Men are generally like this: when they don't love a woman, they will think of forcing her, conquering her, possessing her, to satisfy their innate desire for conquest.

  But when he falls in love with a woman, he will see her again and cannot bear to let her be sad and sorrowful, even if it means that he can no longer have her.

  Finally, after another self-mutilation by Mrs. Zhuang, seeing her miserable state, Lin Yue chose to let go and sent her back to the Lin family.

  But after Mrs. Zhuang returned to the Zhuang family, things didn't end there.

  The family that had arranged her marriage sent a letter breaking off the engagement on the day she returned, saying that since Mistress Zhuang had been kidnapped by bandits for so many days, she was no longer chaste and they couldn't marry an unchaste girl.

  The reputation of Mrs. Zhuang had already been ruined, and although Mr. Zhuang was angry in his heart, he could only reluctantly accept the letter of divorce and handle the matter of breaking off the engagement.

  Mrs. Zhuang was not heartless, in her beautiful youth, she had also had beautiful fantasies about her future husband, hoping for a harmonious marriage, and hoping that when she encountered danger, he would come to rescue her on a cloud of five colors.

  But the truth is, her fiancé only saved himself when they encountered danger and left her behind. She guarded her chastity for him, finally escaped from danger and returned home, but he sent a letter of breaking off the engagement and ruined her reputation everywhere.

  However, her fiancé seemed to have fared no better, as he was said to have been castrated on the night of the broken engagement.

  That night, Lin Yue hid in the tree outside Mrs. Zhuang's boudoir, watching the dim candlelight inside the house for half a night, thinking to himself if the girl in his heart was crying.

  Then, Old Lady Zhuang pushed open the window and saw him on the tree. Both of them were speechless, staring at each other silently.

  Then, Lin Yue felt embarrassed and said to the girl in his heart: "I know you don't want to see me, I'll leave immediately. But I just wanted to tell you that man is not worthy of you, don't be sad again, you deserve better. And in the future, if someone hurts you, let them bring this wooden whistle to find me, I will help you avenge and won't let you be bullied again." After saying that, he handed a wooden whistle to Mrs. Zhuang.

  But the old lady of the village didn't respond, she just stared at his face and kept looking, without saying a word.

  Lin Yue was disappointed, but still hung the wooden whistle on the branch in front of her and then jumped down from the tree and left silently.

  After Lin Yue left, the old lady Zhuang picked up the wooden whistle and put it on her chest. When her fiancé broke off their engagement, she didn't cry. People outside said that when she lost her innocence, she didn't cry either. But at this moment, she finally burst into tears.

  This man had once coerced her, trapping her in the mountain stronghold, imprisoning her, ruining her reputation, and was still a bandit who robbed and set fires everywhere. She had hated him so much that she wanted to kill him with one slash of her knife. But in the end, he let her go without harming her, punished those who hurt her, and told her "If anyone hurts you, come find me, I won't let you be bullied".

  At the time when her fiancé abandoned her and her family thought she was a shame, she drew the only warmth from him, and at this moment, Mrs. Zhuang was moved by him.

  The next day, the old lady of the village packed a few sets of clothes and some jewelry she usually wore, brought one of her close maids, and returned to the mountain.

  Lin Daiyu and the others, including Zhengshi, listened with great relish. Lin Daiyu seemed to be still entranced by Granny Liu's story and couldn't tear herself away, sighing: "What a beautiful story!"

  "Then, Madam Zheng asked with a smile: 'So, old lady, you've liked General Lin since then?' "

  The old lady shook her head and said, "That's not it. At that time, I had a bad reputation, and although my family didn't say anything, they also subtly showed a few hints of being ashamed of me. I even felt that they might be willing for me to die in the mountains and leave behind a name of defending my chastity. I just couldn't bear to stay at home anymore, and he said he liked me, so I thought, anyway it's all like this, I might as well follow him."

  Lin Yan said, "I don't believe it. A young girl, to break free from worldly eyes, abandon her parents and relatives, throw away her identity as a rich miss, and then go after a mountain bandit... that must require great courage, at least I couldn't do it, Old Lady, you must have liked the old master back then." She said with a curious smile, "Must have been before in the mountain stronghold, the old master did many things that moved your heart, right?"

  The old lady remained silent, quietly sinking into a somber stillness.

  "Then how did the old man behind him surrender?"

  "Then it's a long story," said the old lady. "After I privately settled my lifelong matters with him, my father broke off our parent-child relationship and no longer recognized me as his daughter. Although I was heartbroken, there was nothing I could do about it. Later when my mother passed away, as her daughter, I had to return home to pay my respects in front of her coffin, so I brought Xian Niang back to the Zhuang family. As a result, my father ordered someone to block me at the door and not allow me to enter, and even threw out the things he had sent me away with, claiming that there was no daughter of the Zhuang family who would be a concubine's wife, and I could only kowtow a few times outside.

  He knew about it and felt sorry for me, so he told my father that he would definitely make a name for himself and come back to ask the Zhuang family to let me in. Then he disbanded the mountain stronghold and joined the army, later gaining the favor of the old Duke and entering his ranks.

  The old lady sighed and smiled wryly, saying: "At that time, I didn't believe he could really bring back a noble title for me either. But since he was willing to give up his life of robbery and take the right path, I supported him. Who would have thought that this man, who had never read books or understood any strategies, relying on his bravery and decent martial skills, actually became an official and brought back a noble title for me?

  Scholars, farmers, workers and merchants, with merchants being the lowest class. Although my mother's family was very wealthy, they had never produced any officials or those who held imperial commissions. It wasn't until later when his official appointment became known that my mother's family slowly reestablished contact with me."

  Lin Yan said to Zhuang's old lady, "Zhuang Lao Taigong is really something. At first, being kidnapped was not your fault. Later, you married and had a daughter, although you were not satisfied with your son-in-law, but she was still his daughter, how could you not recognize her? Now that you and the old master have risen to power, you come to acknowledge this daughter again, it's really too much."

  "Things in this world can't all be calculated clearly."

  His father actually loved her dearly, and from a young age he had been more affectionate towards her than to his several sons. However, the love one person has for another is always limited. For example, when his father was old, he would often say sorry to her with a guilty conscience, and even on his deathbed, he still held her hand with a guilty conscience and said sorry, entrusting the descendants of the Zhuang family to take good care of her.

  But think carefully, if her husband hadn't risen to prominence and was still just a mountain bandit, would he still feel guilty towards her and think he owed her an apology? Probably not, he would likely still consider her the shame of the Zhuang family. Her brothers and nephews are now taking care of her and showing her respect, but apart from genuinely thinking that the Zhuang family had wronged her in the past, it's probably more because Xian Niang married into the Lin family and is a close relative of the Wu Guo Gong Fu. The Zhuang family's business has been getting bigger and better over the years, even daring to get involved in shipping and cargo, all thanks to their connection with the Wu Guo Gong Fu through marriage.

  Sometimes things are thought too clearly and considered too much, it's easy to get hurt, it's better to muddle through life.

  This lifetime, the one who can love her unconditionally and spoil her, loving her more than his own life, is only him. It's just that he left the mother-daughter pair early on and went away by himself, which really makes people angry.