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

After entering Vice Minister Luo's study and exchanging pleasantries, Lord Xue finally brought up the purpose of his visit to the Luo residence.

His father was very ill, and if his father passed away, he would have to observe the mourning period, which would likely ruin his official career. That's why he was so eager to cure his father's illness.

In addition, he was indeed a very filial son. During the days when his father was seriously ill, he served him every day after court, taking care of his excrement and urine without any complaints.

"My lord, I heard that your fourth daughter-in-law was ill for more than half a year and almost passed away, but miraculously recovered. I wonder which divine doctor cured her?"

Vice Minister Luo was quite disappointed. He had thought that Lord Xue had come for him, but it turned out that it was because of his fourth daughter-in-law's illness.

The problem is, his fourth daughter-in-law wasn't sick at all.

Vice Minister Luo explained, "My fourth daughter-in-law wasn't seriously ill. Women are all petty, and my fourth daughter-in-law was just pretending to be sick because she was jealous. She was angry that my fourth son took his concubine with him when he went to take up his post, but not her, so she was so angry that she stayed in bed for more than half a year."

He had never been inside the four houses; Luo Mingfang had told him all these "truths."

Vice Minister Luo believed Luo Mingfang's words without a doubt, so he repeated them verbatim to Lord Xue.

Lord Xue felt that Vice Minister Luo was lying because Physician Xu, who had treated his father, had told him that the fourth lady of the Luo family was terminally ill and beyond medical help, but had miraculously recovered.

A man as upright as Physician Xu would never lie.

So he couldn't understand why Vice Minister Luo would hide the fact that his fourth daughter-in-law was sick.

Since he could not get the information he wanted, Lord Xue took his leave.

Vice Minister Luo was very disappointed. He did not expect that Lord Xue would only ask about his fourth daughter-in-law's illness before leaving without even staying to chat for a few more minutes.

Therefore, he did not intend to personally see Lord Xue off, but casually instructed, "Dajiang, you see Lord Xue off."

"Yes, sir."

Lord Xue was a shrewd man. Seeing that Fan Dajiang's shoes were worn out but he was still wearing them, he knew without a doubt that Fan was short of money.

Since we can't get the information we want from Minister Luo, we'll start with the servants in the Luo household.

Lord Xue walked to the gate of the Luo residence and secretly slipped a piece of silver to Fan Dajiang, who was seeing him off, and asked, "Is the fourth mistress's illness really feigned?"

Fan Dajiang didn't think it was an act.

If it were an act, Miss Mingzhen wouldn't have pawned all her valuable jewelry to pay for a doctor.

Fan Dajiang looked around warily, and seeing that no one was around, he whispered to Lord Xue, "The Fourth Madam's illness is really serious. We've consulted many doctors, but they all said they couldn't cure her and could only wait for her to die."

Upon hearing this, Lord Xue quickly pressed further, asking, "Did anything unusual happen before the Fourth Madam recovered?"

Fan Dajiang was a servant born into the Luo family, so he got along very well with the servants, and no matter what happened in the mansion, it could not be hidden from him.

"The day before the Fourth Madam recovered from her illness, I heard that the Fourth Madam's maid brought back a peanut from Gu's Tea House, treating it like a treasure. Many people in the mansion saw it."

"I heard that the peanuts were touched by Miss Su, and thus absorbed her good fortune, making them incredibly effective. After Fourth Madam ate them, she recovered the very next day. Isn't that amazing, Lord Xue!"

Lord Xue felt that this was a bit of an exaggeration.

He had indeed heard people say that Miss Su was a lucky star, and that many women in the capital wanted to receive Miss Su's personal blessing. Lord Xue thought it was just a rumor.

It seems that the Marquis of Guiping's mansion might be building momentum for their future daughter-in-law.

Even Lord Xue, after hearing Fan Dajiang's words, was not entirely convinced.

Because this kind of thing is just too outrageous.

Miss Su isn't a goddess, how could a peanut she's touched possibly cure all diseases! That's too absurd!

It seems that his father's illness can only be treated by seeking another renowned doctor.

A few days later, the Fourth Madam had basically recovered to her pre-illness condition. Her complexion was rosy, she had gained a little weight, and she had a lot of energy when she walked.

The only problem is that she's still too thin; she should be able to gain weight after a while.

The fourth wife, mindful of Miss Su's kindness, was eager to repay her debt as soon as she recovered from her illness.

The mother and daughter went to the White Horse Temple outside the city.

The fourth wife was very sincere, kneeling and kowtowing three times and kowtowing nine times along the way.

The path up the mountain is made of stone steps, and passersby rarely see such devout pilgrims, so they all stop to watch.

Who are that mother and daughter?

"I heard she is the fourth wife of Vice Minister Luo."

"I heard that mother and daughter kept blessing Miss Su! I wonder which Miss Su they are? Could it be that female war goddess?"

