Surely they couldn’t have stood by and watched while outsiders bullied their mother?

However, facing their furious mother, the two of them did not dare to refute.

They could only lower their heads aggrievedly and stand at the side.

Mu Yangling was no longer in a good mood to choose fabric.

She got someone to find Little Madam Xia, who had left to give them some privacy, then packed up before heading back.

Kejia nudged her brother and gestured silently.

“The jewelry in the pond.” Bosi glanced at the people coming and going and quietly moved out.

However, Kejia pulled him back and shouted at Mu Yangling, “Sister, let’s go fetch Little Bear back.” Mu Yangling looked up at the two of them steadily and nodded slightly.

The two of them rushed out hand in hand.

The two of them were grounded the minute they returned home.

If Bowen found out what they had done, he would definitely punish them to copy books again.

In just a few days, they had already understood that it was difficult to get anything done without money.

If they were grounded to copy books, they would definitely not have time to earn money.

When the two of them rushed to the pond and searched carefully, they realized that all the jewelry they had thrown into the water was gone.

The two children stood by the pool in shock as if they had been struck by lightning.

Who had taken away their spoils of war?

Of course, it was Mu Yangling.

Mu Yangling had gotten someone to scoop the items up and stuffed them into the Shu family’s carriage intact, striving to leave no evidence behind.

Bosi and Kejia were heartbroken, but Little Bear, who was in Tiptop Restaurant, wiped his mouth in satisfaction and held his stomach.

“I’m stuffed.” The shopkeeper was also very happy.

He bent down slightly and asked, “Little Prince, do you want to take away some food to show filial piety to the princess consort?” Little Bear blinked.

“Can I do that?” The shopkeeper’s beam widened and he nodded repeatedly.

Little Bear took out the piece of silver his mother had given him from his pocket and handed it to the shopkeeper.

He asked, “Is it enough?” The shopkeeper really wanted to offer to treat him to this meal, but when he saw the expression of the maidservant behind the Little Prince, he immediately changed his words and said with a smile, “Enough, enough.

There’s change left, in fact.” Little Bear heaved a sigh of relief and waved his hand.

“I’ll buy them all.” Hence, Little Bear returned with bags of various sizes.

Fortunately, he didn’t need to carry the items.

He merely had to walk in front with a bulging stomach while the servants behind him carried them.

For their safety, the restaurant’s shopkeeper even sent two assistant shopkeepers to accompany them, afraid that someone would be blind enough to offend this Little Prince.

The two assistant shopkeepers’ hands were empty.

They’d wanted to carry the things for the two of them so that the servants could carry the Little Prince, but Little Bear refused to let them.

He knew very well that he couldn’t ask them to work for nothing.

He didn’t have any money on him now.

What if he couldn’t afford to pay the two assistant shopkeepers for helping to carry the things?

Therefore, it was better to ask his servants to carry it.

As for him walking by himself, this was even simpler.

After eating, walking would aid him in digesting his food.

When Little Bear saw his mother, he bounced over happily.

“Mother, I brought you delicious food.” At this moment, Mu Yangling was still thinking about the Shu family, so she only nodded slightly.

She stroked his head and praised, “Little Bear is so filial.

You even thought about Mother.

Did you bring anything for Grandmother?” Little Bear nodded vigorously.

“Yes, and there’s also something for Daddy, Eldest Uncle, Little Uncle, and Little Aunt…” Mu Yangling asked him to bring the delicious food to Shu Wanniang and got someone to tip the two assistant shopkeepers before sending them away.

The people from Prince’s estate soon set off to return to the residence.

The female shopkeeper sent them out of the backyard uneasily, feeling very worried.

She originally wanted to curry favor with Prince Rong’s estate, but she didn’t expect such an accident to happen.

At this moment, the Shu family was also in chaos.

At 60 plus years old, Shu Qing was considered the most senior group in the Shu family.

