Changbai emerged from the hidden corner, and Liu Huan felt completely unwell.

She turned her head away, deliberately blocking her view and trying to hide her face, as if that would prevent Changbai from recognizing her.

Changbai didn't look at him, but turned to Old Madam Chu beside him and said, "I saw it just now. It was your little girl who kept pinching his hand, and he only let go when it hurt."

"Don't say I'm covering for her. If you're not satisfied, you can wait for the adults to come back and handle it in court. But if things turn out badly and your little girl's reputation is ruined in the end, don't blame others."

Although Old Mrs. Chu wanted to investigate further, she knew from these words that it was pretty much the truth.

There's definitely no benefit in pursuing this further.

She knew to turn her gaze to Liu Huan, "Liu, then swear you won't marry my son."

"Grandma, I don't know who told you that I wanted to marry your son, but I'm telling you, that's not true."

“I’m financially independent and have children, why would I want to remarry?” She said, glancing meaningfully at Zhang Anxin. “But I’d like to remind you, old lady, that I’m not the only widow in Heshui Village. I can’t guarantee whether others have the same thoughts.”

Madam Chu instantly turned her gaze toward Zhang Anxin beside Chu Ying with hostility, and seeing Zhang Anxin's guilty look with her head down, she began to consider her options.

"Then you won't need to trouble yourself. Xuan'er, aren't you going to take Xiaoying and me back?"

Before leaving, Chu Xuan hesitated several times, but ultimately couldn't say what he wanted to say. He was pulled out of the room by Old Madam Chu.

The man surnamed Wan knew he had done something wrong and had already disappeared.

Liu Huan grabbed An Ran's hand and said quickly, "Let's go home."

“Madam…” Changbai didn’t know what to say, but subconsciously wanted to keep Liu Huan and wait for Su Yi to return.

Liu Huan closed her eyes, turned around, and said very seriously, "You've mistaken me for someone else. I'm not your wife."

Changbai: "This..." Isn't this blatant lying? Could there be someone exactly like this in the world?

"Miss, let me take you back." Changbai ultimately chose a roundabout tactic, only calling Liu Huan "Miss".

Liu Huan still refused, "No need, we have a carriage, so we won't trouble you." As she walked to the door, she turned back and couldn't help but remind him, "If you don't want to upset your master, you'd better not say I'm here."

After speaking, he pretended to be calm and left with the child in his hand. Qiu Rong, who was behind him, couldn't help but turn around and look at him.

Since the government office was close to their homes, they didn't need to take a carriage. When they got home, they felt completely exhausted, their eyes glazed over and unfocused.

An Ran tried to call her back, but An Zhi pulled her back and shook her head.

The two siblings each held one of Liu Huan's arms, offering her silent comfort, until Liu Huan herself came to her senses and called the two of them to the next room.

Left alone were Ermo, Qiurong, and Qiuju. When she looked up at the three of them, tears welled up in her eyes before she could even speak.

Qiu Rong knelt down in front of her with a thud, and said in a tearful voice, "Miss, whatever choice you make, we will follow you."

Upon seeing Changbai, Liu Huan was immediately reminded of all the things from the past, things she had almost forgotten over the years, all vividly remembered at this moment.

Ermo said firmly, "Sister, I was also shocked when I first found out it was him. Then I thought about it and realized that we could just leave. If we can't afford to offend him, can't we at least avoid him?"

Liu Huan remained silent for a long time before finally waving her hand and saying in a hoarse voice, "You all go out first, let me think about it."

One by one, everyone left. Qiuju, being a woman of action, had already started packing her things.

Qiu Rong advised, "Qiu Ju, calm down and let the master think it over first."

Qiuju couldn't hold back her emotions and cried softly, "I just feel that the adults are going too far. Master finally managed to get out of here. And then he reappeared without anyone noticing. Isn't it enough that Master has already hidden himself here for him?"

Qiu Rong reached out and covered her mouth, "Keep your voice down, or the young master and the others will hear you."

The conversation between the two gradually faded away, but Anzhi's fist remained clenched. Only Anran was confused and at a loss. "What happened to my brother, mother, and two aunts?"

Anzhi relaxed her expression and forced a smile, saying, "It's alright, we don't need to worry about adult matters. Let's go get something to eat."

An Ran shook her head, her lips pursed as if she were about to cry, "Did I cause trouble and make Mom angry?"

Anzhi hugged her and comforted her, "No, little sister, it's not your fault. It's another bad person who offended Mother."

Anran was still not comforted. She wiped her tears with her little hands and sobbed softly, "Brother, I will definitely be a good boy from now on."

Anzhi cupped her little face and said earnestly, "Anran doesn't need to be obedient. As long as Anran is happy, that's all that matters. She has her brother."

The two huddled together for warmth. Anzhi was still resentful of what she had just heard, resenting that irresponsible man.

Changbai was also in a dilemma. He was wondering whether he should tell his master about this, but as a subordinate, wouldn't it be too unqualified of him not to say anything?

After agonizing all night, he made a fatal decision: to pretend nothing had happened!

Anyway, as long as they are still in the county, they will meet sooner or later. Since the lady and master have been separated for so long, there is no rush. They can pretend to be stupid and get away with it.

Although I gave myself this kind of mental suggestion, I was always absent-minded when doing things. For example, when grinding ink, I didn't stop until the ink was almost overflowing.

Su Yi stopped writing and stared at him. It took Changbai a long time to come to his senses before he realized that his sleeves were covered in ink.

Su Yi said, "If you're not feeling well, go back and rest for a day. It'll be fine as long as Changyun is here."

Changbai was preoccupied with something, so he simply pretended to be unwell and went back.

However, instead of going back to sleep, he changed his clothes and sneaked to the Liu family's house, which was the place he had arranged the night before.

He knocked on the door for a long time but no one answered. Just as he was wondering if his wife had run away with the children in the middle of the night, an old woman passed by.

Holding groceries, she looked at him warily. "Young man, what do you do?"

"Auntie, this is my relative. Where did they go?"

The old woman looked around and asked, "Since you're relatives, don't you know their family had a problem?"

Changbai's heart tightened. "What happened?"

“People from their village came very early this morning, saying that she was disrupting the stability of the village and that they wanted to expel them from Heshui Village. They made a lot of noise this morning.”

Changbai recalled hearing an argument when he went to the yamen that morning, but he didn't expect it to be directed at them.

"Thank you, ma'am, I'll go take a look."

The old woman waved her hand and said, "It's alright, you go quickly. Those women are probably no match for those people."

Upon hearing this, Changbai did not delay any longer and hailed an oxcart to head towards Heshui Village.

The cowherd was Uncle Niu. As soon as he heard that he was going to the Liu family, he quickened his pace without saying a word. He couldn't stand the villagers bullying others because of their numbers.