After being wrongly married, I stabbed my husband to death and became famous throughout the world.

From the moment Li Shu saw Cheng Mian and Ma Chengting appear together, she knew that her secret could no longer be kept hidden.

She used to be able to be cautious around the Ma family because she was timid and didn't dare to provoke them. But now she's less constrained and doesn't need to be so mindful of their feelings, so...

She couldn't stand it for a second longer and wanted to go out and kick Ma Chengting right now.

But in front of Cheng Mian, one cannot suddenly break free of such a mindset.

This person is very useful; maintaining a good relationship with him is essential.

Of course, what if one day Cheng Mian becomes unimportant...

Li Shu would shamelessly let this person know that the weakling he so deeply sympathized with was actually a shameless viper.

Perhaps, in the future, Cheng Mian will regret accidentally approaching her territory that day and trying to seize her wooden house.

Cheng Mian glanced outside, then looked at Li Shu. His mind was a bit confused as he recalled Rong Zhengyu's words. He asked in surprise, "So you mean you already know that Ma Chengting deliberately changed your marriage and never intended to marry you at all?"

“I just guessed it, but I have no evidence,” Li Shu replied.

Cheng Mian took a breath: "You mentioned the Ma family in your letter. Are you afraid that I will worry about you, or do you want to use me to find out about the Ma family's movements, or do you want to use me to take revenge?"

"Doctor Cheng will help me get revenge?" Li Shu laughed. "We've only just met, I'm not that confident."

Cheng Mian thought about it and realized that what he said made sense.

He's not stupid, why would he inexplicably help someone he just met get revenge?

"Besides, you're a doctor who saves lives, not a murderer. Even if I wanted to use you to kill someone, you couldn't do it, could you?" Li Shu denied him without any hesitation.

Cheng Mian sat there and nodded again.

Asking him to kill someone, or even soldiers in the army? He'd have to be insane to do that.

In that case... it seems Li Shu has no reason to use him anymore.

Cheng Mian thought carefully about whether he had lost anything...

After considering all the possibilities, it seems there isn't one.

A few taels of silver for a ginseng root?

Those are all external things and are not important at all. Moreover, when he met Li Shu, she was in a really bad situation. What he gave her at that time was not a loss, but a sincere act of help.

Later, it was Li Shu who kept thinking about sending him something...

The food delivered to the army camp in winter, the warhorses captured now, and even news of bandits robbing medicine merchants...

He didn't think Li Shu did these things for personal gain, after all, she was just one person, while sending troops to suppress bandits was beneficial to the people and something that should have been done long ago.

If that's the case, what did Li Shu do wrong?

Cheng Mian had his own judgment, so he felt relieved.

“You shouldn’t apologize to me just because you realize you’ve been wronged. Besides, I came here to tell you about this, and it’s a good thing you know sooner,” Cheng Mian said immediately after thinking it through.

"Doesn't Doctor Cheng find it offensive that I'm seeking protection from the military?" Li Shu asked bluntly.

“To be honest, I am surprised, but… I also know that this is a last resort. If the government or the army could cleanse Lingshan of its corrupt practices and wipe out all those bandits, then you wouldn’t need to do this. You are an ordinary citizen, while I…” Cheng Mian paused for a moment, then said frankly, “My background is better than most people. My elders all enjoy the emperor’s bounty, and I have also benefited greatly from it. People like us naturally bear some responsibility…”

His words were sincere.

She never imagined that she would share these innermost thoughts with Li Shu.

In his eyes, Li Shu was an ordinary girl, humble and simple. Although they knew each other, their thoughts could not possibly clash, so they could not possibly talk about this kind of issue.

But now, when he saw him again, he noticed that Li Shu seemed to have gained a new air of arrogance.

Still well-behaved, but now more straightforward and cheerful.

He didn't see any scheming or machinations; he only felt that the man was honest and intelligent.

As Li Shu listened, he suddenly slammed his hand on the table, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Cheng Mian.

She glanced at Chen Feiqing, who then noticed the movement in her hand. He understood immediately and exclaimed excitedly, "You truly are just as Ah Li described, a man of unwavering integrity! We brothers all come from military families and have been looked down upon since childhood. This is the first time we've heard such heartwarming words! Young Master Cheng, may I... may I offer you a cup of tea instead of wine?!"

After saying that, Chen Feiqing immediately drank the tea in front of him in one gulp.

Li Shu smiled憨厚ly: "My cousin is an honest man. He genuinely thinks you are different from the other rich kids, which is why he made such a comment! Take Ma Chengtin outside, for example. Who would believe that a young master like him would ruin a girl's life just to please himself?! You would never do such a thing, Dr. Cheng!"

"Of course not..." Cheng Mian quickly replied.

But the brother and sister's enthusiasm and trust made him a little embarrassed, and his face turned red for some reason.

He is very happy.

Anyone praised in this way would feel like they've met a kindred spirit.

So, in a daze, he forgot that Li Shu didn't want the money and handed over all the money for buying the horse. Li Shu pretended to refuse for a while, but finally accepted it with great "resistance".

Cheng Mian was greatly relieved to see that she was willing to accept the money.

“Besides buying these warhorses, I also need to hire you for a while. The army is about to acquire a large batch of medicinal herbs and is short of manpower… I just don’t know if you are willing to earn this extra money…” Cheng Mian said again, forcing himself to speak.

He felt that Li Shu, being a young woman, would definitely not want to go to a place like a military camp.

“Of course I would, but… could I bring my cousin with me? My aunt treats me like her own daughter, and she’ll definitely worry if I go out alone. It would be so much better if my cousin were with me,” Li Shu said immediately.

Chen Feiqing just nodded along, confused.

Cheng Mian thought about it for a moment, and since it was just one more person, it wasn't a big deal, so he readily agreed.

Cheng Mian was also very curious about the bandits. After finishing his business with Li Shu, he asked about Duan Changdong. Li Shu generously introduced him to Duan Changdong, suggesting that Duan Changdong accompany Cheng Mian on a tour of the martial arts village.

Among these friends, Duan Changdong and her cousin looked the most harmless. The former looked like a dignified and righteous person, while the latter was gentle and honest, and didn't seem to have any ulterior motives.

These two should be able to get along with Dr. Cheng.

In addition, Chen Feiqing is the most popular among all the friends. Taking him to the military camp might help us make more connections.

Cheng Mian felt the atmosphere here was very nice, and at Duan Changdong's warm invitation, he stayed at Wuzhuang.

However, once the accommodations were settled, Cheng Mian's guards soon had free time to move around as well.

Ma Chengting had countless questions in his mind.

When he had some free time, he went back to Li Shu's courtyard almost without hesitation.

"How do you know Cheng Mian? What is your relationship?!" Ma Chengting felt that things were getting out of control and was very uneasy.