The sun was high in the sky as Yin Zheng left Yin Muxue’s courtyard, marking only the halfway point of a chaotic day.
Yin Muxue wanted to keep Yin Zheng for lunch, but Yin Zheng said that she still had things to do in her own courtyard and had to go back for a while, adding that she would return to keep her company after lunch.

Yin Muxue sensed that she had caused Yin Zheng trouble, forcing her to use lunchtime to handle her own affairs. She blushed, feeling that she had lived her previous life in vain. The reliance she had unconsciously shown after confessing everything was retracted, and she tried to restore her original appearance: “There’s no need, I didn’t have anything important to begin with, and I’m much better after taking the medicine. On the other hand, you, sister, are weak, so be careful not to tire yourself out.”

Yin Zheng shook her head: “It’s fine, I’ll definitely come in the afternoon. I see that Old Master and Madam still don’t understand what happened. This afternoon, I’ll have to ask you to accompany me to the Main Courtyard so you can explain it to them, allowing them to adapt as soon as possible.”

Yin Muxue believed that there was an even simpler approach, so she took Yin Zheng’s hand and said, “Why bother so much, troubling you to make such a trip? I can go myself. You should rest well and take care of your health, that’s what matters most.”

As she spoke, Yin Muxue also poked Yin Zheng’s nose with her fingertip, a gesture of intimacy: “And don’t always treat me like a younger sister. I’m much older than you now, you should treat me as an older sister and learn to rely on me.”

Yin Zheng seemed unable to win the argument, a faint and helpless smile rising on her face, like a spring breeze caressing the face, making Yin Muxue extremely comfortable.

Yin Muxue watched Yin Zheng leave the room, suppressing the joy in her heart and carefully recalling the conversation with Yin Zheng earlier. She felt a sense of satisfaction as if many years of regret had been made up for.

As the time was confirmed, she gradually recalled her situation and mood at this time in her previous life.

Back then, she had considered herself exceptionally talented and unique, but after encountering sudden changes, apart from helping to take care of her mother who was bedridden, she couldn’t do anything more for the family. Now, she was no longer the ignorant young girl; she had been married and knew how to manage a household and keep accounts, and she also knew how to use her network of relationships more efficiently.

Coming back with memories, she would definitely deliver a perfect answer sheet, becoming the closest and most useful person by her sister’s side.

Yin Muxue was full of fighting spirit. As she thought, she suddenly realized that Yin Zheng had always addressed her parents as “Old Master” and “Madam.”

Such a form of address was not strange; some families were just accustomed to addressing their parents that way, especially illegitimate sons and daughters.

But she hadn’t noticed it in her previous life, probably because her sister had married the Prince at that time and it was no longer appropriate to address them that way, so she had changed her way of speaking.

Yin Muxue didn’t pay too much attention to this discovery and prepared to go to the Main Courtyard after eating to help her parents get used to this reborn world. If her parents adapted quickly, she would also go to her Second Uncle’s courtyard to help him, lest everyone really think he was crazy.

…

After leaving the Yin family’s Old Master and Madam to Yin Muxue, Yin Zheng returned to her own courtyard.

As soon as she entered, she noticed that her courtyard had become somewhat different from before.

Yin Zheng carefully observed and found that the sweeper maidservants, who usually slacked off due to her “tolerance and generosity,” had actually been diligent for once, thoroughly tidying up the entire courtyard.

The weeds beside the stone slab path were gone, the corridors were long empty, and even the dusty birdcage was finally cleaned, with a yellow sparrow placed inside. Several porcelain-white eave bells were hung on the tree in the courtyard for decoration, and even the old door curtain had been replaced with a new one.

Walking into the room, the rich aroma of food wafted over.

“Miss is back!” Feng Nian, who was setting the table, eyes lit up, couldn’t help but praise: “Guo Jie is truly amazing. She said you would come back for lunch, Miss, and asked me to clean up the room before going to the kitchen herself. I didn’t expect you to really come back.”

“I never said that,” Guo Jie came in from outside, holding a basin of hot water: “I said that whether or not Miss comes back, we must be prepared for Miss to come back for lunch.”

