The old woman hurriedly struggled up and cried: "Sister, I'm not in pain anymore, let's go back to work."

  Yang hurriedly pressed down on her belly with a vicious grip, her face deathly pale as she said: "Let me take a look at what's inside your belly first, then we'll go."

  Lu shouted and rushed to push Yang, who slapped her in the face. In a fit of rage, she used all her strength, and Lu fell to the ground with a "thud". Yang pounced on her, tearing at her clothes while slapping her face: "Ungrateful thing! The mistress treated you so well, yet you dared to betray her!"

  Yang's aunt pulled out a pillow from under her clothes, her heart greatly distressed, and with a wave of her hand, she slapped again. "You wicked slave, how dare you! How dare you! Have you forgotten how the mistress treated you? You're just the mistress's dowry maid!"

  The old lady let out a loud shriek and reached out to grab the pillow back, but the guard who had come over at the commotion didn't hesitate to pull her away.

  "Take her back and keep a close eye on her!" Old Lady Yang said, shaking her finger.

  Yang Ayi cut open the pillow and poured out its contents for Dr. Xue to see.

  Mrs. Xie has been sleeping poorly, so she's always used a medicinal pillow, which is an old recipe from the Yang family, and it's always been Lu Mama who sews them up. She was also one of the people who went to Suzhou with her. She's also been Mrs. Xie's confidante since following her from the Yang family when she got married.

  No one expected her to betray Mrs. Xie.

  Xu Daifu sighed and said, "Fortunately, the time is not long. If this medicine is used for a long time, I'm afraid people will become more and more biased, irritable, and when it's at its worst, they'll appear to be mad in the eyes of others."

  Lin Qingwan's face looked very unpleasant, "Was this pillow made by Lu Mama in Suzhou or on the road? Who gave her the prescription and who bought her the medicine? And who was it that connected them?"

  Yang hurriedly got up and said: "I'll go ask now."

  "Mother, let the bodyguard go instead."

  "Madam Yang shook her head and said, 'Young mistress, she dares to do such a thing, not necessarily afraid of death. I know what she's really afraid of. Moreover, no one in this mansion is more familiar with things than me. It's easy for her to deceive the guards, but it's hard to deceive me.'"

  Lin Qingwan nodded and went to take care of Mrs. Xie, letting her go for interrogation.

  Lin Yuhong was sitting on the swing, laughing happily, and Mrs. Xie was pushing her, with a smile on her face as well.

  Lin Qingwan stood at the gate of the courtyard and let out a sigh of relief, asking quietly, "Didn't you come over here to rest, why are you playing?"

  "Madam is in a bad mood and can't stay in the house, so it's just as well that Miss Yubin has arrived. The two of them are playing together in the courtyard."

  It's lucky Lin Yubin came, otherwise Madam would have had a gloomy face all day.

  Lin Qingwan's mouth slightly curved upwards as she smiled and walked towards the two of them.

  Mrs. Xie gave Lin Yuhong a final push on the swing and turned to ask Lin Qingyuan, "Is the house cleaned up?"

  Lin Qingwan smiled and nodded, "I'll have someone replace the things in your house with new ones, so they look fresher. After dinner, I'll take you there."

  Mrs. Xie was taken aback and asked: "Are you going to stay at the Xie Mansion tonight?"

  Mrs. Xie has passed away, and Lin Qingwen is also worried, so she nodded with a smile: "I'll go back tomorrow, I hope mother won't dislike me."

  Mrs. Xie smiled and nodded her head, saying: "I see why Yubin has become more and more spoiled, it's because she learned from you."

  Lin Qingwan didn't even have time to speak when Lin Yuhbin on the swing beside her nodded heavily, "I learned it from Auntie."

  Lin Qingwan smiled and shook her head, letting them bully her as they pleased.

  As Yang said, she was very familiar with Lu's weaknesses and everyone in the mansion, and it took only about an hour to ask out all that Lu knew.

  Lu's mother had only one daughter, who was already married and had children. She was currently living with her husband in the capital city to take care of them. This was her only weakness.

  Mrs. Xie is the mistress of the Xie family, and buying or selling a servant is just a matter of her word; she knew things were not going well since the time when Lao Da was caught.

  When she saw Yang's wife enter the thatched cottage, she knew that even if she died on the spot, Yang's wife would not let her daughter and son-in-law go.

  All she could do was show her own worth and hope that her master would spare her daughter's life for the sake of their past relationship.

  It all started with her son-in-law, and by the time she found out, they had already defected to the main house and done several things for them. If she didn't defect as well, neither the main house nor the lady would let them off.

  At that time she was still accompanying Mrs. Xie in Suzhou, and there were limited things she could do, which was to pass on some messages from Mrs. Xie when writing letters to her daughter.

  At that time, Mrs. Ke would recite Buddhist scriptures and copy sutras every day, and there was nothing worth reporting. The first time was frightening, but afterwards it became normal.

  Anyway, Madam didn't do anything, whether Big House knows or not doesn't matter.

  It was different when Madam wanted to return to Yangzhou. Early on, someone asked about her eating habits and the incense she used.

  Mrs. Lian's medicine pillow formula was also taken away, and she didn't receive any more letters until she returned to Yangzhou, thinking that the matter had passed. Who knew that when she was helping Mrs. Lian tidy up her boxes, a little maid slipped her a small pillow, telling her to replace Mrs. Lian's pillow with it.

  She did it with a pounding heart, and then Mrs. Xie began to have insomnia and nightmares.

