Mrs. Zhang paused, turned back to glance at Fu Zhen, and said with a complex look in her eyes, "She has changed."

The door opened, revealing a scene of chaos in the courtyard. The small wooden table and benches were all overturned on the ground, and a young and thin woman was holding a branch, vigorously striking the child squatting on the ground.

The child was crying so hard that he couldn’t catch his breath, yet he still shouted, "Mother, please don’t hit."

Fu Zhen was about to step forward, but Mrs. Zhang had already rushed ahead, pulling the child out to protect him behind her, and said in an angry voice, "How old is he? And you take out your anger on him? Isn’t he your own child?"

The woman stared at them blankly, gasping for breath like a bellows, then tossed the branch aside and sat down heavily on the ground. She wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face deeply into them.

The sound of sobbing began, her thin shoulders also started to tremble, yet no matter how violently they shook, she never broke into loud wails.

From childhood, she considered herself to be of noble birth, and even at such a moment, she wouldn’t allow herself to lose composure beyond measure.

When she started crying, the child stopped instead. He slowly walked over, stretched out his small arms, and hugged his mother.

"Mother, don’t cry. Lian Er won’t be naughty anymore. Never again."

As soon as these words came out, the sound of loud wailing erupted instead, and the small, dilapidated courtyard was suddenly filled with thunderous cries.

Mrs. Zhang looked at Fu Zhen, and Fu Zhen stepped forward.

After thinking for a moment, she took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, handed it to her, and said, "Yongping."

Yongping’s body trembled, and she suddenly lifted her head.

The once flawlessly maintained face, in just half a year, was now full of withered color.

The moment she saw Fu Zhen, her face turned pale instantly, then she quickly let go of Xu Lian, raised her hands, and began to wipe her eyes repeatedly.

She quickly stood up again, straightened her back, and after adjusting her posture properly, she slowly turned her face, "How long have you been here?"

Fu Zhen naturally withdrew the handkerchief she was disregarding and said, "Your sister-in-law brought me here together."

Yongping’s face twitched a few times, "I didn’t expect you would really come. If I had known you were coming, I wouldn’t have done this."

"I know." Fu Zhen adjusted a bench on the ground, then sat down. Her gold-embroidered skirt lay untouched as she sat. "You’ve always cared about appearances. And you’ve never liked me since we were young. How could you possibly want me to see your child being naughty?"

Yongping was speechless.

She pursed her lips, seeing her also set up another muddy bench without minding, couldn’t help saying, "I am now penniless, can’t afford to compensate for your dress. You’d better be more careful."

"Aren’t clothes for wearing? If they’re torn or dirty, just replace them; what’s so precious?" Fu Zhen said contemptuously, "Men too, if you’ve picked the wrong one, just kick them out, right? Who doesn’t make mistakes? Everyone only lives once; there’s no going back. Why make life hard on yourself?"

Yongping was standing fine, but upon hearing this, her eyes suddenly reddened.

She stared intently at Fu Zhen and bit her lower lip.

Then she abruptly turned her face, quickly wiping away a tear.

Mrs. Zhang sighed, took Xu Lian’s hand, "I’ll go wash him, you two talk."

The courtyard quieted down.

Yongping’s sobbing slowly ceased.

She sat dejectedly on the chair that Fu Zhen had set up, muttering, "Only now do I realize just how outrageous my mistake was.

"He’s not worthy, not even a single finger of his is worthy!"

"Try to let it go," Fu Zhen said earnestly, "You’re not the only one in the world who’s been blind. At least you’re still alive."

Yongping suddenly looked at her and then, as if biting her lower lip, lowered her head once more.

Fu Zhen asked, "The knife you had your sister-in-law return to me, where did you get it?"

Yongping stared ahead, slowly letting out a breath, "I found it while packing his belongings, from the boxes he left behind.

"I knew it was yours."

"Then how did you know it was mine?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"I guessed." Tears were still in Yongping’s eyes, her untouched face appearing softer yet less thorny than before, "He mentioned it to me once, though he wasn’t very certain then. Later, I figured it could only be you."

Fu Zhen looked at the ground for a long time, then said, "Then why did you want to return it to me?"