A master of metaphysics is farming.

The next day, before dawn.

Xiang He got up early and found the door ajar. She immediately became alert, but relaxed when she saw two familiar figures outside.

"You two are up so early? Are you heading back?"

He Sui'an turned around and said, "I got up a little early. I'll wait for you. Today's rest day is over."

Xiang He suddenly realized, "I almost forgot," Xiang He rubbed her eyes, and through her blurry vision noticed that He Suian's trousers were a little damp, "You went to the back mountain?"

Xing Ji remained expressionless, while He Sui'an simply smiled and said, "I've been there."

"Oh."

Xiang He didn't ask any more questions. She turned around and went back to the kitchen to boil water. It was the end of September, and the morning wind was a bit cold. She boiled water to wash her face and cook porridge at the same time.

She has now learned how to start a fire and is very adept at doing chores.

Before she could make another move, the firewood in her hand was taken away. Madam Su patted her shoulder and said, "Mother, come on. You'll be running off somewhere again soon. Go and get ready."

Xiang He was slightly taken aback, but after a moment he chuckled, "Mother understands me best!"

"Shao Poverty."

The two got along like a real mother and daughter. Su was always gentle, and Xiang He was like a well-behaved daughter. In the eyes of others, they were a mother and daughter.

Perhaps the Su family had already decided that she was their daughter, after all, it was just a physical appearance.

Xiang He walked into the main room with a relaxed smile, took out the Deer Immortal Grass. She had originally planned to sell herbs, but Wang Rongxing had taken that tiny bit of Thorn Aster.

Other herbs are also scarce, so it's better to wait until there are more before selling them.

She handed the deer antler grass to Madam Su, saying, "Mother, wash it clean and boil a pot of it. After it boils over high heat, turn to low heat and simmer for 15 minutes."

"What's its purpose?"

"It benefits the kidneys and nourishes yin, and is used for treating weakness and bleeding. You can drink some too."

Ms. Su immediately understood and hurriedly went to wash a pot to prepare it.

Seeing her busy in the kitchen, Xiang He flipped through the herbs she had picked. There was one herb that was suitable for them to drink, but it had to be dried before it could be cooked.

"Never mind, I'll just buy some."

Xiang He carried the bamboo basket out and placed the simple herbs on the winnowing basket. Xiang Dayong was not idle at home either. Besides checking on the rice fields, he did odd jobs whenever he had free time.

Looking at these bamboo winnowing baskets and racks, a thought arose in Xiang He's heart: it was time to make what she needed.

-

After the family finished breakfast, Xiang Dayong and Su Shi stayed at home, while He Sui'an's large carriage carried many people.

Besides the three siblings, there was also the village chief and Xiang Fusheng.

The once spacious carriage now felt somewhat crowded.

Xiangyang and Xiangyun read their books in silence, while Xianghe kept looking out of the car window, gazing at the mountaintop they had seen that day, but nothing appeared there now.

On the contrary, He Suian talked more with the village chief, while Xiang Fusheng sat alone with nothing to say.

After finally making it to the town, the village chief personally went to find the village head, and after he signed the letter of severance, he handed it to He Suian. "I trust the young master. Just have He Yatou bring it back later."

"Thank you for your trust, village chief."

The village chief watched the carriage leave, shook his head, sighed softly, and turned to walk back.

The carriage headed towards Shuiyun City. Along the way, Xiang He and He Suian exchanged a few words, while Xiang Fusheng remained silent.

Only after arriving at the private school and dropping off the three of them did Xiang Fusheng call out to Xiang He.

He stood there with his lips tightly pressed together, glancing at Xiang He every now and then, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. Xiang He lifted the carriage curtain and tapped on the carriage panel, "What does Young Master Xiang want to say?"

Hearing this, Xiang Fusheng glanced at her and said, "I'm your older brother."

"It used to be, now tell me what happened."

He opened his mouth, then sighed in despair, "Did you take my mirror?"

"No."

"..."

Xiang He lowered the carriage curtain, not forgetting to say, "Is that mirror more important than fame and fortune? Once it's gone, it's gone. It's destined not to stay by your side."

After saying that, the carriage slowly moved forward, leaving Xiang Fusheng slightly bewildered, still pondering what Xiang He had said.

He Sui'an, who was sitting in the carriage with her, curled her lips and said, "What, after severing ties, you're giving him a nicer look now?"

