The butler lowered his head and whispered, "No, sir."

"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and go find out. You're always meddling in my business."

The butler bowed respectfully and then left.

Master Zheng was always refined and easy-going, rarely losing his temper, except when it came to the matter of the young prince.

Zheng Shiyi quickly stepped forward to comfort him: "Master, Nanxiang Academy has produced many talented students, all of whom are promising. You will surely make a comeback and, when you gain power in the future, you will be able to clear the name of the young prince and the empress."

Mr. Zheng closed his eyes, as if lost in unpleasant memories, his face looking rather pale.

Seeing this, Zheng Shiyi wisely withdrew.

...

In the afternoon, Lu's mother brought Wang Gang and his two siblings over.

When they met again, they were much more familiar with each other. Wang Yue was no longer as reserved as before. She ran happily to Gu Nanjiao and asked, "Sister-in-law, do you think this big, ugly thing is edible?"

Gu Nanjiao smiled and said, "Yes, it's not only edible, but also very delicious!"

"Sister Wang Yue, when your sister-in-law finishes making it, I guarantee you'll be amazed," Lu Xiaomei said earnestly, blinking her bright eyes.

"Really?" Wang Yue asked expectantly.

After eating the bullfrog cooked by Gu Nanjiao, everyone praised it highly.

Gu Nanjiao then revealed her plans: "These days, bullfrogs are everywhere, they're all over the ponds nearby. I'll lead you guys to catch them later. My older and younger cousins ​​will be in charge of killing the bullfrogs, my younger cousin and Lu Xiaomei will be in charge of seasoning and marinating them, and your aunt and I will be in charge of cooking them. Finally, we'll take them to the county town to sell. I'll give each of you 150 wen a month, including three meals a day, how about that?"

As the eldest brother, Wang Gang had the most say, so he quickly declined. Gu Nanjiao pretended to be angry: "If you keep being so polite, I'll get angry."

Wang Gang had no choice but to give up, and Wang Qiang and Wang Yue nodded in agreement.

After dinner, Gu Nanjiao handed Wang Gang the prepared bullfrog meat and a large bowl of braised pork belly.

"Big cousin, please bring some for your uncles and aunts to try."

"This...this is too much trouble, you're trying to take this and eat it all at once." Wang Gang quickly stepped forward to pull him away, refusing repeatedly.

"We're all family, you can't refuse. Besides, this is our heartfelt gift, how can we turn it down?"

Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Wang Gang had no choice but to accept it.

...

At Lu Lao Er's house, Lu Yanping rubbed his nose, walked up to Li Shi with a nonchalant air, and stretched out his hand: "Mother, give me some money."

Seeing Lu Yanping reach out his hand, I couldn't help but think of Yang Meiqin's words. She said that Lu Yanping was always lying in her bed and couldn't get up. Could it be that this was true?

"What do you need the money for?" Li asked coldly.

Lu Yanping sensed that his mother was acting strangely today, as if she was about to lose her temper, so he quickly chuckled and said, "Nothing, if you don't want to give it to me, that's fine."

Seeing this, Li was furious. She stepped forward and twisted Lu Yanping's ear, causing him to scream in pain: "Mother, it hurts! Let go! Let go!"

"I'm asking you, did you go to see that little slut Yang Meiqin? Did you say you wanted to marry her?"

Lu Yanping's heart skipped a beat. He thought, "Oh no! How did his mother know about this?" He had only told Yang Meiqin this before. Could it be…

Even if his mother finds out, so what? As long as he denies it to the death, his mother can't do anything about it.

Lu Yanping rubbed his swollen and painful ears and said with a fawning smile, "Mother, who are you listening to? Would I marry such a piece of junk? I'm going to marry the daughter of a scholar, no, the daughter of an official, someone who will surpass Lu Yanzhao. Don't listen to others stirring up trouble and ruining our relationship."

Li's emotions gradually calmed down, and she raised an eyebrow: "Is that so?"

"Yes, Mother, why don't you trust your own son? Why do you trust others?"

Seeing her son's serious expression, Li couldn't help but believe him a little, as long as he wasn't messing around with that slut Yang Meiqin.

Her son is quite handsome; he'll definitely marry a daughter from a wealthy and influential family, and certainly a better one than Lu Yanzhao.

Seeing that Li believed him, Lu Yanping felt relieved and didn't ask for money anymore. He then turned and left.

Li frowned: "Where are you going?"

Lu Yanping said, "I went to look for my father, but I haven't come back yet. I'm a little worried."

Hearing Lu Yanping say this, Li felt relieved.

Lu Yanping went out the door and walked towards the east end of the village, turning into a courtyard.

Yang Meiqin was sitting in the room, leisurely eating sunflower seeds, completely at ease. Remembering what Master Wang had said, she couldn't help but laugh.

That day, after she pretended to faint, Master Wang arranged for her to stay in an elegant villa and invited a doctor to come and see her.

After the doctor left, Yang Meiqin slowly woke up and immediately knelt down to thank Wang Dafu.

Then she began to lament her young widowhood, her tearful appearance stirring Wang Dafu's heart. He couldn't help but grab Yang Meiqin's hand and recite a few lines of poetry in a sentimental tone: "If a beauty is like this, why not embrace her sooner?"

Although Yang Meiqin didn't understand the specific meaning of those words, she roughly understood them and leaned into Wang Dafu's arms.

After a passionate encounter, Wang Dafu left with a satisfied expression, promising Yang Meiqin that he would pick her up from Hama Village before he left.

Hearing the door open, Yang Meiqin was startled, dropped the sunflower seeds she was holding, looked up and saw that it was Lu Yanping. She smiled and said, "Oh, it's you..."

Lu Yanping stepped forward, grabbed Yang Meiqin's waist, and pinched it hard, causing Yang Meiqin to gasp in surprise.

"You rascal, what are you doing?" Yang Meiqin said coquettishly, which almost made Lu Yanping lose control.

Lu Yanping asked, "I'm asking you, did you say something to my mother?"

"What do you think I'll say?" Yang Meiqin wrapped her arms around Lu Yanping's neck, her soft breasts brushing against him, her voice charming and seductive.

Lu Yanping felt a surge of anger and blood rush to his head, and he couldn't hold back any longer.

He found a stool and sat down, letting Yang Meiqin straddle his lap, lifting her skirt and reaching out.

Immediately afterwards, an indescribable sound came, making everyone blush.

When Li saw Lu Lao Er return, she looked up at the door and asked, "Where's Yanping?"

"You're asking me? How would I know?" Lu Lao Er said irritably.

Mrs. Li frowned: "You don't know, he said he went to look for you."

Lu Lao Er was also puzzled: "He's looking for me? No way. There's only one straight road from the fields to our house. If he's looking for me, I'm sure I'll run into him."

Li's brows furrowed deeply; she had a bad feeling and instinctively knew that Yang Meiqin was right.

Mrs. Li felt a pang of regret, realizing she shouldn't have believed her son's words; he had persuaded her with just a few words.

Li pulled Lu Lao Er along: "Let's go!"

"What's wrong?" Lu Lao Er asked, puzzled. He had just arrived home and hadn't even had a chance to rest. What was this damn woman up to now? She never stops causing trouble.

"Come with me now, your son is going to be ruined by this junk."

Lu Lao Er might not care about other things, but he was very concerned about his son, and followed Li Shi without saying a word.

Li walked very fast, constantly cursing and swearing.

Arriving at Yang Meiqin's courtyard, before even entering, they heard a sound that made one blush and their heart race. Lu Lao Er turned his head away awkwardly, while Li Shi spat out a curse and kicked open Yang Meiqin's door.