That night, Lu Changxuan’s addiction flared up, causing him unbearable agony.

Qin Feifei was both hungry and in pain, also suffering unbearably.

She touched her half-swollen face that hurt too much to open her mouth properly, staring at Lu Changxuan with both eyes. She didn’t tend to him, her mind alternating between clarity and confusion as thousands of thoughts flashed through her head.

Father didn’t care about her, Mother couldn’t help her, Second Brother also despised her for being a burden, and Eldest Sister had always been the profit-seeking type… If Eldest Sister knew that others had discovered her burning Qin Yaoyao to death, she would probably be the first to strike against her.

Only Grandmother – Grandmother valued family prosperity and pitied women. When Qin Fangfang made mistakes, Grandmother gave her a chance to correct them; when Sixth Sister made mistakes, Grandmother also gave her a chance to correct them…

Grandmother would surely give her a chance too.

Given the current situation, she might not even be able to preserve her life. As long as she could preserve her life and not suffer such hardship, even if it meant living with oil lamps and ancient Buddha statues, spending every day with Mother chanting and reciting Buddhist scriptures, it would be a hundred, a thousand times better than now.

She would rather return to the Qin mansion and never come out to see people again than stay at the Lu family!

As for her husband…

He was already a useless person!

She had heard about the poison of opium. Once addicted, there was no way to quit – one could only wait for death!

She had examined Lu Changxuan’s body earlier – he was skin and bones, unbelievably thin. They hadn’t lived together for a long time, rarely even meeting, and when they did it was always arguing, so she hadn’t known he had become so emaciated.

So he was already terminally ill, beyond salvation!

In that case, why should she stay here waiting to die?

Having thought this through, Qin Feifei began planning how to return to the Qin mansion.

Old Madam Lu watched her closely, not to prevent her from escaping, but to ensure she didn’t slack off from work.

Next, Qin Feifei diligently tended to Lu Changxuan for two days, and Old Madam Lu’s surveillance of her relaxed.

Lu Changxuan woke up and lay in bed, saying nothing, lifeless.

Sometimes he muttered to himself. When Qin Feifei leaned in to listen, he seemed to mumble “Yaoyao… Ju’er…”

Qin Feifei was so angry she collapsed weakly on the stool, staring at Lu Changxuan in a daze for several hours.

That evening, while Old Madam Lu wasn’t paying attention, Qin Feifei found an excuse to go to the kitchen to cook, secretly escaped, and ran frantically toward the Qin mansion.

Previously, she had always traveled by carriage when going out, and these days she hadn’t eaten her fill, so her physical strength was inadequate. She could only walk halfway before being unable to continue.

As dusk fell, Qin Feifei had never felt so desperate.

Finally, summoning courage from somewhere unknown, she climbed onto a manure cart, enduring the nausea until she reached near the Qin mansion’s back gate.

Qin Feifei rolled off the manure cart, dirty and stinking, her clothes having developed a sour smell from not being washed for several days. Where was any trace of her brightness and charm from a year ago?

She crawled and rolled to the back gate, almost knocking on the door with delight.

With a “creak,” a servant woman appeared at the door with an impatient expression. “Everyone’s sleeping, who is it!”

Qin Feifei’s hair was disheveled and her face was grimy. “It’s me, I’m Third Miss.”

The woman held up a lantern to illuminate her. “Third Young Madam? Are you trying to fool this old woman’s poor eyesight?”

Qin Feifei hurriedly smoothed her hair back behind her head and smiled ingratiatingly. “Aunt Wu, you are Aunt Wu, aren’t you? I really am Third Miss!”

Aunt Wu’s cloudy eyes looked at her carefully again and finally recognized her, but her expression darkened. “Third Young Madam, I heard you sold Nanny Wu?”

Although Qin Feifei had initially been resentful about Old Madam Lu selling Nanny Wu, after these days of torment, she had almost forgotten about it.

When Aunt Wu asked, she said: “I didn’t sell her, it was my mother-in-law, Old Madam Lu…”

“Why didn’t Third Young Madam stop it?”

Qin Feifei was stunned, then became angry. This was one of the things she least wanted people to mention. Now being questioned in this tone by a servant, she immediately glared: “Aunt Wu, you’re overstepping your bounds! Look clearly – you’re just a servant of the Qin family. Who do you think you’re questioning?!”

Aunt Wu looked her up and down twice and said: “What beggar came here pretending to be Third Young Madam!”

Then with a “bang!” the door was shut again.

Qin Feifei was both anxious and angry. “Open the door, open the door! How dare you shut the door!”

Some people in the courtyard were attracted over, and one asked Aunt Wu: “Who was it?”

Aunt Wu curled her lip disdainfully. “Some beggar from who knows where, dirty and stinking, talking nonsense there. Don’t pay attention!”

Hearing this, that person changed the subject: “Aunt Wu, have you gone to find Steward Qin?”

“I only know how to watch the gate. What use would finding Steward Qin be? The marquis mansion is heavily guarded – that’s not a gate I could watch.”

“How would you know without trying? Do you remember how that girl Lan Chou was kept at Yilan Garden?”

“How did that happen? I’m old now and can’t remember clearly.”

“At that time, Seventh Miss let them choose whether to stay or leave. Only Lan Chou chose to stay; the rest were all eager to distance themselves from Seventh Miss. It’s said that Seventh Miss asked Lan Chou just one question – what she was good at. Lan Chou said she was good at remembering things, and just like that she was kept. Now after working in the shop for over half a year, her monthly wages plus extras come to over ten taels!”

Aunt Wu was somewhat moved. “Is that really true?”

“Would I lie to you? My family doesn’t have a suitable candidate, but your boy is just the right age. Why not try with Steward Qin?”

…

Outside the door, Qin Feifei knocked for a long time without anyone coming to look. She was both angry and resentful, knowing that continuing to knock would get her arrested by the street patrol as a vagrant. She spat on the door and resentfully went around toward the main gate.

The main gate was quickly opened. The gatekeeper recognized her and just had her wait at the entrance while going to send word to Madam Dong.

Madam Dong was talking with Granny Zu under the lamp when she heard the news. Her brow furrowed tightly, and finally, accompanied by Granny Zu, she went to Qin Yongtao’s study.

When Qin Yongtao heard, he said: “When a woman marries, she follows her husband. Ask clearly – does the son-in-law know about Third Girl’s return, or doesn’t he know?”

Madam Dong had someone go to the gate to ask, while she stood outside Qin Yongtao’s study waiting.

The weather had warmed up again these past few days, but Madam Dong felt no heat at all. Waves of coldness swept over her back.

It was said that Qin Feifei had set fire and burned Qin Yaoyao to death.

Did the Elder Master know or not? Did the Elder Madam know or not? Now that Qin Feifei had returned, the Elder Master showed no intention of even looking at her.

What kind of family was this really?

The Lu family’s troubles had been going on for some days now. Concubine Lian must have known long ago, but had she shown any concern for Qin Feifei?

Madam Dong looked dazedly at the cypress tree just a few steps away. In the dim night, the man-high cypress looked like a ghost, quietly, quietly waiting to strike, mysterious and terrifying.

Madam Dong suddenly shivered.