After speaking, she looked at Yin Zheng and said, “Miss, come wash your hands and have lunch.”

Yin Zheng’s gaze didn’t linger on Guo Jie. After washing her hands, she went to sit at the table.

There were no rules in Yin Zheng’s courtyard. Maidservants were not required to keep watch at night, nor were they allowed to serve meals.

But this time, Yin Zheng only let Feng Nian go back to her own room to eat, leaving Guo Jie behind.

Feng Nian hesitated because she felt that Guo Jie was fine now, even better and more capable than before. Not only had she led them to clean up the courtyard until it was clean and beautiful, but the lunch she brought back from the kitchen was also obviously more abundant than before.

Feng Nian asked the maidservant who went to the kitchen with Guo Jie, wanting to know how Guo Jie had obtained such good food. Who knew that the maidservant was clumsy with words and could only use “Guo Jie is amazing” to describe Guo Jie’s series of operations in the kitchen.

If Miss misunderstood and didn’t want Guo Jie, that would be too bad.

Yin Zheng saw Feng Nian’s worry and asked with a smile, “What’s wrong?”

Feng Nian was straightforward and knew that her Miss wouldn’t blame her, so she spoke her mind.

Yin Zheng helplessly comforted her: “What are you thinking? I left Guo Jie behind because she said she had something to say to me, it’s not like I deliberately wanted to leave her here to make things difficult for her.”

Feng Nian finally remembered that before her Miss was called away by Mama Xu, Guo Jie had indeed said that she had something to say to her Miss and had even kowtowed to her Miss for this.

Only then did Feng Nian feel relieved and return to her room to eat, leaving Guo Jie in Yin Zheng’s room.

After Feng Nian left, Yin Zheng picked up her chopsticks and took a slice of fresh bamboo shoot for herself.

Guo Jie walked to the table, picked up another pair of chopsticks, and while serving Yin Zheng, she said, “Miss is smart and must already know what exactly happened to me.”

It was clearly the voice of a young girl, but when spoken by Guo Jie at this moment, it was as calm as water.

But this water was calm but not lifeless at all. Instead, it had a sense of rhythm to it, sounding particularly pleasant and making people couldn’t help but listen attentively.

Yin Zheng didn’t know what Guo Jie had experienced, but from Feng Nian’s previous description and Guo Jie’s behavior, it was not difficult to see that Guo Jie’s skills in serving people had improved qualitatively.

Yin Zheng didn’t say anything, only eating her food and listening to Guo Jie tell her everything.

Guo Jie didn’t let Yin Zheng’s expectations for the entire morning down, telling Yin Zheng all of her experiences in her previous life, many of which Yin Muxue didn’t know—

“In my previous life, Feng Nian and I always followed Miss. After the two Old Masters and the Eldest Young Master were imprisoned, Miss’s mood became very bad. Later, the Second Madam and Fifth Young Master passed away, Old Madam collapsed from exhaustion, and Madam became seriously ill, so Miss, you took charge of the household.

“No one knew how you did it, you brought the two Old Masters and the Eldest Young Master back from the imperial prison. Not long after, an additional Mama came to your side. I heard she was from the palace, and Feng Nian and I were very afraid of her. We didn’t think much of it at the time, but now that I think about it, that Mama should have been sent by people in the palace to monitor you.”

Yin Zheng wasn’t surprised by this. The Prince had already investigated the Yin family, there was no reason why he couldn’t investigate her, and she had plenty of ways to prevent the Prince from moving against her. She hadn’t expected the Prince to be even more annoying than she thought, killing her if he couldn’t and sending people to her side to monitor her.

Yin Zheng chewed the lotus root slice she put in her mouth into pieces, slowly swallowing it.

“In the autumn of Tian He thirteenth year, the rebel Zhen Xiao raised troops in Linxi and colluded with the underground business association of Sudong, stirring up a mess in the two regions. After winter, the small overseas countries and tribes tore up the treaty and launched troops, and the following year, Nandan suffered a drought. It was as if all the bad things had come together.

