“Eldest Brother, it’s so late, and Sister-in-law still hasn’t come back. Aren’t you going to look for her?” Rongrong asked calmly.

Xue Dacheng smiled awkwardly but didn’t answer, only lowering his head and eating dumplings in silence.

Seeing this, Rongrong became even more convinced that Xue Dacheng had something to hide.

She immediately turned to A-Lin and asked, “Is the village where Second Uncle works far from our village?”

“Not far,” A-Lin, who was fond of his pretty and gentle aunt, immediately shook his head and said, “Just across the Baima River, it’s Sun Laocai’s house, which is my maternal grandmother’s village.”

Today was the second time Rongrong had heard Sun Laocai’s name.

She searched the original owner’s memories for any details about Sun Laocai and only knew he was a local landlord in Cui He’s village with a lot of land.

No other impressions came to mind, so she let it go.

“In that case, go and fetch my Second Brother back.”

As A-Lin was about to agree, Xue Dacheng’s eyes widened in surprise, and he asked with a stiff neck, “What’s the point of calling him back so late?”

“Since Sister-in-law is missing late at night, of course, we need to find her. Since Eldest Brother won’t go, we’ll have to ask Second Brother to come back and look for her,” Rongrong said.

Seeing Xue Dacheng’s guilty expression, her bad premonition grew stronger.

Unfortunately, in this mountain village, she had no other options.

She could only find Xue Xiaoshan first.

In her memory, Xue Xiaoshan and the original owner weren’t very close.

Xue Dacheng had often encouraged the original owner to stay at the Marquis’s residence as a concubine, frequently saying, “If you come back, Grandmother will definitely make you marry Xue Xiaoshan.”

Therefore, the original owner had deliberately distanced herself from Xue Xiaoshan, and they had little sibling bond.

However, Xue Xiaoshan was reliable and had maintained the livelihood of the whole family after their parents passed away.

Xue Dacheng, on the other hand, seemed unreliable.

If anything happened, with only the old and young in the house, they would be of little help.

At this moment, Rongrong finally understood the purpose of the mysterious man beside Mei Ningxiang.

At critical times, a woman’s strength was no match for a man’s.

“A-Lin, I’ll go with you to find Second Brother,” Rongrong said, standing up.

“I’ll go, I’ll go. It’s getting late; you all should go to bed early. A-Lin, A-Mu, sleep with Grandmother tonight,” Xue Dacheng immediately blocked her path and began arranging for the others.

Rongrong said, “If Eldest Brother is going out to find Sister-in-law, I’m afraid to sleep alone. Let Grandmother, A-Lin, and A-Mu come to sleep in the tile house.”

Xue Dacheng’s Adam’s apple moved, but he didn’t object.

He helped move Grandmother and A-Lin and A-Mu’s bedding to the tile house.

A-Lin and A-Mu usually lived in the tile house, but they had been sent to the thatched cottage with Xue Xiaoshan due to Rongrong’s return.

Hearing they could move back to the tile house tonight made them very happy.

The thatched cottage also had a kang, but it was very small, used a lot of firewood, and took a long time to warm up.

The tile house was much more comfortable.

When Xue Dacheng gave the word, the two of them happily jumped onto the kang.

After Xue Dacheng closed the door to the tile house, he went out to look for Cui He.

“Rongrong, what’s going on?” Grandma Xue, who had just finished tidying up Ah Lin and A Mu, came over to Rongrong’s room.

Though she wasn’t sure of the details, the whispers between the siblings had made her sense something was off.

“Grandmother, don’t worry. It’s nothing.”

Grandma Xue sighed, “You think I’m old and foolish, but I’m not completely clueless. Ever since I heard you were redeeming yourself from the Marquis’s residence, your brother and sister-in-law have been whispering and plotting. Unfortunately, they avoided telling me directly, so I don’t know exactly what they’re planning.”

Hearing Grandma Xue’s concerns, Rongrong felt even more certain that Cui He’s disappearance wasn’t just a casual visit.

Her brother and sister-in-law were definitely up to something.

Anxiety began to take hold of her again.

“Tomorrow morning, you should return to the capital,” Grandma Xue said, noticing Rongrong’s furrowed brow. “Your parents couldn’t sell you, so you don’t owe the Xue family any debt of gratitude.

Now that you have the means, you shouldn’t come back to support us.

Stay in the capital and take care of yourself.”

“Grandmother…”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m tough. They won’t be able to do much damage.”

Rongrong was surprised by Grandma Xue’s clear-sightedness and felt a deep respect for the old woman.

Despite her admiration, she remained uneasy.

Tonight, Xue Dacheng and Cui He were certainly targeting her, and even if Grandma Xue and the children were involved, it wouldn’t solve the issue.

“Grandmother, if I establish myself in the capital in the future, I will definitely come back to bring you here and take care of you.”

Grandma Xue held Rongrong’s hand as they sat by the warm kang (a traditional bed with an integrated heating system).

They talked for a while.

Grandma Xue asked about every detail of Rongrong’s life in the capital.

After the children fell asleep, Grandma Xue returned to her room.

In rural areas, staying up to celebrate New Year’s Eve usually means the family gathers around to eat and drink, without the need to stay up until midnight.

