Chapter 535: Under One's Own Roof

Laosi nodded. "We snuck into Hu Laosan's place and overheard her talking with Wu Gouzi's wife. Apparently, the Jiao family suspects that Fu Niu is your daughter and wants to find out more. Hu Laosan h...Almost as soon as he sat down, Li Lao'er asked, "Funiu'er, what happened"

The village head then came in, his eyes filled with anxious worry as well.

Jia Yin held up a finger to her lips, motioning for them not to ask, and whispered, "Let's go home first!"

Li La Er immediately shouted, and Zheng Feng and Zheng He drove the carriage and ran away.

The four young men from the village have already returned in a cart.

After all, there's plenty of work in the village, and with the jade melons being sold, it's a busy time. We can't have too many people waiting here.

Not until they left the Eastern City and walked along the bustling streets did Jia Yin say, "Second Uncle, though the Empress and Princess bullied me, I didn't suffer any harm, and they didn't get anything out of it."

"What How did they bully you" Li Lao'er frowned and asked, hugging his niece even tighter.

The village head also said, "Yes, the empress and princess, we haven't offended them. How could they bully our children!"

Jia Yin patted Er Bo's shoulder, soothing him like a small adult, "It's not a big deal. It seems the Empress wants to introduce a wife to my father-in-law, but my father-in-law disagrees and even wants to give me the Hou Mansion. The Empress is angry because of this and doesn't like me."

"The Third Princess is ugly and has a bad temper. She's jealous of me because Grandpa the Emperor likes me. She claimed that I was being disrespectful by wearing the same dress as her and demanded that I kneel down. I didn't want to kneel, so I dodged her, and she pulled my braids!"

Li Lao'er instinctively grabbed his niece's braid, but it had already been combed neatly, showing no signs of messiness.

Jia Yin said again, "I dragged the princess down with me and secretly poked at the acupoints on her feet. She started having stomach pains and rolled around on the ground, it was quite pathetic!"

Jia Yin couldn't help giggling at the sight of the Third Princess's humiliated appearance.

Li Laoer and the village head also looked a little better. The village head asked, “What happened later Was he found out”

Jia Yin shook her head and replied, “The Emperor has arrived. He brought the princess back to Kunning Palace to be treated by the imperial physician. However, I didn't give her any medicine; I only sealed some acupoints. Her stomach pain only lasted for half an hour before it subsided.”

The Third Princess is especially wicked. She told the Queen that I hit her, so the Queen locked me in a little house in the garden. I waited for a while, and then Uncle Huang came to find me.

“I had mosquito repellent powder in my pocket, so I rubbed it on my eyes. It made me cry and roll around on the ground, getting all dirty. Emperor Huang felt sorry for me and was especially angry, so he punished the Empress and Princess and gave me lots of good things as compensation!”

As she spoke, she grabbed the jeweled dragonfly on her necklace and showed it to her second uncle and the village head, shaking her little head with growing pride. "When I left the palace, the chief steward said that the third princess had seen this set of jewelry before and begged for it, but the emperor didn't give it to her. If she finds out about this, she'll probably explode with anger!"

Li Laoer took a deep breath, using all his strength to suppress the rage in his heart.

Although his niece spoke lightly and tried hard to draw their attention to the collar, he could hear the danger and the distress in her words.

Even my brilliant niece, being only five or six years old, would be terrified to be locked in a dilapidated shack!

The princess is the queen's child, the queen feels sorry!

Aren't other people's children children too!

Li Lao Er's eyes were bloodshot, he could no longer bear it, and hissed in a low voice, "Damn you, you wait..."

The village head grabbed Li Lao'er's sleeve, leaned in to listen to the sounds outside. Hearing nothing unusual, he soothed, "Master, this isn't a place to speak. Walls have ears. Once you get home... just don't say anything."

Jia Yin really didn't want Er Bo to worry or get angry, so she tried her best to speak in a lighthearted way.

Actually, in her opinion, although she seemed a little cowardly today and had to act pitiful to get through, the princess also suffered some consequences. The fact that she didn't tear up her relationship with the Empress was already quite good.

