Fleeing from famine? Not a chance; the divine healer's wife made her fortune.

Salt production suddenly dropped, and an internal traitor was spotted.

The post-rain sunshine was warm and bright, but a gloomy feeling shrouded Su Yunlan's heart.

Her slender fingers gripped the ledger tightly, the tips turning slightly white from the force. Her delicate brows furrowed, and the worry in her eyes was as unfathomable as a deep pool.

The glaring figures in the ledger clearly demonstrated the sharp drop in salt field production, like a sharp blade piercing her nerves.

"How could this happen..." Su Yunlan murmured to herself, her clear voice carrying a hint of unconscious anxiety.

She looked up at the window; the bright sunshine could not dispel the gloom in her heart.

Xiao Yuhan's tall figure walked to Su Yunlan's side. He keenly sensed the fluctuation in her emotions, and his deep voice carried a hint of concern, "Lan'er, what happened?" He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her silent support, as reliable as a rock.

Su Yunlan handed the ledger to Xiao Yuhan, her voice low but firm, "Take a look, the saltworks' output these past few days is clearly not right."

Xiao Yuhan took the ledger and carefully reviewed the data. His brows furrowed, and his expression gradually became serious.

“It has indeed dropped significantly.” He raised his head, his dark eyes flashing with a sharp light, and a sense of oppression filled the air.

"I suspect there's something wrong inside the saltworks." Su Yunlan's voice carried a hint of coldness. She knew in her heart that this was definitely not a simple accident, and someone must be up to something behind the scenes.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room became tense, like the calm before a storm.

An invisible pressure seemed to permeate the air, making it hard to breathe.

Without the slightest hesitation, Su Yunlan got up and walked straight to the salt field.

She wanted to personally investigate who was stirring up trouble behind the scenes.

In the salt field, the workers are busy, sweat streaming down their faces, their rough fingers endlessly repeating the same monotonous movements.

Su Yunlan's arrival caused the atmosphere at the saltworks to freeze instantly, and an air of distrust filled the space.

"Why has the saltworks' output decreased recently?" Su Yunlan's voice was cold and carried a hint of authority, her sharp eyes sweeping over everyone present.

The workers looked at each other, none of them daring to speak.

Finally, the honest and kind-hearted salt worker Wang stepped forward. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a hint of grievance, "We have always worked our best, and we really don't know why this is happening."

Su Yunlan looked at Wang Yangong with a complicated expression. She knew that Wang Yangong was an honest person and did not seem like the kind of person who would cheat, but in the current situation, she had to suspect anyone.

"I believe you." Su Yunlan looked around, her cold voice carrying a hint of sharpness, "But the situation is special now, and I need to thoroughly investigate this matter."

The faces of Wang Yangong and the workers were filled with grievance and resentment. They worked hard, but were suspected for no reason, so they naturally felt bad.

The oppressive atmosphere above the salt fields seemed to suffocate people.

Seeing the grievances on the workers' faces, Su Yunlan felt bad too, but she knew she had to investigate the matter thoroughly and expose the hidden cancer.

She took a deep breath and was about to ask another question when Xiao Yuhan walked to her side and said in a low voice, "Lan'er, go back first. I will handle this matter."

Su Yunlan glanced at Xiao Yuhan, nodded, and turned to walk out of the salt field.

She didn't notice Xiao Yuhan behind her.

Young Master Xiao was impetuous and acted with great urgency. He flipped through the ledger page by page, muttering to himself, "Something's not right, something's definitely not right! Production couldn't have dropped so quickly!" He paced back and forth in the room, then suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on an inconspicuous detail in the ledger—the depth of the ink.

He picked up the ledger and examined it closely, discovering that the ink on some numbers was noticeably darker than on others, as if it had been added later.

"It's been altered! This ledger has been tampered with!" Young Master Xiao slammed his hand on the table, startling everyone and raising a cloud of dust in the room.

He immediately summoned several trusted employees to carefully check the previous production records, and sure enough, they found that someone had deliberately tampered with the data, reducing the output significantly.

The actual production did not decrease; rather, it was secretly diverted.

With the truth revealed, Su Yunlan felt both relieved and guilty.

She arrived at the salt field and solemnly apologized to all the salt workers: "I'm sorry, I misunderstood you." Her sincere attitude put the previously resentful salt workers at ease, and they all expressed their understanding, which immediately eased the atmosphere at the salt field.

Wang, the salt worker, smiled honestly and said, "It's alright, madam. We all know you're doing this for the good of the saltworks."

As the sun sets, its golden rays bathe the earth, casting a warm glow over the salt fields.

Su Yunlan stood alone by the salt field, watching the workers busily working, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

She blamed herself for not discovering the truth sooner and for wrongly accusing innocent people.

Xiao Yuhan found her and gently embraced her.

Su Yunlan finally couldn't hold back her tears in his warm embrace.

