Chapter 72: The Xie Estate Receives Guests (5)

  Yao Cun Jia nodded, gratefully glanced at Yao Cun Hui, and the two sisters followed their mother, accompanied by maids, walking out of the mansion together.

  Fortunately, Yao Cun Hui was a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner and paid great attention to health preservation. She also insisted on exercising regularly, otherwise she would have been exhausted from running back and forth. Now, after just a while, she regained her composure and calmed down.

  Two sisters hurried away, and halfway through, a young girl suddenly rushed out from the side, holding a tray in her hand, with a teapot on it, almost colliding with Yao Cun Jia.

  Everyone couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

  Yao Cun's quick eyes and hands flashed, blocking Yao Cun Jia in front of her, a pot of tea water poured all over her body, dripping wet.

  In the crisp sound of porcelain hitting the ground, Xiao Yatou's face turned pale with fright, and she hastily knelt down, crying and kowtowing to beg for mercy. Rong Ma, Hong Lian, and others exclaimed in surprise, rushed forward to support Yao Cunhui, and scolded the little maid angrily.

  "Hui'er, are you hurt?!" Yao Cun Jia's heart also tightened, and he hurried over.

  "Big sister, are you okay?" Yao Cunhui also quickly checked Yao Cunjia's clothes and let out a sigh of relief when she saw that everything was fine.

  "The tea is cold, I'm fine, sister you go first, I'll change my clothes and talk later! Hurry up, sister!" Yao Cunhui hastily said: "If we don't go, Mrs. Xie will arrive soon!" Yao Cunhui whispered a few more words to Yao Cunjia, urging him to hurry up.

  Yao Cun Jia gritted his teeth, gave the maid a glance, and looked at Yao Cun Hui with complex emotions. He nodded and said "uh-huh" before leaving with Green Lotus and others accompanying him. Green Lotus and others didn't dare to slack off, fearing that something similar would happen again, and they didn't dare to relax even for a moment along the way.

  The little girl on the ground was still crying miserably, saying that she was just about to take the teapot and tea cups from Mrs.'s place to the small kitchen to wash them, but unexpectedly collided with Second Miss, begging Second Miss for mercy!

  "Alright, stop crying," Yao Cunhui said with a faint smile: "It's just a collision, what's the fuss about? It's not that serious, is it? Aunt Rong, remember to tell Mother later that I was careless and bumped into this little girl, and I'll pay for this set of tea sets! What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and clean up. Today, a very important guest is coming to the mansion, if you keep crying and making a fuss, you'll disturb the guest, do you think Master and Mistress will forgive you?"

  Xiao Yatou was taken aback, not expecting Yao Cunhui to let her off so easily and take the blame on herself. She was further startled by Yao's next words and turned pale, saying "Thank you, Second Miss!" before hastily stopping her tears and scrambling to get up.

  "Be more careful in the future, offending the master will result in punishment!" Yao Cunhui smiled and led Yao Shizan, Rong Ma, Hong Lian and others back to Luomei Courtyard.

  This dress has become like this, and it's impossible for me to go receive Mrs. Xie now.

  Yao Cunhui secretly sighed, in this mansion, one can't even relax for half a moment. The tricks of the Madam Ma are really unpredictable! If it wasn't for herself rushing to the main courtyard and receiving the information quietly passed on by Fourth Aunt, today's urgent carelessness would have indeed fallen into Madam Ma's trap.

  At that time, she and her sister were eager to rush out of the house to welcome Mrs. Xie, who would have thought of being on guard against others?

  "Second Miss, you're too kind-hearted! That little girl," Mother Rong glanced at Hongzhi and said, "is obviously doing it on purpose!"

  "Who hasn't had a moment of negligence? I'm a big sister, why bother arguing with a little girl?" Yao Cunhui smiled tolerantly.

  The little girl was intentionally doing it, not only did she intentionally bump into him, but also intentionally cried out loudly for mercy, as if she couldn't wait to make a big deal out of the situation. Who did she want to show off to? The answer is obvious. How could she fulfill that person's wishes?

  She would let a little maid do things for her, wouldn't she use the opportunity to turn the tables? Not only did she calm things down and take responsibility, but also had to teach that little maid a lesson. Today, if she just bumped into her, it was already an impolite collision with the master. If she didn't let her off, and they made a scene in front of Mrs. Ma and Mrs. Xie, who would be blamed and punished in the end? It would definitely be her! Who told her to be so impudent and collide with the master? In front of outsiders, Mrs. Ma had to save face, she must maintain this "daughter"! And this "daughter" was not easy to get along with, at least in public, she already had a reputation for being arrogant and unruly. If her younger sister was like that, what would her older sister be like?

  As for what Xiaoyao thought in her heart after hearing her reminder, that's none of our business.

  Back at the Luomei Courtyard, Hongzhi hurriedly called for Xiaoxing to fetch water to help Yao Cunhui clean up. Honglian and Rongma were busy finding her a set of clean clothes to change into. By the time they finished all this commotion, the time to welcome Mrs. Xie had already passed.

  Rong's mother unconsciously furrowed her brow and let out a soft sigh. To say that today was also her oversight, she didn't think that Madam Ma would do such a thing!

  Yao Cunhui called Yao Shizan over, and the two siblings whispered to each other for a while. Then Yao Cunhui smiled and said: "Rong Ma, Hongzhi, come with me and Zan'er to the main courtyard. Let Honglian stay behind to guard the house. By now, Xie Furen must have arrived at the main courtyard, let's go directly!"

