A master of metaphysics is farming.

After eating and drinking at Chunfenglou, Xiang He left the large umbrella behind and asked Wang Rongxing to help find someone to dye it. Then, he could dry it and send it to the private school.

She took Xiang Huiying shopping, and she needed to buy some meat for Su Shi so that she could make some cured meat at home.

I'll also visit the funeral clothing shop, as the day after tomorrow is the Lower Yuan Festival, a time to offer sacrifices to our ancestors and pray to the gods.

She picked out quite a few things, mostly yellow paper. Looking at Huiying's bamboo basket full of things, she couldn't help but wonder, "Why did you buy so many things? Is it for the Lower Yuan Festival?"

"Yes, we should always prepare some."

Xiang Huiying blinked, "Grandpa will arrange for someone to do these chores. You won't be able to use all of these, will you?"

"It's okay, just keep it in mind, it'll come in handy sometime."

She has other uses. The Lower Yuan Festival is the birthday of the Water Official, who is in charge of relieving calamities. As a Taoist disciple, one should naturally make offerings to her personally.

Xiang He scanned the goods on the shelves one by one. "I remember that in previous years, every family would contribute money, and then my great-grandfather would arrange for someone to take care of it?"

"Yes, if you don't have money, you can just contribute some food and labor."

"Ah."

Xiang Huiying didn't know why she brought this up, but she didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she looked at the lantern stand outside the door and tugged at Xiang He's sleeve.

"Hey girl, do you want to buy a lamp? I've noticed you're up very late at night, how about we buy a lantern?"

Xiang He's gaze followed the lanterns, which were quite simple; buying one wouldn't hurt.

After she had bought everything she needed, she went out to buy a lantern, as it made things much easier to get up at night with a lantern.

He bought a bamboo basket of things, deposited the fifty taels given to him by Madam Zeng in a money shop, and left one hundred taels for Wang Rongxing. Although he always said he didn't want it, this was a business between the two of them, and it would be beneficial for everyone to calculate it clearly.

The two walked towards the private school, chatting and laughing, when Xiang He suddenly stopped.

"He girl?"

Xiang Huiying looked at her in confusion, only to see her eyes fixed on the distance, in the direction of leaving the city.

With a deep look in her eyes, Xiang Huiying became even more puzzled. "What's wrong?"

Xiang He tightened his jaw, grabbed Xiang Huiying's wrist, and ran, "Hurry back to the village."

Seeing that she looked nervous, Xiang Huiying, unaware of the situation, also became nervous and hurriedly caught up with her, running towards the private school.

Xiang He said goodbye in a hurry, borrowed a driver from He Suian, and the three of them set off for Xiangjia Village.

He Sui'an stood outside the gate, watching the carriage drive away into the distance, his heart heavy. It seemed something had happened again...

-

Inside the carriage, Xiang He remained silent, and seeing her terrifying expression, Xiang Huiying dared not speak either.

Although we don't know what she's thinking, there must be a reason why she's in such a hurry to get back to the village.

The carriage traveled quickly and returned to the village in the afternoon.

Passing by the village chief's house, you can see that his gate is wide open, and there are many tables and chairs being cleaned inside, seemingly in preparation for the Lower Yuan Festival.

Xiang He had no other thoughts, and after saying goodbye to the driver, she ran home.

When they passed by the fourth brother's house, they stopped in their tracks.

"He girl...?"

Xiang Huiying followed her gaze to Xiang Lao Si's house, where several people were sitting and seemed to be chatting about something very happy, laughing heartily.

One of the figures looked familiar, and Xiang He frowned deeply.

"That's... Ninth Sister?"

Xiang Huiying nodded, "That's your second aunt's youngest daughter. She got married last year and came back this year to see you... Fourth Grandmother."

Zhang gave birth to a son and a daughter. Xiang Kaixi was not yet married, but Xiang Lianmei was already married.

Today, Xiang Lianmei returned with Zhang Shi. Their whole family was sitting inside. Zhang Shi held Xiang Lianmei's hand, her face beaming with pride.

But Xiang He wasn't looking at Zhang Shi; instead, he was looking at Xiang Lianmei, a new bride who had been married for only a year.

She wore a light green silk dress, her hair was styled in an updo adorned with several silver hairpins, and her wrists were also decorated with jade. It was clear that she had married well.

However, in Xiang He's eyes, her apparent wealth paled in comparison to what she actually possessed.

Perhaps sensing the intense gaze, Xiang Lianmei turned her head and looked out, her eyes meeting Xiang He's. A hint of surprise crossed her eyes, but a smile appeared on them.

"Oh, He's back?"

The gentleness in her eyes was palpable, and Xiang He's heart sank, but she smiled and said, "Ninth Sister, it's been a long time."

They have now severed ties and no longer address each other according to their birth order in the Xiang family.

Xiang Lianmei swayed as she got up and walked out. Zhang Shi only glanced at her before continuing to chat and laugh with Li Shi and the others.

At this moment, Li and the others were overjoyed to see the new bride and had no intention of dealing with Xiang He.

Xiang He didn't pay attention to them, but just watched Xiang Lianmei walk out step by step, swaying her figure as she came to him.

"Has Heya come back from town?"

As she took a step closer, Xiang He pulled Xiang Huiying back two steps. "You've come back from the city, Ninth Sister, to see Fourth Grandmother?"

Xiang Lianmei nodded with a smile, "I always have to come back to see Grandma. I just went to see Third Aunt. Your family is living a good life now. Congratulations."

Seeing her beaming with joy, but then a stench wafted over as she spoke, causing Xiang He to frown and back away, saying, "Thank you... I'll head back now."

Before Xiang Lianmei could say anything, Xiang He had already pushed Xiang Huiying to go home, while he himself quickly ran home.

That Xiang Lianmei is absolutely disgusting!

Although she was dressed cleanly and neatly, a rotting, decaying piece of flesh was clinging to her shoulder.

That was a stillborn baby!

It was still a dead baby, half-corrupted!

Xiang He rushed home with a heavy heart, only to be relieved to see the couple tending to their vegetable patch in front of the yard, with no damage to the plant.

It seems that she sensed the Four Directions Formation when she stepped into her own home. It was the Four Directions Formation that repelled evil spirits, which is why she was able to sense it.

With her heavy worries subsiding, she handed the bamboo basket to Madam Su and glanced at the main room. "Mother, has Xiang Lianmei entered the house?"

Su was puzzled and looked over as well. There were several bowls on the table that hadn't been cleared away yet.

"She's been in, we can't just let her stand outside, can we?" Seeing her pale face, Madam Su frowned as well. "Is something the matter?"

Xiang He immediately walked around the house, and only felt relieved when he saw that there was nothing wrong with the four-sided formation.

She pulled up a chair and sat by the door, with Madam Su sitting close beside her. "What's wrong? What happened? Don't worry me..."

She steadied herself and said solemnly, "Mother, don't let Xiang Lianmei into the house from now on. She has something bad about her."

Upon hearing the sound, Madam Su's expression changed drastically. "Is it...is it a ghost?!"

“It was a malevolent spirit,” Xiang He exhaled lightly. “I set up a four-sided formation in this house, so that malevolent spirit couldn’t get in just now. But she shouldn’t suspect anything; she’ll just think that someone guided us to this house. Please don’t bring it up.”

"I was surprised when she suddenly asked me if someone had given me advice about this house..."

"Mother, don't worry, she's just coming back for a visit and will probably leave tomorrow."

Looking at Lianmei just now, she only came back to visit briefly and probably won't stay long. Xianghe will only feel at ease once she leaves.

As for the dead baby on her shoulder, it seems to be another one with dirty hands...