After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 176, Zhangjia Village

Liu Feifei stepped forward somewhat angrily, "You were my maid when you came here."

"Aren't you afraid someone will be watching you if you walk out like this?"

Bai Wanqing smiled as she held the wooden box. "Miss, shall we go back now?"

Liu Feifei nodded, raising her chin. "Okay! Go to the side courtyard and prepare the carriage now."

After saying that, Liu Feifei and Bai Wanqing smiled at each other again.

Liu Feifei turned around and asked someone to prepare a carriage. The two sat in the carriage, and it seemed that nothing had changed, but everything had changed as well.

"I can't believe Father would agree to do such a stupid thing with you," Liu Feifei said, pouting.

"And you? If it were you, would you say yes?" Bai Wanqing asked with a smile in her eyes.

"I'm not that stupid!" Liu Feifei huffed arrogantly and turned her head to the side.

The two did not speak again on the way. Liu Feifei took Bai Wanqing back to the courtyard, changed her clothes, and asked Xiao Cui to take her back, but Bai Wanqing refused.

"No need to send it! It'll attract too much attention."

Liu Feifei thought about it and agreed. Now, the Liu family and Bai Wanqing were in the same boat.

It's always best to be cautious in everything you do.

"Are you really okay?" Liu Feifei felt a little nervous for some reason.

Bai Wanqing raised her chin. "Of course, no problem."

As Liu Feifei watched Bai Wanqing leave, she still felt a weight on her heart.

"Xiao Cui, pack up the eldest sister's things," Liu Feifei instructed.

Xiao Cui looked bewildered. "Madam, why are you packing?"

"In a couple of days, we will send my eldest sister and wet nurse to the village in the suburbs."

Seeing her young mistress's somber expression, Xiao Cui knew that something was about to happen.

"Okay! I'll go pack right away." Xiao Cui called to the nanny to help her eldest sister pack her things. Liu Feifei, who was sitting in front of the house, was restless and had no choice but to go and help as well.

Meanwhile, back home, Bai Wanqing was carefully looking at the booklet that Master Liu had given her.

"That's too detailed."

“Any one of these things could be used to convict the Fang family, and they would never be able to recover.”

But Master Liu kept this thing at home and never took it out.

Prince Huai, Bai Wanqing, knew that the power of the imperial relatives and nobles was great, but she did not expect it to be so great that they could control everything and influence the officials in the northern border.

Is this what Lin Yunche is going to do?

Bai Wanqing shook her head slightly at this thought, fearing it might be more than that.

Bai Wanqing didn't want to think about it anymore. The most important thing now was to find all the people she could find in the next two days.

That night, she didn't sleep a wink, flipping through the booklet three times.

The three families most closely connected to the Fang family have been circled.

As dawn broke, Bai Wanqing heard a clattering sound outside—it was Fengniang cooking.

She rubbed her temples and walked out of the courtyard, where she saw Madam Wang and her daughter-in-law helping out in the kitchen.

"Madam! Why are you up so early?" Fengniang asked, noticing that Bai Wanqing's complexion was not good.

"I can't sleep! What are you guys doing? I'll lend a hand!"

As she spoke, Bai Wanqing rolled up her sleeves and stepped into the kitchen.

Madam Wang and her daughter-in-law immediately stood up. "Madam, how can we let you in here!"

"You should wait outside; we'll take care of things here."

Madam Wang was grateful to Bai Wanqing for saving her family, and later admired Bai Wanqing's character even more, her words at this moment revealing her respect.

Bai Wanqing smiled and said, "It's alright, as long as you don't mind my poor cooking skills."

Feng Niang understood Bai Wanqing's personality; she often cooked for Bai Wanqing herself, so she wasn't too surprised.

Bai Wanqing cooked noodles for everyone. Master Luo loved her cooking the most, and he ate two more bowls than usual this morning.

"Putting everything else aside, Qing, you could definitely open a restaurant here."

Master Luo patted his belly with a satisfied expression, praising it, and occasionally smacked his lips as if he was still not satisfied.

Bai Wanqing knew Master Luo's temperament and didn't take his words to heart at all.

Master Luo, however, was rather serious. "You don't believe me? Feng Niang, you tell me!"

"You've owned a restaurant, you must know!"

Feng Niang smiled and said, "Madam's cooking skills are certainly not bad."

Everyone chatted and laughed all morning, but Bai Wanqing knew that no one was as relaxed as they appeared on the surface.

After the meal, Madam Wang and her daughter-in-law took the initiative to wash the dishes and pots.

Ruixin was arranged by Bai Wanqing to continue traveling by carriage.

She and Fengniang parted ways and went to two different places; Fengniang went to the Ning family in the north of the city.

Bai Wanqing then left the city and headed straight for the Liang family in Wanquan County.

According to the manual provided by Master Liu, two years ago, the Ning family's grandson was ruined due to a mistake by the Fang family.

At that time, the Ning family was still quite prosperous, so they naturally wouldn't let it go and went to the Fang family to reason with them.

