There is no difference between sleeping together once and sleeping together a few times.

"Mother, you have no idea. We couldn't see a thing, but the moment Little Sister went up the mountain, mushrooms, pheasants, eggs, and wild goats all came right to us!" Li Yunjue said, gesticulating wildly, though he was only five years old.

Li Yunchao smiled, "Mother, we didn't mean to keep it from you. We were afraid that if Grandmother and Father found out how amazing Little Sister is, they wouldn't let her leave."

Li Yunye added, "Actually, we realized a long time ago that Little Sister had become smart, but we didn't dare say anything. They called Little Sister a monster, but she's really a star of fortune."

Gu Yuru nodded, stroked her sons' heads, and kissed her youngest daughter's cheek. "Mother knows now. You're all good boys. From now on, Mother will love you well."

"We want to stay with Mother. We're not close to Father," Li Yunjue said. He had only seen Li Yuan a few times, and every time he saw him, he was either finding fault or punishing them.

Gu Yuru sighed, feeling a bit comforted inside. "Alright, Yunchao, Yunye, hold your younger siblings' hands. Yunchao, help me bring the wild boar back, and we can have something good to eat tonight."

Li Mumu beamed. More than just tonight, she thought—from now on, they could eat delicious food every single day.

When the mother and children returned with a wild boar, it startled everyone present.

Old Madam Gu was the first to run to Gu Yuru. "Are you hurt?"

Gu Yuru wiped the sweat from her forehead and explained to the old lady how they had managed to get the wild boar.

"Really? Is our Mumu's luck really that good?" Zhang Yi asked with a smile.

Earlier in the afternoon, Gu Yu had already explained what happened previously, making it clear that the real credit belonged to the little cousin.

Gu Jian grinned from ear to ear. After all, the wild boar only had an injury on its head, which looked like it had been struck, but his daughter wouldn't lie. Besides, she used to be skilled with a sword, but after years of not practicing, her martial arts were no longer what they used to be, and a fatal blow like that was beyond her current abilities.

"The Li family is going to regret this. They handed a star of fortune right over to us."

Old Madam Gu snorted. "What do you mean by 'handed over'? They were never good to Mumu in the first place. That woman clearly couldn't tolerate Mumu. Besides, they were born to Yuru, so they belong with us."

"Right, right, right. Madam is entirely correct."

Zhang Xiang had also heard that the mother and children had brought back a wild boar and came over to take a look, though his intentions were painfully obvious.

Although Li Mumu didn't want him to live too long, it was better to offend a gentleman than a villain, especially since getting food on the journey ahead would be no problem at all.

"Uncle, this wild boar is too big, and we can't finish it. Please share it with the other uncles."

Though Song Qiang felt a twinge of reluctance, she knew that one must bow their head when under someone else's roof. "That's right, Official. You've had a hard journey as well. Please have some wild boar meat later."

Zhang Xiang nodded. The Gu family was indeed much more sensible than the Li family. "Then give us half of it, so the brothers can have a taste, too."

Song Qiang smiled on the outside while cursing up a storm on the inside. What a greedy bastard, she thought—he actually wants half!

Well, money pays for peace. If he wants it, she'll give it to him.

This time, Zhang Xiang was satisfied and even ordered his men to remove the cangues from the Gu men. After all, gutting and cleaning a pig was not something the women could do.

Able to finally regain their freedom, the three brothers went to work with great enthusiasm.

Song Qiang looked at the remaining pork and sighed.

"Second Sister-in-law, what's wrong?" Gu Yuru asked.

"Ah, Sister, it's my fault. I never expected we'd have such good luck on the road. We have seasonings, but I didn't prepare the proper ones needed for meat dishes. Without the right spices, the fragrance of this meat will be cut in half."

Zhang Yi gently comforted her, "It's already wonderful enough that we have meat to eat. Everyone will be happy even without seasonings."

That may be true, but Song Qiang excelled at cooking and always felt that a dish lacked perfection without the proper spices.

Just then, however, she noticed Li Mumu fiddling with some green leaves and quickly called out to the little girl, "Mumu, don't throw those away!"

Li Mumu took a deep breath. Her second aunt had finally noticed.

"What is it?" Gu Mingtang shot her a playful glance. "Making such a fuss, you'll scare the child."

Only then did Song Qiang react. "Mumu, Second Aunt isn't trying to scare you. Are those bay leaves in your hand? And star anise? Cinnamon? And green Sichuan peppercorns?"

Li Mumu smiled and shook her head. "I don't know. They smelled funny, so I picked them on the mountain."

"Oh, my precious treasure! What am I going to do with you? Everything you picked are spices! This is wonderful—how did you know how to pick these?"

Li Mumu smiled because she knew these were needed for cooking meat. "They smelled weird."

"Not weird at all! Just wait, Second Aunt is going to use them to cook the meat, and it's going to be so fragrant."

Li Mumu smiled and nodded, handing all the spices over to Song Qiang. Her mission was successfully accomplished, and now all she had to do was wait to eat roasted wild boar.

"Mumu, where did you pick these? Tell me, and I'll go pick some more," Song Qiang said excitedly.

Gu Mingtang frowned again. "It's getting dark, the path is slippery, and there are wild animals out there. Where do you think you're going? Aren't these enough?"

"They're enough for now, but what about later..."

"We can just buy more later. It doesn't cost much. What would you do if something dangerous happened?" Gu Mingtang said sternly, his face set in a serious expression.

Song Qiang rolled her eyes, though the corners of her mouth curved upward. "If you're worried about me, just say so. Pulling a stern face like that makes you look like you're hunting for debtors."

With that, she went off to marinate the pork.

Gu Mingtang touched his face. Was he really that old?

Sensing his thoughts, Li Mumu whispered, "Second Uncle, you're not old at all. You're very handsome."

Gu Mingtang blushed at the compliment. For a man, what did being handsome matter anyway? He wasn't some pretty boy relying on looks to please others.

The bailiffs were too lazy to do anything other than wait for a ready-made meal, unwilling to lift a finger themselves. The Gu family didn't bother arguing; arguing was useless anyway.

Taking advantage of the moment, Li Mumu secretly added a few extra seasonings to the spice mix Song Qiang had prepared to make the flavor richer and even more fragrant.

The wild boar roasted for a long time, and its mouth-watering aroma drifted far across the wilderness.

The Li family members were starving, their legs wobbly, and their bodies covered in whip marks. Li Rong had cried until she had no tears left.

"Mother, what smells so good?" Li Fenghua licked her lips. "I'm so hungry. I really can't walk anymore."

"I'm hungry too, Mother," Li Fengzhu said.

Lady Zhao cast a cold glance at her daughters and instructed, "Later, you girls go serve the officials properly. Make sure to keep them happy and get some good food for your mother."

Li Fengzhu bit her lip, trembling with terror at the thought of what the night would bring. "Mother... I don't want to go. I'll never go again. They—they are too terrifying."

"Shut up! You've already gone once, what's a second time? Do you still think you're some pure maiden? Stop putting on airs. Once we get back to the capital and your third uncle makes a name for himself, he'll still find you a good husband. No one will ever know what happened," Lady Zhao persuaded.

Li Yuan's throat was parched and he was seeing stars. Lin Siwan kept glancing at him sideways; he knew it, but right now he had no strength left to settle accounts with her.