Although the Li family had a marquis supporting them, with two titles and a first-rank granted noblewoman, ultimately, these were all given by the royal family.

As the old saying goes, when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.

The royal family is the roof over the heads of the Li family, and it is the roof over the heads of all the people of Tianwu.

Li Jia and she, both unwilling to bow their heads, must grow strong enough, with hearts of steel and bodies tall.

The eaves would automatically retract to avoid being broken.

But for now, she and the Li family don't have that ability, nor do they want to fight tooth and nail. They can only handle it this way coldly.

But reason and emotion are two different things. Second Uncle's reason clearly knew this was the best way to handle it, and the result was also good.

But emotionally, when a child is bullied, they can't fight back. They must be feeling so stifled!

Jia Yin quickly hugged Er Bo's neck and earnestly persuaded, "Er Bo, I really didn't suffer any loss, and I'm not afraid. The snacks I brought in my small purse were all eaten by me, I'm not hungry at all! I pretended to be pitiful just to get the emperor to punish the princess!"

"Uncle, please don't be angry. Grandma will be heartbroken when she sees this! I won't go to the palace again, and I won't see that princess! Or I'll wait for my foster father to come back and ask him to help me get revenge!"

Li Lao Er was even more upset. It pained him that the children of his family had suffered a grievance and that, as they were powerless to retaliate, they had to rely on the Marquis...

But in his mind, he turned it over a thousand times. All he could say was, “Okay, Second Uncle, don’t be angry. We’re fine. Let’s go back and not let grandma find out.”

"Okay, here we go!" Jia Yin tugged on her second uncle's little finger and was delighted to have gotten away with it.

Li Lao Er's heart sank with every thought.

A significant milestone in a child's growth is to share good news but not bad.

When she was wronged, she cried loudly and ran home. She told everyone she met about it.

She was wronged but went home smiling and said she was doing fine.

This journey of emotional transformation is earned through enduring enough hardships.

Li Jia is looking forward to her child growing up, but she doesn't want them to grow up this way!

The village head sighed and reached for his pipe, but fearing he might smoke the children, he didn't light it. He could only give it a couple of empty clicks.

The old man was a little lost. He had originally thought that life in the village was already very good, and the Li family had soared to new heights, with titles, imperial honors, fiefs, and promising children.

But somehow, it still feels like something's missing...

With a crushing weight upon the heavens' myriad hues of dawn, the carriage finally returned to the village.

And the excitement over there at the watermelon patch is winding down!

Buyers rushed back to the city with their jade gourds and golden fruits, eager to make it before the city gates closed. They were afraid of being locked out if they were too late.

As the sun began to set, Zhao Shu refused to let them pick the melons anymore, making up excuses that the ripe melons had already sold out.

Tomorrow morning, when the sun is up, we can go back to the fields to continue looking.

Otherwise, if the sky darkens, stepping on a few melons would be a big loss.

Thus, the buyer, unwilling to leave empty-handed, purchased a large quantity of fruits from Dahuai Village and Wangzhuang (both big and small).

The village heads and villagers of the three villages were overjoyed, although the silver they sold back was much less than the new village, it finally opened.

When Zhao Shu was arranging for Liu Biaotou to carry the silver chest back to the village, he happened to see the Li family's carriage returning. Everyone was delighted and rushed forward.

As soon as the village chief jumped out of the carriage, the villagers burst into a clamor.

"Village chief, did the Emperor eat our village's melons"

"Yes, how does Your Majesty say it Does Your Majesty like it"

The village head was a master at rallying the people. Right now, he brandished his pipe and shouted, "Need I say more The Emperor especially loves them, praising this year's melons as even sweeter than last year's! The Emperor has bestowed gifts, which will be delivered to the village tomorrow!"

"Really Oh! That's wonderful, the Emperor said our melons are sweet!"

"I should have raised the price!"

The villagers chattered excitedly, their faces blooming with smiles.eople dispersed, the sun was already setting.Li Lao'er and Li Lao'san bid farewell to Dr. Zhou's courtyard and hadn't gone far when they happened to meet Mr. Tang taking a stroll on the road.After fal...