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

Twenty coins is a very reasonable price.

Even if it cost ten coins a mat, plenty of people in the village would be happy to go into the mountains, and while they're at it, they'd also gather a basket of red grass to weave into mats. This work doesn't require any capital investment, just a little labor, and anyone with hands and feet, adults or children, can do it.

If you work hard, a family can weave several quilts a day. That's equivalent to a month's earnings carrying heavy loads in the city!

Even if his family only accepted 15 coins per bed, they could still take a considerable cut. The Yu family was practically delivering money to our door!

Fearing that things might change if they waited too long, the village headman found paper and pen and wrote the contract on the spot. The village headman's wife smiled and instructed her daughter-in-law to bring out several bowls of brown sugar water.

Yu Wanran and Hong Lizheng agreed to purchase top-quality red straw mats for one month at a price of twenty coins per mat. There was no limit on the quantity; the more mats the villagers of Xiaohong Village could weave, the more they could earn.

Yu Wanran and others had Hong Lizheng bite their fingers, press their bloody fingerprints onto the paper, and give him five taels of silver as a deposit. They wouldn't act without seeing the money first; they wanted Hong Lizheng to be more motivated to help them with errands later.

After seeing Yu Wanran and her party off, the Hong family beamed with joy.

On the one hand, they secretly laughed at Zhu Xiaozhen for being a fool and marrying into a stupid family; on the other hand, the whole family went into the mountains to collect red velvet grass.

They wanted to harvest as much lush red velvet grass as possible before informing the villagers, lest they fall behind when everyone else went to collect it to weave mats.

We need to earn the commission, but we need to earn even more money from pure hand-weaving!

At worst, spring planting will be delayed by a few days. Their family of about ten people can earn over a hundred coins a day weaving mats!

Unfortunately, Yu Wanran needed a large quantity, and time was tight. Otherwise, the village head's family would never have leaked this information.

The trip went smoothly, and Yu Wanran and the others were in a good mood as they left Datong Village.

Yu Wenbin, in particular, knew that the price offered by cloth merchants in the capital was five hundred cash. If they bought red straw mats with that money, how many times more would they make in the capital? No wonder Third Sister was so insistent on going into trade!

Compared to the windfall that was about to be in his hands, the risks he took on the journey were nothing. He had initially sworn to himself that he would never go to the capital again, but now Yu Wenbin felt that he could make a few more trips to the capital.

Unaware of the details, Zhu Xiaozhen thought her hometown village, Hongli, was too corrupt!

She made a special trip to follow them, but they didn't lower the price at all because of her. Instead, they made her pay five more coins per bed!

Isn't that red grass growing in a rotten mountain ditch? Nobody wants the red mats you give away.

How come it's selling for twenty coins a quilt? Go home and get a basket and sickle. From now on, she and her husband will have to come over every day to cut grass, so they can weave a few more quilts and help her sister-in-law lose less money!

Yu Wanran glanced at Yu Wenrong.

"Young man, there is a private school in Datong Village. Tomorrow, I will have my father accompany you to pay your tuition. From now on, you can learn a few characters from the teacher. In your spare time, you can also learn martial arts from me."

Yu Wenrong's face scrunched up like a bitter gourd.

"Third sister, isn't there a need to be in such a hurry?"

Before he could make up his mind, his third sister was already forcing him into it.

“Teach Xiaoxiang what you learn every day when you get home. The other family members should also learn when they have time…”

Yu Wanran looked serious.

“I can’t support this family on my own. Do you still want to live like before, toiling in the fields and being bullied and exploited by others your whole lives?”

She looked at Yu Wenbin, who had a carefree and gloating expression, and asked, "Big brother, are you going to the private school with me?"

Yu Wenbin was startled and flailed his arms wildly.

"Third Sister, I still need to keep an eye on Datong Village for you and buy red straw mats! I can go to the private school by myself."

