However, the female supporting character Lin Erhua, with her greedy personality, wanted to marry Duan Heng and become a prince's consort. She listened to the words of other female supporting characters who admired the fourth prince, and out of jealousy for Jiang Lingya, she made many harmless little schemes, which angered the sycophants who liked the female lead and also earned the male lead's dislike. Although the male lead hated this pretentious and wicked Lin Erhua, he also knew that Lin Erhua was his savior.

So we still protect her.

However, this possibility gave Lin Erhua more illusions, making her mistakenly believe that the male lead liked her. So she not only did not restrain herself but also became more pretentious. As a result, the male lead, who had regained his memories, disliked her and gave her a thousand taels of silver to drive her out of the capital.

If that were all, it would be fine, but what the male lead didn't expect was that as soon as Lin Erhua left the capital, the male supporting characters who admired the female lead snatched the silver from her hand, broke one of her legs, and threw her into the wilderness.

In the end, Lin Erhua starved to death.

There was no food in the dark forest, and terrifying animal sounds filled the air, scaring Lin Erhua so much that she dared not move an inch. Her wounds were still throbbing with pain, but Lin Erhua starved to death amidst this intense pain and fear.

Qingyin opened her eyes and recalled the feeling of death in her previous life. Her body seemed to still be reacting violently and trembling from that pain.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm here."

Qingyin soothed the lingering fear in the body, and after a minute, the body finally calmed down.

Qingyin knew that the owner of this emotion had completely left.

The Lin family had just finished eating, and Qingyin wasn't in a hurry to go back. Anyway, going back meant washing the dishes. Qingyin didn't hate washing dishes, but she didn't want to wash dishes for a family that exploited their daughter and favored sons over daughters.

Qingyin's eyes lit up. Why not go up the mountain and use the excuse of collecting firewood to apply some medicine to the cheap male lead?

This time, however, Qingyin won't spend all her money on the male lead like the original owner, that silly girl.

Heh, whether the male lead lives or dies is up to him. Anyway, with the world's halo, he won't die. Qingyin just plans to pick up some hemostatic herbs and apply them to the male lead's body.

In her past life, she couldn't help but believe that such a smart male lead wouldn't know that the original owner, a weak woman, wouldn't be targeted if she received such a large sum of money. Even if she wasn't targeted, didn't the male lead know how much the female lead's group of sycophants hated this woman?

In the gentle breeze, Qingyin gave a sarcastic laugh.

It's just that I don't care.

The girl who stepped out of the small earthen house was no longer the gloomy and dull girl she used to be. She straightened her back and stood up like a graceful little flower. Qingyin breathed in the fresh air and hummed a happy little song. She was indescribably lively.

Several women wearing straw hats were passing by, weeding the fields.

Now there are fewer wild vegetables in the mountains, and food is scarce. Winter is coming soon, so they need to hurry up and plant another batch of vegetables before winter arrives. This batch is the only thing they need to stock up on for winter.

Out of the corner of their eye, several women caught sight of the thin, dark-skinned girl walking towards them.

"Oh, Lin girl, what brings you out today?"

The person who spoke up was Aunt Jiang, who was known as the village's loudmouth. Although she loved to gossip, she had a kind heart.

Qingyin smiled at the enthusiastic Aunt Jiang, revealing eight white teeth: "Hello Aunt Jiang, I'm planning to go to the mountains to collect some firewood. We don't have much firewood left at home, so I'll collect more before winter comes."

"oh oh."

...

Jiang Da Niang, seemingly surprised that her question was answered by the usually introverted Lin Er Ya, stood there dumbfounded. The other women looked at each other, staring blankly as the girl left.

"Tsk tsk, this Lin girl seems different now?"

"Indeed, indeed. I used to see this girl hunched over, but today I see her sitting up straight, looking very proper."

"But how come this girl has changed so much?"

Another puzzled woman in red was glared at by Aunt Jiang. "How old is this Lin girl? Girls change a lot as they grow up. Don't you know that girls become more sensible as they grow up?"

"Yes, Aunt Jiang is right. My Xiaoying is getting married these days, and her knitting skills have improved a lot!"

"Oh, Sister-in-law Hu, your Xiaoying got married so soon?"

"Well, it's because our family thought winter was coming soon, so we got married before it got really cold, so that we wouldn't be unable to buy anything when the snow blocked the mountains."

That makes sense.

...

As the women talked, they became preoccupied with their own trivial matters.

Qingyin followed her memory and came to the familiar mountain path.

The mountain village where Qingyin lives is located on a small, flat slope between Mount Emin and other mountains. Although the villagers won't starve to death because they live by the mountain, it doesn't mean they have an easy life either. Wild animals and the remote location can bring disaster.

The male protagonist stayed at Mount Emin.

There is a stream flowing down from the top of Mount Emin, and Qingyin walked upstream along the river.

If the original owner hadn't walked this path since childhood, she would never have dared to hide someone in the forest.

There were wild boars and other ferocious beasts in the forest. When she was a child, the original owner of this body had witnessed villagers being eaten to death by wild boars, so she was particularly afraid of the mountains and forests. If it weren't for the fact that she was about to starve to death during a famine and that the villagers would occasionally drive the animals out of the forest, she would not have gone in.

Qingyin followed the stream, not in a hurry to find the secret base where the male protagonist was lying.

I picked some hemostatic herbs along the stream, and then slowly broke open the clear stones to collect a few skinny mountain crabs, planning to treat myself to a meal later.

The crystal-clear stream reflected the face of the thin, dark-skinned girl, making her large eyes stand out even more. The dappled sunlight shone on the girl, giving her an inexplicable air of intelligence.

After working for half a day, Qingyin only managed to catch seven small crabs. Undeterred, she grabbed a handful of herbs that the villagers didn't recognize and that she could only pick in large quantities, and headed towards the cave.

This cave was also the secret base that the original owner discovered after accidentally falling in as a child.

The cave was abandoned by some large animal, and the entrance is blocked by natural bushes.

Qingyin carefully pried open a hole about the height of a child before crouching down and crawling inside.

Once inside, the space at the entrance of the cave became larger.

Qingyin stood up straight, while the male protagonist lay down on the pile of hay that the original owner had left behind.

The strong stench of blood filled the cave entrance. Fortunately, the peculiar bushes outside emitted a foul odor that masked the blood smell on the male protagonist. Otherwise, he might have been carried off by a wild beast before the female supporting character could come to his rescue.

Qingyin thought this was probably some kind of cheat code for the male protagonist.

She glared fiercely at the man lying motionless on the ground.

Qingyin ruthlessly tore open the part of the man's body that smelled the most blood, and the sound of the fabric tearing at his waist clearly aggravated the wound.

Seeing the man's furrowed brows even in his unconscious state, Qingyin felt no guilt whatsoever.

"Ha, you scumbag."

As the man's clothes tore, the wounds underneath were revealed.