The old lady just now "fought fiercely" for her sake; she was so cool!

This is her grandmother! She's incredibly kind-hearted, but when she's bullied, she can instantly transform into a fierce and ruthless tiger or leopard!

"Grandma, Fu Niu loves you so much!"

The old lady held her chubby granddaughter and listened to her sweet, childlike voice, and suddenly felt much calmer.

"Grandma loves you too, silly girl. Remember this: you are our family's precious child. If no one in the family raises their voice to you, no one else has the right to, understand?!"

"I understand!" Jiayin gave the old lady a big kiss, buried her face in her grandmother's shoulder, and her eyes reddened.

Thank God, thank fate, for making her a daughter of the Li family and receiving such special favor!

Li Laosi and Tao Hongying brought Maoge'er and Lige'er upstairs. They didn't find anything unusual when they entered the room, so they said with a smile, "Mother, Jiaxi and Jia'an are having too much fun, so we had to bring Lige'er and Maoge'er back first. Jiaren also ran into some familiar classmates and they're chatting downstairs."

The old lady nodded and quickly urged the Marquis to leave, "Marquis, please take Fu Niu down to play for a while. The lantern market will be over soon. The Fourth Prince and the others are here, so don't worry."

The Marquis nodded, picked up Jiayin, and Jiayin waved goodbye to her grandmother, parents, and brother before happily going off to play.

Tao Hongying, being observant, noticed her daughter's red eyes and asked her mother-in-law, "Mother, what happened just now?"

The old lady said directly, "It was that Marquis of Zhenbei who brought a few people over. It seemed like he wanted to persuade the Marquis to lead troops into battle, but the Marquis didn't agree, so they got upset. That Marquis of Zhenbei then took the opportunity to scold our Fu Niu for being unruly and ill-mannered. I couldn't hold back, so I pointed at his nose and cursed him a few times, which made them run away in anger."

"Who? The Marquis of Zhenbei? The one who abandoned Madam Cui, fled to Jiangnan alone, and remarried after abandoning his wife?" Tao Hongying gritted her teeth in hatred. "Who gave such a beast the audacity to say that our child is unruly?! What is he then? Doesn't he fear being struck by lightning?!"

Li Laosi glanced out the window and said, "Mother, I'll go find the Marquis and Fu Niu."

"Okay, go ahead. Protect them well and come back soon."

The old lady didn't think much of it, but Tao Hongying knew her husband too well. She glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Li Laosi got up and went out.

The night was dark, but the lanterns everywhere illuminated the entire commercial street as if it were daytime.

The shy young women, wearing veils and protected by their fathers and brothers, rarely ventured out to enjoy the happiest moment of the year.

Young men, in groups, ignored the still chilly wind, fanning themselves, laughing and talking loudly, and swaggered past.

The children weaved through the crowd, only to be grabbed by their parents who rushed forward and slapped them across the face several times.

They didn't even have time to cry; they were still thinking about how to be naughty, completely unafraid of being kidnapped or getting lost and unable to find their families.

Jiayin has been in this world for a long time, and this is the first time she has seen such a grand occasion.

She nestled in her godfather's arms, holding a candied hawthorn in one hand and a lantern in the other, her face flushed with excitement.

The Marquis carried her and walked her from one end of the shopping street to the other, buying a whole bunch of things that were hanging all over Ye Shan's body before the father and daughter finally stopped.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out in the distance, with people shouting in panic, their cries sounding especially jarring in the night.

Fortunately, the noise subsided quickly.

Li Laosi appeared out of nowhere, smiling as he took his daughter from the lord and said, "Lord, my mother was worried about you, so she sent me to pick you up."

"Let's go back then, it's late and cold." The Marquis tucked Jiayin's cloak in and they went to meet at the restaurant.

People on the street were laughing and talking, "Haha, did you see that just now? Haha, so white!"

"Indeed, she's too pale, haha, even paler than a woman!"

“A dignified marquis, calling himself like a woman.”

"They even claim to have fought abroad for years, shedding blood and sacrificing their lives for the country. Who would believe that?"

Ye Shan sensed something was wrong and turned to disappear into the crowd.

Lord Hou and Li Laosi had just returned to the restaurant with the child when Ye Shan caught up with them before they could even go upstairs.

The Marquis glanced at him, and he stepped forward and whispered, "It is said that the Marquis of Zhenbei accidentally knocked over a lantern, setting his clothes on fire. He couldn't put it out in time, so he had to take off his clothes... and made a huge fool of himself!"

The Marquis raised an eyebrow but said nothing more.

Strangely, Li Laosi didn't ask any questions out of curiosity, and just played with his daughter all the way upstairs.

Inside the private room, the entire Li family had returned. The children had all received lanterns and had eaten their fill of snacks and desserts, and were now feeling a bit drowsy.

After drinking a cup of hot tea and resting for a while, everyone went downstairs to go home.

The Marquis first escorted the Li family to their courtyard before returning to his own residence.

Everyone had a great time, but were also exhausted, and slept soundly through the night.

The next day was the first day of school at Luoan Academy. The children, still having had so much fun, kept pestering the old lady to let them visit the town of Luoan.

The old lady couldn't bear to part with her son and grandson, so she decided that the whole family would make another trip to Luo'an Town.

So, while others were escorted to school by one or two relatives, friends, or servants, Jiaren and Lige were accompanied by more than a dozen people.

This was only because Gou Sheng had caught a cold and would be going to the academy a few days later; otherwise, with the addition of the Wu family of three, the situation would have been even more serious.

After being quiet for more than half a month, the small town of Luoan has finally become lively again with the return of students.

Students often wanted to let their parents taste what their favorite foods were like, so they would frequently come to the Li family's food shop to inquire.

Not wanting to disappoint the students, Li Laosan's family put down their luggage and, without even unpacking, began preparing ingredients, planning to open for business.

The others couldn't offer much help, so after wandering around the town for a bit, they hurried home.

The village chief and Uncle Zhao and a few others were idling around in the riverbank when they saw the Li family returning, so they went up to talk to them.

"How's the city? Is it lively? Are there many people coming to see the lanterns?"

"It's lively, and the lanterns are beautiful, but there are just too many people. Everyone's pushing and shoving, and I don't know how many cloth shoes have been lost." The old lady joked, then added, "We bought a small courtyard in the city so that Jiaren can stay there when he takes his exams. Once it's all set up, we won't have to worry about having a place to stay when everyone comes to see the lanterns next Lantern Festival."

"Great! Maybe if we make more money this year, everyone in the village will go to the city to buy a house."

"Not necessarily. I won't go. Nowhere is as good as our Broken Gold Beach, this treasure trove."

After a few words of conversation and laughter, everyone dispersed. Li Lao Er and Tao Hongying were in a hurry to go to the valley to take a look, but Li Lao Si went up the mountain instead.

Actually, there's not much work to be done in the orchard these days, and it's quite deserted.

He found a large rock, sat there in the cold wind until it got dark, and then went home.

Dinner is ready at home now.

A big pot of millet porridge, with a handful of red dates added, was cooked until thick, soft, and golden, and smelled wonderful.

The pork belly was stewed with dried vegetables and tofu, filling a whole earthenware pot. There was also a plate of stir-fried cabbage and wood ear mushrooms, and a plate of stir-fried eggs with salted toon leaves.

Served with a large basket of steamed buns made from two kinds of flour and two bowls of steamed egg custard, the meal is complete.

The steamed egg custard was naturally for Jiayin and Maoge'er, while the rest of the group ate porridge and steamed buns, chatting and laughing, and were quite full.