At this time, the North City Post Station, thirty miles away from Yangcheng, had fallen into the silence of the night.

The North City Post Station is located at the junction of Yangcheng and Gaoping. Its location and jurisdiction are somewhat awkward. A fast horse can reach both cities with a little whipping. There is no need to stay in a post station with simple facilities surrounded by slopes and ditches. Therefore, this post station looks more and more dilapidated.

But because the place was full tonight with officials from Taiyuan Prefecture who were passing by, there was no room for the horses in the stable, so they had to be tied up haphazardly in the front yard or even outside the door.

There was only a postmaster and an old soldier in the post station. They were so busy that they had to ask their family members to help.

When the night fell, most of the officials had already gone to bed, but there were still lights on in some rooms.

After all, what happened during this period was so unbelievable that we couldn't help but talk about it in private.

There were not many good rooms in this post station, so they were naturally given to high-ranking officials like Magistrate Ma. At this moment, a low-ranking official was living in this small adobe house.

He and his servants lived in one room. He slept on the bed while the servants slept on the floor.

The summer night was sultry. With the window open, one could see a man in casual clothes making the bed inside, while another servant with a beard and ordinary looks stood by with his hands hanging down, looking thoughtful.

"How on earth did they find out?" he whispered.

His voice was soft and his tone was easy-going, perfectly in keeping with his status as a servant.

The man making the bed turned around immediately after hearing this.

"It's hard to say," he said.

His voice was mellow and carried a hint of official authority, but under the dim oil lamp, his expression of respect towards the servant was very inconsistent with his status.

"Sir..." the man making the bed continued.

As soon as the voice came out, the servant suddenly raised his hand and looked towards the window with sharp eyes.

"Who's there?" he shouted.

As he shouted, the man arrived at the door and opened it.

There was a scream from the door and someone staggered back.

This is a girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed simply, with messy hair, and in the night, only the black stain on her face can be seen. In her hand, she is holding a wooden bucket. The hot water inside is bubbling.

She seemed to be passing by carrying a bucket of water, and was frightened by the person who suddenly came out. She stood there in panic, not daring to move.

"What are you doing?" the official came out and asked sternly.

The servant had retreated to his side, looking down at the girl.

"I, I'm delivering water." The girl stammered in a hoarse voice, and pointed tremblingly to a room next door.

The lights were on in the room over there, too. Apparently someone hadn't gone to bed yet.

This girl... should be the family member of the postman.

The postman had an old wife and a daughter, who were busy walking back and forth in the yard for a long time.

Officials don't care.

"Is there any hot water?" he asked casually.

The girl looked horrified.

"Here it is. They asked for it first," she said, and then hurriedly said, "I'll go and burn it. Please wait a moment, sir."

The official didn't come here for hot water. He waved his hand and went back inside.

The girl bowed hurriedly, then carried the barrel to the next room.

The servant stood at the door and watched her until the girl knocked on the door of the next room. A man who had changed his underwear opened the door.

"Your hot water, sir." said the girl.

The man nodded, reached out to take it, held it with one hand and closed the door.

The girl exhaled and raised her sleeves to wipe the sweat off her face and head. The ash on her face from the burning fire was even more smeared. She patted her shoulders and walked quickly to the backyard without taking a rest.

The servant's eyes followed her.

The girl walked slowly, with the undisciplined attitude of a country girl, and from time to time she shrugged her shoulders and shook her neck to relieve her fatigue.

The servant's eyes were fixed on her, taking one, two, three steps until she turned the corner of the house.

The servant stood there silently for a moment before turning around, entering the house and closing the door.

"Is there a problem?" asked the official in the room.

The servant smiled.

"I can't think of it yet." He said, stopping the official's questioning. "It's getting late, let's take a rest first."

The official did not ask any more questions, but respectfully responded by blowing out the lights in the room.

The room fell into darkness.

"The bed is made, please rest."

A low voice in the darkness said.

Accompanied by rustling sounds, everything returned to silence after a while.

In the silence of the night, a figure climbed over the broken half-wall of the post station. In the dim starlight, one could see that it was a girl wearing only an underdress, with her outer coat in her arms.

Her face was as dark as the night, except for her eyes, which shone like stars.

Today's trip was not in vain. Calling you "adult" at least confirmed one thing. This is enough. I can't stay here any longer.

Run.

Run.

She climbed over the wall, not even bothering to put on her clothes, and ran away, disappearing in the undulating ravines.

…

Outside the Lin family alley, Liu'er's crying continued.

Old Mrs. Fang felt a lump in her heart from crying.

"What nonsense are you talking about!" she shouted, "Why are you talking about death and life when everything is fine? Are you cursing your young lady?"

"She's not your lady, it's so easy for you to say that." Liu'er cried.

Old Mrs. Fang was so angry that her heart ached.

"She's my granddaughter," she shouted.

"How is your granddaughter? She's not as important as your grandson." Liu'er cried, pointing at Fang Chengyu, "He's recovered now, and my young lady is useless. You don't need to offend anyone for my young lady."

Old Mrs. Fang's face turned ashen and she staggered as she took a breath.

Fang Chengyu quickly reached out to support him.

"Liu'er, don't say that," he said, "that's not what grandma meant."

"I don't care what you mean." Liu Er cried, rushing straight to the Lin's alley, "If you don't look for it, I will."

The clansmen from the Lin family had been on guard against her for a long time, and they squeezed and blocked her. Although they did not beat her up like before, they took advantage of Liu'er's charge and pushed her to the ground.

Liu Er wiped her tears and stood up to rush again.

Fang Jinxiu lowered her eyes.

"Look, look." Chief Lin said, sighing, "Move aside, let her go find it."

The Lin family members then made way, and Liu'er rushed in crying.

Old Mrs. Fang's face was ashen and her expression had not yet recovered, Fang Chengyu gently patted her chest.

"How about you, Old Madam Fang, you can rest here and wait for us." Clan leader Lin said, "It's not that we don't want to find someone. Of course we have to find someone."

Just don't make such a fuss, and look for it calmly and peacefully.

The officials nodded in agreement, saying that this was the best approach, as it would benefit both parties, save everyone's face, and resolve the controversy that had arisen today.

Before Mrs. Fang could say anything, Fang Chengyu smiled at them.

"Please wait a moment, I haven't finished talking to my grandmother yet," he said.