Ye Ning and her mother-in-law returned to the estate by three in the afternoon, neither of them having eaten yet.
Seeing this, Sister Wang hurried over, intending to take the young mistress back for a meal and rest, but Bai Tingfang, who had returned with Ye Ning, helped her out of the carriage and pushed her towards the Bamboo Garden.
"Go tell the kitchen to prepare some food, and remember to make it soft."
Upon receiving these instructions, the servants immediately went to convey the message to the kitchen.
Sister Wang followed behind, surmising from the madam’s intentions that she meant to take the young mistress to dine in the Bamboo Garden, and hastened to catch up: "Madam, the young mistress..."
"You’ve come? Here, take this, I’m exhausted!" Bai Tingfang, who was pushing the wheelchair, turned around at the sound, saw the maidservant who usually handled this task, and immediately let go of the wheelchair for her.
Sister Wang smiled, happily taking over the wheelchair...
"Where is madam taking the young mistress? She seems to be in such good spirits."
"Isn’t that obvious? I’m telling you, letting her walk around more often and do some work, instead of always staying in your yard, would be better; otherwise, people will spoil."
Sister Wang nodded in agreement, her gaze, however, drifted to the girl she was pushing: "Young mistress, did you work today?"
A smile tinged Ye Ning’s lips: "Yes, we went to buy decorations. Look, all those behind us are what we brought back."
"Of course it’s true!"
"Then the young mistress is indeed capable. It seems you will often go out with madam in the future."
"Right, that’s what I think too." Ye Ning, pushed along by her, chatted and laughed all the way to the Bamboo Garden, following Bai Tingfang.
Upon reaching the Bamboo Garden, Sister Wang thought that at this time, the people here would be out and about since it was already the twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month, with the market getting busier.
However, to her surprise, members of the Bai Family who should have been strolling around the garden all day were instead continuously in this garden, either playing chess with the old master or playing with the children.
Even Miss Bai Wei was nestled under the bamboo grove, which had the best view in the courtyard, playing games.
This family, honestly!
Seeing this scene, Sister Wang reflexively followed closely behind the madam walking ahead.
Sure enough, the atmosphere immediately changed when the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law arrived, with not just Ou Mufeng, who was playing with the baby, turning wary, but also Bai Guanjie, who was playing chess with the old master, losing his jovial demeanor.
Bai Tingfang had long found this family’s behavior displeasing. Hearing this, she stood coldly at the doorway, casting a disdainful glance over these people: "If I hadn’t returned, you’d all starve to death, wouldn’t you? This family of yours seems so carefree, entertaining yourselves, feeding and playing, and taking care of children, as if I’m the only one here who does any work."
"What are you saying? What do you mean ’this family of yours’?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the old master, who was in the middle of a chess game with Bai Guanjie, immediately showed a displeased expression.
Bai Tingfang sneered: "Did I say something wrong? They are the daughter and son-in-law, members of this house, not guests. Do we need to worship them like gods?"