How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Lu Peijun immediately chased after him, but found nothing but a broken brick that had fallen from the window. This was because when Guo Zixing sent people to renovate the Lu family's house, he noticed that some areas were in disrepair and specially repaired the crumbling bricks.

Lu Peijun gripped the wall bricks tightly in his hands, his eyes filled with panic and anger, his pupils contracting rapidly, unable to suppress the urge to kill.

The two Qingru sisters rushed out, "Dad, what's wrong?"

“Someone was eavesdropping just now,” Lü Peijun said, handing over the fallen wall tile. “Look, even if the newly pasted wall tile isn’t very secure, it shouldn’t fall off so easily in the wind. It must be because someone was pressing it against the wall and rubbing it hard.”

Qingru took the brick and saw that it was indeed wet. "Who do you think it was?"

"I don't know." Lü Peijun really didn't know. Many people came and went from the Lü family today. In addition to the neighbors, servants, and day laborers he was familiar with, people from the Guo and Song families also brought things over.

As for who might covet the Lü family, that's hard to say.

The Guo family? It's not impossible; after all, his imprisonment was thanks to Commander Guo. Thinking of this, Lü Peijun glanced at Qingru, advising her to be wary of the Guo family, since he knew perfectly well what they were up to.

It's also possible that it was the Song family. They forcibly took Yanru away today and broke off relations with Master Song. It's possible that he sent people to cause trouble but overheard what they said.

It's possible that some neighbors, driven by greed, came to scout the place, but accidentally overheard the secret.

Anyone could be involved, and Lü Peijun was undecided for a moment. But he wasn't afraid; he wanted to stir things up, otherwise, why would the other three families intervene?

If the other members of the Lü family don't step in, how will we have a chance to unlock the Lü family treasure?

Yan Ru looked at the wall where the bricks had fallen, stood over there, and wondered which direction she would run in if she made a noise and was discovered.

To avoid being discovered from this position, one cannot exit through the main gate; the only option is to quickly climb over the courtyard wall.

"Dad, sister, look!" Yan Ru shouted, pointing to the courtyard wall next to the main house.

Lu Peijun and the other person rushed over, "What's this?...?"

Lu Peijun looked at the camellia bush at the foot of the courtyard wall. Because no one had taken care of it for more than half a year, it had grown into a large patch. At this moment, there was a drooping patch. Upon closer inspection, it was a mark of a recent break, clearly made by someone stepping on it.

"The houses next door..." Yan Ru thought carefully, "Hasn't no one lived there for a long time?"

"Don't worry about it, let's just leave it at that. Qingru, we'll go out and find a courtyard to move away from here first thing tomorrow morning, and let's just let this matter go."

Qingru exclaimed in surprise, "Why? Dad, what if someone finds out this secret...? What will we do then?"

Lu Peijun smiled calmly, "Don't worry. So what if they know our family's secret? There are three other Lu families. We can just go and seek refuge with them. It concerns the Lu family; they won't stand idly by."

Qingru still didn't understand why her father was so calm, but since he had said so, she had no choice but to put aside her doubts for the time being and go back to sleep.

Lying in bed, Qingru was filled with mixed emotions. She had slept with Yanru today, and she couldn't help but sigh.

“Yanru, I feel like a long time has passed. These past six months have been more enriching than my previous twenty years.”

Yanru couldn't sleep either. Listening to her sister's lament, she wholeheartedly agreed. Who could argue with that? She was studying diligently when her family suddenly suffered a calamity, and in a short period of time, she had been involved with two men, both so unbearable and entangled. She really wanted to start over.

“Yes, we can’t go back.” Yan Ru stared intently at the bed curtains. Although the bed at home was not as luxurious and comfortable as the one in the Song mansion, having her sister and father by her side always made her feel much more at ease.

The days she spent in the Song family felt like a lifetime ago. She woke up in the embroidery room this morning, but tonight she was sleeping peacefully at home. Even her father and sister, whom she had missed for so long, appeared in front of her in an instant.

Wasn't it supposed to be incredibly difficult to get people out of Commander Guo's clutches? How come everything came so easily?