  Yang's face turned cold and she asked: "Who is that girl?"

  She's quite a pretty face, but just a careless and sloppy girl. I wouldn't have paid attention to her otherwise, but I also kept an eye on her, had someone keep watch on her, and found out that the one who usually delivers messages for her is Cao Pozi, the flower trimmer in the courtyard, while Cao Pozi's contact is actually the wife of the head steward...

  Yang's wife sneered, "Is this because Madame Ding has no son, so she lost her power?"

  Yang hurried to report to Lin Qingwan, who furrowed her brow and said: "This matter I'd rather not interfere with, let Mother handle it."

  She has already returned to her family after all and cannot handle matters of the Xie family, just like how the Xie family cannot interfere with her affairs.

  Didn't she only give orders to Yang Nainai during today's inspection? Are the people below supposed to listen to Yang Nainai?

  "I'd like to ask you, Auntie," Lin Qingwen looked at her, "does Mother still need to return to the capital after this is all settled? Even though it's a den of dragons and tigers?"

  Old Lady Yang wanted to speak but hesitated.

  Lin Qingwan frowned and said, "Mother, if Second Brother were here, he would definitely not want you to be so sad. I think it's better for her to live in Suzhou, you should advise Mother to return to Suzhou with me after this."

  Old Lady Yang lowered her eyes and didn't say anything.

  Lin Qingwan didn't know what to say anymore. They both understood the reasoning, it was just a matter of whether they could overcome that hurdle in their hearts.

  She is not a party involved, she sympathizes with sorrow but cannot empathize. The empathetic Wen Jie did not cross the threshold of getting the certificate.

  Lin Qingwan closed her eyes and said, "Nanny, please persuade Mother again."

  Yang's wife softly responded, but she knew that if she could persuade her husband, she would have been able to do so two days ago.

  After this incident, it is even more impossible for Madam to go to Suzhou. She has never been one to back down in the face of force.

  At night, Mrs. Xie returned to her own room, and she slowly ran her fingers over the changed room.

  Perhaps to adjust her mood, Lin Qingyan had the gauze windows and curtains changed to bright and soft colors, which matched well, even the mosquito net and bedding were replaced.

  Mrs. Xie sat on the bed, touched the quilt and asked, "What's wrong?"

  Yang Ayi did not hide anything from her and told her everything that had happened since Xu Dafu discovered something was wrong.

  Mrs. Xie sneered, "Does he think I'm a sick cat without claws? He's already reached into my house."

  "Madam, Young Mistress asked me to persuade you to return to Suzhou with her. She said she wants to take care of Second Master... You..."

  Mrs. Xie raised her hand to stop her from speaking, the cold expression on her face eased a bit, but she still said indifferently: "Don't go, let the guards arrest all those who have been summoned by Luoyi, not one can escape. We've traveled thousands of miles to the capital, we must bring them something."

  "Ah, Grandma..."

  "Let him stay," Mrs. Xie said with a cold smile: "They need to have one of their people by our side, or they won't be at ease, and neither will I."

  Madam Yang sighed and knew that her mistress had made up her mind to return to Beijing.

  Mrs. Xie looked down at her hands, knowing that this time she would have to face a storm of blood and rain when she returned home, and might even drag her natal family into it, but she just couldn't get over the hurdle in her heart - they had ruined two children, and some price must be paid.

  And now the price has not been paid yet, but he reached out his hand to her. If she retreats again, she will be the meat on the chopping board.

  Mrs. Xie made up her mind and didn't stay much longer.

  The Taoist temple had only been in operation for 49 days when she packed up her things and set off, even earlier than Lin Qingyan.

  The steward of the Xie manor and his family also followed, while other servants involved in the medicine pillow incident were beaten and sold away. This was a warning to the servants of the Yangzhou Xie manor. With Madame Xie almost holding down the fort, it was not only people but even information that found it hard to get out, so outsiders knew nothing about what had happened inside the manor.

  To avoid having too many dreams at night, Mrs. Xie took everyone to Beijing ahead of schedule with a heroic and spirited attitude.

  At this time, news of Zhong Ruying's safe return to Beijing had just arrived.

  After all, she was a military commander and couldn't stay away for too long, so after the memorial service for Xie Erlang, she set off back to the capital.

  He also caught up with Su Zhang's ceremony of presenting prisoners.

  This time she wrote a letter, first to report peace and secondly to congratulate Lin Qingyuan. One of the Lin family's sons made great contributions in capturing Lv Jing, and Su Zhang asked for his merits. The emperor directly granted him the title of miscellaneous general.

  Lin Qingwan saw this letter and because of Mrs. Xie's worry about returning to Beijing had dissipated a bit, her mood improved.

  The Lin family finally managed to get back into the army.

  Lin Qingyuan had the same idea as Lin Run, and the letters from Lin Xin and Su Zhang were also sent to Suzhou, where the battle report was also delivered.

  Lin Run jumped up excitedly on the spot, then stroked his beard and chuckled, shaking his face with a mixture of laughter and restraint, before going to find his father to share the news.

  Wan's insight is indeed impressive. No wonder Lin Xing holds him in such high esteem. Is it because he has a natural talent on the battlefield?

  It's been only half a year and Lin Xin has already become a miscellaneous general.

  Although General Miscellaneous is only a fifth-grade official, he has troops under his command. In the future, when fighting battles, he will be able to fight independently, and his military achievements will only increase.

  At this rate, how can the Lin family not prosper?