Su Mingren, who was usually stern and unsmiling, wiped away his tears upon seeing this and stepped forward to embrace all three of them.

"Don't cry, Zhizhi, your uncle will take care of everything."

...

After having dinner at the Su residence and watching Su Mingli finish his medicine, Song Xizhi left the Su residence.

Before leaving the Su residence, Song Xizhi specifically instructed his maternal grandfather to go to Vice Minister Xin's place to ask for leave on behalf of his maternal uncle, rather than to resign.

After all, in his previous life, his maternal grandfather had gone to ask his uncle to resign on this very day, and had also introduced He Yunce to Lord Xin.

Upon hearing that Su Mingli was able to recover, Granny Wu was overjoyed.

The early autumn night was a bit chilly. Granny Wu helped Song Xizhi put on his cloak, then helped him into the carriage before asking:

"Is Miss heading back to the Marquis's residence?"

Song Xizhi shook his head: "Let's not go back to the Marquis's mansion yet. Let the carriage take a trip around Yong'an Street and see if we can find any girls kneeling by the roadside selling themselves."

Upon hearing Song Xizhi's instructions, the carriage started moving again, and she quietly closed her eyes and leaned against the carriage.

She was going to find someone named Hanxue.

She is a clever, loyal, and ruthless knife.

The sharpest knife in Song Ruoan's hands in her past life.

In her previous life, Song Xizhi cured her plague by eating wild herbs. With the help of her aunt, she contacted her confidants and tried to leave the cold courtyard.

Song Xizhi used every means at his disposal, hiring five top assassins and meticulously planning to kill the adulterous couple.

But all those top assassins never returned, dying under Han Xue's blade.

Song Xizhi's plan was exposed, and He Yunze imprisoned her again in the cold courtyard, heavily guarded, leaving her with no chance to turn the tide.

But in the end, Song Xizhi heard in the cold courtyard that Han Xue was actually killed by Song Ruoan herself.

The key to this is the older sister who shares a deep sisterly bond with Hanxue, but is now bedridden with illness.

As Song Xizhi was thinking, he heard Wu Mama's voice coming from outside the carriage:

"Miss, we've found her. She's a little girl who's practically skin and bones."

Upon hearing this, Song Xizhi covered her face with the brim of her cloak. When she got off the carriage, she saw a gaunt face.

Yong'an Street was bustling at night, with vendors calling out their wares incessantly, but the girl stood out as an oddity from the crowd.

She was kneeling silently by the roadside, wearing only thin clothes and shivering from the cold. A dry blade of grass was stuck in her messy hair.

At this time, she had not yet learned kung fu, and looked frail and vulnerable, as if everyone could bully her.

Hearing the noise, the girl stiffly raised her head, and Song Xizhi saw two dark eyes hanging in her deep eye sockets.

"My lord! Please! Buy me! I'll do anything for you!"

Song Xizhi stared at her ashen face, then slowly squatted down to meet her gaze.

The girl was somewhat frightened, but stubbornly gritted her teeth and kowtowed repeatedly: "My lord, only three taels, only three taels of silver!"

Song Xizhi calmly said, "You sold yourself for three taels of silver, all for your bedridden sister?"

The girl was startled and stared at her with some fear.

But Song Xizhi continued, "I can treat your sister, and I can also send her to the Su family to be well cared for, where she will have no worries about food and clothing."

"But I need you to do one thing for me."

Upon hearing this, the girl didn't ask what it was about; she agreed without hesitation.

"Okay! I'm willing! I'm willing to do anything!"

Song Xizhi stared at the somewhat familiar face and felt that she, like the withered grass on her head, possessed a kind of resilience.

Later, that resilience became her means of delivering a fatal blow.

Strangulation.

“From now on, you will be called A-Lian. I will send you a set of emerald green clothes. Starting tomorrow, you will wear those clothes and go to a different place to sell yourself.”

Upon hearing this, Ah Lian stood there stunned, somewhat taken aback.

Song Xizhi then leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words.

After that day, Song Xizhi sent someone to pick up A-Lian's sister and bring her to the Su residence to recuperate. For A-Lian, this was both a thunderbolt and a blessing.

Song Xizhi not only firmly grasped Alian's lifeline, but also ensured that Alian had no worries.

Song Xizhi also went to his maternal grandfather's house every day to treat his uncle and Alian's sister.

That night, Marquis Anding summoned the idle He Yunce into his study.

He Yunze has been spending his days in a blissful, passionate relationship with Song Ruoan, and his radiant appearance only adds to the displeasure of Marquis Anding.

He sat at his desk and pounded his fist on the table, making a few loud knocking sounds.

"He Yunce, the time has passed, and the vacancy for the Proofreader is gone. It's a ninth-rank position! That's a ninth-rank position! What are you planning to do now?"

Not only did the vacancy disappear, but the Marquis of Anding shamelessly went to apologize to the person in person.

He Yunze reached out and rubbed his nose, calmly saying, "A ninth-rank official position is nothing; a noble person will soon be introducing me to someone."

"Father, it should be around today or tomorrow."

He Yunze's words also carried a hint of confidence, which left Marquis Anding completely baffled.

"You neither participated in the imperial examinations nor achieved anything; what important person would take notice of you?"

He Yunze shrugged: "Otherwise, how could Minister Xin be considered my patron? He delivered the seventh-rank Left Remonstrance Official to my hands."

In his previous life, He Yunce was indeed very insecure at first.

However, with Vice Minister Xin's affirmation and his gradual promotion and support, He Yunze realized that he was actually very talented, but his talent had been obscured at the beginning.

Upon hearing this, Marquis An Ding frowned: "A seventh-rank Left Remonstrator? Nonsense!"

“This position is not vacant. Even if Lord Xin values ​​you highly, he would not recommend you for the position of Left Reminder, a seventh-rank official!”

As Marquis An Ding spoke, he suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, the person in this position now is your sister-in-law's maternal uncle. He's quite a talented man."

Upon hearing this, He Yunze laughed contemptuously: "What kind of talent is he? He's just a sickly man, his death is only a few days away."

As He Yunze spoke, he felt a little strange.

In his previous life, three days earlier, Su Mingli had requested to resign from his post at court, and Lord Xin immediately appreciated him; thus, he obtained the position of Left Advisor before Su Mingli's death.

Therefore, whether Su Mingli lives or dies has no impact on me.

Could it be because he's been so engrossed in Ruo'an's affections lately that he hasn't had a chance to meet Lord Xin?

Lord Xin failed to discover his own hidden gem, so even when Su Mingli was on his deathbed and begged to resign, Lord Xin was unwilling to release him.

No, he must take the initiative to see Lord Xin and let Lord Xin discover his talent, which far surpasses that of Su Mingli!