The young eunuch raised his sleeve to wipe his eyes, his voice thick with emotion. "In the month since I entered the palace, no one has been this good to me. They all bully me."

"If you don’t want to be bullied in the palace, you need to be quick-witted. From now on, you should learn more from the senior eunuchs."

"Yes, I understand."

"Wait here at the General’s estate for now. When the eunuch arrives, go with him. Remember to listen and learn."

"Yes." Only then did the young eunuch’s anxious eyes dare to sneak a glance at Ye Qianning.

Although she was small, her standing in his eyes grew ever greater.

Ye Qianning thought it would make Sang Zhi’s life a little easier if she trained a clever person to be by his side.

The mention of Sang Zhi reminded her of the Blessing Value in her space. There had been so many tedious matters at home that she hadn’t had time to get close to Sang Zhi, and her space was still just a single plot of land.

She had many questions and was intensely curious about the space. The items in its booklet only filled two pages; the thick stack of pages that followed was all blank. As long as she accumulated enough Blessing Value, the illustrated catalogue would also change.

New items would appear in the catalogue, and seeds would become available as the land expanded.

Penglai...

The thought made Ye Qianning’s heart itch with anticipation. Once the family’s affairs were settled, she would definitely stick to that little stick-in-the-mud’s side.

Ye Qianning picked up the medicine bottle Sang Zhi had given her. Alchemy was also essential. This sudden incident had made her realize the importance of having medicine on hand.

’I have to start practicing Alchemy,’ she resolved. ’First, I’ll need a very large Alchemy Furnace...’

Just as Ye Qianning was lost in thought, she heard a noise and turned to look at the courtyard entrance.

Zhan Yi came rushing in, leading Madam Zhan and Zhan Chi. They clearly faltered upon seeing the person in the courtyard, and Madam Zhan’s eyes immediately fixed on Ye Qianning, unable to look away.

Ye Qianning met their gaze for only a moment before looking away and fiddling with the porcelain bottle.

"Little... little girl, how are you? Are you okay?" Zhan Chi was the first to walk over.

"I’m fine."

"That’s good. We were worried sick when we heard the news."

Zhan Yi supported Madam Zhan as they quickly approached. Madam Zhan’s eyes were slightly red. So alike. Far too alike. Her eyes and brows were just like her eldest daughter’s when she was a child.

"Little girl, do you still recognize me?" Zhan Yi asked in a low voice.

Ye Qianning looked up. "I do."

"Ah, good, good. Come, look who this is." Zhan Yi gently pushed Madam Zhan forward.

With red-rimmed eyes filled with joyous excitement, Madam Zhan stammered, "Grand... granddaughter..."

Ye Qianning hadn’t seen Madam Zhan the last time she returned to the estate. Seeing her for the first time now, her first impression was one of comfort and warmth.

She was over fifty years old but was so well-preserved that she looked thirty-seven or thirty-eight at most.

She was a very beautiful woman whose charm still lingered. Dignified, elegant, and graceful—all these words perfectly described Madam Zhan.

"Big sister, my name is Ye Qianning," she said, looking up with a smile.

Big sister?

All three of them were stunned by this form of address.

Zhan Yi subconsciously glanced at his wife’s face. Although she was quite attractive, it was a bit much for a six-year-old to be calling her "big sister."

Madam Zhan was also quite surprised to be called "big sister" by her own granddaughter; the generational gap was simply too wide.

"Don’t be ridiculous, that’s my mother!" Zhan Chi exclaimed in surprise.

"This big sister looks so young and pretty, twenty at most. How could she possibly be your mother? You’re already so old." Ye Qianning rolled her eyes.

"I’m only twenty-four! How am I old?" Zhan Chi retorted, annoyed.

"In every way."

"You... Hmph." Zhan Chi grumbled in frustration. ’If you want to talk about old,’ he thought, ’Xiang Minghou is the one who’s old. He’s already thirty-one or thirty-two.’

Seeing this, Madam Zhan covered her mouth to hide her laughter. She never expected to see the day her son was rendered completely speechless.