Old Lady Yun naturally understood what Madam Hu meant and repeatedly replied, "Yes, yes, there will be plenty of opportunities." She then looked at Qin Yu, "Is the young master your sister's son?"

"That's right, Yu-ge'er, come and greet your aunt."

"Greetings, Aunt. Thank you for your care in the past. I will definitely be more filial to you in the future."

When Grandma Yun heard this, she was overjoyed, as if she had already enjoyed the tea from her son-in-law. Her smile was so bright and cheerful.

Madam Hu was overjoyed. The moment she saw Old Lady Yun, she felt an instant connection with the woman. Upon seeing Yun Ruochun, she realized that this young lady was exactly the kind of daughter-in-law she had in mind. She liked her very much. What was even more coincidental was that this was the woman her son had fallen for. Why not?

"What are you picking out, sister? Is there some happy occasion in the family?"

"Sister Chun hasn't even started looking for a husband yet, so there's no happy occasion in the family. We just earn some copper coins from our business and help the villagers prepare some festive items. Right now, we're choosing the style of wedding quilts and clothes."

"I'll help you choose too."

The two huddled together, whispering amongst themselves, something Qin Yu had no interest in knowing for the time being, let alone Yun Ling, who was almost finished eating the melon.

Qin Yu stood beside Yun Ling, took out a banknote from his pocket, and said softly:

"Hey, you little brat, I'll give you a hundred strings of cash, will you do me a favor?"

Yunling immediately raised her hand and replied nonchalantly:

"I'll return this hundred strings of cash to you and even give you an extra hundred strings. Don't come looking for trouble with me."

They really are wealthy and powerful when it comes to doing business.

Qin Yu suddenly felt the hundred strings of cash in his hand were burning hot. He didn't know whether to hold it or put it back in his pocket. After hesitating for a while, he simply sat down next to Yun Ling.

"You knew my identity all along, didn't you? Brother Jie said so, didn't he?"

Yunling nodded.

"You didn't tell your aunt my identity, and you even sent her to a private school to learn to read, just so she would be more comfortable when she comes to our house in the future, right?"

Yunling shook her head.

"You're overthinking it. I didn't mean that. I just wanted the girls in the house to be able to read and write like the boys."

Qin Yu understood. This person was pretending to be confused when he knew perfectly well. He knew Qin Yu was in a hurry, but he deliberately made him anxious. He didn't understand why such a clever and cunning person had to be born into this honest family.

Having no other option, Qin Yu continued to press for answers:

"Then why didn't you tell your aunt my identity?"

"Why would I tell Aunt your identity? I'm not just doing this for fun. Besides, who knows if Aunt is in love with you or not? If she isn't, wouldn't telling her just add to her troubles?"

Qin Yu was completely at a loss now. This person wasn't easy to fool at all, so he had no choice but to lower his stance.

"Grandma, I'm begging you. I love Chunniang and want to marry her according to the traditional rites and grow old with her. However, my identity might displease her, so I thought I'd let her work as a female constable first, so she can try to understand us from a different perspective and not be afraid of us."

Yunling sensed the change in Qin Yu's attitude and was therefore willing to speak to him politely.

"Does the county government hire female constables?"

“No, but Father said that if Chunniang can do something that convinces people, he will make an exception and accept her as a female constable.”

Yunling had to exert a great deal of effort to control the urge to roll her eyes. They wanted her aunt to be a female constable, but they also wanted her aunt to do things that earned her respect and respect before she could become one.

She suddenly realized that what the madam had said about her was quite reasonable in this context: wanting to have one's cake and eat it too, wanting to marry off her son, and being obsessed with saving face.

And what would her aunt possibly do to gain the people's approval? Did she really intend to go up the mountain and drunkenly fight a tiger? Or perhaps she would try to recruit the river bandits and capture the notorious thieves alive?

That's not realistic!

Yunling sighed and waved her hand, saying, "This is too difficult. Let's just forget about it. You don't want my aunt to suffer, right?"

Qin Yu was unwilling to let it go so easily, and quickly said:

“This matter can still be discussed. I remember that Huai Ge’er once raided a human trafficker’s den. He was only eleven years old at the time, and the county yamen runners all admired him very much.”

"How did Young Master Lu manage to raid the human trafficking den?"

"He made prior arrangements with the yamen runners, then acted as bait to be abducted by human traffickers and put on a carriage. He also marked the route and managed to take on three strong men single-handedly."

Yunling couldn't help but rub her forehead. She recalled the scene back then. Lu Yinghuai was chewing on a foxtail grass and was quite roguish. He was nothing like the gentle and refined person he is now.

There were no outsiders in the carriage at that time, and his roguishness was probably his true nature. His current gentle and refined demeanor is probably just an act!

Like a big gray wolf in sheep's clothing, or rather, a big fox in sheep's clothing, he's not pure of heart; she'd better be careful.

Seeing that Yun Ling remained silent, Qin Yu had no idea that her thoughts had wandered so far. He assumed that Yun Ling was worried about Yun Ruochun's safety, so he continued to persuade her:

"Don't worry, if Chunniang really goes to raid the human traffickers' den, I will follow her secretly and won't let her get hurt in the slightest."

We'll see.

"No, Grandma, just give it a try. What if Chunniang wants to? She has superhuman strength, and she wants to use this talent wisely, not want others to look at her strangely, right?"

Qin Yu's words, "What if Chunniang wants to?" sent a shiver down Yun Ling's spine. In her memory, Yun Ruochun, aside from not wanting to marry someone her mother had arranged, had always seemed obedient, agreeing to whatever she said.

Just like when she asked her to attend class, she agreed; when she was asked to go up the mountain, she agreed; when she was asked to cut down trees, she agreed…

Seeing that Yunling was wavering, Qin Yu continued:

"Think about it again. You have four young women in your family, some of whom are in business, and others are thinking about becoming doctors. As for her, you are so heartless as to let her watch you all get better and better while she stays in the same place. How heartbroken she must be."

These words struck a chord with Yunling, causing her an indescribable heartache.

"I'll give it a try."

Qin Yu was incredibly excited when Yun Ling agreed. He could even imagine Yun Ruochun standing in front of him in her constable uniform.

**

The next day, Yunling retrieved the plus-size panty pattern from Bingniang, but instead of heading to the brothel immediately, she carried a basket and invited Yun Ruochun up the mountain.

The two walked up the mountain along the path they used to take as children. Yunling walked behind Yun Ruochun as always, as if this would take them back to that time in the past.

"Ling'er, why did you suddenly decide to come up the mountain today?"

"I wanted to gather some medicinal herbs. I remember when I was little, I would follow my aunt up the mountain like this."