"Ah..." Shen Lu was greatly alarmed and opened her mouth to call for help, but the man covered her mouth tightly.
"Don't call out, it's me!"
Shen Lu focused her eyes and met a common face wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
After thinking for a moment, she finally remembered that this man was the Original Owner's elopement partner.
It couldn't be called an elopement partner; it was just that this man promised to find her a new identity and then spirit her away without anyone noticing, to a place where no one knew her.
The Original Owner had believed his words.
The man said that the only condition was for the Original Owner to help him complete one task.
This task was to help him enter the Family Courtyard.
The Family Courtyard was guarded by sentries, making it difficult for ordinary people to enter.
Unless it was someone living in the Family Courtyard who could bring someone in after registering their relationship.
The naive Original Owner didn't think much of it and readily agreed.
The day she transmigrated was the day the Original Owner and that man planned to enter the Family Courtyard together.
And so, the scene of her transmigration occurred: the Original Owner, in a panic to cover the man's escape, was hit by a car and fell to the ground.
She didn't expect the man to be persistent and find Shen Lu again.
Shen Lu was not as careless as the Original Owner; the Family Courtyard, as an important gathering place for soldiers' families, certainly couldn't allow just anyone to enter and exit.
This man's motives were clearly malicious.
But she was already entangled with him and couldn't easily extricate herself for the time being.
Shen Lu recalled the contents of the book; after Shen Lu was sent to the hospital, the man had set his sights on Wen Xin'er, who lived in the Family Courtyard.
Based on various details, Wen Xin'er quickly uncovered the man's identity as a spy.
She then pretended to agree to the man's terms, ultimately luring him into a trap she had already set, and working with other families in the Family Courtyard to capture the spy.
Wen Xin'er also received a large number of awards for this, and it was from this event that Wen Xin'er began to rise and ascend to the peak of her life.
Shen Lu only wanted to live an ordinary and simple life and had no intention of stealing the protagonist's spotlight, but this matter endangered her own life.
This matter hung over her head like a knife.
According to the original plot progression, the man should have been targeting Wen Xin'er at this time.
But because she transmigrated, she had changed the plot's direction, and the man was now targeting her.
If she didn't report this spy, she would be arrested and imprisoned for treason as an accomplice to the spy.
At that time, with both witness and material evidence, no matter how she explained, she would be unable to defend herself.
Therefore, Shen Lu had only one path forward.
That was to pretend to agree to the man's terms, then expose him and clear her name.
She would explain to everyone that she had also pretended to agree to him before, and that her actions were only to unmask the spy.
However, Shen Lu still lacked the crucial evidence to prove he was a spy.
For now, Shen Lu could only play along and see if she could find any clues or evidence.
Shen Lu spoke, "You promised, I'll take you into the Family Courtyard, and after you get out, you'll help me escape this place."
"Absolutely," the man said, his eyes narrowing into slits, his scheme hidden deep within.
"However, we can't go through the main entrance this time. I'll take you around through the small mountain behind the Family Courtyard."
The man hesitated for a moment before agreeing, "Fine."
✦✦✦
On the way back, Wen Xin'er pondered why Shen Lu, after a few days of not seeing her, had changed so drastically, as if she were a different person.
In the past, she was the one who toyed with Shen Lu, but today she had been outmaneuvered by her.
As Wen Xin'er was thinking, she walked towards the Family Courtyard and suddenly saw a man and a woman arguing at a corner.
Even if she didn't want to identify them, that plump figure made her recognize the woman as Shen Lu at a glance.
Wen Xin'er recalled what a neighbor had described: just before Shen Lu was hit by the car, she had seen her arguing with a man wearing glasses.
Wen Xin'er hid not far away and observed carefully. She saw the two of them walking together towards the back mountain of the Family Courtyard.
Could it be that Shen Lu was still planning to elope with this man?
This surprising discovery made Wen Xin'er's heart pound. This discovery was enough to ruin Shen Lu's reputation.
She absolutely would not allow such a fat and stupid woman to step all over her.
Wen Xin'er steeled herself and walked into the Family Courtyard.
She was going to report Shen Lu.
She wanted to let everyone in the Family Courtyard know what kind of person Shen Lu was!
She wanted to ruin Shen Lu's reputation!
Wen Xin'er's steps were quick, afraid that the two would escape. She almost ran into the Family Courtyard.
✦✦✦
In the Family Courtyard, Gu Xingyu was wrestling with a group of children.
Gu Xingze fell to the side, his knee scraped and bleeding.
Even though the boy was being pinned down and beaten by Gu Xingyu, he was still chattering away.
"Don't deny it, your mom just wants to run off with someone else and abandon you two."
"If you talk nonsense again, I'll rip your mouth open." Gu Xingyu's grip tightened.
"Then tell me where your mom went."
Gu Xingyu pursed his lips and remained silent, his grip tightening.
That woman hadn't returned all morning, and the twins' unease grew.
They were unsure if Shen Lu would still come back.
Finally, other parents noticed them fighting.
A woman, upon seeing it was her son, immediately rushed forward, pushed Gu Xingyu away, and tightly hugged her son, who was pinned beneath him, checking him all over, afraid of any harm to her son.
Gu Xingyu, who hadn't cried even when being beaten, had tears well up in his eyes when he saw this scene.
With his mother here, the little boy's arrogance vanished. He hid in his mother's arms and burst into tears, complaining about Gu Xingze's brutality.
The woman didn't care about right or wrong. Seeing her son being bullied, and relying on the fact that the twins had no one to back them up, she began to curse at them.
"Your mother is just a wild woman who only thinks of running off with someone. Giving birth to you two wild children, you bite people like mad dogs. The rotten foundation leads to rotten beams."
Gu Xingze clenched his fists tightly, staring intently at the woman. The woman felt a chill down her spine from the gaze of the five-year-old child.
Gu Xingze retorted loudly.
"She's not like you say. She cooks delicious meals for us and even kissed us."
"..." The woman was about to say something more when Wen Xin'er ran over from a distance and shouted,
"I saw Shen Lu and a man acting suspiciously and going to the back mountain. Could Comrade Shen be in danger? Should we go and help?"
This statement was like thunder from a clear sky, attracting the attention of many people in the Family Courtyard.
As adults, they all understood the implication of her words.
Shen Lu was planning to run away with her lover!
"Didn't I say it? Your mom just ran off with someone else, nya nya nya."
The boy, in his mother's arms, made a face at Gu Xingyu.
Gu Xingyu remained completely still, as if he had lost his soul.
Could it be that the woman really didn't want him and his older brother anymore?
Could it be that everything from yesterday was a lie, just to facilitate her departure?
✦✦✦