“The world was really chaotic at that time. The rebels had already killed their way under the walls of Yongdu. The four regions were busy with their own affairs. If it weren’t for the North and South Great Camps in Yongdu, I’m afraid this country would have been gone long ago. But at that time, no one said that this was the fault of the royal family. It was only later that you married the Prince and helped him govern the country and quell the rebellion that rumors gradually spread, saying that the Sitian Tower case was done by the Prince, and the world was suffering this calamity because of the Prince’s absurd actions. They also said that you were a goddess descended to earth to save the country and its people, and only you, assisting the Prince, could bring stability back to the world.

“I was so afraid at the time, afraid that the court and the outside world would praise you on one hand and scold the Prince on the other hand, causing the Prince to become dissatisfied with you. But later I found that the Prince seemed very happy, which was in line with his consistent unconventionality. On the contrary, it was you who angrily injured the Prince with a knife. I think the Prince’s true face must have saddened you.”

Speaking of this, Guo Jie became even more determined to keep Yin Zheng away from the Prince. The Prince was not worthy of her Miss.

“But not everyone praised you. Some people tried every means to kill you. Feng Nian died in one assassination, blocking a knife for you.”

After saying this, Guo Jie stopped. She slowly adjusted her emotions, not wanting to finish her next words while crying.

Yin Zheng didn’t urge her, quietly eating the rice in her bowl and the dishes that Guo Jie had served her.

After a long time, Guo Jie continued: “I was extremely sad.”

She used five simple words to summarize her heart-wrenching pain at the time, and then turned the topic to herself: “It was at this time that I met a man. That man was very good to me, and I thought: I can’t live without him in this life.”

After saying that, Guo Jie smiled, her laughter filled with self-deprecation and melancholy.

“I wanted to ask Miss to give me to him, but he said that he was just a merchant, unworthy of me. He also said that he had a way to make Miss value him, and I foolishly believed him, and put the medicine he gave me into the goat’s milk that Miss drank at night, thinking that if Miss felt better the next day, I would tell her about the medicine and introduce him to her.

“I clearly knew that Miss was in danger, and that the food was tested for poison before it was handed to me, but I used Miss’s trust in me for my own selfish purposes.

“Fortunately, Miss, you didn’t drink that bowl of goat’s milk. The next day, I hurriedly ran to ask him what to do, and as a result, the guards followed me and found him. Only then did I realize that he was also someone who wanted to kill you. What he gave me was not a prescription to nourish my body, but poison.”

“He used me as a hostage to escape from Yongdu, and took me all the way to Sudong, selling me into a brothel in Sudong.”

Seeing Yin Zheng put down her bowl and chopsticks, Guo Jie picked up the empty bowl next to her and filled soup for Yin Zheng.

Guo Jie held up her sleeves with one hand and held a spoon in the other. Her posture was elegant and relaxed, inadvertently showing the best side of her hands and wrists.

Guo Jie brought the soup to Yin Zheng and said, “I won’t talk about the things I experienced in that place, lest it taint Miss’s ears.”

Guo Jie held back her tears when she talked about Feng Nian’s death, and Guo Jie didn’t cry when she talked about being sold into a brothel, but when she talked about Yin Zheng saving her, Guo Jie cried.

She turned and walked to the window, and after a long time, she wiped away her tears and folded back. Seeing that Yin Zheng had already finished the soup, she lowered her head and cleaned up the table.

“What happened later?” This was the first sentence Yin Zheng said to Guo Jie after coming back.

It was impossible for Guo Jie not to answer: “Later, I stayed in Sudong. You refused to forgive me, but you couldn’t bear to see me suffer, so you asked the King of Sudong to take care of me, hoping that I could live a good life as an ordinary person. But I didn’t want it to end like this, so I took advantage of the death of the president of the chamber of commerce and, with the help of the power of the King of Sudong, took over the entire underground chamber of commerce. I want to guard Sudong well for Miss.

“I did it.”

……

The weather was cold, and Yin Zheng sat by the window, basking in the sunlight that was better than nothing.

Guo Jie went out with the food box, leaving her alone in the room. She propped her chin with one hand and asked the boy standing against the wall outside the window, “How is it?”

