Xu Lanyin thought to herself, how could they have just missed each other after four months? There was nothing she could do about it. She said, "It's getting late. You should go back soon. If you can't get out of the valley before dark, it will be dangerous."

After saying that, she hurried away.

When Xu Lanyin returned to the village, dusk had already fallen. Xu Lanzhou was standing at the entrance, anxiously looking out. If he didn't see Xu Lanyin again, he would go into the mountains to look for her.

He yelled, "Why did you come back just now? What if something happens..." He stood there with his eyes fixed on the screen, muttering to himself.

Xu Lanyin pulled him home and said, "I know, I know. I won't be so late next time."

Xu Lanzhou yelled again, "There won't be a next time. You are not allowed to enter the mountain again."

Qin and Xu Lanting were waiting at the gate of the courtyard. They were relieved to see Xu Lanyin coming back, but they still complained to her a few more times.

After entering the house, when those people saw the old ginseng that Xu Lanyin took out, they all opened their mouths wide, as if they were dreaming.

Qin said happily, "This ginseng is so big, it looks very old. It can be sold for at least a hundred taels of silver." She then said to Xu Lanyin, "This ginseng can only be collected in the deep mountains. If a girl dares to go into the mountains, what will happen if something happens? You are not allowed to go into the mountains to collect herbs anymore. With this ginseng, our family's life will be better."

Xu Lanyin didn't respond to her and said, "After we sell it, no matter whether Gu Wangchen returns the money to our family or not, we can use it to buy a few acres of land. Lan Zhou will also go back to school."

The sale of the land and Xu Lanzhou's dropping out of school were both caused by the original owner, and Xu Lanzhou was particularly insistent.

She didn't dare tell him about her fall down the hillside and into the trap, fearing Qin would not allow her to enter the mountain. She still didn't give up and wanted to go back to see if there was any blackroot grass.

Qin nodded and said, "Zhou'er needs to go back to school. Only by studying more can he change his fate."

After dinner, Xu Lanyin took a quick shower and washed her hair.

The next day, Xu Lanyin stayed at home obediently. She hung the collected herbs in the yard to dry, hung the old ginseng on the windowsill to watch over it at all times, and baked a plate of longan pastries.

She had just returned from delivering a few pieces of money to the eldest wife when the gate to the courtyard rang. Old Wife's voice could be heard, "Yin'er, open the door."

When Xu Lanyin heard the old woman call "Yin'er", she felt a chill and goose bumps all over her body.

She went over and opened the door. Old Mrs. Gu was standing outside the courtyard gate. She was extremely excited and her face was full of smiles, but she was trying hard to hold back.

Old Lady Gu whispered, "Yin'er, someone just told me that my son has returned. When he passed by Xinghua Village, he went to Sujiazhuang to tell Miss Su the good news. You should go and persuade him to come back quickly, and don't let Miss Su take his soul away."

Seems extremely anxious.

Although the old woman was annoying, she was not good at acting. She looked anxious, but she couldn't suppress the light in her eyes.

Xu Lanyin sneered inwardly. It was coming. Just as she'd suspected, Gu Wangchen had Gu Pozi tell her he was going to tell Su Qing the good news. The original owner, enraged, had gone to the gates of Sujiazhuang and started a scene. Gu Wangchen must have deliberately said something to irritate the original owner, most likely something like "a thief is unworthy of a scholar," causing the original owner to lose consciousness and fall into the river and drown. It's also possible that the original owner, despairing of life, had committed suicide by jumping into the river.

Regardless of the circumstances, the original owner's death was inseparable from Gu Wangchen and his mother. Not only did the original owner die, but she also left behind a bad reputation as a "jealous, scoundrel, and thief." Gu Wangchen escaped trouble, his reputation remained intact, and he didn't have to pay back the money...

The original owner was truly foolish, or perhaps she loved too deeply. The mother and son's tricks weren't particularly clever, especially the old woman, whose feelings were written all over her face. Still, they led him step by step, leading him to his death in the end.

Xu Lanyin was thinking about something, and her expression was unpredictable.

Gu Pozi thought she had listened, so she continued to coax her, "Good child, don't make a fuss about this. Go to Sujiazhuang quickly and persuade Wangchen to come home. The family has prepared the betrothal gifts, which will be sent to your home in a few days, and your marriage will be held by the end of the year. Oh, you will be the wife of a juren, and when my son passes the imperial examination next year, you will be able to receive an imperial decree..."

At this time, Gu Pozi held the doorpost, and Xu Lanyin held the wooden door. Wood is an insulator of electricity, but it is the best conductor of "the voice of the heart."

Xu Lanyin heard the old woman's inner voice again, "With your appearance, you still want to marry my son? You must be dreaming... I don't know why Wangchen led you to Sujiazhuang. Could it be that Wangchen slept with Miss Su and deliberately led this damn girl to see it, so that she would be so angry that she would bang her head against the wall? It would be best if she died. This damn girl is as disgusting as her shameless mother. She relies on her seductive looks to lust after men at all costs. She is also a tough guy. You must not marry her..."

Although Mrs. Gu was thinking that in her heart, she still pretended to be charitable, looking at Xu Lanyin eagerly, as if she was worried about her.

Xu Lanyin wanted to slap this damned woman in the face. Back then, she had been so shameless as to try to curry favor with Qin, praising her son's virtues and showing her affection. After years of help from the Xu family and Qin, she now thought of Qin like this, even wanting to kill herself.

Xu Lanyin was an intellectual in her previous life and generally didn't swear. Now, she was completely disgusted by this black-hearted mother and son. She spat at the old woman and cursed softly, "Bah, your son is as shameless as you. He let you trick me into going to Sujiazhuang. Did he sleep with Miss Su and let me watch the fun? Let me tell you, even if the two of them were lying naked on the street and rolling around, or Miss Su gave him a son right away, I wouldn't be angry, let alone bang my head against the wall or jump into the river. Don't act so stupid, you bastard. It makes me sick. Also, I'm annoyed just looking at your shameless son. He can do whatever he wants with whoever he wants. I don't care." She said disdainfully, "Get out. Don't let me see your disgusting old face again."

Mrs. Gu didn't expect Xu Lanyin to say these words. She was so angry that she cursed in a hoarse voice, "You black-hearted and foul-mouthed girl, you damn whore, you dare to curse me and my son like that? I'll beat you to death." As she said that, she raised her hand and slapped Xu Lanyin.

Xu Lanyin dodged backwards and saw a few people running over to watch the fun. She asked sadly, "What? Gu Wangchen went to Sujiazhuang to meet Miss Su again? Even though I haven't read much, I know there are differences between men and women. He is a well-read scholar, and Miss Su is the daughter of a wealthy family. How could they do such shameless things? If you knew, why didn't you try to stop them? Instead, you made me make a scene. What's your intention? Gu Wangchen and I have been engaged for eight years. My family has always supported his studies, and even paid for his travels and friendships. Now that he has passed the imperial examination, he immediately goes off to meet a young lady from a wealthy family. This is outrageous... You are his mother, and you can't control it, so how can I? His legs are on his body, how can I stop him from going anywhere..."