"Husband, why are there so many people here? Didn't you tell me that you don't have any relatives?"

    Before anyone could interrupt, the little vixen clung to Mu Heng's arm unabashedly and nestled against his chest, allowing Mu Heng to catch a faint scent from Yueqian.

    Although he knew the young woman was playing a scene, Mu Heng didn't want her to stop at all. His rough hand gently supported her back, careful not to let the delicate beauty fall.

    Feeling her slender back under his hand, he realized just how petite she was—his hand nearly covered her entire waist. He thought to himself that he must encourage her to eat more; otherwise, how would she have the strength to raise his children?

    "These people are former relatives. Before you arrived, we signed an agreement to disengage and no longer consider each other family," Mu Heng took the opportunity to explain, and Yueqian secretly admired his strength.

    In an era where filial piety was a dominant belief, many families suffered exploitation and manipulation till their last breath, but her husband, willing to be the topic of gossip among people, refused to let anyone harm the person he loved. This made her feel safe with him.

    "Is that so? Then what are these aunts doing at our doorstep?" Yueqian brushed her hair back.

    The scent of roses distracted Mu Heng momentarily. He felt an urge to smell her beautiful hair even more, but he did not dare to, fearing she might be startled and flee.

    Considering their conversation yesterday and how she had prepared her bedding so meticulously, he knew she would not easily yield to him.

    "Mu Heng, you're not right. Your parents used to live in the main house before you were even born. We care for each other, we are family, have been through thick and thin together. Now, in your generation, to cut off relations like this—isn't this a betrayal of the deceased?" Mu Qian spoke sharply, invoking the names of the dead to validate their familial bonds.

    Hearing this, Yueqian couldn't help but let out a giggle, earning fierce looks from the middle-aged women.

    "Hee, hee, oh, I'm so sorry, dear aunts, I just can't help but laugh," Yueqian struggled to hold back her laughter, clearly just a facade.

    "You arrogant fox, thinking you can act shamelessly because you're from the capital? Standing there embracing without shame, seducing a man so blatantly, and now interrupting family discussions! Didn’t your parents teach you any manners?"

    "Oh, my dear husband, I am so scared. These outsiders come into our territory yet calling me shameless. Does this mean we can no longer show our affection to each other?

    What is this village coming to? Does this mean I can't even have children with my own husband anymore? I absolutely refuse to accept this! I will openly report to the authorities that such beliefs should end!!"

    "What are you talking about, what report to the authorities?" Yi Fan asked in shock. Didn't they lose their previous encounter because Mu Heng was determined to take the matter to the authorities?

    And now this demoness claims she will report to the authorities again?

    "We are not at fault here, no need to be scared. Reporting to the authorities is just a threat," Ji Chuang thought for a moment before speaking out, not seeing her own fault. Of course, Yueqian didn’t give them much time to think. Her deep red lips continued.

    "You claim that us showing affection at our home is shameful. You're trying to use this accusation to prevent my husband and I from having children. This goes against the government's policy, which supports having children. We should sue you for damages," Yueqian crossed her arms, her demeanor very serious.

    Now, hearing such reasoning, the three women started looking at each other in fear.

    They did not have any knowledge, just hearing something so formal made them scared. And now, to bring up government policies in their argument, how could they not be scared?

    "W… when did we say you can't have children?"

    "Well, you said I was shameless for showing affection openly."

    "That's because you do it so flamboyantly in front of many people!"

    "I don't understand. If I can’t express love in my own home, then where should I do it? Should we do it in your house so there won’t be anyone around? …By the way,

    Husband, why are there outsiders here watching us love each other? Oh no! Are these people so shameless that they sneak around to watch your figure and our loving gestures?

    Get out, shameless people, I’m going to report this to the authorities!!" Yueqian ranted alone, assuming things then looping back to her point about the authorities again.

    Miss Ji’s eyebrows twitched uncontrollably, finally blurting out,

    "What authorities are you talking about again?"

