Chapter 21: A Little Great-Grandchild, Sooner Rather Than Later

Auntie Wu said, "In cases of severe offense causing significant losses, Imperial Garden Villa dismisses the person. But

for minor offenses, a second chance may be granted."

Without waiting for Yun Manxia to respond, she scolded Xiaomei, "Apologize to the Madam this instant! Luckily you only

took a few flowers this time-it's not serious, or you'd be thrown out for sure!"

Xiaomei scrambled. "Madam, I was wrong! Please forgive me this once!"

Yun Manxia twitched her lips in a mocking smile.

Sneaking into her room, stealing her things-and in Auntie Wu's mouth, it was nothing more than "took a few flowers,"

brushed off as lightly as a breeze?

"Is Imperial Garden Villa's management really this lax?"

Auntie Wu: "If the Madam doesn't believe me, we can always ask the Ninth Master and let him decide!"

Yun Manxia met her cool, unflinching gaze and said nothing.

The living room went so quiet you could hear a pin drop. No one dared breathe too loudly.

The maids were secretly stunned. They'd originally written the new Madam off as a clueless young girl who didn't know

any better. Now it seemed they'd been completely wrong.

Setting everything else aside, just this presence alone-this wasn't an ordinary person.

Whether it was an illusion or not, there was even a faint echo of the Ninth Master in her aura.

"Fine. This time, I can give you one chance. I'll let it go." After a long pause, Yun Manxia finally spoke, her tone

flat as she addressed Xiaomei. "But if there's a next time, your fate will be worse than simply leaving Imperial Garden

Villa."

Xiaomei sagged with relief. "Thank you, Madam!"

She didn't take Yun Manxia's warning to heart at all.

Yun Manxia rose to her feet.

How could she bear to put Bai Hedu in an awkward position between her and Auntie Wu? Letting Xiaomei off once was

nothing. She'd find a way to deal with her later.

"I'll be docking your bonus for the next few months. Any objections?" she said to Xiaomei before walking away.

Xiaomei's face stiffened. She forced a smile. "No objections..."

Inside, she was seething.

The bonuses at Imperial Garden Villa were exceptionally generous-more than the base salary. She'd borrowed quite a bit

of money, counting on those bonuses to pay off her debts...

After Yun Manxia left, Wu Xiaoya pulled Xiaomei outside.

"Don't worry, Xiaomei. You were only punished because of me. I'll compensate you for the bonus you lost," Wu Xiaoya

said.

"Xiaoya, you're so good to me." Xiaomei was touched, completely forgetting that the flowers she'd stolen had all been

for Wu Xiaoya's benefit.

Wu Xiaoya continued, "We're best friends, aren't we? But I have a feeling you won't be able to stay at Imperial Garden

Villa much longer. Yun Manxia is petty and narrow-minded. She agreed to let you off this time because of my mother, but

she'll definitely find a way to drive you out later!"

Xiaomei's face changed.

Watching her reaction, Wu Xiaoya sighed. "You worked so hard and pulled so many strings to get this job. It's really

unfair when you think about it..."

Xiaomei's eyes shifted through several shades of resolve before she hissed viciously, "Then let her be the one to get

kicked out first!"

Wu Xiaoya's lips curved in a secret, satisfied smile.

The flower incident wasn't a major matter, so Yun Manxia didn't bring it up with Bai Hedu. He had enough on his plate

already-she wasn't going to bother him with something this trivial.

She sorted through the remaining half of the bouquet, preparing to press them between the pages of a book-only to

realize she didn't have a single book. Her old ones were still at the Yun family home, and her university textbooks were

at the dorm.

She went to knock on Bai Hedu's study door.

Lin Shen pulled it open and tactfully stepped aside.

"Ninth Master, the Madam is here."
"What is it?" Bai Hedu set down what he was working on and looked up at her.

Yun Manxia hid her hands behind her back and asked obediently, "Hubby, do you have any books you don't need? Could I

borrow a few?"

She'd changed into a fresh outfit-a light blue dress that showed off her long, slender legs. Bright eyes, graceful

figure, standing there like a painting.

Bai Hedu paused for a beat, then nodded. "Of course. Come in and take whatever you want."

Yun Manxia stepped inside-but within two steps, the flowers hidden behind her back were revealed.

Bai Hedu was slightly taken aback. "You still kept them?"

Yun Manxia felt a little embarrassed. The flowers were nearly dried out and she was still holding onto them...

But meeting his faintly surprised gaze, she said anyway, "You gave these to me. How could I throw them away? I'm going

to press them in a book to preserve them!"

Bai Hedu was momentarily speechless. The way he looked at the girl grew even deeper.

At dinner, the two ate together.

Yun Manxia had assumed he'd only agreed to that one time before, but now it seemed he intended to share every meal with

her from now on. She was secretly thrilled.

After dinner, just as they were about to leave the table, Bai Hedu's phone rang. It was the old matriarch calling.

Yun Manxia sat nearby and could faintly hear the elderly woman's voice on the line, saying she'd had a jade Guanyin

blessed at a temple for him, that she'd have it delivered tomorrow, and that he absolutely must wear it-to ward off

misfortune and disaster.

Bai Hedu replied warmly, "Alright."

At the end, the old lady asked tentatively, "That young lady from the Yun family-she's moved into Imperial Garden Villa

now, hasn't she? How is she?"

Bai Hedu paused. He glanced to the side, his expression unknowingly softening. "She's very good."
This was the first time he'd ever given a positive assessment. With the previous ones, he hadn't been satisfied with a

single one-whenever they were mentioned, his tone turned ice-cold.

The old matriarch was overjoyed, elated beyond measure. "Good, good! If she's good, that's wonderful! You two get along

well!"

And then, at the very end, she added, "It would be even better if you could give me a little great-grandchild sooner

rather than later!"

Yun Manxia hadn't been deliberately eavesdropping, but she caught that last sentence clearly. Both cheeks flushed hot.

She turned her head away, pretending she hadn't heard a thing.

Bai Hedu glanced sideways at the crimson tips of her ears, his gaze unfathomably deep. He didn't answer that last

remark. After a couple of perfunctory responses, he hung up.

"Weren't you going to finish your bookmarks?" he said. "Go ahead."

She still had half the pressing left from earlier.

"Oh... okay!" Yun Manxia bolted upstairs.

At the landing, she peeked back down and quietly touched her burning ear.

Past the embarrassment, her thoughts drifted to the old matriarch, and she couldn't help feeling astonished.

She hadn't expected that, before they'd even met, the old lady would already like her this much. Every word had been

warm with goodwill.

In her last life, the old matriarch had never once given her a kind look. "Like" wasn't even the word-"loathing" would

be closer to the truth.

But that was to be expected. In her previous life, she'd run from the wedding right at the start. After being sent back

to Imperial Garden Villa, she'd never once shown Bai Hedu any warmth. She'd been blind to everything he did for her, and

more than once, she'd stolen his confidential information and handed it to Bai Chengxuan...

A woman like that-how could the old matriarch possibly have liked her?

The fact that she hadn't been killed was already out of respect for Bai Hedu.
The next afternoon, someone sent by the old matriarch arrived-but the timing was unfortunate. Half an hour earlier, Bai

Hedu had left Imperial Garden Villa on urgent business.

The visitor held a quaint, antique box with the utmost care. He opened it to inspect the contents first, then handed it

to the maid, saying-

"This is a jade Guanyin that the old matriarch personally had blessed for the Ninth Master. Be careful-don't drop it!"

Xiaomei's eyes gleamed. She stepped forward. "Give it to me. I'll take it to the Madam and have her pass it to the Ninth

Master."