Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside

The Qin family was different from the others; they could disappear at any moment. Elder Qin's purchase of farmland was merely a cover; how much he bought didn't really matter.

Gu Jinli paused for a moment... When the Qin family vanished, Qin San Lang would surely leave with them, and then she would no longer be able to see him.

To be honest, she was somewhat reluctant to let him go. After all, Qin San Lang was capable, strong, had a great temperament, and most importantly, he listened to her. He took care of many dangerous tasks or those she found inconvenient to handle herself. If one day Qin San Lang left, it would be very hard for her to find another 'little brother' as competent as him.

But all good things must come to an end, and her reluctance was futile.

"Mom, here are the deeds for twenty mu of farmland and thirty mu of residential land; please keep them safe, they'll be your dowry," Gu Dashan handed the land deeds to Mrs. Cui.

Tears welled up in Mrs. Cui's eyes upon hearing this. Her luck wasn't good; she didn't have a dowry when she married and was ridiculed by her family for half her life. She never dreamed that she would have a dowry.

Holding back the tears, Mrs. Cui took the land deeds and smiled, "From now on, these are for the four children; I will keep them safe for them."

Gu Dashan smiled then handed the house deed, bamboo grove, and pond land deeds to Gu Jinli: "Xiao Yu, these are yours; take good care of them."

Gu Jinli took the three papers and showed off to her family by shaking them and winking, "Look, I have three deeds all to myself, plus my private stash of money, I am a little rich lady."

Gu Jin'an looked at her smugly and shook his head with a smile, "Yes, you are indeed the richest in the household; in the future, you must help us out, or we might starve, right Brother Cheng?"

Brother Cheng uncooperatively spoiled the mood, "Big brother is a bookworm, he'll be the one starving and needing Second Sister's help in the future. I'm going to make a fortune and won't need Second Sister's help; I'll be the one taking care of Second Sister!"

Brother Cheng spoke with pride and ambition, which put a dark expression on Gu Jin'an's face.

Gu Jinli was at a loss for words: "Should I be happy that my little brother is willing to support me, or sad that I am so poor that I need to be helped?"

Gu Jinxiu laughed when she heard this: "You can be happy first, then sad later."

Gu Jinli looked at Gu Jinxiu, sized her up for a moment, and said, "Big Sister, you've changed; you've actually started to tease people now."

...

While a few families at the edge of the village were joyously examining their land deeds, the Zou family was amidst gloomy clouds of worry.

Ever since Zhong Cuilan's incident, Zou Mansion had become a place of eerie strangeness. County Magistrate Zou, haunted by Zhong Cuilan's last words, became suspicious of everyone, believing they were out to harm him.

After the news spread that Concubine Lu had given him an infertility drug, County Magistrate Zou's paranoia grew, leading him to suspect that Zou Yuzhen and his siblings might not be his own children. He had people investigate Concubine Lu to see if she had been with other men besides himself.

In the end, it escalated to performing a blood test for paternity.

Zou Jiang was terrified by County Magistrate Zou, earnestly trying to dissuade him: "Old Master, how could Third Young Master and the Fifth Miss not be your biological children? Concubine Lu confessed that she gave you the infertility drug when Aunt Lan was pregnant with the Fourth Miss."

Aunt Lan was younger and prettier than Concubine Lu and became pregnant not long after entering the household.

Concubine Lu was very afraid that Aunt Lan would take her place in favor, initially planning to give County Magistrate Zou the infertility drug after giving birth to two sons. When she heard of Aunt Lan's pregnancy, she couldn't sit still and immediately administered the infertility drug to County Magistrate Zou.

However, just a few days after Concubine Lu drugged County Magistrate Zou, she was diagnosed with pregnancy, carrying none other than Zou Yuwan.