The fourth wife, together with Luo Mingzhen, kowtowed all the way from the foot of the mountain to the gate of the White Horse Temple at the top, just to pray for Su Qianqian's well-being.

It was already dark when the two reached the top of the mountain. They spent the night in the temple and returned to the Luo residence the next afternoon.

At dinner at the Luo residence, the guests were surprised to see the Fourth Madam, who had just recovered from a serious illness.

Seeing the fourth mistress's rosy complexion, Luo Mingfang became even more certain that the fourth mistress's illness was feigned in order to swindle money from the Luo family.

Because Luo Mingfang herself often used illness as an excuse to ask Luo Shilang for money, and she never failed, Luo Shilang would always give her the money.

She couldn't help but sneer, "Oh, Mingzhen was kneeling in front of Grandfather earlier, forcing him to buy ginseng for Fourth Aunt. Look, Fourth Aunt is perfectly fine even without the ginseng, isn't she?"

"Luckily, I didn't waste money on ginseng, otherwise I would have wasted my money."

Luo Mingzhen wanted to get angry, but was restrained by the Fourth Madam.

Luo Mingfang wouldn't give up, "I heard that Fourth Aunt went to the White Horse Temple to pray for that Miss Su. Is she already thinking about climbing the social ladder as soon as she recovers from her illness? Did she hear that Miss Su donated a priceless ancient book at a charity sale?"

"Even if you try to curry favor, it's useless. You'd be lucky to have even one of those ancient books; there's no way you could get another one for yourself."

When Minister Luo heard that the fourth wife had been currying favor with Su Qianqian behind his back, he was furious.

He had said long ago that no one was allowed to secretly curry favor with Su Qianqian, yet the Fourth Branch dared to disobey his orders! Aren't they afraid of being kicked out of the manor?

Luo Mingzhen finally couldn't take it anymore.

She was especially grateful to Su Qianqian for saving her mother. She could say that Su Qianqian was right, and she could say that her mother was right, but she shouldn't say that Su Qianqian was right.

If anyone dares to say anything bad about Miss Su, Luo Mingzhen is ready to fight them to the death.

So Luo Mingzhen simply overturned the table.

The perfectly good food hadn't even been eaten yet when it all crashed to the ground.

Vice Minister Luo was already dissatisfied with the fourth branch of the family because of Lord Xue's visit to the mansion, and now the fourth branch's maid has overturned the table, which is really outrageous.

He was certain that the fourth wife's heart was biased towards Su Qianqian.

Minister Luo was furious. The maid from the fourth branch of the family had been taught to be so ill-mannered. He had no choice but to teach her a lesson on behalf of the fourth son and his wife.

"Mingzhen, kneel down on the stone slab in the courtyard. You are not allowed to get up without my permission. Do you and your daughter have the guts to move out and live with Su Qianqian? If you don't comply, get out of the Luo family."

Luo Mingzhen was no longer as obedient as before. "I won't go. I did nothing wrong, Grandfather. You forced Uncle and Aunt away. Do you want to force me away too? Grandfather, do you want to be abandoned by everyone?"

When Vice Minister Luo heard that he had been betrayed and abandoned by his followers, he became even angrier.

This is not a good word; it clearly means that he, the head of the family, is muddle-headed, unable to distinguish right from wrong, and disrespectful to his elders.

"Guards, bring the family discipline."

The servants were all busy preparing new food, and there was no one in the house, so even though Minister Luo said he wanted to invoke the family law, no one handed him a whip.

Luo Mingfang took a broom from the side room and handed it to Vice Minister Luo.

"Grandfather, please be gentle. Mingzhen is not a bad person at heart. She was just confused for a moment and disobeyed your orders to curry favor with Su Qianqian."

The phrase "disobeying orders" infuriated Vice Minister Luo even more.

He has recently suffered repeated defeats in the court, and now even the younger generation in his family dares to disobey him!

Vice Minister Luo raised his broom and struck Luo Mingzhen hard on the back.

The fourth wife pounced on him, snatched the broom from Vice Minister Luo's hand, and threw it into the courtyard.

She was heartbroken by the Luo family.

While she was ill, the household couldn't even afford to buy medicine, but they had money to buy new clothes for Mingfang, who was not related to them by blood.

When her husband was sent to serve as a county magistrate, he absolutely refused to take his wife and daughter with him, only taking his beloved concubine and his illegitimate daughter with him.

Now that Vice Minister Luo is going to whip Mingzhen, the Fourth Madam is naturally unwilling.

This Luo family has no human touch whatsoever; it's better not to stay here.

The fourth wife knelt before Minister Luo, pleading, "Please, Luo family, give me a letter of divorce. If my daughter and I stay in this ruthless place any longer, we'll die here sooner or later."

Minister Luo was so angry he was blowing his beard and glaring. His fourth son's wife had actually described the Luo family mansion as a place that would devour people without blinking an eye. "Rebellion! Rebellion! Do you all want to follow that girl from Qinghe County and rebel?"