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Madam Xiao sat back down into her chair, glanced at Lin Yuan, and forced a smile, saying, "Are you talking about the matter of that concubine?"

Concubine? Lin Yuan understood immediately, having deciphered Madam Xiao’s attitude from her words. Since she already referred to her as a concubine, it seemed she had agreed to let Shopkeeper Xiao bring that woman into the household.

In fact, although men here could have multiple wives and concubines, ethically, the main wife was still protected. If the legal wife did not consent, the husband could not arbitrarily take a concubine into the household and would at most have to buy an exterior residence to keep her.

That was why Shopkeeper Xiao had not dared to bring that woman into the house before, even though she had already borne him a son.

But now things were different. Madam Xiao had given her consent, so naturally, that woman could be brought into the household.

With a smile, Madam Xiao either truly had come to terms with it or had resigned herself, as she murmured softly, "He even dared to steal silver, if I didn’t agree, would I really have driven him to suicide?"

Her quiet murmur left Lin Yuan feeling stifled in her chest. Perhaps in Shopkeeper Xiao’s view, Madam Xiao might not be considered beautiful and her temper was extremely explosive, but one thing was indisputable: this woman truly loved him, even willing to forgo her own last line of defense to bring her rival into the household. Such a woman was not easy to come by.

After seeing Madam Xiao off, Lin Yuan shook her head repeatedly, unable to calm her emotions for a long time.

Just as she was about to turn back to the restaurant, she suddenly felt as if someone was watching her with ill intentions.

She didn’t turn to see who was behind the gaze; it was just some women from the Capital city who were probably envious of her.

She heard that Yao Hanai and Su Qiuyu had mostly recovered from their illnesses.

Hidden tightly behind a window in a nearby teahouse, Cheng Yuexiu didn’t dare reveal herself until Lin Yuan had entered Yi Ran Residence. She spat on the ground and cursed under her breath, "Such bad luck, to bump into her even when I just happen to be out!"

The servant girl Ah Ling hurriedly closed the window and, once sure that Lin Yuan hadn’t spotted them, let out a sigh of relief and whispered, "Miss, you’ve just recovered, you must not get angry.

Isn’t Lin Yuan just a village girl? In the future, we’ll simply ignore her.

If we see her, we’ll just avoid her. It’s not worth lowering ourselves to speak to a village girl! "

Even though avoiding Lin Yuan might seem embarrassing, Cheng Yuexiu was quite pleased with the escape Ah Ling had provided and nodded, "Yes, even if she is the darling of Young Master Xia, it doesn’t change her status as a village girl!

From now on, if we see her, we’ll take another route.

There’s no need to talk to this little village girl! "

Ah Ling nodded and heartily agreed.

Though she acted indifferent, Cheng Yuexiu’s heart was filled with regret, churning almost greenly.

Unnecessarily falling ill had caused trouble for Su Qiuyu and led to a scolding from Prime Minister Su.

Now, she had completely missed her chance to cling to Su Qiuyu.

If she had inquired about Lin Yuan’s background before acting, she might have already allied with Lin Yuan and wouldn’t be hiding now.

Feeling irritable, Cheng Yuexiu couldn’t help but stand and pace the room, peering outside, "Go check if Young Master Ma has come today. Didn’t he say he likes this teahouse’s Biluochun tea the most? Why hasn’t he shown up after waiting so long today?"

"Yes, Miss," replied Ah Ling as she hurried out the door.

Through the slightly ajar door, Cheng Yuexiu also looked out anxiously. Ever since the day she accidentally saw the handsome and suave Ma Junying, her heart had been restless.

While the women of the Capital city were eyeing Xia Zheng, she felt Xia Zheng was too sharp and unapproachable. In contrast, a gentlemanly man like Ma Junying was her ideal of a perfect lover.

On the second day of the second month—the Dragon Head Raising Day—the grand stores are full, and the small ones overflow.

It is said that on this day, many people would add the title "dragon" to the names of their food.

However, because the Emperor is referred to as the "True Dragon," the common people naturally dared not do such a thing.

They would only offer up the best portion of their food at home to pledge their loyalty and pray for a bumper grain harvest and filled granaries in the coming year.

And on this day was also the final selection of the embroidery ladies at the Red Smoke Pavilion.

Since Lin Wei was participating in the competition, the Lin family members got up early and took the horse-drawn carriage to the teahouse right across from the Red Smoke Pavilion.

The Red Smoke Pavilion’s selection of embroidery ladies is one of the annual grand events in the Capital city, the number of onlookers alone could be seen from the opposite teahouse.

The teahouse owner saw the business opportunity and had sealed off the elegant rooms on the second and third floors early on, only offering them to the wealthy and noble.

Xia Zheng had managed to reserve a room thanks to his status; otherwise, the Lin family would only have to squeeze with others on the busy streets.

The final competition required participants to embroider a finished product within two hours, according to a topic given by Madam Cheng. Therefore, these two hours were filled with intense competition against time.

Lady Liu was worried Lin Wei might be hungry and prepared a large table of food for her.

Lin Yuan, although she didn’t express it, was actually also quite worried.

Before, the sisters had always acted together.

Today’s competition was probably the first time Lin Wei had to face something alone as she has grown up.

As the eldest sister, Lin Yuan felt both heartache and worry.

"Come, have some soup dumplings."

"Stop drinking porridge, having to rush to the bathroom later could affect your performance."

"This pancake is too oily, better to have a steamed bun instead!"

It was rare to see Lin Yuan babbling away, and Lin Wei couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

The family chatted and laughed together, which helped Lin Wei feel less nervous. Mid-conversation, Tian Xuan followed Madam Tian and also came in.

Madam Tian was one of the closest friends Lady Liu had made since coming to the Capital city. Moreover, since both their daughters were participating in the competition that day, they had agreed to share a room.

With ladies present, Lin Jiaxin no longer found it convenient to stay longer.

He encouraged Lin Wei and then went back to the manor to continue his painting.

Lin Yuan had a special wedding gift prepared for Tian Hui, which naturally could not be disclosed to others.

After much consideration, she entrusted Lin Jiaxin with the drawing, asking him to carve the floral plumes on the edge of a mirror.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Red Smoke Pavilion, a large stage had been erected.

In the center of the stage, twenty embroidery frames were arranged in five rows and four columns, each equipped with identical embroidery cloth, threads, and needles.

On one side of the stage, six chairs were arranged, presumably for Madam Cheng and a few embroidery ladies.

After about two hours, several individuals finally emerged from the Red Smoke Pavilion, naturally led by Madam Cheng, the owner of the establishment.

She remained dignified and composed, with a faint smile on her lips, which today appeared to be healthier, perhaps because she had worn a little makeup.

Behind her followed a young and handsome man, his face showing a trace of reluctance. Seeing this man, Lin Yuan’s eyes brightened.