Return to the Wei Residence?

Xu Xi was quite polite and stood up when Lady Wei entered.

At this moment, she stepped forward, bowed respectfully to Lady Wei, and greeted her, "Second Madam."

Upon hearing Xu Xi call Lady Wei that, the First Madam was taken aback, and then almost burst out laughing. She quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief, coughed lightly, and concealed her expression.

Seeing that Lady Wei Gao Xing, and fearing that another argument would escalate and expose the already agitated First Madam, the old lady quickly asked Lady Wei, "What brings you here?"

Lady Wei then shifted her attention. "Madam, I wanted to ask, tomorrow is the ten-day holiday. You said you were going to celebrate with Miss Xi and Miss Yu, why haven't we made any plans yet?"

Both of her daughters were admitted to the Women's Academy. Although Lady Wei was not close to them, she was never going to let go of any opportunity to show off. She had been looking forward to it for a long time.

At first, the old lady said to hold a banquet directly, but later she said to wait until the two children were on their ten-day break. But now the day is almost here, and the kitchen has not received any instructions to buy vegetables or prepare a menu. The other servants have not heard any orders to tidy up and decorate the hall, so Lady Wei came over to inquire.

The old lady and the first lady had already discussed this issue.

Hearing her ask this, the old lady calmly replied, "Miss Yu has been admitted to the Capital Women's Academy, Miss Xi's admission to the Beining Women's Academy is not far off. This is no ordinary honor, and it certainly deserves a grand celebration. However, the Marquis is currently away on official business. With him away, it's not easy to hold a banquet. He will be back in a few days, so let's set the date for the next ten-day break. That way, we can proceed more leisurely and without any rush."

Upon hearing this, Lady Wei glanced at the First Madam subconsciously. Seeing that the First Madam seemed somewhat unwell, she did not suspect anything.

She didn't care much about Zhao Yuanxun's whereabouts, but she did know something about his position.

Zhao Yuanxun entered the Five Cities Military Command. Although the Five Cities Military Command was under the Ministry of War of War, it was responsible for patrolling the capital to arrest thieves, dredging streets and ditches, and handling matters such as prisoners and fire prevention. It was equivalent to a modern comprehensive urban management and law enforcement bureau. Moreover, the Five Cities Military Command was not one government office, but five government offices.

Zhao Yuanxun held a nominal position, a sinecure, but he occasionally had some work to do; otherwise, the court officials wouldn't stand for him receiving a salary for nothing. This sinecure meant he didn't have to go to the government offices regularly. However, every month he had to travel to five different offices to collect documents and reports, which he then submitted to the Ministry of War. Since the offices were far apart and the work was plentiful, he simply didn't return home and stayed at the offices, thus each trip lasting three or four days.

Because Zhao Yuanxun was in poor health and could not exert himself, yet he did not want to be an idle person, he insisted on doing this job. Every time he went out, the First Madam was worried, fearing that he would not eat or sleep well while away from home, and that his health would deteriorate upon his return, requiring a long period of recuperation to recover.

It would be inappropriate for the Marquis's residence to host a banquet if the Marquis, the male head of the household, was not present.

Lady Wei had no way to refute this reason.

She thought for a moment, then said, "My parents heard that I've found my biological daughter and want to see Miss Xi. Since there's no banquet tomorrow, I might as well take her back to her maternal grandparents and uncles to pay her respects and get to know her family."

Fearing the old lady wouldn't agree, she brought up Wei's father again. "As you know, my father is very busy with official business. Tomorrow is his day off, and he'll have half a day at home, which is a good opportunity for Miss Xi to see him. Otherwise, I don't know when we'd get a chance."

They had just announced that there would be no banquet tomorrow. This excuse from Lady Wei made it difficult for the old lady to refuse.

It's only natural for grandparents to want to see their granddaughter. If she doesn't allow it, who knows what kind of reputation Lady Wei will ruin for her.

