The atmosphere indoors abruptly turned strange. "If it weren't for Mother, even a hundred words wouldn't be enough," Qi Yue smiled, picking up a piece of deep-fried puffed tofu with her chopsticks to change the subject.

"Mother, please try this dish." Madam Xie neither accepted nor rejected it lightly. "I don't like this," she stated.

Qi Yue’s hand, halfway to moving the dish, froze awkwardly. What a joke—if she didn't like it, why would the kitchen prepare it?

"Yes, this daughter-in-law didn't know," Qi Yue set it back down with a smile. "Then, what does Mother like?" Madam Xie didn't even lift her eyelids.

"You don't even know what I like to eat; you haven't put in enough effort," she said coolly. Got it.

"Yes, this daughter-in-law will try harder. Mother, please give me a chance?" Qi Yue chuckled.

Madam Xie lowered her chopsticks and looked up at her. "Then I'll tell you the first thing," she said.

"I enjoy tranquility and cannot bear noise, especially your constant smiling and laughing; it irritates me just to look at you." Qi Yue wanted to roll her eyes. It wasn't seeing her smile that bothered Mother; it was seeing her agitated...

"Yes," Qi Yue suppressed her smile. "Thank you for your guidance, Mother." Madam Xie looked at her.

"The way you are now, looking so wronged, as if I’m the one causing you distress," she frowned. Qi Yue switched to a gentle smile.

"Mother, perhaps we should eat first. After the meal, Mother can instruct me?

Because this daughter-in-law is dull and might delay Mother's mealtime," she said with a hint of a smile. "Seeing you like this spoils my appetite," Madam Xie sighed.

The surrounding maids stood silently with lowered heads, striving to appear invisible. "How about this," Madam Xie finally said.

"Since you have the intention, I shouldn't refuse you. Su Mama." She called out.

Su Mama entered from outside. "She used to be an Imperial Protocol Official in the palace; she is intimately familiar with deportment and etiquette.

Why don't you go learn from her?" Madam Xie said to Qi Yue. "Of course, don't make it difficult for her." "It won't be difficult," Qi Yue replied with a smile, walking over to Su Mama.

"Then I must trouble Su Mama." Su Mama laughed, saying she dared not, and extended a hand in invitation, leading Qi Yue out. Only then did Madam Xie pick up her chopsticks, wearing a smile of contentment.

If you want to play the part, I will indulge you; you brought this upon yourself. "Give me this fried sparrow," she commanded.

A nearby maid quickly served her. Qi Yue returned to her room late into the night.

She collapsed onto the bed. "What's wrong?" Chang Yuncheng hurried over to ask, sitting down beside her.

Seeing him sit, A'ru quickly withdrew with the maids. "My face is tired..." Qi Yue mumbled.

Chang Yuncheng reached out to pull her. "Come here, let me rub it for you," he said.

Qi Yue remained still. "Mother is willing to teach you; this is her kindness..." Chang Yuncheng hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Qi Yue laughed, turned over, and sat leaning against him. Chang Yuncheng happily pulled her close into his embrace.

"Don't worry, I know. I won't casually show Mother a sour face," Qi Yue said, lifting her head to kiss the stubble on his jaw.

"You know me, and I know you; there is no real grievance between us." Chang Yuncheng lowered his head and kissed her lips. This time, it wasn't a storm, but a gentle breeze and fine rain; only after a long while did Qi Yue suddenly pull away.

Chang Yuncheng, who was deeply enjoying the moment, was interrupted and displeased, reaching out to pull the woman back. "I forgot to tell you, I plan to perform surgery on Yan'er tomorrow.

Go tell her to fast in the morning." Qi Yue quickly stood up. "The maids can handle such a task," Chang Yuncheng pulled her hand, and with a slight exertion, she ended up sitting down heavily on his lap.

Qi Yue pressed down on his shoulders. "No, this kind of thing scares everyone, young or old, making them lose sleep.

I must talk to them properly, or the patient's psychological pressure will be too great," she explained. Chang Yuncheng looked at her and kissed her again.

Just as Qi Yue was about to dodge, Chang Yuncheng had already stepped away and stood up. "Come, I'll accompany you," he said.

Qi Yue smiled and let him pull her out. How many people in the manor slept well and how many did not, hidden within the layers of night, no one knew.

Just as dawn was breaking, the gatekeeper heard the sound of carriages and horses outside the gate. The Marquis's courtyard rarely saw such commotion, especially so early.

The gatekeeper yawned and pulled open the side gate, freezing instantly after just one glance. "...Steward..." The gatekeeper slammed the gate shut and hurried inside.

Marquis Dingxi was hastily summoned from the room of his concubine, Su Mei, listening to the steward's report from behind the curtain. "...Not many people arrived, only Old Master Liu and the son-in-law," he reported.

"I have seated them in the reception hall..." Hearing no response from within, he added a supplementary detail, realizing something. "Because the young master was recently born, I kept all the Liu family attendants at the gatehouse," he explained.

This meant only the father and son were let in; they were alone and perfectly safe. "That old fool dares to come here?

I hadn't even gone to settle accounts with him, and he delivers himself to my door!" Marquis Dingxi muttered angrily from inside while urging Su Mei to dress him quickly. Marquis Dingxi entered the reception hall and immediately saw the elder seated in the guest of honor’s seat.

This elder was about sixty, with a solemn face and upright posture. His white hair was neatly coiled in a topknot, his beard perfectly aligned; even his breathing seemed not to stir a single strand.

Standing beside him was a man whose expression and attire seemed copied directly from the elder's mold, despite standing. A stuffy scholar!

Marquis Dingxi cursed inwardly. Previously, merely hearing the name of this in-law gave him a headache.

