Chapter 192

(I was too busy on the weekend, so I only managed to squeeze out one chapter.)

By the time the sky turned dark, the carriage entered Longquan Village.

Seven or eight days had passed since Du Ruo left the village; during these days, the Jiang Clan Head had arranged for people in the family to take care of Zheng Shi and the others.

Zheng Qinghe, Jiang Cheng, and Chunhua had almost recovered; after all, they were young and had a good foundation.

Zheng Shi and Jiang Wan were a bit worse off; both of them were weak in constitution to begin with, and after such a life-threatening ordeal, even though Du Ruo had fed them the conditioning medicine produced by the system, it was inevitable that their vitality had been severely damaged.

But fortunately, they were finally able to get out of bed.

At this moment, the old and the young were sitting idly in the courtyard, with the dog lying at their feet.

When Du Ruo entered, this was the scene of peaceful years she saw.

Just as she was about to call out, the dog had already discovered her and ran toward Du Ruo.

Du Ruo patted the dog's head, "You've worked hard, Tie Dan."

The dog wagged its tail and barked at her a few times.

Three rich chickens, thank you.

Zheng Shi and Jiang Wan also hurried to greet her; Zheng Shi had been so worried at home these past few days that she couldn't even eat, especially after hearing about Du Ruo being framed by Aunt Lin, which caused her to have nightmares for several nights in a row.

If the Jiang Clan Head hadn't stopped her, she would have long since rushed to the county without caring about anything.

"Aman, you've finally returned..." Zheng Shi first checked her daughter inch by inch, and after confirming that she was fine and not even a single hair was missing, she hugged her with reddened eyes.

Du Ruo also felt a bit of bitterness in her heart.

To her, Zheng Shi no longer just represented the entrustment of the original owner, but had become a relative in the true sense of the word.

"Mother, please don't cry; if you cry, I'm going to cry too," Du Ruo said, acting spoiled.

The emotions Zheng Shi had been brewing instantly evaporated.

She was torn between laughter and tears, and poked her daughter's forehead with annoyance, "Fine, fine, fine, I won't cry. Do you really think your mother is made of water? Your mother's tears are very precious."

As she spoke, she looked behind her and smiled, "Is my son-in-law back too?"

Jiang Li called out to his mother-in-law and then bowed solemnly to her, "I am sorry; it was all because I implicated you and Third Brother. It is my fault."

Getting to the bottom of it, this whole matter started because of him.

If he hadn't accidentally saved Lin Qingshuang back then, perhaps Lin Qingshuang wouldn't have fallen in love with him, and this series of troublesome events wouldn't have happened.

"Nonsense, how could it be your fault?" Zheng Shi did not agree with this statement, "You are not wrong; the one who is wrong is that thief woman Lü Xiue, who is black-hearted and poisonous, and deserves to die a horrible death."

She suddenly remembered something and asked hurriedly, "What about that Lü Xiue now? Is she dead?"

Yao Yulan had mentioned a word or two when she returned from the county the day before yesterday, saying that the case had been brought to light and Lü Xiue had been sentenced to beheading.

But she had returned that same day, so she didn't know what happened afterward.

"Don't worry, Mother, Lü Xiue is dead through and through; I watched with my own eyes as her head fell to the ground," Du Ruo said with a smile.

Zheng Shi put her hands on her hips and said hatefully, "Good riddance! She wanted to snatch my son-in-law from me? Let her go to the underworld and snatch him from King Yama!"

Such a good son-in-law, she wouldn't give him to anyone else even if she died, hmph.

Du Ruo burst out laughing.

Ever since life at home had become more comfortable, Zheng Shi's personality had gradually become much more cheerful, and she no longer cried at the drop of a hat.

Now she could even be fierce; she had made progress.

Not long after entering the house, Zheng Qinghe and Jiang Cheng must have heard the news and soon ran home from the construction site; Chunhua also came out of the kitchen holding tea.

Everyone started talking at once, scrambling to ask about the cause and effect of the matter.

Du Ruo had them sit around the Eight Immortals table, and she acted as the narrator, telling the story of this poisoning and murder case that shocked the whole county in a relaxed and humorous tone, with exaggerated and playful expressions and gestures, from beginning to end.

