After waiting for another fifteen minutes and finding no one there, Uncle Fu drove the oxcart back to the village.

Since Shili Village was closer, Uncle Fu took Jiang Hua and the others home first.

When they arrived at Shili Village, in front of Jiang Hua's mansion, the people in the car became somewhat unsettled.

"Mother, when did such a big house come to be built in Shili Village?" Qin Lianlian's daughter, Qin Xiuxiu, looked at the big house in front of her with envy.

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Jiang Hua and the other two alighted from the carriage and, with Jiang Jingyi in tow, pushed open the door and entered the mansion.

"Oh my, this big house belongs to Jiang Hua!" Qin Lianlian exclaimed, her eyes darting around as she looked at Madam Xu.

“Xu, how come I’ve never heard you mention Jiang Hua before? She built such a big house in Shili Village.”

"Aunt Qin, my cousin has severed ties with us," Lin Shuyan explained from the side.

The oxcart had already left. Lin Shuyan looked back at the mansion with a complicated expression.

When did Jiang Hua become so capable?

"Look at me, I forgot again. But this house must have cost a lot of money to build," Qin Lianlian said, waving the rake and handkerchief in her hand.

"It seems she made quite a bit of money from that shop in town." With that, Qin Lianlian changed the subject, looking at Lin Shuyan:

"Yan Yan, I heard you've opened a shop in town too? When are you going to build a big house?"

"Soon, Auntie. I'll discuss it with Grandma and the others when I get back," Lin Shuyan said through gritted teeth.

It's just a big house, right? How could Lin Shuyan afford to live in such a big house?

"Sister Yan Yan, is it true?" Xu Yaozu asked from the side, his tone urgent.

He couldn't let Jiang Jingyi surpass him.

Upon hearing Xu Yaozu's question, Lin Shuyan's expression froze, and she replied with a forced smile:

"Of course it's true. I have some silver on hand. I'll go back and tell Grandma that we'll build a big house too, and we'll even build you a separate study room."

"Sister Yan Yan, you're so good to me," Xu Yaozu said, linking arms with Lin Shuyan.

"Yan Yan, I just saw Jiang Hua's house, it's several acres big," Qin Xiuxiu reminded her from the side.

“Sister Yan Yan, we don’t need to build one as big as theirs. You don’t earn money easily either. One room for each of you is enough.”

Xu frowned as she listened. Would that old hag agree to take out money to build a house?

"Why build a house? This is already habitable."

As Xu had expected, Madam Xu slammed her fist on the table and disagreed.

“Grandma, no, you must build this house,” Xu Yaozu said in a deep voice.

"I can't let that little bastard Jiang Jingyi outshine me. People in the academy will laugh at me if they find out."

"What's wrong? Yaozu, were you bullied at the academy?" Upon hearing Xu Yaozu's words, Madam Xu immediately asked with concern.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yaozu pursed his lips, turned his head to look in the other direction, and remained silent.

When Madam Xu saw that her precious grandson refused to speak, she became even more certain that he had been bullied at the academy.

"Yaozu, who bullied you? Tell Grandma, and Grandma will go and settle the score with him," said Madam Xu angrily.

"Did Jiang Jingyi bully you, Yaozu?" Lin Shuyan asked tentatively.

"He takes advantage of being the dean's close disciple to make things difficult for me at every turn in the academy and speak ill of me to the dean," Xu Yaozu said bitterly.

“The students in the academy are all from wealthy and noble families, and now everyone is ostracizing me because of him.”

"That little bastard is really too much!" Madam Xu wished she could go and beat Jiang Jingyi up right now.

However, she did just that, taking Xu Yaozu out of the house and heading to Shili Village to demand justice from Jiang Hua.

"Grandma, don't go. It's no use for you to seek justice for me in the village now." Xu Yaozu rolled his eyes and shook off Da Xu's hand.

"Yaozu, it's not your fault, it's alright, Grandma will go and get justice for you," Lin Shuyan comforted from the side.

Xu Yaozu dared not continue speaking. He had only said those things out of jealousy that Jiang Jingyi had a big house, which was why he had made up some nonsense.

Grandma dragged him out in such a hurry that it has already alerted the villagers passing by.

"What's wrong, Grandma Xu? Where are you going?" a kind-hearted villager stopped and asked.

"It's all because that little bastard stole the opportunity to become my family's last disciple, and now he's bullying him in the academy!" Madam Xu said angrily.

"I'm going to settle the score with him!"

As she spoke, Madam Xu led Xu Yaozu, Madam Xu, and Lin Shuyan toward Shili Village.

Shili Village and Xujia Village are not close to each other, and some villagers who wanted to go see the excitement did not go with them when they heard that they were going to Shili Village.

When Madam Xu arrived at Jiang Hua's house in Shili Village, she stared in disbelief at the large house before her.

"Grandma, this is Jiang Hua's house," Lin Shuyan kindly stepped forward to remind her.

Madam Xu was stunned. Looking at the mansion in front of her, she pounded on the door and shouted.

"Jiang Hua, come out here!"

The knocking and shouting from Madam Xu had attracted many villagers from Shili Village to come and see what was going on.

Soon, the door opened, and Madam Xu, who was banging on it so enthusiastically, almost fell inside.

"What's the matter?" Wen Yu opened the door, his face grim.

Madam Xu steadied herself, put her hands on her hips, and shouted, "Where's Jiang Hua? Tell her to bring that little bastard out here!"

"Who is this bastard talking about?" Jiang Hua asked as she slowly walked out.

"The little bastard is here, of course."

"Grandma," Lin Shuyan called out in time to stop the Xu family from being tricked into revealing information.

Madam Xu belatedly realized what was happening: "Why did you bully our Yaozu at the academy?"

Jiang Jingyi looked bewildered. Was she talking to him?

"Stop pretending to be confused. Yaozu just went back and told me everything," Madam Xu continued to shout.

"Ah Yi, is there?" Jiang Hua raised an eyebrow and asked Xu Yaozu.

Given Xu Yaozu's character, how could he possibly tolerate being bullied? He would make a scene so that everyone would know, and then he could keep it to himself and tell his wife when he got home.

“Stepmother, I didn’t,” Jiang Jingyi shook his head.

“Those who have done it will definitely deny it, but if my Yaozu says it’s true, then it is, and I don’t care,” said Madam Xu, throwing a tantrum.

"What do you want?" Jiang Jingyi stepped forward and asked.

"Give up your spot as the Dean's closed-door disciple to our Yaozu, or I'll tell the Dean and have him kick you out of Shifang Academy," Madam Xu threatened arrogantly.

“Alright, then go tell the dean.” Jiang Jingyi met Xu Yaozu’s gloomy face and said with a half-smile.

"Grandma, forget it." Xu Yaozu felt a little panicked when he heard that they were going to talk to the headmaster. If the headmaster had someone investigate, wouldn't all the things he had done at the academy be...