Amid the bustling crowd stood a young dandy in brocade clothes. Who else could it be but Young Master Guo?
Surprisingly, he didn't have any obsequious lackeys or even Yin Bao by his side.
Looking closer, Young Master Guo was carefully supporting a young woman wearing a veil hat. His every move showed his great concern and respect for her.
The veil covered the woman's face. As the gentle breeze blew, her plump, rosy lips were revealed. One didn't need to see her true face to know that she was a beauty.
Behind the woman were three or five maidservants, surrounding her like stars around the moon.
Song Xiaoxiao gently raised her jade hand and slightly pointed at the signboard of Jiaoniang Restaurant. "This is the place. Let's go."
Her tone was calm, giving no hint of her emotions.
Young Master Guo forced a smile on his face, but inside he was extremely anxious. He wracked his brains to come up with an excuse. "This shop is rather small and cramped. It's so hot today. How about we go to a teahouse on Qing'an Avenue that offers iced drinks? I don't mind, but I'm afraid the heat might discomfort you, my lady."
Song Xiaoxiao glanced at Guo San and said with a smile, "I've always been cold-natured and not afraid of the heat. If you're afraid of the heat, you can go by yourself."
She withdrew her hand and walked straight into the door.
The maidservants behind her naturally followed closely. They were busy attending to their mistress and didn't even spare a glance at Young Master Guo.
Guo San stood there, frowning in distress.
The diners entering the shop behind him thought he was in the way. Regardless of who he was, they rudely pushed past him.
With Young Master Guo's weak build, he could even barely catch a chicken. He was almost knocked off balance by two or three strong men.
This made Young Master Guo jump up in anger!
But when he saw Song Xiaoxiao's graceful back in front of him, his raging anger suddenly died down.
After a while, he sighed and reluctantly followed her in.
His newlywed wife was beautiful and feisty, and she was also a daughter of the prestigious Song family from Yulin County.
The Song family not only had members serving as officials in the prefectural city but also had numerous officials in the capital.
If it weren't for the power of the late Lord Guo and the betrothal made between the parents of the two families, with Guo Lingjia's qualifications, it would have been a pipe dream for him to marry Song Xiaoxiao.
As for Song Xiaoxiao, she was originally a noble young lady.
It was a pity that her mother passed away early, and her father remarried. Her status as the legitimate daughter of the first wife suddenly became rather awkward.
But Song Xiaoxiao had been smart and capable since childhood, with at least eight hundred tricks up her sleeve.
Her stepmother had never gotten the better of her.
However, in matters of marriage, one always had to follow the parents' wishes.
Mr. Song thought the Guo family was good, but he didn't think much of Guo Lingjia.
Song Xiaoxiao's stepmother whispered in Mr. Song's ear, saying that the Song family couldn't go back on their word.
Considering the family's reputation and wanting to use this marriage to establish a connection with the family of Guo Lingjia's elder sister's husband, Mr. Song no longer had any psychological burden and married Song Xiaoxiao off to the Guo family as scheduled.
Song Xiaoxiao understood the situation clearly.
She knew she couldn't go against her parents, so she accepted the marriage calmly.
Lord Guo and Lady Guo knew what kind of person their son was, so they did everything perfectly in other aspects.
The sky-high betrothal gifts were secondary. The most important thing was the attitude of Guo Lingjia's parents.
Before Song Xiaoxiao even entered the Guo family, all the women around Guo Lingjia were sent away, leaving only the loyal and honest Xing'er to serve him.
Yin Bao, who often encouraged Guo Lingjia to do foolish things, was also sold off.
Even Guo Lingjia himself was locked up at home for a month, eating vegetarian food, copying scriptures, and taking baths to purify his body and mind.
Two days after Song Xiaoxiao got married, Lady Guo gave her the keys to Guo Lingjia's private treasury and the properties under his name.
So although Song Xiaoxiao was dissatisfied with Guo Lingjia, her married life was quite smooth.
As long as she had money, men were nothing.
Song Xiaoxiao was very smart. She had long known that Guo Lingjia was a stupid womanizer. Even though his parents had restricted him, a dog couldn't change its habit of eating shit.
So she decided to choose two good-looking dowry maids, have their eyebrows shaved, and promote them to concubines.
Even Xing'er, Guo Lingjia's original maid, was soon won over by Song Xiaoxiao.
