How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

On the last day of April, the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers.

Song Fu held the memorial tablet, pulled Gui'er along, and gave Ren Shu's family a grand funeral.

From that day on, Song Fu changed his surname to Du and became known as Du Shuren.

Du is Renshu's original surname. "Shuren" is his plea for forgiveness from Renshu's family.

Lao Hei no longer calls himself Lao Hei and officially reverts to his original name, Xin Mingshan. He didn't object to Song Fu's name change; on the contrary, he was very supportive.

Song Ren refused to betray his friend until his death. He owed Song Ren a life and was obligated to repay him with a son.

The group recuperated at the Lü family's residence for over a month. The First Madam couldn't be driven away; she would follow Xin Mingshan wherever he went. Since the others couldn't defeat her, they had no choice but to let her be.

Uncle Ming is like the First Madam's shadow; wherever the First Madam is, he is there too.

Yanru was very troubled by this, but she didn't know how to stop it.

Until this day…

"Saying goodbye? Where are you going? The situation is tense in various places right now. You might not be able to have a peaceful life even if you go to another place."

Xin Mingshan was still recovering from his injuries, so Du Shuren came to reply, "We're not going anywhere too far, just to Yanming Mountain. There's a bandit stronghold there. My father and I have discussed it, and we'll go live there."

Yan Ru looked at the First Madam and saw that her eyes were full of smiles. It was hard not to suspect that Xin Mingshan and his son had been coerced by her.

"Actually, you and Mr. Xin are both very capable. If you joined the army, you could achieve great things."

Du Shuren understood Yan Ru's unspoken meaning. As the saying goes, even the best martial arts master is afraid of a kitchen knife. If the father and son really joined the army, the First Madam might not be able to do anything to them.

However, this would inevitably affect their relatives and friends. Just to inquire about their whereabouts, the First Madam had already taken the lives of Uncle Ren's entire family.

It's not hard to imagine what irrational things the first wife would do if the father and son disappeared together.

Besides, Yanming Mountain has been deserted for twenty years and is now just an abandoned village. It would be better to take the first wife and live in seclusion there. Perhaps this world can be spared a scourge.

Despite Yan Ru's attempts to dissuade them, she had no choice but to prepare luggage for the two to take to the mountain stronghold. Yanming Mountain was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it had been vacant for many years; she didn't know if it was still habitable.

Therefore, Yanru purchased a lot of grain, medicine, and so on, and asked them to take them up the mountain.

On the day of parting, the entire Lü family came.

Xin Wu Hui stood beside Yan Ru, weeping uncontrollably.

Xin Mingshan told Xin Wuhui about his background and told him that he didn't need to follow him and should find his own way out.

Seeing that Xin Wu Hui was hiccuping from crying, Yan Ru could only comfort him, "Actually, Mr. Xin was doing this for your own good. They took Liu Bi Yu to the bandit stronghold to suppress her and prevent her from causing trouble again. They also told you where your biological father is. The most important thing right now is to go to your father's place to find your mother. If you miss your family later, it's not too late to go see them."

Xin Wu Hui nodded.

He knew he couldn't stop his uncle, and besides, he was worried about his mother. He also realized that after serving as a servant in the Huang family for so many years, his own father was actually his master?

Damn it, that's infuriating!

Yan Ru patted him on the shoulder, and the three of them, along with the children, returned to the Lü family home.

Gui'er followed Yanru. Looking at the string of children in the yard, Yanru shook her head. They weren't even married yet, and she had already been forced to become the head of a kindergarten.

They were discussing in the courtyard whether to hire another old woman to take care of the children when someone from the Marshal's Mansion arrived.

"An invitation to the wedding of the second young master of the Marshal's Mansion?" Yan Ru asked incredulously. "Excuse me, Your Excellency, the eldest young master Guo has not yet returned. Is the second young master about to hold a wedding?"

The visitor laughed and said, "Miss Lü only knows one thing, not the other. Our eldest young master is already engaged, but he is away on official business in Nanjing and cannot return for the time being. Our second young master is also engaged long ago. Now, our second wife has recently fallen ill, and the commander-in-chief is discussing arranging the second young master's wedding as soon as possible to bring good luck to our second wife."

Yan Ru nodded in sudden realization. No wonder everyone said that the Second Madam was the apple of Marshal Guo's eye. Because of her illness, even the Second Young Master's wedding could be held without his brother's involvement.

After exchanging a glance with Yuan Liang, Yan Ru finally nodded, "Thank you for your trouble. We will definitely be there. We wish the Second Young Master a happy marriage in advance."

The man, beaming with joy, accepted the tip from Yan Ru and went off to the next shop.

Seeing that Yan Ru's expression was not good, Song Yuanliang couldn't help but ask, "Are you thinking about your sister?"

Yan Ru nodded, "Of course, my sister has been gone for more than a month, and I still don't know what happened to her. When I asked the Marshal's Mansion, they always said that she had a secret mission and that it couldn't be told to outsiders. They said that no news was the best news. They were just being perfunctory."

Song Yuanliang comforted him, "Young Master Guo and Commander Jiang are with you, so don't worry too much. If something had happened, the news would have spread long ago. If you're still worried, we have classmates from Nanjing among us. Just ask them about the current situation and you'll understand."

Yan Ru said helplessly, "That's the only way."

Despite her worries, she remembered her sister's and father's words and rarely went out. She set a deadline in her mind: if there was still no news after a month, she would go look for them herself.

Whether they are dead or alive, the family should always be together.