Seeing Yanru's absent-minded look, Qingru felt extremely guilty. If she had known her sister was in the city, she should have found her sooner. Why did she believe the place that Father Lü had hastily arranged for Yanru?

It's not that I blame Lü's father, but in a time of emergency, he had to make the best of a bad situation.

"I really don't know who's responsible for our deaths?"

Yan Ru tilted her head, a vague answer forming in her mind. "Sister, how did you end up with Young Master Guo, and even become...someone from the police station?"

"It's a long story..." Qingru sighed and told Yanru about how she disguised herself and entered Guo Zixing's villa to gather information, including some things that happened afterward.

"So you've adopted a lot of people?"

Qingru smiled and said, "It's not that many, but every time I go out I meet some pitiful people. Whether it's Zhenhua, also known as Xiao Erlang, or Xiao Fuzi, when I see them I think of you, so I can't help but care about them."

Yan Ru pursed her lips, knowing full well that compared to her own good fortune, those children were already pitiful enough, but she still couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy.

"You saved them because you thought of me, right?"

“Yes,” Qingru chuckled, brushing back a stray strand of Yanru’s hair. “If I hadn’t been thinking of you, why would I have cared about strangers? I didn’t know where you were back then, so I hoped that anyone who met you would treat you the way I treated them. Silly girl, I was accumulating good karma for you.”

Yan Ru felt a little more at ease and couldn't help but move closer to him.

Qingru was stunned for a moment, then wrapped her arms around Yanru and gently patted her back to lull her to sleep, just like when she was a child.

Yan Ruyi's eyes welled up with tears instantly, her eyes stung, and when she tried to speak, her throat tightened, "Sister."

He only called out once before hugging Qingru and crying, his sobs filled with endless grievances.

Qingru patted her tenderly. She knew that Yanru had changed since she brought her back. She was not only more cautious, but also sharper and unintentionally ingratiating.

She must have suffered terribly, not only living under someone else's roof but also being deceived and manipulated by Master Song, and endlessly entangled with Song Yuanliang. Was all of this her fault? Perhaps there was an element of helpless compromise involved.

Moreover, Master Song repeatedly promised to help save Lü's father. Given Yan Ru's personality, if someone tempts her with the safety of her family, she will only compromise. How could she refuse?

But that's not what she truly felt. You can tell from her relationship with Song Yuanliang that she didn't like Master Song.

It must be said that Qingru and Lü Peijun both felt the same pity for Yanru, both believing that Yanru had suffered injustice outside.

The original Yanru was also frail, but she was never as timid as she is now. It must be because she lived in an extremely unstable environment that she became so anxious and insecure, leading her to act irrationally.

She held Yanru in her arms. The girl under her was so thin that she was just skin and bones, so she knew that her food and lodging would not be very stable.

Qingru asked cautiously, "Why are you so thin? Have they been abusing you?"

Yan Ru choked up and said, "It's not that, it's just that I don't give in, and Master Song always punishes me by confining me to my quarters. I... I don't even want to eat or drink. When I think about you and Dad suffering somewhere, I don't dare to eat or drink my fill. Sister, it's better for our family to stay together."

Qingru felt more and more sorry for him as she listened, and couldn't help but comfort him, "Alright, alright, thankfully we're home now. We'll move soon, we'll move to live next to Guo Zixing's villa. It's very safe there, and no more petty people will bother our lives. Don't worry, okay?"

Yan Ru blinked, but ultimately didn't voice her suspicions. Well, her sister trusted him so much, she must be very good to her. As long as she was careful and didn't let Guo Zixing bully her sister, that would be fine.

It has to be said that they are family after all! Both Lü Peijun and Yan Ru suspected the Guo family, but they kept quiet because of Qingru's trust in Guo Zixing.

Because Yanru had no mother to take care of her since she was a child, Qingru and Lü Peijun doted on her the most. They didn't want her to suffer any hardship, and even if something happened, they would make arrangements for her first. This was because Yanru had never lived alone before and they were afraid that she would not survive if she were left to wander outside.

The two sisters, worried about their father, each tried to find a way to save him...

Mutual support and assistance—that's what family is all about.