Transmigrated into a fat wife, farming, raising children, and picking up husbands

With them, she didn't have to constantly be on edge to decipher the meaning behind every glance.

There's no need to agonize over whether every word is appropriate, nor to wear a perfectly timed smile.

She can speak freely, breathe in the mountain air naturally, and show genuine joy when she finds a whole mushroom.

That feeling... is like a bird that has been confined in a cramped cage for a long time, suddenly being released into a wide-open forest where it can breathe freely.

Even the air seemed to carry the scent of grass and sunshine, a sense of freedom.

The strings were unconsciously plucked by the fingertips, flowing out a low and melodious tune, as if a thousand emotions were unspeakable.

The moonlight, like water, reflected her beautiful profile, which was shrouded in a layer of melancholy.

The soft strains of the zither lingered in the teahouse's backyard at night, whispering tales of complex emotions unknown to anyone.

"Clang clang."

A few soft knocks on the door pulled Liu Ruyan back from her chaotic thoughts.

She quickly concealed the melancholy on her face, regained her usual gentle and calm demeanor, and got up to go to the door to open it.

The door opened, and there stood Zhang Wanfu, smiling broadly. Behind him stood Liu Songnian, a slender man with concerned eyes.

"Uncle, Uncle Songnian, it's so late, why haven't you rested yet?" Liu Ruyan stepped aside to let the two of them in.

Zhang Wanfu strolled into the room with his hands behind his back, glanced at Liu Ruyan's face, chuckled, and sat down at the table.

"That's why I heard the sound of the zither coming from your room, and since I thought you were still awake, I came to check on you."

He paused, then asked with concern, "Yan'er, what's wrong? Your playing sounds muffled. Is something on your mind? Would you like to talk to your uncle?"

Liu Ruyan poured him a glass of warm water, and then poured one for Liu Songnian as well, but didn't say anything.

Liu Songnian also sat down. He knew Liu Ruyan better than Zhang Wanfu, and there was a hint of worry in his eyes.

"Yes, Miss. I remember you and Young Master Chen were in quite a good mood when you came back. Why do you seem a bit melancholy now?"

"But what kind of mistreatment did you suffer outside? Or...?"

He hesitated for a moment, glanced at Zhang Wanfu, and then tentatively asked, "...Is there someone in your heart that's causing you this distress?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wanfu's eyes lit up, and he immediately perked up.

He leaned forward slightly, his smile deepening, carrying a look of concern and gossip unique to elders.

"Yes, yes, yes! Yan'er, don't be shy! It's perfectly normal for a girl to have a crush on someone when she grows up!"

"Look, you've reached the age where you should be thinking about marriage. Did you meet any nice young men in Qingshan Village today?"

"Is he some young master from a family in town? Tell your uncle, and he'll help you choose, hehehe..."

Liu Ruyan: "..."

These two old men, one shrewd and calculating, had been navigating the teahouse business for many years.

A meticulous mind, burdened with a heavy secret, enduring hardship to survive.

The two of them usually appear shrewd and composed.

At this moment, however, they were making faces and sitting around Liu Ruyan, just like the elders in other families who were worried about the marriage of their younger relatives, their faces full of curiosity and gossip.

Looking at them like this, Liu Ruyan's melancholy and complicated feelings were suddenly diluted by a sense of helplessness and amusement.

She pursed her lips slightly, a blush rising on her face. She glanced at them speechlessly, without directly answering the question of "which boy she has her eye on."

He shook his head helplessly, got up, walked to the window, and pushed open the wooden window.

A cool night breeze immediately rushed in, carrying the moist scent of an early summer night, brushing against her cheeks, and seemingly temporarily dispelling some of the gloom in her heart.

She leaned against the window frame, gazing at the deep night outside, and remained silent for a long while before speaking softly.

"Uncle, Uncle Songnian, you said that the old house has been abandoned for so many years. Normally, we are afraid to even get close to it for fear of attracting attention and causing trouble."

"Is it really necessary to guard it like this, preventing it from falling into the hands of others?"

These words, though seemingly asked calmly, were like a stone thrown into a deep pool, instantly stirring up a thousand waves in the hearts of Zhang Wanfu and Liu Songnian.

The smiles and gossipy expressions on their faces vanished instantly, replaced by a complex look of heaviness, pain, and resentment.

Zhang Wanfu tightened his grip on the teacup, his lips moved slightly, and finally he just let out a long sigh.

Liu Songnian's back seemed to hunch for a moment, and a deep pain and the shadow of memories flashed in his eyes.

He recalled many years ago: the firelight, the cries, the cold shackles, and the sorrowful yet resolute gazes of the master and mistress before their deaths…

He recalled how, filled with boundless hatred, he rummaged through the mass graves like a rat in a sewer, secretly collecting and cremating the scattered remains of his master.

Under the cover of night, they hid like thieves in the wasteland near the old house...

Thinking back to the past ten years or so, he recalled how carefully he had kept his young mistress in hiding, living under an assumed name.

How to pretend to be a ghost, using those simple props and ventriloquism, to guard this empty shell that has long since changed beyond recognition, leaving only ruins.

Just for that faint, perhaps forever unattainable, thought in my heart.

I hope that one day, the injustice will be redressed, the old home will see the light of day again, and the souls of the Lord's family will find peace.

At first, I was indeed filled with grief, indignation, and resentment!

Why? The master studied hard from a young age, passed the imperial examinations, and lived a life of integrity and uprightness, serving the country and its people.

In the end, they suffer the loss of their families and the stigma of their crimes, while the real mastermind behind it all remains at large, continuing to amass wealth.

They couldn't accept that their home, which their master had painstakingly built and was filled with laughter and the fragrance of books, had fallen into the hands of outsiders.

I can't bear to see that garden completely transformed, its former traces erased, while unrelated people live and work in peace and tranquility there.

Later, those audacious and reckless scoundrels from the Black Fish Gang took over the place, trampling the last vestiges of dignity from the old house.

They couldn't swallow their anger any longer!

They were outnumbered and outmatched, and their identities were too sensitive to allow for a direct confrontation.

That's why, the night before last, they disregarded the risk of being exposed and secretly followed Lin Xiuer and her group, relentlessly increasing their efforts from behind.

Rather than helping Lin Xiuer, it was more about venting a pent-up anger that had been building up for too long!

Seeing those thugs so terrified they wet themselves and lost their minds, they felt a sense of satisfaction.

But... what happens after you've gotten your revenge?

The old house remains an abandoned garden, still burdened with the infamous reputation of being a "haunted house" and a "ghost garden," with no one daring to approach it, let alone buy it.

They can only watch from afar, guarding this empty shell, year after year.

The young lady still had to live in anonymity, assuming the identity of an actress, carefully navigating this turbid world as if walking on thin ice.

The day when the injustice will be redressed remains a long way off.