That evening, Xu Genshan and his wife did not go home. They only sent Xu Genshu back to say that they were busy at the restaurant and stayed in town.

"Sigh, I wonder if the boss and the others have resolved the matter at the restaurant yet." Old Xu looked worried.

Today, I asked the second son for help again, and sent someone back to the village to buy things. He didn't even come back tonight.

"Father, don't worry, things have been mostly settled with my elder brother and sister-in-law. Tomorrow's banquet is very important and can't be taken lightly, so my elder brother and sister-in-law are staying at the restaurant."

Xu Genshu had already gone to the restaurant and originally said he would stay to help, but Xu Genshan said that staying at the restaurant would only make his family anxious.

Let's just have him come back and give us a heads-up, so that his family can have peace of mind.

Hearing Xu Genshu say this, the two elders of the Xu family finally felt relieved and couldn't help but say a few words to the Chu family.

"The Chu family is too ruthless. They've forced Genshan and the others into making a mess of things. Not only have they offended the county magistrate, but they've also offended the governor."

The Chu family did indeed have this idea, but they were unaware that Governor Song Kangcheng was an old acquaintance of the Xu family.

They only hoped to crush the Xu family in one fell swoop in front of the two adults, so that the arrogant Xu family would never be able to get back up.

Xu Genshu comforted the two elderly people for a few more minutes, and then suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, my sister-in-law said to let Man'er stay at home and not go out."

"If Man'er knew about the Chu family's actions, she would probably be unhappy and want to settle accounts with them."

Liu Fang wasn't worried about anyone else in the family, but she was worried about Fu Man'er, just like the Xu family protected Fu Man'er.

Fu Man'er is extremely protective of her family. If she knew the reason why these things happened today, she definitely wouldn't be sitting there peacefully.

Grandma Xu also thought of this, "I know, I've been trying to keep her by my side all day."

"She just finished dinner and went back to her room. I didn't see anything unusual while she was eating, so she probably doesn't know about this yet."

Xu Genshu thought for a moment, "It's best if you don't know. I'll go to the gatekeeper later and tell him that if Man'er goes out in the next couple of days, he should be informed by the gatekeeper."

"Alright, alright, I'll see if I can find something to keep Man'er occupied," Grandma Xu nodded and said.

None of the three people inside noticed the dark figure that flashed past the doorway.

After speaking with the two elderly people, Xu Genshu went to the courtyard of the main house and asked, "Where is your young lady?"

After Shuangxi bowed once, he said, "Reporting to the Third Master, Miss has already retired for the night."

"So early?" Xu Genshu was a little surprised, as he had just finished eating not long ago.

Normally, he wouldn't suspect anything if he heard Fu Man'er asleep, but today he had to be careful.

"Man'er? Man'er?" Xu Genshu called out from the doorway.

"Master, Miss has already fallen asleep and probably can't hear us. I'll go into the room and wake her up," Shuangxi said.

Xu Genshu had just finished nodding when the door creaked open. "Uncle?"

Fu Man'er squinted, still half-asleep, and rubbed her eyes to see the person in front of her clearly. "Uncle, it's you."

Seeing Fu Man'er like this, Xu Genshu felt a little guilty for disturbing her sleep, but he also felt much more at ease.

There was no way around it; this girl had been mischievous and clever since she was little, and he wouldn't feel at ease unless he saw her with his own eyes.

"Your uncle came to tell you that your parents will be very busy tomorrow, so he asked me to tell you to stay home and spend time with your grandparents."

"I'm leaving early tomorrow, and I'm afraid you, my little lazy pig, won't be up yet, so I'm coming over tonight to tell you."

Xu Genshu quickly came up with a reason that sounded like there was nothing to criticize, and he even gave a reason for leaving Fu Man'er at home tomorrow.

"Oh, okay." Fu Man'er seemed not to be fully awake, looking dazed, and could only nod blankly.

Xu Genshu patted her head tenderly, "Alright, go to sleep now."

"Mmm," Fu Man'er responded, closed the door, and turned around.

