Exile after Divorce? Empty the Scumbag Husband First!-Chapter 115 - 113: Out of Sight, Out of Mind

"Ruan Jiao, oh Ruan Jiao, so you were deceiving me all along! Did you ever have any intention of spending your life with me? Are you lying to me?!"

Ruan Jiao spat and ran off into the distance.

"So what if I did? Look at you now, take care of yourself! Do you think you can live as happily as before? Daydreaming!"

Seeing the woman who used to be soft and compliant towards him now look so hateful, Qi Nanfeng wished he could strangle her with his own hands.

But he was already physically and mentally exhausted, where would he find the strength?

Ruan Jiao walked faster and faster, hoping that wretched thing wouldn’t follow her!

In the future, it would be best not to see him at all. Once she built a good relationship with the Ruan Family and they accepted her, she would have backing and never have to associate with someone as vile as Qi Nanfeng again.

Meanwhile, after raising piglets and geese, over the next two days, Ruan Mian used the clay she previously discovered to make many pottery jars.

She distributed them to some acquaintances and even took people to the nearby mountains to pick winter mushrooms.

Besides that, Ruan Mian and her family started cultivating the nearby flat lands. As the snow gradually melted, the soft soil began to reveal itself.

They cleared away stones, weeds, and branches, quickly digging out a large open space.

Waiting idly for the rebellion to end, who knew how long it would take? No one knew if Wuheng would return, so they could only learn from Ruan Mian and focus on settling down and working hard.

This way, life seemed to have some hope.

Having cultivable land, they still needed irrigation channels.

If they relied solely on fetching and diverting water, the workload would be too much.

Besides, if they wanted to plant peanuts, even in summer, the temperature here wouldn’t go too high, and the ultraviolet rays were strong, so they had to ensure an adequate water supply to grow them well.

Including other crops like corn, a constant water supply was necessary.

She and Ruan Qingsong figured out the best irrigation channels.

Diverting water from upstream, through channels designed by Ruan Qingsong, to continuously flow into the land.

But this was also during periods of abundant water, and they had to wait until the snow melted.

How exactly to dig the channels depended on when the river started flowing again.

Of course, everything they were doing now was in preparation for later planting.

They just waited for the right weather to start farming.

Others followed their example, cultivating other lands, and soon, the previously barren mountain land started to show the beginnings of a settlement.

Mr. Xue was gratified to see all of this.

He became more engrossed in studying and even attended classes with the children, taught by his son.

Ruan Qingsong was the only scholar in the Ruan Family for three generations, and now he passed on all his knowledge, which the children studied earnestly, and Mr. Xue also studied earnestly.

Even Mr. Ruan hadn’t imagined he would still study in his old age.

Ruan Mian commented, "Father is learning even in his old age; knowledge can be gained at any age."

Ruan Qingsong was very pleased, "Although Mianmian hasn’t been to school, she is the smartest girl I have ever known."

He didn’t realize it before, but now he admired his sister more and more.

The family was happily gathered around the stove, yet before long, Mrs. Chen came hurriedly to the door, with her big belly.

"Husband, Mianmian, where’s Rui? I haven’t seen him at all?"

Upon hearing this, Ruan Qingsong stood up immediately, "Rui? Wasn’t he studying here this morning? Where is he?"

"Could he have gone to play with Lin and the others?"

Mrs. Chen shook her head quickly, feeling anxious, "No, I asked them, but none of them have seen Rui. What should we do about this?!"

Shortly after, Lin came over with other children, all looking for Rui.

The child never strayed far, except to play with Lin; he wouldn’t go anywhere else.

But now, he was nowhere to be found for several hours, and the whole family was understandably worried, with Mrs. Chen particularly frightened.

Ruan Mian quickly comforted her, "Sister-in-law, don’t get upset, I’ll go find him with others now; Rui is smart, he won’t run off that easily."

With that, she called Ruan Qing and Shaoxi, and with Yun Xiu, they went to Xie Huai’an’s place first; Vice Minister Dong and the others immediately helped to search.

The other house servants, Mr. Xue, and the other exiled convicts all went out to search.

Even the Jinsha Clan heard and went to the nearby mountains immediately.

But there was still no news, and just when everyone was extremely anxious, Ruan Mian suddenly heard a familiar voice from Mrs. Zhang’s house.

She hurried over and found Rui holding Mrs. Zhang and crying.

On the other side stood Ruan Jiao.

Puzzled, Ruan Mian went forward, her face solemn, staring at Ruan Jiao, "What did you do to Rui?"

As soon as she spoke, Ruan Jiao knelt in front of Ruan Mian with a thud.

"Sister, it wasn’t me!! It was Zheng Zhao’s wife, Zhu Qin’er, who nearly killed Rui!"

Mrs. Zhang spoke as well.

"Mianmian, Rui was brought back by her; she said Zhu Qin’er went mad and took Rui to play, causing Rui to fall into an ice cave. Luckily, she passed by and heard Rui’s cries."

After Mrs. Zhang finished, Ruan Jiao quickly stood up, angrily pointing at Zhu Qin’er not far away.

"That Zhu Qin’er is a madwoman; she lost her son early and went crazy, treating children badly, often bullying them, it’s well-known!!"

"Rui must have been deliberately taken to the ice cave by her, you must seek justice for Rui!"

Following her gaze, Ruan Mian looked at Zhu Qin’er.

She saw the disheveled woman trembling with fear under Ruan Jiao’s accusation, barefoot and at a loss.

She kept shaking her head, saying she didn’t harm him, she didn’t harm him.

Ruan Jiao was furious and abruptly stepped forward to grab her by the collar, "Dare to say you didn’t throw Rui into the ice cave?! I think you’ve gone mad! Where’s your husband?! Call him over!"

When she heard they wanted to call her husband, Zhu Qin’er turned even paler and knelt down, whimpering and shaking her head repeatedly.

Seeing this scene, Ruan Mian glanced at Ruan Jiao a couple more times, finally fixing her gaze on Zhu Qin’er.

Just as she was about to speak, a tall man stepped forward, shielding Zhu Qin’er behind him, and coldly spoke to Ruan Jiao.

"Why are you arguing with a madwoman?"

"Madwoman? If it weren’t for her, our Rui would have fallen into the ice cave. If I hadn’t been lucky enough to find him, wouldn’t our Rui have become a corpse?!"

Ruan Mian found it laughable as Ruan Jiao kept referring to Rui as "our Rui."

The words she was about to say suddenly stopped.

It was clear that Ruan Jiao was putting on a show, and it seemed she performed even better than the southern opera troupe.

She folded her arms and simply stopped speaking.