Su Luo placed the letter into the stove without expression. The paper burned slowly into ashes as the flames burned.

That evening, Luo Mei indeed received news of Chen Xique's death. The people from the Xu family only said that Chen Xique had gone with Master Xu, without mentioning the specific reasons.

"Sigh...sigh...sigh..."

Luo Mei forgot to open her umbrella and stood in the yard in the rain, sighing constantly.

Raindrops hit her face, making it impossible to tell whether they were tears or rain.

"Mom, are you crazy? Come inside quickly, you'll catch a cold."

Seeing that Luo Mei was acting strangely, Chen Mengqing took out another umbrella and went to meet her.

"Mother, what's wrong? Are you from the Xu family? Did Magpie send someone to see you?"

Since Chen Xique married into the Xu family, there has been no news of her at all. When people went to look for her, the Xu family wouldn't let them see her, and she ignored her family members, as if she had vanished into thin air.

As Chen Mengqing was thinking, Luo Mei suddenly roared wildly, "It's you...it's you, it's all of you..."

They forcefully snatched Chen Mengqing's umbrella and threw it to the ground. The rain stung their eyes, making it impossible for them to open them.

"You killed the magpie, she's dead, dead...my daughter is dead...ah..."

Dead?

How could that be? Even if Master Xu died, Magpie couldn't possibly die. How could she die when the Xu family was living such a good life?

Luo Mei cried so hard that she was hoarse, and threw the ten taels of silver that the Xu family had given her as a token of their condolences into the courtyard.

It was as if Chen Xique would come back if the silver was lost.

"Mother, let's go back inside and talk about it first."

Chen Mengqing dragged Luo Mei into the house. After seeing the two of them enter the house, Chen Dazhi rushed to the yard and picked up the ten taels of silver that Luo Mei had dropped.

"Cry, cry, cry... What are you crying for? A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup. If she doesn't want to live, who can she blame?"

Chen Dazhi was furious. This daughter was utterly useless. That old man Xu was dead, and she could have controlled the Xu family, but she insisted on dying with him. What an idiot.

Originally, the Chen family could have lived a life of ease by relying on the Xu family, but Chen Xique insisted on ruining a good opportunity.

"Chen Dazhi, it was you who forced Xique to marry into the Xu family. You're the one who ruined her."

"How could it be my fault? Don't forget, it was the Xu family that forced our family. If it's like you say, then Meng Qing needs the betrothal gifts and money from Xique, so Meng Qing also has a share."

You agreed to the magpie's marriage, so everyone has a share in it. Don't blame others.

"Alright, stop arguing. What's the point of just arguing?"

Chen Mengqing also felt guilty about Chen Xique's death. If he hadn't had selfish motives, he wouldn't have agreed to the marriage.

“Chen Mengqing, what’s the use of yelling at us? You’ve spent all of your sister’s dowry, and now you don’t even have a job. You still have the nerve to yell at your old man.”

"I……"

It's November now, and it's hard to find work. Chen Mengqing plans to look for work again next year. He can't go to a big restaurant, but it's not difficult to find a job as an accountant in a small shop.

"You, you..."

Luo Mei pointed at the two of them, speechless for a moment, then her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

...

Two days later, the weather cleared up again, and Zhao Ruyun reluctantly saw Zhao Chunlan off at the village entrance.

"Grandma, Doctor Du's apprentice will take Auntie back, so don't worry."

Watching Ji'an Hall's carriage gradually disappear into the distance, Zhao Ruyun did not chase after it.

"Luo Luo, it's been seven years. Your aunt and I haven't seen each other for seven years."

Zhao Ruyun held back her tears; parting always left her feeling empty inside.

"I know. When Aunt is in Shuiqingzhuang next year, you can see her whenever you want."

Zhao Ruyun nodded, choking back tears, and returned home with Su Luo.

Su Luo has been teaching Du Xiuyuan how to use silver needles for local anesthesia these past two days. Only by doing this step well can external injuries be treated better.

However, Du Xiuyuan had not been able to control the twisting and pressure of the silver needles well, and had not yet achieved the effect of local anesthesia.

Du Xiuyuan winced in pain, his reaction indicating that the paralysis had not been successful.

Even when I tried to achieve localized anesthesia on my arm, I still felt pain when the silver needles were inserted.

"Lady Su, I have failed again."

Everyone's nerves are different, and it's even more difficult to control other people's nerve pathways.

"Failure is an inevitable part of your journey; nothing is achieved overnight."

Su Luo then personally controlled the needle carefully, attentively sensing its movements. "If you believe in it, it will come to life. Only through diligent practice can you succeed."

"Try again."

After Su Luo's intervention, Du Xiuyuan inserted another silver needle into the area of ​​local numbness.

"Hey, it really doesn't hurt anymore."

Su Luo smiled and went out, saying, "Practice slowly as I taught you, no rush."

...

When I got to the backyard, I saw Zhao Ruyun working with cotton, taking out the cotton seeds.

Su Luo only takes out four or five catties of cotton each time, but after a while, it's enough to make several quilts.

"Grandma, put all this cotton on this board. If the two of us work together to fluff the cotton, we can make two quilts today."

"good!"

Su Luo told Zhao Ruyun that only cotton that has been carded will make better cotton-padded clothes.

Two masks were made, and Su Luo and Zhao Ruyun each wore one.

The two men had bandages tied around their waists, with a two-finger-wide bamboo strip slung diagonally through their waists. The bamboo strip was higher than their heads, with a string tied to one end of the strip, making it look like a large bow was hanging from their bodies.

He kept striking the bowstring in front of him with a wooden mallet, making a 'chong, chong, tang, tang' sound.

With each twang of the string, cotton fluff danced on the cotton pile, some floating in the air like downy snowflakes.

Use interlaced threads to form the base of the quilt, then lay the cotton flat on top and press it down firmly; do the same on the surface.

"Grandma, give me the needle, I'll sew the hem of this quilt."

Zhao Ruyun watched Su Luo do it, and after only a couple of glances, she learned how to do it herself and started sewing with Su Luo.

In the middle of the quilt, secure it with small squares and sew them together so the cotton won't bunch up.

"Luo Luo, this quilt is so light and warm."

Zhao Ruyun folded the quilt, hugged it to her arms, and said happily.

"It's alright, but Mother-in-law, with this quilt, we don't need those old quilts anymore."

Inside the old quilt were old clothes, chicken feathers, straw, reed fluff, and the like.

"Okay, I'll sew the quilt cover on tonight. This one will be for Yanchuan to sleep on. He reads every day, so it's best if he doesn't catch a cold."

It's not that cold yet, so it doesn't matter who gets it first.

"good!"

The cotton had already been fluffed, and Zhao Ruyun and Su Luo followed the same method to make a second quilt.

In two days, the two of them made five quilts in total. The remaining cotton was left for Zhao Ruyun to make cotton-padded clothes for them.

After finishing all that, Su Luo planned to visit Fu Man Lou the next day.

Before I even stepped outside, I heard the sound of carriage wheels.

When Su Luo came out, she saw Magistrate Jiang and a middle-aged man with an imposing official air.

"Madam Su, this is the Prefect of Anchang Prefecture."