“No way? Are you that cruel? You didn’t even let go of the ashes.” Shadow Six rushed over and happened to witness the last scene.

Shadow Thirteen frowned. “I didn’t order this.”

Indeed, he did not instruct him. He only asked the little thief to rob Yan Ruyu and leave her with nothing. Who would have thought that Yan Ruyu would actually bring the ashes with her and protect them like a treasure? Wasn’t this clearly telling others to snatch it?

“What? Are you soft-hearted?” Shadow Thirteen glanced at Shadow Six. “Don’t forget how she treated the little masters.”

They caught a few servants who did not have the time to escape and heard about what happened that night from them. If Miss Yu had not appeared in time, who knows how badly the little masters had been harmed by her.

Shadow Six agreed and sighed, “I’m not sympathizing with her.”

“As long as you don’t sympathize,” Shadow Thirteen said expressionlessly. Shadow Six was a scout, unlike him who had crawled out of a pile of corpses. He was hard-hearted and ruthless. His hands were covered in blood, but Shadow Six still retained the conscience of a normal person.

Shadow Six continued, “I just pity those two children. Why did they have a mother like her?”

Yan Ruyu deserved to die, but the children didn’t deserve to suffer such a sin. But whose fault was this? Didn’t If Yan Ruyu did not do all the bad things before, would there be today’s retribution? In the end, she deserved all the karma. She couldn’t blame others.

“That’s not her children’s ashes,” Shadow Thirteen said.

Shadow Six was stunned. “Huh?”

Shadow Thirteen said, “Do you think Mrs. Yan will give her grandchildren’s ashes to a fugitive daughter to take away?”

“Ah, Mrs. Yan…”

Shadow Thirteen said with a deep gaze, “She’s not stupid.”

… .

“Madam.” Cui’er pushed open the door and placed a bowl of ginseng soup on the table. “You haven’t eaten all day. Drink some ginseng soup to nourish your body.”

“I have no appetite,” Mrs. Yan said.

“Miss will be fine,” Cui’er comforted.

Mrs. Yan smiled bitterly and did not reply.

Cui’er took out a brand new copper lock from her wide sleeve. “Madam, this is the lock you wanted. Why do you want a lock?”

Mrs. Yan did not answer her. She took the copper lock and said, “You can leave. I want to be alone.”

“Yes, Madam.” Cui’er left.

Mrs. Yan went to the wardrobe, opened it, and took out a mahogany box. There were two white porcelain jars in the box. She touched the jar lids and felt a pain in her throat.

She locked the box and moved it to the back lake of the Yan Manor. She found a shovel, a handful of soil, and a small piece of land.

Fifteen minutes later, she buried the box.

The twilight closed in, and faint clouds blew. She broke two tender green willow branches and planted them in the soil.

“Rest in peace, children.”

A gust of evening wind blew past, and the green leaves on the willow branch fluttered, as if it was nodding gently.

… .

In the alley, the little thief had finished his robbery and brought the stolen goods to report to Shadow Thirteen. He didn’t dare to take it for himself, so he split the stolen goods in two and put the big ones in his bag to show respect to Shadow Thirteen.

Shadow Thirteen sat in the carriage, only lifting the curtain on one side and looking at him indifferently.

In order to show that he was really not greedy, the little thief showed everything. “Thank you for the meal, Master Thirteen. I’ve given you the best to show my respect to you.”

Shadow Thirteen was not interested in these worldly possessions. He was about to wave his hand for him to take them back when he heard Shadow Six swallow his saliva.

Shadow Thirteen looked at him, and Shadow Six looked up at the sky.

Shadow Thirteen shook his head and took the bag. He said to the little thief, “Alright, there’s nothing else for you to do. You can leave.”

“Aye!” The little thief hurriedly agreed. He had just taken two steps when he thought of something and turned around. “Master Thirteen, that woman seems to have gone crazy.”

Shadow Thirteen and Shadow Six alighted from the carriage and walked to the alley where Yan Ruyu was.

The alley was smelly. Yan Ruyu was lying on the ground in a sorry state. Her clothes and hair were covered in the dirty things from the swill. She held the ashes on the ground with her hands and stuffed them into her clothes that had been pulled into a bag. She would cry loudly one moment and giggle crazily the next.

Shadow Six felt a chill in his heart. “Is she really crazy?”

Shadow Thirteen said, “Who knows if she’s really crazy or pretending to be crazy?”

With that, Shadow Thirteen came to Yan Ruyu.

Yan Ruyu felt the light above her head dim, and her hand that was grabbing the “ash” stopped. She raised her head and looked at this tall and mighty man in a daze. She felt a lump in her throat. “Young Master…”

Shadow Thirteen looked down at her and did not correct her for recognizing the wrong person.

Yan Ruyu held her dress in one hand and supported herself on the ground with the other. She crawled towards Shadow Thirteen on her knees and grabbed the hem of Shadow Thirteen’s clothes with her hand that was covered in swill and ashes. “Young Master… our children are gone…”

“It’s your children that’s gone, not mine,” Shadow Thirteen said expressionlessly.

Yan Ruyu was stunned as if she had been hit in the head.

