The old lady gave a cold smile.
"It can't be hidden. Ninth Sister is an unmarried, unengaged young girl, and also Third Sister's half-sister. The young master just had a son and then took a concubine, and now he's gone to the Prince's mansion to accompany Third Sister with a cold eye... Anyone with eyes can see what's going on! It's just that neither we nor the Prince's mansion want to expose it for the time being."
Mrs. He nodded silently.
All of this is already set in stone; we can only hope that Ninth Sister can come to terms with it and not get stuck in a rut.
******
An Ran was completely unaware of all this.
Despite their worries about San Niang these past few days, their lives have continued as usual. Apart from their morning and evening greetings, they go to study with Mr. He, learn the guqin from their master, and practice needlework.
However, these days, Seventh Sister has become much more restrained and has stopped arguing with her.
The reason was simple: when she went to pay her respects to Madam Zhao, Seventh Sister deliberately made a few sarcastic remarks to Anran. Normally, Anran would have given Seventh Sister a good scolding, and Seventh Sister would have been smug. But that day was strange; Madam Zhao was unusually lenient with Anran, while Seventh Sister was severely reprimanded.
Seventh Sister was bewildered and listened blankly before admitting her mistake.
Perhaps her stepmother was being kind to her because she had helped Third Sister! An Ran thought to herself.
Both Sixth Sister and Tenth Sister were clever. Seeing that their stepmother treated An Ran differently, they didn't dare to openly or secretly instigate Seventh Sister to bully An Ran.
What a rare moment of leisure and relaxation!
Mr. He gave the sisters a day off. After Anran and her sister went to pay their respects to the matriarch, the matriarch kept Anran behind alone.
"Last time we were going to let your son and daughter come in to see you, but then your third sister's incident happened, and it messed things up for you instead." The Grand Madam said to Anran with a kind face, "You and your brother haven't seen each other for many days."
The old lady specifically mentioned An Mu and An tide, which made An Ran feel somewhat flattered.
She naturally longed to see her younger brother and sister, but things were in chaos at her third aunt's place, so she couldn't bring up the meeting again and had to put it aside.
Judging from what the Grand Madam is saying, does she want Anxi and Anmu to come in and see her?
“It just so happens that Aunt Wu is going home today, so you can go with her.” The Grand Madam’s gaze softened as she looked at An Ran. She said gently, “I know you’re worried about the two children, so it’s good to see them for yourself.”
An Ran's heart immediately leaped with joy.
Indeed, rather than having An Xi and An Mu come to visit her at the manor, she would much rather see the place where the two of them lived with her own eyes. If the two children were to come to see her, they would be sensible and wouldn't say anything even if things weren't going well. Only by going in person could An Ran truly put her mind at ease.
"Thank you, Grandmother!" An Ran's beautiful eyes sparkled, and her heartfelt smile was even more touching than her usual gentle and sweet smile.
The old lady smiled even more kindly, as if she were just a grandmother who loved her granddaughter.
"Go back and pack your things. The car will be ready soon, and Aunt Wu will come to call you."
Anran left happily.
The Grand Madam is probably doing this to make up for not being able to see An Mu and An tide that day! No matter how you look at it, I've helped Third Sister, so the Grand Madam and my stepmother Zhao should look at me more favorably!
Back at Ningxue Courtyard, Anran hurriedly asked Cuiping and Jinping to help her rummage through her belongings to find the things she wanted to bring to Anmu and Anxi.
No sooner had she returned than Jianqiu from the Grand Madam's courtyard came in with two maids carrying some things.
"Sister Jianqiu!" Anran quickly stood up when she saw her arrive.
Jianqiu bowed to Anran, then said with a smile, "Ninth Miss, this is what the Grand Madam asked me to bring. She said you should take it with you when you go out, and give it to the young master and young lady."
As he spoke, he summoned two maids, among whom were many children's trinkets, but much more exquisite than those sold outside, as well as fabrics, jewelry for young girls, jade pendants for young men, and so on.
If all of these were given to An Mu and An tide by the Grand Madam, it's far too generous!
One should not refuse a gift from one's elders.
An Ran could only thank her and accept the gifts.
After seeing Jianqiu off, she was just wondering what was going on when she suddenly received news that Shi's mother had come.
Then, Shi's mother arrived with her entourage and presented Anran with a generous gift as well.
An Ran roughly calculated the value and concluded it was at least several hundred taels of silver. That's incredibly valuable!
An Ran felt uneasy about the series of generous gifts from the Grand Madam and Madam Zhao. Were they sending these things because they remembered that she had helped Third Sister?
Jinping and Cuiping were quite happy.
It's a good thing that our daughter is treated with such respect by the Dowager Madam and the Madam! They might even think our daughter is wonderful, which could improve the chances of her marriage to the Marquis of Pingyuan...
With these things delivered, An Ran didn't need to prepare anything herself. She had them all packed up, waiting for Wu's mother to come so she could load them into the car and take them to An tide and An Ze.
Mother Wu came to Ningxue Courtyard to visit Anran.
Cuiping and Qingxing went together, and the two of them, carrying bundles, sat in a carriage behind.
"Don't worry, young lady, your son and daughter are doing very well staying with us!" Mother Wu had a plump, round face, which made her seem very kind. "We have two good-for-nothing boys in our family, which will keep your son company."
She spoke politely, and An Ran quickly smiled and said, "Sister tide, Brother Mu, thank you for your trouble! We're afraid we'll be bothering you at your home, how could we be worried?"
Mrs. Wu smiled and said a few words that she couldn't bear the responsibility.
On the way there, knowing that An Ran was concerned about An tide and An Mu, Wu's mother told An Ran some things about the two of them. For example, An Mu went to school with her grandson, and An Xi learned needlework from her daughter-in-law at home.
An Ran listened very attentively.
Knowing that both of them were doing well, An Ran felt a little relieved. She really needed to see for herself to be at ease!
Fortunately, Wu's mother's home was not too far from the Marquis of Nan'an's residence.