As soon as Ziyu finished speaking, she looked up to see Lin He regarding her with a half-smile, while Ziqing glared fiercely at her. Ziyu immediately realized she had misspoken and quickly corrected herself: "No, Young Mistress, I misspoke. It's not about 'dealing with' him; it's about the Young Mistress managing the Young Master. Young Mistress, please, you absolutely must not let the Young Master know what I just said." Saying this, she even winked conspiratorially at Lin He.

Lin He burst into laughter at Ziyu's obsequious display, and Ziqing couldn't help but chuckle too. "Well, Ziyu, some of what you said was actually quite right. Setting aside everything else, just look at how the Young Master didn't say a single word when the Young Mistress punished Xiangyun this time. Moreover, he allowed such a severe punishment for Xiangyun. See if those few maids dare to provoke the Young Mistress again."

"Exactly! Those little wretches are trying every trick in the book every day to seduce the Young Master. In my opinion, the punishment was lenient. It would be best to throw them all out and be done with it, so we don't have to be on guard against them anymore. The Young Mistress is too kind-hearted. If it were someone else, those girls would have been sent packing long ago," Ziyu said, clearly incensed.

Lin He saw the girl puffing up her cheeks as she spoke, playfully poked her face, and smiled, "Little girl, why the anger? Consider this a warning this time. If there's a next time, we’ll have the Young Master send them away. Alright, enough talk about them. Go outside and see if the fire is out yet. Why hasn't the Young Master returned?"

Hearing this, Ziyu promptly responded, hurried out to the courtyard to check, and then rushed back into the room: "Young Mistress, the fire is almost extinguished. The Young Master is over there watching it. But Young Mistress, I feel like the fire in the courtyard this time is a bit strange. Could someone have deliberately set it?"

Lin He nodded; she naturally harbored suspicions too. The courtyard catching fire for no apparent reason—she couldn't figure out why. Logically, the fire shouldn't have started indoors. Because today, besides herself and Wen Ningxuan, none of the maids were in the room. With Wen Ningxuan present, a fire starting inside was impossible. He was a martial artist; even if he slept deeply, any sound in the room would surely alert him.

If the fire originated outside, it was highly unlikely to be an accident. If not an accident, it must be deliberate. If intentional, what was the arsonist's goal? They likely weren't trying to kill anyone. So, what was the purpose? Lin He pondered over and over but could not fathom the reason.

Ziqing, standing nearby, noticed Lin He's distress. She put down her embroidery, walked to the table, poured a cup of tea for Lin He, and said softly, "Young Mistress, don't overthink it. The Young Master is here; he will certainly find out the cause. You should consider this: the courtyard is burned like this; repairs will likely take a long time. It certainly won't be convenient for us to stay here. Perhaps the Young Mistress should think about where we should move to?"

"The courtyard is too damaged to live in, of course. But the Wen family has so many courtyards; we can just pick another one," Ziyu said, looking somewhat bewildered at Ziqing.

Ziqing glanced at Ziyu without speaking. She looked at Lin He, who found Ziqing's question rather odd. Lin He couldn't help but look up at Ziqing blankly for a moment. Ziqing smiled, winked lightly at Lin He, glanced outside, and whispered, "Young Mistress, don't you dislike living in the Wen family compound? Isn't this the perfect opportunity? Just come up with a reason, and you can go stay with the Young Master for a while. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Hearing this, Lin He couldn't help but smile too. She thought to herself that Ziqing was indeed clever; this idea wasn't bad at all. Since the courtyard was temporarily uninhabitable anyway, why not move out for a while? Didn't Wen Ningxuan once mention he had another residence in town? Perhaps they could stay there?

Once they were there, no one would be watching them. They probably wouldn't need to attend the morning greetings punctually every day, and going out or visiting her parents’ home wouldn't risk accusations of impropriety. It sounded quite good.

Just as Lin He was lost in thought, she saw Wen Ningxuan enter from outside. Having just been surveying the fire site, his clothes and face were smudged with ash, making him look somewhat dishevelled. Seeing him like this, Lin He immediately stood up from her stool and pulled his hand, looking at him with some concern.

Wen Ningxuan squeezed her hand and chuckled, "Don't be nervous, I’m fine."

Lin He nodded and asked, "Is everything settled? Are you still going out now?"

"Not going anymore. Ling Xiao is there supervising the people," Wen Ningxuan replied.

"Mm, then I'll have Ziqing and Ziyu bring warm water. You rest for a while. It will be dawn soon, and there will be much to do," Lin He said softly.

Ziqing and Ziyu immediately responded and left.

While helping Wen Ningxuan take off his outer robe, Lin He asked, "Ningxuan, the courtyard is burned like this, where will we stay?"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot. Ask Ziqing and Ziyu to pack our things later; we'll move to another courtyard. This house will need a complete renovation in a few days," Wen Ningxuan answered casually.

"Move to another courtyard? Where to?" Lin He asked, sounding somewhat reluctant.

Hearing Lin He's distinctly unwilling tone, Wen Ningxuan thought she was reluctant to move out of this specific courtyard. He smiled and said, "It’s just for a short while until the courtyard is fixed, then we’ll move back. We can rebuild that building however you want it shaped."

"Mm, I know. What I mean is, rather than moving to another courtyard here, why not move somewhere else entirely, since we have to move anyway?" Lin He looked at Wen Ningxuan and blinked.

Only then did Wen Ningxuan realize what this little woman was plotting. He smiled inwardly but maintained a calm expression, asking, "He'er doesn't want to stay in the family compound?"

"It's not that I don't want to, but I was thinking, since we have this free time, I’d like to go out and relax a bit. There have been too many things happening here recently, which is somewhat tiresome. Didn't you say you have another residence elsewhere? Why don't we go stay there for a while?" Lin He asked tentatively.

Seeing the expectant look on the woman before him, Wen Ningxuan chuckled softly and drew her into his embrace, gently stroking the hair at the back of her head. "He'er, if you wanted to go out and relax, you could just tell me directly; you didn't need to test me like this. I’ve told you before, if you feel unhappy living in the Wen compound, we can absolutely move out. Besides, that place is also our residence; if you want to go, of course, you can," he assured her.

"But will Grandmother and Father allow it?" Lin He asked, still uncertain.

"I’ll go tell them tomorrow morning. That place is still technically a Wen family residence; staying there occasionally won't cause anyone to object. Father also sent someone over just now; they said we should go to the main house tomorrow morning. Let's rest first, and we’ll go to the main house tomorrow. You have Ziqing and Ziyu pack our things early tomorrow morning, and we'll head to that residence in the afternoon," Wen Ningxuan said quietly.

Lin He immediately nodded upon hearing this. Thinking she could go out and enjoy a period of easy living, she felt incredibly happy. She smiled in Wen Ningxuan's embrace until her eyes curved, already imagining how comfortable life would be outside.

The next morning, Lin He was awakened by Ziyu, who reported that someone from Master Wen's side had arrived, summoning the Young Mistress and the Young Master to the main house.

Hearing this, Lin He dared not linger in bed. Under the care of Ziqing and Ziyu, she washed up, ate a simple breakfast, and then accompanied Wen Ningxuan to the residence of the Old Madam.