Chapter 283: Daring

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  Chapter 60: Another Incident (Part 2)

More and more villagers gathered to watch the commotion. Mo Qingze looked at the acting mother-in-law and daughter-in-law with an indifferent expression, wishing he could just leave. However, considering their seniority, he could only patiently explain, "Second aunt, it's not that your nephew refuses. It's just that the rented place is too small. With these extra people, there won't even be a place for them to sleep. It's freezing cold, we can't let my cousin and niece sleep on the floor!"

Hong Shi, without hesitation, said, "It's just two more people. It's warmer when you're crowded on such cold days! If there's really no room, you can rent another room."

Niu Shi also nodded along, feeling completely justified. They didn't think their request was unreasonable at all!

"Tch, you have a place to live yourself, yet you want to take advantage of relatives. I've never seen such shamelessness."

"Exactly, they caused such a scene a few days ago, and now they have the nerve to bring this up. Having relatives like this is truly unfortunate."

"Master Mo hasn't neglected his relatives at all! I just saw Miss Mo take her cousin from another room to the city for a medical check-up. Now she's leaving her cousin here to take care of him. She's even taking care of her own cousin quite well."

...

Seeing the shamelessness of this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the villagers watching the scene were disdainful.

Hearing these comments, Wu Shi, leading San Ni'er, felt ashamed and wished she could disappear. If she insisted on bringing her child back, her mother-in-law and sister-in-law wouldn't have an excuse to make things difficult for her nephew.

Mo Yong Xi, who was already fourteen and spoiled by her parents, readily agreed to her second aunt's request without even thinking twice. She was resentful that her cousin repeatedly refused, and now hearing the villagers' comments, she exploded, pointing at Mo Qingze and cursing, "What kind of useless cousin are you? If you had any conscience, you would let those bastards of yours sleep on the floor and give up the bed for us!"

"Slap!"

Old Mo had just arrived and heard his youngest daughter's words. His head was spinning, and he slapped her hard across the face, roaring, "Shut your mouth! Is this something a girl should say? Apologize to your cousin now!"

For a grown girl to call her cousin's Children "bastards" and disrespect her cousin, if this got out, who would dare to propose marriage? Who would marry such a daughter-in-law without virtues?

Unfortunately, Mo Yong Xi couldn't grasp her father's good intentions. Holding her swollen face, she cried out loudly and fell to the ground, wailing incessantly, kicking her legs stubbornly, "They're bastards because their mother eloped with a man! If they're not bastards, what are they? They are bastards without a mother!"

Old Mo was infuriated by his foolish daughter's words. Seeing his nephew's cold gaze fixed on his daughter, he didn't have the heart to comfort her. He went up and gave her another slap across the face, shouting, "You're so unreasonable! Get up and apologize to your cousin!"

Afterwards, he forced a smile and said to Mo Qingze, "Ze'er, your cousin is still young and ignorant. Don't argue with her!"

Before Mo Qingze could say anything, Hong Shi, who had seen her daughter been beaten up by her husband, rushed up and started fighting with her Old Mo, "You useless old man, dare to bully us in front of others, I'll fight you!"

The villagers watching were dumbfounded. No one expected the situation to escalate like this.

Mo Qingze looked at this farce with cold eyes, his whole body covered in a layer of frost, with no intention of intervening.

Mo Yong Xi, sitting on the ground, shouted for Hong Shi to avenge her. She endured and endured, but couldn't resist kicking her father's legs again. If his uncle hadn't already intervened, he wouldn't have forgiven her cousin for insulting his children.

...

In the evening, Mo Qingze brought San Ni'er back. Although he tried to conceal it, Mo Yan could still sense something was wrong.

"Dad, what's wrong with you?"

Mo Qingze patted his daughter's head, forced a smile, and shook his head, "Dad's fine, just a little tired. I'll rest for a while."

Seeing her father unwilling to talk, Mo Yan didn't ask further. Looking at the timid San Ni'er, she couldn't help but wonder if something had happened again with Hong Shi's side.

