"Senior Sister Le, this way."

Little Lai Fu sneakily led Yin Le through the courtyard gate, pointing to the backyard and then to the slightly open main house door.

Yin Le nodded to indicate her understanding and waved her hand to signal him to go out and play by himself.

Watching Little Fula leave, Yin Le retracted her gaze and quietly made her way to the corridor, taking a glance at the backyard.

The study room door was wide open, with several unfamiliar figures inside, picking up chopsticks and commenting on the array of dishes, saying this one’s delicious, that meat smells nice, and chewing loudly.

Yin Le scanned the people inside once more, then turned towards the main house.

"Master." Yin Le tiptoed inside and immediately saw the woman lying on the bed, eyes closed, taking a nap.

This complexion is rather rosy, quite unlike Little Lai Fu’s claim of catching a cold.

Qin Yao opened her eyes, a flash of brilliance passing briefly. She sat up, leaned against the headboard, and waved Yin Le over.

Yin Le pointed to the backyard, "Who are those people?"

"Da Lang’s grandma and grandpa, uncle and aunt," Qin Yao explained briefly, pulling out five taels of silver from under the pillow and handing it to Yin Le, "Take the silver and go settle them."

Yin Le curiously asked, "Master, why don’t you go yourself?"

Qin Yao lazily yawned, "I’m too cold-stricken, can’t be bothered."

"Really?" Yin Le glanced her master up and down, "Are you sure you’re not avoiding trouble?"

Qin Yao slightly raised her eyes, "Just go if I tell you to, stop with the nonsense."

Yin Le cheerfully took a step back, just in case her master suddenly attacked, she wouldn’t be caught off guard, and with a serious bow, "As you command! Disciple will go right away!"

As Yin Le stepped out, Qin Yao got off the bed, sat by the window, and peeked through a slit to observe the happenings in the backyard.

Always leave room when dealing with families like the Mo’s, who come with clear intentions to seek benefits, and never turn against them.

Otherwise, they’ll certainly cause a scene like a big uproar.

It’s best to give them something but not unconditionally fulfill their demands.

Of course, this is all based on the premise that they understand the situation.

I wonder if Yin Le can handle it.

"Who are you?"

Seeing Yin Le walk in, Old Master Mo frowned and asked.

Mrs. Li made a pot of pickled cabbage and pork jelly; the old man ate until his beard was covered with jelly, even spraying a strand of cabbage through his teeth while speaking.

Old Mrs. Mo and Eldest Sister-in-law Mo inhaled sharply at Yin Le’s scarred face, their eyes revealing disdain.

Yin Le let out a breath of stale air, pulled a smile, "Greetings, Old Master and Old Madam, I’m Yue Niang, the owner here is my master."

"Master isn’t well, asked me to come over to entertain everyone. How’s the food? Enjoying it?"

While speaking, Yin Le approached the table, casting a glance at the mess on the tablecloth. Her mouth twitched slightly.

If Master returns to see his private space turned into this, he’d surely go mad.

Master’s moves are indeed ruthless.

Pushing back the sympathy for her master, Yin Le directed the guests to continue eating, sitting down on a nearby chair, and exchanging pleasantries.

How was this year’s harvest at home, are the elders in good health, and such.

Before long, Yin Le got the measure of the Mo family’s situation and their intentions.

The Mo’s have three requests: first, they want the children to attend school, and since their home is far, they wish the children to stay with their uncle, asking for a little care from him.

Yin Le secretly shook her head, this is absolutely impossible. The family now has so many children making your head buzz already; bringing over more from the Mo family, the scene is unimaginable. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Moreover, once the children move in, the Mo family might later ask to live here for convenience in taking care of them, then it’s a disaster.

Indeed, from this brief interaction, Yin Le saw that the Mo family really wants to stay.

Secondly, they want some direct benefits like silver coin and meat.

Last year’s locust plague made life difficult for the Mo family, and things haven’t improved this year; plus, grain tax increased, even though they’ve just finished the autumn harvest, they’re still drinking vegetable soup at every meal.

Why they didn’t come during the year of the locust plague to seek help from their beloved son-in-law was due to the rumor about Wang Mawu reaching Mo Village, Qin Yao’s fierce reputation scared them.

Coming today, they were indeed anxious.

However, the news of Liu Ji passing the Imperial Exam was more stimulating, temporarily suppressing the fear.

Seeing today’s good food and drink treatment, they couldn’t help but have other thoughts.

Namely, the last request.

Eldest Brother Mo wanted his sister’s husband to help find a decent job, even a petty official in any government office would do; if he could become a constable, even better.

Yin Le thought it was asking the wrong person. He should be looking for her master.

The master might not be able to get Eldest Brother Mo into the government office, but her master surely could!

Of course, apart from the second request, all others are impossible, according to Yin Le.

"What does impossible mean?" Old Mrs. Mo got anxious, standing up abruptly as bone crumbs on her clothes fell to the ground.

"My son-in-law is now a scholar, getting his brother-in-law a job in government is simple!"

Old Mrs. Mo glared at Yin Le, scolding her, "You’re too young to understand; I’m not arguing with you. You say it can’t be done, doesn’t make it true. I want to hear it from my son-in-law, we’re not leaving until he tells us directly!"

She spoke louder as she went along, deliberately making sure the people in the front yard could hear it.

Qin Yao decisively shut the window and went back to bed for a nap.

Soon after, Yin Le appeared by her bedside with a mournful face, putting the five taels of silver back.

"Master, I didn’t even get a chance to hand out the silver. They’re asking for so much, I can’t let them take advantage!"

After saying that, she saw her master tuck the silver back under the pillow, not even batting an eye, so Yin Le tentatively asked:

"How about I scare them?"

Qin Yao laughed, "If you need to frighten them, would I need you? Believe it or not, just me standing in front of them, that bunch of Mo’s wouldn’t dare utter a sound and skedaddle!"

"I have my reasons for handling it this way. If they want to wait, let them, a few meals don’t bother me. Let them stay in the room they love most with their son-in-law for the next few days."

Yin Le gave an ’oh’, stood up thinking it was time to leave, then turned back in curiosity, "Master, what’s your reason?"

Qin Yao: "No reason, just too lazy to bother."

Yin Le helplessly furrowed her brow, thinking, Master, that’s such a perfunctory answer, and she didn’t believe it.

"Close the door for me."

Thinking of the four kids returning home from school in the evening, Qin Yao instructed, "Keep the door guarded. Except for bathroom breaks, don’t let them step out of the study."

"...Alright." Yin Le was momentarily suspicious, but agreed immediately.

While inwardly thinking, when Master returns, he’s definitely going to lose it.