Everything was ready. Madam Zhou personally lit a fire starter and tossed it onto the pile of firewood at the front of the house.
The weather was dry and everything flammable—flames instantly shot up high.
Qin Suining and Madam Zhou stood at a distance, watching as the fire roared into the sky and quickly swallowed the entire courtyard.
The Qin family lived far from other households, and it was already deep into the night.
By the time villagers noticed the commotion and came out to look, the Qin household had already burned almost completely.
People shouted to put out the fire, but during such a drought, even drinking water was scarce—there was no spare water to extinguish it.
Moreover, the blaze was already too large. Even with enough water, it could not be put out in time.
“What a sin… Suining was such a well-behaved child…”
“I think Madam Zhou was also unfortunate. The scholar Qin was about to pass the imperial exam, yet she lost her life instead…”
“Such is fate. There’s nothing to be done. It’s just their destiny…”
The villagers pointed and discussed from afar, watching and commenting.
Qin Suining and Madam Zhou hid in the shadows, seeing everything clearly.
Strangely, even from such a distance, they could hear the villagers’ words clearly.
“Mother, don’t be sad. Let’s go quickly.”
Qin Suining tugged at Madam Zhou’s sleeve and brought her into the space.
No matter what, that had been their home for many years—it was impossible not to feel attached.
Qin Suining also felt pain in her heart, but more than that, there was hatred toward her scummy father and that princess.
If not for them, she and her mother would have lived peacefully.
Even if life had been simple porridge and side dishes every day, it would have been stable and content.
Not like now—like frightened birds, forced into hiding.
Fortunately, the heavens had given them this space, a way out.
After sitting and recovering for a while, they finally noticed how disheveled they both were.
Especially Qin Suining—her dark skin was splattered with dried blood, making her look dirty and foul.
“I’ll boil some hot water first. We need to wash up and change clothes.”
Madam Zhou stood up and went to the kitchen.
Qin Suining wanted to help but, seeing her condition, gave up.
She quickly removed her blood-soaked outer clothing and wiped her face with a cloth.
There was a small room by the courtyard wall with a large wooden tub and racks for clothes—it was likely the bathing area.
She fetched two buckets of cold water and thoroughly cleaned the tub.
After preparing clean clothes, Madam Zhou also brought hot water.
Rarely having so much water, and both of them being filthy, Madam Zhou even found a box of bath beans.
After washing thoroughly and changing into clean clothes, the mother and daughter sat in the courtyard—and finally noticed something strange.
“Mother… look at me. Have I become much fairer?”
Qin Suining raised her arm excitedly.
She had always been a rural girl—not very dark, but not fair either.
Especially recently, she had been tanned even darker by the sun.
But now, her arm was snow-white and smooth, completely different from before.
“Maybe… you just scrubbed off the dirt from not bathing for a long time…”
Madam Zhou tried to explain, though she didn’t even believe her own words.
“Mother, look at yourself—you’ve changed too!”
Qin Suining stared at her mother in shock.
Years of hard labor had left Madam Zhou with wrinkles, gray hair, and a worn face.
But now—
Her skin was smooth, wrinkles gone, gray hair turned black and glossy.
She looked like she was barely eighteen.
The two stared at each other in stunned silence, unable to speak for a long time.
Unfortunately, the floating text did not appear again—perhaps it had “gone to sleep.”
Since they couldn’t understand it, they stopped thinking about it.
They still had more important things to do.
After repeated use, they had roughly figured out how the space worked.
Most importantly—wherever they entered, they would exit from the same place.
So if they wanted to leave, they couldn’t stay inside the space.
Madam Zhou took out the three money pouches and poured everything out.
To their surprise, there were two silver notes.
One was worth 100 taels, the other 500 taels.
Together with loose silver, they had over fifty taels.
“We’ll head to the city tonight. At dawn, we’ll enter and see if we can buy a carriage.”
Madam Zhou suggested.
She didn’t know how to drive a carriage, but she had driven a village ox cart before.
It shouldn’t be too different.
“I agree.”
The mother and daughter quickly agreed.
To avoid trouble, Madam Zhou even altered a few sets of men’s clothing.
“We’ll wear these for now. Once we reach the city, we’ll buy proper clothes and pretend to be father and son.”
It was not easy for women to travel outside, especially with their changed appearance. It could easily bring trouble.
They also smeared soot on their faces and hands to avoid standing out.
After preparing everything, they left the space.
The Qin household was almost completely burned down, now nothing but ruins.
Most villagers had already left. Only a few young men remained in the distance, likely left behind by the village head.