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Lin Siyu’s body trembled, and when she turned to see it was her, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, "How did it go? Did you stop them?"

Panpan nodded, "Maternal Aunt can rest assured, I’ve already stopped them. That fat woman at the back door is not someone to mess with; she won’t let anyone in."

Upon hearing this, Lin Siyu finally felt at ease, as if all strength had left her, and her legs began to weaken.

Panpan hurriedly helped her to sit down on a stone bench nearby, feeling somewhat scornful of Lin Siyu for her lack of courage.

She dared to have an affair with Li Chengzhi, but what would she look like if their affair were to be exposed one day!

The maid and her mistress rested on the stone bench for a while, and Lin Siyu finally felt her strength return. Just as she was about to get up and go back to her room, she saw from a distance a woman in a light purple dress gracefully approaching.

Lin Siyu narrowed her eyes, a cold smile crawling onto her lips.

"Well, if it isn’t Sister Liu. How come, are you feeling much better?" Lin Siyu said with a smile as she approached, but her smile gave off a nauseating feeling.

The woman in the light purple dress was none other than Mrs. Liu, whom Li Chang had redeemed from the brothel.

She was previously very favored by Li Chang, but ever since Lin Siyu entered the house, Mrs. Liu, who lost a child and disdained competing with Lin Siyu for favor, had fallen out of Chen Li’s good graces.

Up to now, it had been over a month since Li Chang had thought of her.

As soon as Mrs. Liu saw it was Lin Siyu, she slightly tugged at the corner of her lips and walked down a small path with her maid Ying Tao, not even bothering to have a verbal clash with Lin Siyu, let alone speak to her.

Lin Siyu was taken aback, feeling that her provocation had been completely ignored. She was frustrated; what was Mrs. Liu pretending for, wasn’t she just a woman from the brothel? Acting as if she was so lofty!

This wasn’t the first time Lin Siyu had provoked Mrs. Liu, but every time, Mrs. Liu acted like an aloof crane among the clouds, showing no intention of competing with her.

At first, Lin Siyu thought this was Mrs. Liu’s strategy, so after returning, she was on guard for three days, but she ended up disappointed.

After trying a few more times to no avail, Lin Siyu found herself increasingly unable to tolerate Mrs. Liu, acting so virtuous when she clearly was not clean, truly shameless!

Watching Mrs. Liu’s figure slowly move further away, Lin Siyu muttered and stomped her feet, then listlessly returned to her own room.

However, just before she turned to leave, Panpan surreptitiously snatched something from a peony pot nearby and clenched it tightly in her hand.

At the back door, the servant girls scattered from Lin Yongcheng’s side upon seeing Lin Siyu enter, laughing and mocking as they went.

"So it’s really Maternal Aunt Lin’s elder brother, isn’t it? Weren’t all of Maternal Aunt Lin’s brothers said to be studying at the academy? I expected some refined and handsome scholar, but what a disappointment."

"Haha, a handsome scholar? Look at him, not a bit of that appeals! I think he’s just like a begging beggar!"

"Is that what a beggar looks like? You haven’t heard about Maternal Aunt Lin’s second brother. Mother Li from Madam’s side said that Maternal Aunt Lin’s second brother got into trouble and was locked up in prison. When he came out, his legs were broken, and he became a fool!"

This maid’s words immediately drew everyone’s attention, and they all gathered around to listen to her recount the glorious tales of Maternal Aunt Lin’s second brother.

No one was concerned about Lin Yongcheng on the ground anymore, even the men moving vegetables and meats to the kitchen were all ears.

Lin Yongcheng, who was playing dead on the ground, saw that everyone had dispersed and stealthily lifted his head.

His eyes fixated on a large basket not far from him, filled with several fresh, jumping big carps, each weighing four to five pounds.

All those fish combined could surely sell for two to three taels of silver.

An idea emerged in Lin Yongcheng’s mind, and he glanced at the people chatting at the door, who were not paying attention to him.

He stealthily got up, like a stray dog stealing a bone, slowly crawling to the basket of fish and then, scanning his surroundings one more time, he picked up the basket and scampered away when no one was looking.

The fish basket, which weighed twenty to thirty pounds and was too heavy for him to lift on a normal day, he now carried with a rush of adrenaline, running out an entire street’s length...

As evening approached, Xia Zheng had not yet returned from the Potato Garden, and Lin Yuan waited in the hall with concern, only to see a petite figure enter.

Panpan? Lin Yuan looked at her in confusion, not seeing Lin Siyu’s figure beside her, which only added to her bewilderment.

As soon as Panpan walked in, she saw Lin Yuan and smiled as she approached, giving a graceful bow and crisply said, "Boss Lin, I am Panpan, do you remember me?"

How could she not?

Lin Yuan was puzzled inwardly, but still smiled and responded, "How could I forget you? Your father is an excellent worker at Rice Flower Fragrance. What, don’t you need to attend to your mistress today?"

Panpan’s somewhat chubby cheeks betrayed a hint of slyness, "My mistress is tired today, doesn’t need me around, so I snuck out to see my father."

Tired?

Lin Yuan clearly sensed that while Panpan was saying those two words, she seemed to be trying to convey some message. However, Lin Yuan was not someone to be easily led by the nose and, since Panpan so wanted her to ask about Lin Siyu’s business, she deliberately chose not to.

"Have you seen your father?"

Panpan nodded, and seeing that Lin Yuan didn’t continue with her questioning, she grew impatient and took the initiative to state her purpose, "Boss Lin, actually, I didn’t come just to see my father this time round, I have a favor to ask of you."