While the Pingyang Marquis—her grandfather—was still alive, he had even met with Xie Yun several times in private.
Forget it.
Since she had already taken his token, she might as well save him while she was at it.
Su Qingran first fed the man a little spirit spring water to help him recover some strength.
Then she began removing his clothes to treat his wounds.
The black clothing concealed the bloodstains, so at first she hadn’t realized how badly injured he was. But once his clothes came off, she discovered countless wounds scattered across his body, most likely caused by hidden weapons.
Su Qingran placed her fingers on his wrist and checked his pulse.
She quickly realized that his external injuries weren’t the real problem.
His internal injuries were far more serious—and potentially fatal.
Fortunately, the mouthful of spirit spring water she had just fed him was enough to keep him alive for the moment.
“Good thing you ran into me today. Otherwise…” she muttered to herself. “Well, I guess your life wasn’t meant to end yet.”
With that, she headed to her shelter to retrieve some medicine.
Half a vial of healing serum would be more than enough to treat Xie Yun’s injuries.
However, not long after she left, Xie Yun slowly opened his eyes.
His consciousness was still hazy.
For a moment, he almost thought he had arrived in some heavenly paradise.
Turning his head, he noticed the spring nearby.
For some reason, an intense thirst suddenly overwhelmed him.
Without thinking, he crawled over to the water’s edge and began drinking directly from the spring.
When Su Qingran returned, this was the first thing she saw.
“Hey! Hey! Stop drinking that!”
She hurried over.
“In your condition, you can’t drink that much!”
Hearing her voice, Xie Yun finally stopped.
When he looked up and saw who had spoken, his eyes paused in surprise.
The voice had clearly belonged to a woman.
So why was the person standing before him an utterly ordinary-looking man?
At the same time, Su Qingran realized her mistake.
In her haste, she had forgotten to disguise her voice.
She coughed twice before saying gruffly,
“What are you staring at? Do you want to die?”
“Where is this place?” Xie Yun asked.
“A place that can save your life. Don’t ask anything else.”
Her tone was less than friendly.
“Who are you?” he asked again.
Instead of answering, Su Qingran directly jabbed a syringe into his arm.
Xie Yun frowned at the strangely colored liquid inside the syringe but said nothing.
He could tell that this person was trying to save him.
“What is this?” he asked.
“You’re so noisy. Shut up.”
Su Qingran sounded thoroughly annoyed.
After injecting half the serum, she immediately stopped.
The remaining half could still be used later if she changed the needle.
There were no alchemists capable of producing such medicine in this era, nor were there any materials available to make more.
Every drop had to be conserved.
Even though her space contained more supplies than she could count, waste was still waste.
As the serum entered his body, Xie Yun suddenly felt his internal energy gradually recovering.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
“What kind of miraculous medicine is this? How can it have such effects?”
Su Qingran glanced at his devastatingly beautiful face and shrugged.
“Haven’t you heard the saying? Curiosity killed the cat. As long as it saves you, that’s enough. Why do you talk so much?”
Then another thought occurred to her.
Wait.
His body was recovering.
What if he became difficult to control?
The moment that possibility crossed her mind, she immediately took out a second syringe filled with anesthetic and stabbed it into his arm without hesitation.
Knowing she meant him no harm, Xie Yun didn’t resist.
“I don’t know your name, benefactor,” he said while looking at her ordinary face. “But I will definitely repay today’s kindness in the future.”
Deep down, he had already decided that if possible, he would recruit this mysterious person to work for him someday.
Since the imperial family had treated him this way, he no longer intended to show them any mercy.
Su Qingran remained silent.
Xie Yun asked again.
“Benefactor, may I know your name?”
“Zhang San.”
She casually made up a fake name.
His internal energy was recovering rapidly, but his body remained completely immobile.
Xie Yun couldn’t help growing anxious.
“Benefactor, why can’t I move?”
Looking at Su Qingran, he sounded genuinely concerned.
“Naturally…”
A mischievous smile appeared on her face.
“…because I don’t want you moving.”
After saying that, she pulled out the gold token she had taken from him and waved it in front of his eyes.
“I’m taking this as payment for saving your life.”
Xie Yun’s eyes widened instantly.
“No!”
His response was immediate and absolute.
“You can’t have that!”
He stared nervously at the token in her hand.
“You can ask for anything else. I’ll find a way to give it to you. But not that token.”
Su Qingran looked at him suspiciously.
“Really? You’re being hunted by government troops right now. What exactly can you give me?”
Seeing that the timing was about right, she found a secluded corner outside and tossed Xie Yun out of her space.
“The anesthetic will wear off in about half an hour.”
She waved casually.
“I’m leaving.”
The moment she finished speaking, she vanished right before Xie Yun’s eyes.
After all, the face she was currently using wasn’t her own.
Even if Xie Yun spent the rest of his life searching for someone named Zhang San, he’d never find him.
Hehehe.
By now, the chaos at the Pei Residence should have reached its peak.
Time for her grand entrance.
Su Qingran dirtied her clothes and deliberately smeared grime across her face before heading toward the Pingyang Marquis Residence.
Those collateral relatives had been eyeing her dowry for a long time as well.
Once she got them fighting with the Pei family like dogs tearing at each other, she could sit back and enjoy the show.
Then she would secretly empty out the Marquis Residence too.
Perfect.
The plan was flawless.
Su Qingran couldn’t help wanting to praise herself.
When she arrived at the front gate of the Pingyang Marquis Residence, she immediately began her performance.
“Waaah… waaaah…”
The gatekeeper frowned and walked over.
“If you’re going to cry, do it somewhere else. Don’t stand here bawling. It’s bad luck.”
“Waaah…”
Su Qingran sniffled dramatically.
“You… you’ve got some nerve! You don’t even recognize me?”
The gatekeeper looked at her carefully.
Then his eyes widened.
“M-Miss?!”
“Mm.”
Su Qingran nodded pitifully.
“I need to speak with Second Uncle.”
The gatekeeper had worked at the residence for many years.
Naturally, he knew how pitiful Su Qingran’s situation had been after being driven from the estate.
But there was nothing servants like them could do.
The marquis title now belonged to the Second Master.
If he wanted Miss Su gone, no servant had the power to oppose him.
Looking at Su Qingran’s miserable appearance and remembering the kindness of the late Marquis, the gatekeeper finally gritted his teeth.
“Please wait here, Miss. I’ll go report this to the Second Master.”
Su Qingran nodded gratefully.
“Thank you.”
Seeing the once-proud young lady of the Marquis Residence reduced to such a state was enough to make anyone sigh.
Just as the gatekeeper was about to leave, Su Qingran suddenly called out:
“Wait.”
“When you speak to Second Uncle, tell him this.”
Her eyes reddened as though she were on the verge of tears.
“Tell him I can’t stay in the Pei Residence anymore.”
“My dowry has been seized by the Pei family.”
“Pei Xingzhou refuses to return it to me.”
“I have no other choice.”
She lowered her head pitifully.
“Only Second Uncle can help me now.”
Once those words reached him, Su Qingran refused to believe that her black-hearted second uncle wouldn’t come running.