In addition, he had handed over the matters of the fourth branch to his son, Shu Mingxiang, a few years ago.

These days, he spent his time meeting friends and reading books.

There were very few things that could make him angry.

Five years ago, when the Empress gave birth prematurely, the Shu family was forced to compensate her.

Now, another incident had happened.

Compared to that time, Shu Qing was even angrier this time.

He didn’t expect his daughter to dare to threaten him!

Looking at his battered wife and daughter, Shu Qing was furious.

“Prepare a carriage for me.

I’m going to the Prince’s Residence to ask Shu Wanniang who gave her her life.” Madam Shu-Fang looked at her husband anxiously.

Shu Mingxiang hurriedly knelt down and stopped his father.

“Father, Second Sister died 21 years ago!” Shu Qing’s face turned ashen and there was a cold glint in his eyes.

He was rendered speechless.

Indeed, the Shu family’s Shu Wanniang had died 21 years ago.

Were they going to dig out what happened back then?

What good would that do the Shu family?

Not only would they lose face and reputation, but they would also completely fall out with the Mu family and the Prince’s estate.

Moreover, there wasn’t a shred of benefit to be gained in doing so.

Although the Mu family and Prince’s estate were also hostile to them now, they pretended not to know each other.

Even if they wanted to deal with them, they would only do it in private.

If they let others know about the grudges between the three families, there would be many people who would trample on the Shu family even without Mu Shi and Mu Yangling’s instructions, in a bid to suck up to the Prince’s estate.

The Shu family did have a foundation, but the fourth branch’s capabilities were so-so.

Shu Qing only had one son Shu Mingxiang, and Shu Mingxiang in turn also only had one son.

Weak in numbers, they really couldn’t go against the Mu family, so it was better to avoid them at this time.

Shu Mingxiang knew his second sister well.

Even if she put on a stubborn show, she would definitely not exterminate her maiden family.

As long as they did not provoke them again, they would not hold onto this weakness of the Shu family and not let it go.

Unfortunately, this meant his mother and eldest sister would have to hold in this grievance.

At this moment, Shu Mingxiang also felt resentful towards Shu Wanniang.

Despite knowing that Old Madam Shu was old, she still agitated her like this.

She even let her ten-year-old twins beat her up.

How ridiculous.

Shu Mingxiang gritted his teeth in hatred, but on the surface, he apologized in shame.

“Father, it’s all my fault.

If I hadn’t suggested registering their names in the military back then, the Shu family and the Mu family wouldn’t have become enemies.

Knowing Second Sister’s personality, it’d be easy for us to acknowledge her in private…” Shu Mingxiang had already learned from Shu Shuniang about the knot in Shu Wanniang’s heart.

For a moment, he sighed with regret.

Who would have thought that the mighty Great Zhou would fall?

Who would have thought that the Mu family, who couldn’t even eat their fill in the past, would marry into the royal family and prosper?

It turned out that back then, Shu Mingxiang had just passed the High Scholar Examination and was about to advance further when he encountered the Jin Kingdom’s intrusion.

Xingzhou Prefecture was in chaos, and Shu Qing had always been a cautious person.

When he left Xingzhou Prefecture back then, he felt that the still-alive Shu Wanniang was a weakness that could jeopardize their family.

However, at that time, the situation was critical, and Mu Shi had taken Shu Wanniang away and hid in the depths of the mountains.

It was impossible for him to leave people behind to chase after the two of them to take their lives, having already lost a lot of men after encountering the bandits.

If he left some men behind to chase after Mu Shi and Shu Wanniang, they might not even have reached Lin’an Prefecture.

Because Mu Shi’s kung fu was not bad and he was strong, to kill him, at least eight guards had to be left behind.

This was a huge number for Shu Qing, who had already lost many of his men.

Furthermore, success was not guaranteed.

Therefore, he only left behind a relatively smart manservant in Xingzhou Prefecture to find out Mu Shi’s identity and keep an eye on him for the time being.