During dinner, Mo Qingze had no appetite. He only ate half a bowl and made an excuse about being too full at noon, then put down his chopsticks and returned to his room.

San Ni'er, holding a bowl of rice, timidly watched her uncle enter the room. She didn't dare to eat the delicious food on the table anymore. It was Mo Yan who took the initiative to put some dishes in her bowl. After thanking her softly, she carefully began to eat.

With two more children at home, at night, Mo Qingze and Li Zhong slept in the master bedroom's east bed, while Xin'er, Zhen'er, and Li Yan slept in the west bed. Mo Yan slept in the small room with San Ni'er and Shi Tou. Fortunately, the beds were large, and it was winter, so they weren't too crowded.

After Shi Tou fell asleep, Mo Yan asked San Ni'er about what had happened in Liu Yang Village.

San Ni'er carefully recounted everything that had happened, omitting the offensive words spoken by her aunt to spare her sister's feelings.

Mo Yan didn't expect the situation to be exactly as she had guessed. She was utterly speechless about Hong Shi's shamelessness. She didn't even have the energy to complain. In this life and the previous one, she had never seen such a shameless person!

"Sister, Mom said it's her fault this time. She asked me to apologize to you and said she caused trouble for your family."

San Ni'er, lying in the warm bed, held her brother's hand tightly, her face flushed as she apologized.

When she saw what her grandmother and second aunt had done, she wanted to take her mother to the city immediately and bring her brother back home, so as not to cause trouble for her uncle's family.

"San Ni'er, this is not Aunt Wu's fault. Where did she do wrong to me? Don't think too much about it. Just stay here with Shi Tou, and come back whenever you want to go home."

Mo Yan was really angry. It was also because she didn't think carefully enough that she allowed Hong Shi and the others to cause trouble. Originally, she wanted to help her aunt's family as much as possible in the future, but given this situation, it wasn't easy to help. Hong Shi was like a blood-sucking locust, and they couldn't afford to get involved.

San Ni'er felt relieved when she heard this. She was really worried that her sister would blame them!

With everything cleared up, San Ni'er became more affectionate towards Mo Yan. She chattered about many small things, then finally couldn't resist her sleepiness and fell into a deep sleep while holding her brother's hand.

Mo Yan listened quietly to the siblings' long breaths, her eyes shining in the darkness. She knew that San Ni'er had hidden some things from her, otherwise her father wouldn't have acted like this just because of Hong Shi's commotion.

In this life, she had already regarded her father and siblings as her closest relatives. She wouldn't actively provoke others, but if anyone dared to hurt her loved ones, she wouldn't easily let it go. Originally, she thought that as long as the people from the old Mo family didn't provoke them, she wouldn't bother. But now, it seemed that she couldn't just let it go... 

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 Chapter 785: Definitely Guilty

Shu Yu couldn't understand why her master always had someone else relay messages and refused to meet her in person. Last time, when her identity was exposed, her master didn't approach her until after completing the task.

She had reason to suspect that her master felt guilty and was afraid she would hold her accountable. So instead of finding her in Zhengdao Village, she simply gave up and didn't bother searching.

"Always causing trouble," Shu Yu huffed, leading the mule into the city.

It was New Year's Eve, and the entrance to the city was particularly crowded.

But as soon as she entered through the city gate, she saw a familiar figure standing by the gate.

Shu Yu was momentarily stunned and hurriedly led the mule over. "You're back?"

Meng Yunzheng smiled and replied, "As promised, we returned before the New Year."

Shu Yu had three black lines sliding down her forehead. Yes, they did come back before the New Year, but it was only a few hours difference.

"I heard from your grandmother that you received news about the master of Dongqing Temple and came out to look for someone." Meng Yunzheng glanced behind her. "Didn't find the master?" He didn't seem surprised.

After all, in his eyes, the master of Dongqing Temple was a bit elusive, appearing and disappearing at will.

Shu Yu sighed. "Yeah, somehow she managed to walk so fast on two legs. I have no idea where she went."

