The head steward couldn't hold back any longer and scolded, "Shut up! The Marquis only allows you to enter the bedroom to make the bed and fold the blankets; he has never favored you."

"You can fool others all the time, but to do this now is utterly disgraceful! The Marquis has already shown you great mercy by sparing your life; otherwise, he would have chopped off your head, and who would have dared to stop him?!"

Yu Xue was so frightened that she dared not speak, and could only sob and whimper, regretting it to the core.

If she had known it would end like this, she would have been willing to kneel and serve those two bumpkins.

Unfortunately, there's no going back in life...

The old lady, holding her granddaughter's hand, strolled around the mansion for about half an hour, looking at the various flowers and plants, and then sat in the pavilion and ate some snacks. Then the head steward came to invite her personally.

By this time, Yu Xue and the others had been beaten half to death and were being sold off.

They were nowhere to be seen in the Marquis's mansion, as if they had never existed at all.

All the maids, servants, and stewards were extremely respectful, meek, and obedient.

Upon seeing the old lady and Jiayin, everyone bowed and greeted them, saying, "Greetings, Miss; Greetings, Madam."

The old lady was a little reserved, after all, this was the first time she had ever seen such a scene.

Jiayin, however, showed no fear whatsoever. She raised her little hand and replied, "Get up, everyone."

Her chubby little face was always smiling, showing off her little white teeth, making her extremely cheerful.

His serious and aloof expression now truly exudes the authority of a superior.

When the Marquis saw her from inside the house, he couldn't help but laugh. He bent down, picked her up, poked her chubby little face, and asked, "How was it? Was the Marquis's manor fun?"

Fu Niu shook her head, "Godfather, our home is more fun. There are too many houses here, but no hot springs or mountains."

Instead of being angry, the Marquis smiled with a helpless yet indulgent air, "You're just a wild girl, you still like running around the estate, don't you?"

"Okay!" Jiayin nodded and hugged the Marquis's neck. "Godfather, let's go home. My brothers are waiting for me to bring back some delicious food."

The old lady was also worried about home. "Where have those two naughty boys, Jia'an and Jiaxi, gone off to run wild with the cat?"

The Marquis asked the head steward, "Is everything packed?"

"It's all packed, Your Highness." The head steward quickly replied, "We've packed an extra carriage of food and drink, which will be delivered to the estate with Your Highness in a bit. It'll be enough for the children to have snacks and refreshments."

The Marquis nodded, "Alright, thank you for your trouble. If anything happens at the manor, send someone to the estate to report it."

"Yes, Your Excellency." The head steward responded, and Jiayin waved to him, warmly inviting, "Uncle Steward, next time you visit Fu Niu's house, Fu Niu will have her mother cook you something delicious!"

"Okay, thank you, Miss." The head butler smiled broadly and quickly replied, "If there's a chance in the future, this servant will definitely kowtow to Miss."

Soon, everyone boarded the carriage. Ye Shan remained the coachman, followed by two junior stewards who drove another carriage.

Twenty guards on horseback followed, and they returned to Broken Gold Beach in a grand procession.

Everything was as usual at Broken Gold Beach, and the Hot Spring Valley was still bustling with people.

Meanwhile, most of the villagers gathered not far from the village entrance, busy building a school.

The bricks, tiles, stones, and timber have been prepared long ago. The autumn harvest delayed things for a while, but now construction can finally begin.

Many hands make light work; when everyone works together, the pace is incredibly fast.

In the early morning, there was only the foundation, but in just over half a day, the gable wall has been piled up to the height of a person.

Cat Boy, who had been following his father, ran up to the carriage as soon as it returned, shouting, "Grandma, little sister!"

The old lady got out of the car, picked up her grandson, and scolded him playfully, "You're all dirty! Were you naughty again? Did you have lunch?"

Cat Brother quickly replied, "I ate it, Grandma. Fourth Uncle brought it back from the valley for me and Daddy to eat. I also watched Daddy take his medicine."

"Our little cat is so sensible, he can already help Grandma with chores." The old lady rubbed her grandson's hair, and thinking about Wang E's appearance, she felt extremely fortunate.

Fortunately, the grandsons all returned to the Li family. If they had grown up under Wang E's care, who knows what they would have become.

Li Zhensheng also stepped forward and bowed to the Marquis.

The family slowly returned to the courtyard. Cat Brother and Jiayin took a big box of snacks and ran back to the school to share them with their friends.

When Old Lady Li saw so much silk being unloaded from the carriage, she said to Dongmei, who was helping out, "Did the Marquis bring the entire storeroom of the Marquis's mansion? I thought he only brought some food, but there are so many valuable things here!"

Dongmei had just spoken a few words with Yeshan and learned about what had happened at the Marquis's residence. Now she advised, "Madam, please accept it without worry. Fu Niu is now the eldest daughter of the Marquis's residence. She will probably be going out with the Marquis in the future. We can't let people say that the Marquis is stingy and won't even buy his daughter a few sets of clothes, can we?"

"Oh dear, that's right!" The old lady slapped her forehead. "I'm getting old and useless. I actually forgot about this. Well then, we'll cut two sets in a bit and sew them whenever we have time. Fu Niu can just wear cotton dresses at home when she's running around, but she'll need to dress up nicely when she goes out."

After the goods were unloaded, the old lady personally took two pieces of silver and gave them as a tip to the steward who had come with the carriage.

The two stewards dared not accept the money, but the old lady insisted. In the end, they not only took the money, but each of them was also given a big, bright red apple...

At dusk, people from every household finish their busy day and return home to eat and chat.

The old lady and Tao Hongying were doing needlework by lamplight, listening to the men talk about the school and the valley.

Jiayin jumped down and said in her childish voice, "Grandma, I'm going to sleep with my godfather tonight."

The old lady almost pricked her skin with the needle, and she quickly asked, "Why? Why aren't you sleeping with Grandma anymore?"

Jiayin waved her chubby little hands, "Grandma still has Cat Brother, but Godfather only has himself. Fu Niu will go keep Godfather company."

"This child can spout a whole bunch of high-sounding principles, and he even knows how to care for others."

The old lady scolded him gently, but didn't stop him. "Go ahead, but don't bother your godfather, understand?"

"Okay, Grandma, don't miss me too much. I'll be back at dawn." Jiayin gave the old lady a big kiss on the cheek, then kissed her mother before happily running to the next room.

Li Laosi was worried, so he strode after her, scooped up his daughter, put her on his shoulders, and saw her out the door.

Li Zhensheng noticed that his mother was acting strangely earlier, so he asked her about the Marquis's residence.

After thinking for a moment, the old lady recounted how the maids in the Marquis's mansion looked down on her and her granddaughter, how the Marquis punished them, and how he made all the servants in the mansion acknowledge him as their master.

Both Li Zhensheng and Li Lao Er looked grim. Although the Marquis had already dealt with the matter, the humiliation and mockery inflicted on their mother and niece still made them clench their fists in hatred.

The two brothers exchanged a glance, and although they didn't speak, they felt the same guilt.

The old lady knew her sons best. Seeing their reaction, she said, "Don't worry about us. We're just ordinary farmers. How could everything go smoothly for us? We're already doing very well. Some things can't be rushed; we have to take it slow..."