Mo Lan returned to her small courtyard, where Grandma Jiang was sitting under the eaves doing needlework.

"Young Miss, you're finally back. The young master and son-in-law have come to ask about you several times." Granny Jiang put down her needlework, walked up to Mo Lan, and smiled with relief when she saw that Mo Lan looked well.

"Grandma, is there hot water?" Mo Lan looked at Grandma Jiang's eyes and felt that she was looking at someone else through her.

"Yes, this old servant will prepare it right away," Granny Jiang said, turning briskly towards the kitchen.

After taking a relaxing hot bath, Mo Lan lay back on the kang (a heated brick bed), while Hua Bao dried her hair. When it was almost half-dry, Hua Bao braided it into a loose fishtail braid that hung down her back.

Just then, Hua Yifei's voice rang out from the courtyard, "Has Miss returned?"

"Reporting to the young master, the eldest young lady just returned a short while ago." As Granny Jiang's voice rang out, Mo Lan had already reached the door.

"Father, elder brother," Mo Lan felt a warmth in her heart as she looked at their worried eyes.

"It's good that you're alright, but next time you go out, you're not allowed to go alone."

Hua Yifei finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his daughter return unharmed.

Hua Fengyu, standing to the side, looked at the girl with a languid expression, his handsome eyes filled with a hint of mockery, "Judging from the girl's expression, this trip to Ye County should be quite interesting."

Mo Lan did not deny Hua Fengyu's teasing.

"It's acceptable."

Thinking of the gift she had prepared, Mo Lan turned and went inside. When she came out, she was holding several books of humanities and miscellaneous writings.

"I brought it back on my way. If you like, take a look."

Looking at the four thread-bound books, Hua Fengyu's eyes flickered. He carefully picked up one of the books and flipped through it, a gleam in his eyes.

"Thank you for thinking of your brother, little sister. Then I won't stand on ceremony." With that, she immediately took the books and placed them next to her to avoid them getting splashed by the tea water.

Hua Yifei pursed his lips as he watched his daughter diligently preparing tea.

His daughter probably didn't have much money left. He would have to search through his savings again to see if he could spare some to help her out.

It's all his fault for being useless. Life in the mountain village is hard, and he always makes his daughter suffer.

Thinking of this, Hua Yifei felt a great sense of loss.

"Father, have some tea."

Mo Lan placed a cup of tea in front of her father. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but she thought she saw a faint sense of loss in Hua Yifei's eyes.

How could that be?

Mo Lan shook her head and placed another cup of tea in front of Hua Fengyu.

"Did anything interesting happen to you in Ye County, little sister?"

Hua Fengyu looked at the serene and composed girl in front of him. She was as quiet as a secluded orchid in a valley, elegant and serene. But he wondered if it was just his imagination. He could always see a hint of unruliness and casualness in her calm eyes.

There's also that untamed spirit that comes from the bone, which, although well concealed by her languid indifference, always reveals a hint of it from time to time.

Sometimes he wondered if his sister had been suppressed for too long, and that her sudden outburst allowed her hidden nature to be fully released.

She has completely shed her former cowardice and affectation; this is the real her now!

To be fair, he still liked the younger sister in front of him; there was no resentment or gloom in him.

Mo Lan didn't mind Hua Fengyu's probing. From the moment she arrived at the mountain stronghold, she had no intention of hiding herself.