【Sign-in point discovered at the general store in Qingzhou Prefecture. Spend 1 point to sign in?】
【Sign-in point discovered at the fabric shop in Qingzhou Prefecture. Spend 1 point to sign in?】
【Sign-in point discovered at the clothing shop in Qingzhou Prefecture. Spend 1 point to sign in?】
【Sign-in point discovered at the restaurant in Qingzhou Prefecture. Spend 1 point to sign in?】
【Sign-in point discovered at the bookstore in Qingzhou Prefecture. Spend 1 point to sign in?】

Stepping out of the Hall of Yama, Gu Qingyan’s eyes sparkled—sign-in points glittered everywhere like gold.

He was itching to act, but after glancing at his pitiful total of just 2 points, he restrained the urge to sign in at every location.

Until he figured out how to earn more points, he’d have to be frugal with how he used them.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed that only he could see the sign-in prompts. The passersby moved through the streets completely unaffected, unaware.

Gu Qingyan pondered this as he made his way eastward through the city and, sure enough, spotted a sign-in point at the entrance of the money exchange shop.

【Sign-in point discovered at the money exchange shop in Qingzhou Prefecture. Spend 1 point to sign in?】

Yes!

【Successfully signed in at the Qingzhou money exchange. Reward: 100 taels of silver.】

He guessed right.

Gu Qingyan clenched his fist—just as he thought.

He had already noticed earlier that ordinary residential buildings had no inverted triangle markers, but commercial establishments did.

He boldly speculated that the rewards for signing in were likely related to the business conducted at the shop.

Sure enough, signing in at the money exchange earned him a hundred taels of silver!

When he left the Li family estate, Gu Qingyan had nothing. But in just half a day, his bag now held 110 taels of silver.

Even if he wanted to settle down in Qingzhou now, this amount would more than cover his needs.

He glanced back at the money exchange; the sign-in prompt was now gone—just like the one in the Hall of Yama.

Looks like each sign-in point could only be used once. After that, it disappeared and couldn’t be reused.

Gu Qingyan didn’t dwell on it long. He perked up again. There were still plenty of shops in Qingzhou. Signing in one by one would be enough to keep him well-fed and well-clothed.

The only problem was that he still didn’t know how to earn more points.

Night had fallen. Gu Qingyan decided to find an inn to settle down for the night and figure things out tomorrow.

There was a sign-in point at the inn entrance too, but he didn’t dare spend his last point.

“Please come in, sir! Are you stopping for a meal or looking for a room?”

The innkeeper’s assistant greeted him warmly. Gu Qingyan’s silk clothing and delicate appearance screamed “young master from a wealthy family,” but he had no attendants with him. The attendant was curious but kept up his enthusiastic smile.

“A room,” Gu Qingyan replied, scanning the inn—it looked quite clean.

“You’re in luck! Our top room, Heaven Room No. 1, is still available. This way, sir.”

The assistant enthusiastically explained, “It comes with a private bath. If you’re tired, you can take a soak—perfect for this weather. The bedding was changed just today too, guaranteed to keep you warm.”

Gu Qingyan followed a few steps before remembering to ask about the price. “How much for one night?”

You couldn’t blame him—he’d been a pampered young master for fifteen years and had never had to handle such things himself.

The assistant chuckled. “Three taels of silver per night. All three meals will be delivered to your room—meat and fish included.”

“That expensive?” Gu Qingyan blurted out instinctively.

He only had about a hundred taels total, and this would be a noticeable dent.

The assistant paused, then quickly added, “It is a bit pricey, but the room is spacious and comfortable, with great sunlight.”

Probably fearing Gu Qingyan was strapped for cash, he quickly continued, “We also have Earth Rooms for just one tael, and if you’re not picky, the Mystery Rooms are quite economical—only 500 copper coins per night.”

“The Yellow Rooms are even cheaper at just 100 copper coins, but they’ve got heated brick beds and limited space—you might not find it to your liking.”

He looked Gu Qingyan up and down. A young master dressed in brocade surely wasn’t short on money.

Besides, anyone who was short on money wouldn’t have walked into Tongfu Inn in the first place—an inn located in such a prime part of the city naturally came at a price.

Gu Qingyan hesitated for a moment but couldn’t resist the lure of a hot bath. “I’ll take the Heaven Room. And make sure the water’s hot.”

“Absolutely, sir! We’ll bring the water up right away!” the assistant replied cheerfully.

The Heaven Room was spacious, sunny, and clean. The bedding looked brand new and even had the scent of sunlight.

Aside from being expensive, it was perfect.

Gu Qingyan enjoyed a comfortable hot bath and a sumptuous dinner delivered straight to his room.

Before going to bed, he wrapped himself up like a silkworm in its cocoon and thought, If one place won’t keep me, another will.

With this sign-in system in hand, Grandpa here can live well anywhere.

On his first night away from the Li family, Gu Qingyan ate and drank his fill, scrubbed himself clean, and slept in a warm, cozy bed. He actually felt more at ease than he had at the Li estate.

But that night, Gu Qingyan still didn’t sleep well.

He had a strange, surreal dream.

The Li family was a complicated place. Lady Xu wasn’t the legal wife but a favored concubine of Li Father. Back then, Madam Li had been married for ten years without bearing children, so they brought Xu—an upright woman from a good family—into the household.

It had been agreed that she would enter the household as a favored concubine, and once she gave birth to a son, the child would be registered under Lady Li’s name and raised as the legitimate heir.

But no one expected that just as Madam Xu conceived, Lady Li also became pregnant. Her condition was initially unstable.

Doctors were summoned, and they all said the child in Madam Xu’s womb had a strong and unyielding fate, which clashed with the family’s fortunes.

