Upon hearing this distressing question, Qin Jian became even more heartbroken. He sighed and was about to speak when he saw Yue Shu walk in carrying a bowl of food.

"Alright, let's eat something first, then we can talk slowly."

He Jiuniang spoke up, asking Yue Shu to come forward and feed him something.

Qin Jian's eyes lit up at the smell of the aroma; he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon and was starving.

His eyes sparkled as he looked at Yue Shu, his desire as intense as that of a lecherous rogue lusting after her beauty.

When he saw that there was only plain porridge in the bowl, his eyes instantly dimmed.

"Why is there only congee? I want to eat Lu Hei Ya (a type of braised duck)!"

He was injured and didn't have much strength to speak, but when he talked about Lu Heiya, his momentum was stronger than that of an ordinary person.

"You're already injured like this, so don't even think about Lu Heiya. Once you're healed, I'll let you eat your fill."

He Jiuniang was amused by him; she hadn't realized that Qin Jian was such a foodie.

"Ah! Even on my deathbed, I was thinking about Lu Hei Ya!"

Qin Jian cried out in pain, feeling an intense craving.

"Pfft!"

Yue Shu and Yue Ling, who were standing nearby, couldn't help but laugh out loud, but then they realized that laughing at this moment might be inappropriate, so they quickly covered their mouths.

Lu Baichuan was also speechless. He didn't know when Qin Jian had become such a glutton.

"Stop talking nonsense and force-feed him the congee. I'll be asking him questions later."

Lu Baichuan waved his hand impatiently, and Yue Shu and Yue Ling exchanged a glance before pressing Qin Jian down and starting to force-feed him.

"Ugh... Lu Baichuan! You... you actually... did this to me... cough cough cough..."

The two girls were skilled at getting him drunk, to the point that Qin Jian could barely speak.

He Jiuniang couldn't help but remind her, "Stop fooling around, your injury is quite serious. It will be dangerous if you reopen the wound."

We've known each other for so long, so we naturally understand what kind of people we are. The reason Qin Jian is making such a fuss is simply because he doesn't want them to worry about him.

After He Jiuniang said that, Qin Jian immediately became much more obedient. The bowl of porridge wasn't much, and he finished it quickly after becoming serious.

Then, Qin Jian began to tell Lu Baichuan about how he had been exposed.

"I was thinking that my sister-in-law had suggested we let them escape so we could find their hideout by following the route. But she asked me to elope with her, and I couldn't refuse, so I went with them. I never expected that they had set a trap to kill me."

"To be honest, it was my carelessness. My sister-in-law gave me the antidote before, so I completely forgot about the tea. I didn't drink tea for a long time and didn't show any signs of addiction, which made her notice something was wrong."

At this point, Qin Jian felt quite useless. His younger brother and sister-in-law gave him the antidote to make things easier for him, but he had forgotten such an important thing, almost losing his life and nearly ruining everything.

"However, I had those brothers from Qianfan Pavilion release Xinran. That way, we can still follow her scent to find their lair! No matter how skilled they are, they would never imagine that my sister-in-law's medical skills have reached such a high level!"

Speaking of this, Qin Jian's face was full of admiration again. If he hadn't experienced Lu Baichuan's accident before, he wouldn't have believed that He Jiuniang could find a person by smell. But now, he regarded He Jiuniang as a god, and whatever He Jiuniang said was the truth.

The "Smiling Half-Step Strangeness" that He Jiuniang gave her contained her special medicinal fragrance, so no matter where Xinran went, she could find her.

"Okay, I got it. As long as you're alright, that's good. Focus on recovering and leave everything else to me."

Lu Baichuan got up and pulled He Jiuniang outside.

Qin Jian asked urgently, "Aren't you angry with me for this?"

Lu Baichuan ignored him.

Qin Jian said again, "Sister-in-law, can't I really eat Lu Hei Ya? Please don't leave!"

However, no one paid any attention to him.

Instead of continuing to tutor their children, the couple went straight to the study to discuss serious matters.

"I will also be returning to the capital in a few days. The old emperor still needs me to perform acupuncture. While I'm there, I'll also check on Xinran's whereabouts. If there are no problems, we can take her down in one fell swoop."

He Jiuniang sat down, and Lu Baichuan, being very perceptive, poured her a cup of tea.

“I’ll go with you. I also have some things to report to His Highness.”

He Jiuniang nodded and said, "Then remember to take care of things at the Fire Cloud Division in advance. We'll be back in a day or two."

Anyway, there are airplanes, so a round trip won't take long.

Lu Baichuan understood what she meant and said, "Okay."

As night deepened and everyone prepared to sleep, He Jiuniang went to Lianhua's room. The little girl was still awake and practicing her abacus skills.

"Auntie, what brings you here?"

When Lianhua opened the door and saw He Jiuniang, a smile instantly appeared on her face. She stepped aside to let her in.

"I came to see you. You're such a hard worker. You've been studying all night, and you still have to study when you get home. You should get some rest."

He Jiuniang glanced at the abacus on the table and gently patted Lianhua's hand.

Lotus lowered her head somewhat shyly: "Hehe, I just think I'm a bit clumsy, so I practice more."

"You're so smart, yet you still call yourself stupid? What about those who are truly slow to react? I'm here mainly to deliver your Aunt Cheng's dividends to you. Her total dividends over the past few months amount to 1,238 taels, and I'm giving them all to you without missing a single penny."

He Jiuniang smiled and stuffed a thick stack of silver notes into her hand.

"Auntie, I..."

Lotus touched the thick stack of silver notes in her hand, feeling them burning hot.

She never intended to take Cheng Xuewei's money, because that matter really had nothing to do with Cheng Xuewei, yet she inexplicably received such a large sum of money, and she always felt unworthy of it.

“Take what’s given to you. Your Aunt Cheng is happy to give you this money, so you should be even happier to accept it. On the surface, that matter may seem to have nothing to do with her, but the shopkeeper in that shop is one of her people. It’s true that she didn’t manage the person well, so it’s only right that she did all this.”

He Jiuniang spoke with unusual seriousness, and continued, "If the same thing happens to my shop one day, I will make compensation in the same way. Money can be earned again, but many things cannot be bought back with money."

As she spoke, she patted the little lotus flower. The little girl's skin was soft and bouncy, and it felt wonderful to the touch. She patted it a few times, then couldn't resist giving it a squeeze, clearly quite fond of it.

Lianhua didn't care at all about her face being shaped into various forms by her; instead, she listened to what she was saying.

"Okay, then can you please keep this money for me, Auntie?"

He Jiuniang shook her head without hesitation: "That won't do, I'll keep my own money safe!"