Since Fang He had woken up and her injuries were mostly healed, Madam Liang arranged for her to be sent back to the old family residence.
Young Master Fan had been lingering on the pleasure boats for nearly a month.
It was time for him to return to the old residence and make his presence known; otherwise, rumors might spread and damage Fang He’s reputation.
As Fang He stepped off the pleasure boat, the initial excitement of escaping death gradually subsided, and she began to notice something odd.
“Wait a minute, my injuries are almost healed, so why did I just wake up now?”
Fang He, still dressed in men’s clothing-though it was obvious she was a woman in disguise-casually wrapped her arm around Madam Liang’s waist and swaggered off the boat with the air of a spoiled young master.
Madam Liang, whose waist had just been pinched, twitched the corner of her mouth and swatted Fang He’s hand with her handkerchief.
“Let go! There were some things I didn’t understand, and I was afraid waking you up might scare you. Naturally, I had to wait until someone returned before letting you wake up.”
Fang He shot Madam Liang a suspicious look, reasonably suspecting that the woman simply found her too much of a hassle when awake and had decided to let her sleep through everything for convenience.
This was Jiangnan, after all!
Fang He gazed at Madam Liang with a hint of melancholy.
She had missed: much of the beautiful scenery, and now that the weather had turned cooler, it was no longer convenient to frolic in the water like a carefree little fish.
Madam Liang understood her look and felt somewhat exasperated.
Even if Fang He had woken up earlier, she was still a patient.
What exactly did she think she could do?
Rolling her eyes, Madam Liang pushed Fang He into the carriage and quickly returned to the boat.
There were still some loose ends Madam Liang needed to tie up.
Putting on a show required thoroughness to withstand scrutiny, so it would be a few more days before she could “retire from the trade.”
But she hadn’t lied to Fang He.
When Naren had brought Fang He out from the bottom of the cliff, she had been unconscious from excessive blood loss and had even developed a high fever from the shock.
The journey south had been perilous.
For safety reasons, they couldn’t stay in one place to let Fang He recover.
Naren stayed behind to clean up the scene, while they took Fang He south.
With her medical expertise, Madam Liang quickly realized that Fang He’s constitution was severely weakened.
She feared that if Fang He woke up midway and saw unfamiliar people and places, she might panic again, allowing external pathogens to invade her body.
In that case, even the gods might not be able to save her.
Of course, Madam Liang was indeed too lazy to deal with a fussy patient, so she simply kept Fang He unconscious until her injuries were nearly healed.
Naren had returned yesterday, so today she stopped administering the sedative.
Fang He didn’t dwell on her grievances for long.
After all, she had just been flirting with her future wife, hadn’t she?
Now that she was out and didn’t have to start from scratch, she was in such a good mood that even if someone insulted her to her face…she would at most retort but definitely wouldn’t resort to violence.
She eagerly lifted the carriage curtain to look outside.
Jiangnan in September was still beautiful.
The weather was neither too hot nor too cold, pleasantly mild like early spring.
Even the wildflowers and weeds in the streets exuded a mature, vibrant charm.
When they arrived at the Fan family’s old residence, Fang He’s smile was brighter than the osmanthus blossoms spilling over the courtyard wall as she took in the sizable estate.
“Young Master, you’ve finally returned?” A rather portly gatekeeper, hearing the knock, peeked out and opened the door while teasing.
Fang He: “……”
Hadn’t she been unconscious for two months?
Why did it seem like everyone knew she was Young Master Fan?
Unfortunately, Madam Liang refused to explain, only telling her to ask Naren when she returned.
Filled with boundless curiosity and the excitement of entering a new home, Fang He swished her robe and strode toward the main courtyard with the air of a young master.
The loyal servant Uncle Qin, who came to greet her: “…..”
To be honest, this young lady carried herself more like a master than his previous young lord ever had.
He cautiously stepped forward to greet him: “Master, you’re back? It’s about time for lunch. This old servant will go and have the kitchen prepare the meal. What would you like to eat today? It can be ready in no time.”
Fang He didn’t know who this was, but she wasn’t flustered.
With a relaxed smile, she continued walking forward with an air of confidence.
“Alright, thank you for your trouble. Let’s keep it simple today. Just serve a few of Yizhen County’s signature dishes to remind me of both the bitter and the sweet.”
Qin Shu: “……Alright, this old servant will go and arrange it.”
After seeing Fang He inside, Qin Shu stood still for a moment.
Having lived most of his life, this was the first time he had heard the words “thank you for your trouble.”
His demeanor inexplicably relaxed a bit, and he smiled as he headed to the kitchen.
Fang He entered and saw Naren sitting to the side.
She paused for a moment, her face showing a hint of hesitation.
Naren wasn’t wearing her veil today, and the scars crisscrossing her face looked particularly frightening.
She was used to people stopping in their tracks when they saw her, so she showed no surprise, her expression indifferent as she stood up.
Just as she was about to speak, Fang He suddenly rushed over, wrapping her arms around Naren’s waist and burying her face in Naren’s impressively broad chest.
Fang He had considered whether to kowtow to Naren or simply express her gratitude, but in the end, she decided to let Naren feel her enthusiasm.