The boy ate the pancake in his hand: “Why are you asking me about you and her?”

Yin Zheng: “I’m asking about Wangyin Temple.”

Boy: “Oh, I’ve already told them to withdraw, but when I came back, I heard that Sitian Tower had been surrounded, and the gunpowder we hid was searched out and sent outside the city.”

As expected, Yin Zheng was not surprised. She asked the boy, “Were any of our people caught?”

“Yes.” The boy finished the last bite of the cake, took the tea that Yin Zheng handed over and swallowed it, wiped his mouth and said, “There are two disobedient ones who insisted on staying at the Sitian Tower and were caught.”

Sure enough.

Yin Zheng began to think about how to solve this problem, and ordered the boy: “Tell them to bring me the outpatient list of various medical clinics in Yongdu, as well as the reception list of the Tai Hospital in the palace, and who reported to the yamen today that there was gunpowder in the Sitian Tower. I need to confirm how many reborn people there are in the entire Yongdu.”

This was not difficult for Yin Zheng’s subordinates, because the owner behind Jishi Hall, the largest medical clinic in Yongdu, was Instructor Liu. Jishi Hall specializes in difficult and complicated diseases and does not hide anything, so its reputation is very good. As long as Jishi Hall proposes to other medical clinics to study this strange disease together, it will naturally be able to obtain the patient list of other medical clinics.

As for the Tai Hospital and the yamen, Yin Zheng had people in both places.

“Are there any reborn people among our people?” Yin Zheng asked the boy.

The boy shook his head: “It doesn’t seem like it.”

Very unlucky, there was no way to know what happened in the previous life from the perspective of her own people.

The boy said that Guo Jie’s affairs had nothing to do with him, but he couldn’t help but be curious: “Are you going to keep her by your side?”

Yin Zheng nodded: “I always have to determine how much of what she said is true.”

Boy: “What if it’s all true? Will you forgive her?”

Yin Zheng’s answer was unexpectedly straightforward: “Yes.”

The boy didn’t expect Yin Zheng to say this and was very puzzled: “Why?”

“Because she is useful.” Yin Zheng often perfunctorily answered the boy, but this time she was rarely patient and explained to the boy: “The underground chamber of commerce is not something that anyone can take down. If she doesn’t have that ability, even if the King of Sudong supports her, she won’t be able to stabilize the situation.”

But she stabilized it, proving that she did have this ability.

Boy: “Then why didn’t you forgive her in your previous life? Is it really because you can’t get over that hurdle in your heart?”

Yin Zheng sneered. She knew herself too well: “I don’t want to forgive her, not necessarily because I ‘bear a grudge’, but maybe because only by ‘not forgiving’ can I better use her guilt to control her.”

The boy’s way of thinking was very close to that of ordinary people, but he didn’t feel uncomfortable because of Yin Zheng’s coldness.

This was also why Yin Zheng left the boy behind as a guard. The boy’s sense of right and wrong was too weak, which was just right to stay by her side. Even if he saw through her true face, he wouldn’t become estranged from her because of it.

In the afternoon, Yin Zheng carefully sorted out all the descriptions about her previous life that she had obtained so far. Even if she treated all these words as the truth, Yin Zheng still couldn’t guess why she suddenly stopped in her previous life, and she didn’t understand why the Prince had to take the blame for her.

But she could be sure of one thing: the Prince’s bad reputation was all he took on himself, not Yin Zheng’s deliberate framing.

What was his purpose in doing this?

Before Yin Zheng had time to think carefully, Guo Jie, who had taken the food box back to the kitchen, returned.

Guo Jie also brought back a message, saying that the Eldest Young Master Yin Che, who hadn’t returned all night last night, was arrested by the patrol guards. Just now someone came to their mansion to report the news, and Old Master Yin immediately took Yin Muxue out of the mansion to go to the patrol guard yamen.

Yin Zheng: “Do you know why he was arrested?”

Guo Jie: “Fighting in the street.”

Yin Zheng almost thought she had heard wrong.

Who was fighting in the street? Her gentle Eldest Brother?

“It is said that Lin Jueqing, the son of the Minister of Revenue, also participated in the fight with him.”

