y."Grandma, again, eat again!"Grandma Li, with a twinkle in her eye, said, "Are you saying that Grandma didn't get any pork Don't worry, your father is a hunter. Grandma will be able to eat some later...Before he could finish his words, the old woman seemed to have guessed Jia Yin's identity and rushed over desperately.

Mu Xu flashed forward, kicking the old woman's leg with one foot, and she fell to her knees.

Waterling and Watercloud also protected their master between them, one in front and the other behind.

The old woman winced in pain, but still gritted her teeth and lowered her voice as much as possible. “Your Highness,” she said, “I’m the elderly madam who served Madam Wang personally. Our mistress instructed me to strike a deal with you, a big one!”

Wang family!

Jia Yin subtly met Mu Xu's gaze, both of them intrigued.

Shui Ling and Shui Yun opened the door, and everyone returned to the backyard of the fruit and vegetable shop.

The old woman, perhaps sensing a glimmer of hope, stepped inside and seemed much more composed than before. She even straightened her coat and brushed the snow off her knees.

Unfortunately, Jia Yin sat under the eaves, holding a brazier, watching her struggle but remained silent.

The old woman cursed inwardly, but with no other choice, she knelt again, "County Princess, our Wang family was wrongly accused and imprisoned. "

But our old madam said, the marquis was just following orders and it's not his fault. However, our Wang family has been a prestigious family for centuries, we can't let this incident break our lineage.

"So, our elderly mistress is willing to offer 20,000 taels of silver. Lord, please show mercy and release our elderly mistress and the two young masters."

"I only ask that the County Princess act as a mediator for us. If successful, our grandmother will give the County Princess another 10,000 taels as a reward."

Jia Yin was surprised and asked, "Where did your old madam get the silver from She's so generous to spend 30,000 taels at once!"

The old woman thought Jia Yin had been moved, so she became emboldened and stood up directly, “This county princess is no need to know about, the Wang family's hundred-year-old lineage is not comparable to a small gate!”

In Xindu, the most insulting phrase hurled at the Li family was "small gate, small household."

These four characters are full of disdain and contempt from the wealthy families towards the Li family, a cross-class individual.

This old woman's words, as she blurted them out, clearly showed her contempt for the Li family.

Jia Yin's face turned cold, and she sneered, "Our Li family is a small family in your mouth, and we have an irreconcilable feud with the Wang family. Now you still come to me

"

"I just don't know what you're thinking. Do you really think that by throwing a few silver coins at me, I'll do your bidding"

"To let her and the two boys go That's wishful thinking!"

"How could one possibly cut grass without removing its roots My Li family never lets go of our enemies. We'll wait for them to continue causing trouble!"

Having said that, she called two old soldiers, “Tie this man up and send him to my adoptive father. Find out carefully how the Wang family is in contact with the outside world while they're in prison.”

"If you don't mend the fence now, all your sheep will run away!"

Two veteran soldiers were about to step forward, when the old woman shouted in disbelief, "Your Highness, you love silver the most, don't you This is thirty thousand taels, not three thousand!"

"Jia Yin got up and said, 'No wonder you found me. It turns out you heard that I like silver.'"

"Well, your information is incomplete. I do like silver, but only my own! "

"Dirty money, I don't want it!"

I would not take the silver of my enemy!

The old woman's eyes nearly popped out of her head, but she was gagged and dragged away.

After all that commotion, Jia Yin lost her interest in shopping and decided to go to the relief agency.

Since today wasn't a grand court meeting, Lao Er Li stayed here.

Seeing his niece coming over, he smiled and said, “Oh, my little money-maker is here!”

Recently, the relief organization's elderly and young people from Ercun distributed bean sprouts by going door to door.

Although it's not about getting rich, earning fifty or sixty copper coins a day is still easy.

This solved a big problem for him.

After all, relying solely on street sweeping and tailoring military uniforms and shoes is insufficient to support all the elderly and young people at the relief agency!

Jia Yin smiled and bowed, recounting what had just happened, and asked, "Uncle Two, when will this matter with the Wang family and the Wu family be completely resolved Will it keep going back and forth"

"No." Lao Er Li, afraid his niece would worry, soothed her, "We were worried about backlash from the Wu family originally. After all, the Emperor hasn't shown any intention of deposing the Empress, so we had to be cautious."

But for some reason, the Emperor was particularly furious with the Wu family, and the Wu family was destined for death.

"It's just that it's not a good time to make any moves in Xinzhou, and they can only be put into action after the New Year.

"

As for the Wang family, after the imperial court moved to the new capital, they became fence-sitters, swaying between sides. The Emperor disliked this.

"Now Wang Lao Er is trying to fight back against our family by colluding with 'those people'. The Emperor is furious, and this time he'll definitely cut off the Wang family completely and sever 'those people's' arm."

Jia Yin nodded and let out a deep sigh of relief.

It was Lao Li Er who remembered a bit of news he had heard recently, and tentatively revealed a little to his niece.

However, that leaves 'that one' without help and they will probably have to get involved personally.

This year's palace banquet, you can't escape it!

Jia Yin waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry, Second Uncle. Grandma and my mother are already thousands of miles away."

"That's the one who makes a move, and there isn't much restraint on our family. At most, they're looking for an opportunity from me."

"On the contrary, I'm not afraid of this at all, and I even hope she'll jump out sooner rather than later.

"

Since they're enemies, there will be a time when we fight anyway. It might as well be sooner rather than later.

"It's better to avoid living in constant fear of being robbed every day, always worrying when she might strike and doing everything with restraint."

"You're a bold one, aren't you" Li Laoer chuckled with pride, patting his niece on the shoulder. "Just remember to never be afraid, no matter what. Always put your own safety first and don't worry about what others think."

A kind word warms the heart, but it also reminds one to go back.

Uncle Second, you also remember, whenever you hear I'm in danger, don't panic.

"I guarantee I won't be in any danger of losing my life, at most I'll just be stuck for a while. "

"So, you can take your time thinking about how to save me. Don't rush and fall into a trap."

"Alright, my little福妞兒 is quite the talent!" Li Lao'er couldn't help but tap his niece on the head. "Don't you want to show Second Uncle your skills I'm curious, how did you manage to convince Grandma and your mother to leave"

"Hehehe," Jia Yin smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

She casually slapped a compliment, "My second uncle is so wise, I wouldn't need to coax him at all. It's just a small trick, it's fine if my second uncle doesn't know!"

After boasting about their business for a while, the two discussed a few trivial matters and then went to Baihua Garden together.

It's almost Chinese New Year, and every household is busy giving out gifts.

Giving gifts is an art form, and pleasing the recipient can be quite challenging.

But in the end, it boils down to four words: treat the symptoms!

For those who like silver, send silver; for those who like food, send delicacies; for those who appreciate elegance, send calligraphy and paintings or famous flowers.

Thus, the business of Baihuayuan also saw a small boom!

Li Lao Er helped provide cover, and Jia Yin left quite a few potted flowers in the small warming house in Dong Yuan.

Soon, these flowers will turn into silver.

The Li family is no longer the refugees who first fled famine. While they can't be said to have reached the top ranks of Tianwu's elite families, they are still influential in Xindu.

This couldn't be done without connections, reputation, and most importantly, the support of many people working behind the scenes.

As the year draws to a close, networking requires effort, reputation needs investment, and personnel require rewards. Everywhere you look, money is indispensable...a!" The emperor was delighted and couldn't help laughing aloud, "Reward, of course! Reward all the civil and military officials with one month's salary. I shall also take a break from the grand court...