Now, with his daughter-in-law backing him—no, wait, now that he held leverage over the old man—it wasn't so overwhelming, but meeting him still felt stifling. These two Confucian pedants would surely taint the elegant atmosphere of his reception hall.

Marquis Dingxi strode in, his face grim. Old Master Liu rose and exchanged courtesies with him with meticulous precision.

Marquis Dingxi had no choice but to return the gesture just as formally. It wasn't fear of the old man, but the waste of time.

Lest the elder start nagging about improper conduct and lack of etiquette, calling it disrespect not just to him, but to the Sacred Teachings, to Confucius, and even to the Emperor... rambling on about a mess of things.

He just wanted some peace and quiet. After the father finished his bows, Liu Chengyang began paying respects to his father-in-law.

"Enough, enough, stop with this false courtesy," Marquis Dingxi was not so polite to a junior, glaring and snorting. "If you truly want to be courteous to me, then treat my daughter and granddaughter well!" Liu Chengyang remained silent, completed his obeisance with rigorous exactitude, and retreated behind his father.

Marquis Dingxi’s fierce words landed like a punch on cotton, feeling unsatisfying. "Marquis, your statement is inaccurate," Old Master Liu spoke up.

With his father present, it naturally wasn't the son's turn to speak. "Inaccurate?

Liu, one of your servants dared to bully my daughter—and I saw it with my own eyes! Who knows what else happened that I didn't see!" Marquis Dingxi decided to seize the moral high ground, speaking loudly with feigned indignation.

"Nothing happened that the Marquis didn't see. As for what he didn't see, it simply did not exist," Old Master Liu stated sternly.

"Bah! You say it, and it's true?" Marquis Dingxi retorted angrily.

"Look at what my daughter wears and possesses! She's worse off than a servant girl!" Old Master Liu’s expression remained solemn.

"My Liu family are scholars; we do not farm or live by manual labor, eating without working. Naturally, we must be more frugal," he said, looking at Marquis Dingxi.

"It is regrettable that the young lady has been wronged compared to the wealth and luxury of the Marquis's residence." Marquis Dingxi’s gaze fell upon the father and son; indeed, they were dressed less richly than even his own steward... Bah!

That old man is doing this deliberately! "Wronged!

Deeply wronged! Tell me, how did your family mistreat and neglect my daughter over the years!

Don't think I don't know!" Marquis Dingxi snorted, deliberately not engaging with the previous statement. Old Master Liu regarded him.

"Chunlan has been married for seven years and has only returned home three times: for her first return visit after marriage, for her grandmother's funeral, and for this current visit. I always assumed it was because Chunlan was devoted to her in-laws and reluctant to leave.

It seems, however, that the Marquis holds resentment towards my family, which caused this," he said, standing up to bow to Marquis Dingxi, while Liu Chengyang followed suit. "If Chunlan suffered any daily grievances, as her father-in-law, I am inferior to the Marquis.

Since she never told me herself, please, tell me yourself." Marquis Dingxi was momentarily struck dumb. Indeed, his daughter had been married seven years and returned three times; he hadn't even seen her on those occasions.

How could he know if she was suffering? Besides, why should her suffering concern him?

This pedantic old man! Marquis Dingxi glared at Old Master Liu, who maintained his solemn expression, resembling the likeness of the Master of Sacred Learning hanging in the room.

"Liu Pingyun, setting aside other grievances for now, why did you separate that mother and daughter?..." Marquis Dingxi intended to say Yan'er’s name but realized at that moment he didn't even know his granddaughter's name, causing his tongue to slip. "...The child was so young; weren't you trying to force them apart?" Old Master Liu looked at him, his expression unchanged.

"Why like that?" He only spoke those three words. Marquis Dingxi felt an urge to slap himself.

Why was he always being trapped by his own words when dealing with this stubborn old man? It was all the fault of this old man, just like the tutor his grandfather hired for him long ago.

That tutor always maintained a rigid face, never punishing, never scolding, never even tapping his ruler, just emitting a slight 'harrumph' from his nostrils while looking at him with eyes that implied he was useless, making him wish he could shrink into the floor and never show his face again. This experience left a lasting shadow, causing his legs to tremble and his palms to sweat whenever he met such a person.

This is why the normally eloquent and quick-witted Marquis suddenly became so clumsy! Marquis Dingxi looked at the father and son; Old Master Liu looked back at him.

A moment of silence settled in the room. The steward, listening intently outside the door, had heard the Marquis speaking loudly.

Although the speech was punctuated by pauses, the Marquis sounded full of confidence, and the steward expected him to soon erupt in righteous fury. Instead, he heard sudden laughter from the main hall.

Laughter... "...Cousin, have you eaten yet?

You've arrived so early; you probably haven't eaten... Steward...

Steward..." Watching the young servant lead the Liu father and son away to dine, Marquis Dingxi lightly dabbed sweat from his brow with a handkerchief, then turned to see the steward staring at him. "What are you still looking at!" He instantly felt his face flush.

"Hurry up and invite the Young Mistress here!" Invite the Young Mistress? In such a situation, shouldn't the invitation have gone to the Marquis’s wife, Madam Xie?

Marquis Dingxi noticed the oddity of his own command. "That old man will surely try to twist the logic again later!

The Young Mistress is a physician; let her explain things, then see what else the old man has to say!" he declared sharply. Understood!

So the in-law was being sophistical, and the Marquis couldn't argue against him! The steward acknowledged with a "Yes" and hurried off.

"Quickly, quickly tell the Young Mistress to come..." He called out, then immediately slapped his own mouth. "...Quickly invite the Young Mistress..."