  "This, Second Miss, won't this be a bit...?" Hongzhi couldn't help but hesitate and say.

  "Is it okay if I just don't go?" Yao Cunhui smiled and said: "Although it's a bit late, it's still better than not going at all!"

  "Miss Two said so." Mother Rong also said so. Fortunately, nothing went wrong with Big Sister, and with Big Sister around, she could always cover up for One and Two.

  Yao Cunhui smiled and took Yao Shizan with him, master and servant went over together.

  Meanwhile, Madam Ma had already received Mrs. Xie with Yao Cun Jia, Yao Cun Mei and Ma Qun Fang, and they were chatting in the main hall of the main courtyard.

  Mrs. Xie, in her early forties, looked extremely well-preserved, and the scenic beauty of Jiangnan had added to her youthful appearance. Her skin was fair and smooth, with regular features and a dignified demeanor. Her eyes were warm and gentle, like water, and she spoke with a subtle smile. She was very polite and courteous, exuding an air of refinement. She wore a pale purple embroidered camellia flower patterned silk blouse with large sleeves, which was quite elegant.

  "Thank you, Mrs. Xie, for your hard work on the road! Was the journey smooth?" After sitting down for a moment, the maid brought tea over, and Madam Ma asked with a smile.

  "Hehe, most of the time we took water routes, it was pretty good." Mrs. Xie replied with a polite smile, her eyes sweeping over Yao Cun Jia's face, looking very satisfied.

  "Oh dear, it's only you southerners who talk like that. If I were in your shoes, I'd be seasick and who knows what state I'd be in! But Mrs. Xie looks well, both in spirit and complexion!" Madam Ma said with a deliberate tone.

  Mrs. Xie was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "A boat in the south and a horse in the north, indeed it is so."

  "Hey, horses are even worse off, I can only take a car!" Ma said with a smile.

  Mrs. Xie didn't know what to say, so she just smiled politely and took a sip of tea to cover up her embarrassment. She was secretly puzzled by this relative's wife, who kept talking about boats and cars all the time.

  Mrs. Xie didn't know that Mrs. Ma came from a humble background, and her style of treating people was like this. As the saying goes, "birds of a feather flock together", the madams who got along with her were also on a similar level. There were hardly any ladies from aristocratic families like Mrs. Xie who looked down on her, and they rarely had any dealings with each other.

  Ma's heart was filled with inferiority, seeing Xie's wife's demeanor and temperament, her elegant and dignified manner, she subconsciously felt nervous and flustered, and when speaking, she became incoherent and unthinking.

  Yao Cun Jia sat quietly with a hint of a smile, her hands tightening and loosening the silk handkerchief in her lap. She was anxious inside, being a junior and this being her first time meeting her future mother-in-law, Mrs. Ma. As Mrs. Ma didn't take the initiative to break the ice, Yao Cun Jia couldn't bring herself to speak with Mrs. Xie. Listening to Mrs. Ma's bland and insipid words, Yao Cun Jia could only secretly lament.

  "Madam, Second Miss and Young Master have arrived!" Qiu Yue reported as she came in.

  "What took you so long to arrive? Hurry up and let them in!" Madam Ma raised an eyebrow, instructing with a smile, while apologizing to Mrs. Xie, but feeling a sense of relief in her heart.

  Xie's husband smiled and said "it doesn't matter", but in his heart, he had another opinion about Ma: treating one's own daughter like this in front of guests was really a bit...

  Mrs. Xie thought to herself: The first lady, Yun, left early, and these sisters all grew up under the guidance of Mrs. Ma, I wonder if their behavior and temperament are...

  "Mother!" Yao Cunhui led Yao Shizan in, her eyes lightly turning, a smile on her face. She went forward and bowed to Madam Ma, saying: "My daughter has been delayed, please forgive me, Mother!" Then she turned to Madame Xie and bowed with a smile, saying: "I'm late, I apologize for my rudeness, please forgive me, Aunt!"

  Mrs. Xie smiled and apologized, but Mrs. Ma's face turned slightly dark as she scolded in a low voice: "How can you be so rude? You're the one who came late, hurry up and sit down!" She then repeatedly apologized to Mrs. Xie.

  This time, not to mention Mrs. Xie, even the nanny and the big girl standing behind her were stunned: Who has a mother scolding her daughter in front of guests? The young lady of a wealthy family is so proud, how can she suffer this humiliation? Moreover, Mrs. Yao actually still didn't let the girls formally meet her, introduce themselves to her, and the gift for meeting her was still on their bodies!

  "Yes, Mother." Yao Cunhui was taken aback for a moment, and a slightly helpless expression flashed in her eyes. She smiled softly and obediently, not daring to argue back. Her gaze shifted, and she gave Mrs. Xie an apologetic smile.

  Mrs. Xie smiled with kindness and couldn't help but feel a little sympathy: it's really hard to put good children in the care of their stepmother! These two kids look fine, but who knows what their true nature is like?

  "Mother," Yao Shizan let go of Yao Cunhui's hand and also went forward to pay respects to Madam Ma and Mrs. Xie, then turned to Madam Ma and said seriously: "It was all Zan'er's fault, when drinking the medicine he accidentally knocked over the medicine bowl and stained Second Sister's clothes, which is why Second Sister couldn't make it on time, please don't blame Second Sister, it has nothing to do with her." That slightly childish yet sincere and honest attitude made Madam Ma feel a surge of anger in her heart, and she couldn't help but grit her teeth secretly: This child is already so big, and he knows how to oppose me!