The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

Madam Luo originally intended to scare her son at Gu's place, but ended up being frightened by her granddaughter instead.

She was terrified and had nightmares all night.

The horrifying, blood-soaked, open-eyed human head rolled repeatedly to her feet, bumping into her shoes.

Madam Luo lay in bed, occasionally letting out a scream.

This was tough on Mama Fan, who took care of her all night without getting any sleep.

When Fan's mother arrived, she was still chilled from the journey and kept coughing. Afraid of disturbing the old lady, she could only cover her mouth with a handkerchief and try not to make too much noise.

Madam Luo rested at the inn for three or four days before her spirits improved somewhat.

Even the servants she brought from the capital were terrified; they remained pale for several days afterward.

The old women who were brought along whispered among themselves—

"In the past, when I was in the inner quarters, I was used to seeing dirty tricks done behind people's backs, but at least the noble ladies pretended to be very polite on the surface."

"Yes, but this Miss Su doesn't use any of those roundabout ways at all. She doesn't even pretend. It's really scary."

"I saw it very clearly that day. After Miss Su beheaded someone, she smiled so sweetly. It was terrifying."

The servants were all still shaken when they talked about Miss Su; they had never seen such a terrifying little girl.

After all, Madam Luo had lived in the capital for decades, so she still had some intelligence.

She lived on the second floor of the inn, and when she opened the window, she could see that the street vendors below were doing brisk business.

Seeing how prosperous his granddaughter's estate is, he feels very uncomfortable.

If it were her granddaughter who was completely obedient to her, everything would be fine. The problem is that this granddaughter is completely unruly and has utterly trampled on her dignity as a grandmother.

Since there is no county magistrate in Qinghe County, let's find the largest aristocratic family in Qinghe County. Surely someone there can keep that girl in check.

In the Great Qi Dynasty, aristocratic families held a very high status and could exert a great influence on the entire city.

"Fan Dajiang, go and contact the powerful families in Qinghe County. I don't believe they won't give face to the Vice Minister's Mansion."

Madam Luo was very confident that in this small Qinghe County, Fan Dajiang's announcement of his title as Vice Minister would surely terrify the local aristocratic families.

Although there are many third-rank officials in the capital, their status is very high in places far from the capital.

Thinking of this, Madam Luo smiled confidently and instructed, "Fan Dajiang, don't be too harsh on them, or you'll scare those powerful families."

"Remember to promise them a bright future, tell them about the benefits of joining the Vice Minister's Office, and tell them that with the Vice Minister's Office protecting them, no one will dare to interfere even if they cause trouble in this small place."

Fan Dajiang returned to the inn in less than an hour, looking rather pale.

"Reporting to the old lady, the most powerful family in Qinghe County is the Zhang family. This servant went to the Zhang family patriarch, but he dismissed this servant with just one sentence."

Madam Luo couldn't believe that a noble family from a remote rural area would dare to disrespect the Vice Minister.

"The old patriarch of the Zhang family said that they would follow Miss Su's lead."

Madam Luo was furious and slammed the teacup heavily on the table.

"For a young woman to be so adept at winning people over, is she planning to rebel and become an empress?"

The inn wasn't very soundproof, so Fan Dajiang quickly opened the door and looked around. Luckily, no one was outside.

"Madam, please be careful with your words. The word 'rebellion' is not something to be used lightly. I only learned today that this Golden Jade Hall was originally owned by Miss Su."

Madam Luo was quite surprised. Gu's Restaurant was already profitable enough, but now they had opened such a luxurious inn.

The fragrance of plum blossoms wafted into her nostrils. Madam Luo looked at the long-necked white porcelain vase with red plum blossoms in it, which looked very valuable.

This inn is even more elegant than the best inn in the capital. It would be wonderful if it were owned by the Luo family.

That girl is really good at making money; it would be a real shame not to bring her back to the Luo family.

If hard methods don't work, try softer ones.

"Alright, the master said we must win back that girl's heart. Mama Fan, you go and kneel outside the Gu family's gate until that girl forgives the Luo family."

Madam Luo then arranged for Fan Dajiang to rent a house and move there.

She didn't want to stay at that girl's inn anymore. What if that girl had designs on her?

Every day I worry that the tea brought by the innkeeper might be poisonous, or that he might put poisonous snakes or other venomous insects into the room.

