After flirting with the aloof prince, the concubine ran away pregnant.

The following day at noon, a meal was served in the main hall.

Lady Hou sat at the head of the table, with Xie Xun and Xie Yun on either side, and Wei Changsheng sitting next to Xie Yun. It was a rare occasion for the whole family to be gathered together like this.

There were more than a dozen dishes on the table. The Lady Hou personally ladled out a bowl of soup and handed it to Xie Xun.

"The Dali Temple has been busy these past few days; you've got dark circles under your eyes," Lady Hou said, looking at her eldest son with heartache in her eyes.

Xie Xun took the soup bowl and responded indifferently, "It's alright."

Lady Hou sat back down, touched the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, and spoke in a casual tone, yet with a hint of probing: "I heard from the servants that you've put that girl Afu in charge of the internal affairs of Shi'an Courtyard?"

Xie Xun continued drinking his soup and hummed in agreement.

Lady Hou frowned slightly.

She didn't have any ill feelings towards Afu. The girl was beautiful and her manners were impeccable. But liking someone was one thing, but rules were rules.

"Although Afu is somewhat clever, she is ultimately a concubine."

Lady Hou spoke earnestly, "What will people think if word gets out that Shi'an Courtyard doesn't have a head matron? If outsiders find out that you've let a maidservant run the household, they'll think our Hou Mansion has lost all its rules."

"There isn't a suitable nanny." Xie Xun put down the soup bowl, wiped his hands with a cloth, and said, "She's the one I'm comfortable with, so she'll take charge."

Lady Hou was alarmed: "How can that be? The flower-viewing banquet at the manor is in two days. How many eyes in the capital are watching? If word gets out, how will you arrange the marriage!"

Xie Xun didn't even lift his eyelids: "If you can't even accommodate a concubine, then this marriage is better off not happening."

"You—" The Lady Hou was so angry at his unyielding attitude that her chest tightened.

"Why is Mother so serious?" Xie Yun, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

She picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and put it in her bowl, saying slowly and deliberately, "Brother, your yard should be managed by someone you know well. Even if your wife does marry into the family in the future, wouldn't that give you another helper?"

There was a moment of silence at the table after he said that.

Wei Changsheng glanced sideways, looking at his wife with a surprised expression.

He has been very busy with official duties at the Dali Temple these past few days, spending several nights in his study dealing with official business. He really doesn't know what happened at the mansion.

He clearly remembered that Xie Yun had complained to him several times a few days ago, saying that that vixen Afu was restless and had caused the siblings to become estranged.

Why are you speaking to a maidservant today, which is unprecedented for you?

Lady Hou was also stunned. She looked at her son, then at her daughter, and felt a headache coming on. Both of them had very big ideas.

"You think you're all grown up now? For every word I say, you'll have ten more to say!"

Lady Hou's face darkened, and her tone became stern. "I don't care what you do, the Princess of Qinghe is coming to the flower-viewing banquet the day after tomorrow. You must entertain her properly. Especially you, Yun'er, control your temper and don't make things difficult for me at the banquet!"

Xie Yun pouted, put down her chopsticks, and stopped pretending to be well-behaved.

"Mother, who in the capital doesn't know how spoiled Princess Qinghe is? If she really marries into the family, will you be able to maintain your dignity as her mother-in-law? I really don't know what you were thinking, choosing her so specifically."

"What do you know!"

Lady Hou's long-suppressed emotions finally erupted, her eyes instantly reddening. "I'm doing this all for you!"

She slammed her hand on the table, making the soup bowl on it clang loudly.

"Your father is a good-for-nothing! He now lives in Hongyan Manor and never goes home. He spends all his time with that slut! Does he care about us, his mother and children?"

"His only thought now is how to pass the title to Xie Kun, that illegitimate son!"

When Xie Kun was mentioned, Madam Hou's voice trembled.

