"You've seen what she looks like now, haven't you?"

After everyone dispersed, Ye Yun heard a soft sigh beside her. She turned her head and looked at Qin Xiang'e standing behind her.

Qin Xiang'e gazed at the spot where Li Xiuying had been hiding, her face showing a hint of melancholy.

"Auntie, are you pitying her?"

"..." Qin Xiang'e was silent for two seconds, then clicked her tongue. "It's not that. It was during the Qingming Festival a while ago. I came back to pay respects at the graves of Zhengzi's father and grandfather. When I got there, I saw that offerings had already been placed in front of the graves and paper money had been burned. Our Qin family doesn't have any relatives here anymore, so I figured it could only be her who burned it. When your Aunt Tian and I looked at the offerings and the paper money that had been burned to ashes, we suddenly felt a bit complicated. It was as if all the resentment and hatred that had accumulated over the years didn't matter anymore."

Ye Yun was speechless for a moment.

Back then, when Qin Zheng's father's body was still warm, she forced him to remarry while he was still young. She bullied Qin Zheng, insulted the old lady, and hated her former in-laws. How could she possibly come back to visit their graves?

When she stands before Qin Zheng's father's tombstone, doesn't she feel guilty or afraid?

"Sigh... Forget it, I'm an old maid who's married off, so I don't have any right to criticize her. Look at her now, her hair is all white, her body is worn out, she walks with a limp, like she's about to go into a coffin. Actually, she's only a year older than me."

It's all retribution, retribution.

Qin Xiang'e shook her head and sighed, and when she looked away, there was a tear in the corner of her eye.

Twenty years of grievances were finally released at this moment, and those who oppressed them got their comeuppance.

But the grievances she and the old lady had been holding in for so long—so long that the old lady had been blind for twenty years, was now deaf, and had lost her memory—that when they finally had the chance to vent their anger, they were choked up and at a loss for what to do.

Fearing that Ye Yun would notice something amiss, Qin Xiang'e turned around and subtly wiped the corner of her eye.

When she turned around again, her usual smile returned, and she said gently, "Zhengzi's wife, you and Zhengzi were both busy during the Qingming Festival and couldn't come back to pay respects at his father's and grandfather's graves. Zhengzi should make up for it this time. I plan to pack some things for him to go up the mountain later. He should be back before dinner. You haven't met the two elders yet, so would you like to come along?"

When they first got married, Qin Zheng thought Ye Yun didn't want to marry him, so he didn't dare to bring it up with her.

Later, Ye Yun became pregnant and was busy with her business, so she couldn't pay attention to this matter anymore.

When it was time to bring the ancestral tablets home for the New Year, Ye Yun happened to be in Lin'an with Xiao Chuqi to recuperate after giving birth, and thus missed the opportunity to visit them again.

It's quite a coincidence that the new bride hasn't paid respects to the ancestors even though she's been married for a year.

Before Ye Yun could reply, Qin Zheng, who was helping Aunt Tian cook under the stove with Zheng Song, spoke up.

"The mountain path is difficult to walk, and she is newly pregnant, so it is not advisable for her to climb mountains. I can go by myself."

He squatted on the ground picking wild vegetables.

He rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt halfway up, revealing his strong, muscular forearms, and picked wild vegetables at a leisurely pace. His seemingly ordinary movements were made all the more captivating by his earnestness.

Now is the season when wild vegetables are abundant. Carry a bamboo basket, go into the mountains, and you can dig up a large handful.

Even if you don't go into the mountains, you can easily find a meal at the foot of the mountain.

But the wild vegetables in Qin Zheng's hands were not just any ordinary ones. Having lived in the mountains for a long time, the villagers could tell which wild vegetables tasted better. The ones he and Zheng Song picked were wild celery that she had specially dug up in the mountains yesterday. Stir-fried with pork, they were incredibly delicious!

Ye Yun wasn't in the mood to think about how delicious the pork and celery stir-fry was.

All she could see was Qin Zheng.

It's said that a man is most handsome when he's focused on something, and a man who's focused on cooking is even more handsome!

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Qin Zheng noticed her infatuated gaze and couldn't help but chuckle, a hint of tenderness appearing in his eyes.

Ye Yun shook her head.

I admit, you have every reason to make me swoon!

But I can't tell you.

I'm afraid you'll become arrogant!

Qin Xiang'e replied, "Okay."

Anyway, she was just giving a reminder out of her duty and status as an elder; as for how to proceed, it was up to the young couple to decide.

"Go."

Ye Yun smiled and spoke.

"I should have gone to see my father and grandfather since I've been here for so long. It's a pity I didn't bring Xiao Chuqi with me. Xiao Chuqi should have met them too."

Qin Zheng was slightly taken aback.

Qin Xiang'e thought that she had affected Ye Yun by talking too much, so she quickly added, "No need, no need. Zhengzi said that you are pregnant. I didn't think it through before. I thought Zhengzi should go and see you, so I blurted it out to you. Zhengzi is right. You are pregnant, so you shouldn't go. If something happens again, you will suffer a lot."

Ye Yun smiled and said, "It's nothing."

After she finished speaking, she turned her gaze to Qin Zheng.

Qin Zheng naturally understood her gaze and clicked his tongue: "You really want to go?"

"Yes, I'd like to go take a look."

"Okay." Seeing that she really wanted to go, Qin Zheng stopped picking vegetables, got up and patted the vegetable leaves off his clothes. "Aunt, can you help me prepare some things? I'll wash my face, buy some offerings, and then take my wife with me."

"OK……"

Qin Xiang'e's voice weakened considerably, and she didn't say anything more. She glanced at Ye Yun, then turned and went home to prepare the things for the memorial service.

"Xiang'e, I'll go with you!"

Aunt Tian followed.

As soon as they reached the top of the hill, Aunt Tian pulled Qin Xiang'e aside and began to complain in a low voice: "Look at you, why did you have to say something about going to the grave? Now that you've said that, how could Zhengzi's wife, with her good temper, not respond..."

Qin Xiang'e: "..."

She was also a little annoyed, wishing she hadn't brought this up with Ye Yun.

Ye Yun has always been a sensible person. If she hadn't brought this up, it would have been fine, but since she did, Ye Yun definitely had to agree.

Another thing is that she put Ye Yun in a very difficult position with just one sentence.

Her own family knew that Ye Yun was too sick to go up the mountain, but outsiders wouldn't care. They would just say that Ye Yun, as a daughter-in-law, hadn't even visited the ancestral graves in a year since she married into the family, and that she wouldn't go even after her aunt reminded her. They would probably scorn Ye Yun and the Qin family behind her back.

Ugh, that sharp tongue of hers!

Back in the old house, Qin Xiang'e quickly helped Aunt Tian fold a full bamboo basket of paper ingots, cut two thick stacks of paper money, and prepared incense and candles. Feeling it wasn't enough, she took out two firecrackers from the cabinet and put them in the basket so the father and son below could hear a sound.

The bamboo basket, which was half a person tall, was stuffed full.

Before, life was hard. Qin Xiang'e took care of the old lady and supported the fourth child's schooling. She had borrowed too much money and couldn't even support the living. She was even more reluctant to be generous when burning paper money for the two people in the underworld.

Now?

Now she's really going all out!

She's rich now, the Qin family is rich now, she's going to burn lots of money for the father and son down there, feed them well and keep them strong, and bless the living members of the Qin family to always be safe and sound!