She had even searched the nearby Taoist temple but didn't find anyone.

Meng Yunzheng led her donkey over. "If the master doesn't want to meet, it's natural not to find her."

"It doesn't matter to me whether I meet her or not, but weren't you looking for her all along? If you can't find her, how do you explain it to the Fifth..." Shu Yu lowered her voice. "To the Fifth Prince?"

"No explanation is needed. He sought out the master just to get a result."

Result? What result? Wasn't it just to find out whether she had succeeded in ascending to the throne?

She knew about that.

The Fifth Prince was the ultimate winner, and without the master's calculation, she was well aware of the outcome.

Meng Yunzheng said, "Even if the result is not to his liking, it doesn't mean he would give up that position. He wouldn't. So I think it's better not to find the master. If the divination result is not ideal, it could actually affect his plans and mentality."

Shu Yu thought it made sense. No wonder Meng Yunzheng didn't seem particularly eager when it came to the master of Dongqing Temple.

But if the result was favorable, it would be like giving the Fifth Prince a shot in the arm.

She spun her eyes around. "How about we say the master already divined the result, and it's extremely auspicious?"

Meng Yunzheng paused. "..."

Can you really come up with such an exaggeration?

Shu Yu covered her face. "I was joking. Hehe. Anyway, I need to make a quick visit to Wang Changdong's house."

"Why?" Meng Yunzheng asked.

"When I heard about the master's news, I rushed out without asking for details about her situation. I want to inquire about it now."

"I'll accompany you."

He said he would accompany her, but when they arrived at the entrance of Wang's house, Meng Yunzheng stopped and didn't enter. He stood outside, holding the donkey's reins, while Shu Yu went alone to knock on the door.

Standing at the door, she could hear the lively noise from inside.

At this hour, it should be the time for family reunion and the New Year's Eve dinner. If she wasn't so anxious, she wouldn't have come at this moment to disturb them.

Taking a deep breath, Shu Yu still knocked on the door.

Soon, a middle-aged woman in her forties came to open the door. She was momentarily surprised to see a young lady outside. "Whom are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for Wang Changdong, Big Brother Wang," Shu Yu smiled and replied.

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  Chapter 59: Another Incident (Part 1)

"Silly girl, how can Aunt, a married woman, stay at your house? That's not proper!"

Wu Shi couldn't help but chuckle. The in-laws and sisters-in-law at home were not easy to deal with. If she didn't go back, she didn't know how to explain it. It would become widely known. There were more than ten families who fled from Mo's village to Liu Yang Village. She couldn't afford to offend them!

"Eh..."

Mo Yan scratched her head awkwardly. She hadn't thought about this before. After thinking for a moment, she suggested, "We have to go back to the clinic for a follow-up in a few days. It's not practical to run back and forth in such cold weather. How about leaving Shi Tou here and Aunt can come back in a couple of days?"

Wu Shi was somewhat tempted when she heard this. The house was a mess, lacking even warm quilts, and they couldn't even eat properly. It wasn't a good place to recuperate. However, she felt like she and her son were causing too much trouble. She didn't have the face to leave her child behind to bother others. So she declined, saying, "Aunt appreciates your kindness, but Shi Tou is still young. If I, as his mother, am not around, he might cause trouble. I'll take him home, and we'll come back for another visit on the day of the follow-up."

Seeing her determination, Mo Yan didn't insist anymore. She looked at the thin and listless Shi Tou and couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Just when they finally had a child to play with at home, Zhen'er hadn't even had a chance to be happy before they were going to leave. He became anxious, "Can't we let Sister San Ni'er come over to take care of Shi Tou? With a real sister around, Shi Tou won't be so restless!"

Mo Yan thought it was a good idea. San Ni'er was Aunt's second daughter, the same age as Xin'er, also nine years old. With the two siblings in her house, their lives could be improved a bit. It would be considered as repaying Aunt for her care for them over the years.

After being persuaded by the three siblings, Mo Wu Shi reluctantly agreed. She instructed Shi Tou carefully, telling him to listen to his cousins. Although Shi Tou didn't want to leave his mother, he obediently agreed.

