Cai Damei raised her hand to interrupt the doctor, and looked at Ye Yunniang, "I'm thirsty, go get me a glass of water."

"Okay, I'll go right away." Ye Yunniang went to the kitchen, but the teapot was empty, so she boiled water again.

After boiling water, I poured it into a teapot and carried it into the main room, but the doctor was no longer there.

Cai Damei held the prescription in her hand.

"Mother, what did the doctor say? I'm not sick, am I? I'm perfectly healthy."

"The doctor said you've been working very hard lately. I had him prescribe some tonics," Cai Damei said, getting up to go outside and get the medicine.

"Mother, you're not feeling well, so stay home and rest. I'll go get the medicine." Ye Yunniang said, reaching out to take the prescription.

“No need.” Cai Damei dodged Ye Yunniang’s outstretched hand.

"Mother?" Ye Yunniang looked at Cai Damei, who was reacting very strongly, with a puzzled expression.

“The two children are still asleep inside. You stay here while I go get the medicine. I’ll be right back.” Without lingering, Cai Damei walked quickly outside.

Ye Yunniang chased after her to the door, but Cai Damei had already disappeared into the alley.

Cai Damei's behavior is strange?

"Never mind, I'll ask Mother when she gets back," Ye Yunniang murmured, turning back to clean the room.

After cleaning the house, Ye Yunniang took the dirty clothes to the backyard to wash them.

Back in the front yard, Cai Damei had already returned with her medicine bag and was brewing the medicine.

After the two bowls of medicine were brewed, Cai Damei placed one bowl in front of Ye Yunniang, indicating that she should drink the medicine.

After Cai Damei finished drinking her medicine, Ye Yunniang didn't touch it.

"Why aren't you taking your medicine? You'll feel better if you do."

Ye Yunniang stood up and knelt in front of Cai Damei. "Mother, I'm sorry. I don't want to take the medicine."

Cai Damei's expression changed.

"I was cleaning the room and found a discarded prescription on the floor," Ye Yunniang said, lowering her head.

Cai Damei grasped Ye Yunniang's hand, "You promised your mother."

“I promised Mother. I took the medicine, but…” Ye Yunniang touched her stomach.

The contraceptive soup was useless; the baby took root in his own belly.

It's been three months.

Ye Yunniang was ruthless the first time, but she couldn't bring herself to do it the second time.

"Mother, please let me keep him." Ye Yunniang crawled two steps on her knees and lay on Cai Damei's lap. "Mother, please."

“If you keep him, how much gossip will you face? We won’t have a peaceful life anymore.” Cai Damei didn’t want to be cruel, but life is hard for women, and even harder for widows like them.

"I'm not afraid. Mother, please let me keep him." Ye Yunniang pleaded.

"Leave him behind. What will happen to Pan'er? How will An'er live?" Ye Yunniang stopped crying at Cai Damei's question. After learning about the pregnancy, she hadn't thought about Li Pan and Li An.

She was already being selfish by keeping Ang Lee. She couldn't possibly leave another one behind without considering the consequences.

Ye Yunniang wiped away her tears, got up and sat back down at the table.

With trembling hands, he picked up the bowl of medicine on the table, closed his eyes, and poured it into his mouth.

Snap!

Cai Damei reached out and smashed the bowl.

Ye Yunniang looked at the broken bowl and shards on the ground, "Mother, you?"

"Stay," Cai Damei finally said, unable to bear it.

Having decided to keep the child, Cai Damei didn't hesitate. She discussed with Ye Yunniang how to minimize the harm caused by the child.

“The baby can’t be born in Wanxia Lane. I’ll go to the countryside and find a place to stay for a few months,” Ye Yunniang suggested.

“We don’t know anyone in the countryside, so we can’t guarantee our safety.” Cai Damei disagreed. What if something happens in an unfamiliar place?

"Where should we go?" Ye Yunniang pondered whether to go to the small courtyard that Jiang Mingzhe had given her.

