At that time, Father Xu received news in advance that he had to flee overseas overnight.
Originally, he wanted to take his daughter’s family with him.
But Xu Xiangyu had just given birth and couldn’t endure the hardship of traveling.
So he could only leave his daughter and granddaughter behind for the time being, instructing Xie Feng to take good care of them and leaving a considerable amount of money for their living expenses.
Who would have thought that the moment Xu’s father left, Xie Feng turned around and reported him to the authorities. He even handed over all the money as a token of loyalty, in exchange for becoming a small squad leader.
If Father Xu hadn’t had wide connections and received the news in time, escaping first on a small boat out to sea, he would certainly have been stopped at the docks.
Father Xu managed to escape successfully.
But Xu Xiangyu became another token of loyalty for Xie Feng’s newly obtained position.
Xu Xiangyu was bound tightly and paraded through the streets, forced to kneel on a platform while being cursed and insulted by thousands of people. Even then, she still couldn’t understand what had happened.
Only after her three-day “sentence” ended—when she was carried home half-dead—did she finally learn the entire truth from Liu Xiuhe.
By that time, Liu Xiuhe and Xie Feng were already involved with each other.
When Xu Xiangyu questioned them, the two even flaunted their affection right in front of her.
Filled with rage, hatred, and grief, Xu Xiangyu was ultimately angered to death.
Afterward, Xie Feng simply wrapped her body in a mat and threw it away somewhere unknown.
Some of these things were discovered through investigations by Xu Sangluo’s grandfather, while others were deliberately told by Liu Xiuhe in later years just to disgust her.
But by then, the Xie family had already gained the powerful backing of the Zhao family. Xu Sangluo’s career had only just begun, and her “Little Uncle Xu” had only recently taken over her grandfather’s overseas business and had not yet stabilized his authority. For the time being, they had no way to deal with them.
It wasn’t until Xu Sangluo’s farmhouse resort grew large and successful—giving her a vast network of connections and even the country itself as a major supporter—that she finally began her revenge.
Everything at the farmhouse was cultivated using the spring water from her spatial dimension, which possessed strong medicinal properties.
At that time, Xie Huaishu was still the legitimate wife of the Zhao family’s eldest branch.
However, Zhao Haibin was a typical playboy. No matter who inherited the family head position, it would never be him.
Outside, he kept countless lovers, with numerous illegitimate children scattered everywhere.
Seeing that the old patriarch’s health was declining day by day,
Xie Huaishu—who still had no children—became anxious.
Xu Sangluo targeted this weakness. She deliberately had someone pass the information to her, drawing her attention to the farmhouse.
And sure enough, Xie Huaishu took the bait.
Accustomed to seizing what she wanted through force and trickery, she didn’t personally come seeking a solution. Instead, she sent people to threaten and bribe them, attempting to buy the farmhouse and its secret formula.
But the matter involved not only Xu Sangluo—it also touched upon national interests.
Xu Sangluo didn’t give her any face at all. She openly declared that from then on, anyone connected to Xie Huaishu would not be received at the farmhouse.
At that time, Old Master Zhao was also a frequent guest of the farmhouse. When he heard the news, he was furious.
He immediately returned home and summoned the couple, giving them a severe scolding.
In the end, he even ordered people to gather Zhao Haibin’s illegitimate children, selecting a few promising ones to bring back and raise as future heirs of the main branch.
Xie Huaishu felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
Though she didn’t dare disobey the old patriarch, she began to hate Xu Sangluo deeply.
Later, during her investigation, she discovered Xu Sangluo’s true identity, which only made her grind her teeth with hatred even more.
But by then, Xu Sangluo had powerful backers everywhere. Xie Huaishu couldn’t touch her openly and only dared to use petty, underhanded tricks behind the scenes.
Xu Sangluo eventually died in a car accident while on a business trip abroad. She had always suspected that the incident was related to Xie Huaishu.
