After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

There were seven people in the cage: three men and four women. Besides the woman mentioned earlier and the boy with a wolf's fang around his neck, there were also a pair of twins and a pair of sisters. The remaining person was a prisoner, a spy from an enemy country, for whom there was no evidence. Before being captured, she sold tofu on the street and had a husband and son. Her husband had run away with the son.

The woman did the math in her mind and realized that five thousand taels was more than enough to buy them all.

With a flick of his finger, he summoned the official indenture: "Miss Lu, is that right? You still have a chance to back out."

"Thank you for reminding me, sister." Lu Zhiyuan nodded. "Liu Ying, pay the bill."

The transaction was completed quickly, and all seven cages were carried to the back. The woman led the way herself, asking as she went, "The prettier they are, the more disobedient they are, especially those two."

The woman pointed at the wolf-toothed boy and the tofu-selling scout: "If you can't subdue the young lady, you can return the money, but you'll lose a little money on the price."

"Where's the key?" Lu Zhiyuan reached out her hand: "It's fine if you don't give it to me, just have someone open the cage and take the chains off them."

The eight-year-old girl's composure drew the woman's attention. Her features were delicate, already showing signs of beauty. Her face was pale, her cheeks thin, and her voice weak. She was undoubtedly the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Pingnan.

The woman waved her hand, and the cage and chains were opened.

The twins and the two sisters stepped forward on their own, while the girl from the scholarly family was helped out by a tofu seller. She had an injured foot and walked with a limp. The wolf-toothed boy was dragged out; his eyes were defiant, and he almost got beaten.

Lu Zhiyuan took out the indentures. "You already know my identity. These are your indentures. You are free to choose: either leave or work for me. I, Lu Zhiyuan, do not like to force people to do things against their will."

"Are you the granddaughter of the Pillar General?" The older of the twins spoke up: "My name is Xie Mian, and this is my younger brother Xie Xun. Our names were given to us by General Xie. My father served as General Xie's personal guard and died in battle. His body was never found. Our village was destroyed by the barbarians. My mother and all the clansmen died, and we were captured and brought here."

Xie Mian pulled his younger brother Xie Xun to kneel on the ground: "General Xie is a great hero, and Miss is the daughter of a general from Humen. She must be extraordinary. We brothers are willing to work for Miss."

The sisters, surnamed Song, came from a poor family and were sold to slave traders by their greedy parents. Like the twins, they chose to stay.

The girl, from a scholarly family, was surnamed Leng, and her given name was Ru. Her father had served as a county magistrate in Weinan County, but was killed after being implicated in a case that happened to be related to Ji Wanwan's deceased husband. She was the daughter of a death row inmate and quite beautiful; even if she left with an indenture, her fate was uncertain.

She was clever; she chose to stay by Lu Zhiyuan's side as a maid, thus gaining the protection of the Marquis's mansion. Besides that, there was another reason: she wanted to investigate her father's case.

The only one who didn't speak was the wolf-toothed boy. Lu Zhiyuan didn't force him, but put the indenture in his hand and whispered in his ear, "Ji Wanwan is at the Pingnan Marquis's residence!"

The wolf-toothed boy suddenly opened his eyes wide.

"I'm willing to go back to your residence with you, but you can't stop me from doing what I want to do."

Lu Zhiyuan said lazily, "Don't worry, if I were to stop you, I wouldn't tell you where she is."

With just a few words, she persuaded these extremely difficult slaves to willingly leave with her. Not only the onlookers, but even the manager of the slave market, a charming and sophisticated woman who fanned herself with a palm leaf fan, became interested in Lu Zhiyuan.

Who said that Lu Zhiyuan, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Pingnan, is a good-for-nothing? If she is a good-for-nothing, then there are probably very few people in the capital of Beiliang who can be considered intelligent.

Xie Mian and Xie Xun have some martial arts skills; sending them to the Xie family and having them trained by their maternal uncle would make them excellent bodyguards. The Song sisters are hardworking and resilient, and Leng Ru is literate; sending them to Amber for further training would also make them valuable assets to the rouge shop.

