Even in a famine, there's no panic; the eldest sister has stockpiled plenty of money and grain.

"Brother-in-law, don't worry, I'll keep looking, I'm sure I'll find the key."

Thanks to Jiang Bai's hard work, many of the locks in the house were broken, and the new ones that were just bought were put back into use by her soon after.

Jiang Lu had been locked up by Jiang Bai before, but luckily she hadn't locked the window.

Furthermore, since Jiang Songwen also slept in the room, a chamber pot was placed there so that he could relieve himself using it whenever he needed to.

But my sister's room was cleaned up yesterday, and she remembered that there was no chamber pot or other things to relieve herself in it.

Why did my sister lock the door when she went out?

On the very first day, she locked her newlywed husband in the house.

"You... hurry... up."

The sound of Ji Yanwen gritting his teeth came from inside the room. Only someone who was about to burst from holding in his morning urine could understand how he felt, especially since he had slept too soundly last night and woke up when the sun was already high in the sky. This meant that he didn't dare to make any big movements at the moment.

Jiang Lu searched the main room but couldn't find the key, and then she searched the kitchen but still couldn't find it.

She was so anxious she almost cried.

"Smash it."

Suddenly, a stone caught her eye; it was the whetstone that sat in the yard.

She didn't care who handed it to her; she picked up the whetstone and smashed it against the door lock.

Jiang Bai's newly bought lock was very durable. Jiang Lu smashed it dozens of times before finally hearing a loud bang as she broke it open.

The moment the door opened, a figure rushed out and dashed into the house's outhouse.

"How scary!" Jiang Lu patted her small chest, still shaken.

I sincerely hope that my brother-in-law hasn't developed any health problems from holding it in!

"By the way, who gave me the stone?" Jiang Lu was stunned, her eyes widening in surprise. She turned to look at Jiang Songwen in the courtyard, whose gaze also fell on her.

Her heart suddenly raced. She stepped forward, squatted down in front of him, and asked cautiously, "Awen, was it you who handed the stone to my second sister just now?"

Jiang Songwen looked away, as if he hadn't heard what she said at all.

Jiang Lu lowered her head in disappointment, but quickly cheered up again. It's okay, there's no one else in the yard. It was Awen who handed her the stone just now. The doctor said that Awen will be fine in just one month.

"Er Ya, I'm back."

Just then, Jiang Bai's voice could be heard from outside.

The door was unlocked from the outside. Before Jiang Bai could react, a person rushed out of the room, angrily grabbed her neck, and roared, "Jiang Bai, I'm going to kill you!"

Jiang Bai was startled. She had been moving the stone door all night, and her hands were still weak. Before she knew it, someone had grabbed her by the neck.

Fortunately, although the person choking her was very angry, he didn't use much force, so Jiang Bai simply let him choke her.

"Why...why is your face so pale? What did you do outside last night?"

Ji Yanwen was just venting his anger, and when he rushed over, he was prepared to be retaliated against by Jiang Bai. He didn't expect that his hand would grab Jiang Bai's neck so easily, and she didn't even resist.

If he had a dagger right now, he might be able to slit Jiang Bai's throat.

It was precisely because of this abnormality that he noticed Jiang Bai's face was unusually pale.

"Ha... never mind, I'm really sleepy right now."

Jiang Bai pushed his hand away and walked into the house.

"Er Ya, you don't need to call me for dinner today."

Jiang Bai's tired voice came from inside the room. Ji Yanwen wanted to go in, but when he pushed the door open, he found that it was locked from the inside.

His face darkened as he looked at Jiang Lu: "Has your sister had her life force drained by some kind of demon?"

Jiang Lu was also stunned. She had never seen her older sister like this before, and she couldn't help but worry.

"Never mind, judging from her appearance, she's probably exhausted. Let her sleep first!"

Ji Yanwen waved his hand. Jiang Bai wasn't there, and he felt a little awkward facing Jiang Lu and Jiang Songwen alone.

"Sister...Brother-in-law, are you going to eat? I'll set the table for you."

Ji Yanwen was embarrassed, and Jiang Lü wasn't much better off.

Not knowing what to say to him, she rushed into the kitchen and brought out the rice that had been cooked long ago.

"Have you eaten?"

"I've already eaten. I...I took Awen to the fields to pull weeds."

After saying that, Jiang Lu was about to leave when Ji Yanwen stopped her.

"You can leave Awen at home; I'll watch over him."

"what?"

Jiang Lu tightened her grip on Jiang Songwen's hand and lowered her head slightly.

"Your older sister is still at home. Would I sell her?" Knowing that Jiang Lu didn't trust him since he was new here, Ji Yanwen glared at her irritably and pointed to the room where Jiang Bai was sleeping.

But my older sister is already asleep!

Jiang Lu was conflicted.

“How much can you get him to do with you? It’s better to leave him at home. I bought some books yesterday and left him at home so I can teach him to read.”

Jiang Lu hesitated. Reading can enlighten people. Although Awen's mind is not good now, what if reading is useful?

"Then... then I'll have to trouble you, brother-in-law. Ah Wen didn't drink much water this morning, so I'll need to take him to pee every half hour and to poop him around 9 am."

Ji Yanwen nodded blankly. He had never done anything like helping a child relieve themselves before!

After giving his instructions, Jiang Lu carried his basket and went to the fields.

After finishing his meal and washing the dishes, Ji Yanwen took out a book, took Jiang Songwen with him, and began to read.

The pleasant sound of reading aloud was like a lullaby. At noon, Jiang Lu returned early, checked Jiang Songwen's clothes to make sure they were clean and dry, and then busied herself preparing lunch.

Ji Yanwen put down his book and went to help in the kitchen without hesitation.

A newly arrived son-in-law, an eleven-year-old girl, and a five-year-old boy were all busy in the kitchen, while the head of the household, our Miss Jiang, was fast asleep inside.

She spent the whole night moving stone doors, and even in her dreams, she dreamt of moving stone doors in that dark passageway.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide, sat up, and as if possessed, reached into her bosom to retrieve the silver lock she had hidden. She pinched the connecting line that held the lock together, swallowed nervously, and then broke the lock in two. Inside the left half of the lock lay a silver key about the length of her little finger.

"I'm stupid, really."

Jiang Bai slapped her head hard. Although the stone door was large, she had noticed a small hole on the side of the stone door last night. It looked like a keyhole, but she hadn't thought of it at all.

While sleeping, she dreamt of a childhood memory. Song Shi used to have a key-shaped necklace, but when her uncle died, she returned from her parents' home for the funeral, and the necklace disappeared. A silver lock was also added to her dowry.

It's fortunate that she dreamed about it; otherwise, even if she had to lift the stone gate for several more nights, she probably wouldn't have been able to use up all the arrows inside.

Thinking about how all his efforts throughout the night had yielded nothing but a large pile of arrows, and he hadn't even seen what the inside of them looked like, Jiang Bai's lips twitched.

Thankfully, I'm grateful for my childhood memories.

Jiang Bai kissed the key that had been pulled from the silver lock. Whether it would work or not depended on tonight. She was determined to see what kind of treasure was hidden inside that was so well concealed.