Jiang Zhi arranged for Qin Shi and Liu Shi to be undercover agents while drinking tea, and then led Wang Xiaoju and Pi Shi straight to Qiaozhenfang.

In a secluded courtyard in the county town, Xu Yuxian had already gotten up early and was directing two servants to clean the courtyard.

"What are you doing? I told you that when sweeping, you should first pick up the fallen leaves and grass roots by hand, and then use a small broom to clean up the dust little by little. You are not allowed to use a big broom."

The servant responsible for sweeping muttered, "Why are there so many rules about sweeping? Don't they find it troublesome?"

He complained, but still obediently squatted on the ground and pulled off the tender tips of the newly sprouted grass with his hands.

Just then, Ma Gan Niang came in from outside, looked at the servants pulling weeds, waved her hand and said, "Alright, tidy up these things, no need to sweep the floor today."

Upon hearing this, the two servants picked up dustpans and brooms and left. The floor was swept every day, so there was no dust at all. The lady was just deliberately making things difficult for them.

After everyone had left, Ma Gan Niang said to Xu Yuxian, "Why are you panicking? Before, you were uneasy because you saw your sister-in-law, and now you're uneasy because you know about the Xu family. You're just making trouble for yourself."

Xu Yuxian frowned slightly, a look of melancholy on her well-maintained face, which was over thirty years old and had not a single wrinkle: "I was thinking about how heartbroken my parents must be after Da Ruisi died. Why couldn't my sister-in-law be more careful? She can't even take good care of a child."

Ma Gan Niang's thin face was full of disdain, even when she looked at Xu Yuxian: "Country folks... are crude! With the children you sent back, if one dies, it's just one more, and your brother and sister-in-law won't suffer any loss."

"As for you, one minute you're terrified, the next you're eagerly asking around, like you're blinded by greed and afraid of getting into trouble. Since you care so much about the Xu family, send someone to fetch the two elders over."

Upon hearing that she was going back to Xujia Village to pick up the person, Xu Yuxian shook her head repeatedly, and the trace of worry and melancholy on her face disappeared instantly: "They don't understand anything, they will only blame me for what I did wrong back then. The eldest young lady's marriage is the most important thing, we can talk about everything after the wedding."

The two talked without any restraint, not caring at all about the fact that they had met Xu Genbao and were worried about being confronted.

The reason is simple: that cotton-ginning courtyard was part of Ms. Nie's dowry and had long been abandoned. It was only recently that people were hired from the street to temporarily clean it up.

Even if the people from Xujia Village found it, all they would see was an abandoned courtyard.

Besides, since I didn't show my face, those two juniors weren't sure if it was me or not.

Nearly twenty years have passed, and the neighbors around me have changed again and again; I've forgotten all the people and things that happened.

The main reason Xu Yuxian dared to return to the city and take the initiative to find her family was her understanding of her maternal family.

My older brother is gentle and doted on by our parents. No matter how big a mistake he makes, he can get over it after crying for a while.

There was only his sister-in-law left, and she had never won against him in their past arguments.

But this behavior of both provoking and hiding was something that neither Ma Gan Niang nor Xu Yu Xian herself understood.

She touched a pomegranate hairpin by her temple, her mind filled with complex and unsettling thoughts.

She knew what she was doing, and she knew she had to avoid her family, but deep down she had a sliver of hope that her family would come looking for her.

If they really come looking for me, it would only cost a dozen or so taels of silver, and I could let my family see how successful I am now.

To struggle half a lifetime and not be able to return home in glory is like wearing fine clothes in the dark, even more painful than buying new clothes but not being able to look in the mirror.

If Jiang Zhi knew what she was thinking, she would definitely say: "With such a small amount of cunning, you still want to cause trouble? You can't keep a dog's belly full of hot oil; you can't stand not to spill it out."

Xu Yuxian was still oblivious to what was happening, but Jiang Zhi had already led a group of people to find the woman who was always wandering the streets and chattering her teeth.