Shadow Thirteen wasn’t here to talk nonsense with her. After glancing at her, he pulled open her sleeve and took out a high-grade suet jade pendant.

This was the jade pendant that Ah Wan had pawned back then. The little thief did not search her body and missed it.

Shadow Thirteen was here to take the jade pendant. As for what happened to this woman, it had nothing to do with him. He was not kind enough to tell Yan Ruyu the truth. A woman like her who snatched someone else’s children deserved to taste the pain of losing her children.

She had lost her children when they were alive. And now she had to experience the pain of losing her children even when they’re dead. This pain was really despairing.

But soon, Yan Ruyu would realize that her despair had just begun. She had let the three little masters spend two years in fear and unease. They would not let this go so easily.

Shadow Thirteen looked at her coldly, put away the jade pendant, and turned to leave with Shadow Six.

Yan Ruyu cried and begged for mercy. “Young Master, don’t go—don’t leave me behind—I know I was wrong—”

Only now did she realize her mistake?

Too late.

… .

The spring sun was bright and beautiful. Yu Wan stood in a colorful garden with scissors in one hand and a basket in the other. She plucked the fresh roses and planned to get the kitchen to make a few plates of delicious rose crisps.

Not far away, three little fellows were crawling around in the flowers, chasing after a cute little snow fox.

The little snow fox slipped away.

The three little fellows walked over aggrievedly.

“Mom, it’s gone!” Xiaobao said.

Yu Wan rubbed their heads. “Are you tired after playing for so long?”

The three of them nodded.

“Go to the pavilion and rest for a while. There’s food in the pavilion.” Yu Wan pointed at the pavilion not far away. The three little fellows went over while panting. They stood on their tiptoes, took the snacks on the table, and started eating heartily.

“Mom, you eat too.”

The three little fellows fed her the snacks.

How sweet. She gave a satisfied laugh.

However, for some reason, her vision suddenly darkened. When she opened her eyes again, she was standing on the towering city tower. There was a massacre below the city and hunger was everywhere. Three men in armor were riding on horses with spears in their hands.

Their faces were covered in blood and they could no longer be recognized, but she still recognized them at a glance. They were three grown-up little munchkins!

They… they were actually killing each other!

The three parties started fighting each other cruelly.

The eldest brother’s spear stabbed towards the second brother’s chest, and the second brother’s hidden weapon was aimed at the eldest brother and the third brother’s eyes. The third brother’s eyes were red with killing, as if he wanted to die with his brothers.

Stop! Stop right there! She wanted to stop them, but she realized that she could not make a sound in her throat.

On the observation deck opposite, a graceful and cold figure stood against the wind. It was this woman! Her children killed each other because of her!

“Stop… stop—”

Yu Wan shuddered and woke up from her sleep.

“Aiyo!” The young girl who was snoring by the bed was so frightened by Yu Wan that she bumped her head against the bedpost.

Yu Wan panted with lingering fear. So it was a dream. She was scared to death.

“You scared me to death. Why did you shout just now?” The girl rubbed her aching head and muttered unhappily.

Yu Wan’s eyelids moved. She felt sore all over, as if she had fought with someone. She looked at the girl in a daze. After a long while, she recognized her. “Miss Bai?”

The moment she spoke, she was shocked by her own voice. What did she do? Why was she so hoarse? Her entire body was sore, her voice was hoarse, and her body didn’t seem to be hers… Could she be—

“You’re sick,” Bai Tang said.

“…Oh.”

That was good too. She had to do that kind of thing when she was sober. Otherwise, wouldn’t she have done it for nothing if she didn’t have any impression?

“What did you dream about just now? You were shouting so loudly,” Bai Tang asked.

“Some messy things. They’re probably muddled from the fever.” Otherwise? Why would she think that she was the mother of the three little lads in her dream? Even if they weren’t Yan Ruyu’s biological children, they weren’t hers, although she really hoped they were.

Bai Tang touched Yu Wan’s forehead. “It’s still a little hot.”

Yu Wan widened her eyes and stared at the room for a long time. She felt that it was familiar but could not recognize where she was. To be precise, she could not subconsciously associate this place with Bai Tang.

“Where am I?” she asked. Her last impression was of the lake that day, Yan Jiuchao beside her, and she fell asleep in peace.

Bai Tang’s almond-shaped eyes widened. “Young Master Manor! You’ve been unconscious for three days!”

“I’ve been sleeping for so long…” Yu Wan raised her sore and weak arm and pressed her forehead.” Why are you here? ”

Bai Tang giggled. “Your brother asked me to come and take care of you.”

Before she even married into the family, he had already called his wife over. Big Brother had done this quite well. However, from her words, Yan Jiuchao should have told her family about her whereabouts and situation. As for whether Big Brother had asked Bai Tang to come over or if it was her parents, no one knew.

Of course, taking care of her was just a pretense. The Young Master Manor had a large number of servants and could hire the top imperial physicians. What help could a delicate young lady help with? It was better to say that she was here to watch over her in case Yan Jiuchao took advantage of her.

“He comes to see you every day. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” Bai Tang read Yu Wan’s mind and winked playfully at her.

