Beichen Yuan glared at him, and Murong Wushuang held back his laughter. “Didn’t she say earlier that she wanted to exchange grain for the title of a county princess? Go and negotiate with her. I’d like to see just how much grain this woman actually has, daring to be so bold. Try to extract as much of it as possible from her hands,” he ordered.

It was the first time Beichen Yuan had ever been so calculative with a woman, but he couldn’t bring himself to simply let her off.

“You were never this petty before. Competing with a young lady—such behavior is unworthy of a gentleman,” Murong Wushuang reminded him.

Beichen Yuan snorted, “What? Are you feeling sorry for her?”

If he still couldn’t see Murong Wushuang’s little thoughts at this point, then their years of friendship would have been for nothing.

“Don’t talk nonsense and ruin a lady’s reputation. I simply admire her decisiveness. A young woman with grand ambitions, a vast intellect, and eyes set upon the world, all while possessing remarkable skills—such a woman is worthy of everyone’s respect,” Murong Wushuang said, his eyes sparkling as he spoke of Shen Qingwan.

A faint smile even tugged at his lips unconsciously.

Beichen Yuan had never seen Murong Wushuang give such a high evaluation of someone before, let alone a woman.

If Beichen Yuan disliked women, then Murong Wushuang avoided them even more.

Yet now, he was openly praising one, which Beichen Yuan found unbelievable.

“I think you’ve been bewitched by that woman,” Beichen Yuan scoffed.

That woman was clearly a cunning and calculating little fox, yet in Murong Wushuang’s words, she had become a heroine.

Murong Wushuang did not explain further but still agreed to discuss the matter of grain.

However, he had no intention of completely emptying Shen Qingwan’s stores.

Instead, he would let her contribute within her means.

…

At the martial training ground, many onlookers were watching as Xu Shijie was beaten.

A hundred military cane strikes—no ordinary person could withstand such punishment, let alone Xu Shijie, who was already battered.

It seemed he wouldn’t last much longer.

People whispered among themselves, wondering what crime Xu Shijie had committed to deserve such a severe punishment.

Meanwhile, Xu Shijie himself continued to cry out for justice.

However, after just ten strikes, he was already in too much pain to scream.

By the fifteenth, he had fainted, but only a few strikes later, he was jolted awake by the agony.

By the thirtieth, he was on the verge of death.

When the fortieth strike landed, he had stopped breathing.

The remaining sixty strikes were nothing but a gruesome display of flesh and blood.

Even those responsible for carrying out the execution couldn’t stomach the sight and chose to close their eyes.

The other soldiers watching grimaced at the brutality.

Some quietly inquired about what crime Xu Shijie had committed to warrant such a severe beating, hoping to avoid making the same mistake.

On the other hand, a few lower-ranked soldiers who had suffered under Xu Shijie’s bullying found immense satisfaction in his downfall.

They wished they could personally administer the beating themselves.

When the hundredth strike was dealt, Xu Shijie’s lower body had been reduced to a mangled mess, his pelvic bones shattered—a truly horrific sight.

Beichen Yuan, acknowledging that Xu Shijie had at least died for his crimes, ordered a proper burial for him.

This way, when he returned to the capital, he could give the marquis’ household a reasonable account of what had happened.

..

After leaving, Shen Qingwan went straight to her mother’s tent.

Perhaps due to the shock she had endured, her mother had fainted upon returning.

Fortunately, Rong Yunshuang was unharmed, so when she saw Shen Qingwan’s mother collapse, she immediately sought out the renowned Doctor Chu.

Doctor Chu examined her and determined that she had simply suffered from excessive shock and would recover with rest.

After sending Doctor Chu away, Shen Qingwan sat by her mother’s bedside, holding her hand.

Just as she was about to leave to let her mother rest, she suddenly felt her mother’s hand twitch.

Then, in an instant, her mother tightly gripped her hand.

“Wanwan… Wanwan!”

She woke with a start, eyes wide with panic.

But as she took in her surroundings, she realized she was inside a tent.

Before she could regain her composure, Shen Qingwan had already embraced her gently, speaking soothingly.

“Mother, it’s okay now. Everything is fine. Don’t be afraid.”

Shen Qingwan’s comforting voice filled the air, but to her surprise, her mother pushed away from her embrace, looking at her with confusion.

“Who are you?”

She didn’t recognize Shen Qingwan.

Though Shen Qingwan’s face seemed vaguely familiar, she couldn’t recall who she was.

Shen Qingwan froze.

Staring at her now-clear-eyed mother, she found herself momentarily lost, unsure of how to introduce herself.

Hiding her movements behind her sleeve, she retrieved a small garment from her spatial storage and handed it to her mother.

At first, Ye Minglan was puzzled. But when she saw the embroidery and name stitched onto the fabric, her hands trembled uncontrollably.

“Wanwan… my daughter! This is the little garment my daughter was wearing when she went missing. Where is she? Where is my Wanwan?”

Ye Minglan looked at the young nobleman in front of her but didn’t immediately connect her to the daughter she had lost.

Shen Qingwan reached out and held her mother’s hands, her voice slightly hoarse.

“Mother, I am your daughter.”

Ye Minglan immediately lifted her daughter’s hair and checked behind her left ear.

The moment she saw the small, crimson birthmark, she burst into uncontrollable sobs and hugged Shen Qingwan tightly.

“My poor daughter! It was my fault. I lost you! I deserve to die for letting you wander alone for so many years, suffering so much hardship.”

In the blink of an eye, her daughter had grown up.

Although Ye Minglan had been mentally unstable for years, she hadn’t lost all of her memories.

She was well aware that she had been insane for over a decade and that her child had long since reached adulthood.

Shen Qingwan returned her mother’s embrace.

Although she was happy her mother had regained her senses, she also came to a realization—this woman before her was not the mother she had in her previous life.

This woman was merely the biological mother of the body she now inhabited. If she were truly her past-life mother, she would have recognized her instantly.

But regardless of the truth, Shen Qingwan still chose to protect and cherish her as if she were her real mother.

Perhaps this was fate’s way of compensating her.

Who was to say that this woman wasn’t her mother’s reincarnation?

Or perhaps the person her mother was in her past life? Either way, she no longer dwelled on it.

Seeing Ye Minglan cry harder and harder, Shen Qingwan gently patted her back.

“Mother, I’m here now. Everything is fine. Please don’t cry too much—you’ve just recovered, and your health is still fragile.”

Rong Yunshuang, witnessing the emotional reunion, couldn’t help but tear up as well.

Concerned for her mother’s health, Shen Qingwan sent Yunshuang to call Doctor Chu back.

Doctor Chu checked Ye Minglan again and reassured them, “Your mother is fine now. There’s no need for acupuncture treatment anymore. However, she still needs to continue the medicinal baths for a few more days to completely rid her body of residual toxins.”

With his job done, Chu Fengchun prepared to leave.

Shen Qingwan expressed her gratitude and bowed three times to him.

After sending him off, she sat with her mother and chatted.

There were countless things they both wanted to ask each other.

Shen Qingwan patiently recounted the major events of her past decade.

Upon learning that her daughter had been sold to another household at a young age, forced to be a stepmother, and later widowed while raising two children and caring for her mother-in-law, Ye Minglan wept bitterly.

Her daughter had suffered so much—how had she managed to endure all these years?