Lady Pingguo's face turned ashen, but she forced a smile and said, "Thank you for your generosity, Second Master Chen... I'll have someone take Jiaojiao back right now."

If they don't stay, they'll have completely offended the Marquis of Dingguo's family!

From now on, their Duke's mansion will be unable to maintain its foothold in the capital.

Granny Yu and Xiao Lü were very sensible and quickly carried Li Jiaojiao away.

Just then, a soft laugh rang out: "Hey, what's all the commotion over here? What's going on?"

Ye Caiping turned around and saw that the Marquis's wife, the old lady Shen, and the Marquis of Dingguo were being escorted by a group of people. Almost all the guests had gathered here today.

The one who just spoke was Lady Hou.

The people who had gathered there quickly made way for them.

The Duke of Pingguo and his brother Liu Shangwei also arrived, and the three of them stared intently at the Duke of Pingguo's wife with eyes that could kill.

After Shen Zhiyan appeared, they followed the Marquis of Dingguo's family.

But the Marquis of Dingguo and his family just stood there and said nothing, and they didn't dare to step forward.

They watched helplessly as Li Jiaojiao acted foolishly and mischievously, nearly spitting blood with anger. Yet they dared not step forward to stop her! Of course, they were powerless to stop her.

They could only watch helplessly as all of this happened, watching the Duke of Pingguo's mansion lose all face!

Throughout the ordeal, the surrounding guests subjected them to scornful and mocking stares! They wished they could turn around and disappear into a dog hole.

Later, with just one sentence from Shen Zhiyan, they weren't even allowed to crawl through dog holes anymore!

Madam Shen and the others walked to Ye Caiping's side: "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"Auntie!" Shen Manman jumped out from behind Old Madam Shen, "Who bullied you?"

As she spoke, she glared angrily at the Duchess.

Ye Caiping smiled and said, "It's alright, it's alright, it's already been resolved."

Today is Madam Shen's birthday banquet; we can't spoil the fun.

Madam Shen nodded kindly: "It's good that you're alright."

After speaking, she took Ye Caiping's hand and faced the crowd:

"I originally intended to introduce her at the banquet, but now that everyone has gathered here, I will formally introduce her to you all here."

"This Lady Ye is Zhi Yan's fiancée. They will be married on the 20th of the first month next year! These two young ladies, named Jin'er and Huan'er, will be our fifth and sixth young ladies of the Marquis of Dingguo's mansion."

Those present already knew, and quickly offered their congratulations with smiles:

"Congratulations, Madam! Congratulations, Second Master Shen! You have gained a wonderful wife and two beautiful daughters."

These congratulations were mostly flattering. Regardless of Ye Caiping's background, as long as the Marquis of Dingguo's family liked her, they had to fawn over her.

Lady Hou smiled and said, "As you can see today, most of our doors and windows have been replaced with glass, and all kinds of lamps and tableware are also glass products."

Princess Fushun scolded, "I've been pestering you all the way here and you still won't tell me. Now you're keeping me in suspense. Now hurry up and tell me."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding guests all laughed.

They had long been curious about these glass items, and were so envious that they wished they could take one home.

Lady Hou smiled and said, "These are a type of glass, but they are more transparent and brighter than regular glass. Of course, the production process is also more demanding. They have a new name: glass."

"These glass products all come from Ye Yiren's glass workshop. Ye Yiren has mastered the glassmaking process and is able to produce them in large quantities."

All the distinguished guests present stared at Ye Caiping with shining eyes: "What? Ye Yiren has mastered the craft of making glass... no, glass? And she can mass-produce it?"

Ye Caiping smiled and said, "Yes. The glass doors and windows, lighting fixtures and tableware for this mansion can probably be bought for three or four thousand taels."

Doors and windows are sold by the square meter, which is cheaper, but lighting fixtures and tableware are sold by the piece, which is more expensive.

The guests looked at Ye Caiping with even greater fervor: "This is wonderful. Paper windows are not good at keeping warm and are easily broken. These glass windows are both light-transmitting and warm, they're simply perfect."

"If both the lantern and the lampshade are made of glass, the chance of fire can be reduced."

Moreover, even the Marquis of Dingguo's mansion is using it now, which is the benchmark of fashion. If they don't use it, wouldn't they be outdated?

Seeing everyone's eagerness, Ye Caiping said, "If you are interested in glass, you can talk to me about it later. Today is the old lady's birthday banquet, so let's continue to have fun or watch the opera."

Madam Shen glanced at Ye Caiping with a smile, thinking, "This daughter-in-law is so sensible."

Ye Caiping said, "Madam, let's go to the theater in front to watch the play."

"Okay, okay."

A group of people then escorted Madam Shen and the others away, chatting and laughing as they left, praising her as they went:

"Master Shen has a good eye; he found someone who knows glassmaking."

Shen Zhiyan: "She can also design furniture, and a furniture workshop will open in the capital next year. Her ideas are different from ours."

Shen Manman proudly declared, "My aunt also came up with the idea for spicy soup!"

"Really? I love spicy soup the most! Ye Yiren is so skillful!"

The voices praising Ye Caiping faded into the distance, leaving only a group of people from the Duke's mansion standing there dumbfounded.

The Duchess was completely stunned and couldn't come to her senses.

She felt both hatred and shock. She had always thought Ye Caiping was just a small-time farmer or a small-time merchant. Who would have thought that she would be able to make glass?

This is really good stuff!

Even a fool would know how much profit is involved here!

That wretched woman, how come all the good things happen to her!

Duke Pingguo glared at her fiercely, wishing he could pounce on her, pin her down, and beat her up.

But there were four or five other guests around, so he snorted coldly and left in a huff.

But after walking only a few steps, a man who didn't get along with him approached him: "Hey, Duke, let's talk about your adopted daughter. Why did you take her in?"

"None of your business—humph!"

The Duchess was in no better shape; she was just about to find a secluded spot to hide when a woman in fine clothes approached her, looking at her with concern:

"Is Madam Liu alright? Sigh... Madam, how could you be so careless in taking in a goddaughter without even checking her background?"

"And I heard she was just a maid, how could you be so foolish as to take her in as your goddaughter?"

Those words of concern, however, were like sharp knives, piercing the Duchess's heart.

The Duchess glared at the woman resentfully: "So what if she's a maid? Weren't you a maid who came up here too?"

After saying that, he snorted coldly and turned to leave.

The woman stood there speechless; this woman was none other than Lady Mei, the wife of the Marquis of Ningguo.

Lady Pingguo left quickly, trying to find a secluded place to hide.

But the Marquis of Dingguo's residence was too lively today, with people everywhere, and there was no way to avoid them. They kept getting "greeted".

Lady Pingguo had no choice but to hide in a rockery.

Just then, she suddenly saw Ye Caiping hurrying past with her maid.

Lady Pingguo was so angry that she came out from behind the artificial hill and said coldly:

"Ye Yiren is really shrewd, she actually managed to climb up to the high branch of Master Shen! Who are you... I knew I was right about you before."

Anyway, she had already offended Ye Caiping badly, so she wasn't afraid to say some harsh words in private.