I became a vicious stepmother and I went to the sea to feed my three children.

A voice came from the door. Hearing the voice, Bai Qingyao subconsciously looked around the yard, and sure enough, she did not see the three little ones.

She walked out.

'Squeak—'

She opened the door and the three little ones all looked up at her.

"Aniang~"

"Why are you here at the door?"

Bai Qingyao raised her hand and touched their little heads. If there were any bad guys nearby, wouldn’t they be in great danger?

"We are waiting for Dad~"

Gu Yichen had just gone out and had not returned yet, so they were waiting for him at the door.

"From now on, when the door is closed, you must never be outside alone. If you encounter any bad guys, Mom won't be able to save you in time. Do you understand?"

"Even if we're waiting for Dad, we have to keep the door open, understand?"

"I know, Auntie."

Gu Zexuan nodded, a trace of guilt flashed across his face. He shouldn't have left his brothers outside alone.

"Okay, luckily everything is fine now. Xuan, don't blame yourself."

Bai Qingyao raised her hand and tapped Gu Zexuan's nose, then she looked up at the door.

She had just noticed that there was a ragged old man standing behind the three little ones.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

The ragged old man looked up when he heard Bai Qingyao's words.

"Little girl, does that sweet smell in the air come from your yard?"

Bai Qingyao was stunned, as if she didn't expect him to say this, but she still nodded honestly.

"It's my family's—"

Before she could finish her words, the old man spoke.

"That's right!"

After saying this, the old man walked into the Gu family's gate without any courtesy.

Bai Qingyao was dumbfounded, and the three little ones were frowning unhappily. Seeing this, Gu Zejing hurried over.

"How can you be so rude? What are you doing barging into my house?"

"You little kid, I'm a guest after all, so call me grandpa."

Gu Zejing snorted coldly, turned his head away, stopped looking at him, returned to Bai Qingyao, and cried out in grievance.

"Aniang~"

"Okay, Ajing, don't be angry."

Her hand fell on his head, soothing him.

Gu Zejing's voice attracted the attention of the people in the yard, and they couldn't help but look over.

I saw a man in tattered clothes rushing into the yard, following the smell, and rushing straight to the kitchen.

Bai Qingjiang was the first to react and stood in front of him. "Who are you? How did you break into my sister's house?"

After he finished speaking, the others turned their attention to him.

The old man didn't seem embarrassed by being caught. Instead, he said openly, "I just passed by Dayuan Village and smelled the fragrance that filled the air. I followed the scent and found this place. Could you give me a bowl of food?"

"Hey, old man, you came here without asking, and now you shamelessly want to eat, what do you think this place is?"

"Second brother."

Bai Qingyao walked over and shook her head at Bai Qingjiang after hearing what he said.

After she finished speaking, she turned to look at the old man and said, "I'm sorry, old sir, it's my second brother who is rude."

"Since you're here, it's fate. It's just a bowl of rice. Please take a seat and I'll serve you the rice."

"Sister, what are you doing? Why are you giving food to outsiders?"

When Bai Qingjiang saw Bai Qingyao leaving, he hurriedly followed.

"Second brother, being away from home is not easy for everyone. Now that we can lend a hand, we might as well do our part. Who knows, we might need help from others in the future."

Bai Qingjiang sighed. His sister was still too kind.

If it were a year of famine, who would be willing to let outsiders eat their own food?

Bai Qingyao turned around, opened the lid of the pot, and revealed the food inside.

The pig offal had turned brown and was bubbling in the pot, and the aroma wafted into her nostrils.

Very tempting.

He picked up a pair of chopsticks and inserted them directly into a piece of pig offal, poured a lot of soup on it, cut them into slices, put them in a bowl, took out another bowl, scooped rice on it, poured soup on it, and put thick slices of meat on it.

Holding two bowls, Bai Qingyao walked out.

Bai Qingjiang kept staring at the bowl in Bai Qingyao's hand and was reluctant to look away.

When they returned to the yard, the old man was already sitting on the stone bench in the yard as if no one was around. Xue Mei and the others looked at each other. For some reason, they always felt that the old man gave them a very strange feeling.

Even Xu Zisheng looked at the old man with suspicion.

"Hey, stop staring at the old man. He's just a little thick-skinned. He has an old face, and there's really nothing good about it."

Suddenly, the old man crossed his arms and said, "Are you guys interested in me, an old man?"

A group of people in the yard: ...

Hearing this, Xu Zisheng was speechless. "Old man, you look familiar to me. What's your name?"

The old man raised his eyelids and glanced at him. "My name is Jusheng, but I don't know you."

Where do you live?

Xu Zisheng frowned. This name... Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he turned to look at him.

"But the famous Mr. Jusheng?"

The old man looked up at him and asked, "Do we... know each other?"

"I don't...know him."

Xu Zisheng spoke awkwardly.

Mr. Ju Sheng is very famous and everyone in Beijing knows him. He is just a small figure, so how could he know Mr. Ju Sheng?

"Oh, then it's none of your business. Don't block me from waiting for food."

"Zisheng, do you know this person?"

Bai Dahai had met Xu Zisheng several times, and the two were already familiar with each other. Now when Bai Dahai spoke to him, he also used a familiar tone.

"Uncle Bai, you may not know this, but Mr. Jusheng is a well-known figure in the capital. He is knowledgeable in everything from astronomy to geography. Even the current emperor wanted him to be the Grand Tutor, but he refused..."

Hearing his words, a group of people couldn't help but open their mouths wide. This... But why does he look so ragged?

He doesn't look like a respectable person...

"Oh, this smells so good!"

Seeing Bai Qingyao coming out, Jusheng, who was originally sitting on the stool, ran to Bai Qingyao.

Those legs and feet don't look like what someone of this age can do.

"Please eat slowly."

After putting the food on the table, Bai Qingyao glanced at him and saw the stunned looks on the others' faces, so she couldn't help but speak in confusion.

"what happened?"

Bai Qingjiang was also confused. "That's right, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Ayao, Zisheng said this old man is Jusheng..."

When Gu Yichen returned to the door of his house, he noticed something was wrong.

There are guests at home today, so it can't be so quiet, but now, there is no laughter in the yard, and the three little ones are sitting at the door.

"Ah Xuan, why are you sitting here with your brother?"