After distributing the supernatural water to the three of them, Shen Xingmian finally had a chance to sit down and rest for a while.

They didn't know when the imperial decree would arrive, so they had to conserve their strength to prepare for the coming day.

Shen Xingmian searched through her memories and found that although this was a general's mansion, the population was not large.

Because my maternal grandfather had no brothers or sisters, and only two sons and one daughter, his family relationships were not complicated.

My maternal uncle, Shen Yunqi, and my cousin, Shen Zheng, were summoned back from the border and are still in prison. My mother wants to save them.

My maternal aunt, Mu Zhizhi, was at home with my cousin, Shen Xingyan. They were the ones who stayed by my maternal grandfather's bedside yesterday.

Second Uncle Shen Yunlan felt that it wasn't good for the whole family to be in the military. Given his father and eldest brother's way of doing things, any rewards would go to the soldiers, and the family would eventually starve.

So she chose to follow her second aunt, Lin Miao, who came from a merchant family, to do business everywhere, and rarely spent any time at home throughout the year.

Because of his elusive nature, he has not yet been caught.

The whole family supported their second uncle's decision, because if it weren't for his choice, the soldiers on the border probably wouldn't have had anything to eat or wear for winter.

Military pay was embezzled year after year, to the point where they could no longer afford food and clothing.

These nobles in the capital don't care about the lives of the soldiers on the border. When the Crown Prince was alive, they would try their best to help them, but now that the Crown Prince is gone...

Many female relatives of officials run shops, but most men enter officialdom through the imperial examinations. If a man gives up a promising career in government to go into business, he will be ridiculed.

Therefore, Shen Xingmian admired her second uncle for making such a decision.

Moreover, the second uncle wasn't interested in business from a young age. He learned martial arts from his father and brothers when he was young. It wasn't until he realized the problem and happened to meet his second aunt that he finally made a decision.

They rarely returned home, but silver and grain were sent to the border in cartloads without fail.

The reason the new emperor was so wary of the Shen family was because some people in the court were spreading the rumor that "the northern army has become the Shen family's private army."

But if the court were to pay salaries normally, why would my maternal grandfather and second maternal uncle have to do this?

In the end, it all became their family's fault. As a modern person who had studied history, she was very indignant about this.

If she hadn't coincidentally returned here with her spatial ability, it's easy to imagine what this family would have gone through.

He was persecuted all the way to exile, and even an iron body would not be able to withstand it. He also had to watch his elderly father suffer from poisoning, and he wanted to help but was powerless to do so.

What profound despair that must have been!

Shen Xingmian felt as if her heart was being torn apart just from thinking about that possibility.

Fortunately, she came.

When breakfast was ready, my aunt appeared with my cousin, dressed very simply and without any accessories.

But Shen Xingmian had excellent eyesight and noticed a tiny bit of gold peeking out from the fabric—gold thread hidden inside the clothes.

It seems they really are preparing well.

Both of them had already heard the news that Shen Xingmian was recovering. Her aunt held her hand, without saying a word, but tears were already welling up in her eyes.

She was a very graceful and beautiful woman. With tears in her eyes, she was exceptionally pitiful. Shen Yunting couldn't bear to look at her and hugged her tightly, saying with a smile, "Sister-in-law, don't be sad about the past. We still need to save our strength to face the future."

Upon hearing this, the aunt immediately wiped away her tears, nodded firmly, and then pulled her daughter behind her to her side, instructing her, "Yan'er, your sister just woke up, you must stay by her side and take care of her, okay?"

Shen Xingyan nodded immediately and gave Shen Xingmian a bright smile, which resembled her aunt Shen Yunting more than her mother.

Shen Xingmian had a good impression of the two of them. In her memory, even though she was mentally challenged, her aunt had never said a bad word to her. On the contrary, she took good care of her when the others in the family were busy.

My cousin is the same; she has a lively and cheerful personality. If it weren't for the fear that her mother would become sentimental if she were alone at home, she would prefer to follow her aunt to learn martial arts.

Because of her filial piety, the young girl patiently spent her time at home embroidering with her mother in addition to practicing martial arts.

How could Shen Xingmian not like such a loving family?

She doesn't plan to tell too many people about the secrets of the space for now, but she will never let them suffer.

The steward, accompanied by four men carrying the packed bundles, arrived at the dining hall and reported in a calm tone: "General, everything is packed. They are all personal belongings, sewn with gold thread and tucked with silver notes."

Huh? These people aren't surprised at all that Grandpa is standing here unharmed? Or did they already see him before I came back?

Furthermore, Shen Xingmian felt that this was likely a futile effort, as those people, having received instructions from the emperor, would probably not allow them to keep these things.

If it gets found out, they'll definitely get a lot of ridicule and mockery.

General Shen had also thought of this, and waved his hand, saying, "Don't give anyone something to talk about. Change to something cleaner. As for these packages, just leave them aside."

The butler hesitated, knowing that being found would cause trouble, but if he brought nothing... how would this family survive?

But he was used to following the general's orders, and after a slight hesitation, he immediately had someone put down the package and went to prepare again.

From an angle where no one else could see, Shen Xingmian secretly gave her grandfather a thumbs up, which made Shen Zhiheng feel a little smug.

Hey, his precious granddaughter praised him!

When the butler reappeared with the four men, shouts came from the main gate.

The person delivering the imperial decree arrived so early; they really couldn't wait.

Before the people rushed in, Shen Zhiheng said in a deep voice, "Those who wanted to leave have already been released. Since you are willing to come with us, my Shen family will certainly not let you down."

The men knelt down in unison, clasped their hands in a fist salute, and declared, "We swear to follow General Shen to the death!"

Luo Qi'an quickly stepped forward to help the man up, and said rapidly, "We must not let outsiders know that Father has woken up. We apologize for the hardship you all have endured on the journey."

The group nodded in unison.

After giving his instructions, Luo Qi'an strode to the front yard, while General Shen returned to his room and continued to feign poisoning.

No sooner had he settled down than a squad of soldiers rushed into the backyard.

Even though the outside had been firmly guarded by their people yesterday, and no one could escape, they still rushed in with great urgency.

Indeed, such opportunities to curry favor with the emperor's personal eunuch are not frequent occurrences.

Seeing the excitement on those people's faces, Shen Xingmian sneered inwardly.

Search away, let's see what you can find. Even the packages the housekeeper prepared beforehand have already been put into her space.

She was also a little puzzled. Even if it was still too early, there should have been some commotion about what happened last night, right?