The living are almost dead, the dead are almost alive.

"They said you died?" Cousin looked Ye Qingzhou up and down, and even used his hand to check her breath.

It's breathing. It's alive.

My cousin then exclaimed "Oh dear!" and casually sat down in the official's hat chair in the guest section. It was his first time there, but he greeted everyone with practiced ease, "Girls, bring tea! Third Master is here!"

Pumpkin glanced at Ye Qingzhou.

Ye Qingzhou said, "Let's serve tea!"

Pumpkin served the tea himself, then stood aside.

My cousin picked up his teacup, half-pushed the lid off, and savored the aroma of the tea.

My cousin's wife sized up the pumpkin; it was a somewhat unfamiliar face, and the man was young and strong. Her eyes darted around the hall from left to right, marking things as if she were marking them.

She thought it through before speaking: "Sister! How can a woman like you stand on her own two feet? Look at you, burned to the ground, hated by everyone. Look who's so wicked! A perfectly healthy person, turned into a dead one. How are you going to live like this?"

Ye Qingzhou sat in the main seat and took a sip of the nourishing soup prescribed by Doctor Wang: "Everything is difficult at the beginning. Once you get past the beginning, you can just do whatever you need to do."

There's more trouble to come. Ye Qingzhou thought to himself.

Although there are many things to do, the thought that I can earn my own living makes me feel at ease.

My cousin's wife smiled and said, "Sister! We know you've worked hard! We came over here overnight to support you and protect this family business."

"That's right!" Ye Laosan and his wife echoed each other. When the tea was finished, the one who had been standing over there came over to refill it.

Seeing his cousin's arrogant attitude, Ye Qingzhou just smiled and shook his head helplessly. Relying on others is futile; people will always leave. It's best to rely on yourself!

"You don't believe me? Do you know that it's all over our hometown of Fengcheng?" my cousin-in-law said.

"Who are you talking about?" Ye Qingzhou asked.

"I'm talking about you! I'm talking about how you lost your baby. You were so angry that you even caused Yu Xi's sister and her unborn child to die."

"She... miscarried? That can't be right. She's always jumping around at my doorstep when she has nothing better to do." Ye Qingzhou said in surprise.

"We heard about this too. That's why we were worried about you!" my cousin-in-law said earnestly.

My cousin slapped his thigh, as if remembering something important: "There's a saying, 'A person dies before they spend their money.' Girl, you have a lot of money, lend me some. I'm not comfortable with other people scamming you out of your money. It's better to give it to me; it's better to keep the good stuff in the family."

After much beating around the bush, she finally got to the point, and her cousin-in-law's face lit up with joy: "Sister! Look, you've lost your baby, and you only have a maidservant by your side. A maidservant only costs a few dollars, right? Could you give us 1,000 taels of silver? 800 taels would be fine too. My eldest son is already 15 this year, and he's getting engaged."

"1000 taels? Sister-in-law! I grow wheat, not silver. I do honest work, not shady work. How could you possibly come up with so much money all at once?" 1000 taels made Ye Qingzhou furious.

"1000 taels? No? Then 800 taels, 800 taels, you don't have any of that, do you?" Cousin leaned forward, staring intently at Ye Qingzhou.

“How could there not be? Yes! My sister is incredibly capable! I heard that Jiang the Second, the grain merchant of the Jiang family, has a very special relationship with Boss Ye! You two, hmm? That Boss Jiang is so rich, of course he'd be eager to give my sister money.” My cousin smiled knowingly.

"What does his money have to do with me?" Ye Qingzhou said defiantly, but she felt a little uneasy inside. She clutched a handkerchief in her hand and rubbed her stomach a couple of times.

My belly seems to have gotten a little bigger. The doctor said I should avoid strenuous activity and rest more.

"Really not?" my cousin-in-law asked.

"How could this be?" Ye Qingzhou sighed.

“We’ve come all this way. And this is what you’re doing? That guy, who’s so good at getting things done, didn’t he really give you anything? Not even a thread? He showed no sincerity at all. Why bother with him?” My cousin frowned.

"I don't want it." Ye Qingzhou directly dashed his hopes.

"You're being foolish!" My cousin was so angry that he pushed his teacup aside.

"Others get married like corrupt officials, lining their own pockets. But you're different, sister. You're an honest official, you don't take a single needle or thread from the people." The cousin-in-law gave Ye Qingzhou a sarcastic look and took a sip of her herbal tea.

"Tell me, how did you end up running into Yu Xi, who's so greedy, and Jiang Lao Er, who's so stingy?" My cousin smashed his empty glass.

"Brother, can you please stop mentioning Yu Xi? Just hearing his name makes me feel nauseous." Ye Qingzhou rubbed her stomach; she felt a little nauseous.

"What's wrong with you? Are you hungry?" Ye Laosan turned his head and pointed at the pumpkin: "How can you serve your master like this? So young, and you have no sense of propriety at all! Set out the meal! Chicken, duck, fish, and meat. Give your master a good meal."

A series of light footsteps hurried into the front hall, interrupting everyone.

"Master! Master! Knife! Knife! Knife!" The male servant pointed towards the door.

Chonghua and Pumpkin rushed forward to protect Ye Qingzhou.

Ye Qingzhou helped the two of them to their feet: "Who chopped at the door?"

"An old lady! An old lady surnamed Yu! And a bunch of people following her." The male servant was extremely flustered, and his hands were trembling.

Ye Qingzhou whispered a few words to Pumpkin, then took Chonghua to the gate.

