Not far from the city gate, the group saw the Yun family's secret guards driving a carriage towards them.

Lin Yinan leaned back in the carriage, closing her eyes to rest. The swaying of the carriage made her drowsy. She felt that she hadn't gotten used to this body yet.

As the weather gets colder, she feels increasingly sleepy.

In a daze, I smelled the aroma of steamed buns and felt a gentle push on my arm.

Lin Yinan opened her eyes and saw Yun Mochao handing her two steamed buns. She glanced at Lin Yiheng next to her and began to eat them heartily.

"Thank you!" She was starving after walking all afternoon, so she took the food and ate it without any hesitation.

The buns smelled delicious, and when she bit into them, they were filled with meat, but they were mostly fatty meat with little lean meat. She felt a bit greasy after eating one.

So she gave the remaining half of the bun to Lin Yiheng.

"I'm full, little sister, you eat quickly." Lin Yiheng waved his hand hurriedly.

Lin Yinan looked at him and said seriously, "You eat, I can't eat."

Seeing that her expression didn't seem to be lying, Lin Yiheng had no choice but to reach out and take it. He took out the handkerchief from his pocket, opened it, and found a bun inside. He carefully put the other bun into the handkerchief, wrapped it up, and put it back into his pocket.

Seeing this, Qu Yunmo frowned slightly. Her appetite was too small. She couldn't even finish two meat buns. Didn't she eat a lot when he saw her eating before?

He was immediately taken aback. When did he start paying attention to her every move?

Yun Mo turned his head and looked at the receding, barren fields outside, pondering his next steps.

Apart from the sounds of horses' hooves and the wheels of the carriage, the carriage was unusually quiet, and everyone was resting with their eyes closed.

Yun Mo suddenly remembered the letter Yun Er had sent back that morning, and glanced at Lin Yinan across from him.

He said, "The supplies you asked me to purchase last time will arrive in the valley as early as tomorrow morning. I wonder what your plans are, young lady?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Yinan opened her eyes again, "Leave out what my family needs, and trouble Young Master Yun to sell or exchange the rest to the villagers of Lin Family Village in the name of the Yun family."

Yun Mo stared intently at her, not understanding her intention.

"The Yun family doesn't need this kind of reputation for buying people's hearts."

Lin Yinan curled the corners of her lips and said with a half-smile, "Young Master Yun is overthinking it. I just don't want to be too high-profile, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble."

Yunye looked at her thoughtfully. Lin Yinan glanced at the two brothers and continued, "Lin Family Village is going to go south with the Yun Family. There are more than 300 people in the village, and more than half of them are literate. They will be grateful to the Yun Family for doing such a good deed and will follow the Yun Family to the death."

"Young Master Yun, are you sure you want to refuse?"

Her words were powerful and resounding, stunning the Yunmo brothers, who had never considered this matter before.

If the Yun family plans to expand in the south, they will inevitably need to cultivate loyal and trusted subordinates. The people of Linjia Village have shared joys and sorrows with them, so their trust level is beyond question. Moreover, with so many of them being literate, they are the best choice. Even among the nearly five hundred secret guards they have trained, very few are literate.

Lin Yiheng, standing to the side, was dumbfounded. His sister was so insightful; he truly felt inferior to her.

Yunye snapped out of his daze, exchanged a glance with Yunmo, and both of them were filled with amazement.

Looking at the young woman across from him, who was no more than sixteen years old, Yunye said solemnly, "Alright, my Yun family owes you another favor, young lady."

Lin Yinan's eyes gleamed with confidence. "How will you repay me?"

Yunye sat up straight and asked her sincerely, "What does the young lady want?"

Lin Yinan lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment before shaking her head and saying, "Well, I haven't decided yet. I'll tell you when I've thought it through."

“Alright, if you need anything, you can come to me or my third brother anytime.”

Seeing that the young girl was so young yet possessed such a magnanimous spirit, Yunye dared not underestimate her.

"Little sister, when did you purchase supplies?" Lin Yiheng asked the question that had been on his mind after they finished their conversation.

Lin Yinan, “A few days ago.”

Lin Yiheng was taken aback. His sister hadn't mentioned this matter to him a few days ago, so it seemed that she had been in contact with the young master of the Yun family in private.

Looking at Yun Jiasanlang again, his eyes held not only praise for his sister but also an ambiguous emotion.

His younger sister was sweet-looking, with a lively and elegant demeanor, good martial arts skills, and was intelligent and capable. He was a little worried that if Yunzhi's mother found out, she would probably say some unpleasant things again.

He glanced at the handsome and resolute third young master of the Yun family. His younger sister was also good-looking, and they seemed to be a perfect match.

My younger sister is still young and doesn't understand the tricks of men's hearts. If a man cares about a woman, he's capable of anything.

Lin Yiheng secretly resolved that he would protect his younger sister from now on.

At the entrance to the valley.

“Aunt Zhu, let me tell you, I’ve seen Lin Yinan always with the Yun family’s young master, going in and out together. You should remind Young Master Su.” Lin Qiutao said seriously.

Yu Suqin added fuel to the fire, saying, "That's right, a woman who is engaged has no sense of being a fiancée and makes no attempt to avoid suspicion with other men."

Li Shulan, holding Lin Yi'an and Lu Changqing's hands on either side, kept looking towards the entrance to the valley, ignoring what Lin Qiutao and Yu Suqin were saying.

Zhu Jinhui glanced at Li Shulan, who was looking anxious, but didn't reply to what the two were saying. After all, people were coming and going along the way, and it was impossible to stick to the old saying that women in the inner courtyard of a mansion should not see outside men.

She simply nodded politely to the two of them.

Before long, the shadowy silhouettes of several horse-drawn carriages appeared at the intersection.

"Mother, look! It's my sister and the others coming back." Lin Yinan, though small, had sharp eyes and was the first to spot the carriage heading towards the valley.

Lu Changqing saw it too, and he shook Li Shulan's hand vigorously.

Li Shulan looked closely and realized that it really was the carriage her daughter and her family had ridden in when they left that morning.

"Heng'er and Anan are back."

Zhu Jinhui, who was still listening to Yu Suqin and her daughter sowing discord, also craned her neck to look towards the entrance of the valley.

"Madam, Master and Young Master have returned." Jixiang said with a face full of joy.

As the carriage drew closer, the Yun family's guards driving it spotted the group waiting at the entrance.

After the carriage stopped, Lin Yiheng and his sister inside saw their mother waiting for them.

Lin Yiheng was the first to jump off the carriage, followed by Lin Yinan.

"Mother, we're back."

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back." Li Shulan kept repeating these two sentences.

Lin Yiheng took out a handkerchief from his pocket, opened it, and took out a meat bun that was still warm. He gave one to Li Shulan, and half to Lin Yi'an and half to Lu Changqing.

"Mom, here you go. These are meat buns given to you by the young master of the Yun family. They taste delicious."

Li Shulan quickly refused, "Heng'er, give it to Anan. You and her must have had a hard journey. Your mother and brother didn't do anything at home. Your grandmother cooked some wild vegetable and sweet potato porridge for lunch, and I ate two bowls. I'm not hungry yet."

Lin Yinan pretended to be angry and said, "Mom, it's from your brother, so just eat it."

Li Shulan could tell her daughter was angry, so she didn't dare to refuse anymore and put the bun in her mouth and ate it in small bites.