She led the whole village to prosperity by raising koi fish.

Chapter 55 became a laughing stock.

The previous Madam Nangong was truly unlucky in love. She thought that by keeping a tight grip on the purse strings, she could keep the steward's heart and the two of them could get along as sweetly as before. But in the end, she still misjudged him.

Late at night, while Madam Nangong was asleep, the steward not only took all the money from the shop, but also mixed mud and sand into the flour. Then, he grinned in frustration and strode away.

The next day, around midnight, Nangong Xiawu's biological mother, Madam Wei, got up to cook. However, when she was preparing to knead the dough, she discovered a problem with the flour. The flour, which had been clean, was now mixed with a lot of sand and dirt. She thought it was sand that had fallen from the roof, so she scooped another ladle of flour from the jar, but it was still mixed with sand and dirt. She couldn't help but frown and mutter to herself.

"What happened? The flour was fine yesterday, how did it become substandard flour today? How am I going to make breakfast with this?"

Later, the previous Mrs. Nangong came to the rental house looking for the housekeeper, only to find that he was not there at all. So she hurriedly asked the landlord, who told her that the housekeeper had terminated the lease the day before.

She sensed something was wrong and quickly went to the store, searching high and low. Her purse was gone, along with a box full of jewelry. Now she had nothing left.

When Nangong Xue'er and Zhao Shouyi came to the breakfast shop, they found that the shop was not open. The young couple thought that Madam Nangong was sick, so they went to Madam Nangong's residence through the back door, only to find her sitting on the ground crying bitterly.

"Madam Nangong, what's wrong? Can you tell me?" Nangong Xue'er gently walked to her side and asked.

Madam Nangong responded tearfully, "That steward is heartless! I was so blind to have eloped with him; it was the biggest mistake I ever made!"

"Did he hit you? Or did he curse at you?" Nangong Xue'er asked cautiously.

"He stole my purse and all my jewelry! Now I have nothing left! Waaah~" Madam Nangong cried as she answered.

At this moment, Zhao Shouyi clenched his fists in anger, "That's outrageous! If I find out, I'll beat him to a pulp!"

"Alright, alright, don't be angry anymore. The most important thing now is to think about how Madam Nangong should live," Nangong Xue'er replied gently.

“Doesn’t she own a breakfast shop? She can continue selling breakfast and making money,” Zhao Shouyi replied.

At this moment, Madam Nangong wiped away her tears with her sleeve and led them to the kitchen. Only then did the young couple discover that the flour had been ruined and they couldn't make breakfast. Even someone as gentle as Nangong Xue'er couldn't help but scold them.

"That butler is utterly heartless! A monster! The worst of the worst! The scum of the earth!"

"What am I going to do now? Oh God, who can help me?" Madam Nangong cried and complained about her grievances.

At this moment, Zhao Shouyi handed her a hundred-tael silver note, saying, "Madam Nangong, take this for now. If you find any trace of the steward, don't make a fuss. Just go to my house and inform the servants. I will bring people to deal with him!"

Madam Nangong was extremely grateful and immediately knelt down to express her thanks, "Thank you, Young Master Zhao! Thank you, Xue'er!"

"You're welcome. Madam, you must remember this lesson and never pay any attention to that person again," Nangong Xue'er replied gently.

"Yes, I understand." Madam Nangong nodded in agreement.

On the other side, the old lord of the northern desert followed Old Su and his wife to Xinghua Village. When he saw the soft and sweet persimmon cakes, the delicious braised pork, and the crispy fried pork cracklings, he was so happy that he forgot all about home.

Old Su asked him, "In-law, you've eaten and drunk your fill here, when are you going back to your hometown?"

The old lord chuckled and replied, "Let's talk about it later. I heard there's a pond here, and some delicious lotus fish in it. How about we go fishing together, old friend?"

Old Su responded with a dissatisfied look, "It's late autumn now, what's the point of fishing in this chilly weather? I don't want to go."

"Oh, it's alright, just wear some thicker clothes, right? You're my good brother, come with me!" the old lord kept pleading. Helpless, Old Su could only bring his stool and fishing rod to go fishing with his father-in-law.

In the village, the eldest son of the Su family and his wife had not yet received news of their appointments, so they could only stay at home making soap. Fortunately, the soap sold well, and his second brother gave him a considerable amount of living expenses each time, so they were considered quite lucky.

Meanwhile, the village chief and the middle-aged people in the village worked overtime to build the school, because the officials would be coming to inspect the work next month, and they had to finish building the school no matter what.