Xiang He pouted, "I've never given him a hard time, have I? I thought he was only interested in fame and fortune, but I didn't expect him to be so persistent. This pointless idea should have been abandoned long ago, just like two separate families."

Make a clean break; dragging things out is bad for everyone.

Seeing her nonchalant expression, He Sui'an's eyes softened. "Miss Xiang, how about you come with me to the capital for the imperial examinations next spring?"

He had barely finished speaking when the carriage suddenly lurched. Xiang He quickly grabbed the side of the carriage and asked, "What happened?!"

He Sui'an remained seated, narrowing his eyes, "Xing Ji."

"It was my dereliction of duty, sir, please forgive me!"

However, the carriage finally came to a stop after a while. Xiang He tilted her head in confusion. This was clearly a flat road, so why did it suddenly lurch?

After this little incident, Xiang He sat up straight again. "You just said you wanted me to go to the capital with you?"

"Exactly."

"why?"

She really couldn't understand how this had turned into a conversation about going to the capital.

A flurry of thoughts raced through his mind, and he subtly tapped his knee with his fingers. "Wait a minute, the imperial examination? When is the imperial examination again?"

She felt the word sounded quite familiar...

He Sui'an's eyes gleamed. "The imperial examinations are held in February, and I am going to the capital to participate."

"February..."

Xiang He's fingers were still moving on her knees. He Suian saw this and waited silently for her to make up her mind.

"February is springtime, and that period was uneventful; everything seemed to be going smoothly..."

She spoke in a low voice, and He Sui'an heard her every word without interrupting her muttering.

Suddenly she looked up and stared at He Sui'an. He Sui'an remained calm and looked back at her, "What's wrong?"

"A nobleman from the capital is really generous?"

He Sui'an couldn't help but laugh out loud, "That's for sure. The powerful and wealthy in the capital are not only generous, but they will also bestow gold and treasures as gifts when they are in a good mood, and the rewards are endless."

Xiang He's eyes immediately lit up. She pinched her chin and pondered. If she couldn't find anything here, she could still see the beautiful landscapes on the way to the capital and encounter more spirits. Who knows what she might find out?

Once she had made up her mind, she patted her thigh lightly, "It's settled then! If I decide to seek—cough cough! If I decide, I will tell Mr. a month in advance."

One of the words made He Suian narrow his eyes, but he didn't point it out. He just smiled and nodded, "Okay, it will take about half a month to get to the capital. If you say so a month in advance, you can prepare your travel gear."

"Alright!" Xiang He held up a thumbs-up in front of him. "It's a deal."

He Suian looked a little confused, and moved his thumb upwards towards He, "It's my habit, I like to stamp with my thumb... uh, it's like stamping with my thumb?"

Seeing her actions, He Sui'an also gave a thumbs up and pressed down hard on He Peng before pulling his hand back.

"Alright, the agreement has been made, and I will never break it, even if it costs me my life."

He Suian withdrew his hand, placing the hand that had pressed the seal on his knee, his thumb gently kneading his index finger.

Xiang He didn't notice his little actions; she was just rummaging through her cloth bag and taking out the two light little red cloth bags.

She carefully opened it, and inside was a piece of paper. Xiang He looked at the words on it, and they were very similar to those of Wande Money Shop.

"This is... a silver note?"

He Suian stopped what he was doing, and smiled, "Yes, the silver notes from Wande Money Shop. The Wang family is very generous."

She stared at the words on it, her mouth agape, and immediately pulled out another red cloth bag, inside which were three more sheets!

"Just how wealthy is the Wang family?!"

A full four hundred taels of silver notes, compared to the ten taels Xiang Fusheng received back then, it was like heaven and earth!

"Miss, do you not know? The Wang family's perfume dyeing workshops are spread all over the place. Shuiyun City is just one of them. The real main business is in the capital. Wang Rongxing's father is just a son of a concubine in the Wang family."

Xiang He's eyes widened in surprise, "They really have a huge family business..."

Xiang He carefully put away the four hundred taels of silver notes, and only realized what it was when her hand touched a hard object. "I almost forgot about this statue of the evil god."

He Suian looked at her cloth bag with curiosity. Xiang He took out the evil god statue wrapped in yellow paper. "This thing is used to harass the old lady of the Wang family. We need to choose an auspicious time to burn it."

"I've heard Xing Ji say that you are truly a capable person, and I admire you."

Xiang He waved his hand and chuckled, "I know you are no ordinary person. If there are any distinguished guests, please mention me as well."

"nature."