Lady Li came from a prestigious family. If it weren’t for her inability to bear children at the time, she would never have tolerated her husband taking a concubine—much less a favored one. Enraged, she demanded Madam Xu be sent away.

Gu Qingyan hadn’t been born yet at the time, but he had heard the older servants say that Madam Xu had knelt outside the gate for a long time, refusing to leave, and eventually was sent to the ancestral home in Qingzhou instead.

From then on, Lady Li stayed in the capital, Madam Xu remained in Qingzhou, and both women ended up giving birth to sons.

Gu Qingyan had always been weak and sickly and had never been to the capital, but even he knew that Lady Li had given birth at an advanced age. That child’s health was even worse than his—he had been on medicine since birth, taking more medicine than rice.

Because of this, Lady Li never came to Qingzhou, but she didn’t completely abandon her son either.

Madam Xu raised her son in relative comfort at the Qingzhou estate.

Over the years, his father had written many letters, urging him to study diligently and take the imperial examinations. With his father’s support, he would have a promising future.

Every time she read one of those letters, Madam Xu would say the capital was no good, and that Lady Li was especially vicious and ruthless. “Who knows if you’d even survive if you went there,” she’d say. “Better to live a peaceful life as a wealthy gentleman here in Qingzhou.”

Gu Qingyan still remembered how Madam Xu once stroked his hair and said, “I don’t ask for you to be rich or powerful, only for you to live safely and peacefully. No need to exhaust yourself with all that studying. What your father left behind is enough for you to live on for a lifetime.”

Waking from a surreal dream, Gu Qingyan opened his eyes and couldn’t help but murmur, “Could all of it have been fake?”

If his identity was fake, then was all the affection fake too?

Otherwise, why would Madam Xu be so eager to send him away—so impatient that she couldn’t even wait for him to pack his things?

Gu Qingyan blinked and stopped thinking about Madam Xu. He opened the system interface.

[Host: Gu Qingyan]
[Age: 15]
[Points: 2]

He flipped up from bed—his points had increased!

It was only one point more, but as long as it could recover, this was a sustainable resource.

The world was big, and there were so many banks. If he signed in at them one by one, he could become a tycoon in no time.

Gu Qingyan relaxed completely—his survival pressure was gone.

“Young Master, are you in there? It’s Cuihong.”

“I’m here.”

Gu Qingyan hurriedly dressed and went out. Cuihong was his personal maid.

When he opened the door, a tall and pretty girl stood outside—it was Cuihong.

The moment she saw him, her eyes reddened. “Young Master, you’ve suffered.”

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. I’m perfectly fine. Where’s the suffering in that?”

As Gu Qingyan comforted her, he looked past her and saw she was alone.

Cuihong noticed his glance and lowered her voice. “I came on my own. Madam doesn’t know.”

Gu Qingyan wasn’t sure what he was still hoping for. He smiled indifferently. “Makes sense. I made the real young master suffer for fifteen years. It’s normal she doesn’t want to see me.”

“How could it be your fault, Young Master? You were just a baby back then. How could you make decisions? If anyone’s to blame, it’s the careless attendants of the time, or that malicious midwife. It certainly isn’t your fault.”

Cuihong was indignant, stomping her foot as she scolded everyone involved back then.

“And Madam is too cruel. After fifteen years of raising you, she wouldn’t even let you take anything when she kicked you out.”

Gu Qingyan shrugged with a false air of ease. “If it’s not mine, taking it would burn my hands.”

“But what will you do now, Young Master? You’ve been frail since childhood. Even a small lapse could leave you with a fever or headache. Seeing doctors and buying medicine costs money. I wish I could go with you, but my indenture is still in Madam’s hands…”

Tears streamed down Cuihong’s face as she spoke.

She truly couldn’t understand how Madam could be so heartless. Such a good, such a filial young master—yet she drove him out just like that, without a shred of mercy.

“Young Master, this is some silver we maids pooled together. It’s not much, but please take it in case of emergency. In the future…”

She unfolded a handkerchief with a few silver pieces wrapped inside—maybe five taels in total.

Gu Qingyan’s nose stung with emotion.

Maidservants who sold themselves usually came from poor families. Especially those around him—they were all local girls bought in Qingzhou.

Cuihong’s father had died early, and her widowed mother supported several children. They relied on her monthly pay just to avoid starving.

For her to come up with this much silver—it would make things hard for her later.

Gu Qingyan wrapped the silver back up in the handkerchief. “Cuihong, I truly appreciate this, but I’m not so down-and-out just yet.”

“Young Master?” Cuihong thought he was just saving face.

After all, he had always been generous. The money sent from the capital during the holidays was managed by Madam Xu—he never personally handled any silver.

Now he’d been driven out with nothing but the clothes on his back—what could he possibly do?

Gu Qingyan turned and pretended to pull out a silver note from his bedding. “See? I left myself a way out.”

“I’ve decided to return to my hometown. At least there I have some relatives who can look after me. Cuihong, you must take good care of yourself too.”

Cuihong nodded repeatedly, but couldn’t stop crying.

“Young Master, I’ll miss you. If you’re ever in trouble, please promise me you’ll come find me.”

Gu Qingyan nodded, accepting her sincere care.

“I’m not worried about much, but I am concerned about Nanny Liu. She’s old and not in good health. Please help take care of her for me.”

He took out a silver note worth ten taels and slipped it into Cuihong’s hand.

Cuihong didn’t dare look up at him.

“Did something happen? Did something happen to Nanny Liu?”

Cuihong choked out, “Madam drove you out, and right after, she drove Nanny Liu out too.”

“What?!”

Gu Qingyan hadn’t expected that Madam Xu could be so utterly heartless.