“T-Grandmother…!”
Old Madam Lin looked at the tearful Lin Shutong and asked,
“What happened?”
Lin Shutong lowered her eyes, a calculating glint flashing across them as she vigorously wiped away her tears.
“Grandmother, Jiang Wanyue went too far. She said I was a child with a mother who never raised me… and she also…”
“And she also said what?”
Old Madam Lin’s eyes turned icy. The oppressive aura she exuded made everyone from the second and third branches tremble.
Under that intimidating gaze, Lin Shutong’s eyes reddened.
“Grandmother… I don’t dare say it.”
“I pardon you. Speak.”
Lin Shutong pressed her lips together before finally saying,
“Jiang Wanyue called you an old hag… She said you’re an old witch.”
“How dare she!”
Startled, Lin Shutong’s knees gave out, and she dropped to the ground.
“Grandmother… I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have said it…”
Old Madam Lin studied the girl before her.
Shutong had always been obedient and sensible. She would never lie.
Then it had to be that newly returned little bitch.
No wonder she had never liked the eldest branch and had always favored Lin Yurou.
So that was why.
She muttered,
“If Rou’er were still here, our family would still be living in harmony. That little bastard truly is a jinx.”
Seeing that Old Madam Lin’s attention had shifted to Lin Yurou, Lin Shutong quickly added flatteringly,
“Grandmother, I once heard Cousin mention that she seemed to have… some connection with His Highness the Crown Prince…”
She left the sentence unfinished, but everyone from the second and third branches had already begun imagining the possibilities.
Old Madam Lin pondered for a moment before a smile spread across her face.
“I knew Rou’er was a clever girl.”
“She must have anticipated the disaster that would befall our family and prepared for it long ago.”
“Unlike those fools in the eldest branch.”
“Then… will Cousin help us?”
“I’ve always loved Rou’er dearly.”
“She would never forget us.”
“Get up.”
Lin Shutong quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, although she had volunteered to demand the supplies from the eldest branch and failed, Old Madam Lin wasn’t blaming her.
She cautiously asked,
“What about the eldest branch…”
Old Madam Lin, a seasoned master of household intrigue, looked toward the eldest branch and sneered.
“Get up, Shutong.”
“Grandmother has a way to deal with them.”
“Thank you, Grandmother.”
Meanwhile, every member of the eldest branch had eaten one meat bun.
Although none of them were full, it was infinitely better than the hard black ration buns.
As darkness gradually fell, Xiao Jin, hidden inside Jiang Wanyue’s sleeve, kept wriggling impatiently. Its little golden tail repeatedly brushed against her finger.
“Woman, I’m bored to death.”
“I want to go out.”
“And I smell wild eggs.”
“Wild eggs? Where?”
“Over there in those bushes.”
Jiang Wanyue’s body desperately needed nourishment.
If there really were wild eggs, they’d be perfect for restoring her strength.
Just as she sat up on the donkey cart, Shen Qingru hurried over with a worried expression.
“Yueyue, what’s wrong?”
“Are you feeling unwell again?”
“You should rest a little longer.”
Jiang Wanyue shook her head.
“No.”
She pointed toward the nearby bushes and whispered,
“I… need to relieve myself.”
Her words immediately made Shen Qingru blush.
“Oh…”
“It’s Mother’s fault for not thinking of that.”
“But you’re still weak.”
“Can you manage?”
“I’ve eaten some buns now.”
“I have strength again.”
To prove it, Jiang Wanyue stood up and even hopped twice in place.
“See, Mother?”
“I’m fine.”
“I won’t go far.”
“I’ll just use those bushes nearby.”
Shen Qingru was still worried.
“No.”
“I’ll come with you.”
Unable to refuse, Jiang Wanyue nodded.
“Alright.”
Surely Shen Qingru wasn’t actually going to watch her use the bathroom.
Supported by Shen Qingru, Jiang Wanyue slowly made her way to a small depression not far away.
Out in the wilderness, there was no room for modesty or ceremony.
She really had been holding it in for quite a while.
First things first—she had to take care of nature’s call.
Once Jiang Wanyue squatted down, Shen Qingru politely turned her back.
“Yueyue, call me when you’re done.”
“I will.”
After finishing, Jiang Wanyue shuffled farther into the depression until her body was completely hidden from sight.
The wild eggs weren’t going anywhere.
There was no need to rush.
Instead, she suddenly remembered the golden hoe inside her storage space.
With a single thought, the shining golden hoe appeared in her hand.
Xiao Jin jumped in fright.
“Ah!”
“You scared the life out of me!”
“What is that?”
“It looks like… a golden hoe.”
“What does it do?”
“I have no idea yet.”
“Hehe…”
“But it’s the same color as me.”
“It’s golden.”
“I like it.”
“Oh!”
“If you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have noticed.”
The woman and the snake studied the hoe for quite a while but found nothing unusual about it.
It was… simply a hoe.
“I’ve listened to you read so many novels.”
“Don’t all magical treasures need blood to activate?”
“Why don’t you try that?”
“Alright.”
Enduring the pain, Jiang Wanyue bit her fingertip…
She let a drop of blood fall onto the golden hoe and watched expectantly for a long moment.
Nothing happened.
“No reaction…”
Just then, a sharp pain shot through her finger, and the golden hoe slipped from her hand onto the ground.
Xiao Jin immediately cried out,
“Look! There’s something on the ground!”
Where the golden hoe had fallen, two tubes of green liquid had mysteriously appeared.
“What is this?”
Curious, Jiang Wanyue picked them up.
A label on the back of each tube read:
Immortal Water
Immortal Water?
There was more information beneath it.
Immortal Water:
Used to strengthen the body, treat physical weakness, bone fractures, dislocated joints, severed meridians, scalds, burns, skin injuries, muscle injuries, revive the dying, regenerate flesh and bone, eliminate impurities from the body…
The description went on and on.
Jiang Wanyue blinked.
Effect: Takes effect immediately.
“…”
She had been a doctor for years and had never seen anything this miraculous.
This can’t be a scam… can it?
Wrapped around her fingertip, Xiao Jin flicked its tongue and coiled itself around the glass tube.
“Woman, what’s that?”
“Immortal Water.”
Jiang Wanyue explained everything written on the label.
Xiao Jin looked doubtful.
“Do you dare drink it?”
“I do.”
She could already talk to a snake.
She had transmigrated into a novel.
At this point, what was impossible?
Without hesitation, Jiang Wanyue uncapped one of the glass tubes and drank the entire contents in one gulp.
Instantly, a powerful surge of energy spread throughout her body.
It flowed through every limb and every vein.
Her previously weak, exhausted body felt as though it had been fully recharged.
Every trace of fatigue vanished.
Even the back of her head, where she had been struck earlier, no longer hurt.
She reached back to touch it.
The wound had completely healed.
Not even a scar remained.
As a doctor, she knew this body had suffered from numerous hidden injuries.
Now, every one of them had been completely repaired.
Xiao Jin asked impatiently,
“Well?”
“How do you feel?”
“I feel like I could punch a bull to death right now.”
“It’s really that amazing?”
“Then hurry and dig up some more!”
“Alright.”
Jiang Wanyue swung the golden hoe again.
This time…
Nothing appeared.
“I can’t dig up anything else.”
Just then, Shen Qingru’s voice called from nearby,
“Yueyue!”
“Are you finished?”
“Oh… yes!”
Jiang Wanyue quickly tossed the remaining items into her storage space.
For now, she’d just collect the wild eggs.
“Mother!”
“Come over here!”
“I found a nest of wild eggs!”