Mo Yan escorted Wu Shi to the street and arranged for a donkey cart for her.

Wu Shi already felt troublesome enough. How could she let Mo Yan spend money? She repeatedly refused, so Mo Yan had to say that the donkey cart would pick up Mo Qingze and San Ni'er anyway, so it was just a convenience. After Wu Shi thanked her several times, she finally got into the cart.

When Mo Yan returned home, she found that Zhen'er had already put on her shoes and was sitting on the bed playing with Shi Tou. However, Shi Tou was a little shy and not very familiar with Zhen'er, so he just quietly watched his little cousin play with the wooden horse and candy figure, not daring to touch anything.

Seeing that Shi Tou's clothes were worn out and thin, and thinking that there was still some cotton cloth left at home, Mo Yan decided to make him a set of padded clothes.

When Shi Tou heard that his beautiful cousin was going to make new clothes for him, he became spirited and cooperatively let Mo Yan take his measurements. In the end, he even shyly kissed Mo Yan's cheek, making her extremely happy and feeling closer to this little cousin.

While everything was harmonious here, it was a different scene in Liu Yang Village.

"What's wrong? You're prosperous now, so you're going to forget about us poor relatives?"

In the fields, Hong Shi pulled Mo Yong Xi, an old woman, and stared at Mo Qingze with indignation, "It was me who raised you back then. Now I'm just letting your cousin and niece stay with you for a few days, and you're unhappy?"

Humph, this ungrateful wretch! Now that he's prosperous, he wants to get rid of the old Mo family. He doesn't even give a damn!

"Poor children in the family are starving every day, but his uncle is living a good life and refuses to help. Sob!"

Beside her, Niu Shi also wiped her tears while pretending to cry, sneaking glances at Mo Qingze's expression through her fingers. Seeing him frowning and not speaking, she immediately cried out, accusing Mo Qingze of being heartless.

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 Chapter 784: Searching for Someone

It was already New Year's Eve, and Meng Yunzheng and Zhao Xi should have returned by now. Little did Shu Yu expect to see Wang Changdong instead, leaving her momentarily stunned.

"Brother Wang?" She quickly stepped aside to let him in. "Why are you here? Is something wrong?"

"No, no, everything's fine. Oh, wait, I actually have something to give you." Wang Changdong took out the purse from his sleeve and handed it to Shu Yu.

"What's this?" Shu Yu squeezed it and felt as if it contained a piece of paper. Could it be a banknote?

Hmm, it was possible. Wang Changdong wouldn't have given her money just to take care of her during the New Year, would he?

She entertained the thought, but it seemed she was overthinking things.

After taking a sip of the hot water brought by the old lady, Wang Changdong let out a contented breath and explained, "I don't know what's inside either. Just recently, a Taoist nun came to Zhengdao Village and inquired about you. Knowing that you weren't in the village, she asked me to pass this item to you."

A Taoist nun?

Shu Yu's expression suddenly changed, becoming eager. "The Taoist nun you mentioned, is she in her forties, with a kind and gentle appearance, and carrying a bamboo flute at her waist?"

"Ah? Yes, yes, she did have a bamboo flute. She claimed to be your acquaintance, Miss Lu. You really know each other?"

Shu Yu grew excited. "Yes, she's my master."

She had indeed come, and their guess was correct. She had truly come to the southwest and found her way to Zhengdao Village.

However, why did she choose today to come? They had missed each other.

"Where is my master now?"

Wang Changdong shook his head. "She left, and I don't know where she went."

He relayed the message from the master of Dongqing Temple to Shu Yu.

Furrowing her brows, Shu Yu wondered what he meant by not needing to force a meeting. If she had come all the way here, was it not easy to meet with just a little more waiting? What harm would it do to wait a little longer?

Shu Yu immediately went to the shed and untied the donkey, leading it towards the door.

"Grandmother, my master should be near Heichang County. I'll go look for her. If I find her, I'll bring her back to have the New Year's Eve dinner."

