Xu Yuxian's eyes were filled with terror, but she forced herself to remain calm and said in a low voice, "Master, the curse of the Nie family has come true!"

Du Baolin's heart skipped a beat: "Nonsense! Don't believe such nonsense!"

Despite her lingering pain, Xu Yuxian sat up abruptly, grabbed Du Baolin's hand, and said, "Since I came back, I've been missing my family, but I've been holding back my longing. I happened to run into a cotton-fluffing couple and casually asked them a few questions. I never expected my sister-in-law to be so resourceful; she got the news in such a short time and even came knocking on our door..."

Jiang Zhi was unaware that a huge accusation had been leveled against her, making her the one who had actively provoked trouble.

Du Baolin had no interest in these trivial matters. His brows furrowed even more: "I told you before not to contact your family, why didn't you listen! What does this have to do with what Nie said?"

Xu Yuxian glanced around cautiously, as if afraid of being overheard, and said furtively, "Does Master know what has happened to my family all these years in order to raise that brat?"

Du Baolin then remembered that he should inquire about the Xu family, and casually asked, "What could it be? The ten taels of silver you sent back is enough to raise the child. Do you think they want money?"

It would have been better if money hadn't been mentioned, but as soon as it was, Xu Yuxian shuddered: "Ten taels of silver, just these ten taels of silver. After we left, my brother came looking for me and was beaten up. The medicine he needed cost ten taels. Tell me, isn't this the curse that Nie Shi was cursing because she was unwilling to die?"

And my eldest nephew, that little brat, as soon as he was sent back, my eldest nephew drowned. He's a jinx, a jinx!

Xu Yuxian finally spoke up for her family, tears streaming down her face as if they were free.

How much of those tears were genuine repentance, and how much were a ploy to gain a man's pity, only she herself knew.

Upon hearing this, Du Baolin's lips twitched, but his expression remained unchanged. After a moment of silence, he said, "The Nie family died of anger. What does it have to do with you and me? Besides, that child has already been raised."

Despite saying that, Xu Yuxian's expression remained unchanged, still fearful: "What if it really is!"

Although eighteen years have passed, she still clearly remembers Nie lying on the bed with blood soaking through the bedding.

Her face was as pale as gold leaf, her breath weak, yet she pointed at herself and said clearly, "I, Nie Qian, cast this curse with my life: if my son, Nie Fantian, dies young, I will surely transform into a vengeful ghost from the netherworld and haunt you, Xu Xiaolan, for the rest of your life, causing you nightmares every night and constant fear, and causing all your children to die young!"

Lady Nie is dead!

She discovered that her wet nurse had actually been involved with Du Baolin for a long time, and had even given birth to their daughter a month earlier than her.

While pregnant, Nie was still managing her business and was so angry that she suffered a stroke. She hadn't been taking good care of her pregnancy, and in her rage, she went into miscarriage and suffered a severe hemorrhage.

Although Nie was an only child, her parents were still alive. When they arrived from their ancestral home in Jincheng, six days had passed, and all they found were the corpses and the baby girl that were about to be buried.

The baby girl was Du Yunyan, born to Xu Xiaolan.

After Nie passed away, according to the marriage agreement, if she gave birth to a son, he would belong to the Nie family, and Nie's family property and shops would also belong to the son.

She gave birth to a daughter who would belong to Du Baolin; half of her family property would be given as dowry, and the other half would be left to Du Baolin.

There is a difference between a one-month-old baby and a six-day-old baby, but Du Yunyan was premature and had been tampered with.

The elderly couple were devastated by the loss of their beloved daughter and fainted several times, so they didn't have the energy to look closely.

In order to preserve the family fortune, Du Baolin had already taken care of the people around Nie Shi. The elderly couple did not find anything wrong and accepted the situation.

With the curse of the Nie family still in effect, Du Baolin and Xu Xiaolan felt guilty and couldn't let anything happen to the child. So they could only say that Nie Fantian was Xu Yuxian's biological son and send him to the Xu family so that the maternal family could take good care of him.

