After viewing the outer courtyard, Zhou Baiyu brought Leng Ruoli into the main courtyard.
The main courtyard contained a small garden and a total of eight rooms and one hall. The kitchen was in the back courtyard. It was designed as a quadrangle, with excellent light and ventilation.
"Lier, what do you plan to use the house for?" Zhou Baiyu suddenly asked.
"I'm buying the house to serve as dormitory for my shop's employees," Leng Ruoli replied truthfully.
"Wow, you're such a good boss to your employees. Do you know that the money you spent on this house could have hired hundreds of employees?" Zhou Baiyu exclaimed.
This was truly Xia Wan'er's biological daughter; even her way of doing things was as unfathomable as her mother's.
"Uncle Yu, I've never treated my shop's employees as mere hired hands. They are my colleagues, and also my friends, so it's only right to treat them well."
Leng Ruoli smiled warmly. Her gentle and captivating smile was as comforting and warm as the spring breeze.
"Ah, you and your mother are truly alike."
Zhou Baiyu couldn't help but sigh, his mind instantly drifting back to the pleasant memories of doing business with Xia Wan'er.
Alas, fate was cruel to beauty. Wan'er, such an outstanding woman, had perished just like that. Sigh, he now hoped that Wan'er's spirit in heaven would protect her daughter and grant her a lifetime of peace.
"Uncle Yu, I really like your grand house. If you really intend to sell it, please sell it to me," Leng Ruoli said with a gentle smile.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Baiyu's expression darkened. This girl was truly simple-minded.
"I already told you, this house is a welcome gift from Uncle Yu. Uncle Yu doesn't lack money, and I have a place to live. I have another two-courtyard house in the capital. Once your employees move in, Zhou Bo and I will move out. We can go to the prefectural office later to transfer the house's ownership to your name."
"How can that be? Even close relatives should settle their accounts clearly. Moreover, you are my elder, I cannot take advantage of you."
Leng Ruoli firmly refused.
This made Zhou Baiyu a little angry. He turned and walked into his study without a word,
leaving a group of bewildered people behind.
At this moment, Butler Zhou suddenly interjected, "Miss, please accept this house from the master. He was very sad after your mother passed away, and after so many years, he still hasn't let go. He's truly happy to see you today. If you refuse his welcome gift, he will feel bad."
"Alright, thank you for your reminder, Uncle Zhou!" Leng Ruoli said gratefully.
Zhou Baiyu genuinely wanted to give her the house. If she kept refusing it, it would be a waste of his good intentions and would hurt his feelings.
Therefore, Leng Ruoli went to the door of Zhou Baiyu's study, knocked on the door, cleared her throat, and said, "Uncle Yu, didn't you say you were going to give this house to me? If we don't leave now, the prefectural office will close."
Hearing this, Zhou Baiyu immediately came to open the door for her, holding a painting in his hand.
With a somewhat sorrowful expression, he said, "Lier, the woman in this portrait is your mother."
After speaking, he slowly unfurled the portrait with his hand.
A beautiful and moving woman suddenly appeared before Leng Ruoli. This woman looked about eighty percent similar to the original owner—both had oval faces, almond eyes, and cherry mouths, and emanated an aura of spirituality. What a peerless beauty! It turned out that her stunning beauty was inherited from her mother.
It was a pity that Xia Wan'er had died young. Oh no, she felt that this Xia Wan'er might not be dead.
She would return to General Leng's residence later to ask Leng Jinyu where Xia Wan'er was buried.
According to the original owner's memories, she had never offered incense at her mother's grave since she was old enough, which she found very strange.
Afterward, she asked Zhou Baiyu for a portrait of her mother. She had expected Zhou Baiyu to refuse her, but to her surprise, he generously gave her a portrait of Xia Wan'er.
This was because he knew that she surely wouldn't even have seen a portrait of her mother.
After putting away Xia Wan'er's portrait, Leng Ruoli left the grand house with her group and Zhou Baiyu.
The few of them got into a carriage and after a short drive, arrived at the prefectural office. The people at the office recognized Leng Ruoli's identity and quickly bowed to her. She stopped them, but they still treated her with great respect because of her status as the Cold King's consort. These people dared not neglect her, and thus Zhou Baiyu smoothly transferred the house's ownership to Leng Ruoli's name.
However, after leaving the prefectural office, Zhou Baiyu became very depressed. It turned out that Wan'er's daughter was already married, and worse, to a man feared by all, the Cold King.
When he was doing business in other regions, he had heard rumors about this Cold King. It was said that this man could fight on the battlefield at the age of twelve, was inherently cruel, cold-blooded, ruthless, decisive, and abstained from women. Most importantly, he suffered from a strange blood-devouring disease, which made people want to stay far away from him just hearing about it.
Lier marrying such a man was too dangerous. He was worried. How could Leng Jinyu bear to marry his daughter to him?
Hmph! Lier's biological father was too incompetent.
Later, after Leng Ruoli sent Zhou Baiyu back to the grand house, she returned to her own Jinxiu Pavilion and gave some instructions to Shi Zhenghe, allowing the shop employees who needed accommodation to move into the house in the alley that day.
Everyone was so excited that they jumped for joy upon hearing this.
"Wangfei, can I bring my husband and two daughters to live there with me? I really don't want to live in the same village as my mother-in-law and those two younger brothers," Nie Caidie said softly.
"Of course. The house has spacious rooms, and you can use things to partition them. It's possible for three or four people to live in one room." Leng Ruoli said with a smile.
"Really? Wangfei, can we also bring our families to live there? We are also a family of four, and my mother-in-law doesn't live with us. Can we move out after we earn enough money to buy a house?" Niu Cui echoed.
"Yes, you all can. However, after moving in, you must live in harmony, and no conflicts, arguments, or fights are allowed. Everyone must remember this." Leng Ruoli said seriously.
"We understand, Wangfei."
Everyone replied in unison.
Hearing this, Leng Ruoli nodded with satisfaction.
A moment later, Leng Ruoli, accompanied by her two young maids and two guards, walked out of the shop and was about to get into the carriage to go to General Leng's residence to find Leng Jinyu.
Xing'er suddenly called out to her.
"Wangfei, do you see Madam Liu and the second young lady at the turn of the opposite alley?"
Upon hearing this, Leng Ruoli looked up and gazed into the distance. She immediately recognized the two figures.
"Holy shit!"
She never expected this Liu Ruyi to be so lucky.