Mu Heng, though sympathetic, knew well that he could not allow his siblings to lack manners. As the eldest brother, it was his duty to teach them properly. If the siblings grew up to be bad people, it would be his fault, just as his parents had always taught him. Children must know what is acceptable and what is not.

    Teaching the two of them this lesson was his duty!

    The young man raised his hand, not striking as hard as he might, but for the little ones, it was still very painful. Yueqian, watching this, held her breath for a moment before speaking up.

    “Today is an auspicious day. Are you going to beat someone in the house on the very first day I step into it?”

    Her calm voice, tinged with mocking just like a villainess, rose up. Her words did not interfere with the siblings' need for discipline, as she had previously stated she would not get involved.

    Yet, seeing the two children crying and hugging each other like this, she couldn’t help but feel pity.

    Moreover, in the world she came from, she had seen proof that 'spare the rod and spoil the child' did not always yield results. Just look around this village, you’ll find that there isn’t a single parent who doesn’t teach by beating.

    And yet, in this era, when people are still disciplining their children with force, why are there still thieves around?

    This meant that using physical punishment or force was not necessarily what made a child good.

    “I..." Mu Heng paused, reflecting on her true words. Even though she had not willingly married him, today was still considered an auspicious day for both of them, the first auspicious day for this small home without parents.

    Although he wanted to teach the children the wrong of eavesdropping on adult conversations, he ultimately respected the new member of the house.

    “Today, I will just warn you, but let there not be another time. When adults are speaking at home, if you are not permitted to listen, then do not eavesdrop. It's a matter of manners. Do you understand?”

    “Yes, we understand,” the two children chorused, feeling as though they had narrowly escaped a dire fate.

    They looked at their sister-in-law, whom everyone said was a villainess, with suspicious eyes. Yet, seeing their brother's gaze, they had to retract their own.

    The new member of the household found this a bit amusing but said nothing, walking towards her own pile of dowry that filled an entire room. There were money orders from her mother who had wept almost to death, chests full of money, the finest clothes, nourishing herbs, and many valuable items.

    It was clear why she had so easily become labeled as a villainess.

    That was because she had been extremely spoiled, mostly by her mother. If her father hadn't prohibited transferring the businesses into her name as a punishment, she would likely have control over 20 to 30 shops in the capital by now.

    But well... having this much was already considerable.

    The petite woman efficiently organized her possessions, starting with the six chests laid out. After she touched them, four disappeared, leaving just two to avoid any suspicion. Numerous other items, including small ornaments initially unseen, were halved in quantity, with only a few pieces left visible.

    Subsequently, large, fluffy blankets and mattresses appeared, replacing the missing items. Overall, it seemed as if nothing had changed due to the sheer volume of what remained, making it unnoticeable unless her mother, who had packed these herself, knew the differences.

    "Mu Heng, could you come over here and help?"

    After ensuring that the changes were indiscernible, she called for her husband to witness immediately.

    Mu Heng, who had been disciplining the children, almost jumped up in surprise. He wasn’t used to the sweet voice calling him at this moment. The two children also looked at their brother, wondering if they could follow. Mu Heng assumed it was nothing serious and nodded for them to come along.

    What the three saw was a beautiful woman struggling with a heavy blanket that seemed extremely valuable, and a clean white mattress on the floor.

    "Could you help me carry this mattress? I’ll take the blankets and pillows myself," Yueqian said as soon as she saw him arrive with the children.

    Actually, even if she had to carry it herself, it wouldn’t have been a problem. It was a spring mattress, not as heavy as kapok or duck feather, and not nearly as soft.

    "Uh, sure," he said, rolling up his sleeves to lift the heavy item. However, when he lifted it, he found it surprisingly light, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

    "Sister-in-law, should we help carry the pillows?" the little girl volunteered.

    Yueqian glanced at the two nodding vigorously before letting them carry the pillows as they wished. However, the pillows she brought were nearly a meter wide, so the children had to work together to avoid dragging them on the floor.

    The young man’s bedroom, not very large to begin with, was immediately filled once Yueqian’s mattress was placed inside. However, his room didn't have many possessions, so there was no need to move anything aside for the soft mattress.

    The children felt the pillows as they set them down; the pillows were so soft they almost melted in their hands. The mattress was also soft, unlike the hard floor they usually slept on, which also caused back pain. Moreover, the mattress wasn’t cold and chilling; it retained a slight warmth. If it weren't for it belonging to their sister-in-law, and had she not already told their brother they wouldn't interfere with each other, they would have asked to sleep on it for a night.

