A master of metaphysics is farming.

The next morning, Su prepared chicken soup early, and Xiang He carried the food box to Xiang Lianmei's house.

She didn't want to have any more contact with this "older sister," but if she continued to cause trouble, it might implicate her family, so she had to handle it herself.

Standing in front of her husband's house, before Xiang He could even raise her hand, a large hand slapped her from behind, startling her so much that she turned around to see a man reeking of alcohol.

The man in front of her looked somewhat familiar, and after a moment she remembered who he was, Xiang He immediately stood to the side.

"Hello, Ninth Brother-in-law."

The man's eyes were half-closed and he craned his neck to get a better look; the smell of alcohol was even stronger.

Xiang He took a step back subtly, raising the food box in her hand. "I'm He'er, here to see Ninth Sister. I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

Upon hearing the name of the person she was referring to, the brother-in-law clearly showed disgust and glanced at her coldly, saying, "Come in."

Someone opened the door from the inside, and the brother-in-law went in first, his steps a little unsteady, indicating that he had drunk quite a bit last night and only returned home early this morning.

As Xiang He walked in, he saw a young girl bowing respectfully, saying, "Greetings, sir."

"Take her to the First Madam."

"Yes."

The little girl led the way, and after passing through the main hall, her brother-in-law turned into another room. He glanced at Xiang He curiously, but quickly looked away.

After walking a short distance, Xiang He couldn't help but sigh, realizing that the room she had seen that night was just one place.

Xiang Lianmei married well; she even has maids to serve her in this small mansion. No wonder she went mad because of her miscarriage. If she couldn't keep this wealth, she would want to die.

With her thoughts in mind, the little girl arrived at a doorway. She bowed and was about to leave when Xiang He called her back.

"Your uncle doesn't live here?"

The little girl kept her head down. "The First Madam has been unwell these past few days, so she has been allowed to rest in a quiet place."

Upon hearing this, Xiang He was slightly taken aback. It seemed that they disliked Xiang Lianmei and sent her directly to a secluded room to avoid disturbing their peace and quiet.

Xiang He nodded his thanks, pushed open the door and went inside. He could see a person sleeping peacefully on the bed at a glance.

She quietly approached, placed the food box on the table, then walked to the bedside and silently chanted an incantation, "...calm your mind and spirit, gaze upon my solitary spirit..."

The voice was so soft it was almost a murmur. Xiang Lianmei, who was sleeping soundly in bed, relaxed her brows and murmured a few times to wake up. She opened her drowsy eyes and saw Xiang He standing by the bed. Her eyes widened immediately.

She sat up halfway and hid in the corner of the bed, "W-how did you get here!"

Xiang He turned around and walked to the table, took out the chicken soup, and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Mother made chicken soup and asked me to bring it to Ninth Sister."

As the spoon approached, Xiang Lianmei shrank even further. "Get out! You're the one who killed my child! I saw it, you and another ghost kidnapped my child!"

Xiang He wasn't angry. She simply put down her spoon and looked at her seriously, saying, "If you continue like this, your brother-in-law might find another woman."

"What do you mean?"

"Your brother-in-law came home early this morning reeking of alcohol, did you expect that, Ninth Sister?"

After only a brief explanation, Xiang Lianmei's eyes widened, and she hurriedly threw off the covers. "How could he be! I have to go find him!"

Xiang He grabbed her arm. "The way you are now, he'll only be annoyed if he sees you. Why make him dislike you?"

"What do I look like! I—"

She choked on her words halfway through. The mirror in front of her reflected her face, revealing dark circles under her eyes, sunken cheeks, and pale lips. She was nowhere to be seen in her former glory.

Terrified by her appearance, she slapped Xiang He's hand away, shouting, "Get away! I don't look like that! I'm clearly beautiful!"

Seeing her cover her face with her hands, Xiang He put away the palm mirror and picked up the chicken soup again. "You can get pregnant again if you lose a child, but it's hard to win back your husband if he changes his mind. Ninth Sister, think it over carefully. I'm going back now."

