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

Sure enough, upon hearing that Xiao Yao was behind it, the Yu family members visibly wilted.

Yu Man silently put the carrying pole back, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

Ji Chunhua still didn't believe it. She slowly sat down on the stool, her eyes unfocused and her expression utterly bewildered.

"Impossible... Yao Yao wouldn't become like this... She wouldn't!"

Yu Wenrong suddenly exploded. He kicked the table leg hard—"Bang!" The old table, which was already teetering on the brink of collapse, completely crumbled.

Fortunately, Zhu Xiaozhen didn't have time to set out the food, otherwise, no one would have eaten today, and Yu Wenrong would have gotten a good beating.

Yu Wenrong was filled with rage.

"Mother, you still have your eyes on that bastard? If it weren't for Third Sister, she would have not only stolen the kudzu root today, but also beaten me to death on the spot! You didn't see how arrogant she was!"

Other families favored sons over daughters and didn't care about girls at all. Only his family was an exception, because that bastard was good at sweet talk from a young age, and among the siblings, his mother always favored Xiao Yao.

It would have been better if they had favored the third sister who came back later, but Mother still can't forget that ungrateful wretch. It's infuriating!

Ji Chunhua's eyes reddened. She glanced at her husband, who remained expressionless. She looked at the others, who all wore cold faces and remained silent.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

Is this what she wanted?

She struggled to her feet with her cane, choking back tears, and said, "You all eat, I won't eat tonight, I feel terrible!"

After saying that, he turned around and went back into the house to lie down.

The family looked at each other in bewilderment. After a long while, Yu Man sighed.

"Eat first. After you finish eating, clean up the kudzu root."

Fortunately, half of the kudzu roots were saved, which was a pleasant surprise. The most important thing is that everyone is safe.

Yu Wanran and Yu Wenbin found some stones and used them to stabilize the table legs.

I ate boiled vegetables in salt water again tonight, even though I was thinking of adding kudzu root in the next few days to change things up and improve my meals. But I felt heavy-hearted and couldn't relax no matter what.

What I fear most is that Xiao Yao is targeting the Yu family; this is just the beginning.

"Father, can we leave Qingping Village and settle down somewhere outside Tongcheng?"

At the dinner table, Yu Wenbin glanced at his younger sister discreetly and raised the question. He could tell that Xiao Yao was targeting his third sister more. It would be difficult for her to live peacefully in Qingping Village in the future.

My younger brother and Xiao Yao used to have a lot of disagreements and often clashed. Now that Xiao Yao is in power, the Yu family probably has no place to stand in Tongcheng.

Anyway, the Yu family is considered outsiders in Qingping Village, their ancestors fled famine. It's better to go back to their ancestral home and escape the influence of the Duke's mansion.

Yu Man shook his head bitterly.

He had certainly considered this matter. As soon as the truth about the real and fake heiress came out, his wife was almost beaten to death by the Duke's mansion, and he began to think about how to avoid disaster.

But my mother, eldest brother, and third brother's family are all settled here. What would it mean if one of them ran away? Besides, you can't move an inch without money. With only two taels of silver in hand... no! After buying New Year's goods, there's only one tael left. Where can they go?

Staying in Qingping Village, at least the Duke's Mansion won't openly target them, right? Xiao Yao might just be acting out of anger; try to be patient. She'll be fine once she's vented her anger.

After all, the other party is royalty and nobility. How could they possibly have the nerve to keep getting entangled with commoners like them?

Yu Man hadn't considered that even if Xiao Yao forgot about this later, there would be plenty of petty people eager to curry favor with the Duke's mansion by putting them down.

Yu Wanran remained silent, sipping her bland vegetable soup.

She had misunderstood, thinking that Xiao Yao would let her go once she left the Duke's mansion. Judging from the other party's sinister expression today, it was clear that this wasn't over yet.

Since that's the case, don't blame her for retaliating.

In her previous life, her eagerness to return to the Duke's mansion drove away any lingering affection the Duke and Duchess had for her. In this life, she uses a strategy of retreat to rekindle their pity for her. What will the outcome be?

Although she spent sixteen years studying literature and martial arts, she was exposed to the intrigues and backstabbing within the powerful family.

Does Xiao Yao, who has only been the daughter of a duke for three months, have the ability to compete with her for the emperor's favor?

With a flicker of her eyes, Yu Wanran looked up and smiled at her lifeless family members.

"Don't worry, the Duke and Duchess are upright and honest, and they will not tolerate Xiao Yao's reckless behavior."

Xiao Yao also accidentally injured Wei Baifeng today. Although the prefect wouldn't outwardly hold such a trivial matter against her, this has sown the seeds of discord within the Duke's mansion.

Xiao Yao's dismissive attitude at the time was particularly inappropriate. She knew exactly how strong Wei Baifeng's pride was and how delicate and sensitive he was.

In her previous life, she regarded Wei Baifeng as her future husband, and she was submissive and gentle in front of him. Even so, Wei Baifeng would occasionally harbor suspicions.

Xiao Yao's current attitude towards him is probably because Wei Baifeng's resentment has accumulated to the point of overflowing!

She gave a wry smile.

"Just bear with it a little longer... at most..."

In at most six months, the Duke of Xiao will bring his wife and daughters to the capital to celebrate the emperor's birthday. Then the Yu family will finally be able to catch their breath. However, because of her rebirth, many things have changed in this life, and the details will likely not be exactly the same as in her previous life.

After finishing their meal, Yu Man put the previous unpleasantness behind her. She asked her son to fetch some water and personally prepared the kudzu root. After rinsing it clean, she skillfully chopped it into small pieces, put it in a pot, and had Zhu Xiaozhen start a fire to steam it.

After steaming, mash it into a paste, spread it on a clean plate or other container, let it dry naturally in the sun, then crush it, filter it through a fine mesh sieve, and you can get kudzu root powder.

You can brew it with boiling water or add a pinch when cooking porridge. It will make it thick, delicious, and very good for your health.

While working on it, he kept thinking about the other half of the kudzu root that Xiao Yao had ruined, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

Ji Chunhua had originally refused to eat dinner out of spite. As soon as the kudzu root powder was ready, Yu Wanran stirred some into the vegetable porridge, and brought it to her. Without saying a word, Ji Chunhua took small sips and drank it.

Finally, he smacked his lips and took his daughter's hand.

"Ranran, I spoiled Yaoyao before. But she really doesn't have a bad heart! Just don't argue with her like Lao Si did."

Didn't those two always get more and more heated when they argued? If you give in a little, it'll be no fun if Yao Yao makes a fuss all by herself.

She was currently too far away to control Xiao Yao, but Yu Wanran was right there. So, she shared the lessons she had learned.

Yu Wanran remained noncommittal.

"Mother, I understand. Please rest assured."

He picked up the empty bowl and walked straight out.

It's unlikely that she was completely unconcerned about Ji Chunhua's attitude towards Xiao Yao. Having lived two lives, she had become much more indifferent to "emotions," whether familial or romantic.

In this life, she sees herself as someone who "pays off debts." Once those debts are paid off, she will be kind to whoever treats her well.

Like romantic love, family ties cannot be forced or coerced.

Zhu Xiaozhen squatted in the corner of the kitchen, carefully preparing the two pieces of pork belly that Yu Man had bought. The pork was singed black by the fire; she carefully scraped off the pig hair with a knife, revealing the golden, charred skin.

Yu Xiaoxiang and Yu Wenrong paced around, unable to help, yet unwilling to look away from anything else.