"Old Master, judging by the timing, all of the young masters and misses in the mansion are definitely your own flesh and blood, and it couldn't possibly be someone else's," Zou Jiang tried to persuade earnestly, but County Magistrate Zou was nearly driven mad by these matters. He barely believed that Zou Yuzhen was his son, yet he refused to believe that Zou Yuwan was his daughter to his dying breath.

In order to rid himself of this 'bastard child' Zou Yuwan, County Magistrate Zou wrote to Landlord Lv of Luchang County, suggesting they become in-laws by betrothing his youngest concubine daughter to Landlord Lv's legitimate eldest son.

When Landlord Lv received the letter, he was overjoyed to the point of near madness, and, without stopping to rest, he immediately came with generous gifts to propose marriage.

By the time Zou Jiang learned of this, Landlord Lv with his foolish son had already entered the gates of the Zou family.

Seeing Landlord Lv's bucktoothed, drooling son, who couldn't even keep his mouth closed, Zou Jiang was so anxious he nearly spat blood.

He managed his disgust to settle Landlord Lv and his family, then ran to question County Magistrate Zou: "Old Master, even if you think the Fifth Miss is not your own, there's no need to rashly marry her off to a fool. She's still an official's daughter, you could have sought a high-class match or a promising young man for her. That way, she could have been of help to the Zou family in the future."

Betrothing the Fifth Miss to Landlord Lv's foolish son would bring very little in return to the Zou family. Landlord Lv was unreliable; his estate had already been halved by his mismanagement, and in a decade or so, what would remain of the Lv family? At that point, the Zou family would have gained a poor relative that they would have to support.

Not only was Landlord Lv wasteful, but he also had a cruel heart. He wanted to pursue official position but lacked the learning and cheated during the examination, harming the fellow students with whom he had a bond of assurance.

The Lv family had money, and when Landlord Lv was caught cheating, a hundred taels of silver was enough to bail him out. But the Lv family was too stingy to pay for the release of his bonded student, resulting in a poor and frail scholar dying in prison.

After the incident, instead of showing remorse, Landlord Lv took advantage of the situation and forced himself on the deceased student's widow.

To such a despicable family, this kind of ignoble family, County Magistrate Zou actually wanted to form a kinship!

County Magistrate Zou sneered: "That bastard has enjoyed good times in the Zou family for over a decade. It's only right she pays back through suffering and hardship!"

If not for the Zou family's recent scandals being too glaring, he wouldn't have let Zou Yuwan marry, instead, he would have pretended Zou Yuwan had fallen ill and died, then sold her to the lowest private brothel alley in Jiangnan, letting her die in absolute humiliation!

Zou Jiang was stunned when he heard this, braving the risk of being punished by County Magistrate Zou, he pleaded sincerely for a long time. In the end, he only angered County Magistrate Zou, who furiously drove him out of the room.

When Zou Yuwan learned that County Magistrate Zou wanted to marry her off to a foolish son of a rural landlord, she cried and fainted three times. After waking up, she protested by refusing food, only to be force-fed by the nannies dispatched by County Magistrate Zou.

Zou Yuwan choked on the liquid food that went down her windpipe, nearly dying. When she woke up again, she didn't dare to struggle anymore, and ate whatever the nannies fed her.

Yet she didn't want to marry a fool, so she sent a message to Zou Yuzhen through a maid, begging for his rescue.

Zou Yuzhen was struggling to protect himself, how could he find time to rescue her? After receiving Zou Yuwan's letter, he glanced at it just once before throwing it into the incense burner to burn.

He was very aware of how much County Magistrate Zou detested being cuckolded and not able to father children; his rage had to be vented. Whoever dared to block County Magistrate Zou from venting his anger would face death!

Zou Yuzhen valued his own life and certainly wouldn't harm himself for Zou Yuwan's sake.

"The Lu Family People have made it to the Prefecture officials? Is Concubine Lu still not dead?" Zou Yuzhen, his eyes sunken and bloodshot, asked in a haggard and hoarse voice, facing his personal servant.