Noticing Yu Wanran's serious expression, he had a sudden inspiration: "Besides, if I pay one tuition fee, we can all learn from each other when we come back. That's equivalent to paying several tuition fees. Isn't that a great deal!"

Yu Wanran chuckled softly.

She wasn't necessarily forcing her family to achieve any specific academic results. At least they should be able to recognize a few characters and do basic arithmetic, right? Otherwise, as the business grows, how will they manage the household if they can't keep track of the accounts?

The next day, Yu Wanran went to Tongcheng alone.

When a younger brother becomes an apprentice, it's not her place to go along. Scholars are rigid in their thinking and don't welcome women showing their faces in public. In wealthy families, daughters who learn to read are always taught by female tutors.

Upon arriving in the city, Yu Wanran first went to the West Market for a stroll.

It was discovered that Chaoyun Pavilion had been sealed off! There were no pimps guarding it inside or out, and two crisscrossed seals were pasted on the black lacquered gate.

Upon inquiring, it was learned that the young master of the Duke's mansion had been involved in an incident here last time, with reportedly severe consequences. Enraged, the Duke went to the yamen (government office), and Prefect Wei had no choice but to seal off Chaoyun Pavilion.

Whether it can reopen in the future is unknown. Now it's one of the other two entertainment venues in the city, which have become prosperous overnight.

Yu Wanran was delighted; all her hard work hadn't been in vain!

Her former elder brother was a lecherous and playful good-for-nothing. This time, he was so frightened that he stayed at home, and he will probably be traumatized for a long time, not daring to set foot in a brothel again. In fact, he did a good thing for the Crown Princess.

I wonder where that skinny beggar is now? It's best if she doesn't see him!

Yu Wanran then went straight to the Duke's mansion and waited at the back gate. After waiting for a long time, she finally saw a nanny in green robes leading two maids and carrying baskets as she slowly walked out.

The Duke's mansion had many women in the inner quarters. The concubines and maids who were slightly wealthy and of high status would ask the matron in charge of the small kitchen to bring them some snacks or trinkets from outside.

Don't be fooled by the fact that this old woman is nothing in front of her master; in front of those who need her help, she is incredibly powerful.

Yu Wanran had studied housekeeping with the Duchess of the State for a period of time and was very knowledgeable in this area.

Generally speaking, as long as the task was done fairly well, the Duchess instructed her to turn a blind eye to the occasional minor misbehavior of her subordinates. Too much clarity leaves no room for fish.

Yu Wanran seized the opportunity, rushed forward, and called out, "Granny Xiong!"

Granny Xiong was startled by her!

After the two maids saw Yu Wanran's face clearly, they subconsciously curtsied and said, "This servant greets you..."

He was speechless halfway through his sentence. He was also unsure whether he should stand up abruptly after bowing halfway through.

Yu Wanran quickly helped the other woman up, smiling apologetically, "Granny Xiong, I'm so sorry to have startled you! I waited here specifically to ask you to deliver something to the Duchess."

As he spoke, he took out a carefully wrapped small box and handed it to the other person.

Thinking about the Duchess's attitude towards this adopted daughter, it seemed that they hadn't completely broken ties. She had even told the gatekeepers not to stop Yu Wanran from returning to the mansion. After hesitating, she didn't return the box, but only hesitated and said...

"Miss... why don't you just ask the gatekeeper to report it?"

“I have left the Duke’s mansion, and I am no longer a member of the Duke’s mansion…”

Yu Wanran looked sad and dejected.

"I'm really worried about the Duchess. Her knees ache when it gets cold. So I brought back a box of ointment from the capital, saying it's very effective at relieving pain. Please ask Granny Xiong to secretly give it to her."

As he spoke, he took out a tael of silver and stuffed it into the other person's hand.

Facing her former mistress, Granny Xiong was filled with sorrow. She thought that helping to deliver something was no big deal, and the Duchess might even be pleased.

Then he said, "Considering that Miss Yu has treated us servants well in the past, we will pass on this message on her behalf. However, whether Madam is willing to accept it is not something we servants can say."