If Xu Genshu were to glance into the room, he would see the neatly folded blankets on the bed, which looked as if no one had ever slept there.

Day 2

Chu Mansion

"Ahhh!" The maid was carrying a basin to help Chu Yiyi wash up, but as soon as she saw Chu Yiyi, she screamed and knocked the basin over to the ground.

Chu Yiyi, who had just woken up and was sitting on the bed, was so startled by the scream that she almost lost her mind. "What are you doing, making me uncomfortable so early in the morning!"

"Miss, Miss, you..." The maid covered her mouth with one hand and pointed at Chu Yiyi in fear with the other.

"Don't you have any manners? How dare you point at me with your lowly finger!" Chu Yiyi hadn't realized the problem at this point.

The maid quickly withdrew her hand, but the fear on her face remained. "Miss, your face..."

As she spoke, the maid swallowed hard and quietly looked away.

"My face?" Chu Yiyi reached out and touched her face, which was still as smooth as usual.

By the way, there's a banquet hosted by the county magistrate today, and the Chu family is among those invited. The banquet is being held at the Xu Family Restaurant.

This is a great opportunity to see the Xu family make a fool of themselves. She'll dress up beautifully later and watch them beg and plead.

Just thinking about it made her smile.

When the maid saw her smile, she was so frightened that she took several steps back and almost bumped into the stool next to her.

Chu Yiyi finally snapped out of her own delusions. The maid's repeated mistakes had exhausted her patience.

"What, have you had enough of staying in our Chu family?" This implies that they are going to sell him off.

The maidservant didn't care about anything else at that moment, "Miss, your face..."

As she spoke, she picked up the bronze mirror next to her and held it in front of Chu Yiyi.

Chu Yiyi was still scolding, "What kind of work are you doing? You've already prepared the water for washing your face, why don't you hurry up and send someone to fetch another basin!"

After she finished cursing, she casually glanced at the bronze mirror, and what she saw made her scream even louder than the maid.

"Ahhh."

At the same time, screams of surprise came from the main courtyard of the Chu residence from Master Chu and Madam Chu, followed by the servants who went in after hearing the screams.

On this ordinary morning, the Chu family was in complete chaos, with basins of hot water being carried into the room.

Because all three masters of the Chu family had something 'grown' on their faces.

It's described as long, but it's actually drawn on.

Let's start with Chu Yiyi. Her face has many black spots that look like moles, densely packed, which gives people goosebumps just looking at them.

That's not all; her lips were enlarged with a lip balm-like substance, making them look like a gaping maw.

So when she smiled just now, it was really creepy, especially the red around her mouth, it looked like she was going to eat someone alive.

As for Madam Chu and Master Chu, they were slightly better, but not by much, even though their faces were painted crookedly.

However, one can vaguely see kingfishers, snakes, scorpions, and centipedes.

The king's forehead is adorned with a scorpion crawling on the left, a centipede on the right, and a snake with its tongue flicking extends from the bridge of his nose to his chin.

So when the couple woke up and saw each other, they were so frightened that they thought they were dreaming.

As for why the water was brought in basin after basin, it was because the paint on his face could never be washed off.

"Waaah, who did this? Who did this?!" Chu Yiyi's face was already red from rubbing, but the black spots and red marks on her face had only faded a little and had not been completely washed away.

The maid stood beside her, barely daring to breathe, and served her with utmost care.

If you wipe it too lightly, it won't come off at all; if you wipe it too hard, Chu Yiyi will cry out in pain. In just a short while, 45 maids have already been replaced.

"Who is it?" Master Chu, his face contorted with rage, slammed his fist on the table, his fury making him want to smash everything in the flower hall.

"Butler, gather everyone in the hall. I want to skin him alive."

Master Chu's face was fat and large, and when he got angry, the distorted animal-like features on his face actually came to life.

The butler glanced at it once and quickly lowered his head. He bowed and hurriedly retreated. If he didn't leave, he was afraid he would burst out laughing.

I have to say, after looking at it a few more times, you get used to it. Not only do you not feel scared, but you also find it a little funny.