So what was the use of her family sending her a pair of little eyes? She was immediately bribed by Yan Jiuchao.

“Where are the children?” Yu Wan was still most concerned about the three little lads.

Bai Tang’s eyes darted around. “They’re next door. Do you want me to carry them over?”

Yu Wan shook her head. This seemingly unintentional action seemed to have shaken her brains apart. It seemed that she was quite sick. This body rarely fell sick. Perhaps it was because of this that once she fell sick, it would be out of control.

“You don’t want to see them?” Bai Tang asked mischievously.

Yu Wan was busy having a headache and did not notice the mischief in her eyes for a moment. “I don’t want to pass my sickness to them.”

Although she wanted to see them immediately, it was too painful for such young children to be sick.

Bai Tang had already heard about the children from Yan Jiuchao and knew that Yu Wan was the biological mother of the three little fellows. When she first heard this heavy news, her jaw almost dropped. However, soon, she was happy for Yu Wan. After all, she had seen how much Yu Wan liked those children. She clearly hated Yan Ruyu, but she had never neglected them because of her relationship with Yan Ruyu.

Perhaps it was true that blood was thicker than water, but Yu Wan’s conscience was not fake. If she had been blinded by the hatred in her heart, she might have done something she would regret.

So what was the saying? To be good to others was to be good to oneself. A despicable and shameless woman like Yan Ruyu deserved to end up with nothing.

“Why do I feel that you have something to say?” Yu Wan realized that Bai Tang was smiling like a fool. “What’s the good news? Did my brother propose to you?”

“What!” Bai Tang’s face darkened.

“You’re disappointed that he hasn’t proposed yet?” Yu Wan teased her.

Bai Tang tapped her forehead. “You’re so sick that you can’t get out of bed, yet you still have the mood to tease me.”

“I’m just trying to have some fun in the midst of suffering,” Yu Wan said weakly.

Bai Tang burst into laughter. When she first saw Yu Wan, she thought that she was a block of wood. After interacting with her, she realized that this person was much more dishonest than she had imagined. She wondered if her brother was the same, that he looked like an honest person, but he was actually full of tricks.

As the two of them were talking, Nanny Fang’s voice sounded outside the room. “Miss Bai, is Miss Yu awake? Then I’ll bring the medicine in.”

“Yes, yes, yes. I forgot to give you medicine!” Bai Tang stood up and opened the door for Nanny Fang. She took a bowl of steaming medicine and returned to the bed to help Yu Wan sit up.

Yu Wan took a sip and frowned.

“Pinch your nose and pour it in in one go.” Bai Tang had drunk a lot of medicine this month while pretending to be sick.

“But it’s still bitter.” Yu Wan sighed. “A cold would get better after one drinks medicine for seven days, but it would also get better without drinking medicine for a week.”

“What?” Bai Tang did not understand.

“That’s to say, I don’t need to drink medicine for my illness.” Yu Wan decisively placed the medicine bowl on the stool by the bed.

“You just don’t want to drink, right?” Bai Tang glared with her hands on her hips.

Yu Wan thought for a while. “Well… you can say that.”

“If I can’t make you drink the medicine, there will naturally be someone who can make you drink!” Bai Tang stomped her feet and left without looking back.

Not long after, Yan Jiuchao entered the room.

After returning from the lake, Yu Wan was not the only one who was sick. The little fellows also had snot bubbles. Although it was not as serious as Yu Wan, the four of them were all sick and Yan Jiuchao did not have a good sleep.

He was wearing a crescent white robe. He was handsome and there was a bruise under his eyes. He walked in and sat down on the bed.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“It’s alright,” Yu Wan said.

Yan Jiuchao picked up the bowl of medicine in front of him and tasted it himself. “It’s not hot anymore.”

Yu Wan wanted to say, “I drank it before.”

Yan Jiuchao had never served anyone before. Since he was young, others had served him. He scooped a spoonful of medicine and fed it to Yu Wan.

Yu Wan took a sip. “It’s bitter.”

However, no matter how bitter the medicine was, she still obediently drank it after he personally fed her. After drinking it, Yan Jiuchao stuffed a piece of candied fruit into her mouth. The sweet and sour taste melted on the tip of her tongue, instantly diluting the bitterness of the medicine.

“Yan Jiuchao,” she suddenly said as she thought of something.

“Yeah?” Yan Jiuchao looked at her.

Yu Wan sized him up strangely. “Did you say something to me when I was sleeping?”

“What?” Yan Jiuchao asked.

Yu Wan said thoughtfully, “You said that… my sons are all alive and in my arms. You said that, right?”

At that time, she only had the little munchkins in her arms.

It was this sentence that triggered her to dream that the little munchkins called her mother. Of course, it was also possible that she had gone crazy from thinking about her children, so she dreamed that Yan Jiuchao said such things to her.

Sigh, how shameless was she to take someone else’s children for herself in her dream? She thought that Yan Jiuchao would mock her, but who knew that he would fall silent?

After a while, he mustered his courage and said, “That’s not a dream. It’s real.” You really have a son. Not one, but three.