Xie Wan knelt on the evenly laid bluestone floor tiles, lowering her head very low.

  "Brother is already very ill, the doctor says he wont make it past New Years. I beg of you, madam, to please temporarily not take back the courtyard. If madam agrees, I am willing to be a humble servant and attend to your every need!"

  The sky had already entered winter, and the silver silk charcoal burning in the purple golden copper incense burner emitted a warm atmosphere, but Xie Wan was still shivering.

  She had never bowed her head to anyone, and she had never thought of bowing her head to this woman, but in order to let her brother spend his last moments peacefully, she no longer cared about dignity.

  They lived in a rented courtyard house on Lions Alley, but unexpectedly, the landlord had just sold the courtyard to the Xie family at a high price. The Xie family was a wealthy and influential clan, with the current master being a high-ranking official, so how could they possibly be interested in such a dilapidated small quadrangle courtyard? Moreover, it was the only place where she and her brother had to live.

  She knew that the Xie Mansion no longer wanted to give them a way out, and since their grandfather Xie Qigong died, the people of the Xie Mansion had become even more open about their urgent desire to eliminate the two branches.

  But even if she knew the truth, she was powerless to change it again.

  The Xie Mansion now belongs to the Wang family, and people from Qinghe County only know about Rong San Ye and have long forgotten that there was an original legitimate son named Teng Er Ye. Even though she and her brother Xie Liang were the only legitimate heirs of the Xie family, and even though they should be enjoying the Xie familys wealth instead of the Wangs and their son, its all too late to say any of this now.

  Like now, she can only abandon all her dignity, kneel in front of them, lower her head to the dust, and humbly beg them to leave a little room for each other.

  Madam Wang sat at the upper end of the hall, her eyes slightly closed, fingering a string of purple sandalwood Buddhist beads in her hand.

  The house was very quiet. The sound of the Buddhist beads was particularly loud in the empty hall.

  The cold, hard floor bruised Xie Wans knees under her thin skirt, but there was no help for it. Before she knelt down, Wang said the woolen mat was dirty and needed to be washed, so he had someone take away the mat that had been spread on the ground.

  Until she knelt down and sweated on her forehead, the sound of the Buddha beads stopped, and a long sigh came from Wangs wife: "This matter has really put me in a difficult position. The young master is having a heavenly flower, and the great master of Xiangguo Temple said that he needs to move to the southeast to drive out evil spirits and avoid disasters. Shi Zi Hutong is just in the southeast. The young master is your uncles heart and soul, as well as my precious son. For this matter, your aunt has been bedridden until now, cant get up. Can I not care about the young masters life or death?"

  Xie Wan suddenly raised her head, her pale and beautiful face trembling all over: "But the Lions Alley is not just one courtyard, Madam can find another place to raise Lan Ge too!" She didnt believe it, but the place they chose was suitable for nursing! She had no more money left on her hands, and the rent in Beijing was not low, she couldnt afford to rent another house elsewhere. If they moved out like this, her brother would either die of illness or freeze to death!

  If brother hadnt gone to find that family to vent his anger for her, how would he have ended up being beaten by the gatekeeper until all four limbs were broken!

  Hes a man of letters, dignity is the most important thing for him, does she still want to make him die without dignity at his deathbed?!

  "Whats the same?" Wang opened her eyes, raised the corner of her lips, and said slowly: "The master said that only your courtyard is the most suitable. Now that you have come to me as a member of the Xie family, then logically, Lan should still call you Aunt. As an aunt, you shouldnt fight with a child for land, right?"

  She sighed again, "However, you are also the old masters flesh and blood. When people from outside come to our door, I will always reward them with some money. You cant let you come in vain." She beckoned the maid under the curtain and said: "Go get some silver coins for Miss Yuanyuan to take away, and have a good meal for Young Master Cang to eat before leaving. Lets just say its doing good deeds for our Lan Geer."

  She smiled and responded with a "yes", then turned around, rummaged through her own purse, and pulled out several pieces of loose silver. She said, "Old lady, the silver in our house is all large ingots. I heard the landlord of Lions Alley say that Third Sister and her family havent cooked for several days. If we give them too much money, Third Sister might not be able to carry it. Why dont I just give her the seven or eight coins you gave me yesterday as pocket money instead?"

  Wang nodded and smiled: "Youre really considerate. Im sorry to trouble you."

  The maid handed over the silver.

  Xie Wans whole body surged with hot blood, her body swayed, and she stared at the few silver coins that were only slightly larger than soybeans. She trembled as she reached out to take them. After a while, she stood up, suddenly summoning all her strength, and fiercely flung the coins at Wang Shis face: "You wicked woman! You will suffer heavenly retribution!"

  It happened suddenly, and Wang didnt dodge in time. He took a slap on the face and fell onto the couch.

  The maidservants hastily shouted for someone to come and take Xie Wan, and then hurried forward to support Wang Shi, the room was in a state of chaos.

  Xie Wan burst out laughing!

  She had been holding it in for thirty years and finally made Wangs family feel ashamed!

  But how could this fleeting moment make up for the hardships and humiliation that the Xie family had inflicted on them for thirty years?

  If she could, she would rather not be a member of the Xie family!

  If theres still a chance, she absolutely wants to make Wang and her children kneel in front of her!

  Looking at the chaotic house, many things suddenly surged up in front of her like a tidal wave, making her also as chaotic as the scene in front of her!

  Someone rushed towards her, she subconsciously twisted her body and darted out of the door like an arrow, running towards the outside of the gate.

  The servants in the mansion did not know what had happened and let her rush out onto the street.

  The streets are crowded with cars, even in the early morning hours, the sound of car horns is endless.

  She was blinded by the successive events, unable to see the road or people, only hearing a string of rapid horseshoes flying into her ears. Immediately after that, her body flew up, soon her head hit something hard and then thudded onto the ground.

  She just felt a buzzing in her head and then she didnt feel anything anymore.

  But she could still open her eyes, and saw herself lying on the ground, with blood gushing out of her eye sockets, nostrils, earholes, and mouth corners at an extremely fast speed. Her ears were buzzing loudly, and in a crimson haze, she vaguely saw a face with bright eyes like morning stars, two feet away from her, anxiously shouting something at her.

  This face is really good-looking, even if its not entirely clear, but the outline is better than anyone in the Xie family who is known for their looks.

  She thought with a sneer and closed her eyes wearily.