After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 158 Disposing of Pomegranates
Knowing the whole story, Bai felt her face burning with shame. She felt utterly embarrassed in front of Ma Xingteng and hurriedly knelt down. "Husband, it's all my fault. I failed to discipline Shiliu properly, which led to this mistake. I will punish Shiliu properly and it will never happen again."

Ma Xingteng pursed his lips, his eyes deep and unfathomable. After a long while, he looked at Madam Bai, his expression becoming more complicated. "Madam, tell me honestly, will we be able to get any help from the Bai family in the future?"

Bai's face paled, her eyes wide, and her lips moved as she asked, "Why do you say such a thing, my husband?"

Ma Xingteng gave a bitter laugh. "I naively thought that marrying a woman from a high-ranking family would guarantee my smooth career. Even though I lost my birth mother and still have a stepmother eyeing me, it doesn't matter. Anyway, I still have a powerful in-law family."

But now it seems I was too naive. Although your father-in-law dotes on you, his affection is extremely limited. If one day your wife has a conflict with the direct descendants of the Bai family, your father-in-law will surely abandon her.

From my accompanying you on your homecoming visit, I could tell that your stepmother and elder brother don't respect us. If I continue to try so hard to please them, I'm afraid I'll end up with nothing.

"Husband! What do you want?" Bai was so flustered she was almost crying.

Ma Xingteng pulled her up, his eyes sharp as he looked at Shiliu. "We can't keep a traitorous servant, no matter what her reasons are! If Shen Yi hadn't spoken up for me today, we would probably still be in the dark."

Bai Feng can now order your maid to secretly arrange his woman's affairs without your knowledge, and another day he can order your maid to empty the Ma family's coffers!

"Can you afford to gamble, madam?"

Bai was stunned and lost in thought, as if all her strength had been drained from her body.

She ignored Shi Liu's desperate pleas for mercy.

After a long while, she seemed to have made up her mind and slowly turned her gaze to Shiliu. Her eyes showed disappointment and pain, but even more so, anger. "Shiliu, you are a servant of the Bai family. Your whole family is in the Bai family. You didn't have a good life when you followed me before. I thought that bringing you to the Ma family would make things a little easier for you."

Originally, I planned to find a suitable steward for you to marry into the Ma family. Although he wouldn't be as good as the steward in the Bai family, at least I could keep an eye on him. Now it seems I was being presumptuous.

"Your heart is never with me. In that case, you may leave. I will have someone send you back to the Bai residence and hand you over to my aunt. From now on, you will stay by my aunt's side and take care of her filial duties. You don't need to come back."

"Young Madam!" Shi Liu looked at Bai Shi in astonishment, tears blurring her vision. "Young Madam, this servant will never dare to do it again, never dare to do it again!"

Bai stood up angrily, "You don't dare? What if Bai Feng threatens you with your family's lives one day? Would you dare? Shiliu! I absolutely cannot tolerate any hidden dangers around me!"

Shiliu froze, unable to answer Bai's question, and dared not utter another sound except to sob.

That same day, Shi Liu was forcibly sent back to the Bai residence by the Bai family.

When this matter reached Zhu's ears, she became suspicious and secretly ordered her subordinates to investigate.

Bai Feng was so angry that he smashed a lot of things, but he didn't say anything, and he didn't mention Shi Liu or the Ma family at all.

After finishing dealing with the pomegranate, Ma Xingteng immediately took a generous gift and personally visited the Su family in Dongmen Village.

Shen Yi and Su Tai are still waiting for a reply here; they haven't gone back.

As soon as Ma Xingteng entered, he apologized to Madam Han and Su Chunlin, "Uncle Su, Aunt, I'm so sorry. It was all my mistress's maid, Shiliu, who instigated the whole thing with Cuilan. She was threatened by the eldest young master of the Bai family and just wanted to get rid of Cuilan. She didn't think much of it. I've already spoken to my mistress. My mistress was so angry that she fell ill and is still heartbroken at home. However, she knows that such a disloyal servant cannot be kept around, so she has already sent her back to the Bai residence. I promise that this kind of thing will never happen again."

Han hadn't expected Ma Xingteng to come and apologize in person. Seeing how approachable and sincere he was, her displeasure dissipated considerably. Knowing that the instigator of the whole affair had been dealt with, she smiled with satisfaction and became very warm towards Ma Xingteng.

“We trust Young Master Ma’s character. I was just furious with that woman Cuilan. How could she have the nerve to come to our family after doing such a thing? Does she think our Su family is a bunch of scavengers?” She got angry whenever Cuilan was mentioned.

Madam Han quickly shook her head and said, "Young Master Ma, please rest first and talk to my son-in-law. I'll go get you something good to eat."

Ma Xingteng didn't have high expectations for the delicious food Han mentioned; his attention was more focused on Shen Yi.

"Brother Shen, let's keep things separate. I've already dealt with the pomegranate; we can't let it affect our business!"

He's made nearly a hundred taels of silver selling guokui (a type of flatbread) recently, and he absolutely can't give up this business.

Some people might say that one hundred taels isn't much, but that depends on where you are. In a prefectural city or a bustling big town, it certainly wouldn't be much, but Moshi Town is a remote little town where ordinary families can't even save five taels of silver a year.

The Ma family was considered a wealthy household in Moshi Town. They employed many servants, and their annual household expenses never exceeded fifty taels of silver.

He can accomplish many things with one hundred taels of silver.

More importantly, the shop was compensation from Master Ma after he survived the ordeal. He had said at the time that all the profits from those properties would belong to him, and no one else was allowed to object.

The restaurant is currently the most profitable of his shops, so he has to keep Shen Yi, this god of wealth, happy no matter what.

Seeing Ma Xingteng fidgeting and looking anxious and flustered, Shen Yi found it amusing. He slowly lowered his eyelids and said unhurriedly, "Just like my mother-in-law said, I trust Mr. Ma's character. One thing at a time, don't worry, our business will continue as usual."

Ma Xingteng breathed a sigh of relief, and his smile became even more cheerful.

Just then, Mrs. Han came in carrying bread and cakes, and his attention was immediately drawn to them. "What's this?"

Shen Yi said quietly, "These are pastries made by my wife. You can try them. We don't sell them, so don't even think about taking them."

Ma Xingteng looked regretful, picked up the bread and took a few bites, then suddenly looked at Shen Yi seriously, "Are you sure you don't want to sell it? If this stuff is sold, it'll probably make a fortune!"

Shen Yi shook his head. "No, our place is too small. These snacks are not only time-consuming but also use a lot of ingredients. If we were to sell them, just a few bites from you would cost tens of coins. Can ordinary families afford that?"

"Hiss!" Ma Xingteng gasped, his eyes widening dramatically. "Is this thing made of gold? It's so expensive!"

Shen Yi shook his head, "It's not made of gold, but some ingredients are so expensive that you can't buy them even with gold. My wife spent a year saving up enough ingredients to make this little bit, so don't even think about it."

Ma Xingteng looked regretful. Since he couldn't sell, he would eat more. It was a rare opportunity, and he couldn't miss it.

(End of this chapter)