On one hand, there was a beautiful, capable, and generous mistress, and on the other hand, there was a useless young master who couldn't be helped.
The three concubines knew who their breadwinner was, and from then on, they only served Song Xiaoxiao wholeheartedly.
Song Xiaoxiao treated Young Master Guo like a dog.
When she was in a good mood, she would give him a kind look. When she was in a bad mood, she would scold or beat him.
Young Master Guo felt guilty because he had Song Xiaoxiao's maids as concubines.
He was also infatuated with Song Xiaoxiao's beauty and would have given his life for her.
Moreover, all the silver was in Song Xiaoxiao's hands, and he couldn't even get his hands on a single silver coin.
He had no confidants around him and was completely at her mercy.
On one hand, Song Xiaoxiao pleased Lady Guo. On the other hand, she was generous to everyone in the mansion and got along well with her siblings-in-law.
As time went by, everyone said that the third young mistress was very virtuous!
This made Young Master Guo look even more useless!
Even the eldest miss of the Guo family wrote a letter to remind her parents: They must discipline Young Master Guo well. A good wife was hard to come by, and they shouldn't let their sister-in-law down. They also shouldn't fall out with the Song family.
After this, Lady Guo, who had always doted on her son, didn't say anything. Instead, she doted on Song Xiaoxiao.
Lord Guo thought that his daughter-in-law had married into their family at a great disadvantage, so he strictly ordered Young Master Guo to study at home.
Countless pairs of eyes were watching Young Master Guo all the time, so he hadn't gone out to fool around for a long time.
He had only managed to persuade them to let him accompany Song Xiaoxiao out shopping today with great difficulty.
At this moment, Qi Jiao and Pei Xia saw Guo San, and their faces both darkened a little.
But in an instant, Qi Jiao regained her smiling face.
It was obvious that the beautiful woman wearing the veil hat was Young Master Guo's legendary new wife.
Qi Jiao warmly greeted her. "Are you here for a meal or tea, my lady?"
Song Xiaoxiao sized up Qi Jiao.
She thought to herself that this woman was indeed a beautiful flower.
She lifted the veil and smiled at Qi Jiao. "I'm a bit thirsty. What nice drinks do you have in your shop?"
When Qi Jiao saw Song Xiaoxiao's face, a look of admiration flashed in her eyes. She thought that this was truly a great beauty, but it was a pity that such a beautiful flower had been matched with a piece of trash.
She felt a moment of pity for Song Xiaoxiao.
Qi Jiao hid her thoughts and invited Song Xiaoxiao to a private room on the second floor. She introduced the new drinks and signature dishes to her.
Song Xiaoxiao noticed all of Qi Jiao's facial expressions. Seeing that Qi Jiao was generous and polite, she immediately had a good impression of her.
At this time, Young Master Guo ran up out of breath.
Song Xiaoxiao gently waved her silk fan. Suppressing her disgust, she asked with a smile, "Weren't you going to Qing'an Avenue, my husband? Why did you come back?"
Young Master Guo grinned and sat down next to Song Xiaoxiao. He tried to touch her hand, but Song Xiaoxiao slapped it away.
Young Master Guo wasn't angry. "I'll go wherever you go, my lady."
Song Xiaoxiao looked at him with a half-smile.
Only then did Young Master Guo look up at Qi Jiao, grinding his teeth in hatred.
He would never forget in his life.
How this heartless and venomous woman in front of him had humiliated him.
Just then, Pei Xia came up with the tea.
He placed the cups on the table and said to Young Master Guo, "This tea is a bit hot. Be careful, sir!"
Young Master Guo wasn't completely stupid. He naturally understood the warning in Pei Xia's words.
He turned his back to Song Xiaoxiao and glared at Pei Xia fiercely.
Unexpectedly, when he met Pei Xia's sharp eyes, he immediately shrank back.
Young Master Guo didn't dare to make any more moves. After a moment's pause, he smiled and said to Qi Jiao, "My lady, you may not know that Jiaoniang used to be a trusted maid beside my elder sister. Later, when my elder sister got married, she let her out of the mansion and gave her a lot of silver. She's quite capable. She's even opened a restaurant so soon!"
He glanced at the crowd downstairs and sneered. "Judging from the bustling business, it should be no problem for her to support a whole family."