The village chief's wife was also busy, cooking for the workers and taking care of the children, working like a spinning top.

Just then, the eldest son of the Su family passed by the village chief's house, and the village chief's wife quickly called out to him.

"Eldest son of the Su family, come here for a moment! I need to speak with you!"

The eldest son of the Su family nodded, then strode over to the village chief's house and respectfully greeted him.

"Hello, Auntie!"

The village chief's wife responded with a smile, "Many young people in our village have gone out to work, so the task of building the school has fallen entirely on the shoulders of a group of middle-aged and elderly people. If you have nothing to do, why don't you go and help your uncle?"

The eldest son of the Su family replied with a troubled expression, "Auntie, I've never built a house before, I don't know anything about it."

The village chief's wife patiently replied, "You can learn if you don't know how. Nobody is born knowing how to build a house. You can help mix the mud or pass bricks. Also, when the roof tiles are being laid, how can the elderly dare to climb up? It's the young people who need to do it. So go ahead and do it without worry. If your uncle asks, just say I asked you to help."

Since that was the case, the eldest son of the Su family couldn't refuse, so he could only nod and agree, "Okay, Auntie, I'll be right there."

The eldest son of the Su family was about to leave when the village chief's wife stopped him again.

"Nephew, wait a minute. I've made a big pot of food for the workers. Could you help carry it over? I can't move it by myself."

"Alright then." The eldest son of the Su family nodded in agreement, and then together with the village chief's wife, they carefully carried the large pot of vegetables to the place where the school was being built.

When the workers saw the food arrive, they put down their tools, washed their hands by the river, and then began to eat.

The village chief's wife went home, but the eldest son of the Su family was still there. The village chief asked him, puzzled.

"Eldest son of the Su family, is there anything else? Why aren't you leaving yet?"

The eldest son of the Su family gave an awkward smile. "I promised my aunt that I would help build a school. Uncle, you won't look down on me, will you?"

The village chief laughed heartily, "No, we're short-handed here, so you can come!"

"Okay!" The eldest son of the Su family quickly nodded in response.

"Let's have lunch together. Although your aunt's cooking isn't very oily, it still tastes delicious," the village chief warmly invited him.

The eldest son of the Su family nodded with a smile, then took a cornbread from the pot, added some vegetables to it, and sat down next to the village chief to enjoy his lunch.

Meanwhile, the village chief's nephew brought Yingzi to the fat girl's house, begging the fat girl's father to treat Yingzi's illness.

The chubby girl's father angrily refused him.

"I thought you were someone who took relationships seriously, so I helped you out. But you changed girlfriends in less than three months. You're so unreliable. I can't help you with this."

The chubby girl also scolded him, "Chestnut is such a good girl, beautiful and gentle, why don't you cherish her? You, not only are you ugly, but you're also a womanizer, a complete scumbag! And where is this girl from? How did you meet her?"

The village chief's nephew replied helplessly, "Fatty, you've misunderstood me. It was Chestnut who broke up with me. She's dating a young man from my village surnamed Zhou. She doesn't want me anymore. What can I do?"

Fatty's dad, being an experienced man, not only didn't sympathize with him, but also couldn't help but lecture him.

"You're no pushover either. If you were truly devoted to that girl, would she have broken up with you?"

The village chief's nephew was speechless.

It's a good thing that Sakura can't hear or speak, otherwise she would definitely have left him after hearing such a comment.

“We can save her, but it will cost a lot of money. Are you sure you want to help this deaf-mute girl?” Fatty’s father asked.

The village chief's nephew replied, "Money is no problem. We'll spend as much money as it takes to save Yingzi."

“It will cost one thousand taels of silver,” Fatty’s father replied.

The village chief's nephew was stunned. "Last time, we only needed to pick a few medicinal herbs from the mountain. Why did it cost so much this time?"

Fatty's father frowned and told the truth, "Her situation is much more complicated than Chestnut Girl's. Moreover, it's almost winter now, and there are no medicinal herbs to collect on the mountain. Besides, it's easy to regain speech, but difficult to regain hearing. If you're willing to treat her, then leave her here. If not, then you can all go with her."

The village chief's nephew replied, "I'm willing! However, I only brought one hundred taels of silver notes, which is far from enough. May I leave Miss Yingzi here and go back to get the silver for you?"

Fatty's dad nodded in agreement, then waved for him to leave.

Afterwards, Fatty saw the guests off at the door, and Fatty's father began to give Sakura acupuncture treatment.

