When they arrived in Minfu, Xu Lanyin took out the comic book and began to tell stories to the children. She pointed to the cover and said to them, "Read after me: Ah, Li, Yu, Qiang, Dao." This was an adapted version of "Alibaba and the Forty Thieves".

"Ali and the Bandits."

"Ali and the Bandits."

Xu Lanting and Zhao Xingchen recited aloud.

Minjia moved his mouth, but still no sound came out.

Xu Lanyin repeated it several times and smiled. On the fifth time, Min Jia opened his mouth wide and finally uttered the word "A" after a long while.

The room was immediately filled with praise, with Xu Lanting's voice being the loudest.

Xu Lanyin read it again, and only after hearing Min Jia pronounce the word "A" did she turn the page and start telling the story.

After dinner, Xu Lanyin left with her two children.

It snowed heavily that night. When I went out, I saw a thick layer of snow covering the ground, roofs, and trees, making everything look white.

Aunt Yang and the chess master had already swept out two paths in the yard. One was the path from the hanging flower gate to the main door, and the other was the swept path opposite the west wing door.

After sweeping for a while, it will be covered with a thin layer again.

After breakfast, Xu Lanyin took Xu Lanting and Zhao Xingchen, who were dressed like balls, to Min Mansion.

Today is the second day of the winter month. I wonder if the Fujian people will come back.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, through the dense snow, they could still see a chubby little person standing at the door, looking forward to seeing them. When she saw them, she wanted to rush over, but was held back by Mother Liu.

Xu Lanting and Zhao Xingchen ran over quickly, calling out "Jia Jia" and "Sister Jia", and the quiet yard immediately became noisy.

In the afternoon, several children were playing checkers when Madam Min and Min Nan, along with Qin Hongyu and her mother, Madam Qin, arrived. Xu Lanyin quickly had the checkers taken away and put away in the cabinet; she didn't want anyone else to see them yet.

The two families seemed to have made an appointment, saying that they came to visit Min Jia whose parents were not at home.

Mrs. Qin is in her thirties, petite, fair-skinned, with beautiful features. She speaks with a strong Jiangnan accent, a typical southern woman.

Min Jia looked at them with a blank expression, as if he didn't want anyone to approach him.

They don't care, they're used to it.

Xu Lanyin asked them to sit down and the maid served tea.

Madam Qin smiled and said, "I caught a cold a few days ago, and I knew Jia'er was home alone. I waited until today to visit her, and I feel really bad." She smiled at Xu Lanyin and said, "This is Miss Xu, right? I've heard my master praise you for your ability many times."

Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "Master Qin, you are too kind."

Madam Min thought that Madam Qin was referring to the fact that Xu Lanyin hypnotized Min Hu, and she also laughed and said, "Yes, my master has praised Miss Yin a lot. We have been in contact with each other in Nanping County, and Miss Nan gets along very well with her." She looked like she was very familiar with Xu Lanyin.

Xu Lanyin smiled and said a few humble words. Seeing that Min Jia looked unhappy that these people had disturbed her, she asked Xu Lanting to take her and Zhao Xingchen to the side room to read comic books.

After hearing this, Xu Lanting reached out his hand to Min Jia. Min Jia obediently went over and took his hand, then took Zhao Xingchen's hand, and the three children went to the side room together.

Madam Min was already used to it, but Madam Qin was so shocked that her eyes widened. When did Min Jia understand what was said and obey instructions so well? She smiled and said, "Good boy, all three little kids are good."

The two ladies were talking about family matters, while Xu Lanyin was talking to Qin Hongyu and Min Nan about matters between the young ladies, such as which clothes were fashionable, which rouge was beautiful, which young lady she knew was engaged to which young man, and so on.

Min Nan said, "Sister Qin, have you heard that Princess Beiyang's grandson has come to Ningzhou Prefecture? I heard that his second stepmother has died again."

Qin Hongyu asked, "Is that Wang Jin? I saw him at the night market a few days ago. Oh, we were with Sister Xu, and she saw him too." She then gossiped, "They say his father is the King of Hell. Could it be that his father really beat his biological mother and two stepmothers to death? He beat several people to death, and the government didn't care? And their family, aren't they asking for an explanation? You often go to the capital, have you heard about this?"

Madam Qin also heard this and gossiped, "Maybe that person went too far and the news has spread here."

Madam Min laughed and said, "Rumors are all true and false. Who knows which one is true and which one is false?"

Min Nan said proudly, "Don't mention it. I stayed at the Prince of Ping's Mansion for a few days earlier this year, and actually saw Madam Wang Er from the Princess of Beiyang's Mansion. She was in good health at the time, and her waist was thicker than many other ladies. Who knew she would die a few months later..."

When Madam Min heard Min Nan say that Madam Wang Er had a thick waist, she glared at her and quickly added, "I heard that Madam Wang Er was the daughter of a military commander and had always been in good health. It's not certain that she had a sudden illness."

Mrs. Qin curled her lips almost imperceptibly.

Xu Lanyin was secretly happy. The Qin mother and daughter both disliked Wang Yi. She also wanted to hear some gossip about the Nanyang Princess's residence, preferably about Chai Zixiao's drowning, but unfortunately, they didn't mention it.

They chatted and laughed until 3 p.m., then stood up to say goodbye. Before leaving, they went to the side room to check on Min Jia, who didn't even raise his head from the table reading. They smiled and didn't care.

Xu Lanyin escorted them out of the hospital. Looking at the heavy snow, Minhu knew he wouldn't be able to return home today.

After dinner, Qin returned home and was very disappointed to hear that Min Hu had not returned. She asked, "What should we do if Lord Min doesn't come back tomorrow?"

Xu Lanyin said, "If he said he can come back, then he should be able to come back."

Everything for returning home was prepared, even the things that Hu Wan was sending to the Hu family were shipped over.

Qin continued, "If he doesn't come back tomorrow, I'll have to leave the day after tomorrow. You should take the two children home first."

Xu Lanyin didn't want Qin to go back alone, so she said, "We've waited for so long, one or two days won't make a difference. Mother, just wait a little longer. I'm worried about you going back alone."

The snow stopped the next day, and although the morning sun was not warm, it was exceptionally bright.

Xu Lanyin took her children to Min Prefecture.

In the late afternoon, when the children were still taking a nap, Butler Hao came to find Xu Lanyin in person, his face looking very bad.

He said, "Miss Xu, my uncle is back and he wants you to go to his study." Then he added sadly, "My uncle has lost weight. The few pounds of flesh he had put on with great difficulty have all gone away. Other people gain weight when they come home, but he's the opposite. He's lost weight!"

His voice was choked up at the end, showing how angry and heartbroken he was.

Min Hu probably hadn't slept well in the past few days, so he probably asked me to hypnotize him. Xu Lanyin took a small purse and followed Butler Hao to the outer study.

She felt very sorry that even with that "paradise" by his side, he still couldn't sleep well.

When I arrived at the outer study, Minhu was sitting in the living room. He looked very bad, with dark circles under his eyes and his smooth cheeks sunken in. There was also a scar on his forehead that had not fully healed, either from a fall or a blow.