After stirring into a solid, the final step is to pour it into a mold for further solidification.

The Great Sheng Dynasty doesn't yet have particularly refined mold-making skills; even slightly better molds are sold at extremely high prices.

This was Wan Shu's first attempt, so she didn't buy a mold and simply poured the contents into a bamboo tube.

"Mother, is it ready?"

The five little ones, along with Meng Wenyuan, stared curiously at the milky white soap in the bamboo tube, and would occasionally sniff it.

"Wow, this smells so good!"

"Aunt Liang, can I have a bite?"

"Slurp! Mother, I'd like to try some too. It smells like pastries!"

Wan Shu sighed and rubbed his forehead: "Are you gluttons? You want to eat everything. This is done, but it can't be eaten or used yet. It can only be used after it has completely solidified tomorrow."

The little ones nodded, having to give up their desire to try it.

There was still a lot of lard left in the pot, so Wan Shu continued making milk soap.

Milk soap is relatively simpler to make; it doesn't require distillation or purification, you just need to add milk to lard.

After Wan Shu finished making all the soaps, all was quiet and the moon was high in the sky.

The youngest, Si Ya and Wu Ping, as well as Da Zhu, who was going to deliver goods to the county town the next morning, had already been sent to bed by Wan Shu.

Only Er Ya and San Shun remained in the courtyard to help her.

Wan Shu: "No need to make it too clean. Just tidy it up a bit, then lock the door and go to sleep."

To clean up properly late at night, we need to turn on more lights.

It doesn't matter when you tidy up.

Er Ya and San Shun were reluctant to spend the money on lamp oil, so they nodded and went to lock the door.

But as soon as I got to the door, I froze.

The two looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

Wan Shu sensed something was wrong and went over to ask, "What's wrong?"

“Mother, it seems that Muye hasn’t gone back to the old house yet.”

Er Ya pointed to Mu Ye, who was sitting on the edge of a field not far away, looking somewhat worried.

"Although wild animals are not likely to appear in the village, we still have to be careful at night. What he is doing is too dangerous."

Sam-soon added, "Yeah, even without wild animals, a vagrant bandit would be enough to give him a hard time."

Due to the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in migrants in the vicinity of Sishui County recently, which is indeed somewhat dangerous.

Wan Shu nodded and gently patted their heads: "Okay, Mother understands. You two go inside to sleep first. Mother will go and call him back to his room."

The two little ones nodded but didn't follow. However, they didn't go straight inside to sleep either. Instead, they sat at the door, waiting for Wan Shu to return.

"Why are you sitting here so late at night instead of sleeping?" Wan Shu walked to Emperor Hongxing's side: "The village is not like your city. Wild animals and refugees are more likely to appear at night."

Emperor Hongxing looked up and glanced coldly at Wan Shu: "I have martial arts skills, it's none of your business."

Seeing Emperor Hongxing's attitude, Wan Shu didn't bother to give him a pleasant look and rolled her eyes impolitely: "Do you think I want to take care of you? But there are wild animals and refugees around. If something happens to you and you're staying at our house now, we'll have to take responsibility."

Emperor Hongxing's lips curled into a mocking smile: "As expected, this is all the kind of thinking people like you can come up with."

These words were truly too harsh, and Wan Shu immediately turned cold.

"People like us? Explain yourself, what kind of people are we?"

Emperor Hongxing had never been questioned so rudely before, and his temper immediately flared up. He said coldly, "You are naturally selfish and despicable people."

“Selfish and self-serving…” Wan Shu repeated, almost laughing in anger: “Young Master Mu, you really know how to turn the tables. Aren’t you the one who is truly selfish, self-serving, and despicable?”

“We treated you without receiving any payment or knowing your identity, brought you back, and gave you food and water for free. And what did you do in return?”

“You show no gratitude whatsoever. No, not only do you lack gratitude, you don’t even have the most basic respect. You always act superior and treat my eldest son like a groom.”

"Human hearts are made of flesh and blood; how you treat us is how we will naturally treat you in return."

"But to be honest, I really think we've been quite polite to you. At least we haven't treated you like a servant; we've just let you use your labor to earn your own food."

"Even so, you still can't stand it and you still call us selfish. Let me tell you, we are not selfish at all. The real selfish person is you!"

"Someone like you will never earn genuine affection from others. You probably don't have a single person around you who truly cares for you."

Emperor Hongxing was completely stunned.

He never imagined that there would be a woman in this world who would dare to point her finger at him and curse him like that.

He never imagined that what he considered to be perfectly normal behavior would be seen as so rude and ungrateful by Wan Shu's family.

So this is how he is seen by outsiders?

Did his former followers also see him that way, which is why they betrayed him?

“Young Master Mu, I guess your identity must be extraordinary, but no matter how extraordinary your identity is, our family doesn’t care and doesn’t want any of your gifts.”

"If you can't change your arrogant attitude, then please leave as soon as possible. Our house is too small to accommodate such a big Buddha as you."

After Wan Shu finished speaking, he turned and left.

Er Ya and San Shun were both puzzled as they watched Emperor Hongxing standing there blankly.

"Mother, why is he still standing there?"

Wan Shu was too lazy to care about Emperor Hongxing anymore. She shrugged and said, "He feels comfortable standing there and won't listen to advice. You can leave him alone and go back to your rooms to sleep."

"How can there still be such strange people who don't sleep at night and feel comfortable standing on the edge of the field?"

Both Er Ya and San Shun looked on incredulously.

However, neither of them tried to persuade them further.

Sincerity begets sincerity.

Although Er Ya and San Shun were not as perceptive as Wan Shu, they were able to sense that Emperor Hong Xing treated them as servants.

However, it was also possible to sense that Emperor Hongxing's attitude towards them was not very good.

If the other party's attitude isn't good, there's no need for them to try and be nice to them.

The three of them went inside, washed up quickly, and went to bed.

Emperor Hongxing stood alone by the edge of the field for most of the night.

Looking at the location of Wan Shu's room, he suddenly realized that Wan Shu was not as foolish as he had imagined.

On the contrary, Wan Shu is an extremely intelligent and insightful woman.

Perhaps the truly foolish person has always been him...