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

Yu Wenrong, standing nearby, was stunned, filled with admiration for his third sister. With just a few words, his third sister had instigated infighting among the opposing side?

Several guards who were with Wei Baifeng rushed forward to help their master.

"Young Master, how are you?"

They glanced at Xiao Yao with hidden resentment. The former county princess, skilled in martial arts, was always gentle and submissive in front of the young master. This wild girl who suddenly appeared not only acted without restraint but also injured the young master!

However, they could not question the county princess's status, so they could only suppress their frustration and quickly fetch medicine to bandage Wei Baifeng's wounds.

Xiao Yao was flustered when she accidentally hit her fiancé. But having been used to Wei Baifeng's flattery for three months, she didn't feel guilty and instead complained.

"Why don't you hide?"

Wei Baifeng swallowed a mouthful of blood, almost causing internal injuries.

Amidst the chaos of battle, Xiao Yao turned and saw Yu Wanran pulling Yu Wenrong away, enraging herself. She wouldn't hit anyone, but surely she could hit those two unsightly large baskets? She lashed out with her whip at Yu Wenrong's back!

"Stop right there! Did I, the county magistrate, say you could leave?"

With a "whoosh," Yu Wenrong felt a weight lift from his shoulders. The basket, already overburdened, shattered into pieces after being struck by Xiao Yao's whip! The withered branches, grass, and dozens of kilograms of kudzu roots inside were scattered all over the ground.

If Yu Wanran hadn't pulled me forward in time, the whip would have lashed out along with the skin on my back.

Xiao Yao's eyes lit up as she looked at the kudzu root on the ground: "You guys are really lucky, you even dug up this good stuff!"

If she had seen this thing three months ago, she would have been overjoyed. But now, all that remained was pure malice.

Such a good thing shouldn't be given to people who dislike it.

She stepped forward, stomped on the kudzu root, and held the leather whip in her hand with a smug look on her face.

“This mountainous area is the fiefdom of the Duke’s mansion. Everything you’ve obtained belongs to the Duke’s mansion! You dared to dig up these kudzu roots without permission, so this county magistrate is confiscating them. Isn’t that reasonable and lawful?”

Although she would no longer eat kudzu, a poor man's food, it didn't stop her from taking amusement at the Yu siblings' grief and indignation!

"You, you're going too far—"

Yu Wenrong was really anxious. If Yu Wanran hadn't been holding him tightly, he would have pounced on Xiao Yao and snatched the kudzu root from under her feet.

Xiao Yao looked at the calm and collected Yu Wanran with a hint of regret. If Yu Wanran and Yu Wenrong had dared to rush up at her together and attack her, then she would have had an excuse to deal with the two of them properly.

He pointed the whip at the stream by the roadside and ordered the guards, "Men, throw these things into the water!"

"Xiao Yao, you will surely be punished by heaven for wasting food like this—"

Yu Wenrong finally snapped, breaking free from Yu Wanran's grasp and lunging at the kudzu roots, trying to snatch them back. But the guards shoved him to the ground, and he could only watch helplessly as the guards carried away the kudzu roots and threw them into the stream.

"Thump thump!"

Among the villagers who had gathered to watch the spectacle, several men, still wearing their clothes, jumped into the stream and frantically scooped up kudzu roots. If retrieved in time, the kudzu roots were still edible. But they would no longer belong to the Yu siblings.

Yu Wenrong also wanted to jump into the water, but Yu Wanran caught up with him and held him tightly, scolding him: "Are you crazy! In this cold weather, do you think you'll survive to catch kudzu roots and eat them?"

Yu Wenrong's eyes were red and swollen. She sat down on the ground and hugged her third sister's leg, sobbing uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Xiao Yao was overjoyed. She and a few other spoiled brats pointed and laughed at the Yu siblings and the people who went into the water to collect kudzu roots.

The villagers watching secretly shook their heads.

What a terrible thing to do!

The Duke's mansion has finally recognized this real daughter, who came from Qingping Village. How could they be so cruel to the villagers they used to see every day?

