After I got into the drama, I led the plot astray

Yi Ping nodded repeatedly and said, "You are right. Although these servants were sent by His Majesty, they will be under our control sooner or later. If we fail to manage them well, we will be criticized. But managing people costs money. Now the three of us have no income. The only thing we can rely on is the two shops. I have long wanted to take a look at the two shops. If the business is good, we can take over. If the business is not good, we can sell it to others and collect rent every month."

Yiping is only twelve years old, it's really amazing that he has such a smart mind.

I stood up, patted her shoulder and said, "Your idea is very good. After lunch, we will go and take a look together, and visit Mrs. Du on the way."

Yi Ping said, "Okay, I was originally planning to visit her as soon as I left the palace, but you got sick, so I had to stay with you and was unable to go."

I said, "New Year's Day is coming soon. Look through these boxes to see if there is anything good. Send some to Mrs. Du."

The things sent by the emperor could not be bad, but Yi Ping understood that if he sent the imperial gift again and His Majesty knew about it, he might be beheaded. However, except for those with special marks, tonic herbs like ginseng and deer antlers had no marks and no one would know it was given away.

Yi Ping, this smart guy, immediately understood what I meant by "good stuff" and said with a smile, "I know. I made some food today and will bring it to Madam Du to taste."

I asked curiously, "Why don't you call Mrs. Du mother?"

Yi Ping paused, then lowered his head and said, "I'm afraid that my eldest brother will be unhappy when he hears this. I have no impression of my mother, but in my eldest brother's heart, she is irreplaceable. If I recognize someone else as my mother, he will always be unhappy, so I dare not call Madam Du my mother."

I sighed and said, "I understand. Let's take my eldest brother to the Du Mansion and let him meet Madam Du. After he meets Madam Du, he will understand why I want to recognize my relationship with the Du family."

Yi Ping said with some concern: "Will Big Brother be willing to go to the Du Mansion?"

I smiled and said, "Just listen to me and don't make a fuss. It's not his turn to refuse to go."

Yi Ping nodded happily and said, "Okay, I'll listen to my second sister."

I waved my hand and said, "Go pick some gifts and put them in the car first. Don't let my brother see them. Just call him after dinner."

Yi Ping smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go choose now."

Seeing that Yiping had regained some of his mischievous look, I breathed a sigh of relief. This is what a twelve-year-old should be like.

Yiping picked and chose among several large boxes, and finally chose a pearl necklace of good quality, a piece of top-quality brocade cloth, a snow lotus of good quality, and a box of blood swallows. He packed them together and put them on the carriage.

These things did not have any royal seals, so even if they were given away as gifts, Zheng Xian would not punish them.

Not long after, Yingchun brought people to deliver food. I asked Yingchun to invite Master Lu to have dinner with us.

Su Bowen's parents are still at home. They did not take Su Bowen's body back to his hometown for burial, because there was no house or land in his hometown, and he would have nowhere to live if he went back. It would be better for him to be a servant here and have enough food to eat.

The two of them had come to visit me many times, but because I was always in a coma, I was unable to see them. When I was about to eat, they came again, and I asked Yingchun to invite them in.

After Su Bowen's parents entered the room, they wanted to kneel down when they saw me. I quickly supported them and said, "What are you doing? I told you two that you don't need to kneel down to show respect when you see me."

Su's mother still couldn't see, but her complexion had become much rosier and she seemed to be in better health.

Mother Su burst into tears before she could say anything. She sobbed and said, "We two came here to thank you for finding our son's body for us. We have no way to repay you. We are willing to serve you as slaves for the rest of our lives."

I said, "I promised Su Bowen that I would take good care of you. Taking good care of yourselves is the greatest reward for me. Don't skimp on food and clothing. Just tell Yingchun if you need anything."

Father Su also quietly wiped away his tears and said, "Second Master, thank you."

I said, "We are preparing to eat. Have you eaten yet? If not, why don't we eat together?"

Su's father and mother only regarded themselves as servants. It was unreasonable for servants to eat at the same table with their masters. They quickly waved their hands and shook their heads and said, "We have already eaten, so we will not disturb the second young master from eating. We will leave first."

I saw that Su's father and mother were unwilling to eat at the same table, so I didn't force them and asked Yingchun to send him out.

I sat back at the dinner table only after Mr. and Mrs. Su left.

Master Lu had been watching us. When he saw me sit down, he smiled and said, "Master Aman is a friendly and loyal person. I really didn't make a mistake in choosing him. Come, I'll toast you a glass."

Mr. Lu held the teacup in both hands and extended it to me respectfully.

I quickly picked up the teacup and said, "Master, you are so kind to me. Ah Man is not worthy of such a gift. It should be Ah Man who respects you."

I touched Mr. Lu's teacup with my teacup and drank it all in one gulp.

After I finished drinking it, I realized that it was a good thing that the tea was cold, otherwise I would have been scalded to death if I took a sip.

Master Lu also drank up his tea, then laughed a few times and said, "Those naughty kids in my courtyard haven't disturbed Ah Man's recovery these past two days, right?"

I said truthfully, "They are all very well behaved. They even lower their voices deliberately when speaking, for fear of disturbing me. Master Lu, your teaching is really great."

Master Lu laughed again and said, "More than 20 people came here at once. If everyone said something loud, the roof would be blown off together. So I told them that if anyone did not behave properly, they should go back to the academy and celebrate the New Year on their own. Haha, they naturally stopped being so rude."

I also smiled and said, "Master Lu's way of managing people is really amazing. I admire you so much."

Master Lu was also very happy to see me wake up, and he talked more. Master Lu was not pedantic like a scholar. Instead, he had a lively personality and spoke in a witty and humorous way, which often made us laugh. We all enjoyed the meal very much.

There were not many houses in the house, so only Master Lu lived in the main house, and Senior Brother Su lived in a large house in the backyard with the twenty or so children. That house was originally for the servants, but since they came, the servants squeezed in and vacated a large house for the children to live in.

Although the children did not eat with us, their meals were prepared separately and were much better than those for the servants, so the children ate very happily.

The children have formed good habits of reading and learning literacy in the academy. They read in the morning and evening, and play only after finishing their homework during the day. They are very self-disciplined.

After finishing their studies and homework, the children would run to the front yard to play. No one would stop them when they saw this because the children were very well behaved and would never run into the main house. They would just play and build snowmen in the yard, or when they were hungry, they would run to the kitchen to ask the cook for something to eat.

With more people in the house, it suddenly became lively.