The old lady had no objections. The master of Dongqing Temple was Shu Yu's master and their benefactor. It was only natural to invite her back as a guest since she was still traveling on New Year's Eve.

Therefore, she didn't try to stop her and simply handed Shu Yu a cloak and hood. "Go ahead, be careful, and dress warmly."

Shu Yu took them and turned to Wang Changdong, who was still sitting in the hall. "Big Brother Wang, thank you for informing me. I have to go find someone now. If there's anything urgent, we'll talk later."

As soon as she finished speaking, she disappeared.

Wang Changdong hadn't expected her to care so much about the Taoist nun. If he had known earlier, he would have done everything he could to keep her here.

With Shu Yu gone, he didn't have any business in the house either. Setting down his teacup, Wang Changdong took his leave.

The old lady was grateful that he had come to deliver the message and gave him some candies and pastries to take back with him.

Wang Changdong expressed his thanks and hurriedly left.

Riding the mule, Shu Yu swiftly headed towards Zhengdao Village.

According to Wang Changdong, her master had left less than an hour ago. Without a mount, she wouldn't have gone too far on foot. The neighboring villages around Zhengdao Village were the most likely locations.

However, despite searching for a long time, she couldn't find her master. As she watched the weather gradually darken, she could only return to the city in frustration, riding the mule once again.

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 Chapter 282: Sorry to Trouble You Again

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 Chapter 281: Reflection

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  Chapter 58: Cruelty of Hong Shi

"How could that old... second grandmother be so heartless?"

After listening to Mo Wu Shi's tearful complaint, Mo Yan angrily snapped the twig in her hand, "Si Ni'er is so well-behaved, how could she bear to sell her off? She's her own granddaughter!"

She never expected Hong Shi to be so ruthless. Just for a few pastries, she sold even her six-year-old granddaughter and claimed she died of illness. It was simply outrageous!

Thinking of her obedient and sensible little daughter, Wu Shi felt a sharp pain in her heart, and the tears she just stopped couldn't help but flow again, "The food she brought with her was stolen by other refugees on the way, and San Shu caused trouble again, losing all the family's properties, money, and land to Master Chen. Poor Si Ni'er, just for a few pastries, she was heartlessly sold by her own grandmother, sob!"

At the end, she almost gritted her teeth in anger. After marrying into the Mo family fifteen years ago and managing everything inside and outside the house, she dared not show the slightest disrespect to her in-laws. But in the end, she couldn't even protect her own flesh and blood. How could she not hate it?

Mo Yan was stunned. How could there be such a thing?

She always thought that Old Mo and Hong Shi schemed against their family in every possible way, tightly holding onto their house and land. How could they abandon such a lucrative opportunity and settle in Liu Yang Village? It turned out that the troublemaker Mo Yong Shou offended the wealthy and powerful Master Chen.

She really didn't know whether to rejoice or to say it's retribution, but it was enough if the retribution fell on the culprit's head, yet it also affected innocent children.

Seeing Wu Shi so distressed, Mo Yan dared not mention Si Ni'er again and quickly changed the subject, "Aunt, your niece always remembers your kindness. If you have any difficulties, just let your niece know, and I will definitely help if I can."

Wu Shi quickly wiped away her tears, looking at Mo Yan's complexion and demeanor, which had changed drastically in the past few months. She felt both guilty and grateful. Back in the Mo family village, she was in charge of managing the household. Even though she pitied her three nieces and nephews, she didn't dare to cross her mother-in-law's bottom line, so she didn't actually help them much. She didn't expect her eldest niece to still remember.

"Aunt knows you're a good girl. If it weren't for no other way, Aunt wouldn't have the face to come to you."

Mo Yan shook her head, "If it weren't for Aunt often taking care of us in the past, we three siblings might have starved to death long ago. If you have difficulties, just tell your niece. Don't be shy."