She placed the soup bowl in her hand into Lianmei's hands, said nothing more, and turned to walk out the door, leaving Xiang Lianmei alone, staring blankly out the door. A few fallen leaves drifted up, and she recalled that face from just now...

"My child..." Feeling the warmth in her hands, she looked down at her belly, "My child died long ago..."

Strands of hair fell across her face as she sobbed softly, tears dripping into the soup, the splashes warming her hands.

She tilted her head back and drank the chicken soup, feeling the warmth spread throughout her body, and when she opened her eyes, she regained some of her vitality.

She choked back tears as she put down the bowl, got up, and sat down in front of the bronze mirror. Her face, reflected in the mirror, was slightly distorted and extremely haggard. Her former beauty was gone, and there were several horizontal lines at the corners of her eyes.

"I was never this ugly..."

Recalling everything that happened after losing her child, her husband, who used to love her very much, became distant from her after repeated attempts to comfort her failed. Her father-in-law also grew increasingly disgusted with her, and it was only now that she realized what had happened.

She looked down at the drawer, pulled it open, and inside was the wooden box.

Take it out and open it; it's completely empty.

She didn't remember what happened that night, but seeing Xiang He's back yesterday brought back some painful memories...

Thinking of this, Xiang Lianmei frowned slightly, "How could He'er end up in that place..."

She only remembered seeing Xiang He that night, and how the ghost took her... away, after which she fainted.

Thoughts swirled in her mind, and the coldness of her fingertips brought her back to reality. She sighed, got up, and went outside. Wearing only a thin shirt, she disregarded the cold and squatted down on the ground. She dug a hole with her hands and buried the wooden box.

After doing all this, she called her maid to prepare hot water so she could properly dress up and do her hair.

Xiang He, who had already left the house, felt relaxed. Several elderly women across the street saw her and invited her over for a chat.

Xiang He simply waved his hand, "I have other things to do, I'll come back another day to chat with the ladies."

She ran so fast that she didn't give the older women a chance to stop her.

He ran home, and his fourth aunt was arranging cured meat in the yard. He went up to help Xiang He.

-

Finally, things calmed down. Xiang He helped with the chores around the house, while He Suian would come over every few days to freeload and teach the two children.

The clothing store is doing brisk business, and the woodworking shop is also busy lately. Most people are thinking of repairing or adding new woodwork before the New Year, so everyone is extremely busy.

Only by eating and drinking well could Xiang He improve her complexion and even grow taller.

While she was idling around that day, two people walked towards her door, arm in arm. There was a knock on the door, and when Xiang He looked up, she saw a man and a woman dressed in rich clothes waving at her.

"Ninth Sister? What brings you here?"

The visitors were Xiang Lianmei and her husband. Xiang Lianmei's complexion was rosy, showing no signs of the listlessness she had experienced half a month ago.

She swayed her hips as she walked in. Chen Qingchang, carrying some things, went over to greet the two of them as they entered.

"Please accept this small gift, He'er."

Seeing how affectionate the two were, Xiang He immediately understood, reached out to take the gift and thanked them, "Ninth Sister's complexion is rosy, have you rested well?"

“Yes,” Xiang Lianmei pulled Chen Qingchang to sit down, “I still want to thank you for your advice half a month ago. I was confused for a moment, and only when I came to my senses did I realize how foolish I was.”

"It's good that you can let it go."

Xiang Lianmei nodded slightly, "Achang, I'd like to have a private talk with He Yatou."

"You guys chat, I'll go check on Uncle in front of the shop."

"it is good."

Once Chen Qingchang was out of sight, Xiang Lianmei's shoulders relaxed a little. "Luckily you reminded me. The stupid things I did before were really foolish..."

"Actually, I was just passing by that night and saw you struggling with nothing. Did something happen? Were you perhaps bewitched?"