CHAPTER 201: CHAPTER 199: SOMEHOW, IT FEELS LIKE SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN. (1)

Xue Family glanced at Liu Si Ni, who was sitting next to Li Yuzhu, and said with a somber face, "Si Ni, why aren’t you sweeping the floor? Go and sweep outside the courtyard gate as well. There’s quite a bit of weeds outside the gate, it’s so messy it looks as if no one lives here."

Liu Si Ni didn’t think much, when everyone smiled at her, she was happy.

"Got it, Big Sister-in-law." Liu Si Ni grabbed a broom and happily ran off.

Big Sister-in-law? Who is her sister-in-law? Xue Family hummed coldly in her heart.

She narrowed her gaze and asked Li Yuzhu, "Third Sister, why did the carriage from Marquis Zhongyi Mansion come here? Who was sitting in the carriage?"

"I don’t know why they came, but I heard the voice inside the carriage was a middle-aged man. Second Brother recognized the voice, but I don’t know who it is," Li Yuzhu said.

So it was a middle-aged man...

Xue Family was somewhat disappointed.

But as long as it was someone from Marquis Zhongyi Mansion, that was enough.

"Where did the carriage go?"

"We were busy at the time, didn’t pay attention." Li Yuzhu looked at her face and asked, "Big Sister, why are you inquiring about this?"

Xue Family’s expression was peculiar, not the look of someone gossiping.

"Nothing really, just curious." Xue Family sighed, "You see, our family has been demoted, and if we encounter familiar faces from the past, it would be quite embarrassing. So I want to know where the Yu Wen family is, so I can avoid them. I don’t want to see those people."

Li Yuzhu nonchalantly flicked her sleeves, "Even if you run into them, so what? They wouldn’t dare to hit our family members. Although our family has been demoted, we haven’t been expelled from the Imperial Family. If they challenge us, they challenge the Imperial Family. Big Sister, you don’t need to concern yourself with them."

"Yes... yes indeed." Xue Family said awkwardly.

Then, Xue Family asked about the store’s business situation.

Li Yuzhu mentioned it casually.

Because she noticed, Xue Family wasn’t genuinely concerned about the store’s affairs, asking with a distracted gaze, absent-minded.

After chatting for a bit, Xue Family went to prepare dinner.

She was extremely good today, not a single complaint about being busy, nor did she call anyone to help.

Li Xing’an brought back some small fish and shrimp, after Xue Family cleaned them, she fried them in oil in the pan, and even asked the Second Princess and Li Yuzhu to taste the seasoning.

The Second Princess ate three little fish in a row, and she wasn’t displeased.

Was Xue Family’s head swapped out?

Li Yuzhu was puzzled.

With Xue Family not asking her for help, Li Yuzhu felt at ease, grabbed a bowl, and went outside the back yard gate to milk the sheep.

...

Dinner was still eaten in the kitchen.

A big rectangular table surrounded by Li Family and Liu Si Ni.

The young girl sat timidly at the end of the table, not daring to pick any dishes.

Li Yuzhu took a bowl, and picked some dishes far away and placed them in front of her, making her smile broadly from being touched.

Everyone spoke about their day’s experiences or insights while eating.

The Great Princess hadn’t gone out these days, made a new outfit, and as she ate, she flaunted her needlework skills by shaking her sleeves.

The Princely Heir talked about matters in the field, some of the fields had undergone a second plowing, grass ashes and cow dung had been spread, tomorrow they could transplant those seedlings planted by Li Yuzhu.

Li Xing’an said he caught about twenty pounds of fish and shrimp today, brought five pounds back, half was pickled, half made into dinner dishes.

The Second Young Master and Second Princess talked about the store’s affairs.

The Second Princess was especially happy about her income, "Mother, you should save that money; I still have to pay rent."

The Princess Consort Luling was delighted, "Alright, alright, save it. I have recorded your incomes in my account book here."

A thousand coins... this Second Princess is quite capable, Xue Family stuffed a mouthful of food, glancing at Second Princess.

Princess Consort Luling saw Xue Family was unusually quiet today, thinking it might be due to kneeling most of yesterday, she had figured things out.

She wasn’t one to hold a grudge, her daughter-in-law corrected her mistakes and the matter was past.

Princess Consort Luling looked at Xue Family and said, "All this dinner was made by Zhen Niang, thank her for her hard work."

Xue Family was startled, her lips slightly twitched, "It’s what a daughter-in-law should do."

After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.

The Second Young Master didn’t go to rest, instead following Prince Luling and his wife to the North Courtyard Main House. Li Yuzhu knew what he was up to and went along.

Once inside, the Second Young Master told Prince Luling about seeing the Yu Wen family’s carriage.

"Inside the carriage was a second steward from the Yu Wen family, Hu Dejun," the Second Young Master said, "Father, I remember he was Yu Wen Zan’s trusted servant, it must be Yu Wen Zan’s arrangement for him to come here, but I don’t know what his purpose is."

Li Yuzhu had heard of this person, Yu Wen Zan. He was appointed as Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue by the Little Emperor last year, similar in age to the Princely Heir, but his official rank was much higher.

The Princely Heir also went to the Main House, he said, "Yu Wen Zan is Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, sending a trusted servant here may be to check on the summer grain. Zhen An Prefecture’s summer grain will be ready for harvest in about a month."

Prince Luling suddenly snorted, "Yu Wen family people? Whether they come or not, we live our lives, treat them as nonexistent, you don’t need to make a fuss."

Princess Consort Luling looked at her children and said solemnly, "Remember, we are sent by the Emperor to suffer labor, but not expelled from the clan! Even if confronted by past Capital officials, you don’t need to bow to them!"

The Princely Heir and the Second Young Master said in unison, "Understood, Mother."

Princess Consort Luling said it was getting late and sent her children back.

She looked at Prince Luling, frowning, "It’s Mr. Pei one moment, the Yu Wen family people the next, Prince, I always feel something might happen."

Prince Luling sneered disapprovingly, "What can happen? Rest assured, Princess Consort, if they dare to insult us, just ask if they have a few heads!"

Li Yuzhu returned to her bedroom and saw Liu Si Ni massaging the Great Princess’s shoulders.

She was speechless, the Great Princess was really enjoying herself.

"Si Ni, why are you massaging her shoulders?" Li Yuzhu asked seriously.

Liu Si Ni didn’t get angry at all, instead smiling and saying, "Eldest Sister Li gave me three coins, asked me to massage her shoulders three hundred times."

"Then how many times have you done it?" Li Yuzhu poured water to drink and asked casually.

"Four hundred eleven times," Liu Si Ni tilted her head, thought for a bit and said.

Li Yuzhu, "..." This exceeded! "Once you hit four hundred, you don’t need to keep massaging, it’s counted."

Liu Si Ni said, "No, not yet, after four hundred there’s five hundred, then one hundred, then two hundred, then..."

"Stop, stop!" Li Yuzhu realized, this child didn’t know how to count, counting nonsense, that three hundred times, afraid it might last till tomorrow, "Si Ni, do you know how to count?"

Liu Si Ni shook her head, "No. But Eldest Sister Li knows how to count, she counts for me."

The Great Princess immediately shouted, "Li Yuzhu, I didn’t deceive her, she herself asked me to count."

Truly a case of "no three hundred taels of silver hidden here"! Not deceiving, why so excited? Li Yuzhu glanced at the Great Princess and pulled Liu Si Ni, "Come, Si Ni, I’ll teach you counting."