Mu Chenyan followed Yuan Xuan into the side room where his grandmother was happily chatting to a few people including Yuan Tangzhong and his wife Xue Meiwei, Yuan Tangshuo's wife Lu Shan, Yuan Zhe, and his wife.
Mu Chenyan suddenly felt a sense of uneasiness that first stirred in the pit of her stomach before traveling to the tips of her toes. This anxiety caused her to freeze in place as she became too afraid to move forward...
When Wen Ya saw that Yuan Xuan and Mu Chenyan had arrived, she waved and greeted Chenyan. Similarly, when Yuan Zhe who was beside her then spotted them, a warm smile spread across his lips.
Mu Chenyan had already met with the other elders when she attended the banquet. However, since Lu Shan had not attended the banquet, she pointed at Mu Chenyan and remarked, "Tian Tian told me that she had already rushed over to visit you multiple times since your return, Chenyan. Girl, you must've suffered while you were there!"
Lu Shan treated Mu Chenyan as if she were Yuan Tian and spoke to her in a loving tone.
Mu Chenyan suddenly thought of her own mother. She was an elegant and gorgeous woman who had always been very affectionate as well.
"I'm fine, Third Aunt, i's all in the past. How are you?"
Mu Chenyan's gentle tone and obedient manner made her the type of good daughter-in-law that elders liked.
Morever, Mu Chenyan's eyes were now filled with tenderness, unlike when she was dull and indifferent with Yuan Xuan. The corners of Yuan Xuan's mouth curled into a faint smile when he watched this woman from the side.
Lu Shan smiled and replied, "I'm fine. Seeing you return has delighted your aunt's heart because Tian Tian finally has a friend again. You have to teach her well - that girl's unruliness is too hard to manage. It'd be good enough for her to pick up on even half of your personality."
When Yuan Tian heard her mother humiliate her in this manner, she unhappily scoffed twice. However, glimmers of joy appeared in her eyes as she sneakily grinned at Mu Chenyan.
Old Mistress Yuan remained silent all this while. After the several people wrapped up their small talk, the side hall descended into silence.
Yuan Xuan stepped forward and held his grandmother's hand before he quietly spoke, "Little Xuan drank a bit too much during last night's banquet. I asked Chenyan to accompany me home, but forgot to inform Grandmother before I left. You're not upset with Little Xuan, right?"
When this handsome man behaved like a spoiled child, it was sickeningly sweet!
Mu Chenyan mocked him in her heart. He had clearly been filled with jealousy at the time, but instead blamed it on the alcohol...
Old Mistress feigned anger and replied, "Don't let it happen again. There are no benefits to drinking excessive amounts of alcohol!"
Yuan Xuan nodded continuously as she jokingly scolded him. At this moment, Yuan Zhuan and his little sister Yuan Ran were also present, causing the side hall to immediately become lively.
Mu Chenyan looked over and wondered to himself if all of the heads of the Yuan Family had been called over, regardless of their ranking.
Was a major announcement about to be made?
When Old Mistress saw that everyone besides the bookworm, Yuan Tangshuo was present and accounted for, she instructed Butler Fu to serve everyone their tea.
Then, she cleared her throat and said in a serious tone, "I called everyone over because I have two things to say."
Yuan Ran blushed before sneakily glancing at her grandmother, clearly unable to suppress her excitement.
"Little Ran isn't young anymore, and as a young lady of an aristocratic family, she should have found and decided on a marriage partner. During yesterday's banquet, I noticed that she seemed like a good match with the Shao Family's son. Thus, both of them should spend some time with each other, and we'll see how things go from there. Little Xuan, since you're closer to Yibai, I'll hand this matter over to you and let you contact him."
Yuan Xuan nodded, fully aware that his grandmother intended to control Shao Yibai.
However, the main issue now was with regards to Shao Yibai's side. He was afraid that they would not accept an arranged marriage from their family so easily.
Nonetheless, Yuan Xuan nodded in agreement.
When Yuan Ran saw her brother nodding, she gave a sigh of relief.
One could easily tell that she was satisfied with Shao Yibai in numerous ways...
Yuan Tian who stood by the side secretly stuck her tongue out and rolled her eyes at Yuan Ran.
Nearby, Mu Chenyan read Yuan Tian's lips and saw her say, "All her life, she was just hoping to get married to a good man and just be done with it..."
Mu Chenyan lowered her head and stifled a small laugh. Yuan Tian's current temperament made it difficult for her to imagine how stern she needed to be when she held the scalpel and stood before her patients.
On the other hand, Old Mistress completely ignored Yuan Tian's weird behavior. She glanced at Yuan Xuan before looking at Mu Chenyan and continued saying, "There's one more thing. I'd like to introduce this child to everyone..."
Butler Fu heard this and went upstairs for a brief moment before leisurely coming down with a girl in tow.
When he did this, everyone other than Yuan Xuan inhaled a breath of air while Wen Ya and Yuan Ran simultaneously exclaimed, "Qinger!"