    "We should seek compensation! You old women were spying on us young people showing affection. If we don’t call for compensation to teach you a lesson, others might imitate your behavior. Tomorrow, the whole village might come to our house to watch us try to have children. It's shameless, utterly shameless."

    Yueqian played the innocent, causing the three women to be utterly embarrassed.

    The three siblings exchanged looks of shock. Usually, to drive these people out of their home, it required a lengthy dispute. Sometimes, to avoid annoyance, they would let these women take a few household items or allow them to play the victim of bullying. On such days, they would face immense embarrassment before the entire village.

    However, they weren’t afraid of shame; they knew if they continued to give in, they would be exploited. Even though Mu Heng feared that his sister’s reputation might suffer due to village gossip, his little sister didn’t care. She said surviving now was all that mattered, leading Mu Heng to decide to cut ties with all the Mu family members.

    But after witnessing the verbal battle of the new household member, they couldn’t help but respect her internally. She really knew how to fight back. It left the three aunts speechless, and now, all they could do was lose face after such an encounter.

    "This child speaks without knowledge. She's still not accustomed to this place. We'll teach her to show respect later. For now, Mu Heng, you better take good care of your wife. This cunning fox is no ordinary woman," Mu Tian said, at a loss for words.

    She sighed before conceding.

    "Younger Sister Tian, does this mean our trip here was in vain today? Surely, we should take some gold taels back, shouldn’t we?" Ji Chuang, although defeated in her words, did not want to return empty-handed.

    Yi Fan felt embarrassed by Ji Chuang's bluntness about the gold taels they intended to grab today but pretended not to hear and hurriedly tried to pull the two sisters-in-law back to the main house.

    After the three had left, Yueqian let go of Mu Heng's strong arm without much thought, but when she turned to look at his face, it was already flushed red.

    Yueqian forgot how innocent people of this era were; even a small touch could make their faces turn red. In the era she came from, holding hands or arms wasn’t a big deal. There were even sensational news stories about people doing inappropriate things traffic intersections like a clueless dog.

    "Those three are your elder relatives, and they might come by many more times. I brought several thousand gold taels, so I'll need your help figuring this out," Yueqian spoke as if nothing significant had happened earlier.

    Her business-like tone brought Mu Heng back to his senses. Yueqian covertly observed the three after mentioning the large sum of money but did not see any greedy looks. She considered them to be relatively decent people.

    "Sister-in-law, you must hide that money. If those people see it, it will surely be bad," Xiao Long said, his hair standing on end.

    When those women took the chicken thighs that his older brother had caught, even his prohibitions were to no avail, let alone when he and his younger sister were alone. How could they resist?

    "Would they dare to steal someone else's money?" Yueqian asked.

    Although she knew the answer, stirring up trouble for others was something she was quite good at. Just look at Mu Heng's face now; it was as if he had been forced to swallow bitter medicine.

    "Last time Aunt Ji said that grandfather was unwell and took a lot of our money. But in the end, grandfather only had a common cold. They took all our money," Huan’er said indignantly.

    "Is that so?" the newcomer nodded in understanding.

    She could guess that these people would definitely use filial piety to coerce them. Moreover, if something genuinely befell their grandfather, not helping would indeed be more troubling.

    "In that case, it's not safe to keep money. Better to spend it," Yueqian speculated that these people would continue to visit due to illnesses in the family. The more they knew she had money, the more they would interfere.

    She was just a sold bride with no dignity to begin with, but Mu family had been here for a long time and people would naturally lean towards the Mu family. Who would sympathize with an outsider sold by her parents to compensate for her wrongdoings?

    Wouldn't it be better to spend the money rather than keep it?

    "Qian’er, money is very important. You don't have to spend it just because you're worried about that. As your husband, it’s my duty to take care of it," Mu Heng assured her, encouraging her to trust that he would not let her suffer.

    "It's alright. I only brought 4,000 gold taels, which will be gone soon enough," Yueqian revealed the amount of her money. The children's eyes widened in shock.

    4,000 gold taels is equivalent to 40,000 silver taels, which is 40,000,000 brass coins.

    That amount of money could last a lifetime!