Seeing that the person in front of her was almost gone, Sun Miao'er took off after him and called out, "Thank you for what happened last time, Officer Shan."

Despite his dejected state, Shan Qiu's back remained upright, though lacking his usual imposing presence. He turned halfway to the side, giving Sun Miao'er a blank, detached look, and said, "There's nothing to thank me for."

Everything outside seemed blurry to him. A voice kept asking him in his head, "Was I really wrong?" To him, Lord Zhang was both a teacher and a friend.

He had considered that his stubbornness had harmed Lord Zhang, but most of the time, he preferred to suppress those thoughts rather than dwell on them.

That's the truth, after all.

"Officer Shan, it was Miss Xiaoxiao who asked me to help you. Don't let her kindness go to waste." Sun Miao'er tried her best to say something to comfort Shan Qiu, but she knew that anything she said at this moment would be superfluous.

Self-reflection takes time.

When Shan Qiu heard the name Xiaoxiao, a look of surprise flashed across his expressionless face. He muttered to himself, "Miss Dongli, how could this be?"

"Why would I help you?" Sun Miao'er didn't know what he really thought of Dongli Xiaoxiao, but Dongli Xiaoxiao's one-sided love was really pitiful, so she had to give Danqiu some pointers.

"She has feelings for you, so naturally she can't bear to see you suffer. Otherwise, why would she allow you to see her again and again?"

Danqiu remained silent and did not flee.

It seems he knew all along.

He stood there for a moment, speechless with Sun Miao'er, and said in a hoarse voice, "What have I done to deserve Miss Xiaoxiao's favor?"

Sun Miao'er had no idea what had happened between the two of them while she was away from Pingnan City, but Shan Qiu's explanation was nothing more than an excuse from a useless man.

"Let's leave it at that." Sun Miao'er thought that Dongli Xiaoxiao was probably not worth it; all she cared about was a coward.

On the surface, he appears benevolent and righteous, dedicated to eliminating harm for the people, and constantly proclaims his commitment to upholding justice and righteousness. In reality, he even avoids the feelings of a woman.

"I won't investigate any further." Shan Qiu moved his lips slightly, as he remembered being at Duhuan Tower.

When Dongli Xiaoxiao saw him, she was clearly delighted. The two would occasionally chat about poetry or talk about people's livelihood and law. Sometimes she could even say a few words about the mystical arts.

Every time he saw Dongli smiling at him, her flawless face reflected in his eyes, he would feel a secret sense of guilt.

He loved seeing those radiant smiles, yet he had to admit that his initial motivation was simply to investigate the case.

After several repetitions, he got used to chatting and joking with her first, and then taking advantage of the situation to bring up the case. However, every time the case was mentioned, Xiaoxiao's expression would change drastically, and she would even ask the maid to kick him out.

But Xiaoxiao never actually did it. Of course, he was hoping for the best, hoping that he could see Xiaoxiao without spending any money, and hoping that Xiaoxiao treated him differently from others.

What man in the world doesn't have a sense of pride?

Sun Miao'er suddenly felt that the tall man in front of her made her feel oppressed. When her master stood in front of her, she felt safe and became fearless.

However, what Shanqiu made her feel was heaviness and tedium.

That night, Sun Miao'er stayed at the Wang family's house, in the same familiar room.

As soon as her head touched the edge of the bed, she fell into a deep sleep.

My body suddenly felt ethereal, and in my dreams, someone would always embrace me with strong arms. There was no feeling of suffocation, only a sense of peace.

The lingering warmth on her lips, the herbal fragrance from her dream was particularly strong, making her crave the tenderness. She opened her mouth and nose wide, wanting to inhale a few more breaths, trying to remember what the scent looked like.

I'm afraid that over time I'll gradually forget what it tastes like—it's a bittersweet aroma with a refreshing scent, like dried herbal dregs.

When she woke up, the surroundings were empty. She was instantly pulled out of the dream, her inner clothes were covered in sweat, and a cool breeze sneaked in through the gaps in the quilt, making her shiver.

Thankfully it was just a dream.

But the bed felt all too familiar to her; she clearly remembered that night on this soft couch, the man forcibly fed her medicine without explanation.

Even the bitter medicine was tinged with a lingering, hazy color back then.

When she got up in the morning, Wang Xueru brought people over and waited for them to come in after they had washed and dressed.

"Look, is this enough? If not, I'll go ask Father for a few more!" Wang Xueru stretched out her hand and pointed outside.

Sun Miao'er looked up and saw five or six men standing in the yard, all of them tall and strong, skilled at physical labor.

"This is?"

Wang Xue smiled and said, "Knowing you're going to the shop today, I was worried you wouldn't be able to manage by yourself. There might be places where you have to climb high and step on low objects, which is quite dangerous. So I specially asked my father for someone to help you!"

Sun Miao'er was worried about where to find temporary workers, but unexpectedly, Wang Xueru brought them free ones.

As expected, a good sister is the one you can rely on when it matters most.

She arrived at Pingting Cloth Shop in a large entourage. Since it was morning, several grain shops nearby were open and doing brisk business.

So when she arrived, she was inevitably surrounded by a group of people who owned rice and grain shops.

While everyone was watching, they also noticed that Pingting Cloth Shop had a new female manager. It's really not easy for a woman to run a business, especially since she's a young woman.

In this cutthroat business world, she'll have her share of troubles.

Sun Miao'er sensed surprise, mockery, and even amusement in the eyes of that group of people, but none of that mattered to her. She believed that anything was possible, and one day she would prove them right.

The gate of Pingting Cloth Shop had been closed for more than half a month. Sun Miao'er looked up and the sunlight shone directly on the four gilded characters of "Pingting Cloth Shop".

The sunlight was so bright that she could barely open her eyes, so she could only squint to see the words.

It has to be said that the Xie family is quite generous when it comes to showing off. This signboard alone must have cost them a lot of money. Compared to the other grain and oil shops next door, their signboard is simply outstanding.

The idea of ​​changing the name vanished immediately. First, changing the signboard would require spending more money to customize it. Second, although Pingting Cloth Shop wasn't exactly famous, it did have some old customers. If she changed the name rashly, those old customers would definitely not recognize it. It was better to use the original name and follow the path that the Xie family had paved for her.

Upon entering, a pile of fabrics, all covered in dust, was displayed on the cabinet. Moreover, those fabrics were far removed from Sun Miao'er's aesthetic taste. Selling such things would be too competitive, and it would be easy for other stores to outcompete them.

"Put all of these in the warehouse." Sun Miao'er raised her hand and began to direct. "By the way, the warehouse is in that room in the backyard. Clear out all the goods from the second floor of the warehouse."