Huiyun: Who is it? Why are you knocking on the door so late?

Zhao Di looked at Zhu Jiawang; "Second son, go and take a look!"

Zhu Jiawang immediately instructed Zhu Jiafu, "Afu, go ahead, I'll give you half of the roasted sweet potato chips later!"

"Okay!" Zhu Jiafu believed him and ran to open the door with great enthusiasm.

Xianglian sighed and facepalmed. This silly child is so easy to fool…

Just then, a startled cry came from outside.

"Liu Niang! You're back?"

"Liu Niang is back?" Zhao Di and Hui Yun immediately stood up and ran outside, with Xiang Lian quickly following behind.

Everyone ran into the courtyard and saw that Liu Yingying had really returned. She was standing in front of them, carrying large and small bags, and casually gave instructions to Jiawang and his brothers.

"These are all for you. Take them back inside, I'm exhausted!"

As soon as Liu Yingying finished speaking, she was rushed over and hugged tightly by the two little maids, Zhao Di and Hui Yun.

"Liu Niang, why are you only just getting back?"

"We thought you weren't coming back... Waaah..."

The two little girls began to sob as they spoke, their cries a mixture of joy, worry, fear, and grievance…

Even Xianglian, standing there, couldn't help but have tears welling up in her eyes.

"Okay, okay, I'm back safe and sound, aren't I? Don't cry, crying will make your eyes ugly!"

It took Liu Yingying quite a while to calm the girls down.

It was too cold in the courtyard, so everyone went back inside and sat around the fire. Only then did Liu Yingying feel a bit warmer.

Several pairs of eyes were fixed on her, eager to tell her what they wanted to say.

Liu Yingying's lips twitched. "Don't worry, all of you, don't worry. I was on my way back in Uncle Da Niu's carriage. He already told me about what's happened in the village and at home these past few months, and I also know about Sister Jiang being kidnapped..."

Xianglian finally couldn't hold back any longer and started to fall.

"It's terrifying! Aunt Jiang, Jiang Yi, was kidnapped from her own home. We've searched for her for ages but haven't found her, and reporting it to the authorities hasn't helped..."

"By the way... where's Xue Ye? Where is he?"

Xianglian realized that Xue Ye had not returned with Liu Yingying, and she immediately became anxious and tried to rush out to look for him, but Liu Yingying grabbed her arm.

"Xue Ye was picked up by his maternal grandparents on the way. Don't worry, he and Sister Jiang are both fine now."

Xianglian: "So Aunt Jiang was also taken away by her family? But who exactly are her family members? They took her away in the middle of the night without even saying a word..."

However, everyone breathed a sigh of relief after learning that Jiang Suyu and her son Xue Ye had survived.

Zhu Jiawang couldn't wait to tell Liu Yingying, "Our new house is finished, but Grandpa Village Chief said we have to wait for you to come back before we can choose a good day to move in!"

When talking about their new home, the eyes of the Zhu brothers, Jiawang and Jiafu, were filled with anticipation!

Liu Yingying nodded with a smile, "Okay, I'll go to the village chief tomorrow and pick a good day to hold the housewarming banquet!"

"Oh, right, these are for you guys!"

Liu Yingying opened the bundle and distributed the gifts she had prepared for everyone.

The children and Grandma Zhang were given winter clothes and snacks, but Xianglian was given a red gold twin begonia hairpin.

Xianglian looked terrified and quickly refused, "No! This gift is too precious, I can't accept it!"

This gold hairpin looks very heavy; she couldn't afford it even with a year's earnings at the theater!

Liu Yingying smiled and said, "Because you're at home looking after the children for me, I can go to the capital to handle business without any worries. You can accept this hairpin!"

Xianglian wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Liu Yingying.

"Don't refuse, or you'll be treating me like an outsider."

Xianglian didn't know what to say, so she accepted the gold hairpin, though she was still happy inside.

After all, this hairpin is really beautiful!

Liu Yingying turned around and noticed that Zhao Di and Hui Yun, the two little maids, were also staring longingly at the hairpin.

"When you come of age, I will also make you a set of gold jewelry!"

Note that it is a set, not a single item.

The two girls almost jumped up and cheered, wishing they could turn 18 tomorrow...

That night, Liu Yingying and Xianglian temporarily shared a room and chatted.

Liu Yingying: "Xianglian, have you been back to the county recently?"

Xianglian: "I went back to visit the troupe leader at the beginning of last month. The troupe leader said that things have been unsettled in the county lately, and that young master Tao is still looking for me everywhere. He told me to stay in the countryside for the time being."

Liu Yingying: "I visited Boss Bai today, and she said the same thing. Just stay in the village and don't worry, as long as I have food to eat, you won't go hungry!"

"Thank you, Sister Liu!" Xianglian's eyes reddened again, feeling very grateful to Liu Yingying.

The next morning, before dawn, the Zhu family courtyard was already crowded with people.

After a night, everyone knew that Liu Yingying had returned to the village.

The village chief also suggested holding a banquet in the village to welcome Liu Yingying back.

In addition, when Liu Yingying was granted the title of Lady of Ning'an County, the news also reached Taoyuan Village, even though she was in the capital.

Aunt Zhang from the village brought her niece, a girl of about thirteen or fourteen, to Liu Yingying.

“Sister-in-law Liu… no, Lady Ning’an, you are now a great person in our village! How can you be without maids to serve you?”

"What do you think of my niece? Don't worry, although she can't read, she's incredibly quick and efficient! Would you like her to stay and serve you?"

“This…” Liu Yingying felt that she hadn’t reached the point where she needed to be served, this was too bureaucratic!

Before she could even speak, people started whispering among themselves.

"Sister-in-law Zhang is too shrewd. The Lady of Ning'an County has only been back for one night, and she can't wait to bring her niece from her own family over. If I had known, I would have brought my niece over too... We can't let Lin Desheng's daughter have all the benefits!"

Everyone knows that besides her own children, Liu Yingying dotes on Lin Cuicui the most.

Lin Cuicui received almost everything her own children had, which made many people in the village envious.

But there's nothing we can do about it.

Who told them to ostracize Liu Yingying before? Now they have no face to ask her to treat them equally!

Liu Yingying: "I'm not used to being waited on. You should send this child back!"

Upon hearing this, Sister-in-law Zhang could not hide her disappointment.

In the end, the village chief insisted on proposing to hold a welcome banquet in the village. Although Taoyuan Village is not very wealthy, it has Liu Yingying's farm as its economic foundation, so everyone has plenty of food.

Liu Yingying couldn't refuse, so she let them make the arrangements.

Village chief Wang Delu then returned home beaming.

As soon as he got home, he asked his youngest son to inform the village chiefs and neighborhood heads of the surrounding villages.

Today, Liu Yingying is the Lady of Ning'an County, a title bestowed by the imperial court.

The county magistrate was from Taoyuan Village, so the village head was also proud of this.