Only after reading the final line of the booklet did Li Xianglian finally calm down.
So-called pain came from the emotions of others—their joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. Her own pain could not upgrade or evolve the space.
The previous owner of the hairpin had taken the wrong path. The amount of pain in the world was limited, so he had deliberately created suffering.
In the end, the hairpin could no longer bear it. The space shattered, leaving only this small area.
Li Xianglian took a deep breath. It wasn’t that pain couldn’t be deliberately created—it simply had to be controlled.
And it must not harm or implicate innocent people.
Nor could she be driven by temptation.
When she left the space, the hairpin turned into a streak of light and merged into her body. She no longer had to worry about losing it.
Pushing open the door, she was about to move her wheelchair when her broken leg was suddenly grabbed tightly by her daughter.
Pain made her lips tremble slightly as she tried to push Chen Xuan away.
But the girl seemed frantic—even Li Xianglian’s parents couldn’t pull her off.
Chen Xuan and Chen Jue already knew their father’s identity.
They also knew he was “testing” their mother.
Now, seeing their mother packing her things and dismissing others, Chen Xuan feared her mother might discover the truth.
Looking up with tearful eyes, her voice pitiful, she said, “Mother, don’t leave. Did I make you angry? You’re still injured—how can you carry such heavy things? Let me help you…”
As she spoke, she reached for the bundle in Li Xianglian’s arms.
Then, as if remembering something, she hurriedly added, “Mother, Father said he left many important essays at home… you didn’t take them, did you?”
But her childishness betrayed her.
At those words, all tenderness in Li Xianglian’s heart vanished.
She smiled faintly, her voice turning cold. “Xuan’er, say that again clearly.”
She would not allow her daughter to accuse her like this. Enduring the pain, she grabbed the girl’s collar.
Only then did Chen Xuan realize her mistake. Her face turned pale as she shook her head. “Mother, I remembered wrong… Father didn’t leave anything…”
Li Xianglian’s father was furious. Dragging Chen Xuan outside, his rough voice echoed faintly inside. “Your mother won’t discipline you, but I will! How dare you accuse your own mother of stealing from your father!”
Hearing her daughter’s cries grow sharper, Li Xianglian frowned slightly.
Her mother thought she was feeling distressed and quickly reassured her, “Don’t worry. Your father knows his limits. He won’t hurt her. That girl has been spoiled. A man providing for the family is only natural—how could she accuse you of stealing? Besides, everything here was brought by us.”
Li Xianglian’s lingering doubts suddenly cleared.
At that moment, her palm grew warm—the space had automatically absorbed Chen Xuan’s pain.
She pressed her lips together.
She had thought her father had beaten the girl harshly.
But this pain wasn’t even as intense as when Chen Xuan clung to her injured leg.
This entire family—born liars.
With a faint smile, Li Xianglian asked, “Mother, does Xuan’er know her father has hidden money and is afraid we’ll take it?”
“Of course!” her mother exclaimed. “Hurry and search—see what he’s hidden!”
The two of them went inside.
Her mother, sharp and experienced, felt around the bedding, tore it open, and pulled out a bundle of broken silver. “Look at this! You slept under this blanket and didn’t notice?”
Li Xianglian replied dryly, “He said it was old cotton and never let me use it.”
Her mother spat in anger and continued searching the stove and cabinets.
When they finished, her mother’s face had turned grim.
They had gathered an entire small chest of gold, silver, and jewels, along with several letters decorated with flowers and swallows—clearly not ordinary correspondence.
“Lian’er, read the letter yourself. I can’t read,” her mother said, handing it over with a sigh.
Such wealth—even ordinary landowners might have similar quantities, but the quality suggested something far beyond.
What kind of person had deceived her daughter?
Making an excuse, her mother stepped outside, already planning silently.
Li Xianglian felt warmth in her heart—she knew her mother was giving her space.
These valuables had to be taken.
With the space, she could hide everything. Let Chen Lang suffer the loss in silence.
She read through the letter.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
Only after two lifetimes did she truly understand Chen Lang’s identity.
He was the seventeenth illegitimate son of a noble household, unloved and unable to compete with his siblings. That was why he came to his mother’s hometown. Xu Caishan was his distant cousin, and with the county magistrate’s backing, Chen Lang had become a local tyrant.
He hid his identity because he desired her beauty but didn’t want entanglement, because he thought she was beneath him, and because his brothers in the capital were after him—he dared not expose himself.
Li Xianglian sneered.
If not for the rebellion during the famine that wiped out the noble heirs, the title would never have fallen to him.
She clenched her fists.
In times of disaster, death was common.
But she now held the advantage. With enough food, would she still fear him?
As for his cousin—he cherished her deeply.
In the letter, he praised Xu Caishan as a talented healer devoted to medicine, unlike Li Xianglian, whom he called an ignorant village woman. He even planned to give her half his wealth.
Li Xianglian laughed coldly.
Both of them were useless—nothing but beneficiaries of fortunate birth.
Looking at her crippled legs, her expression darkened.
Her parents came in and saw her lost in thought, their hearts aching.
“Lian’er, I’ve locked that girl in the woodshed to reflect…” her father began.
He hesitated, and her mother tugged his sleeve before he continued, voice strained.
“I want to ask—what will you do with this hidden money? And if you divorce… do you still want the children?”
“Father, keep the money with me—I’ll make sure it can’t be found. Let him suffer the loss. As for the children, they’ve long stopped recognizing me as their mother. Keeping them would only trouble me.”
She watched her parents carefully.
To her surprise, they both seemed relieved.
She didn’t know they had already decided—if she truly divorced, they would do everything to protect her, even at great cost.
“Good. Lian’er, put everything away. Tell us what was in the letter.”
Calmly, she replied, “Don’t worry. He just has another woman outside. The children prefer her as their mother.”
She chose not to reveal the full truth.
Knowing too much would only endanger them.
“He’s truly despicable! Did our family ever treat him poorly? He said he couldn’t afford a bride price and promised to treat you well for life—yet now, with two children, he keeps another woman outside!”
Her father flew into a rage, grabbing a farming tool and striding out. “I’ll gather your uncles—we’ll teach him a lesson!”