Chu Yu naturally saw it too, a triumphant smile finally breaking through her feigned tears.
In the dead of night, Lin Feizhou waited until his wife and daughter were asleep before quietly slipping out the door.
What he didn’t notice was that the moment he pushed the door open and stepped out, his wife, who should have been sound asleep in bed, opened her eyes.
That afternoon, Lin Laogen had gone out and returned with a locust sapling, claiming he had bought it to plant in the yard to bless the Lin Family with peace and safety.
Not only Lin Feizhou, but even Lin Daniu and Lin Erniu didn’t think much of it.
Aside from Lin Laogen and Yue Hongmei, the only ones who likely knew the origin of this locust sapling were Chu Yu and He Tingyue.
He Tingyue gazed at her daughter’s peaceful sleeping face under the moonlight, gritted her teeth, and struggled to climb out of the kang.
The yard was silent, and the other rooms of the Lin Family were already pitch-dark, clearly indicating everyone had gone to bed.
He Tingyue slowly shuffled over to the locust tree pit and poked around with a branch, indeed uncovering the familiar iron box.
However, reaching this spot had drained all her strength, and retrieving the iron box from the bottom of the pit seemed nearly impossible.
Just then, Lin Feizhou returned from town.
Seeing his wife standing in the yard startled him terribly. If not for fear of alerting the others, he would have cried out!
Even so, he quickly dropped what he was holding on the ground and scooped his wife into his arms.
Truth be told, even He Tingyue hadn’t expected Lin Feizhou to return so quickly!
But looking at his worried expression, she took a deep breath and said, “Feizhou, see what’s buried at the bottom of the pit. I don’t know why, but ever since Father brought back this locust sapling, I’ve felt uneasy.”
Lin Feizhou looked at his wife’s weary face and nodded, but instead of immediately checking the locust sapling in the pit, he first carried her back inside.
“Just stay in bed and rest properly. Leave everything else to me!”
After saying this, he tucked the quilt around He Tingyue before pushing the door open and stepping out.
Soon, he returned to the room carrying the iron box from the pit…
He gently shook it, feeling how light it was, with something inside occasionally tapping against the metal, producing faint clinking sounds.
He Tingyue stared at the iron box she had personally destroyed in her previous life, took a deep breath, and forced herself to stay calm.
Only then did Lin Feizhou open the iron box. Seeing the red paper inside, his fingers paused briefly before he resolutely unfolded it!
When he opened the red paper and saw his daughter’s Bazi clearly written on it, along with explicit instructions for a luck-borrowing ritual, Lin Feizhou felt all the blood in his body rush to his head!
His fingers trembled uncontrollably, and his heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly, sending chills throughout his entire body.
“This… what does Father mean by this?”
He Tingyue looked at the note, identical to the one from her previous life, and took a deep breath. She didn’t tell Lin Feizhou that the birth date on it was incorrect, as she had no way to explain how she could have known this in advance.
She simply glanced at her daughter with reddened eyes, then tremblingly reached out and gently grasped Lin Feizhou’s fingers.
“Feizhou, how much does Father hate our child that he would…”
Lin Feizhou thought about his parents' actions over the past half-day since his wife had given birth, and he could no longer deceive himself into believing they truly loved him.
He took a deep breath, looked at the content on the red paper, and his gaze gradually grew resolute.
"Ting Yue, from now on, the three of us will be a real family."
As for the other members of the Lin Family, even if there had been any affection before—which was scarce to begin with—it should now vanish completely in the face of this red paper!
"Fei Zhou, you must put this iron box back, or Lin Laogen will surely become suspicious tomorrow."
Since Lin Feizhou had already declared he no longer considered the other members of the Lin Family as family, why should He Tingyue continue to play the role of the dutiful wife?
Lin Feizhou naturally understood her meaning and nodded gently.
However, while helping Lin Feizhou tidy up the iron box, He Tingyue accidentally cut her finger on a protruding wire from the box!
Not wanting to worry Lin Feizhou, she quietly hid her injured finger behind her back.
After Lin Feizhou pushed the door open and left, He Tingyue was about to lie back down to rest when her body suddenly swayed!
By the time she realized what was happening, she found herself in an unfamiliar place…
She approached for a closer look and saw an unfamiliar building with five characters clearly written above: Xingfuli Hospital.
Having already experienced rebirth, He Tingyue wasn't frightened by the sudden appearance of the hospital, though she did take a nervous deep breath.
To her surprise, she discovered that her throat, which had been aching faintly from the pain of her difficult labor, now felt a soothing coolness.
This…
She glanced around but could only see lingering mist, which even faintly carried the scent of medicine!
Curious, she took another deep breath and became even more certain—it was this mist that was alleviating the pain in her throat!
He Tingyue tentatively took two steps forward and noticed the mist dispersing, while the tightly shut door before her slowly began to open.
As the door swung open, warm light from inside shone on He Tingyue's face, causing her to instinctively close her eyes.
When she opened them again and saw the miraculous sight before her, her jaw dropped in astonishment.
The hospital was truly enormous, and standing within it, she felt incredibly small.
The east and west wings of the hospital were connected by a corridor bridge, with the left side labeled "Traditional Chinese Medicine Building" and the right side "Western Medicine Building." Towering before her was a three-story-high Chinese Medicine Cabinet!
Each drawer was neatly labeled with three medicinal herbs, and arranged this way, there must have been over ten thousand varieties!
Strangest of all, the entire hospital was eerily quiet—aside from her, there was no one else in sight!
He Tingyue wanted to explore further, but she heard Lin Feizhou's footsteps growing closer. Anxious to leave this place, she searched frantically for an exit but couldn't find one!
In her panic, she grabbed something from the Chinese Medicine Cabinet, and just as Lin Feizhou entered the room, she successfully returned to the kang!
Seeing her drenched in sweat, Lin Feizhou assumed it was due to her weakened state and hurried to the courtyard to start a fire and prepare a meal for her.
Only then did He Tingyue dare to lift the blanket and look at what she had grabbed in her haste.
But the moment she saw it, her body stiffened.
After all, anyone who randomly grabbed something and ended up with a wild ginseng root nearly as thick as her wrist would likely have a similar expression!
So everything she had just seen in that strange place was real, not a dream.
He Tingyue took a deep breath, carefully plucked a small ginseng tendril, and placed it in her mouth. She tasted only a refreshing, sweet ginseng aroma—far more pleasant than the slice of old ginseng Lin Feizhou had given her at noon.
Just as she was about to savor it more carefully, she suddenly felt a warm flow surge from below…