Li Xushi, however, had always been in the north of the city and had never heard of what was happening in the south.

Li Xuming and Li Xuchang nodded in unison.

"Yes, Second Brother. I was just on my way to buy some candied fruit for Wan'er when I passed by Yunlai Restaurant. The constables had all gone there, but thankfully the fire was already out."

"After talking with my mother that night, I asked Fang Da to arrange for his son to go to the south of the city to inquire. I never expected that today I would actually encounter the fire at Yunlai Restaurant."

“In that case, this dream is probably a prophetic dream,” Li Xushi echoed, his worldview shattered.

"It must have been a coincidence," Li Xuchang said awkwardly, still finding it hard to believe.

"My mother also said that my fifth uncle's second wife would give birth to a girl during this period."

Li Xuming then recounted what Pan Jinhua had told him last time.

"On July 10th, Registrar Chen will be caught in adultery by Madam Chen in Sansi Lane. The woman is Madam Chen's widowed niece."

When Pan Jinhua said this, the three Li brothers were all stunned. Such heavy news!

Li Xuming: Mom, you didn't tell me about this!

"Mother, is this really true?!"

Li Xushi's eyes immediately lit up with gossip. This Registrar Chen was even older than his elder brother, yet he was playing such a fancy game.

"If this is truly accurate, then it is undoubtedly a prophetic dream."

No matter how unwilling Li Xuchang was, he dared not say that the dream was false at this point.

"It must be a precognitive dream, Third Brother. Father's merits are so important, I wonder how much is left. And Mother, what kind of trouble is going to befall the Li family? Did you see it?"

Pan Jinhua's expression turned even more somber as she looked at her three sons.

Are you all ready to listen?

A gentle breeze swept across the lotus pond, rippling the surface and creating a shimmering, silvery sea of ​​water. Lotus leaves stretched out, and lotus flowers swayed among them, sending forth delicate fragrances.

“I was being too attached to appearances. Even if we weren’t prepared, so what? The situation is set, and we can only go with the flow.” Pan Jinhua gave a self-deprecating laugh, then hardened her gaze.

"Not long after, the Li family in the capital was convicted of a salt smuggling case. Your uncle died, the rest of the Li family were exiled and their property confiscated. We were not spared either."

The Li family in the capital is the main branch of the Li family. The clan head, Li Jida, is the biological brother of Li Xuming's father, Li Jichao. Li Jichao is the eldest son of a concubine. After growing up, he came to Nanze County to manage the affairs of his main family.

Pan Jinhua opened the original owner's memories. Every day after the Li family was raided and exiled, those memories were unspeakable pain. Even breathing seemed to become difficult. These memories were like dull knives cutting into her flesh, causing her unbearable pain. Pan Jinhua could not control her soul trembling with the original owner's memories. She felt her pain and was immersed in it. So her voice choked and her face was covered in tears.

"Qingzhang was rejected by his fiancé, Qingruo died, and Wan'er died on the road along with her unborn child," she said, glancing at Li Qingming and then at Li Xushi, before fixing her gaze on Li Xuchang, her eyes filled with memories.

"Chang'er, commit suicide that day."

Li Xuchang had already panicked when he heard that Qi Wan had died along with her unborn child on the way to exile. He seemed to be frozen in that moment, unable to move. After Pan Jinhua told him that he had committed suicide, Li Xuchang's eyes became empty and unfocused.

Li Xuming had heard it before, but hearing it again now still left him unsettled. Li Xushi was stunned by these words and looked at Li Xuchang in shock.

"Qingruo, my third brother..." Li Xushi's lips did not open, and he could not say anything more.

"Poor Qingjun, he was so young, gone..." Pan Jinhua was still speaking, but Li Xuchang couldn't hear her anymore. Wan'er had died along with her unborn child, and he had actually abandoned his two children to commit suicide. His Qingjun, so young, yet...

"Slap! Slap!" Enraged, Li Xuchang slapped himself twice and knelt down in front of Pan Jinhua.

"Your son is unfilial, Mother!"

Pan Jinhua burst into tears as she looked at Li Xuchang. She was old and easily moved to tears; she just couldn't bear to see this kind of thing.

"There is one urgent matter I must do: for Qingruo's sake, the marriage with the Xu family must be called off!"

Li Xushi was struck dumb, as if he had just realized something.

"Mother! What do you mean by that? Could it be that Qingruo's death is related to the Xu family?"

The Xu family that Pan Jinhua and the others mentioned was the family to which Li Qingruo was betrothed by the Li family.

Unlike the Li family, the Xu family was just an ordinary farming family in Nanze County. They were able to marry into the Li family only because Xu Yan was a scholar. The Li family never considered family background when marrying off their daughters; they only considered character. For example, Pan Jinhua's eldest daughter married into the Jiang family, who were merchants, and her second daughter married into the Shi family, who were doctors and medicine sellers.

The Xu family was a typical family of scholars.

As for what makes it typical?

Xu Yan was supported by three generations of the Xu family. The saying goes, "Poor scholar, rich official," meaning that passing the county-level exam at a young age demonstrates his considerable ability. The Li family valued him for several reasons: firstly, Xu Yan was handsome with regular features; secondly, he was precocious and accomplished, already a county-level scholar at such a young age; and thirdly, the entire Xu family supported him, ensuring harmony and unity within the household.

Pan Jinhua's eyes were cloudy and her face was dark.

"When the Li family was imprisoned, Xu Yan came out and expressed his willingness to marry Qingruo ahead of time. The two married in court. Qingruo became Xu's wife, which meant she was a married daughter and would not have to suffer the hardship of exile."

"So, Xu Yan is indeed a man of loyalty and righteousness. Then how did Qing Ru die?"

These were the questions asked by Li Xuchang. The word "death" left his lips, and he felt a bitter taste in his mouth, as if it carried the metallic tang of blood. His niece, so young and innocent, how could she have imagined…? Then he thought of his own family, almost all five of them gone, and grief overwhelmed him, tears streaming down his face…

"Ha, so loyal and righteous," Pan Jinhua sneered.

"That's true. Xu Yan did indeed gain a reputation for being loyal and righteous. In the dream, we believed Xu Yan and sent Qing Ruo into the fire with our own hands. At that time, we were already on the road to exile. Your eldest sister sent a message saying that Xu Yan said that Qing Ruo had been heartbroken for the Li family every day and one day she fell into the river and died in a daze. Xu Yan's parents knelt down in public and begged Xu Yan to continue the bloodline and forced him to marry Qian Shanshan from the Qian family. Xu Yan could not be unfilial, so he proposed to the Qian family and married Qian Shanshan."

“But this doesn’t seem to show any connection between Ruo’er’s death and Xu Yan,” Li Xushi said, puzzled.

"Fool! Just look at who profited the most from this!"

Pan Jinhua was furious and started cursing! Was her son an idiot?

“Mother is right. There must be something wrong with Qingruo’s death. Xu Yan first married Ruo’er when the Li family was in trouble, which won him a great reputation. Not long after, Qingruo died, and the Xu family disappeared perfectly. Then, Xu’s parents knelt down and begged him to remarry. Hehe, how could a son be unfilial? He turned around and married the daughter of the Qian family, gaining both fame and fortune!”

"But it harmed my daughter!" After his elder brother explained, Li Xushi finally understood. "The Xu family is so vicious and despicable. Mother, I must annul this marriage!"

“Of course, but the Li family must annul this marriage, and it must be annulled before the Li family falls into ruin! Moreover, we cannot bear the stigma of breaking off an engagement.” Pan Jinhua’s tone was icy.