Wei Baifeng sat on the ground, feeling a throbbing pain in his thigh. The contrast between Xiao Yao, who was laughing maniacally, and Yu Wanran, who was quietly comforting her younger brother, was stark.

A dim light flashed across his eyes. What a cruel twist of fate!

A spoiled young master, fanning himself with a folding fan, approached Xiao Yao, glancing at the disheveled Yu siblings, and said in a very low voice, "Princess, if you want to deal with that imposter, why bother with open action? There are plenty of ways to take her life secretly!"

This is exactly what Xiao Yao wanted to hear!

Looking back at the spoiled rich kid who offered his advice, he suddenly stopped finding the other person's description sleazy and instead felt a sense of warmth towards him.

"let's go!"

Xiao Yao waved her hand, and the large group of people stopped their hunt in the mountains and headed back to the city in a grand procession. They had almost achieved their goal, and Wei Baifeng was injured; it was only right and proper to stop while they were ahead.

Yu Wenrong watched Xiao Yao's retreating figure with hatred in his eyes.

Thinking that her third sister still had over sixty catties of kudzu root hidden in her basket that hadn't been confiscated, she felt incredibly lucky. Wiping away her tears, she found a vine to tie up the scattered withered branches, hoisted it onto her shoulder, and went home with her third sister.

This delay meant that it was already dark when I got home. My initial joy was replaced by exhaustion and sadness.

Yu Man, accompanied by Yu Wenbin, arrived home before the siblings. They were both surprised and delighted to see Yu Wanran take several clumps of kudzu root from a pile of firewood.

"Ranran, did you find something good while digging up the mountain?"

Suddenly, she noticed that her youngest son's eyes were red and swollen, as if he had been crying. Then she saw that the kudzu roots on the ground were not intact, with half of them clearly missing, and she immediately realized what had happened.

"How come there's only half? Is the other half still unearthed?"

That's impossible! That's a type of food that can replace meals, even more precious than brown rice!

"Were you robbed?"

When it comes to food, even the most mild-mannered person can lose their temper. Yu Wenbin, driven by anger, rolled up his sleeves.

"Tell me, who stole it? How dare they bully the Yu family! Let's go, let's go and get it back!"

He figured he'd invite his uncle's two cousins ​​next door; with more people, there would be more power. Half a kudzu root weighed several dozen kilograms, so giving his uncle and cousins ​​a few kilograms would be worthwhile.

Yu Man thought the same thing. Without even bothering to organize the New Year's goods he'd just carried back, he pulled out his carrying pole.

He guessed it was some local thugs who, seeing his son was young and his daughter was a girl, bullied him and robbed him. He was thinking of seeking justice from the village head if he couldn't beat them, and didn't think too much about it; his mind was only on kudzu root.

Zhu Xiaozhen and her daughter, along with Ji Chunhua, came out of the house upon hearing the noise. Looking at the kudzu roots on the ground and listening to the conversation between the men, Ji Chunhua stood on one leg, waving her cane, feeling both pain and anger.

What pained them was that only half of the kudzu root remained, and what angered them was that the two siblings had returned so listlessly. That was grain, enough to feed the whole family for many days!

She only regretted that she couldn't charge into battle.

"Who did it? Ranran, don't be afraid! Fifth brother, you tell me—"

Having no other choice, Yu Wanran pressed Yu Wenrong down to prevent him from embellishing the story, and recounted what had happened herself.

Honestly, she could have used grand principles to scare Xiao Yao away and avoid her open harm. But Xiao Yao simply snatched a few pieces of kudzu root and threw them into the stream; she really couldn't stop her.

Xiao Yao is right about something.

Tongcheng was granted to the Duke of Xiao. Unless the common people could purchase a piece of land for private use through proper procedures, the Duke's mansion would receive a share of any public land sales.

They certainly couldn't be too arrogant, lest they arouse the emperor's suspicion and be impeached by the censors. But in reality, this local tyrant of the Duke's mansion could easily deal with two or three ordinary people on his own territory.