Fortunately, she had been given a chance to be reborn and return to the past to make up for her regrets.
The only pity was that she hadn’t managed to kill those three disgusting people.
But once she died, not only did the farmhouse lose the spiritual spring—
all the country’s new medicines also lost their key medicinal catalyst, instantly harming the interests of countless people.
What she was certain of was that the three of them would definitely not have an easy life.
Just as she was sinking into memories, her anger surging in her chest—
Knock, knock.
A sudden knock sounded on the door.
Xu Sangluo snapped out of her thoughts and instinctively asked, “Who is it?”
“Sister Sangluo, it’s me, Xiaoyu,” Qin Zhiyu’s voice came from outside.
Only then did Xu Sangluo let out a breath. She patted her face to compose herself before walking over to open the door.
Outside, Qin Zhiyu was shivering, holding a towel and rubbing her hair.
It was already the end of October, and in just a few days it would be November.
The temperature was getting colder day by day.
The cold in the south was different from the north.
It seeped into the bones little by little, making the skin feel sharp stings of chill.
Seeing Xu Sangluo come out, she spoke quickly while her teeth chattered,
“Sister Sangluo, I left a bucket of hot water for you in the kitchen. No one’s there now—if you want to bathe, go quickly, or it’ll get cold soon.”
Seeing how cold she looked, Xu Sangluo quickly waved her hand.
“Got it. But why are you washing your hair so late at night? Hurry back to your room and dry it, or you’ll catch a cold.”
Qin Zhiyu replied with a cheerful grin, “Then I’ll head back first. Good night!”
After speaking, she shivered as she hurried toward the main house.
In weather this cold, people rarely washed their hair to avoid getting sick.
If they really couldn’t stand it, they usually chose to do it at noon.
But Qin Zhiyu wanted to wear her pretty new hairpins and ribbons to school tomorrow.
Such beautiful accessories naturally needed clean, fluffy hair to match.
So she couldn’t resist washing her hair at night.
Xu Sangluo watched her dart into the house like a rabbit after lifting the curtain.
Then she faintly heard Mother Qin scolding her, which made Xu Sangluo shake her head and chuckle.
After that, she returned to her room, took a change of clothes, and headed toward the kitchen.
The bathing area was next to the kitchen—very small, only enough space for one person to stand and two buckets.
A few nails had been hammered into the door to hang clothes.
There was also a small wooden board embedded in the wall, the protruding part just right for placing a kerosene lamp.
She carefully hung up her clothes.
The clothes had been bought earlier that day from a roadside stall at the farmers’ market.
They were homemade garments—people bought the cloth and stitched them themselves.
Although the style and cut were fairly ordinary, the stitching was decent, which was good enough for now.
She tossed her dirty clothes into a small basin beside her, planning to wash them together later.
After finishing her bath, a gust of cold wind hit her as she stepped outside, making her shiver.
The lights in the other rooms had already been extinguished.
After all, kerosene was also a considerable expense.
The surroundings were dark. Even the kerosene lamp in her hand flickered in the wind, making it hard to see clearly.
Fortunately, her room was right across from the kitchen—she just had to run over by memory.
But just as she was about to reach it, the shifting light briefly revealed what looked like a shadowy figure nearby.
Xu Sangluo froze.
Her steps halted instinctively, and every hair on her body stood on end.
Who was that?
Could it be a thief?
She was just thinking whether she should throw the clothes in her hand at the figure first or scream—
when a familiar low voice sounded.
“It’s cold outside. Go inside.”
Hearing the voice, Xu Sangluo’s mind seemed to freeze for a moment, perhaps from the cold wind.
Two seconds later, she spoke uncertainly.
“Q-Qin Zhiyi?”
“Mm. I came out to lock the door. Go inside.”
“Oh… okay.”
With that confirmation, Xu Sangluo finally felt her racing heart settle, and she mechanically walked back into her room.