Food from Gu's Restaurant can no longer be taken away; the most insidious method used within the inner quarters is to poison the food.

Once we've rented a house, it's safest to have the servants we brought cook the food.

Madam Fan was quite upset. The old lady had originally said she would stand up for her, but instead she was asked to kneel down and beg Miss Su for forgiveness.

That girl is heartless; even if she were to kneel to death, she might not soften her heart.

But we can't ignore what the old lady says.

"Yes, Madam, this old servant will kneel outside the Gu family's gate right now."

Fan's mother slowly walked to the entrance of Gu's Restaurant.

She was literate and saw that the sign outside said "It will rain today." She had heard that the weather signs in Qinghe County were very accurate.

I should have brought an oil-paper umbrella earlier.

Sure enough, less than an hour after Mother Fan knelt, it started to rain.

Although the spring rain was light, it was quite chilly. Fan's mother's knees, which were pressed against the ground, felt numb and stinging, and her rheumatism flared up again.

She was already suffering from a cold and coughing, and now that she's been caught in the rain, she feels even worse. She feels like she's about to collapse and can't hold on any longer.

Mother Fan thought that the onlookers would sympathize with her, but instead, they all criticized her.

"This man knelt outside Gu's restaurant in the rain, clearly trying to embarrass General Su."

"That old woman is going too far; she's trying to ruin General Su's reputation."

Hearing the murmurs of the crowd, Mrs. Fan tried to retort loudly, but no one listened to her at all.

How could these people be so biased and easily swayed by that girl!

Before Fan's mother could even kneel until Gu's restaurant closed, she fainted and had to be carried back to the newly rented courtyard.

It was already completely dark when the servants rushed off to fetch a doctor for Madam Fan.

Little did they know that Su Qianqian had sneaked into the courtyard in the dark.

She directly stored all the valuable items that Madam Luo had brought into her spatial storage.

Madam Luo loves to indulge in pleasures. For her own selfish interests, she doesn't even acknowledge her own son. She must be taught a lesson.

Moreover, she had inquired and learned that these valuables were all bribes received by Madam Luo in the name of Vice Minister Luo, and were all illicit gains.

Mrs. Fan coughed all night, and soon it was dawn.

When Madam Luo woke up in the morning, she found that all the valuables she had brought, such as the hairpin, were gone.

Good heavens, if it had been lost at an inn, I could have sought compensation from the inn, but it was lost in a rented house, so it's no use asking anyone for help.

Even her valuable jewelry that she usually wore was gone; she lost a lot of money.

They couldn't report it to the authorities because most of the stolen items were embezzled funds.

Madam Luo was so angry that she smashed all the teacups on the table. Her stomach was growling with hunger, and she couldn't live without bird's nest at every meal. What should she eat for breakfast?

And there are so many servants to support, it's really annoying.

Madam Luo took a deep breath, took off the jade bracelet from her wrist, and could only take it to the pawnshop to exchange it for some money.

This bracelet was a betrothal gift given to her by Vice Minister Luo decades ago. It was originally meant to be passed down to her daughter-in-law, but she couldn't bear to part with it, and now she can't keep it.

"Dajiang, take this to the pawnshop and exchange it for some money. Remember, pawn it now, you'll have to redeem it later."

"Yes, madam."

Poor Mama Fan, despite her illness, was forced to kneel down by the old lady.

As she knelt and kowtowed, she pleaded, "Please forgive me, Miss Qian, please forgive me, cough cough cough..."

The surrounding crowd looked at him with disgust, not sympathy.

Fan's mother couldn't understand how a teenage girl could win people's hearts.

It's truly remarkable that she could win the unwavering devotion of the entire city.

Mrs. Fan coughed so hard she could barely breathe. She wiped her mouth with a clean handkerchief, only to find that the snow-white handkerchief was stained with bright red blood.

She closed her eyes and collapsed to the ground.

Today, the spring rain continued. This time, unlike yesterday, Fan's mother didn't actually faint. She was faking it to avoid suffering as much as possible.

She felt that if she knelt down any further, she would die, so she pretended to faint.

The old woman who came with them noticed that Fan's mother's face was as pale as paper. She quickly stepped forward and checked Fan's mother's breath with her hand. Finding that Fan's mother was still alive, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

They quickly found someone to help carry Mrs. Fan back home.