As for the wolf-toothed boy, he was meant to deal with Ji Wanwan. Leng Ru was a pleasant surprise; the original plot didn't mention her father, suggesting that these cannon fodder characters were also pursuing their own destinies outside the main storyline. Only Lu Zhiyuan could tame the wildness in the boy, so to prevent any trouble, she had to keep him in check, just like Lu Yun.

The tofu-selling spy was sent to her second uncle's residence by Lu Zhiyuan; her identity needed further verification. If she truly was a spy from an enemy country, she would be eliminated completely. If not, she would use the Xie family's network to help her find her husband and children, reuniting them as a family.

After going around in circles, it was already dusk when they returned to the Marquis's residence. The steward paced anxiously at the entrance, his hands behind his back.

"My lady, you're finally back! The old lady is eager to see you."

"Why is Grandmother thinking about me?" Helping Liu Ying out of the carriage, she noticed the butler staring at the wolf-toothed boy and introduced him, "Han Ting, Liu Ying and I bought him from the slave market. Isn't he handsome?"

The steward gave a perfunctory reply, his head spinning: "Why don't you come with me to see the old lady first? We can talk about the slave matter later. Miss Jinyao has woken up and said she was frightened by you, Miss. She also said that the maid the old lady gave her, what was her name again, was beaten to death by you. The old lady is furious right now, and not only Madam Ji, but even the Marquis and his wife were scolded."

"She still went to complain to her grandmother after all." Lu Zhiyuan said, dozing off. "In that case, let's go to Fulin Courtyard."

After taking two steps, he turned around and said, "Han Ting doesn't need to follow."

As evening fell, the lanterns in the Marquis's mansion were gradually being lit. Before even entering, she could hear her grandmother scolding her. Lianxiang's mother was a maidservant bought by the Cui family to accompany Old Madam Lu in her dowry. She had been by Lianxiang's side ever since she married into the Marquis's mansion, and their relationship was both that of mistress and servant, and also that of sisters.

Her marriage was arranged by Old Madam Lu, who, due to her poor judgment, chose the worst possible match for her. As a result, after marriage, she was not only tormented by her mother-in-law but also frequently beaten by her husband. Lianxiang was her posthumous daughter, and Old Madam Lu, upon learning the news, led her home hand in hand.

Because of this relationship, Madam Lu was very indulgent towards Lianxiang, allowing this second-class maid to act arrogantly and domineeringly in the mansion like a young lady, and even the steward had to give her some face.

The old lady sent Lianxiang to Lu Jinyao's side for two reasons. First, to have her help protect Lu Jinyao and, incidentally, to let everyone in the mansion know that Lu Jinyao was the Lu family's chosen young lady. Second, to think about her future. If Lu Jinyao were to marry, Lianxiang would be a dowry maid, and according to the customs of Beiliang, dowry maids would usually be taken as concubines by the groom.

With the Marquis's mansion as her backing, Lu Jinyao's husband must be no ordinary person. Making Lianxiang a concubine would not only prevent Lu Jinyao from threatening her position as the mistress of the house, but also compensate Lianxiang's mother, which would be a win-win situation.

The plan had just been taken out, and before the beads could even be adjusted, Lu Zhiyuan smashed it. How could Old Madam Lu not be angry?

"You unfilial daughter, kneel down right now!"

“Mother!” Xie Chaoyun exclaimed, “The matter of Lianxiang has not been investigated yet, and you expect Yuan’er to kneel down. What will happen if Yuan’er is wronged?”

“Jin Yao is standing right here, how could I possibly wrong her?” Old Madam Lu tapped her cane. “At such a young age, her thoughts and methods are so vicious.”

“Grandmother, you think so highly of Yuan’er? Then you must be disappointed, because Yuan’er is never the one with a vicious mind and cruel methods.” Lu Zhiyuan handed over a stack of things: “Yuan’er’s punishment of Lianxiang was to maintain the dignity of our Marquis’s mansion.”

Snapped--

The teacup fell to the ground, splashing tea everywhere and leaving stains on the hem of Lu Zhiyuan's skirt.