I held Su Ling in my arms. Su Ling glanced at me and, seeing that it was a child a little older than her, she fell asleep again in my arms.
This little girl is too small, she kept crawling in and out of our carriage. No wonder they had to stop. If she were to bump into something, get crushed or hurt, it could cause her lifelong problems.
"Madam~ Little Jiao Bao likes you so much! Could you please adopt her? Little Jiao Bao has no family, she's so pitiful~"
This girl, nicknamed Jiao Baobao, was acting cute and sticking her butt out, twisting and turning. I held Su Ling and backed away, asking Bi Zhu to find some people to take her to the government office and ask the constables to help find her family.
"Madam~" When the little girl saw that I ignored her, she grinned at Xie Yuancheng. She really underestimated Xie Yuancheng's patience with children. He walked even faster.
"Waaah~ My poor little one, she hasn't eaten for days, she's so hungry~"
I had just laid Su Ling down when this child started running around outside again. I've lost my mood. I told them to set off back to the manor and not to go out and cause trouble for the time being.
"Whose child is this? Why have a baby if you don't want to raise it?!" I heard her calling the baby "baby" over and over, screaming and jumping around. She had no manners at all.
"Ying'er, there are too many people here. Just let them go back. I'll handle it."
Xie Yuancheng smiled happily at me. Xi Zhi and Su Ling had just fallen asleep, but they started rubbing their eyes again. I took care of the older ones first.
"Yuancheng, don't go out." If you go out, things will get really bad. The reputation of Marquis Anle will be ruined immediately.
"Madam~ Mother~ My precious baby is so good, look, she's only three and a half years old, and she's already so beautiful~"
"Mother, my little darling knows a lot of things. She can help you become the Empress. No, when my little darling becomes the Empress, you will be a member of the royal family."
"Mommy~" Her voice was disgusting; she must be someone who lives nearby and probably sent a child to be so offensive.
"Bizhu, find a child to slap. If the family doesn't care, let outsiders do it."
I lifted the lower curtain of the carriage. Bizhu was also annoyed by her. She grabbed a knife and held it in front of her. Jiao Baobao didn't dodge. She put her hands on her hips and stuck out her butt. She was just about to hit her randomly.
"Everyone, grab this ill-mannered girl. This money is for you all. Teach her a lesson."
Bizhu tossed some money out of her pocket, and the onlookers rushed to grab it, causing the carriage to turn back. Only then did I lower the curtain and offer a few words of praise.
"Ying'er, you should have given the order sooner. They've been waiting for your command."
"How so? I just think it's okay for children to be a little naughty, but for her to utter the word 'Empress' at such a young age, and to be manipulated by adults, if we tolerate her evil and take her back, she will use us as a scapegoat in the future. It will be the least she can do to rise to the top in one step. I estimate that there will be no peace in Linyang."
"The old maids in the manor have all lived dangerous lives together. After the last incident, I sent word that as long as they are willing to come and serve in the manor, although they are not as free as they are outside, they can earn more money. So, as long as you give the word, they will not be polite."
"No wonder I said the maids in the manor all look over twenty-five. You'll have to prepare big red envelopes for them from now on."
"I understand. I'll have someone investigate this. My sister must know, otherwise she wouldn't feel comfortable letting us go out like this!"
Xie Yuancheng's eyes widened when he mentioned Li Ruowei, and I quickly told him to keep his voice down. Outside, things started to get chaotic, and a heart-wrenching cry rang out—it was Jiao Baobao crying.
"My lords, you've come at the perfect time. This wretched thing stopped the carriage earlier, and at first he addressed the Marquis's wife with the respectful title, but then he started talking nonsense."
"That's right. She wants to climb the social ladder, but she should at least see if she's qualified. Everyone in Linyang knows that the Marquis's eldest son is a prince, and the second young lady and her son are both adorable toddlers who are just over a year old."
"That's right! The Marquis has done so many good things for Linyang. She and her family are just too full of themselves and dreaming all day long!"
"Yeah, I see her walking with her butt sticking out, she's just short of pooping something, calling her 'stinky thing' is just right!"
"Haha." I heard laughter from the crowd, so I closed the carriage curtain.
"Yuancheng, has this been the case in Linyang lately? Whenever they see the Marquis's carriage or people coming out, they all rush up and cause trouble, whether they are adults or children?"
I'm a little worried. If that's really the case, then their reason for not letting me leave the manor is quite valid. Su Ling and Xi Zhi are still sleeping; they're truly exhausted to be sleeping so soundly.
Xie Yuancheng leaned closer and hugged me in his arms: "Ying'er, don't worry, I won't let these strangers cause you any trouble in the manor. When my sister was tricked, I made sure that no one under the age of sixteen was allowed to enter the manor. Firstly, it was for your own good, and secondly, once you turn sixteen, you'll be able to do things like an adult without any worries."
"You should have told me, then I wouldn't always be thinking about going out to play."
"Hmm~" Xie Yuancheng disagreed: "I don't want to stifle Ying'er's nature. You were like a little girl when you married me, and it's only been a few years. I want you to do whatever you want, but the people outside are indeed a bit chaotic."
"You're just too concerned about me. You two have never been stared at like this when you go out, have you?"
"No, the children are too young and too active. If you don't let them sit in the carriage, how can you bring them out?"
"Alright, I'll stay safely in the manor and take the children out less often in the future. I don't quite understand why they would let children step forward to fulfill the ambitions of their parents."
"You don't know this, do you? Children are the least capable of attacking, so they can easily escape the eyes of adults. They all know our children are young, and they think that if we find a child under the age of six, we will soften our hearts. Even if we adopt her as our goddaughter, they can still rise to power."
"That makes sense. Let's go back to the manor. They're really oversimplifying things."
"It's because outsiders are spreading rumors, and many people believe it to be true. They always think that the Marquis's mansion is full of gold, and that as long as their children enter the mansion, they will be superior to others, and wealth will naturally flow in."
"These people can't be completely eliminated. You guys are working too hard, having to do so much and also managing these ill-intentioned people."
They were clearly thinking of their future livelihoods, but then these people schemed against them. It's like raising a bunch of ungrateful wretches; it would have been better not to build the city walls in the first place.
“Ying’er, these are just minor matters. If these people hadn’t come forward, we wouldn’t have known there were so many families in Linyang City. We were just about to take this opportunity to send them out so that more outstanding people could come in. If the city walls aren’t repaired, we will never have a peaceful day.”
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