When Dongmei arrived, the boys were already playing games with melon rinds on their heads.
She stepped forward, picked up Jiayin, and took a handkerchief to wipe her face. "Girl, the old lady is cooking and was worried about you, so she asked me to carry you home."
“Okay,” Jiayin nodded her little head, yawned, snuggled in Dongmei’s arms, and waved to her brothers.
Jia'an and Jiaxi rarely had free time to play with their friends, so they waved goodbye and didn't go back with them.
Seeing that no one was around and that the opportunity was rare, Jiayin whispered a few words in Dongmei's ear.
Dongmei looked puzzled, but still agreed.
When the two returned to the Li family's courtyard, the old lady was picking vegetables. Seeing her granddaughter eating like a little kitten, she busied herself giving her granddaughter a bath.
With a hot spring in the house, taking a bath is the easiest thing to do.
Soon, Jiayin took a good shower, changed her clothes, and sat in Dongmei's lap, waiting for her to suggest going back to the city.
Dongmei hesitated for a moment before saying, "Madam, the Marquis won't be back from his campaign until the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival. He'll need to go to the capital to attend a banquet. But there aren't many people at the Marquis's residence. Could you please come with us and help clean up the residence..."
That's a really lame excuse. How could such a grand mansion be short of servants to clean?
But Old Lady Li had no doubts whatsoever, and was even happy to do some work for the Marquis.
She readily agreed, and Jiayin immediately hugged her grandmother's neck, excitedly shouting, "Grandma, take Fu Niu with you!"
Grandma Li kissed her granddaughter, then playfully scolded her, "You little rascal, no matter who else Grandma leaves behind, she can't forget you."
Dongmei breathed a sigh of relief, but before she could speak, Li Lao Er, with a stern face, led Liu Yang, Jia Yi, and a strange man in.
Dongmei stood up as soon as she saw the man. "Butler, what brings you here?"
The head steward? The head steward of the Marquis's mansion?
Hearing this with suspicion, Old Lady Li put down her vegetable basket and stood up as well.
The man was indeed the steward of the Marquis's residence, but he was bowing to the old lady with great respect, which showed that he knew how the Marquis treated the Li family differently and dared not be negligent in the slightest.
Everyone took their seats in no time, and before tea was served, the village chief, Li Laosi, and Liu Biaotou arrived.
The head steward was in a hurry to get back, so he didn't beat around the bush. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he told the story of Hua Ruyue and the others, and then added...
"In Xindu, rumors about our Marquis are flying everywhere. They say that the women in the Flying Dance Troupe were recruited by the Marquis and are causing chaos in Xindu. I sense that things are not going well and I'm afraid that someone will use this to smear the Marquis, but I can't get in touch with him for the time being, so I can only come here to ask if anyone knows when the Marquis will return?"
Everyone frowned, not expecting things to escalate to such a big extent, and that Hua Ruyue and her group were so shameless.
Jiayi and Liu Yang felt even more guilty and regretted it deeply. If they hadn't been tricked by those song and dance troupe members into revealing their secrets, they wouldn't have been stalked by them and implicated the Marquis.
The lord fought bravely on the battlefield, shedding blood, yet no one praised him. Now, because of such a trivial matter, he is to be ridiculed and insulted by others.
Dongmei whispered to the head steward that the Marquis would definitely return during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which would only take about four or five days.
The head steward was relieved and took his leave to return home.
The group was left sitting together, all looking troubled.
Li Laosi was the first to apologize, saying, "It's all my fault for bringing all this trouble back."
Jiayi and Liu Yang stepped forward and knelt down, their eyes red as they admitted their mistakes.
“It’s not Uncle’s fault, it’s ours. We couldn’t keep our mouths shut and told those women all the details of our family.”
Liu, the镖头 (bodyguard), was unaware of the details, but after hearing his son's explanation, he glared at him.
"How many times have I told you, when you're out and about, you can't tell the truth to anyone! Why don't you ever learn your lesson!"