“Wuwu, sister, from now on you’re my real sister. No need to say more, I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life!”
Naren: “……”
Based on the news she had received, given this girl’s constitution, it was hard to say who would die first.
But her originally indifferent expression couldn’t help but show a hint of a smile.
“Alright, if we get caught, we’ll die together.”
Fang He almost choked on her breath in the softness of Naren’s chest.
She took a step back, her eyes wide.
“Quick, spit it out! How could we get caught? Isn’t Consort Xi already dead?”
She also didn’t have a missing lover waiting for her to return and seek revenge.
Whoever wanted to be Consort Xi could go ahead; she’d rather be Master Xiao Fan.
Thinking of this, she quickly blurted out all her questions.
“How did Consort Xi fall off the cliff and get eaten by wild animals?”
“Was it the Empress Dowager who arranged for me to leave? Will it implicate her?”
“And why does everyone in the mansion know me……”
Naren told her to sit down first, then thought for a moment and explained concisely.
“I caught the woman who did this to me, knocked her out in advance, and tied her up by the cliff. When we got there, I pushed her down first.”
“The Empress Dowager knows nothing about it. Tana… Princess Lakshin helped me take revenge, and I do things for her in my own way. They don’t ask for details.”
“The mansion and Qin Shu are the backup plans I left for myself to seek revenge. Tana helped me get my revenge, so from now on, everything in the Fan family, including me, is yours.”
“Except for Qin Shu, they are all Han people I saved from the Mongolian princes. They came all the way with you, so of course they know you.”
Fang He’s mouth opened wider and wider as she listened, eventually showing a look of pity.
Naren, being perceptive, suddenly turned cold and asked, “Do you think I shouldn’t have thrown that woman down?”
Fang He nodded fiercely: “What’s the use of throwing just that one down? That scoundrel… that heartless man, you just let him go?”
Although she had never killed anyone, if someone had done to her what had been done to Naren, she felt that even in her past life, she would have gone to jail to do worse than Naren.
There’s no such thing as should or shouldn’t, only whether it’s enough!
Naren also felt a bit regretful: “That bastard was Tana’s stepson. She paved the way for her own son and had him cut into pieces long ago.”
She was originally a noblewoman from the Tüsheet Khanate, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to marry the son of Prince Lakshen.
Unfortunately, her mother died early, and after her father passed away, her half-brothers didn’t care about her at all, which is why that bastard harmed her to win over other tribes.
Naren was not someone who would endure such treatment.
She had the pride of a noblewoman from the northern steppes.
She seized the hand Tana extended and completely outmaneuvered her.
This time, she was a step late in heading south because she was helping Tana seize the territories of her half-brothers.
She wouldn’t let anyone who harmed her get away with it!
Fang He finally clapped her hands in approval.
Since it wouldn’t implicate others, her previously anxious heart was now mostly at ease.
She only had one question left: “Then, sister, why are you still worried that we might get caught?”
Naren looked at Fang He helplessly, “Unless you’re willing to shave your head…”
“Impossible!” Fang He stood up abruptly, clutching her head in horror.
“It’s just pretending to be Young Master Fan! Even if I grow a sparrow on my head, I’ll never shave it!”
Naren: “……”
Was that what she thought it meant?
Did this girl have the ability to create something out of nothing?
Fang He knew it was an issue of identity, so her heart was completely at ease.
In her past life, there were countless ways to disguise oneself.
There’s always a way to solve the problem.
Uncle Qin quickly arranged lunch.
Fang He pulled Naren to sit down, and while eating, she quickly got into the groove and asked:
“Later, ask Uncle Qin to find a way to draw a picture of Young Master Fan for me, and prepare a servant about my height. I’ll take care of this problem.”
The cuisine in Yizhen County was similar to that of Yangzhou Prefecture.
The more famous home-style dishes included braised dried tofu, lion’s head meatballs, three-diced buns, and salted goose.
Uncle Qin also had someone prepare a seasonal delicacy, soft-braised eel, paired with thousand-layer oil cake and emerald dumplings, filling the table to the brim.
Fang He ate until her cheeks were puffed out, which even made Naren’s appetite return.
She set aside some of her worries and started eating as well.
After the meal, Naren originally wanted to tell Fang He about what had happened in the capital, but Fang He was in no mood for gossip.
She had more important matters to attend to.
Patting her belly and wiping her mouth, Fang He grinned at Naren.
“We only have five hundred taels of silver to use, right? I wonder if that’s enough to buy an inn?”
“I think we can’t just sit idle and eat through our savings. If we want to comfortably raise lovers and have children in the future, we need to earn the money first!”
Although she had done many part-time jobs in college, many things from the future weren’t reliable in this era.
Fang He was most skilled in hotel-related matters.
In this era… opening an inn was the most reliable and suitable way to earn money while lying back.
Naren felt like she might have heard something she shouldn’t have, but she subconsciously followed Fang He’s lead.
“Five hundred taels definitely isn’t enough, but Tana gave me a box of southern pearls. The box is made of gold, and she said it was left for you by the Empress Dowager…”
Fang He’s excitement paused for a moment.
Covering her mouth, she made a muffled sound.Â
She really loved being a wealthy woman-she could cry from happiness.