"That stream behind the mountain?!"
Lin Yan rubbed the inconspicuous little stone in her palm. Although her face remained expressionless, her heart was already churning with shock.
No wonder she felt something was off about the back mountain.
Who would have thought?
It might be hiding a shocking secret...
Seeing that she remained silent, Lin Muyan tilted her head and looked at her curiously, asking:
"Yes, sister, what is this stone? It's so pretty and sparkly, like gold."
Lin Yan didn't answer his question, but instead pulled his arm and asked, her voice even carrying a hint of urgency:
"Young man, besides you, does anyone else know about this stone?"
"No, I was walking at the very back, so they didn't see it. I originally wanted to polish it up nicely before showing it to them."
Hearing his answer.
Lin Yan's tense heart finally relaxed.
Seeing that no one was around, she gently pulled Lin Muyan in front of her.
He whispered his instructions:
"Little brother, don't tell anyone about what happened today, understand?"
Although Lin Muyan didn't understand why they couldn't tell anyone, he looked at Lin Yan's serious expression.
He obediently nodded.
"Okay, I understand, big sister."
It was midday.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Lin Yan called Zhang Li and headed to the back mountain.
As the scene before him became increasingly remote, Zhang Li grew more and more panicked. He clutched his clothes tightly, his voice trembling with nervousness.
"Girl, where are we going?"
Lin Yan looked up, squinting at the blazing sun high in the sky. She couldn't help but worry about his health and asked with concern:
"What's wrong? Are you cold?"
Faced with Lin Yan's relentless approach, Zhang Li's face contorted with fear. He collapsed to the ground, stammering an explanation:
"No, no! My lady, although you are our master, and we swear to follow you to the death, even at the cost of our lives, but... but..."
Lin Yan frowned involuntarily.
She felt that something was off about Zhang Li today...
It's as if they see her as a monstrous flood.
Is she really that scary?
"But what?"
"But that doesn't include offering yourself! I... I already have a girl I like! She said if I turn into a rotten cucumber, she won't want me anymore! Girl, I... I'll go find you other men! The men who came with me are all clean virgins!"
In order to preserve his chastity, Zhang Li completely abandoned brotherhood.
He now wished he could drag those three people to the back mountain right away!
Lin Yan suddenly smiled.
Of course, she was purely angered by Zhang Li!
"What nonsense are you talking about? Who asked you to offer yourself to them? My husband is so handsome, why would I choose you over him?"
Lin Yan couldn't help but look Zhang Li up and down, completely unable to believe where he got his confidence from.
People might think she abandoned her legal husband, Xie Muqing, and instead forced herself on him...
Even if there's no mirror, there must be someone who needs to pee, right?!
She admitted it.
Zhang Li is indeed good-looking, tall and strong, with regular features, except for being a bit dark-skinned.
Even so, she's still no match for Xie Muqing!
She's not stupid...
Instead of enjoying delicacies, they choose to eat simple porridge and side dishes.
Lin Yan began to doubt herself.
Is it because she usually behaves too "improperly" that Zhang Li misunderstands her as the kind of woman who forces respectable men into marriage?
Thinking of the rumors he had heard these past few days, Zhang Li still struggled to muster the courage to stammer out:
"That's because the young master is impotent..."
"What did you say?"
Because of her stern expression, Lin Yan's cool and aloof face looked even more serious. Zhang Li couldn't help but shrink his shoulders and stammered an explanation in a low voice:
"That's what they're all saying. They say that Young Master Xie was unsatisfactory on his wedding night, that you rejected him, and that you'll divorce him sooner or later..."
Lin Yan couldn't listen to it anymore!
She abruptly interrupted Zhang Li before he could finish speaking, glaring at him through gritted teeth and whispering angrily:
"Who's spreading rumors and nonsense? My husband is very capable, extremely capable!"
Thinking about the purpose of coming to the back mountain today.
Lin Yan couldn't help but close her eyes and take a deep breath to calm her heart, which was filled with the urge to beat Zhang Li up.
Once her breathing had calmed down, she opened her eyes and gestured for Zhang Li to look at the mountain wall beside her.
"Stop talking nonsense. I asked you to come up the mountain today so I could show you something. Can you tell what's different about this stone wall?"
Seeing her serious expression, Zhang Li immediately regained his composure and stood up to observe her carefully.
"This... seems to be different in color and smell from other stones."
A moment later, he suddenly raised his head, his face full of astonishment, staring at Lin Yan in disbelief, and it took him a long time to utter a sound.
"Girl, what... what is this?!"
"Don't be too shocked. You can guess for sure. My little brother found this in the stream. Let's search around here and see if we can find a mineral vein."
"This, this..."
Zhang Li took the stone from Lin Yan's hand, nervously swallowed, and his hands trembled slightly.
He stammered for a long time but couldn't say anything else.
He couldn't help but glance at Lin Yan.
His face was filled with barely suppressed excitement, and his heart was overflowing with mixed emotions.
He was the first one to have the right to know about such an important matter, an honor that even Young Master Xie did not have!
Lin Yan didn't know.
Because of her actions today, Xie's army, led by Zhang Li, trusted her even more.
The two of them were so engrossed in exploring the back mountain that they lost track of time.
It was just past 5 PM.
Having not seen Lin Yan for half a day, Xie Muqing felt a strong longing welling up in his heart.
He could no longer resist leaving the study.
He happened to see Lin Muyan playing with Lin Yu in the courtyard, so he went over to ask where Lin Yan was.
I never expected this.
Upon hearing this, Lin Muyan's eyes flickered, and he avoided eye contact with the other person.
Upon learning that Zhang Li was also not at home, Xie Muqing felt a sudden sense of panic.
Especially when he saw the pity in the eyes of Wang Yan and the other two looking at him.
He panicked even more!
Winter days are short.
Just then, a northwest wind suddenly blew through the courtyard.
Seeing Xie Mu's thin clothes, Lin Yu suddenly remembered that her older sister had told her to wear a hat to keep warm when it was cold, so she quickly took off her hat and handed it to him.
"Brother-in-law, you wear this hat!"
"Brother-in-law can't wear your hat, thanks—"
Xie Muqing was about to say thank you, but when he saw the color of the hat, his voice suddenly stopped!
A green hat?!
Is this perhaps hinting at something to him?
Xie Muqing was completely devastated...
But he didn't know where the two of them had gone, so he could only return to the house and wait anxiously.
The back of the mountain.
Zhang Li suddenly exclaimed!
The birds that were having a meeting in the tree were suddenly startled and flew off in all directions.
"Girl, we've found her!"
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