Both Jiayi and Liu Yang were filled with regret and shed tears. Jiayi even took the initiative to fetch his father's ruler and presented it to Liu the镖头 (bodyguard).
Liu, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), was truly angry and slapped the two boys several times across the face.
Even though he held back, the two boys' mouths were still slapped until they looked like sausages, red and swollen.
Within three to five days, let alone speaking, even eating will be extremely painful.
Everyone watched as their master disciplined his apprentices, feeling sorry for them but able to bear it, hoping the two boys would learn their lesson.
Jiayin lay on her grandmother's back, feeling sorry for her brother, and dared not say a word.
She only slipped into the house after they were taken away by Li Laosi to have their medicine applied, and secretly gave each of her brothers a candy ball.
"You have to open your mouth to eat candy!" Jiayi and Liuyang gasped in pain, but they accepted their sister's kindness.
At this moment, they were feeling extremely frustrated and regretful, and even a little bit of sweetness was a great comfort and encouragement to them.
Jiayin hugged her brothers and then ran out to listen to the commotion.
Sure enough, given the village chief's understanding and the old lady's decisiveness, they absolutely could not pretend they didn't know about this.
Even if we are just ordinary people and can't help much, everyone has a mouth, right?
If all else fails, go to a teahouse or restaurant, tell the truth of what happened that day, and clear the name of the Marquis.
We absolutely cannot allow the Marquis to be smeared like this because of a few shameless women!
In the end, if none of these methods worked, then the only option left was to go to the imperial court.
Anyone who dares to falsely accuse the Marquis because of this matter will have to go to the Emperor to explain the situation.
The Emperor is the Marquis's cousin, so how could he possibly trust the Marquis?
That's how it was decided: we had to go into the city!
Sister Liu is now very skilled at managing the valley's accounts, so Li Lao Er no longer needs to stay in the valley all the time.
Moreover, this time it involves too many things, and he was afraid that his family would suffer losses, so he had to go along.
Li Laosi was born with superhuman strength. At any time, whether it was for self-preservation or in case of trouble, people felt at ease with him around, so he had to go.
We should also take Jiayi and Liu Yang with us, so they can see the whole thing from beginning to end and learn a more profound lesson...
In total, including Dongmei and Yeshan, the old lady and Jiayin, there were a whole mule cart full of people.
Without delay, everyone quickly packed up and set off.
Unexpectedly, they encountered Mr. Wen's carriage on the way.
While in Xindu, he heard rumors that were detrimental to the Marquis, but he was afraid that rashly intervening would only make the situation worse, so he could only seek advice from Suijintan.
I heard that everyone is going to the Marquis's residence. I'll ask them about the details and then try to find a way to help.
Mr. Wen said, "Then I'll go to the Liu family for a visit. If you have any news, please have someone pass it on to me. I am an imperial censor, and it's not appropriate for me to get too close to a military general like the Marquis. At least, I can't let too many people know."
Everyone understood and readily agreed.
Upon arriving at the city gate of Xindu, the two groups separated.
With Ye Shan and Dong Mei's guidance, the mule cart soon arrived at the gate of the Marquis's residence.
The old lady carried Jiayin, got out of the car, and was stunned by the magnificent house in front of her.
Compared to this house, the small courtyard in Suijintan is simply too simple and cramped.
It's kind of you, Lord Marquis, to stay at Broken Gold Beach for several days every time you return...
Just as Ye Shan was about to go in to find the head steward, coincidentally, the head steward was walking out with a servant, and they bumped into each other.
The head steward happily grabbed Ye Shan and shouted, "I was just about to send someone to deliver a message to you! The matter is resolved! Everyone doesn't need to worry anymore!"
Everyone was surprised. They had said in the morning that things were getting out of hand, but how come it was resolved in just one afternoon?
Two updates today, my darlings. I'm going back to the countryside for Mother's Day to bring my mom some food, drinks, and clothes. I'll make up for the missed update another day. Also, Happy Mother's Day to all mothers!
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