The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

She climbed in just now; she's too timid to notice.

The small door has been sealed off.

She quietly went to the courtyard where they ate and found people cleaning the courtyard, young and old, and children running around in the yard.

It looked like a large family: two elderly people, a son, a daughter-in-law, a grandson, and a granddaughter. They kept saying that they had gotten a great deal to buy such a house.

After observing for a while and confirming that the other party had sold the house to this family, Du Mingxian quietly left.

I changed my clothes on the way home.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Lin Guixiang washing clothes in the yard.

"Mingxian is back." Lin Guixiang was really making things up about Du Mingxian behind her back, but now that she saw her in person, she was genuinely trying to please her.

Du Mingxian casually replied, "Washing clothes."

"Yes, children's clothes get dirty quickly."

Du Mingxian glanced at it and confirmed that it was indeed a child's clothing, but the patches were covered with more patches.

Hearing the commotion, Liu Ya came out of the room. "Mingxian, are you alright?"

Du Mingxian turned around, still puzzled, "I'm fine."

"It's good that you're alright. You went out looking so troubled this morning, I thought something had happened."

Du Mingxian quickly explained, "It's nothing. I just don't have any work right now, so I was thinking of finding another job to earn some extra income."

Liu Ya gets anxious when this is mentioned, "Who says otherwise? I also want some income."

Lin Guixiang, who was washing clothes, was absent-minded. Although she was still washing the clothes, her mind had already wandered to other places.

Du Mingxian and Liu Ya chatted in the courtyard for a while, and even made an appointment to go out for a walk together in the afternoon to see if they could find other work. That was how they parted ways.

They ate lunch early, and after lunch, Du Mingxian rested for a while before going out with Liu Ya.

As the two were leaving, Lin Guixiang suddenly came up to them, saying, "I also want to look for work. I haven't been in the capital for long and I'm not familiar with this place. I'll go with you."

There's no deep-seated grudge between us, and they've already come looking for us, how can we refuse?

So the two of them became a trio.

This time, Lin Guixiang didn't cause any trouble; she simply followed the two of them quietly.

Liu Ya and Du Mingxian walked hand in hand, but Liu Ya was advising Du Mingxian, "I've noticed that your husband has been going out quite often these past few days. We... came to the capital to participate in the imperial examination."

"If he wants to play, there are plenty of opportunities and time. Don't waste time. You should also persuade him. The New Year is just around the corner, and after the New Year, he will have to prepare for the exam. Time is very tight."

Du Mingxian couldn't tell the truth, so she could only awkwardly explain, "Thank you, Sister Liu Ya. He said he can do it, and I believe him. But he really has some things to do recently. After he finishes up, we're going to visit our relatives in a few days."

“If he lives in someone else’s house, he won’t have as much time or freedom to go out. Let him study more.”

Lin Guixiang immediately stepped forward, "Do you have relatives in the capital?"

Liu Ya: "I didn't."

“I have a distant relative in Beijing, but they are a good person and have taken good care of us.”

"Then why do you need to rent a place after you come to the capital? It would be much better to just stay with your relatives. It would save money and someone would take care of you." Lin Guixiang said without hesitation.

Du Mingxian also took the opportunity to say, "It's not that we thought it would be inconvenient, so we rented a place outside. Now that we're visiting relatives, my husband won't be able to come and go as freely as before, so he can focus on his studies."

Liu Ya advised him, "Since you can't control him outside, why don't you go to visit your relatives as soon as possible? It'll be better for both of you. Studying is the most important thing right now."

"Sister Liu, I know. I'll check in a couple of days. But I still hope the workshop can open so I can make money and won't have to go to my relatives' houses."

Liu Ya was quite upset about the workshop.

Lin Guixiang was also quite distressed. She had only been there for a few days when the work was stopped. "I don't know if it can be reopened. I went to check it out yesterday, and it was deserted. It seemed like no one was in the house anymore."

"Have you been in contact with any of the other people you worked with before?" This was Du Mingxian's question. Perhaps Lin Guixiang knew something that she didn't.

"Yes, we sometimes run into each other and chat for a bit. I heard that we can't stay at this house for some reason, and we need to find another place. We'll have to wait for further notice."

Du Mingxian had a question mark in her mind and was also skeptical of Lin Guixiang's words.

"I'll let you know if they notify me then."

"Okay, thank you."

The three strolled along, and Lin Guixiang even bought some food for Sun Chengbao, saying that the child was greedy.

This changed Du Mingxian and Liu Ya's opinion of her a lot. Both of them had children, and thinking of their own children, they felt very good about Lin Guixiang, the stepmother, coming out to buy things for their children.

We spent the whole afternoon wandering around, which was basically just shopping. We didn't find anything to do, and in the end, we just bought some food and went home.

As they approached their house, the woman from across the street, next door to Lin Guixiang, came out of her yard. She saw the three of them but didn't show any particular expression on her face. She simply nodded slightly and left.

Du Mingxian and Liu Ya weren't gossipy, but Lin Guixiang leaned closer to them and whispered, "Do you know what she does?"

Both shook their heads in unison.

"That kind of work."

What do you do?

Du Mingxian and Liu Ya both looked puzzled, having no idea what Lin Guixiang was talking about.

"She used to be a prostitute, but she was bought off. However, she hasn't been home at night lately, haven't you noticed?"

Du Mingxian was too busy with her own affairs to notice.

Liu Ya knew, but she wasn't one to gossip.

Everyone lived together, so there was a set time in the evening when the courtyard gate had to be closed. Liu Ya was in charge of this because... closing the gate would reduce the rent by a little bit, ten coins a month.

It was a pitifully small amount, but Liu Ya was still quite happy to accept it.

No one in this courtyard knocks on the door in the middle of the night. Everyone lives their own life and no one bothers anyone else.

The most mysterious one is the main house. The main floor has five regular rooms, and no one knows what the layout is like inside, but there is only one door, and a little girl lives there.

The last time he ran to the door of Jiang's room and cursed Jiang Liting.

This little girl doesn't come out very often, and you rarely see her.

Du Mingxian was busy herself, so she didn't encounter many people in the courtyard. She rarely saw these people come out, and she would even ignore the other people in the courtyard.

"That's their private matter," Liu Ya remarked.

Lin Guixiang nodded emphatically, "Yes, yes, that's her private matter. I was just curious, so I looked into it and that's how I found out. I was really surprised when I heard the news. Aren't you surprised at all?"