After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Chapter 278 Heartless and Treacherous (Part 2)

"It's true in some ways, and it's not true in others." Afu's mother blushed. "She harmed Guo's parents because she was worried that they would find out that her identity as the daughter of the prefect was fake, and she would no longer be able to act arrogantly as the young mistress of the Guo family. Being a young mistress is better than being a prostitute, and pleasing one man is easier than dealing with many men. She forgot that Guo Kuan married her for his career advancement."

Lu Zhiyuan: "Could she have hired someone to impersonate the prefect? ​​That could cost her her head."

"How could she dare? She couldn't even imagine going that far. All she could think of was using women's tricks to keep Guo Kuan, so he wouldn't have any interest in things related to his career. She found her former girlfriends, pretending they were her close confidantes, and invited them to her home. As a prostitute, she had seen many men and was very good at understanding men's thoughts. Before long, Guo Kuan had become intimate with all of them."

Lu Zhiyuan couldn't help but curse, "Scumbag!"

Afu's mother didn't know what a scumbag was, but her intuition told her it wasn't a nice thing. She tidied the strands of hair that were hanging down by her ears and continued, "He got sick, a sexually transmitted disease. I don't know who infected him. The fake heiress ran away with those prostitutes. Before she ran away, she sold all the valuables in the house and exchanged the little gold and silver she had for banknotes."

Lu Zhiyuan: "It was expected. After all, they were only after money, not people."

Afu's mother sighed, seemingly feeling sorry for Guo Kuan: "I thought that after so many years of marriage, there must still be some affection between them. I never expected that the fake heiress would go so far. They took the money from the Guo family's treasury. When Guo Kuan urgently needed money and opened her private treasury, he found that the loads of dowry were filled with nothing but weeds and stones. Even the people who accompanied him to the wedding were hired by her with the Guo family's money."

Lu Zhiyuan: "You're soft-hearted. Why don't you help take care of Guo Kuan and get him medical treatment?"

Afu's mother shook her head: "The Guo family is penniless. The maids, servants, and all the other servants have been dismissed, leaving only an old steward. Guo Kuan wanted to live, so he sold the Guo family's mansion and bought a small courtyard. The steward did his best, but unfortunately, his venereal disease is incurable, and Guo Kuan doesn't have much time left. It was the old steward who found me. He said that nominally I am still Guo Kuan's concubine, and since my husband is dead, I should handle the funeral arrangements. Besides, Afu is all grown up now, and I don't need to prove anything anymore. Anyone with eyes can see that he is Guo Kuan's son, a member of the Guo family bloodline. He can help Afu get into the Guo family genealogy."

Lu Zhiyuan: "For the sake of the child? Does Afu know about this?"

Afu's mother shook her head: "Afu knows that I agreed to hold a funeral for Guo Kuan, but he doesn't know that the steward made a deal with me by asking him to be included in the family genealogy. Afu is still young, and I don't want him to be troubled by this."

Lu Zhiyuan glanced towards the stables: "That person..."

"He's a complete scoundrel!" Mentioning that man, Afu's mother gritted her teeth in hatred: "Before Guo Kuan fell ill, he was afraid of Guo Kuan and dared not bother him. After Guo Kuan fell ill, he would come here every few days. We chased him away several times and even reported him to the authorities. He's become cunning; he no longer comes alone but blends into the caravan. During the day, because there are so many people, he won't do anything out of line. At night, he sneaks into the backyard with malicious intent. That kitchen knife and the stick Afu carries are both for his own protection."

After saying that, he glanced at the window: "He came in through the window."

"Don't worry, he won't bother you and Afu anymore." Lu Zhiyuan dozed off: "I'm sleepy, I'm going to sleep."

"lady--"

"Don't worry, Afu will be fine. Lu Yun is very good at taking care of children." Lu Zhiyuan blinked. "There are still many things to do tomorrow, so get some rest."

Afu's mother slept soundly through the night, thinking something else might happen, but it turned out to be the most peaceful sleep she had had in years.

Waking up in the morning to find the breakfast prepared for her by the firefly girl warmed her heart. Ever since her parents died saving the Guo family, she had never experienced a day where she could eat without lifting a finger. The Guo family had servants, and she was indeed the daughter of their benefactors, but she couldn't just eat and stay for free. On the very day she moved into the Guo family home, she volunteered to help in the kitchen. When Guo's parents found out, they simply praised her for being so capable.

Seeing that her master didn't care, and that few people in the mansion treated her like a guest, she was nominally half a master during the years she lived in the Guo family, but in reality, she was not even as good as a servant. No wonder Guo Kuan disliked her and looked down on her; she had never understood her place from the beginning.

They simmered the red date and millet porridge for an hour, but unlike usual, they shredded the dates into thin strips, allowing the dates to fully blend with the millet, creating a harmonious interplay between the rice and the dates. They also steamed a pot of buns and a pot of steamed bread. The buns were for the guests staying on the second floor of the dormitory, while the steamed bread was for those staying on the first floor. The fried dough sticks and fried pancakes were for the guests as well.

There are three kinds of cold dishes: radish salad, spinach and wood ear mushroom salad, and shredded cabbage salad. You can help yourself to the cold dishes; take only what you need and avoid waste. A pot of tea eggs was boiled; except for Xiao Afu, everyone else can only take one.

Whether it was steamed buns, fried dough sticks, or cold dishes, they all tasted good. Unlike before when they ate in their own rooms, they set up a table outside the small kitchen, six people to a table, each eating their own food.

Having run the inn for many years, I have never seen such a sight.

Afu handed the peeled tea eggs to his mother, saying, "Mother, eat quickly. These tea eggs were cooked by Sister Ying. Sister Ying bought the eggs from a nearby farmhouse, and they brought the tea themselves. Afu has never seen so much tea before. It smells so good, and the tea eggs taste even better."

“Little Afu has a good eye for quality. This lady’s tea is clearly top-quality.” A guest staying in the dormitory stepped forward. Judging from his attire, he was a bodyguard from a security escort agency. “To be honest, my agency escorts mostly tea, mostly from the south to the capital. You don’t need to use the tea leaves; you can tell the quality just by smelling them. This tea of ​​yours is absolutely top-grade. It’s a shame to use it to boil eggs.”

"What a pity? What's a pity? Tea leaves can be used to boil eggs, making them taste even better. The tea water after boiling eggs can be used to soak your feet, and the tea water after soaking your feet can be used to water flowers and trees, turning them into fertilizer. Not a single bit is wasted." Liu Ying said, glancing at the bodyguard's feet: "You guys shouldn't soak your feet, even the best tea can't mask the smell of sweaty feet."

Boiling eggs with the finest tea leaves and soaking feet in the tea water—what kind of family is this? And the one saying this isn't even the lady of the house, but her maidservant. Even the most ruthless镖师 (bodyguard/escort) knows this person is not to be trifled with. He chuckled, stuffed the tea egg into his mouth, and stammered, "Miss is right. My stinky feet don't deserve such fine tea water."

“Wrong. These are actually more suitable for sweaty, smelly feet.” Lu Zhiyuan put down her spoon and explained seriously, “Tea has a pungent and warm medicinal property. It has the effects of warming the meridians, warming the stomach, and disinfecting and sterilizing. Soaking your feet in tea can reduce bacteria on the skin of your feet. If you persist for a period of time, it can relieve foot sweat and foot odor.”