The Li family members, young and old, all frowned upon hearing this. Li Zhensheng immediately said, "Mother, these two, master and servant, cannot be kept here. Let's send them away quickly."
Old Mrs. Li nodded, her heart heavy with even more sorrow. "When Madam Sun first rescued our family and put us on the ship, I also saved Nannan's life on the ship, which I considered a way of repaying her kindness. But later, Madam Sun gave us a lot of money and supplies, helping us settle down in Junyang. In the end, our family still owes her some debt of gratitude..."
She thought for a moment and then said, "How about this, we'll return those things tenfold, and then we'll personally escort them to the Sun family's house. Or we'll see if Sister Li has any requests and try our best to help, so we can repay the debt of gratitude all at once, and then we won't have any further dealings with each other..."
Tao Hongying nodded, "Mother is right. Our Li family has received a favor from them, and of course we must repay it. Whether it's gold, silver, or anything else, we can discuss it, but we can't let our children suffer!"
Li Zhensheng also said, "I was delayed in inquiring about the Sun family's affairs today because I went to the dock to pick up goods. I will go again now to find out as soon as possible and send the people away."
After saying that, he called Li Lao Er and Jia Yi to go out together.
As luck would have it, they ran into Mr. Jiang just as they reached the village entrance. Li Lao Er immediately pulled him along, and they turned around and headed back into the city.
Old Mrs. Li, still holding on, called to Tao Hongying to prepare the money and supplies.
The Marquis picked up Fu Niu'er and said to the old lady, "Auntie, I'll take Fu Niu'er to my courtyard to play for a while."
"Go on, come back for lunch in a bit," Grandma Li instructed before rummaging through her trunks and emptying her belongings.
The boys, worried about their younger sister, followed the Marquis to the next house.
The lord instructed his personal guards to lead the horses for the boys and let them play for a while.
The boys, being playful, quickly forgot what had just happened and put on smiling faces. Fu Niu'er, sitting on the kang (heated brick bed) inside the house, was beaming with joy.
Because the Marquis carried a small box, opened the lid, and poured out a pile of gold ingots!
The half-open window let in the midday sun, which shone on the gold, making it so bright that she could hardly open her eyes!
Seeing that the little girl's face was no longer dejected and her eyes were shining, the Marquis couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and teased, "Does your hand still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore, it doesn't hurt anymore!"
Jiayin shook her little head like a rattle drum, rushed over and gave her godfather a big kiss, and then quickly started counting.
We're rich! We're rich!
There were fifty of these small gold ingots, each weighing two taels, which would amount to a thousand taels of silver!
Jiayin happily pounced on the golden ingot, rolling around joyfully.
Fearing she might hurt her hand, the Marquis pulled her into his lap, then put the gold ingots back in her pocket and instructed her, "Keep this gold for yourself. Buy whatever you want. There will be a year's surplus from Zhengjiazhuang before the New Year."
"Don't always think about your brothers. They're all men; they'll earn what they want themselves. You're a girl, so you should wear the prettiest dresses, the finest jewelry, and eat the sweetest treats. In short, just tell us what you want, and the servants will take care of it. You just need to wait patiently!"
"You are the eldest daughter of the Marquis's family, the Princess Kang Le! You need to learn to be a little spoiled, not too kind, otherwise others will think you are easy to bully. Understand?"
It was rare for Jiayin to hear her godfather say so much, and he was still teaching her to be extravagant, arrogant, and domineering!
She was momentarily stunned, but when she came to her senses, she felt her small chest filled with emotion.
"Godfather!" Jiayin choked up. She thought she wouldn't cry anymore, but tears still welled up in her eyes.
The Marquis sighed and gently patted the chubby girl's head. "You're still young, and you have a lot to learn in the future. Do you think those noble ladies, some aloof and some domineering, are born that way? You're wrong. It's all intentional; it's their protective coloration."
"When you stand at a high position, there will always be some people who want to take advantage of your kindness, climb up by stepping on you, or even pull you down and smash you to pieces. So, you can be kind in the future, but you can't lose your edge."
"Yes." Jiayin nodded quickly. "Don't worry, Godfather, I'll definitely be better in the future!"
As she spoke, she made a fierce expression and let out a howl, like a man-eating tiger.
Unfortunately, her chubby little face and tiny white teeth gave her a fierce yet adorable look, which, instead of scaring him, made the Marquis laugh heartily.
Granny He, Shuiyun, and Shuiling, who were serving at the door, also laughed.
The Marquis stood up and gestured for Granny He and the other two to go out with him, leaving Jiayin an opportunity to collect the gold.
Jiayin waved her little hand, took the gold, clumsily climbed off the kang (a heated brick bed), and then pushed open the door and went out.
Granny He and Shuiyun and Shuiling were kneeling on the ground, awaiting punishment.
Their job is to serve their master. Since their master was injured, it was a dereliction of duty for them, whether they were by his side or not.
Jiayin was stunned for a moment, then quickly stepped forward with the zongzi in her hand, pitifully pleading with her godfather, "Godfather, Fu Niu'er's hand hurts. Please let Granny He and the others give Fu Niu'er a bath and change her into a pretty dress."
The Marquis originally only intended to give her a few words of reprimand, but seeing his daughter so protective of her own, he waved his hand.
Jiayin immediately grabbed Granny He's hand and ran away with Shuiyun and Shuiling...
The Marquis found it both amusing and helpless; it seemed his earlier words had been spoken in vain.
This girl is so soft-hearted, she just can't be tough.
But isn't that why everyone loves and cherishes her?
When Jiayin brought the fragrant and beautiful things home, Granny He carried them with her.
Old Li was squatting in the yard, polishing the edges of seashells one by one on a whetstone, clearly afraid that his daughter would cut her hand again.
Seeing his daughter come in, he grinned and greeted her, "Fu Niu'er is back. Be good and wait a little longer. Daddy will grind the seashells, and then you can continue playing."
Fu Niu'er struggled to her feet, ran over, and hugged her father's neck tightly. "Dad, Fu Niu'er is so happy! Godfather is good to Fu Niu'er, but Dad is even better!"
"Silly girl! Your name is Fu Niu'er, of course you should be the happiest!" Old Li, afraid that his hands would get dirty and stain his daughter's little dress, simply rubbed his cheek against his daughter's soft little hair...
As the sun set, the Li family set out their dinner table.
Because of Jiayin's injured hand, most of the dishes were light and simple.
Just as everyone sat down, Jia'an and Jiaxi ran in from outside, shouting, "Grandma, Grandpa Zhang said he's not coming to eat. He's afraid the Marquis will be unreasonable and punish him."
"He stitched up Fu Niu'er for her own good, not to use her as practice!"
Everyone laughed when they heard this, and Li Lao Er said, "Uncle Zhang still has the same old childlike temper."
In fact, they all knew that Dr. Zhang must have wanted to practice, but his stitching skills had also matured, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to use them on Jiayin.
But it's good that the old man has some fear, so he won't go astray in his medical experiments later.
The old man thought he was being discreet, but most of the villagers knew that he had already arrested people and conducted experiments on them.
Fortunately, the people they caught were thieves and hooligans from the city, and the experiment only resulted in a cut on their arm.
Otherwise, everyone would have stopped him long ago, and they certainly wouldn't have let him stitch up Jiayin's wound today!
Just as everyone was about to pick up their chopsticks, Li Zhensheng and the others returned...
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