Of course, she omitted the part about secretly feeding Aunt Lin the Truth Pill.

She only said that Aunt Lin suddenly went crazy and inexplicably confessed to the crime.

After listening, Zheng Qinghe was the first to slap the table, "Pah, what 'went crazy'? It was clearly Heaven looking at that poisonous woman with displeasure, so it cast a spell on her, making her seek her own death!"

"Your Third Brother is right," Zheng Shi agreed repeatedly, "It must be the Bodhisattva showing her spirit. Mother has been praying at home every day, and the Bodhisattva must have heard."

She hurriedly got up and bowed toward the west, muttering, "Bodhisattva, please protect us. For your great kindness and virtue, this believer will definitely fulfill her promise and go before your seat to offer incense and fulfill her vow..."

The corners of Du Ruo's mouth twitched.

Fine, let's just consider it the Bodhisattva's merit; otherwise, it would be really hard to explain the reason for Aunt Lin's abnormal behavior.

Jiang Li leaned against the door, watching this scene, his eyes filled with smiles.

Perhaps this was the kind of home he had always longed for: having the wife he loved most, the best relatives, and the warmest nest.

A moment later, his gaze became cold and stern.

Whether it was Aunt Lin or anyone else, whoever dared to try to destroy this hard-won happiness, he would be at odds with them even if he had to be smashed to pieces!

That evening, the family had a lively reunion dinner.

Taking advantage of the post-dinner chat, Du Ruo secretly had the system check the health of Zheng Shi and the others individually.

Fortunately, there were no major problems.

However, perhaps due to age, Zheng Shi was recovering the slowest; not only was her gastrointestinal function poor, but her organs also showed signs of aging.

Du Ruo had observed carefully; Zheng Shi already had a few white hairs.

This was not a good sign; after all, Zheng Shi was not yet forty, the prime of her life, and should not look so frail and aged.

After thinking about it, Du Ruo exchanged for a Rejuvenation Pill, dissolved it in water, and had her mother drink it.

Although this heaven-defying medicine was extremely expensive, costing twenty points per pill, Du Ruo felt it was worth it as long as it could make Zheng Shi regain her youth.

The next morning, Jiang Li was called away by the Jiang Clan Head, saying there was something to discuss.

It was mysterious, and she didn't know what urgent matter it was.

Du Ruo didn't bother with that, instructed Zheng Shi, Jiang Wan, and Chunhua to continue resting at home, and went to the construction site by herself.

Master Lu was very happy to see her, "Looking at Du Niang Zi's appearance, I presume everything has been resolved?"

"Thanks to you, everything went smoothly," Du Ruo smiled.

After exchanging a few words of concern, the two chatted about the house; Master Lu was indeed an experienced veteran, and whatever Du Ruo requested, he would strive for perfection and do his best.

Even if he couldn't do it, he would figure out an alternative method to satisfy the employer's family.

Du Ruo walked around and found that the foundation had been completely laid, and stone and tile materials were being transported here continuously.

According to this pace, there would definitely be no problem moving into the new house before the end of the year.

Unknowingly, the sun had hung on the treetops, and the women and wives of the Jiang Clan Head's family had arrived one after another to prepare lunch for the craftsmen.

Yao Yulan pulled Du Ruo aside and said sneakily, "Sister-in-law, Lin You Tian and Lin Qingshuang just returned."

Du Ruo gave a faint "oh."

"So they returned, so what? Am I afraid of them?"

"Oh, that's not what I meant. I mean, they brought back Lü Xiue's corpse!"

Yao Yulan's face turned a bit pale, "That Lü Xiue had her head chopped off; it was bloody and terrifying. I heard that as soon as Lin You Tian returned, he went to find Qing Gu, the person with the best craftsmanship in our village, and asked her to help sew Lü Xiue's head back on, so she wouldn't become a headless ghost. Qing Gu had never done such a thing and was almost scared to death, refusing on the spot."

She was quite gloating, "Lin You Tian found a few more people and even offered one tael of silver as a reward, but unfortunately, not a single person dared to take the job!"