The group immediately went to a nearby restaurant, ordered a few dishes, and chatted while they ate.

The "know-it-all" took a sip of wine, his face flushed, but when he heard that the question was about Miss Du, he pondered for a while and thought about it several times before finally revealing the story of Miss Du's second wife.

The truth is, she had information about half the city in her head, and she needed to process the data before she could ask any questions.

The gossip, gesturing wildly, spoke with great enthusiasm: "The Du family left more than ten years ago. They only came back to live here for a year because their eldest daughter was getting married. They told outsiders it was their old house, but it was actually a rented house... The first wife died of postpartum tuberculosis after giving birth to the eldest daughter, and it was this second wife who raised her with her own milk..."

Wang Xiaoju interjected, "How could a second wife have milk? What about her child?"

"The gossip" covered his mouth and laughed: "That second wife was actually a wet nurse hired by someone else. It's said that she was kicked out by her husband's family after her child died."

Unfortunately, the mistress of the household died of postpartum tuberculosis. The master and his first wife were deeply in love, and the master felt sorry for the young lady who had grown up without a mother. Since the wet nurse treated the child as her own, he took her in as his second wife.

Jiang Zhi frowned deeply as she listened to this utterly chaotic mess.

The power struggles within the household in male-oriented novels are so simple and brutal that even an affair with a mistress only requires the excuse of "having breastfed a child".

The story was so melodramatic and bizarre that Wang Xiaoju and Pi Shi listened with great interest, but Jiang Zhi didn't quite believe it.

How could such private matters be known to others, and they even described them in such detail, as if she had personally made the bed and folded the quilts when the master of the house was having an affair?

However, from the gossip, Jiang Zhi got the information she wanted most: the Du family was now living in Qingliu Lane and preparing their eldest daughter's dowry.

Having the address was enough, Jiang Zhi thanked the "know-it-all" and was about to leave.

"The gossip" emptied the remaining crispy peanuts and spicy broad beans from the table into his pocket, and said happily, "Sister-in-law is kind and generous. If you ever need anything, just come to me."

Back in the abandoned courtyard, Jiang Zhi found Liu, who was waiting anxiously, and said, "Sister Liu, I've found that slut's place. We'll go and arrest her right away."

When Errui's mother called her sister-in-law a "bitch," the kind-hearted Liu Shi did not react unusually.

Sitting in the teahouse, she felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, and her ears couldn't find any peace and quiet.

The two women from the Eight Gods' family were quite conspicuous sitting in the teahouse early in the morning. People coming and going would stare at them several times, and they could hear Qin Shi nagging incessantly.

Qin kept talking about how Lan Xiaogu was pampered at home, and how she was in the city but watched helplessly as her own brother was beaten.

She abandoned her one-month-old baby, leaving her parents to carry her around the village begging for milk. Her young nephew drowned while she was working in the fields. These are all her sins.

Liu was most fond of the children, and she knew these things even if Qin didn't say them. She just sighed and said, "I have to find out what Xiaolan is really thinking!"

Upon hearing that they had found the address, the group became excited and immediately headed straight for Qingliu Lane.

Abandoning their busy farm work to do this lousy thing, everyone was seething with anger, walking briskly down the street, with an air of wanting to slap any passing dog.

When you arrive at Qingliu Lane, it's easy to ask about the Du family; they have a black lacquered gate and a pair of stone door knockers.

Wang Xiaoju stepped forward and banged on the door repeatedly. A moment later, a servant came and opened it.

Jiang Zhi asked, "Excuse me, is this the Du family who returned from Jincheng and are preparing the dowry for their eldest daughter?"

The doorman looked puzzled: "Which shop are you from? Why are you all women?"

Jiang Zhi knew she hadn't gone to the wrong place, and waved her hand: "This is the place, smash it in!"

Qin pushed open the bewildered doorman's door and rushed to the front, shouting, "Lan, your sister-in-law Qin is here! Come out and greet her!"