She buried her head in his chest, choking back tears as she said, "I...I was so stupid, I didn't realize it sooner..."

Xiao Yuhan gently patted her back and softly comforted her, "Lan'er, you've done very well. This isn't your fault; someone deliberately framed you." His voice was deep and magnetic, like a soothing melody, calming the unease in Su Yunlan's heart.

“But…” Su Yunlan wanted to say something, but Xiao Yuhan interrupted her, “No buts.”

Su Yunlan looked up at him, her eyes blurry with tears. She hugged him tightly, as if she wanted to merge herself into his body.

As night fell, the moonlight, like water, quietly spilled into the room.

Xiao Yuhan held the altered ledger, his brows furrowed.

His slender fingers gently traced the alterations on the ledger.

"Lan'er, look at these ink marks..." Xiao Yuhan pointed to several altered numbers in the ledger and said in a deep voice, "The density of the ink and the direction of the brushstrokes are different from the rest. Lan'er, you are well-versed in pharmacology, can you recognize the composition of this ink?"

Su Yunlan examined the ink carefully, lightly touching the ink stain with her fingertips and sniffing it. "This ink seems to be mixed with some kind of fragrance. The scent... is very faint, like... agarwood?" She frowned in thought, and a flash of inspiration struck her. "Agarwood... Magistrate Li often uses agarwood to scent his study!"

Xiao Yuhan's eyes darkened, and the two exchanged a glance, everything understood without words.

The next day, Su Yunlan observed the people around Magistrate Li without making a sound, and finally fixed his gaze on Master Chen.

She noticed faint ink stains on Master Chen's sleeve, and upon closer inspection, she recognized the familiar scent of sandalwood.

Su Yunlan had a plan in mind, but pretended not to know.

She decided to play along and deliberately spread the word that she had found the secret formula to restore salt production.

Upon hearing this news, Master Chen indeed revealed a greedy look, his eyes darting around, clearly plotting something.

In the dead of night, Su Yunlan set a trap in his study.

She placed a piece of paper with a fake recipe written on it on the table and sprinkled a special powder on it. This powder was colorless and odorless, but it would emit a faint fluorescence as soon as it came into contact with the skin.

As expected, Master Chen sneaked into the study and stole the fake secret recipe.

He returned home triumphantly, eagerly opened the secret recipe, and studied it carefully.

He was unaware that his hands were already covered in medicinal powder.

The next morning, Su Yunlan brought Xiao Yuhan and Magistrate Li to Master Chen's house.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Su Yunlan asked Master Chen to extend his hands.

Under the sunlight, Master Chen's hands emitted a faint glow, providing irrefutable evidence.

Master Chen's face turned deathly pale, his whole body trembled, and he could no longer utter a word.

Magistrate Li was furious upon seeing this and ordered that Chen, the clerk, be imprisoned and interrogated severely.

The onlookers clapped and cheered, and the salt field finally returned to calm.

Su Yunlan watched as Master Chen was taken away, but felt no relief whatsoever.

She always felt that things weren't so simple, as if there was an undercurrent surging...

"Yuhan," she said softly, "I always feel..."

Under the blazing sun, the saltworks were bustling with activity.

The repaired equipment emitted a soft hum, operating like a diligent bee, while white salt grains fell like snowflakes, piling up into small hills.

Young Master Xiao directed the salt workers, his face beaming with excitement.

Sweat soaked through his clothes, but he was oblivious, his eyes fixed only on the gradually increasing production.

"Good! Good! Good!" He said "good" three times in a row, his voice loud and clear, echoing throughout the salt field.

Su Yunlan stood aside, watching this scene, and smiled with satisfaction.

The sunlight shone on her face, highlighting her fair skin, as if it were coated with a layer of golden radiance.

She breathed a sigh of relief, the weight that had been hanging over her heart finally lifted.

She has barely slept these past few days, constantly thinking about how to solve the salt production problem.

Now that she sees the saltworks bustling with activity again, the pressure in her heart has been greatly relieved.

She reached out and caught a falling grain of salt, rubbed it gently between her fingertips, and felt the fine granular texture.

A faint salty smell permeated the air, mixed with the scent of the sea breeze, making her feel incredibly at ease.

"Lan'er, you've worked hard." Xiao Yuhan walked to her side and gently pulled her into his arms.

His voice was deep and magnetic, as melodious as a cello.

Su Yunlan leaned against him, feeling his warm body temperature, and a sweet warmth welled up in her heart.

"Thank goodness you're here," she said softly, her voice tinged with dependence.

Xiao Yuhan gently stroked her hair. "Everything will be alright," he said firmly, his voice full of strength.

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats broke the tranquility of the salt field.

A heavily wounded bodyguard stumbled over, his face pale and lips trembling. "N-nothing...something terrible has happened..." he gasped, his voice broken. "The convoy...has been attacked..."

Before he could finish speaking, the bodyguard collapsed to the ground, unconscious.