An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

Early in the morning, everyone went to the Hall of Right and Wrong to pay their respects, and then Nie Ce went to the West Mansion to talk to the Second Madam Shen. Sang Ling did not accompany him. Later, the Fourth Madam Zhang came to Wuyuan again. She did not know that Nie Ce was still in the Marquis' Mansion, so she came quickly.

"But I came before you left. It's hot. My family sent me some melons. I couldn't finish them, so I wanted to send them to you, but you were not here."

The young Fourth Aunt was very enthusiastic, and the servants behind her piled baskets of fruits and vegetables in the corridor.

Sang Ling smiled and said, "You have to send someone to leave a message, so there is no need to rush. I'll just wait for you."

The masters sat down inside the house and exchanged greetings. Cheng then arranged for the servants in the lunch garden to take the melons to the small kitchen at the back and cut them into two plates and served them over.

Zhang looked sideways, she really didn't expect that ever since the third sister-in-law made a scene, the Sang family girl had almost cut off all contact with everyone in the mansion for the past half year. Now that Nie Ce was back, she changed her temper again and was able to greet her again.

It’s definitely different with a husband around.

Zhang smiled meaningfully, "If that's the case, I'll leave you a message today." She stopped talking and waited for Sang Ling to look at her, asking her to continue. Then she lowered her voice and said, "To tell you the truth, I envy you very much. Although the mansion doesn't restrict me from going out, as a woman, I usually only go to those places, either the market or the women's inner courtyard. I haven't studied properly, and I've never been to the academy. You can take me there tomorrow to have a look."

Sang Ling went to Qingshan Temple alone before, thanks to Madam Zhaoyu who turned a blind eye. Even so, Shen still made fun of her in front of Grandpa Nie. In the future, she will bring Zhang with her. If the relatives in the mansion know about it, she will really become the target of public criticism.

"Now that the Marquis is back, it's naturally not possible for me to go." He had to use Nie Ce as a shield.

"Xuanwen doesn't allow you to go?" Zhang was stunned, showing a hint of innocence, as if she didn't realize the rashness of her words just now.

"Yes, the Marquis is at home, and it's different from when I was alone. The arrangements in the garden are different from before. I have to take care of everything."

In fact, it was all lies. Nie Ce had lived here since he was a child. Except for Cheng Ai, Zong Xiang and Wei Chu, all the servants left in Wuyuan were Nie Ce's people. Before Sang Ling got married, those people had been serving him.

There is already a tacit understanding between the master and the servant, and Sang Ling only needs to take care of himself.

"That's right. I've got a lot to do since your fourth uncle is back." Zhang didn't notice anything unusual. She continued the conversation and complained as if it was her personal matter. "Men are always busy. Your fourth uncle has a good temper, but he's very strict with people. The servants in the room always find fault with him. We only have old people in the room now. Sometimes I want to bring in new people, but he always kicks them out."

This was the first time that Zhang mentioned Nie Chengyong, the fourth uncle and the adopted son of Grandpa Nie, in front of Sang Ling. Sang Ling took a sip of the fruit juice and said softly, "It's not good to serve the old people. Newcomers always have to adjust to the new people, which is also tiring."

"You didn't understand what I meant." Zhang smiled meaningfully.

She raised her eyebrows and looked over.

"She is a maid." The fourth aunt really had nothing to hide from her. When she talked about this, the smile on her face even disappeared. "I have been married for a few years. I don't want to be known as a jealous woman. I have wanted to arrange a new wife for him many times. But he himself doesn't like it."

How should Sang Ling respond to this?

The servant just cut the melon and served it to her. Cheng Lao knelt beside the table and handed the plate to her. She pushed a plate to Zhang Shi, still thinking about how to respond nicely. Zhang Shi spoke again, "Oh, I am talking to you, a new bride. Don't worry about it. You two just got married. You don't have to worry about these things like I did."

Even so, there was no proper mother-in-law in charge of the Marquis's Mansion, so why would Zhang do this? Could it be that Grandpa Nie would really care whether their fourth room had any offspring? - Even if there were, they would not be Nie's bloodline. In the future, they might at most get some property in name, but they would still be different from the original family.

I could only lower my eyebrows and smile, "Fourth Aunt, you are so virtuous."

"So what if I'm not virtuous?" Zhang smiled self-deprecatingly, "I've been quiet for a long time, so I have to think about the future."

Just as he finished speaking, there was a noise in the courtyard. It was Nie Ce who came back. He took off his shoes at the corridor and glanced into the house. "Fourth Aunt is here?" It was true that Zhang was afraid of Nie Ce. When she saw him, she was like a mouse seeing a cat. She stood up immediately and said, "Xuanwen? Why are you back now?"

Today is not a day off, and Nie Ce never had a day off when he was at home before. He usually went out after saying goodbye and came back at night. It is rare for him to be at home so early in the morning.

"Go sit with Second Aunt for a while, Fourth Aunt, please sit down." Seeing that Zhang had already stood up and seemed to be about to bow in front of him, Nie Ce lifted the door curtain and stretched out his hand to make a "please" gesture.

It was the first time that Sang Ling had seen Lord Nie who was so good at dealing with people. In the past, he basically kept silent in occasional occasions when there were outsiders. Occasionally, when a noble asked a question, he would answer a few words. Otherwise, he showed the nonchalant side of a young man. However, his words and actions today easily revealed the demeanor of a family head.

She couldn't help but wonder how many faces this person had. She raised her eyes and looked at him, only to see him smiling and winking at her. She didn't understand what he was saying, but she subconsciously half sat up and said, "Aunt Fourth, why are you standing up? Are you eating melon?"

Zhang turned around in a panic and said, "Okay."

Although he was sitting down, even the movements of his hands as he picked up the fruits were stiff, and the smile on his face looked like there were ropes on both sides that were pulling him up.

How could he be so afraid of Nie Ce? Sang Ling couldn't help but glance sideways at General Nie who had already taken a seat next to him.

He was calm and collected. He picked up a piece of melon and chewed it for a while. "This melon is good. It's quite crisp."