The courtyard was too close to the dilapidated temple, and Ye Yunniang was afraid that the Jiang family would find out.

Before the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law could even reach an agreement, Cai Xiaomei provided a perfect excuse.

Cai Xiaomei brought over a letter, which was sent from her hometown of Lincheng.

The letter was written by Li Wenkuo, the village head of the village where the Li family lives.

Li Wenkuo had a very good relationship with Pan'er's grandfather, Li Liu. He was instrumental in Cai Damei's quick sale of her house and land.

The letter said that there had been torrential rains in their hometown recently. The graves of the Li family father and son were newly built. The rainstorms washed them away, and the coffins were found inside.

The coffin is currently placed in the Li family ancestral hall and needs to be reburied.

As the male member of the family, Li Pan had to be present for such an important event.

Li Wenkuo wrote a letter asking Cai Damei and her mother-in-law to take Li Pan back with them.

Upon hearing the contents of the letter, Cai Damei burst into tears.

Ye Yunniang handed over a handkerchief, "Mother, I'll go pack my things. Let's go back as soon as possible so that Brother Jun and Father can be buried soon."

"Big sister, when are you going back?" Although the two sisters had a big fight because of Wan Guiying, they were still sisters, and Cai Xiaomei was still worried about Cai Damei.

Cai Damei thought about the mess at home and said, "I'll leave in three days."

"I'll go back first and have Dongzi rent a horse-drawn carriage."

“No need to rent a car, I have a horse-drawn carriage.” Tie Xiong walked in. “Aunt Cai, I’ll take you back.”

Xiaomei didn't recognize Tiexiong, so she looked at Damei and said, "This is..."

“He is Tiexiong. Jun’er’s good brother in the army camp. It was thanks to his care that we, a widow and her orphan, were not bullied to death.” Cai Damei’s words reminded Cai Xiaomei of Wan Guiying.

After the argument that day, Cai Xiaomei calmed down and realized that she was in the wrong.

They just couldn't bring themselves to apologize in Wanxia Lane.

Fortunately, a letter from her hometown gave Cai Xiaomei an excuse to come over.

"Are you sending your older sister and the others back to their hometown in Lincheng?"

"I'd like to offer incense at Li Jun's grave," Tie Xiong said, revealing his thoughts. Of course, the deeper reason was that he was worried about the two women taking the two young children out.

Their group is clearly telling others that they are easy to scramble for.

“It will take more than half a month to get back. I don’t know how long I’ll have to stay at home,” Cai Damei worried that it would affect Tiexiong’s job.

"No problem," Tie Xiong assured him, patting his chest.

The result was quickly proven wrong.

"Lord Bao is going to Lincheng with us?" Cai Damei asked in surprise. Tie Xiong had promised to accompany them back. Only a day later, he'd become the Prefect?

Tie Xiong had no choice but to ask his superiors for leave.

After the adults asked him why he wanted to take leave, they refused. He said he was going to Lincheng and could take Cai Damei and the others back to their hometown on the way. He told Tiexiong not to worry.

Tie Xiong was even more worried, but he had no choice but to obey his master's orders.

“Aunt Cai, I have an urgent mission to take care of. My husband has to go to Lincheng, so I asked him to let you go with him. That way you can look after each other on the way.” Tie Xiong took the responsibility upon himself.

Cai Damei thought it sounded good; traveling with the prefect would ensure her safety.

Tie Xiong feared that Cai Damei and Ye Yunniang might be in danger on the road. He searched through Tie Yi's collection of hidden weapons and taught them how to use hidden arrows, ring needles, bracelet daggers, and daggers and hairpins stuck in their hair.

Ye Yunniang carefully put these away, and secretly prepared more than a dozen packets of chili powder.

Asking the Xu family to help look after the house, Cai Damei and Ye Yunniang, each carrying a child and a large bundle, arrived at the agreed-upon location—the farewell pavilion outside Jiangcheng.