When Ye Laosan and his wife saw that no one was around, they followed.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The wooden gate was being hacked at with a knife.

"Ye Qingzhou! Open the door! You don't dare, do you? No man will protect you! Let's see how long you can hide!" After many days, Yu's mother was still healthy, able to do chores, and her scolding was quite persuasive.

"You surnamed Yu! Give me back my grandson!" an old man cursed.

"Come out here!"

"She wouldn't dare!"

"Leaf Turtle!"

The Yu family and Yu Yue's in-laws were all there, hurling insults. The more they cursed, the more enthusiastic they became, using the most offensive language imaginable.

"Holy shit! You son of a bitch!"

"You bastard surnamed Ye, eat my shit!"

"Fuck! Lick my... XX..."

With a creak, the door opened.

Ye Qingzhou held a long sword, which was wide and long, and its blade gleamed with a cold light.

The commotion outside the door instantly fell silent. The once bustling and heated scene sobered up the moment they saw Leng Jian.

Ye Qingzhou gripped his longsword and thrust it straight out from inside the door!

The moment the door opened, Yu's mother stepped back. Upon seeing the long sword and the eight burly men behind her wielding kitchen knives, she immediately plunged into the crowd behind her.

Who isn't afraid of death? The crowd surged backward like a tide. If it weren't for the onlookers blocking the way on both sides, they would have all slipped away.

She stopped after descending three steps.

Dozens of people were intimidated by her cold face and the sharp sword she wielded.

“Just now, I clearly heard,” Ye Qingzhou said, pointing his sword at the crowd, and everyone who saw the sword bowed their heads: “someone said that food is something that comes from the cycle of the five grains.”

Inside the door, Ye Laosan pressed himself against the wall and whispered to his wife, "What is the 'reincarnation of the five grains'?"

This woman is not to be trifled with! We misjudged her. She's not some kitten to be petted; she's a tiger descending from the mountain! His wife also peeked out from the corner, staring at the fierce-looking Ye Qingzhou, not daring to say a word.

"Why are you poking my butt?" Ye Laosan asked, puzzled.

His wife rolled her eyes and whispered, "Shit! It's shit!"

"Huh? Oh!" Old Ye continued watching the show.

Outside the door, all was quiet; not a single sound was uttered.

Ye Qingzhou's once charming and smiling face was now filled with sneers and mockery: "Who shouted? My family has plenty of outhouses. I'll take him downstairs to use some."

The crowd fell silent; some even shook their heads.

"Not going to eat?" Ye Qingzhou, sword in hand, swept his gaze over the crowd, his eyes flashing with a fierce light. "If you haven't eaten anything filthy, then watch your mouth! Otherwise, I'll chop it clean for you!"

This time, some people actually nodded in agreement.

Seeing Nangua approaching with his constables from afar at the alley entrance, Ye Qingzhou sheathed his longsword, and the men behind him followed suit, sheathing their kitchen knives.

"Those who are watching the spectacle, go home!" the yamen runner shouted from afar as he saw so many people gathered.

Upon seeing the bailiffs, Yu's mother threw down her kitchen knife and ran over, shouting, "Lord Qingtang! Please do justice for my daughter! She was caused to miscarry by that man surnamed Ye!"

Inside the Ye residence, Yu Xiaohong followed Chonghua out. She shouted at the constable, "Sir! No! She tried to harm others but ended up harming herself! I have evidence!"

Ye Qingzhou smiled at her. With witnesses and evidence in hand, this was the source of her confidence today.

Following procedure, the yamen runners took away everything that was supposed to be taken away.

In the afternoon, after Ye Qingzhou finished her nap, Chonghua leaned close to her ear with a grin and said, "Miss! Master Ye and the other two have left."

Ye Qingzhou blinked, signaling her to continue.

Chonghua sat on the embroidered stool by the bed and laughed, "The two of them were strolling around when they saw the servants feeding the chickens. They said they couldn't eat for free, so they had to help. The servants left for a while, and the two of them fed all the chickens to death. Then they said it was a pity, so they helped kill the chickens, and they broke the pot in the process. The kitchen gave them some money."

Ye Qingzhou turned to the side, closed his eyes, and sighed, "Is it destroyed?"

"After we put out the fire, we found that the two of them had slipped away."

Ye Qingzhou sighed deeply and remained silent for a long time.

Why is the girl so sleepy these days? Chonghua whispered in Ye Qingzhou's ear, "Brother Li Qi went to inquire and found out that Yu Yue's in-laws want to divorce her. Yu's mother made a scene for a long time, and Yu Yue's in-laws paid a lot of money before leaving without Yu Yue."

Ye Qingzhou finally opened her eyes and whispered to Chonghua for a while.

In the evening, Ye Qingzhou read for a while, remembering the doctor's words, and then got up and walked around a bit.

With a loud bang, Chonghua opened the door and exclaimed joyfully, "Girl! Just like you said, throw the dead, plucked chicken on Mother Yu's window, then splash some chicken blood on it. Brother Li Qi pretended to be a ghost there, shouting, 'Poison! Poison! I died so tragically!' Mother Yu screamed so loudly that everyone for miles around could hear it! It was awful!"

Ye Qingzhou handed her a cup of tea and then picked up the book: "It's not that the dead are brought back to life, it's that she has a guilty conscience."

Chonghua took two sips: "Mother Yu screamed for an hour, running up and down the inn like a madwoman, disturbing the whole street. Later, she was slapped a few times by Yu Xi before she shut up."

"Yu Xi?" Ye Qingzhou dropped the book in her hand. "Why did he come out early?"