Expelled from the Duke's mansion, the fake heiress is richer than a country.

Yu Cuicui brought an extremely generous New Year's gift, which would be considered very generous by a farmer's standards: a slice of pork weighing 6.6 jin, 30 eggs, and several bundles of dried wild vegetables.

Even Yu Wanran couldn't help but stare at the meat and eggs a couple more times. Even without seasoning, meat cooked in coarse salt water was still meaty!

And those eggs, I haven't seen them for three months, so this is what they look like...

After Yu Cuicui's family left, the next day, the third day of the Lunar New Year, Yu Wanran received a boiled egg. Yu Man took it upon himself to send ten of the remaining eggs to the neighbors, and kept the rest for Ji Chunhua to help her recover.

During the Lunar New Year, Ji Chunhua ate eggs while crying and cursing her husband. Her mother-in-law and the first wife didn't take the second wife's family seriously, but her husband was eager to be a dutiful son.

Yu Wanran cut the white egg into six slices, giving one slice to each person. It was a meager meal, but everyone holding their slice felt like they were eating a delicacy.

When Yu Man returned with the eggs, his lips trembled slightly upon seeing his children's state. He waved his hand dismissively, refusing the eggs his daughter had brought, and silently picked up an axe to chop firewood, ignoring his wife's resentful glare.

Yu Wanran put the egg slice into Yu Xiaoxiang's mouth. Then, she picked up her basket and sickle and prepared to go out.

Yu Wenrong hurriedly caught up.

"Third sister, it's so cold, why are you still going up the mountain?"

"I'll just wander around the neighborhood."

Yu Wanran tightened her layers of clothing. Since it hadn't snowed this year, she wanted to take advantage of the good weather these next few days to find the growing site of the Dendrobium officinale from years ago. The family's situation couldn't be delayed any longer.

Yu Wenrong was torn between warming himself by the fire and going outside. After a long while, he finally made up his mind, found some tools, and chased after them.

"Third sister, wait for me!"

However, Yu Wanran was extremely fast. He'd wasted this much time; he wondered where his third sister had gone.

After leaving the house, Yu Wanran squinted, blurring her vision, hoping to find her way using fragmented memories from her past life. She imagined herself back in the day she was pushed out of her house by her underlings, stumbling through the darkness, and then encountering a group of thugs…

She suddenly shuddered.

The gang of thugs from the previous life, it was such a coincidence that they met on a narrow road, it was as if the other side had been lying in wait for them.

Could it be that they were actually sent by Xiao Yao?

New and old grudges surged into her heart, and Yu Wanran was momentarily dazed. Following her feet, she walked up a bare hillside.

After observing from the hillside for a while, she noticed that there were only a few uncut dead trees in the northeast direction. She stepped on the uneven rocks and climbed towards that direction.

Even if we can't find any Dendrobium officinale, it'll be good to bring some firewood back. This winter, we've been using firewood constantly, even when we're not cooking.

Walking and stopping, she collected about half a basket of dry branches. Hearing a soft "crack" behind her, the coldness that had been weighing on Yu Wanran's brow grew stronger.

This guy has been following her for ages!

At first, she thought it was Yu Wenrong, or a villager she had bumped into. But the man was acting suspiciously, hiding all the way and refusing to show himself. She deliberately walked deeper into the deserted mountains, and this man, oblivious to his own danger, followed her.

As they grew further and further from the village, and knowing that only experienced hunters venturing into the dense forest dared to venture out in groups, the man behind finally hesitated. He crouched in the grass, torn between whether or not to continue following.

The area is deserted, making it an easy place to start. This woman is incredibly brave; she dared to go up the mountain alone, so far from the village…

However, he hesitated, since it was daytime after all.

The man, his eyes darting around, cautiously peeked out, trying to confirm Yu Wanran's location again. But he was startled—the tall, slender figure he had been watching so intently was gone!

How can it be?

He hurriedly turned his head and looked around. Had he really let the prize he was about to eat slip away in the blink of an eye?

"Are you looking for me?"

A cool, deep female voice sounded behind me.

The man's pupils contracted sharply. He pulled a gleaming dagger from his pocket, turned around, and stabbed in the direction of the sound!

Yu Wanran was slightly surprised.

This sleazy guy is actually a martial arts expert!

However, she didn't take his meager skills seriously at all. She slightly shifted her body, dodging the approaching cold light, and with quick reflexes, grabbed the man's wrist holding the knife.

Like grabbing a venomous snake by its vital spot, you squeeze hard. The man let out a heart-wrenching scream!

With a "crack," Yu Wanran skillfully dislocated one of his arms, turned him around, and kicked him hard in the back of the knee. In a flash, she had him lying on the ground, and the dagger was in her hand.

With one foot firmly planted on the most vulnerable spot of the man's nape, she calmly examined the seized dagger amidst his cries of pain.

The gleaming blade tip shimmered with a bluish light, and it smelled of medicine. However, it was probably not poison, but rather some kind of anesthetic.

Since the other party did not intend to kill her immediately, it meant that leaving her alive would mean even more unbearable torture waiting for her.

She sized up the man; he was a stranger, not a servant from the Duke's mansion. His clothes also didn't resemble those of a nearby villager. She increased the pressure of her foot on his groin.

"Say, who sent you?"

The sleazy man thrashed about, spitting out a mouthful of mud, and yelling incoherently.

"No one sent me! Miss, heroine? It's a misunderstanding... It's all a misunderstanding, I was just passing by..."

"Passing by?"

Yu Wanran bent down and gently patted the ugly face with the dagger. Seeing the other person's stiff expression when he saw the dagger, she sneered.

"What a coincidence that we bumped into each other in these deep mountains and forests!"

Perhaps the commotion had been too loud, for a wild beast's howl suddenly rang out from deep within the forest, followed by a terrifying long howl echoing from all directions.

Are they a pack of wolves?

Holding a dagger, Yu Wanran slowly and deliberately made a light cut on the man's terrified face.

I watched as the crimson blood gushed out, dripping onto the ground like a vibrant flower in full bloom.

"If I don't tell you the truth, I'll bleed you dry, attract wild beasts, and they'll devour you alive!"

Yu Wanran spoke in a gentle voice, as if she were talking to someone about how nice the weather was today.

The calmer she was, the more terrified the man became.

A seasoned criminal is more acutely aware of danger than the average person. He knew he'd bitten off more than he could chew! Like a hunter who's always outmaneuvered, he'd finally been pecked in the eye by a goose.

"I am a guard from Chaoyun Pavilion in Tongcheng. I was ordered by Granny Zhang to go to the countryside to buy some pretty girls..."

"Chaoyun Pavilion?"

Yu Wanran tightened her grip on the dagger.

"Chaoyun Pavilion is a brothel, and I am a pimp there!"

The man assumed she was oblivious. Seeing that she seemed about to stab him again, he gritted his teeth and quickly confessed while he was still conscious.

The knife was coated with a homemade sleeping potion from Chaoyun Pavilion. Even the most fierce woman would become limp and helpless after being slightly cut, allowing him to do as he pleased.

Although it wouldn't kill him, he feared that Yu Wanran would leave him here to feed the wolves while he was unconscious for a while.

Had he known this fake county magistrate was no mere showman, he would have brought more helpers. Because of his ill intentions and overconfidence in his skills, he wanted to take advantage of the situation, and the result…

It's too late to regret it!