However, dealing with the Wei Family wouldn't be a big deal. After all, the Wei Family wouldn't dare to detain Xu Xi or prevent her from returning, or even harm her. Going there wouldn't hurt.

Just as the old lady was about to agree, Xu Xi said, "Second Madam, it's really unfortunate. The wife of the Heir Apparent of the Duke of Duke of Ying, the Princess of County Princess of Qingyang, is opening her jewelry shop in a couple of days. She likes the jewelry designs I drew and has already asked me to help her during my ten-day holiday. I asked the old lady last night if she had anything to do at home during her holiday, and I already agreed to the County Princess of Qingyang's request this morning."

Upon hearing this, the First Madam, who was standing anxiously to the side, brightened up and immediately asked, "County Princess of Qingyang? Is she the one born to the Princess of Zhennan, who later married the heir of the Duke of Ying?"

"Yes." Xu Xi gave the understanding First Madam an approving look.

"Since you've already agreed, wouldn't it be impolite not to go? Our family can't afford to offend the Prince of Zhennan's Residence and the Duke of Ying's Residence." The First Madam gave Lady Wei a meaningful look. "I'm sure your in-laws will understand if they hear about this."

The Prince of Zhennan and the Duke of Ying were both favorites of the Emperor, and even the highest officials dared not disrespect them, let alone Wei's father, a mere third-rank official.

Lady Wei's expression was very unpleasant.

Her father was a power-hungry official who loved to scheme. If what Xu Xi said was true, then when Xu Xi went to the Wei Residence, she inadvertently offended the Prince of Zhennan's Residence and the Duke of Ying's Residence. Her father would definitely blame her and would not be Gao Xing that Xu Xi put them before the County Princess of Qingyang.

The Duke of Ying's Residence wasn't anything special, but the Princess of Zhennan doted on this daughter more than her own eyes.

Originally, Lady Wei intended to arrange a marriage for Xu Xi. She wanted to betroth Xu Xi to her nephew from her maternal family. However, this marriage could not be proposed without a reason, as neither the Wei Residence nor the Marquis of Suiping's Residence would agree. Therefore, she had to take Xu Xi back to her maternal family home so that the people from the Wei Residence could meet Xu Xi and give her a reason to bring up this matter with the Old Madam and the First Madam.

But this plan is likely to fall through.

She asked Xu Xi, "How does Miss Xi know the County Princess of Qingyang?"

Xu Xi smiled, "She is my calligraphy teacher."

Lady Wei was speechless.

Feeling unwilling to give up, she said to the old lady, "Miss Xi won't need a whole day to go to Beining; she'll definitely be back by evening. Why don't we have her come with me to the Wei Residence for dinner this evening? It's only right that she shows respect to the old lady, but my grandfather has finally found some free time and wants to see her. I think the old lady will understand. Anyway, there's plenty of time in the future; she'll have many more opportunities to show respect to the old lady, so one more meal won't make a difference."

The old lady was in a dilemma.

Now that things have come to this point, what will outsiders think of her if she continues to object? Although if the child was indeed switched by Lady Wei, the Marquis's Mansion will inevitably have to break ties with the Wei Residence. But what if it wasn't? Offending Wei's father wouldn't really do the Marquis's Mansion any good.

Just as she was in a dilemma, Xu Xi spoke up, "Second Madam, the County Princess of Qingyang said that I might have to trouble her for a whole day during the ten-day holiday. She will have the guards from the Prince of Zhennan's Residence escort me back, and I'm afraid I won't have time for dinner. You can ask at the gatehouse if you don't believe me. I also stayed at that silver shop for a while today. The County Princess of Qingyang was worried about my safety, so she had the guards from the Prince of Zhennan's Residence escort me back."

To deter the evil spirits and demons of the Marquis of Suiping, she made sure the guards and gatekeepers of the Prince of Zhennan's Residence identified themselves upon her return. She hadn't expected it to come in handy so quickly.