Another bookworm who didn’t have the strength to truss a chicken.

“It is said that the reason why they fought in the street was because someone was discussing Miss and saying bad things about Miss.”

A guess rose in Yin Zheng’s heart: “They…”

Guo Jie confirmed Yin Zheng’s guess: “They should also be like me, knowing what happened in the previous life. It goes without saying for the Eldest Young Master. Lin Gongzi is the Fourth Miss’s husband and admires Miss as much as many people in the court, so naturally he can’t stand others saying bad things about Miss.”

Yin Zheng felt unfamiliar with such protection. In order to verify that what Guo Jie said was true, when Old Master Yin took Yin Che and Yin Muxue back to the mansion, Yin Zheng specifically went to the front yard.

Before she even got close, Yin Zheng heard Old Master Yin scolding Yin Che: “All you know is to study, study, and study all day long. Your sister’s reputation is being slandered, but you still can’t beat those people? You’ve completely lost face!”

Yin Muxue also scolded, not only scolding her Eldest Brother, but also scolding her “future” husband Lin Jueqing: “Jueqing is the same. I didn’t think much of it in the past, but now I realize that you are so useless. You’re really making me angry.”

Yin Che followed behind them, not only had a dark expression on his refined and handsome face, but his eyes were also injured.

Yin Zheng felt more and more that something was wrong, and silently raised her hand to support the pillar next to her.

“Sister!” Yin Muxue found Yin Zheng and ran towards Yin Zheng: “Sister, are you worried about Eldest Brother? Don’t worry, Eldest Brother is fine.”

Yin Zheng was about to say “It’s good that he’s fine”, but before she could say the words, she heard Old Master Yin scold Yin Muxue: “How are you talking to your sister? No respect for seniority!”

Although Old Master Yin could already refrain from saluting Yin Zheng, he still couldn’t stand others being impolite in front of Yin Zheng.

On the other side, Yin Che took the flower lantern that the servant behind him was carrying, strode to Yin Zheng, and pushed Yin Muxue aside with one hand: “I heard Jueqing say at the yamen that you didn’t get a flower lantern last night, so I brought one for you on the way back.”

The flower lantern Yin Che handed over was small and exquisite, with a novel shape. The wooden handle of the lantern was carved with intricate totems, and there was also a red tassel hanging at the end of the wooden handle, no worse than the flower lantern Yin Muxue received last night.

For a moment, Yin Zheng didn’t know whether to be grateful that Yin Che was thoughtful, or to marvel at Lin Jueqing’s good memory, who could remember that Yin Zheng didn’t receive a flower lantern from others last night after judging the time.

……

The family ate dinner together that night. Yin Zheng didn’t know why they had to make such a table, but seeing her grandmother happy that her son and daughter-in-law had returned to normal, Yin Zheng didn’t say anything.

At the lively dinner table, some scenes that would never have appeared in the past appeared.

For example, except for the Old Madam, everyone else felt that Yin Zheng should sit down first.

For example, Yin Muxue didn’t stick to Yin Che or Madam Yin, but sat next to Yin Zheng and called Yin Zheng “Sister” in a very intimate manner.

And for example, the Second Old Master, who had always ignored the Second Madam, suddenly cared for his wife and children, constantly serving his wife food and soup, asking her if she was cold or not, and also asked his son to eat more, even personally taking a spoon to feed his youngest daughter.

All the servants felt dazed, and Feng Nian was also full of disbelief, but only Guo Jie was as calm as ever, but her manners and gestures, which she had been forced to learn, couldn’t be changed, and often attracted the attention of the stewards or servants in the mansion.

The chaotic day finally ended. Yin Zheng got a part of the list of reborn people sent by the boy and prepared to send people to approach them.

She did this, firstly, to find out more about what happened in her previous life, so as to figure out why she gave up in her previous life. Secondly, she had to determine how much these people knew, so as to judge how much of her long-planned plan had to be scrapped.

However, the next morning, a new chaos began.

All kinds of invitations were sent to the Yin mansion like snowflakes. This was fine, but there were even matchmakers who came to propose marriage to Yin Zheng.