the idea of playing the game of love and follow Yu Zhen Shitai to a life of quiet contemplation.

  In the study of Yu Ge, Ming Xuan was checking with Dan Hong the list of maids to be brought over to the Pei's house. She spread out white paper and inkstone on the desk, and lightly wrote down the name of the maid who would accompany her as a dowry gift.

  She furrowed her brow and said, "I asked Su Wan yesterday, she's willing to follow me to the Pei residence, so that makes two of us. As for the second group, Jiǎo's father and mother have long passed away, he's carefree. But as for the newly promoted Xiao Su, his family is all here..."

  Dan Hong thought for a moment and said, "Otherwise, Miss will leave Xiao Su behind and replace her with Ou Xi. Although Ou Xi has been in this mansion since childhood, she is not a biological child."

  As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of a tea cup shattering was heard from outside the door curtain. Xiaosu rushed in, knelt down on the ground, and kowtowed to Mingxuan with a look of panic and urgency on her face. "Although I'm clumsy and inept, I can do any dirty or tiring work. Please, Miss, don't drive me away! I beg of you, considering that I've served in the Shuoyu Pavilion for several years, have mercy on me and let me stay. I'm willing to be a cow or a horse and serve you for the rest of my life!"

  Tears kept flowing from her eyes, and her tone was full of pleading: "My maid's mother used to be in charge of combing the hair of the third madam. After something happened in the third house, she never got a job again. At home, there is also a brother who needs to take medicine all year round. The whole family relies on my monthly salary to make a living. If Miss doesn't keep me, after you get married, Madame Hou will definitely transfer me out of the Shu Yu Pavilion. Not being able to get the second-class maid's salary is nothing, but I'm afraid that if I lose my job, there will be no money, and our family can't make ends meet!"

  Tan Hong was somewhat embarrassed and wanted to change Xiao Su. It wasn't because she didn't work hard or that she had a different attitude towards her family's situation.

  It's just that Seventh Young Miss is a maid who was chosen to be a companion to the wife of the Town Duke, and although she doesn't have to completely sever ties with the Marquis' household, at least she can't leave too many lingering thoughts behind in the Marquis' household. Someone like Xiaosu, who has an elderly mother and a weak younger brother, would definitely want to return home frequently even if she went to the Pei household. Firstly, it's easy for people from the Pei household to find fault with her, and secondly, she can't help but consider what the Marchioness thinks, and in the future, if their interests clash, she might do something that harms both households.

  She thought for a moment and said with some difficulty, "Xiao Su, don't be like this. Seventh Miss will definitely think of a way to arrange it so that you can go to the old lady's courtyard. Although the second-class rules are strict, they won't let you lose your job, and there's no way for the family to make ends meet."

  Xiao Su didn't listen, she hugged Ming Huan's thigh tightly and refused to let go, begging bitterly: "My maid's mother was originally a person of the third house, my younger brother has been ill and hasn't been assigned any tasks, but he has been in the third house since birth, so he should be considered a person of the third house. If Miss is afraid that my family will have some restrictions in the Hou Mansion, I beg you to take my mother and younger brother together to the Pei Mansion."

  She lifted her tear-stained face, her lips trembling slightly. "The Antai Hospital has been overcrowded for a long time, even if I went there in the past, there was no job to do. My family and I all came from the third house, our bodies have already been labeled with the third house mark, other places are not willing to accept us. Except for you, Miss, I have nowhere else to go!"

  Ming Xuan heard this and slightly furrowed her brow, asking in surprise "Why say that?"

  She remembered that He Gui was also separated from the third house and later worked as a buyer in the purchasing department. The purchasing department had a lot of benefits, and they had the most dealings with the masters and servants in the mansion, and could also make connections with businessmen outside, which was an enviable fat缺. But at this time, Xiaosu said that because their family came from the third house, they couldn't get other jobs again.

  Xiao Su raised her head, tears streaming down her face as she said, "Miss, I heard from my mother that Madame Hou and Third Madame have been at odds for some reason. My mother used to style Third Madame's hair, so naturally Madame Hou wouldn't use her again. As for the people from the third house not being well-received, this isn't just something my family says - if you have time, ask Seasonal Auntie or Wu Auntie in our courtyard, they all know about it."

  She sniffled, then said "In the past, all the people brought over from the Lu family by the third madam were sent to the dowry estate, but the children born in the Hou household could only stay in the Hou mansion. Originally, when they first separated, a few of them still got decent jobs, but within two or three years, they were all dismissed one after another. The reason for this is unclear to me, but except for He sister's husband from Xue Su's family, there is only my family left in the Hou mansion who are remnants of the third house, and this is absolutely true."

  Ming Xuan was slightly stunned, and when she first woke up, she didn't know what had happened before, so she hadn't paid attention. However, after gradually becoming familiar with her surroundings later on, she discovered that all the servants and maids in the Shu Yu Pavilion had been replaced, and not a single familiar face could be seen.

  At first, she felt a bit uneasy, but at the same time, she couldn't help feeling slightly relieved. After all, if there was someone around who understood her very well, it would be too easy for others to see through her words and actions, expressions and behavior. Later on, when she found herself in a precarious situation, she didn't have the leisure to investigate further. Now that Xiaosu brought it up again, she was stirred up, her expression changing inexplicably, with profound light flashing in her eyes.

  After a long while, she finally spoke up "How old is brother this year? What illness does he have?"

  "Answering Miss's words, my brother is only ten years old this month, named Shou An, which was given by the third master. He has been suffering from a congenital illness since he was born, and it gets worse in winter. My family is struggling to make ends meet, so we can't afford to invite a good doctor to see him. We can only describe his symptoms and ask the doctor at the small pharmacy on the street to prescribe some medicine, which barely manages to alleviate his condition."

  She suddenly thought of something and hurriedly added, "As long as winter is over, my brother will be able to work too, and he definitely won't just eat and use Miss's things for nothing!"

  Ming Xuan looked at Xiao Su with a calm gaze, "Is this what you mean too?"

  Xiao Su was taken aback "My mother she..."

  Ming Xuan interrupted Xiao Su's words, "Go back and tell your mother that if she is willing to tell me everything she knows, I will not only take the three of you away from the Hou Mansion, but also do my best to find a good doctor to cure my brother's illness."

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