Beneath the respectable facade of the Grand Mansion lies a bloody web of scheming and intrigue.

"Go all over the capital and see, which noble family's eldest son entered officialdom without their father, brothers, and clan paving the way for him?" The Lady of the Marquis looked at Xie Xun with red eyes, her voice choked with emotion.

"But Xun'er has no choice but to rely on himself to take the imperial examinations! He finally gained the Emperor's favor and entered the Dali Temple, but what kind of place is the Dali Temple? It's all dirty and tiring work that offends people!"

Xie Xun frowned almost imperceptibly.

Lady Hou covered her mouth with a handkerchief, tears streaming down her face. "The Princess intends to marry her daughter off. If your brother becomes the Princess's son-in-law, how much effort will it save him in his future career? Princess Qinghe may be a bit spoiled, but her heart is full of Xun'er, and her eyes are only for him. Once they're married, with the Princess's mansion as their backing, what can that illegitimate son Xie Kun use to compete with us!"

The main hall was so quiet that only the Lady Hou's suppressed sobs could be heard.

Xie Yun fell silent. No matter how willful she was, she knew how much her mother suffered in this inner quarters.

The father's favoritism and the illegitimate son's ambition hung like two knives over the heads of the eldest son's family.

Wei Changsheng kept his head down, his eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought. As a son-in-law, it was really not appropriate for him to interfere in such intimate matters of his wife's family.

Xie Xun stood up. He was tall and his cold, hard black casual clothes made him look cold and aloof.

"Mother need not worry."

Xie Xun looked at the mess on the table, his tone completely flat, "The title of Marquis of the Marquis's estate cannot be taken away by Xie Kun. My career path does not need anyone to pave the way for me."

He paused, looked directly at Madam Hou, and made his point clear.

"As for Princess Qinghe, if she can tolerate my celibacy and is willing to marry me and live alone in an empty house, then my mother will marry her."

After saying that, Xie Xun turned and left, taking very long strides, and was out of the main hall in the blink of an eye.

"Listen to this! Listen to the utter nonsense he's spouting!"

Lady Hou trembled with rage. Pointing in the direction Xie Xun had left, she turned and grabbed Xie Yun's hand, beginning to complain, "Who am I doing all this for? And he just says he's all alone in his room—he's trying to drive me crazy!"

Xie Yun quickly grasped her mother's hand and helped her catch her breath.

"Mother, please calm down. You know my brother's temper; he responds better to gentle persuasion than force. The more you push him, the more he'll rebel," Xie Yun patiently reassured him.

Lady Hou wiped away her tears: "Did I force him? What kind of temper does that Princess have? If Princess Qinghe really notices something amiss at the flower viewing banquet the day after tomorrow, won't the Princess tear our Hou mansion down!"

Xie Yun listened to her mother's nagging, but her gaze was somewhat unfocused.

Her older brother had been extremely indifferent to everything since childhood, and he avoided women like the plague.

Now, however, he dares to postpone his marriage to the Princess's mansion for the sake of a mere maidservant.

Xie Yun recalled the determined and forceful look on Afu's face yesterday when she knelt on the ground and pressed her hands on Xie Yun's abdomen.

She had initially thought Afu was just a pretty, cunning vixen. But recently she discovered that the maid possessed something that none of the other women in this grand mansion had.

"Yun'er, are you even listening to me?" The Lady Hou tugged at her sleeve in dissatisfaction when she saw her daughter lost in thought.

"Listen, Mother." Xie Yun snapped out of her reverie, poured a cup of warm tea, and handed it to her. "At the flower viewing banquet the day after tomorrow, I will definitely help you make Princess Qinghe happy and will absolutely not cause any trouble."

Lady Hou nodded in satisfaction and sighed, "You've become much more sensible these days."

Wei Changsheng sat to the side, took a sip of tea, and glanced at his wife's face.

sensible?

He felt that the waters of this marquis's mansion were getting muddier and muddier.