Jiang Mingyi was shocked. "Mother, you mustn't! The two of them are always out in broad daylight, fighting in the capital city. That will definitely attract the attention of the Five Cities Garrison and bring trouble upon themselves!"
Lady Yong'an gritted her teeth, "This vile woman has made my title as Marquis of Yong'an lose face. I will make sure she is completely eradicated! Go and arrange it. You don't have to kill them in the street. Find a way to secretly kidnap them and bring them here!"
“But… if the son is out of money, the mother must also be short of money, right?” Jiang Mingyi said with difficulty.
Mentioning this, Lady Yong'an cursed again, "If you hadn't said you wanted to get rid of them, mother and her two children, how could Mother have used her dowry to betroth the princess?!"
Now we've lost all face and dignity!
Jiang Mingyi could only swallow his anger. "Mother, let's not talk about the past! Do you have any money right now?"
Lady Yong'an gritted her teeth and pulled a jade pendant from under her pillow. "Go pawn it! Get some silver. I want to see that wretched woman and her daughter within three days!"
...
The news of Jiang Mingyi's entry into the Yong'an Marquis's mansion was reported to Xiao Youran by her informant.
Since the incident involving the assassins from the Nine Dark Gates, Xiao Youran called Chicken Wing Bro to her side and suggested that she assign several guards to guard the Yong'an Earl's Mansion and the Princess's Mansion in shifts.
Chicken Wing Bro also strongly agreed, saying that prevention is the best way to protect your master.
As a result, there were several spies watching the gates of the Yong'an Earl's Mansion and the Princess's Mansion day and night.
After hearing this news, Xiao Youran analyzed, "After the Nine Dark Gates incident last time, they must have realized that our County Princess's Mansion is not to be trifled with. The mansion is well-guarded and will certainly not seek trouble again. If they want to make a move again, one possibility is that they will keep an eye on us on the road and look for an opportunity to strike, and the other possibility is that they will bribe someone in the mansion to poison our food."
Chicken Wing Bro patted his chest and assured, "The daily shopping for the manor is overseen by Zhao Mama, and the kitchen is managed by Yang Shi and Xiu'er. As long as no strangers appear in the manor, it is absolutely impossible for them to poison our food."
Xiao Youran nodded, "I'll trouble Brother Chicken Wing to send a few more guards to protect us secretly these next few days."
"Yes, County Princess!" Yu Twelve was already quite used to the nickname her young master had given her.
As expected, on the third day, on their way back from the West Market, Xiao Youran and her mother, Madam Su, were suddenly startled by a runaway horse coming from around the corner. Even with Old Feng's superb driving skills, he couldn't prevent the carriage from overturning.
Su Shi and Xiao Youran scrambled out of the carriage in a disheveled state. A group of people quickly surrounded them, seemingly to help, but in reality, two of them were about to chop off Su Shi and Xiao Youran's necks.
Xiao Youran had already pinched a poisoned needle between her fingers and pierced the man's palm.
The thieves who tried to attack the Su family were blocked by the guards sent by Brother Chicken Wing with their swords.
Then four or five guards jumped out from beside the carriage and beat the group to a pulp.
Seeing that the group of people next to him were dressed in new clothes but were disheveled and covered in black mud under their hands and nails, he knew that they were beggar extras that Jiang Mingyi had temporarily hired. He immediately lost interest in interrogating them and ordered the guards to take away the two people who had attacked them.
That evening, two corpses suddenly appeared in Lady Yong'an's courtyard, causing her to scream in terror.
After Jiang Mingyi rushed over and discussed the matter with his mother, they both felt that the mother and daughter should not be provoked any further, so they temporarily abandoned their plan to assassinate them.
...
July 19th is Xiaoyouran's birthday.
Early in the morning, Mrs. Su dressed her daughter in pink and cute clothes, presented her with the gold necklace she had made for Xiao Youran, and even had Zhao Mama make longevity noodles for Xiao Youran's birthday.
Although Xiao Youran stitched up the wound on Zhao's back, it still took a full half month to fully heal. Today, she was all smiles as she made longevity noodles for her little miss.
After finishing her noodles, Xiao Youran hugged her mother affectionately, "Mother, last year on my birthday, you were sick in bed, and my brother didn't celebrate with me. I was so lonely. This year, you gave me new clothes and longevity noodles, and I'm so happy! I wish my brother were here..."
Madam Su took out a box. "You, didn't your eldest cousin's wife cook longevity noodles for you last year? You threw a tantrum and smashed them, have you forgotten? This is a birthday gift that your brother sent through someone a few days ago. He said he would only give it to you today. Open it and take a look."
"Brother wrote a letter?" Xiao Youran excitedly opened the box. "Wow, it's so beautiful!"
They are a pair of exquisitely crafted, short sandalwood hairpins, polished to a very smooth finish.
Madam Su smiled and picked them up, placing one on each of her twin buns. "Your brother is quite skillful; the peony pattern is very lifelike. It's just that the color looks a bit old-fashioned on Xiao Ranbao's head. However... I'm afraid there aren't many good things left in Guigu Mountain, so we can only use what we have here."
Xiao Youran looked at herself in the mirror with a hint of disdain and pouted.
She was only five years old, and she still liked those shiny, sparkly things that could dazzle people when she went out.
Zhao's mother rushed in, "Miss, young lady, Madam Yun has sent someone to deliver your birthday gift."
Xiao Youran stood up, her eyes shining, "Great-aunt?! She actually remembers my birthday?"
Mrs. Su smiled and took her daughter's hand as they walked outside, saying, "I suppose it's because my eldest cousin-in-law remembers."
Xiao Youran was overjoyed. "Mother, my great-aunt remembered my birthday and even sent me a birthday gift. She must have forgiven me!"
Madam Su patted her head and said, "Your maternal aunt is an adult now, why would she hold a grudge against you for that bowl of longevity noodles last year?"
When the three arrived at the second gate, they saw a guard carrying in a box of things.
Upon opening it, there was a letter on top, followed by several bolts of cloth, two sets of clothes, several pairs of shoes and socks, a few boxes of pastries, and a bundle.
Madam Su picked up the letter, opened it, and smiled. "Little Ranbao, the cloth was a gift from your eldest cousin's wife, and the clothes and shoes were made for you by Wan'er and her sisters. They said they didn't know your shoe size, so they made several extra pairs, long and short, so you can wear them later. There's a pair of silver bracelets in this bundle, a gift from your great-aunt. These two pearl hairpins were handmade by your second cousin's wife. This small bow was made by your fourth cousin's wife. This bag of stone beads was collected by Kuang'er and his brothers from the riverbank and polished, saying they'd be perfect as hidden weapons for you."
Xiao Youran picked up the bag of pebbles, weighed them in her hand, and chuckled, "This is good!"
No more need to pull off the gold beads around your neck to use as hidden weapons.
Su Yue was heartbroken to find the gold bead that she had thrown out of her mother's room last time, even after searching for several days.
but……
She stared at the fabric and asked, "Mother, my eldest cousin's wife only gave me a few bolts of cloth. That's so inconsiderate. Does she still remember that incident?"
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