Expelled from the Duke's mansion, the fake heiress is richer than a country.

A cold glint appeared in Yu Wanran's eyes as she opened the envelope and took out the letter.

After a few brief pleasantries, Xiao Wang got straight to the point, saying that a month later, the Duchess, the Heir Apparent, and the County Princess would be coming to the capital to celebrate the Emperor's birthday.

Considering safety issues on the road, it is hoped that Yu Wanran can lead the secret guards to protect them along the way.

Xiao Wang's attitude and tone were more like assigning a task than making a request.

After reading it, Yu Wanran silently placed the letter face down on the table. After a while, her gaze towards Yan Bai was calm yet slightly cold.

"How did you, Duke, know my current address so quickly?"

Someone delivered a message almost immediately after she arrived. She refused to believe her whereabouts hadn't been discovered!

Yan Bai hesitated for a moment, then knelt on one knee.

"My lord, the Duke was worried about your safety outside, so..."

Yu Wanran lowered her eyes, concealing the murderous intent surging within them.

From the beginning, she and Yanbai tacitly understood each other. They would leave the two of them behind for two reasons: first, out of consideration for their past master-servant relationship; and second, to appease Duke Xiao.

Now, Yan Bai's actions have clearly crossed the line she can tolerate. It's tantamount to him monitoring and controlling her new life.

This is something Yu Wanran cannot tolerate!

She paused, then suddenly opened her eyes and stared intently at Yan Bai.

"How much does Yanqing know?"

Yan Bai slowly raised his head, looked into her eyes, and a barely perceptible hint of pain flashed across his face.

"He knows nothing; sometimes fools are lucky. From now on, Master can use him with complete peace of mind."

Yu Wanran said calmly, "Understood. Report back to the Duke that I will return to Tongcheng in a month to join the escort team and protect the Duke's men heading to the capital."

Yan Bai hesitated, then clasped his hands in a salute and withdrew.

Yu Wanran had no intention of planning for the future at all. She sat blankly in her chair, staring at the letter on the table.

Is the Duke's mansion short of guards and manpower?

of course not.

The other party just wants to control her life and use her for their own purposes!

The bodyguard was merely a small test. If she refused, the Duke's mansion would eliminate her before she could fully establish herself.

If things were left to their own devices, she and the Yu family would be servants of the Duke's mansion for the rest of their lives.

This is why she is so eager to expand her own power!

Yan Bai is like a dog leash that the Duke's mansion uses to control her. The leash cannot be cut until there is complete certainty.

In his previous life, Yanqing died at the hands of Xiao Yao. Yanbai escaped from the Duke's mansion and disappeared without a trace.

Since they were able to escape, it proves that the Duke's mansion ultimately lacked any leverage over Yan Bai. So, why is Yan Bai now willing to serve the Duke's mansion, even at the cost of damaging their former master-servant relationship?

If we can find it, perhaps the two sides won't have to break off relations and end up fighting each other.

That night, Zhong Yeliu noticed that the light in the main room stayed on until late.

She was very worried.

Several times she walked to the door, intending to knock, but hesitated and withdrew her hand. She was afraid that overstepping the boundary would displease her master, so in the end, she returned to the side room, turning back every few steps.

The next day, after having breakfast early in the morning, Yu Wanran asked Zhong Yeliu and Yan Bai to guard the house, while she got into a carriage with six servants and headed to the manor outside the city.

She finally realized what was wrong.

Shunzi sat beside her, watching her drive the carriage intently, and said with a mixture of shame and determination, "Master, don't worry, I will definitely work hard to learn how to drive a carriage as soon as possible!"

Yu Wanran felt a little better. While urging the horse on, she taught him the essentials of driving a carriage.

Having ambition is good; what's worst is someone who doesn't understand but is unwilling to learn.

Upon arriving at the manor gate, I saw it wide open, with some unfamiliar villagers coming and going, helping to carry things. I couldn't tell if they were kind-hearted ordinary villagers or tenants.

Yu Wenrong stood at the door directing the people to put their things where they were. Seeing her third sister arrive, she happily forgot about the others and rushed to greet her.

"Third sister, you're here! Have you finished tidying up the house in the city?"

Yu Wanran jumped off the carriage, waited for the six servants to get off, handed the whip to Shunzi and told him to lead the carriage to a corner to guard it, then smiled and patted his younger brother on the shoulder.

"It's almost done tidying up. I came over today to see if I could help out at home."

With a wave of his hand, Hua Rong, Qiu Cui, and the others spontaneously joined the busy queue of moving things, finding tasks they could manage to do.

Yu Wenrong stared in astonishment.

He knew his third sister had bought servants. But he hadn't expected her to buy so many at once.

On second thought, after all, Third Sister came from the Duke's mansion and had lived a life of being waited on hand and foot since childhood. It's just that their Yu family didn't have the means to provide her with such a life!

Now that Third Sister has regained her comfortable life through her own abilities, they should be happy for her.

Having figured it out, I stopped worrying about such trivial matters and happily led my third sister into the manor. Along the way, I gesticulated excitedly, explaining to my third sister how satisfied everyone was with the manor, how the rooms were allocated, and how the front and back yards had been renovated.

Looking at her younger brother's face, flushed with excitement, Yu Wanran smiled.

Seeing her family happy is more important to her than her own happiness.

Yu Wenbin and his daughter Zhu Xiaozhen were leveling two acres of land in their backyard, preparing to cultivate important crops such as red velvet grass and dendrobium officinale in the future. They were also digging up and widening the dirt road next to it so they could plant some vegetables.

Farmers just can't stand seeing such good land wasted. Why plant flowers? They can't eat them!

Ji Chunhua wandered around the front and back yards alone, directing people to move things. Her two canes didn't hinder her from standing on one leg; she moved swiftly and gracefully, as if divinely aided.

Yu Wenrong led Yu Wanran through the door. Upon hearing the noise, Yu Wenbin and Zhu Xiaozhen, mother and daughter, dropped their hoes and ran towards the two of them. She was unaware that her daughter had arrived.

Yu Wanran glanced at the various pieces of furniture brought into the room; most were made of ordinary wood. Some were even secondhand.

She said nothing.

My family is used to being frugal. Changing their spending habits would require at least several generations to accumulate enough wealth.

He stepped closer and called out, "Mother!"

Ji Chunhua turned around and saw her daughter had arrived, her dark face crinkled with smiles. She took her daughter's hand and led her to the main room.

Pointing to the five main rooms, he said, "Ranran, look, the middle room is the main hall; your father and I live in the room on the left; your eldest brother and sister-in-law live in the second room on the left."

"You and your younger brother will each stay in the two rooms on the right. How does this arrangement suit you?

"Thank you, Mother. I'm very satisfied."

Seeing Ji Chunhua's happy yet slightly apprehensive eyes, Yu Wanran smiled.

"However, in the Great Zhao Dynasty, the right is considered superior. You, your parents, and your elder brother should live in the two main rooms on the right. My younger brother and I will live in the two rooms on the left!"

Ji Chunhua was overjoyed and patted her hand.

“Daughter, you know so much, so we’ll do it your way! Don’t worry about the things in your room, I’ll take care of them for you. When you come back to visit us occasionally, you’ll have something to stay in.”

He pulled his daughter into the house, found a newly bought chair to sit down, and then glared at his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter who followed closely behind.

"With so much to do, why aren't you all busy with your own things? Ranran will be staying here later, and the room isn't cleaned or the bedding isn't made properly. What kind of behavior is that!"