The carriage, having not hit anyone, quickly stopped ahead. A pale-faced young man stepped down and apologized profusely to Tao Wan's mother.

Tao Wanniang waved her hand, signaling the people to leave. She hadn't been hit, but the young man's pale face looked even more frightened than hers.

"Were you following me?" After the young man left, Tao Wanniang turned to ask Ling Yunzhou. Otherwise, how could they have met twice at the Fortune Inn?

"Is this how you express your gratitude?" Ling Yunzhou looked at Tao Wanniang with disapproval. If he hadn't found Tao Wanniang's behavior suspicious, he wouldn't have bothered to check the hotel guests. Now, Tao Wanniang was accusing him of stalking her!

"General Ling, open your eyes and look carefully. My position just now meant that if I had taken a few steps back, I wouldn't have been hit. So, whether you show up or not, I can avoid it, okay?" Tao Wanniang said bluntly.

Ling Yunzhou frowned. If he hadn't known about Tao Wanniang's relationship with him, he wouldn't have felt so uncomfortable. He had imagined countless occasions for them to reunite after learning of Tao Wanniang and the child's existence.

Was Tao Wanniang prejudiced against him? Ling Yunzhou couldn't help but wonder.

"General Ling, if I see you here again, I'll be certain that you're following me and have ulterior motives!" Tao Wanniang warned. She couldn't help but wonder if Ling Yunzhou had remembered something, but she wasn't the original owner of this body and had no feelings for him!

"The General wouldn't possibly have such feelings for a middle-aged woman!" Tao Wanniang looked Ling Yunzhou up and down with a wary and disgusted gaze, successfully making Ling Yunzhou turn around and leave in anger.

"How bizarre!" Tao Wanniang muttered, then turned and walked towards the carriage she had ordered, returning to the restaurant.

Not long after Tao Wanniang left, the waiter brought the soft-boiled egg to the guest room, and Huang Youdao immediately grabbed the waiter.

"Who made this thing?"

"No, I don't know." The waiter was startled. "The manager ordered it to be brought up."

"She's here, she must be here, sir. The child in my womb is of the Huang family bloodline. You must protect me." Madam Huang hid on the bed, her face filled with terror.

"Master, Madam, what happened?" The servants who accompanied the master, who were staying in the lowest-class rooms, also rushed over upon hearing Master Huang's angry roar.

"Get out of here, all of you!" Master Huang roared, his face ashen, shoving the waiter out and slamming the door shut.

"If it weren't for the fact that the child in your belly is mine, I would have divorced you long ago, you unfaithful woman!" Huang Youdao said through gritted teeth. He had several wives and concubines, but no children. When he received Bai Yumei's letter, he was almost stunned.

However, at that time, Madam Huang was already pregnant. Huang Youdao thoroughly investigated the men who appeared around Madam Huang during those months and confirmed that the child was indeed his before he was willing to come to Xiangguo Temple to pray for Madam Huang. Bai Yumei could die, but the bloodline of his Huang family could not be broken!

"Master, you were completely bewitched by that vixen Bai Yumei back then. Did you even enter my room?" Madam Huang accused. "I only acted foolishly once, and Bai Yumei pretended to be stupid. I didn't kill her. How could I have thrown her into the well by myself?"

"After we moved, I've been behaving myself every single day. You're allowed to have all sorts of women, but I'm not allowed to make a mistake even once in a while?"

Huang Youdao's eyes widened at Madam Huang's words, and his fists clenched.

Upon seeing this, Madam Huang immediately shrank further into the bed, but then stuck her belly out again.

"If you want to hit me, hit my stomach. Kill your son! Anyway, Bai Yumei's vengeful spirit is haunting us. Give me that sweet egg soup, I'll eat it to show her!"

Madam Huang was fearless and had nothing to fear, but Huang Youdao could not let her have her way.

"If you give me a son, I'll forgive and forget everything from before!" Huang Youdao said through gritted teeth. "I'll also give you a comfortable life for the rest of your days!"

Madam Huang understood Huang Youdao's meaning; her happiness for the rest of her life depended on the son in her womb, so she was more nervous than anyone else.

"Master, you must save me and the child! Bai Yumei's vengeful spirit is haunting us. Why don't we go to Xiangguo Temple and wait for the Buddha statue to be consecrated before returning to Wangjing?"

Huang Youdao pondered his wife's words and had the same idea. "Alright, I'll have someone reserve a room at Xiangguo Temple first."

According to Huang Youdao's plan, he sent his attendant to make arrangements with Xiangguo Temple first, and he planned to move in before dark. However, an hour later, the attendant's report chilled his heart.

"Sir, this is the Buddha statue returned by Xiangguo Temple. It says... says... that Buddha does not protect the guilty!"

The attendant stammered and handed the money to Huang Youdao.

Huang Youdao's face turned pale as he stared blankly at his attendant. Finally, he swept the tea set off the table onto the floor with one hand!

"Look what you've done!" Huang Youdao glared fiercely at Madam Huang.

Madam Huang shuddered. Why would Xiangguo Temple do this? What would she do without the consecrated Buddha statue?

"Master, you must save me!" Madam Huang immediately knelt before Huang Youdao. "For the sake of the child in my womb, Master, you can't just stand by and watch me die!"

"Get up, don't hurt my son!" Huang Youdao said through gritted teeth. "You, go and look around to see if there's anywhere we can get a talisman."

The attendant immediately withdrew.

When Tao Wanniang Restaurant closed for the night, Yang Song ran over excitedly to tell him the results of his day's surveillance.

"What on earth did this couple do? They're so suspicious all the time. I heard that Xiangguo Temple even refunded their money for the Buddha statue. Have they offended even Buddha?"

"Huh? What did you say?" Tao Wanniang asked, puzzled. "The one at Xiangguo Temple."

"Xiangguo Temple refunded the money for the Buddha statue. I've never heard of refunding money to worshippers before. Manager Tao, can you tell me what these people did?"

"Don't worry about it. Do you want to work harder tonight?" Tao Wanniang asked. "I'll give you ten taels of silver after this is done."

Ten taels! Yang Song's eyes widened. Compared to that string of copper coins, ten taels of silver was a huge sum!

"As long as it's not murder or arson, I'll do it!" Yang Song immediately said. "If it really is murder or arson, then... give me more money, and make sure my family is taken care of..."

"Smack!" Tao Wanniang slapped Yang Song on the head without ceremony. "What are you saying, you dirty talk! Come closer..."

"Playing a ghost... Hmm, I see, okay, alright, alright..."

The Ling brothers watched Tao Wanniang whispering to Yang Song with great interest.

"How did Mom get so close to this scoundrel? I have a feeling she's teaching him to do bad things," Ling Dapeng muttered. "I feel like she's hiding something from us."

"Mother is truly mother; no one can resist her!" Ling Dahu nodded as he spoke. "I wonder what kind of person could possibly catch her eye!"