The village chief's nephew hurried back and finally arrived at the escort agency the next morning. When he mentioned to the old man that the treatment was very expensive, the old man directly asked him how much he needed.

The village chief's nephew dared not lie and told him the whole story. Then the old man had the steward fetch him a thousand taels of silver and told him, "You must make sure Yingzi gets better."

The village chief's nephew accepted the silver note, patted his chest, and assured him, "Don't worry, senior, I will definitely help Miss Yingzi recover her health!"

Without saying much, the village chief's nephew returned. After he paid the remaining silver notes, Fatty's father asked him and Fatty to take care of Yingzi while he went out to buy medicinal herbs.

When everyone in the Su family except Su Yuning was gathered together for the weekend, the woman who had brought food to the old woman suddenly went home crying.

"Mother, why are you crying?" Su Muyang asked with concern. "Did Grandmother say something that upset you?"

The woman shook her head, then replied with great sadness, "Your grandmother is gone."

"What?" Old Su looked at his wife with disbelief, his eyes wide.

“It’s true. I went to wake my mother-in-law up for breakfast, but she didn’t respond at all,” the woman replied with tears in her eyes. “I went to the bedside to check her breathing, and she had already stopped breathing.”

Princess Wan'er was heartbroken upon hearing the news. She had planned to visit her grandmother in her hometown, but Su Muyang blocked her way.

"Others can go, but you can't."

"Why? We're already husband and wife, so why can my sister-in-law go to see Grandmother off, but I can't? Is there something I didn't do well enough?" Princess Wan'er cried, feeling wronged.

“You’re pregnant now, you can’t go,” Su Muyang replied sadly.

The woman echoed, "Yes, Princess Wan'er, just listen to Mu Yang. For your and your child's safety, stay home. Don't go out unnecessarily."

"Alright then, I won't go," Princess Wan'er replied, looking aggrieved.

Afterwards, everyone arrived at Grandma Su's house. Her children and grandchildren knelt there, weeping. The woman and the village chief's wife helped Grandma Su change her clothes, and her granddaughter-in-law, Yang Yuyan, sadly said goodbye to the old woman.

Because Old Su and his wife were so heartbroken, they had no energy to handle the funeral arrangements. In the end, with the help of the village chief and villagers, the old man was laid to rest.

Afterwards, Su Muyang wanted to go to the Northern Desert to bring his younger sister and brother-in-law home and say goodbye to his grandmother, but he was stopped by the lord of the Northern Desert.

"You don't need to go all that way. I'm going back to my hometown anyway, I'll go back and inform them myself," the Northern Desert Lord replied firmly.

"In-law, are you sure you can manage going home alone?" Old Su asked worriedly. "It's a long journey. Why don't you let Mu Yang go with you? That way, you can look after each other on the way."

The lord of the northern desert nodded in agreement, "Alright then, let's set off immediately!"

And so, Su Muyang drove the carriage while the Lord of Mobei sat inside. The two traveled with serious expressions, barely exchanging a word.

Afterwards, the eldest son of the Su family wanted to send his younger brother and sister-in-law back to the city, but Princess Wan'er shook her head and refused, "Never mind, I'll just wait for Mu Yang to come back in my hometown. Anyway, there's nothing to do back in the city, and my sister-in-law will keep me company here."

"Alright then," the eldest son of the Su family nodded in response.

In the city, with the silver notes, Madam Nangong bought ingredients again and continued to sell breakfast. Although she didn't earn much, she was able to make ends meet.

As for the steward, he became arrogant and reckless after getting money. He first went to restaurants for lavish meals and drinks, then went to brothels to watch plays and spent lavishly. After he had spent all his money, he wanted to ask Madam Nangong to reconcile with him.

"Madam, it's my fault. I shouldn't have spent money recklessly without your permission. Actually, I still can't let you go. Why don't we get back together? I will treat you well for the rest of my life."

Madam Nangong chuckled, "Do you really think I'm a fool? How many times have you lied to me? When I had nothing, it was my relatives and friends who helped me through the difficult times. And you? All you do is hurt my feelings and steal my things. Our fate is over."

At this moment, the desperate steward was about to hit Madam Nangong when Zhao Shouyi arrived. He not only gave the steward a severe beating but also sent him to the authorities for punishment.

"I am from the northern desert, what right do you have to punish me?" the steward demanded hysterically.

The official only replied with one sentence: "Now that Zhao Shouyi has ascended the throne, the system has changed. Under the emperor's rule, anyone who does something wrong will be punished!"

And so, the butler was imprisoned and never allowed to leave for the rest of his life.