"Sister will be back soon." Gu Xiaoran's appearance reminded Qiu Ling'er of the time more than a year ago when Gu Xiaoran was first rescued by her sister.

She remembered that her sister had made steamed egg custard.

She remembered that her sister said something, and Gu Xiaoran suddenly disappeared. In the end, her sister and Uncle Li searched for him for half the night before finally finding him.

Qiu Ling'er tucked the blanket around Gu Xiaoran, "Who is it that wants to hurt our Xiaoran?"

She wanted to avenge Xiaoran, but she also knew that her abilities were limited. "Don't be afraid, I will protect you."

"They're human traffickers." Gu Xiaoran was somewhat disappointed not to see Qiu Yan.

"Where's Lightning? Where's Master? Where's Aunt Zhu? Where have they all gone?"

He looked around but couldn't see his master and Zhu Juan, and became somewhat anxious.

“We’re all here.” At this moment, Zhu Juan entered. “Master has gone back to visit Madam, Wenqing, and Wenhan. Lightning is still resting.”

Li Zheng did not immediately take Xiao Ran back to the village because he felt that the village was not safe.

There were always shadows behind them.

Although he secretly dealt with most of them, quite a few still escaped.

"Aunt Zhu." Gu Xiaoran noticed the gauze on Zhu Juan's head at a glance, pouted, and looked very unhappy.

Zhu Juan: "It's just a little scratch, I'm fine." The young master was saddened by her condition, but she was relieved.

Gu Xiaoran lowered her head, looking somewhat sad.

"I'm going to check on the lightning." He jumped up, and Qiu Ling'er and Zhu Juan couldn't stop him.

Inside the side room, Lightning was curled up on a haystack, resting with his eyes closed.

It was covered with a floral quilt that Zhu Juan had sewn by hand.

Gu Xiaoran looked at its teeth and asked Zhu Juan beside her:

"Aunt Zhu, will Lightning's teeth fall out?"

Zhu Juan affirmed, "No, it won't be long before its teeth become stable."

"It seems very cold, Aunt Zhu, can you sew it a new coat?" Gu Xiaoran stroked Lightning's forehead with one hand. Lightning had followed him through many hardships.

"Hmm." Zhu Juan chuckled, imagining what Lightning would look like after getting dressed.

With a crisp creak, the sound of a door opening came from the courtyard.

"Mother's back!" Gu Xiaoran's ears twitched, and she dashed out of the house in a flash.

It was only then that they realized that Jiang Liu and her servant had returned together with Qiu Xu.

Jiang Liu had just come from Baiyang to pick up Qiu Xu and bring him back to Qingyun for a short stay.

With the entrance exam for the first-year students approaching, she wanted to help Ah Xu relax.

Jiang Liu pulled Gu Xiaoran closer with one hand.

"Xiao Ran, I brought you some pretty clothes, come with me."

Gu Xiaoran followed Jiang Liu blankly.

But in a blink of an eye, she saw He Lin, who had come all the way here, looking travel-worn.

"Uncle." Compared to before, Gu Xiaoran's face showed more joy when she saw He Lin again.

"Jin'er." He Lin was overjoyed and quickly pulled Gu Xiaoran into his arms.

He and Jiang Liu exchanged a glance.

The latter's expression changed slightly, and he immediately bent down.

He Lin clearly didn't know who Jiang Liu was; he nodded.

Just then, Zhan Yue asked from beside her, "Madam, what is your relationship with Miss Qiu?"

Jiang Liu bowed to Zhan Yue again and said truthfully, "I am Xiao Yan's second aunt."

Zhan Yue then asked, "Do you know where Miss Qiu went?"

“Xiaoyan went to do business,” Jiang Liu replied.

"Where do you do business?" Zhan Yue pressed.

Jiang Liu thought for a moment: "Xiao Yan didn't explain."

He Lin: "Really don't know?" The woman in front of him claimed to be Qiu Yan's second aunt, so there was no reason for her not to know Qiu Yan's whereabouts.