The cannon fodder stepmother dressed as the villain Zai Zai

Shen Rulan had already figured out these things clearly.

She finally spotted the opportunity and pretended to be chatting and laughing with the ladies in the back garden.

Soon after, Xu Yaqin's figure slowly appeared.

Little Shengze also jumped next to her.

Shen Rulan's mind sank and she focused entirely on Xu Yaqin, not hearing what the lady next to her was talking about.

When all the concubines and wives saw Xu Yaqin arriving, everyone knew that her current status was extremely noble.

So every time, we would respectfully go up together, say hello to Mrs. Xu, say a few words, and then walk away with a fake smile.

Now, the ladies are sitting in groups in the stone pavilion in the back garden.

A few of the ladies who had some good intentions fanned the flames in Shen Rulan's ears and kept whispering:

"Mrs. Shen, seeing that Mrs. Xu's status in the Hou family is improving day by day, I'm afraid that the lives of us concubines will not be easy in the future."

"Mrs. Shen, you have to hide your temper in the future and behave well in front of Mrs. Xu. Otherwise, if she deliberately makes things difficult for you, you will inevitably suffer some hardships."

The other lady disagreed with her opinion, shook her head and said:

"I don't think so. Mrs. Xu feels very good. She treats people well and is gentle in every aspect. She has the temperament of a lady."

"It shouldn't be as small as you said. As long as we don't cause trouble and do our job well, Mrs. Xu shouldn't give us small shoes."

The lady clicked her tongue and made a sound.

His expression condensed and he continued:

"What do you know? As the saying goes, you know the person, the face, but not the heart."

"Do you really think Mrs. Xu is as good as you think? If that's the case, why would she be sent to this prince's mansion to be a concubine?"

"This..." The lady suddenly lost her words and was speechless.

"It seems to me that Mrs. Xu behaves like this on purpose so that she can stand out in front of the Marquis."

"Otherwise, how could our Lord Marquis think highly of her? In terms of figure, appearance, and virtuousness, how can our Madam Shen not compare to her?"

The lady just now suddenly thought of something, paused and then said calmly:

"Isn't that right? If Mrs. Xu hadn't coaxed the young master, and Mrs. Xu had helped solve the previous case of Butler Song."

"She has really done good things for our Marquis Mansion. Are you slandering and slandering here like a villain and judging a gentleman's belly with a villain's heart?"

The lady was obviously a little anxious and a little angry. She raised her voice and continued:

"Hey, where are you from?"

"I……"

Seeing the two ladies arguing became more and more lively.

At this time, Shen Rulan calmly looked around, glanced at the two of them, and showed an indifferent smile.

She interceded and said:

"Okay, we are all concubines in the Hou Mansion. We all need to live in harmony. Everyone can see what kind of person Mrs. Xu is, and there is no need to discuss it privately."

"If you have these skills, you might as well think about how to put more thought into the Marquis and make him happy. It is much better than gossiping behind the scenes and gossiping."

"Besides, if Mrs. Xu listens to these words, I think you two probably won't be able to eat and walk around."

After hearing Shen Rulan's words, the two meddlesome ladies shut up and stopped talking.

Instead, they talked about other topics about the Qingdu Marquis.

However, they are all short-sighted, mixed with gossip and interesting stories from various princes and nobles in Yandu City.

Shen Rulan has no intention of listening to this now.

On Xu Yaqin's side, she and Mrs. Zhu were sitting in another stone pavilion.

Although Xu Yaqin wants to get closer to the ladies in the house these days.

But judging from her overtures in the past few days, these ladies don't seem to be very interested in her.

Xu Yaqin also understands this. She is not the kind of person who is hot-faced but cold-butt. As long as everyone gets along well and doesn't cause any trouble, Xu Yaqin doesn't have any strict restrictions on them.

At the moment, the young master is also spreading his posture there.

Showing Xu Yaqin the latest set of boxing techniques that Lu Jingming taught him in the martial arts training ground.

"Duck, look, look."

Xu Yaqin looked at the little guy with interest.

After a period of training in the martial arts field, this posture has become more and more serious.

It does seem like there is some martial arts skills in it.

Xu Yaqin was sincerely happy for the little guy's progress.

They clapped in agreement.

After the little guy finished his boxing show, he drank some tea and ate some snacks.

One person started playing in the back garden.

Xu Yaqin and Mrs. Zhu sat in the stone pavilion, admiring the beautiful scenery in the back garden, and their mood gradually became cheerful.

Xu Yaqin started talking as if nothing had happened.

She asked Mrs. Zhu who was sitting next to her:

"Mrs. Zhu, why are you always in the room these days? You seem to be busy with something?"

Mrs. Zhu did not hide the pinch and smiled lightly.

Then he took out a handkerchief from his body and handed it to Xu Yaqin respectfully.

"Mrs. Xu, I have nothing to do these days, so I just wanted to embroider a handkerchief for Mrs. Xu."

"I just finished embroidering this a few days ago. I was planning to send it to you, Mrs. Xu. Now it's just a coincidence. So, Mrs. Xu, can you see if it suits your liking?"

handkerchief……

Xu Yaqin's expression changed slightly, and she picked it up and took a closer look.

Although she didn't have much research on this embroidery, she looked at it from a layman's point of view.

She looked at the two mandarin ducks embroidered on the handkerchief, and the texture of the handkerchief, which seemed to be of the highest quality.

She also smiled for a moment, looked up in surprise and asked:

"Mrs. Zhu, I didn't expect you to have such skills."

Mrs. Zhu couldn't understand what Xu Yaqin meant for a moment. She frowned slightly and asked word by word:

"Mrs. Xu, isn't this embroidery a skill that women like us should have learned in the first place? Madam, you don't need to make such a fuss."

"Oh, really? I almost forgot, haha."

Xu Yaqin smiled awkwardly.

It seems that she has brought herself into it a little bit. She knows nothing about these things.

But these wealthy ladies are very proficient in embroidery and other things.

After all, this is also ancient times.

So it is understandable that Mrs. Zhu has such skills.

Xu Yaqin put the handkerchief away with satisfaction.

This is the first time someone has given her a gift since she came to the Qingdu Marquis Mansion.

Therefore, Xu Yaqin still felt a little excited in her heart.

She raised her head with a smile on her face and expressed her heartfelt thanks to the always docile Mrs. Zhu in front of her:

"Thank you, Mrs. Zhu, since you gave me a gift, I will definitely give you a gift too."

"I haven't decided what to give you yet. I'll give you a surprise after I think about it."

After hearing this, Mrs. Zhu looked slightly ugly.

She waved her hands hurriedly and said hesitantly:

"There's no need for this, Mrs. Xu. The reason why I gave you a handkerchief is to express my gratitude to you."