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

"Five hundred coins?"

What a concept!

Yu Manyan, afraid she wouldn't believe him, nodded emphatically: "That's right, it's five hundred coins! Ranran is so capable, she bargained with that cloth merchant and managed to raise the price to five hundred coins per catty. You mustn't tell anyone about this, my dear wife!"

While Ji Chunhua was shocked, her anger at the man's act of giving the first wife twenty taels of silver gradually subsided.

She had initially assumed the red mat would sell for at most a few dozen or even a hundred coins, and hadn't paid attention to the contract. However, she was drawn to the gift from Young Master Yan after Ranran displayed it, and forgot to ask about it afterwards.

No wonder her husband was so enthusiastic about this trade trip. Despite the near-death experience, he still agreed to go to the capital.

That's... outrageous profits!

She wiped away her tears and glared at the man fiercely: "I'll let it go this time, but I'll only agree to help the eldest son's family this far! If you want money from me again next time, I won't give you a single penny!"

She wanted to save the money for her daughter's wedding, to give her a grand and glorious ceremony! She'd already wronged her daughter for sixteen years; did she really want to make her suffer on her wedding day?

Yu Man breathed a sigh of relief, his face full of flattery.

"Okay, I promise this is the last time, honey, you have to believe me!"

He wasn't afraid of his sister-in-law's swearing or his cousin's resentful gaze. But his elder brother's heavy silence and his mother's cloudy tears truly distressed him.

The couple were talking in the kitchen, unbeknownst to Yu Wanran. She was busy surveying the terrain with Wu Jian, discussing their plan to wait for their prey that night.

After it was completely dark, Yu Wanran had two bodyguards escort her family, who were traveling in an oxcart, to the cave. She and Wu Jian led the remaining men to lie in ambush around the house.

It was very cold, and everyone squatted in the open field, shivering from the cold. Wu Jian and his fellow bodyguards relied on a couple of sips of old wine to keep warm.

Yu Wanran silently rubbed her slightly numb wrist to keep her blood flowing smoothly, worried that it would affect her actions later.

She wondered if it was just a prank, but after careful consideration, she decided it was better to be safe than sorry. She and the Yu family couldn't afford any more losses right now.

In the dead of night, under a dark and windy sky, several figures of varying heights crept silently toward the Yu family's residence. They carried swords and bows and arrows, their faces veiled with black cloths, but their exposed eyes were filled with a sinister and murderous intent.

"coming!"

The ambushing men were energized.

"set fire!"

The men in black surrounded a petite leader, who gestured and deliberately altered her voice.

"Surround the doors and windows. If anyone tries to escape from inside, kill them immediately. Don't let a single one escape!"

They were some distance away, and Yu Wanran and the others couldn't hear what the group of men in black were saying. Seeing that the men had scattered and were preparing to secretly pour oil on several thatched huts, they immediately began their operation.

Yu Wanran took the bow and arrow she had borrowed from Wu Jian, aimed at the man who wanted to light a torch, and with a single arrow, sent him to the northwest!

The men in black probably never dreamed that their long-planned scheme would fail so quickly. Their companion fell beside them, and panic ensued. Before they could react, Wu Jian and his bodyguards simultaneously fired arrows.

Their aim wasn't as good as Yu Wanran's. But with numbers came strength, and with a volley of arrows, two more men in black fell.

The man in black, realizing he had been ambushed and was in a bad situation, frantically tried to run away.

Yu Wanran and Wu Jian, leading their bodyguards, charged out of their hiding place like tigers plunging into a flock of sheep, fiercely attacking the men in black.

They expected a bloody battle, but the enemy turned out to be a rabble. Except for the short leader, who turned and ran at the first sign of trouble, the remaining men in black were easily defeated by the bodyguards!

Yu Wanran stared at the short man, feeling that his figure was unusually familiar.

She rushed forward with murderous intent and stabbed the other man in the back with her sword!

Hearing the wind direction behind him, the man quickly dodged to the side. However, Yu Wanran's sword strike was a feint; she was waiting for him to dodge.

With a sudden shift in his wrist, he swung his wrist and aimed a slash at the opponent's head.

The short man, in a desperate attempt to avoid another sword strike, rolled on the ground. Unwilling to back down, he rose and lunged at Yu Wanran with his sword raised, and the two engaged in a fierce, head-to-head battle!

Yu Wanran recognized the other party instantly by his familiar martial arts style and his familiar gloomy eyes.

The leader was actually the female assassin who had twice attempted to assassinate Yan Cheng'an in the capital!

"It's you?"

She was speechless with surprise, and at the same time, her mind went blank—

Why was it this female assassin who appeared?

Could it be that the one who wants to harm her and her family is the female assassin's master, not Xiao Yao? But who would issue the warning? Could it be one of Yan Cheng'an's men?

Taking advantage of a moment when her sword strike slowed, the female assassin's eyes flashed with murderous intent as she prepared to strike. However, Wu Jian arrived just then, his nine-section whip whistling as it lashed out at the female assassin.

Yu Wanran snapped out of her daze and immediately joined the attack, determined to capture this woman who had caused so much harm!

Female assassins are not so easily captured.

Seeing her companions fall to the ground and be subdued by the bodyguards, and realizing that she herself was no match for Yu Wanran and Wu Jian combined, she angrily leaped out of the battle and turned to run away.

Yu Wanran's lightness skill was inferior to hers, so she took down the bow and arrows from her back, nocked an arrow, and shot.

The female assassin was accidentally shot in the shoulder with an arrow. Enduring the excruciating pain, she desperately fled. Yu Wanran and Wu Jian struggled to catch up, but found themselves surrounded by darkness, wondering where she had gone.

Trying to identify the bloodstains on the ground was like searching for a needle in a haystack, with the ground overgrown with weeds. Concerned for the safety of others, they had no choice but to abandon the pursuit and return to the Yu family's residence.

"Miss Yu, that person's figure..."

Wu Jian's expression turned solemn, realizing his suspicions were correct. He said to Yu Wanran, "Don't you find this familiar?"

Yu Wanran nodded calmly.

"She's the female assassin who assassinated Young Master Yan when we went to the capital!"

Wu Jian hesitated, then took a few steps.

"It seems their mastermind has their eye on you. Miss Yu, you and your family must be extra careful from now on!"

Yu Wanran frowned, deeply wary of the female assassin's presence. She wasn't worried about the assassin targeting her, but her family was her Achilles' heel. She couldn't bear to imagine what would happen if the assassin bypassed her and attacked her family.

Upon returning to the Yu family home, they were surprised to find Yu Man and his two sons, armed with sticks and hoes, guarding the captured men in black alongside the bodyguards.

"Father, what brings you here?"

Yu Wanran was both surprised and reproachful: "So dangerous..."

Yu Wenrong rolled up his sleeves and brandished a sharpened stick. Even though his hands were still trembling slightly after hitting someone, he still stood tall with his chest out.

"Third Sister, we were worried about you, so we came! Don't worry, Mother and the others are fine and waiting for us at the cave."

Yu Man and Yu Wenbin turned pale.

They had clung to a sliver of hope that the person who had warned them was joking. But tonight, a truly terrifying group of people arrived, intent on killing their entire family.

The thought of leaving Qingping Village and finding a safe place to live grew stronger in Yu Man's mind.

"Ranran, who did this heinous thing? Have they caught the person who ran away?"

Seeing Yu Wanran shake her head, Yu Man couldn't help but feel disappointed, staring blankly at the mess in front of her house.