Wu Shi's eyes turned red again, nodding and choking, "Then Aunt won't be polite to you! Your little cousin Shi Tou fell ill the day before yesterday. The only bit of money in the family is held by mother. She refuses to spend it to call a doctor. Now the child's condition is getting worse, and he can't even drink rice soup. Aunt has no choice but to ask you to borrow some money to see a doctor for the child."

Mo Yan cursed inwardly at Hong Shi for being heartless. Even if she didn't care much about this grandchild, she couldn't just watch her own grandson die of illness! She suddenly felt lucky not to have been reincarnated as one of Hong Shi's granddaughters. Otherwise, she would either die again or kill this heartless woman!

Seeing Wu Shi so worried, Mo Yan suppressed her anger and immediately agreed without hesitation, "Aunt, Shi Tou's illness cannot be delayed. You hurry back home and bring him here. We'll see the doctor in the city right away!"

"Okay, okay, Aunt will go right away!"

Seeing Mo Yan's decisive agreement, Wu Shi's last bit of worry disappeared. She wiped her face and hurried back home.

When Wu Shi brought her child over, Mo Yan saw that the child's eyes were tightly closed, his face was purple, and his lips were chapped. She dared not delay any longer and hurriedly instructed Mo Qingze before taking the mother and son to the city in a donkey cart.

It took almost an hour to rush the forty miles to the doctor's clinic. After seeing the child's condition, the doctor scolded Wu Shi harshly, saying that if they had delayed for another night, the child would either die or become a vegetable. This frightened Wu Shi, and tears kept flowing uncontrollably!

Mo Yan also felt extremely scared. Shi Tou was only three years old and very fragile. In this backward era with limited medical capabilities, the likelihood of early death was too high. With such thoughts in mind, she grew even more resentful towards the heartless Hong Shi.

After leaving the clinic, Mo Yan directly brought Wu Shi and her son back home and let the little one sleep in her bed.

The child woke up briefly when he took the medicine at the clinic, but now he fell back into a deep sleep. Fortunately, the medicine worked, the purple on his face faded a bit, and his body wasn't as hot as before, which relieved everyone's worries a little.

Xin'er and Zhen'er both remembered Wu Shi, who had treated them well before. They also knew that she had helped the three siblings a lot, so they were very sad to know that their little cousin was sick. They shed quite a few tears of sadness.

"Aunt, you stay in the house to take care of Shi Tou. If you're tired, just lie down and rest."

After sending the two children away, Mo Yan took out a thinner cotton quilt from the cabinet and covered it over Shi Tou.

Feeling the soft and warm blanket, Wu Shi nodded with a red-eyed expression, feeling grateful and not knowing what to say.

Mo Yan smiled, turned and left the room, gently closing the door, and instructed the children not to speak loudly before carrying several packets of medicine into the kitchen.

Inside the room, the only sound was the cold wind blowing against the wall outside.

Wu Shi absentmindedly touched her son's face, lost in thought. Thinking of the helplessness and despair of guarding her child these past two days, her eyes were filled with a glimmer of hatred. She hated the heartless Hong Shi for her cruelty, hated her husband's weakness and filial piety, but she hated herself even more for being powerless. If she had dared to resist when her mother-in-law wanted to sell her daughter back then, maybe things wouldn't have come to this point!

She was grateful to have met her cousin's family; otherwise, she was afraid she wouldn't even be able to protect her youngest son. Comparing the two situations, she became even more dissatisfied with her in-laws and husband. If it weren't for the children, she really didn't want to stay in her in-laws' house any longer.

The thick cotton quilt was warm, and just by touching it, she knew it was brand new. Thinking of the situation in Liu Yang Village, Wu Shi knew that the cousin's family was now living much better than in the Mo family village. While she was happy for them, she also had endless worries about her future life in her in-laws' house.

Having not slept properly for several days, Wu Shi's eyelids grew heavy, and before long, she unknowingly lay down, holding her son in her arms, and fell into a deep sleep.

Both mother and son slept soundly. After an hour, Mo Yan brought the medicine over. Knocking on the door but hearing no response from inside, she quietly entered. Seeing them asleep, she had to wake them up.

