Chapter One

  He came out of the house and saw that there was no one in the courtyard, so he asked Tai Niang: "Mother, have they all left?"

  The aunt reluctantly put the fabric on the table, touched her hair and said: "Ah, gone, but this fabric is really good. When Zhibao comes back, I'll make him a few more shirts, and let people in school see that our family in Beijing is also someone."

  He put down the things in his hand, wiped his hands again, and walked quickly to the table. He touched the fabric and found that it was indeed different from Lin Qing's. Not to mention the fine cotton, but also the bright color of the dye. It was indeed a product of the capital city. Thinking of the third master who came today, he didn't say anything about his appearance, but his gestures were all noble. Although their family treasures were not bad, what good life could they enjoy in this rural area? They were also descendants of the old master, and their own son was still a legitimate child, how could they not compare to a bastard child? He couldn't help feeling unfair in his heart, so he asked: "Is that all about the old house, mother?"

  "That's not good, the big house can't be said to be on good terms with us, and if we force our way in, it will be bad for both sides. In the future, when Zhi Bao goes to Beijing to take the exam, the big house won't even give him shoes to wear." The old mansion was where she had lived for most of her life, how could she not want to go back? But the old master was gone, and the family had split up. The old mansion wasn't even their second house's place, so why ask about it? It was just that if they were allowed to enter the old mansion temporarily, they would be able to stay for a while. However, unfortunately, after asking, it turned out that no one lived in the old mansion anymore. As a concubine, she couldn't really tear her face off and go."

  "What's the point...?" Mrs. He glanced at her mother-in-law and muttered, "You're also the second wife of my uncle, how come we have to live in the countryside while they enjoy life in the capital."

  The aunt's face twisted slightly, and she said in a pretentious tone: "Your father has been dead for many years, can't the family not be divided? Even if it's someone else's house in the village, you should be content with what you have. It's when everyone lives together that there are more disputes."

  He sighed and said, "Dividing the family is dividing the family, but we are also the children of our father. Moreover, the second master passed away early, and Father was willing to let us live in the countryside. Now that Zhenbao has grown up and will be going to school soon, what Eldest Brother divided for us initially is really unfair."

  Thrown into the countryside by the old master, her own son died early, and it was originally a heart disease of Tai Yiniang. Moreover, when the old master divided the family according to the rules of the first wife and concubine, even if there was Tai Yiniang's pension money inside, it was not too much. It might be considered a rich household in the village, but wanting to move to the town would be a bit difficult. Moreover, what the old master divided was the rural industry under the old master, that is to say, Tai Yiniang and her family could only get a share of the landowner's concubine, not the money from the old master's hands. So, no matter how you look at it, they were just a farming family and couldn't get any benefits from the old master.

  "What's the point of dawdling, hurry up and cook, always picking at your tongue, aren't you afraid of getting a scald?" Auntie Tai stretched out her hand to gather up the things on the table, hugging them as she went into her own room.

  He Shi knew that Tai Yi Niang was getting angry, and quickly followed behind her in a low voice: "Mother, they don't live in the ancestral house, and there's a horse carriage, so they must be living in the county."

  "What do you want to say?" Ta Yiniang turned around, her face stern.

  "I'm worried about Zhibao being alone at school, but if we could live in the county and rent out our land in the countryside, then do some small business in the county, Zhibao can come home every day after school, what a great thing that would be!" He Shi forced a flattering smile and said with her hands clasped together.

  "Tai's auntie rolled her eyes and hesitated: 'Can that old three agree?'"

  "Great Aunt, without considering our relationship, she separated us from that little bit of property. Can a son repay his father's debt? Moreover, when Madame Han was in the countryside, we treated her so well, and her mother-in-law bullied her so much, but didn't we secretly help her? Now that she's gone, how can her son not repay us a little?""He Shi saw Tai Yiniang soften and quickly added: "Anyway, they won't be living in Linqing all the time. When they return to Beijing, that house will be empty. It might as well be occupied by our own relatives."

  Tai's mother-in-law found it more reasonable, if the old master didn't care about kinship, then his son should come to repay, let alone they were familiar with the Han family, Jin Fenghua should also make some effort.

  "This is the way it should be, besides, I'm his elder, he should show some filial piety to me." The fourth aunt thought that if she moved to the county seat, maybe she could even get a horse carriage. She wouldn't be like the old lady who was stingy, but rather a rich lady with children and grandchildren to take care of her.

  "What you said is exactly what I meant." He Shi said with pleasure.

  "What if their house is rented?" Aunt Tai suddenly said uncertainly.

  "Just look at their demeanor and you'll know. Mrs. Heo was actually uncertain in her heart, but thinking that she could live with her son in the county, she gritted her teeth and said: "Tomorrow I will go to the county to investigate, I must get to the bottom of this matter."