    "Thank you so much, here, take these," after seeing the children's eager assistance, Yueqian, who had mentioned finding something warm for them to eat, handed them five steamed buns.

    She pretended to take them out of a chest that was originally filled with money orders, but she had already replaced them with hundreds of warm steamed buns inside instead.

    The children’s eyes widened in surprise as these warm buns emerged from the heavy chest of their sister-in-law. How could they not be excited? Initially, they thought it contained money orders, but instead, it was full of buns, and the delicious smell wafted up as soon as the chest was opened, making it truly marvelous.

    "Thank you," the two adorable children said, raising their hands in a gesture of thanks.,

    Their hands trembling as they held larger buns than they had ever seen in their lives. They were extremely excited. The little ones looked at their brother, only to see him frowning in displeasure.

    "It’s late, and the children aren’t hungry. Keep these buns to eat later," Mu Heng said in a deep voice.

    "These are in return for your help. If it’s too late to eat, you can have them tomorrow. I've said I won’t interfere with you three, but since I asked for your help this time, there must be something in return."

    Qin Yueqian stated straightforwardly, though Mu Heng seemed not quite pleased, yet he didn’t stop the siblings from taking the buns.

    "Alright, you can go to sleep now. I’ll arrange some more things," Yueqian waved to the three.

    While she would be sleeping in the same room as Mu Heng, they had separate beds, unlike other couples. The two children slept together in another smaller room, which was warmer as it didn’t face the cold wind. This was a true act of brotherly love.

    "If sister-in-law needs any help, just call us," Xiao Han quickly said.

    The buns were too valuable for them to disregard. They could eat them all day or even until tomorrow. If sold, they would fetch quite a few brass coins, much more than what their brother could make in a day from selling forest goods. How could Xiao Han not feel indebted?

    Even though they heard from villagers that their sister-in-law might have several hundred gold taels, according to the laws, that money was hers, not theirs to include as household expenses.

    Note: 1 gold tael = 10 silver taels, 1 silver tael = 1 roll of copper coins, 1 roll = 1000 wen (brass coins), which Mu Heng received amounted to 100 silver taels or 100,000 brass coins.

    "Um, thank you," Yueqian said nonchalantly, not considering it much of a favor. After all, she wasn’t lacking anything at the moment.

    The substantial amount of money her mother gave her seemed vast compared to rural expenses, but in the capital, where a single formal outfit could cost dozens of gold taels, it wasn't much, especially considering her status as the daughter of the Qin Furen’s Manor.

    The several hundred thousand gold taels she received made her mother somewhat displeased, but she could not give more for fear of her husband's temper.

    It was better to wait several months and then send more money gradually.

    That was her mother’s plan, unaware that her daughter did not desire that amount of money at all.

    “Each chest contains 10,000 gold taels, totaling 60,000 taels stored dimensionally. Another chest contained 4,000 gold taels, from which eight chests were allocated, leaving just one with money spread throughout, only retaining 4,000 gold taels visibly outside.

    The remaining chests were filled with silver taels to capacity. Almost all the exquisite garments were kept aside, leaving only three outfits necessary for emergencies. Other chests contained everyday items like rice, dried pork, sugar, salt, Chinese plums, and liquor.

    Ah... it might be better to bring out some pickled goods for additional eating. Pickled tamarind, mango, star gooseberry, and lime could be used for cooking. Perhaps add about ten jars of pickled bamboo to match the original weight. A few more salted eggs would be good."

    The petite woman muttered to herself, gradually replacing valuable items she hid with common goods. She left visible only those items that she expected the villagers might have already seen, underneath were items that could be used.

    Turning her palms upward, she revealed a symbol of three blue water droplets. It glowed faintly as items were transferred in and out before disappearing as if they had never been there.

    These water droplets were a gift she received at birth along with memories of her past lives. In her new life, she became a villainess in a clichéd novel. Yet, she let the narrative unfold, causing chaos before being exiled to live in the countryside. According to the story, after the villainess's exile, she was written to live out her life paying for her sins with her impecunious husband.

    In the villainess’s final moments, she passed away in tears, fortunate that once in her lifetime, someone loved her enough to watch her grow old and depart from this world. And that person was none other than the despised husband.