Once they were full and tired, they would simply go to bed.

After a year of hard work, this was a rare opportunity to sleep soundly.

Rongrong had never experienced the feeling of family before; her only understanding of elder relatives came from Aunt Anlan.

After spending the evening talking with Grandma Xue, she finally understood what genuine familial care felt like.

Despite her brother and sister-in-law’s shortcomings, having a grandmother like Grandma Xue made Rongrong feel much happier compared to her past life.

After seeing Grandma Xue back to her room, Rongrong quietly got up, took a kitchen knife, placed it by her pillow, and locked the door to the living room.

She then lay down, but with so much on her mind, she couldn’t fall asleep.

As she was about to drift off, she suddenly heard shuffling sounds outside, as if someone was sneaking around.

Rongrong grabbed the knife, put on her clothes, and quietly got out of bed to hide behind the door.

Xue Dacheng had locked the living room door from the outside, and Rongrong had added a bolt from inside.

The person outside tried pushing the door a few times but couldn’t get it open. Rongrong carefully listened to the sounds, but they seemed to have stopped.

Just when she didn’t know what to do, the window was shattered with a loud “bang,” and she immediately turned her head to see a dark figure climbing into the room.

Was it Xue Dacheng?

No, the figure was taller than Xue Dacheng. Besides, if Xue Dacheng had come home, he would have knocked on the door, and she wouldn’t have refused to let him in.

In a moment of fear, despite her terror, Rongrong gathered her courage and swung the kitchen knife at the intruder.

Unfortunately, in her two lifetimes, she had never killed anyone, let alone a chicken.

As the knife was about to fall on the person’s neck, her heart wavered, and the blade veered off, striking the person’s shoulder instead.

“Ah…” The man cried out in pain as the knife cut into his shoulder.

Rongrong lacked the strength, and the man, clutching his shoulder, rolled away, causing the knife in her hand to fall to the ground with a clatter.

“She has a knife?” A hoarse, unfamiliar voice sounded from outside.

There were more of them?

Rongrong was even more frightened and hurried to pick up the fallen knife from the ground.

However, the shadows outside the window were faster.

Before Rongrong could get to the knife, two more people climbed in.

The commotion attracted Xue Grandma, A-Lin, and A-Mu from the next room.

They rushed out in a panic but found that both the main house door and Rongrong’s door were tightly locked.

Xue Grandma could only anxiously knock on Rongrong’s door, asking what was happening.

With no light inside, Rongrong hid in the shadows behind the door.

The two newcomers didn’t see her immediately.

They went to help the man who had been injured by Rongrong.

Just as Rongrong was in a state of panic, someone lit a fire starter and turned to see the trembling Rongrong.

“There you are!” An old, wrinkled face, disgusting and familiar, came close to Rongrong.

It was the old man she had bumped into at the village entrance earlier.

Seeing Rongrong, his face lit up with a lecherous smile, and he reached out to grab her.

Rongrong kicked him with all her might, sending him crashing to the ground with an “ouch.”

“Rongrong, Rongrong, what’s going on? Who has broken into the house?”

“Auntie, Auntie.”

Xue Grandma, A-Lin, and A-Mu were desperately knocking on the door from outside.

Despite their loud commotion, the sound of firecrackers in and out of the village drowned out their cries.

“Grandmother, find a way to get out and find help quickly. Don’t stay inside!”

These three men were beyond the ability of Xue Grandma and the two children to handle.

The only chance of survival was to get outside and seek help.

“Damn woman!” A burly man who had just jumped in quickly wrapped a cloth around the injured man’s wound.

Then he grabbed Rongrong and was about to slap her.

However, when he saw her face under the candlelight, he froze and said, “Damn, she’s really beautiful.”

The disgusting old man on the floor got up, smirking. “See? I wasn’t lying. This girl used to serve the young master in the Marquis’s residence in the capital.”

“The Marquis’s young master? Well, let’s enjoy ourselves tonight.”

“What about that old woman outside?”

“What else can we do with her?” The man sneered, threw Rongrong into the arms of the injured man, and went to open the door.

Rongrong heard a few screams from the main room before it went silent.

After dealing with the situation in the main room, the burly man returned, smiling at the injured man. “You’re hurt today, so you go first.”

The two men accompanying the disgusting old man were all muscle-bound fighters.

Even though Rongrong had managed to cut one on the shoulder, it seemed to be only a minor wound.

“This girl has a fierce temper. How much nightshade did we bring?”

“Three pills.”

“Have they all been administered?”

“Yes, we’ve given them all.”

Rongrong didn’t know what nightshade was, but she understood their intentions.

She could only remain silent, but the man pinched her chin and forced the medicine into her mouth.

Without any water to help swallow, the three pills scraped painfully against her throat. Moments later, she felt intense abdominal cramping, broke out in cold sweat, and soon lost consciousness.

The man who administered the pills sneered, “Brother, you go first.”

“I’ll have her hand ruined for her. Help me undress her properly.”

“Got it.” The thief smiled and moved closer to tear off Rongrong’s clothes.

Suddenly, he felt a chill in his chest.

Looking down, he saw a sword blade protruding from his heart, blood gushing from the wound.