  Jin Fenghua had lived a life without ever thinking that his own house would be coveted by someone unrelated. He wore his immortal clothes and left from Ta Niang's place, rushing towards the ancestral mansion. First, he took a stroll around, then symbolically asked about the harvest of Da Lao Ye's fields, and finally visited the village headman Ri Zheng and others, all bringing gifts, making him look like a prodigal son returning home. Xian Yi followed beside him, also recognizing these people one by one, which established her identity as Jin Fenghua's wife. The country folk were simple-minded, not thinking about who was matched with whom, but most of the girls envied Xian Yi, feeling that she would marry such a god-like person and live a life of luxury, just like falling into a pit of good fortune.

  As for Jin Fenghua and Xian Yi, one didn't care about how others looked at him and hadn't learned to consider those close to him, the other was already used to being seen as a bird that had flown into the branches of the Jin family's wealth, and in her heart she never felt that she wasn't worthy of Jin Fenghua. So the two basically didn't take Ta Niang's words of disdain to heart and got on the carriage ready to return to the county.

  Unexpectedly, the horse carriage had just traveled for a while when Jin Fenghua suddenly said: "I've only heard my mother mention it, but I've never seen the mountain and water scenery in our village. Let's go around the foot of the mountain behind us."

  Xian Yi listened and didn't think it was inappropriate. In her heart, she sighed that Jin Feng Hua's mother-in-law was indeed the person with the greatest influence.

  The coachman driving the horse cart naturally wouldn't disobey, and drove the cart towards the back mountain. Jin Fenghua leaned against the window, looking at the sun in the sky, not knowing what she was thinking about.

  When the carriage finally arrived at the foot of the mountain, Jin Fenghua surprisingly ordered the carriage to stop and said: "My mother said that there is a kind of fruit on the mountain that tastes very good. Now that it's in season, I must go up and try some."

  The coachman offered to take over, but Jin Fenghua refused, saying that the coachman didn't know the way. So she only brought Xianyi and Bixi, slowly making her way up the mountain. Fortunately, Xianyi was wearing simple clothes today, although she had been pampered since childhood, but after all, in her past life, she was a hardworking person, climbing mountains wasn't a problem, at most, she used up too much energy, halfway through, they rested for a while, fortunately, Jin Fenghua wasn't in a hurry, just like on a spring outing, strolling along, enjoying the scenery between the mountains, from time to time picking some wild fruit, and sharing it among the three of them.

  Just then, when Xian Yi was feeling a bit exhausted, she suddenly heard someone arguing in hushed tones up ahead. Xian Yi paused and looked at Jin Fenghua, who winked at her before quietly slipping away. The two people over there seemed to be arguing even more loudly now, and Xian Yi could vaguely make out phrases like "too little" or "let's just disband". However, she wasn't worried - with Jin Fenghua's terrifying martial arts skills, a couple more opponents wouldn't be a problem.

  Perhaps it was because the two of them were arguing too loudly, but at this moment, a baby's crying sound came over, and Xian Yi only felt that something was strange, furrowing her brow.

  "What are you doing?" Jin Fenghua stood quietly beside the two men and suddenly asked.

  Those two men obviously didn't expect anyone to appear in this deep mountain and old forest, they were so scared that they almost dropped the child in their arms. The two men were middle-aged, with ordinary faces, almost to the point where you couldn't find them in a crowd. They wore rough cloth shirts and pants, but the children in their arms were wrapped in silk, which was clearly not something that rural people could afford.

  One of the two men, who was slightly bolder, was initially startled by Jin Fenghua, but soon became enchanted by her appearance. He quickly had a suspicious look on his face and seemed dazed. The person next to him, seeing that he wasn't speaking, didn't dare to lift his head, so he nudged him from behind. Only then did the man come back to himself and say obsequiously: "We're picking some fruit in the mountains, our sister-in-law has gone back to her parents' home, my brother and I had no choice but to bring them up here. Where are you from? You're not from our village, are you?"

  Jin Fenghua didn't even hear what they were saying, and with a flick of his sleeve, the child who was still sobbing was instantly swept into his arms. He somewhat stiffly picked up the child and walked towards Xian Yi without looking back. The two people were first shocked by Jin Fenghua's move, and then anxiously followed behind him, shouting: "What are you doing?! This is our family's child!"

  Jinfenghua didn't even bother to respond and directly said: "Bixi, tie them up."

  Bi Xi didn't say another word, and with a swift motion, she leapt into the air, quickly binding the two men in three to five movements. In addition to this, she also tore off the tattered cloth from their bodies, stuffing each of their mouths to shut them up, too lazy to listen to another word from them.

  Xian Yi saw the child in Jin Fenghua's arms, as well as the intricately embroidered quilt, and somewhat understood Jin Fenghua's intentions. Looking at Jin Fenghua's awkward posture while holding the child, Xian Yi couldn't help but reach out and take the child from her. The child looked to be over three months old, but still seemed a bit weak, and was currently crying with a scrunched up face and tears all over his face. Xian Yi took out a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped him clean, then looked at his slightly moving small mouth and said: "He's probably hungry."

  "Then take it back, find something for him to eat." Jin Fenghua looked at Xianyi holding the child, with a gentle face, and his heart rate began to speed up again.