The Fang family only described the symptoms as normal, making no mention of the prescription they had written. The Ning family patriarch took the prescription to another city, and only after making inquiries did he learn that the prescription was missing one ingredient. Because of that one ingredient, his grandson had died. How could the Ning family possibly swallow this insult?

After failing to reach the Fang family, the Ning family filed a lawsuit against them at the yamen, which was then handled by Master Liu.

Master Liu, acting impartially, did indeed discover that the Fang family's prescription was problematic.

However, on the day of the trial, the Fang family produced a different list of medical records.

It was said that this prescription would have been perfectly effective for the Ning family's child's illness at the time.

Master Liu summoned a renowned doctor to re-examine the prescription and medicine. Just a change in the pulse diagnosis changed everything.

Ke Ning's grandson has died and has been buried.

It is now very difficult to find any clues about the symptoms at that time.

In Huaizhou City, there is only one clinic owned by the Fang family. Even if you find another clinic to testify, it won't make a difference, as they are all owned by the Fang family.

Therefore, the Ning family planned to take revenge on their own.

Unexpectedly, for some unknown reason, the patriarch of the Ning family suddenly passed away.

Following them were their matriarch, the eldest son of the Ning family, and the second son.
In almost half a year, the Ning family went from a prominent household to a destitute family with only an orphan and a widow.

The Ning family, in this way, almost regarded the Fang family as their mortal enemy.

They repeatedly approached the Fang family. If it weren't for the fact that the Fang family's criticism of the Ning family in Huaizhou City had already reached its peak, even the last members of the Ning family might have been...
Bai Wanqing was very confident that Fengniang would invite the Ning family, after all, a family that had been persecuted to this extent could be described as a blood feud.

But the Liang family she was going to was different.

According to Master Liu's records, three years ago, the Liang family was the wealthiest landlord family in Huaizhou City. In Wanquan County, outside Huaizhou City, the Liang family owned the most fertile land.

The Fang family naturally wouldn't let such a lucrative opportunity slip by.

But the Liang family, perhaps having learned from the Ning family's experience, or perhaps having heard some serious rumors, did not know.

They actually gave two-thirds of their entire fortune to the Fang family.

Seeing that the Liang family was sensible, the Fang family did not take any action against them.

However, the Liang family lost the most from that handbook. After that, the Liang family moved out of Wanquan County and into Chengjia Village.

Bai Wanqing arrived in Wanquan County in the afternoon.

She led her horse to the entrance of a village and stopped an old farmer with his trousers rolled up.

"Brother! Please wait, can I ask for directions?"

The old farmer sized up the handsome young man before him, paused for a moment, then smiled憨厚ly, "Young master, which family are you inquiring about?"

"Which family does the Liang family belong to?"

The old farmer was taken aback; they were actually looking for the Liang family.

He looked at Bai Wanqing with suspicion. "What business do you have with the Liang family?"

"Oh, I'm here to buy grain from Master Liang," Bai Wanqing said with a smile.

"Oh, so they're selling grain!"

The old farmer immediately lowered his guard. "Young master, you've come to the right place."

"Putting everything else aside, the grain from Chengjiazhuang in Wanquan County is the best."

"The yield is high, and the grains are plump; they are all top-quality products that are hard to find on the market."

Bai Wanqing cupped her hands in greeting, "That's exactly why."

The old farmer smiled, his eyes crinkling. "Come here, look east. Do you see that river at the edge of the village?"

Bai Wanqing nodded.

"The Liang family lives on the other side of that river. You shouldn't be mistaken, because there's only one Liang family on that side of the river."

Bai Wanqing thanked the old man and led her horse across the river.

It's the busy season of summer, and the village is bustling with activity. The riverbank is also crowded with people, and the village children are all gathered together.

The older children stood in the river catching fish, while the younger ones clapped their hands on the bank.

Bai Wanqing looked at the scene before her, her eyes welling up with tears. When she was little, her mother used to take her and her younger brother to play on the farm in the same way.

But in just five or six years, she was left all alone.

"Help! Help!" the children on the shore suddenly cried out.

Bai Wanqing looked up abruptly and saw a boy of about ten years old stuck in the middle of the river, unable to stand up.

The children around were calling for help, and some of the older children were eager to jump into the middle of the river.

"It's too deep! Danger!" The oldest child stopped his companion who was about to jump in. "There are water plants over there, quick, quick, get a long stick."

Hearing the older child's shout, the children hurriedly began searching for long sticks.

But the child in the middle of the river slowly sank to the bottom.

Bai Wanqing loosened the reins, took a dagger from her boot, threw away the scabbard, and jumped into the river without thinking.

The loud splashing sound made all the children around turn their heads to look.

"Someone went down to rescue people!" the oldest child shouted.

"Should we still look for a stick?" the other children asked.

The eldest child stamped his foot. "Keep looking! The water's deep over there. We need sticks. When she lifts her up, we'll use the sticks to pull her out."

(End of this chapter)