Cheng Qingyan was startled awake last night, but went back to sleep without much delay.

She eventually fell into a deep sleep and was unaware that Cheng Qingyan's sleep was not restful.

After Meng Chuying and Ruan Banxia left the room, Ye Lingyu pulled Cheng Qingyan to sit down and rubbed her head.

Seeing this delay, the sun was already high in the sky.

Cheng Qingyan rubbed his neck again, then washed his face to refresh himself before going out with Ye Lingyu.

Meng Jia has found the medicine that Chen Yanping took to the fishpond last night and handed it over to Cheng Qingyan.

She couldn't tell what kind of medicine it was, so she had someone hand it over to Ruan Banxia.

She arrived late to see Cheng Shaowen, and Cheng Shaowen was yelling in the house again.

Cheng Shaowen was untied last night, but the mud on his body had dried, and his hair and face were still messy and dirty.

The clothes were also covered in mud and hay.

Upon seeing Cheng Qingyan and Ye Lingyu enter, his howling subsided, and he even became somewhat reserved.

Standing respectfully to the side, he called out to Cheng Qingyan, "Third Uncle..."

Ye Lingyu didn't see Cheng Shaowen last night, so she was quite surprised to see him covered in mud today.

Looking at the dried mud clumps on Cheng Shaowen's face and body, and seeing him standing awkwardly to the side, the scene resembled a child who had done something wrong waiting for a scolding from adults.

As soon as Cheng Qingyan entered the room, he noticed an unpleasant smell. He raised his sleeve and fanned the room to dispel the odor. "Wife, let's go outside to talk. The smell here is too awful."

He then pulled Ye Lingyu out with him. Cheng Shaowen lowered his head and sniffed his body. Ugh, it really smelled bad.

The stench of the mud, coupled with his own preoccupation with keeping an eye on Chen Yanping, meant he hadn't had time to take a shower.

The stench of sweat and the stench of mud fermented in this enclosed space for another night.

He hadn't intentionally smelled his own body, and after staying in the room for a while, he'd gotten used to it. Cheng Qingyan didn't say anything, so she didn't really notice it.

At that moment, he deliberately lowered his head and carefully sniffed his own body. Ugh, it really smelled sour and stinky.

Someone once said that he smelled sour, no, no, it smelled like poverty.

What does "poor and shabby" smell like? Is it similar to how he smells now?

It smells awful.

Cheng Shaowen also came out of the house. He smelled the fresh air outside and raised his chin in disgust.

This time, he didn't deliberately stand next to Cheng Qingyan. After leaving the house, he just stood not far from the door and didn't go any closer.

The sun shines brightly, and the flowers smile at the birds.

Cheng Qingyan already had a headache, and the sun made her feel even more nauseous, so she quickly pulled Ye Lingyu to the shade of a tree.

Although Cheng Shaowen followed, he kept his distance and stood in the sunlight.

"Why are you standing there in the sun? Come over here to the shade." Cheng Qingyan leaned against the table and said to Cheng Shaowen, who was not far away.

Cheng Shaowen, timid and hesitant, took a small step forward but did not stand in front of Cheng Qingyan.

Ye Lingyu noticed that the two of them, one like a strict parent and the other like a child who had made a mistake, created a rather awkward atmosphere.

Then he said to Cheng Shaowen, "Come closer, she's not fierce, don't be afraid."

Cheng Shaowen smiled awkwardly and called out, "Auntie."

Then he raised his hand, looked at the mud on his body, and didn't move forward: "I smell, so I'll just talk here."

Cheng Qingyan leaned back lazily and sighed, "Meng Jia, find him a stool to sit on."

"You said last night that you've been keeping an eye on Chen Yanping? What's going on? Tell me about it."

Cheng Shaowen sat on the edge of the shade of a tree and began to recount the whole story of how he set his sights on Chen Yanping.

At first, his father called him back from town, saying there was something to do, but when he returned, he found that nothing had happened.

He overheard stories about Chen Yanping and Cheng Qingyan from his father and mother's scattered conversations. Since he was bored at home, he often went out for a stroll.

He knew Chen Yanping. Besides, he hadn't expected to gain anything; he just wanted to see how his third uncle, with whom he had little contact, had become rich and reached the pinnacle of life.

Moreover, when his father first asked him to go home, he was very resolute, making him settle all the wages he had earned working outside, saying that he no longer needed to go out to work.

But after he returned, his father only scolded his third uncle for a while and never mentioned going to work to him again.

He knew his own father, of course.

So he didn't complain, and whenever he had free time, he would go out for a stroll.

After he inadvertently saw Chen Yanping sneaking in and out of the village, he started going to Cheng Qingyan's place even more frequently.

Later, when his father saw him going to Cheng Qingyan's place every day, he questioned him about it. He used the excuse that he was working at Cheng Qingyan's place to brush it off.

Thinking that he would have to go out and find a job in a few days and couldn't stay here indefinitely, he didn't go into details about it.

When his father heard about it, he scolded Cheng Qingyan again, saying that he had become rich but did not help his own brothers, and that he was ungrateful and so on.

Cheng Shaowen knew perfectly well that over the years, they had not exchanged any gifts or favors with Cheng Qingyan.

His parents and his third uncle were practically strangers to each other, so why should they help him now that they've made it big?

That doesn't make sense, does it?

He was very open-minded, but his father was not. So he kept it a secret from his father, thinking that once he caught Chen Yanping, he would leave the village and his father would not be able to find him, so he would not have a chance to deal with him.

Ever since he lied to his father, he has been keeping an eye on Chen Yanping's whereabouts during the day.

Heaven rewards those who persevere; after watching for a long time, he finally caught him.

These days have not been wasted, even though the process wasn't perfect.

Chen Yanping fell into the pit, and he himself was also covered in mud.

Moreover, he was mistakenly accused of being in cahoots with Chen Yanping, which made him very depressed.

Because Cheng Shaowen and Chen Yanping were arrested in the early hours of last night, Cheng Yuanji was unaware that Cheng Shaowen had been arrested by Cheng Qingyan and his group.

Having said that, Cheng Qingyan now understood the rest.

So the reason I saw Cheng Shaowen acting so suspiciously by the fishpond last time was because he was keeping an eye on people.

Cheng Shaowen emphasized one last time: "Third Uncle, I really didn't do anything bad to the fishpond. I can swear if you don't believe me!"

"Alright, kid, don't make so many oaths. What if it suddenly turns into thunder on a sunny day?" Cheng Qingyan sat up straight and waved to Meng Jia.

"Meng Jia, take him to wash up, then have something to eat, and make sure he's clean before he comes to see me."