Having Mo Yan brew the medicine, Wu Shi felt very embarrassed. She quickly woke her son up and held him in her arms to feed him the medicine.

Shi Tou was very obedient. After waking up, he didn't cry or fuss, and he quickly finished the bowl of medicine.

Seeing that it was already late, Wu Shi couldn't stay at Mo's house any longer, so she suggested leaving.

Mo Yan quickly stopped her, "Aunt, Shi Tou has just gotten a little better. How can you expose him to the wind now? You can stay here for the next few days until Shi Tou is completely recovered, and then you can go back!"

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 Chapter 783: The Master of Dongqing Temple

Wang Changdong was taken aback and instinctively nodded. "Are you looking for Miss Lu?"

The master of Dongqing Temple raised an eyebrow in surprise. Had that little girl already reverted back to her original surname?

She smiled and said, "Yes, where is she?"

"Today is New Year's Eve, and Miss Lu has gone back to the county town to prepare for the New Year. Is the Taoist acquainted with Miss Lu? If there is an urgent matter, please let me know, or I can go to the county town to help you find Miss Lu."

The master of Dongqing Temple unexpectedly glanced at Wang Changdong and thought to herself... She wanted him to pass on a message and help her find someone, but she didn't directly ask for Shu Yu's address to find her in person.

She was afraid that there might be a grudge between her and the little girl, and she would cause trouble if she went to find her.

It was truly unexpected. It had only been a short time, but the little girl had become so powerful that even the overseer of the village would go to great lengths to protect her.

Indeed, even if she wasn't present, the little girl didn't need her to worry about her.

In that case, she could be at ease as well.

The master of Dongqing Temple smiled kindly. "I am indeed an acquaintance of that little girl. I was passing by this place during my travels and wanted to see her. Since she is not in the village, there is no need to force a meeting. Since you know her, can you help me pass on something to her?"

"Of course." Wang Changdong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they weren't enemies, it was fine. The Taoist nun seemed mysterious and profound, probably a highly skilled individual. He didn't want any conflicts between her and Shu Yu.

The master of Dongqing Temple took out a purse from her sleeve and handed it over. "I trouble you to deliver this."

Wang Changdong accepted it. He didn't know what was inside, but it seemed important. He carefully put it away.

"Thank you, and farewell," said the master of Dongqing Temple.

"Eh? Are you leaving just like that? It's New Year's Eve, and it's freezing cold. Why not stay and celebrate the New Year before leaving?"

People nowadays were generally friendly and respectful towards Taoist priests and monks. As long as they didn't have any ill intentions, Wang Changdong naturally treated them warmly.

The master of Dongqing Temple expressed her gratitude. "No need, I still have matters to attend to. I won't stay for long."

She nodded and prepared to leave.

However, after taking a few steps, she stopped and asked Wang Changdong, "By the way, I want to ask you about something else."

"Please, go ahead," Wang Changdong replied.

"Has the prefect magistrate visited Zhengdao Village?"

Wang Changdong nodded. "He has." This wasn't a secret. All the villagers in Zhengdao Village knew about it.

The master of Dongqing Temple nodded. "Then, Shu Yu has also met the prefect magistrate, right?"

"Yes, she has."

Both questions received affirmative answers. The master of Dongqing Temple smiled satisfactorily. "Farewell."

This time, she really left.

Wang Changdong stood in place, dazed, until her figure gradually disappeared at the village entrance. He then touched his head and said in confusion, "Is she really not going to see Miss Lu? Then, isn't this trip in vain?"

He pinched the purse in his sleeve again. This item must be extremely important.

Wang Changdong turned around and returned to the courtyard. After informing the official who was staying behind in the village, he planned to leave early.

With his belongings packed, he carefully placed the purse and couldn't wait to hurry to the county town.

He knew the address of the Lu family in the county town. Holding the purse, Wang Changdong rushed to find Shu Yu before returning home.

Upon hearing the knocking, Shu Yu thought it was Meng Yunzheng and Zhao Xi who had come.

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