The wind was rather strong today, and since it was a south wind, all the dust from the demolition in the back courtyard was blowing this way.

’That Old Gu really knows how to stir things up. He’s treating this place like it’s his own manor.’

"Eldest Young Miss." The butler came rushing over.

"What’s the rush?"

"Mrs. Wang’s family is here to pick up the children."

"To pick up Zhenzhu?"

"Yes, they’re waiting in the main hall. I’ll go fetch the children now."

"Go ahead." Ye Qianning nodded.

’Looks like Father already made his decision that day. Mrs. Wang’s older brother runs a small business in the Capital City. Ever since she married Xiang Mingli, she’d given her family plenty of things.’

’Now that Mrs. Wang is dead, Father had her family come for the children. They probably won’t have the guts to stay in the Capital City after taking them back.’

’The thing that concerned her most right now was the person backing the old madam. She’d been investigating for two days with no leads. She had even asked the weasels and other animals in the manor.’

’There was still no news. The harder this person was to find, the more terrifying they seemed. Their work was flawless.’

Before long, Ye Qianning saw a young servant restraining a struggling Xiang Siyan, while the butler carried a wailing Xiang Zhenzhu toward the front courtyard. ’It’s for the best that they’re leaving.’

’They’ll live longer this way. If he kept acting up like this in front of me, it’s hard to say if Xiang Siyan would even live to see adulthood.’

"Little lass, what are you doing spacing out over here?" Old Gu came over, rubbing his eyes.

"Old Gu."

Old Gu walked right up to her, barely able to keep his eyes open. "Little lass, can you take a look for me? The wind blew something into my eye."

"This is what you get for tearing down a house," Ye Qianning grumbled, but her small hands still pulled Old Gu down to bend over.

Old Gu crouched down. "How can anyone live in it if I don’t tear it down first?"

Ye Qianning held his eyelid open and blew gently. "Blink a few times. Now close your eyes for a moment before opening them again."

Old Gu tilted his head back and rolled his eyes around a few times before closing them, though he didn’t stop talking. "If I’d known it was a south wind today, I wouldn’t have started tearing it down. It’s blowing so hard I can’t even open my eyes."

"You could have just had it cleaned up and renovated. There was no need to tear it down."

’If you want to talk about bad luck, there isn’t a house in the Capital City that doesn’t have some. The family that lived here before the General was completely wiped out, every last one of them executed.’

’Is there a single courtyard in the Imperial Palace where no one has died? You don’t see them tearing those down.’

"Rebuilding from scratch is better than renovating. Oh, right, I just saw several people arrive in the front courtyard. Have the two children from the second branch been sent away?" Old Gu slowly opened his eyes, rubbing them a few more times until they felt better.

"Mhm."

"Good that they were sent away. The other day, I was worried your father would get soft-hearted and let them stay."

Ye Qianning didn’t respond, only chuckled. ’Being kind and being soft-hearted are two different things.’

"You’ve been cooped up in this manor for two days. It’s too dusty here today. I’ll take you out for a stroll," said Old Gu.

"Some other day. I have to go to the concubines’ courtyard to check on them later."

"The General’s manor is great in every other respect, but there are just too many concubines. Luckily, they’re all decent people, or they’d be a real headache for you." Old Gu frowned at the mention of them.

"They’re Father’s concubines. If they’re a headache for anyone, it should be for him."

"You don’t understand. It’s incredibly rare to see such harmony among the women of a great house. Xiang Minghou might not be good for much else, but he’s got a decent eye for concubines." Old Gu was a good judge of character by appearance, and his intuition was usually spot on.

"I agree with that." Ye Qianning nodded.

’Still, the way the concubines and Father interact doesn’t seem like that of a husband and wives. It’s more like they’re siblings. In any case, whatever their relationship is, as long as they’re good people, that’s all that matters.’

"Are you sure you’re not going out?"

"I’m not going."

"If you’re not going, then I won’t go either. I’ll go find Zhan Yi for a few games of chess." Old Gu was living a very relaxed life.

"You all are really making yourselves at home in the General’s manor."

Old Gu laughed at her words. "Well, Xiang Minghou is out of commission right now, so he can’t manage things anyway."

’Ye Qianning couldn’t be bothered with it either. They were all paying their own way, so it wasn’t costing the General’s manor anything. If they wanted to live here, they were welcome to it.’