A master of metaphysics is farming.

Chapter 200 They made a fool of themselves again.

The sound of slapping silenced the murmurs within the breakfast journal.

The maid in green, her eyes blazing with anger, shouted, "How dare you insult Miss! Are you tired of living?!"

The sharp, delicate voice rang out, and Li's eyes widened in disbelief at the burning sensation on her face. She covered her face, pointed at the maid, and was speechless, a wave of shame rising in her heart like flames.

Yu and Xiang Daqiang stood behind, not daring to utter a sound, wishing they could immediately drag their son away.

Ye Shuyao, who was sitting down, blushed with embarrassment and anger. The young lady next to her shouted angrily, "Speaking rudely and spreading rumors about the young lady of an official family, such a wicked person should be reported to the authorities for punishment!"

Another young lady chimed in, "It's clearly your fault, yet you won't even bow your head to admit it, and instead spout nonsense. It's utterly despicable!"

Xiang Fusheng bowed even lower, "Please forgive me, ladies. It was my grandmother who was impolite. I hope you will not blame her. My grandmother is old and cannot bear any punishment..."

Looking at Xiang Fusheng's appearance, the lady in yellow said with disdain, "With a grandmother like that, the family's upbringing is nothing special. No wonder he's still a student at such a young age."

The contempt in his words was obvious, and Xiang Fusheng blushed with embarrassment, speechless.

These words made Li Shi unable to hold back any longer, and she pulled Xiang Fusheng to her side to protect him.

With a crooked mouth, she cursed, "What a haughty young lady! Are commoners not human in your eyes! My grandson passed the imperial examination with his own ability, and what about you? You keep calling yourselves young ladies, what kind of young ladies are you? Are you perhaps the young ladies from some random street?"

His words caused an uproar; everyone was shocked and dared not utter a word.

The three young ladies blushed with embarrassment and were unable to utter a word. As daughters of officials, how could they possibly out-argue this old shrew's coarse language?

The maid in green was so angry that her hands were trembling. "My...my young lady is the legitimate daughter of the Junior Supervisor of the Imperial Workshops. How dare you speak so disrespectfully!"

"You vulgar woman! Report it to the authorities!"

A young lady gave an order to her maid, who was about to run out when Xiang Fusheng was so startled that she immediately pulled Li Shi down to kneel, saying, "Please don't blame me, Miss! It was Grandmother who was ignorant of etiquette..."

"Ignorant of manners?" The young lady in yellow blushed with anger. "Just because she said she's 'ignorant of manners,' you expect me to let her off the hook for her foul language?! Don't even think about it!"

Forced to kneel, Li Shi was still ungrateful and insisted on pulling Xiang Fusheng to get up.

Enraged, Xiang Fusheng shouted, "That's the legitimate daughter of a fourth-rank official! If we report this to the authorities, we'll be punished!"

"What's wrong with fourth rank... fourth..."

--"Snapped!"

Another slap landed, making the fourth brother's chest heave violently with anger. "Shut up! If you want Fusheng to go to jail, then keep yelling!"

The slap didn't wake her up, but Lao Si's words sent a chill down her spine.

Upon hearing that her eldest grandson would go to jail, she immediately shut her mouth and kowtowed, "Please don't blame me, Miss. I'm just a lowly commoner, a lowly commoner from the countryside... Please don't report me to the authorities... My Fusheng just passed the preliminary examination, I can't ruin his future..."

Completely different from his hateful demeanor just now, he now knows fear.

But this fear wasn't because of the young lady's powerful status, but because she was worried that her eldest grandson would go to jail.

Ye Shuyao lowered her head and touched her burns, her downcast eyes revealing hatred.

In her heart, there was only Xiang Fusheng; in her eyes, other children were all worthless.

A mocking smile played on her lips, but when she looked up, her eyes were brimming with tears. She pulled the young lady beside her and shook her head, "Let's just forget about it. We can just go back and apply the medicine. There's no need to make a scene at the government office..."

The young woman was still furious, and said in a harsh tone, "How can that be! You scalded me and then spoke rudely to me. People like that should be reported to the authorities and taught a lesson!"

"forget it."

Ye Shuyao gently patted the back of her hand to comfort her, then sniffed and looked at Fusheng, "Go back to where you came from. You can't survive in the capital if you don't know your place."

Her voice was so gentle that Xiang Fusheng unconsciously looked up and met Ye Shuyao's soft eyes. His heart suddenly pounded.

But when he saw the coldness hidden beneath her gentle demeanor, he immediately understood the distance between them—the difference in their social status. And now, if she were to help him, it would only be out of politeness…

Xiang Fusheng bowed his head, "Thank you for letting me go, Miss..."

"Okay, let's go. Don't let me see you again."

Xiang Fusheng helped Xiang Laosi up, and Yu Shi hurriedly came over to help Li Shi up. Li Shi, who had a limp, walked very fast, as if she wanted to leave the city immediately.

The annoyance in the young woman's eyes faded. "Shuyao, you're too kind. She should be locked up..."

Ye Shuyao smiled gently, "It's a small matter, no need to make a big deal out of it."

As she finished speaking, she lowered her head and put her hands into the cold water to cool them down; the icy feeling gradually spread from her hands to her eyes.

In that chill, there was also a hint of triumphant mockery.

"Tsk tsk tsk, this is really a win-win situation: they drove people away and gained a good reputation for tolerance."

Zhu Nan felt a chill run down her spine. "Miss, it feels uncomfortable to be wearing someone else's skin while inside is someone familiar."

"They're completely different in appearance and soul; I find them disgusting."

Xiang He watched the staff tidy up the place below, then turned her gaze to Ye Shuyao. "Let's go, let's put her matter aside for now, let's go in and have some porridge, we're starving."

"Yes."

The two turned around and were at the door of the side room. Zhu Nan gently pushed open the door, and Shen Zhuoci appeared in the room looking fresh and beautiful, with Qin Fuhua beside him.

"Why did it take you so long to arrive?"

Xiang He glanced back downstairs. "Didn't you hear anything coming from downstairs?"

Shen Zhuoci leisurely sipped his tea, "I have good hearing, so I can naturally hear it here as well."

Qin Fuhua and Qi Xin, however, looked puzzled. "We thought it was just a lot of people; we didn't notice what was happening outside."

Xiang He went inside and sat down, while Zhu Nan thoughtfully closed the door and stood guard outside.

"Why are Zhuo Ci and the princess here?"

“We haven’t visited the He residence since you came back these past two days. We happened to run into Young Master Qi on the way and learned that you would be coming here, so we came together to see you.”

Xiang He picked up the warm tea on the table and took a sip. "Zhuo Ci doesn't need to go? Today is the first day of the morning court session in Sui'an. He's very busy and probably won't be leaving the palace so soon."

"We've already met you at the palace and know your family is at the He residence, so we don't want to disturb them."

"It's better that you didn't come, so they won't feel awkward."

There was a knock on the door, and Qi Xin quickly got up to open it. Jiang Xinyue and the waiter brought in food.

"Now that the problem downstairs is resolved, I finally feel much better!"

Qi Xin took the jade plate from her hand. "Who are those people downstairs? Why are you feeling comfortable?"

The sudden question made Jiang Xinyue realize she had been too talkative, and she stuck her tongue out apologetically at He, "I thought they knew..."

Xiang He reached out and took the dishes off the table. "It's alright, we can talk about this later. You go ahead and do your work. I have something to discuss with the young master and the princess."

"Don't talk about your business yet, Qingqiu's matter is more urgent!"