I have been farming since I crossed over.

Chapter 200: The "Simple" Liu

Mother Zheng looked at her aunt standing in front of her, feeling somewhat bewildered. She continued, "After dinner, my father quietly told me to come see you one last time, and then told you to pack up and leave. What on earth is going on?"

Upon hearing this, Liu was stunned at first, then a bitter smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and she murmured to herself: "She died of illness... Haha, never mind. In this way, from now on, there will be no such person as Aunt Liu in the world, but only ordinary Liu girls." After she finished speaking, she actually raised her head and laughed out loud, her laughter filled with endless sadness and helplessness.

Mother Zheng widened her eyes and stared at Aunt Liu, who was laughing almost crazily in front of her. An indescribable uneasiness quietly spread in her heart.

She couldn't help but wonder to herself: "What is going on? Why did Aunt Liu lose her composure like this? Could it be..." A terrible thought suddenly flashed through her mind - could it be that this concubine of hers had betrayed the Lu family and was expelled for that reason?

At the same time, Lu Changyan's eyes also fell on Aunt Liu. Since she was a child, she had been growing up beside her mother Guan, and Guan treated all the children in the family equally and cared for them with all her heart, never discriminating against them in the slightest.

A fragment of her memory gradually emerged. Lu Changyan remembered that when she was a child, she noticed a woman who always stared at her in a daze from time to time. At first, she was wary, but after careful observation, she found that the woman had no ill will towards her, so she gradually stopped taking it to heart.

Normally, children of the Lu family wouldn't know their biological mother until they were twelve years old. However, the clever and perceptive Guan noticed Liu's unusual behavior. To avoid future trouble and misunderstandings, she decided to tell Lu Changyan the truth in advance, whispering, "Yan'er, that is your biological mother, Liu. You must visit her often."

At first, Lu Changyan followed her mother's instructions and often visited Liu. However, every time they met, Liu would tirelessly instill in her the concept of the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, and criticize her legitimate mother for her deep scheming.

Over time, Lu Changyan grew tired of such conversations and gradually lost interest in visiting Aunt Liu. Furthermore, her grandmother required her granddaughters to learn the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and she herself was busy with her studies, so she rarely visited Aunt Liu.

Aunt Liu probably felt that she had laughed a little too much, or she might have been afraid of scaring Lu Changyan, so she stopped laughing and said, "It's nothing, it's just that I'm not your aunt anymore from now on. You can just call me Auntie!"

Lu Changyan didn't say anything, but looked at Liu, waiting for her to explain.

Liu slowly raised her head, her gaze settling on Lu Changyan, a hint of helplessness and a sigh in her eyes. She gently shook her head, her lips parted, and said, "Well, forget it. Even if I told you, I'm afraid you wouldn't believe it. So, let's not tell you. Let's say goodbye today. From now on, we'll go our separate ways, owing nothing to each other. I wish you a good life." As soon as she finished her words, Liu resolutely turned around and walked away with heavy steps.

Lu Changyan stared blankly at Liu's departing figure, her mind a thousand thoughts. After hesitating for a moment, she quickly stepped forward and pulled out a half-worn purse from her bosom.

The purse contained all the money her family had saved through their recent frugal living. Lu Changyan handed the purse to Liu without hesitation and said sincerely, "Please take care of yourself! This money may not be much, but it's a token of my appreciation. Please accept it."

However, what Lu Changyan never expected was that Liu Shi would not appreciate it at all. She took the purse expressionlessly, without even glancing at it, and tossed it away. The white silver ingots and yellow copper coins instantly scattered to the ground, making a crisp sound.

Liu sneered and said sarcastically, "Hmph, you have the nerve to give away such a small amount of silver? Do you think I'm a beggar on the street? Take it back and use it to live on your own! I'm living a much better life now than you can imagine." After that, Liu walked away without looking back, leaving Lu Changyan standing there in astonishment.

Unable to contain her grief any longer, Lu Changyan collapsed to her knees. Ignoring the pain in her knees, she began to pick up the scattered silver and copper coins with trembling hands. With each coin she picked up, a tear flickered in her eyes.

After putting all the money into her arms, Mother Zheng continued to stare blankly in the direction where Liu had disappeared, her lips trembling slightly, but she couldn't utter a word. After a long moment, a cold wind blew, ruffling Mother Zheng's graying hair. She remained kneeling there motionless, as if petrified...

Lu Jintang sat quietly at the dining table, recalling every word his father had just said. For some reason, he felt a strange feeling in his heart, as if something was not right.

So, he calmly exchanged glances with his grandfather beside him, and when no one was paying attention, he quietly left and walked towards the courtyard where he lived.

When he arrived at the courtyard, he happened to see Zheng's mother and Liu Shi meeting head-on. The two had not seen each other for a long time, and the atmosphere at this reunion was somewhat awkward.

Lu Jintang wanted to turn around and leave the place to the mother and daughter to reminisce about the past. But then he thought, it would not be appropriate for him to go back rashly at this time, as it might arouse Lu's father's suspicion.

Just as he was thinking about what to do next, a burst of shrill laughter suddenly came from the courtyard. The laughter came from Liu.

Lu Jintang's heart tightened, worried that his second sister might be hurt. Without giving it any time to think, he nimbly leaped onto the roof and carefully lay there, secretly observing the movements below. At this moment, she was like an "eavesdropper", taking in everything that happened in the house.

However, what he saw next shocked Lu Jintang greatly. He had always believed that among his three concubines, only Liu was considered pure and kind-hearted. He had never expected to witness such a terrible scene today. At that moment, he suddenly realized that Liu was not as simple as she seemed.

"Hmph! These concubines are so annoying! Look at what kind of life my mother leads on a daily basis... When I get married in the future, I will definitely not take a concubine! Not only that, I will also convince my grandfather to add this rule of not allowing concubines to our Lu family's genealogy, so that no woman will suffer such pain again!" Lu Jintang thought to himself, a hint of determination flashed in his eyes, and he stared at the courtyard intently.