And so Nie Fantian became a country boy, while Du Yunyan, as the daughter of the Nie family, enjoyed the treatment of a young lady.

Du Baolin was very good at saving face.

He still considered himself a son-in-law, taking great care of the two elders of the Nie family, showing concern for their well-being, providing medical care and medicine, and saying that he would take care of them until their death.

Having a granddaughter by their side to comfort their grief over losing their only child, Nie's parents were grateful to Du Baolin. With the help of the Nie family, Du Baolin quickly gained control of the cloth shop business.

Although they had kept this matter a secret for eighteen years without any problems, the two of them started to feel uneasy again now that the old story had been brought up again.

This matter definitely needs to be addressed. Now that her sister-in-law has found Xu Yuxian, she will definitely go back and talk to her.

If the child doesn't know and just thinks he's Xu Yuxian's son, that's fine. But if he becomes suspicious and asks the Nie family in Jincheng, then all his hard work over the past twenty years will have been for nothing.

Du Baolin thought for a moment and said, "Since we've already raised him, let's just say he's your nephew from your mother's side and bring him back to find him a job."

Xu Yuxian refused: "Master, I pity my family... Now my brother is dead, my parents are dead, and my sister-in-law hates me for giving away a child for nothing. She brought people to beat me up, and now I am in pain all over and cannot move."

"This is all that jinx's fault! And you, you even gave him a job. Are you going to give him half of my son's inheritance later?"

Du Baolin's previously tense face suddenly broke into a smile: "Yuxian, you've worked hard all these years. Tomorrow, I'll have someone make you a new set of jewelry and add some more dowry for Yan'er!"

It's better for women to be a little foolish. If Madam Nie hadn't been so opinionated and kept the shop so tightly under her control, she wouldn't have ended up with Xu Yuxian, who was still married at the time.

He liked Xu Yuxian's cunning, which she considered herself shrewd but was actually not smart at all.

After saying all that, what I really want is jewelry and silver.

Sure enough, the fear on Xu Yuxian's face faded, and she wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief: "Then we should also increase the monthly allowance for Xu'er and Yang'er, and add another maid to serve them."

This time, Du Baolin answered readily: "You don't need to worry. The two children are studying at school now, and they have servants to take care of them."

Xu Yuxian married Du Baolin, a son-in-law, under the guise of being the wet nurse of a young lady, and gave birth to two sons two years later.

Now, apart from the eldest daughter Du Yunyan who is about to get married, the other two children are both smart and clever, and are currently studying at school. They are also Du Baolin's favorites, and he has always kept them by his side.

As for Nie Fantian, who was sent to Xujia Village, he was not a son, but a rival who wanted to compete with him for the property.

If it weren't for Nie's words, this child wouldn't have survived.

After calming Xu Yuxian down, Du Baolin called over Ma Gan Niang to inquire about what had happened again.

It's not that he doesn't trust his woman, it's just that he doesn't trust what she says. There's been no news from the Xu family for years, so why would they suddenly come looking for him?

He heard the whole story from Ma Gan Niang, and it turned out that Xu Yu Xian had indeed gone out of her way to cause trouble.

Madam Ma's face was bruised and scabbed by Qin Shi. She gritted her teeth and said hatefully, "Master, Madam saw that shrew a few times in the city and wanted to know about her family."

We happened to meet a couple from Xujia Village who were doing cotton carding, so we found them in that abandoned courtyard and asked them about village affairs.

Unexpectedly, these country folk were dishonest, speaking sarcastically to the lady. We asked them only a few questions before they left…

Madam Ma chattered on and on, recounting the whole story in detail. She spoke with such emotion that she didn't notice the change in the master's expression when she said "country folks are dishonest": "Master, not only were my wife and I beaten for no reason, but we were also extorted for fifty taels of silver. You must come and get justice for us!"

She didn't mention Nie Fantian. As a close old servant, she had done part of what her master had done, so she naturally knew how to say it.