Yun Ran suddenly shivered; she had seen her fair share of cruel and malicious people, but she had never seen a mother exploit her own child so thoroughly.
That person is even the heroine, it's terrifying.
"Ginsengfruit, are you sure this is a legitimate book? This kind of person is still the first love type of heroine? Damn, it's more horrifying than an Evil Cultivator, eating people without spitting out the bones!"
[Ding Dong, congratulations to the Host, new storyline unlocked!]
[Host, the original owner was indeed endowed with a Life Chart of both Wealth and Rank, a rare favorable destiny. The reason she died so miserably and stifled was entirely because her Qi Fortune was drained away!]
"Is it Qu Ying? But I haven't found any method on her capable of absorbing others' Qi Fortune."
[There's only so much for the clues of the new storyline; to get the answer, you must unlock new storyline points.]
Yun Ran:...
She knew it wouldn't be so easy to survive; there must be a lot of trouble waiting for her!
But for the moment, that bounty was the most pressing matter in her heart.
The Yun Family returned home for ancestral rites because the Yun matriarch was seriously ill. They consulted a master who said there was a problem with the ancestral grave, which led to this half-month long rite.
She had to make use of this period, while the Yun Family was too busy to bother with her, to settle this matter.
Otherwise, given Qu Ying's nature of being generous with other people's money, she would surely take care of that bounty and maximize her own benefit.
The next morning, Yun Ran went to the police station and waited, after the previous confrontation with the Xie Family and the matter of finding Hua Zhao.
Everyone at the police station knew Yun Ran.
They investigated her thoroughly and dispelled any suspicions they had of her.
Especially seeing Yun Ran protect her mother like a little hedgehog, ending up with a tarnished reputation, while her mother had a great reputation among the circles of noble ladies.
Many who had daughters themselves couldn't help but pity her, seeing Yun Ran as a poor soul, and became more amiable towards her.
They were not like those who just echoed others; they had no vested interests and could look at the matter objectively, actually seeing the trickery involved.
The deputy captain looked at Yun Ran's eyes spinning and couldn't help but laugh, "Are you here to inquire about the reward money?"
"Yeah~"
Afraid that the police station might say she was under 18 and needed a guardian to accompany her, Yun Ran quickly handed over the documents she had deceived from her lawyer.
"All the authorization documents are right here!"
The deputy captain took a look, especially at the official seal within, and didn't ask about anything else.
"Got it. The case has been submitted. The earliest we can have a result is in a week. Just wait."
Knowing the money was secure, Yun Ran could hardly suppress the smile in her eyes.
She naturally felt the deputy captain's kindness and whispered, "You'll be promoted soon~"
Leaving the deputy captain bewildered, watching the direction Yun Ran had left.
A few more days passed, and once the Yun Family's ancestral rites were over, Yun Ran knew she had to say goodbye to the good days of watching dramas late into the night, waking up naturally from sleep, and eating takeout whenever she wanted.
Her mood wasn't great at first, but then, on the way back, the reward money was deposited into her account. Her mood soared like a rollercoaster, and she kept grinning stupidly all the way home.
The others were not in such good spirits; each of them was suppressing anger, on the verge of explosion.
For the half-month ancestral worship, many tasks required the Yun Family to do the work personally, leaving these typically pampered folks exhausted.
During the rest at the service area, Yun Wan, the young lady, was indeed complaining about her stepmother Qu Ying to everyone.
First, she didn't have the imported water she liked to drink, and then everything prepared was not to her taste.
Already annoyed, the crowd seemed to have finally found a scapegoat, pointing their fingers one after another at Qu Ying.
If it were the past, the original host, that little fool, would have already jumped out to battle these complainers for three hundred rounds.
Feeling that these people were simply unreasonable; even though they brought servants with them, everything was blamed on her mother, presumably because they thought her mom was soft-tempered and easy to bully.
But now, these people's accusations and noise were already affecting Yun Shaotang's work on his documents.
Yun Ran didn't stand up to say a word, acting as if she were deaf.
Qu Ying, seeing Yun Ran no longer protecting her as before, her gaze flashed with a hint of disgust.
When Yun Wan gave her another disdainful look, her customarily generous smile finally couldn't hold back.
Her gaze turned towards Yun Ran, her voice full of concern: "You child, how can you hold grudges, not saying a word all the way here."
Yun Ran's good mood instantly shattered, rolling her eyes involuntarily.
Then she started venting to Ginsengfruit: "Here she goes again, every time she conflicts with others.
She doesn't want to break her caring facade, so she diverts everyone's attention to me, making me the target of public criticism. Do I owe her?!"
What could Ginsengfruit do? It was just a system; it would willingly offer items from the Weapons Storage to send these fools to heaven, but Yun Ran dared not use them.
[Since you are currently under her daughter's identity, of course she's going to take it for granted.]
"Huh~ Huh~"
Yun Ran turned her head to the side and pressed a few special acupoints on her body, her complexion immediately turning deathly pale.
"Mom, stop talking to me, I'm feeling terribly carsick right now, I'll throw up if I continue talking!"
The people from the Yun Family, habitually halted their previous complaining, ready to unite against Yun Ran, but then saw Yun Ran's face, pale as paper.
They immediately showed contempt: "She might be ill, later on please don't follow us, it's bad luck!"
"That's right, big sister, it's not that I cannot tolerate your daughter, but with her looking like a ghost right now, do you think she's still fit to go with us?"
"Always causing problems, I said before, she, a burden, is not worthy to come, but you wouldn't believe. Now look, wasting our time. Otherwise, let's split up and travel separately, you from the main branch can take her!"
…
The focus of the crowd fell on Yun Ran once again.
But this time, Yun Ran didn't yell or fight back against these adults like a madman.
She just pitifully shed tears, the teardrops falling like broken pearls, one by one, coupled with her current pale appearance, it was truly a pitiable sight.
There were many people resting at the service area, and lots of travelers were in bad temper.
Due to the incessant complaints from the Yun Family, many were already displeased, and now seeing them direct all their anger towards a young girl.
Some people immediately stood up, indignantly looking at the Second Mrs. Yun who was just now scolding the harshest.