After leaving her phone number with Jiang Youli, Qi Huan departed the village with his assistant.
Jiang Youli watched Qi Huan leave, her gaze darkening. She took out her phone and dialed a number.
"Ye Ying, investigate the entire Jiang Family in Jing City immediately—especially the details about their daughter. I need the information by tonight."
"Understood, boss."
After hanging up, Jiang Youli's expression grew even more inscrutable.
Uncle Jiang had once told her that on a bitterly cold winter night twenty years ago, as he was retiring and preparing to move to a southern town, he heard the cries of an infant coming from a trash bin.
He stopped to check and found a baby girl, less than a month old, her tiny body flushed red from the freezing cold.
Had her cries not been so loud—and had Uncle Jiang not taken that remote old road—she would have died unnoticed in that trash bin that night.
That baby was her.
Uncle Jiang named her Jiang Youli, meaning "separated from family at a young age."
Until his dying breath, Uncle Jiang never stopped searching for her birth parents.
And she, too, had clung to the hope that they had abandoned her out of some unbearable hardship—that they would one day reclaim her.
But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Her birth parents had no desire to see her, nor did they wish to acknowledge her.
If not for their carefully cherished adopted daughter of twenty years, she might have remained parentless for the rest of her life.
Just then, a voice called from outside:
"Youli, who was that fancy car here to see you?"
It was Uncle Zhou from next door, a man who made his living foraging for medicinal herbs in the mountains.
Jiang Youli pocketed her phone and stepped outside, smiling at the middle-aged man. "Uncle Zhou, to be honest, that was my fiancé."
Uncle Zhou’s eyes widened. "Your fiancé? You’ve got good taste—he’s a handsome one! Why didn’t you invite him to stay for dinner?"
"He had business back in the city. Maybe next time."
"Next time he visits, you must keep him for a meal. The food here is all homegrown—much tastier than anything from the city!"
"Of course, Uncle Zhou."
As Uncle Zhou walked off toward the mountains, sickle and hoe slung over his shoulder, Jiang Youli returned inside to continue sorting the herbs she had gathered.
---
After leaving Jianshan Village, Cheng Jing, the assistant driving the car, glanced at Qi Huan’s calm reflection in the rearview mirror and cautiously spoke up.
"Master, are you truly set on marrying this village healer? As you saw, she’s just an orphan unwanted by her own parents, scraping by selling herbs and practicing rudimentary medicine. Given the recent upheaval you’ve faced, you need allies now more than ever. Marrying her won’t help you secure your position in the Qi Family."
Qi Huan turned his gaze from the fields of medicinal herbs outside the window, his fingers lightly brushing the petals of a purple flower he had plucked from Jiang Youli’s doorstep.
"Cheng Jing, do you remember half a year ago, when the old master was gravely ill and needed an extremely rare herb to sustain his life?"
Cheng Jing wasn’t sure why his master had suddenly brought this up but nodded. "Of course. That herb was auctioned in Jing City’s largest bidding house. You spent a hundred million to secure it."
"Did you not notice that the same priceless herb was casually hanging on the wall of her barren home?" Qi Huan’s tone was laden with meaning.
That single bundle of herbs alone would be worth billions if auctioned in Jing City.
"What?" Cheng Jing was stunned.
From the moment he stepped inside, he had been too preoccupied with how shabby the healer’s home was to notice such a detail.
Now, he finally understood.
"So, Master means to say her identity isn’t as simple as it appears?"
Qi Huan brought the purple flower to his nose and inhaled its scent. "Whether her background is extraordinary or not, I can’t say yet. But her medical skills are certainly no ordinary feat."
Cheng Jing grasped the implication.
If what his master said was true, then there was real hope for his legs to heal.
Still—
"If Master only wants his legs treated, you could simply pay her a hefty sum. There’s no need to marry her." Cheng Jing couldn’t help voicing his doubts.
Qi Huan blinked, twirling the flower between his fingers as a faint smile curved his lips.
"What if I told you I fell for her at first sight? Would you believe me?"
Cheng Jing froze, studying his master’s expression in the mirror again.
His face was composed—not joking, but not entirely serious either.
Yet the young master never joked about such matters.
Unsure how much truth lay in those words, Cheng Jing decided to take them at face value.
"I believe you."
"Good. Then remember—in my eyes, she is already my fiancée. Treat her with the utmost respect from now on."
"Understood."
Qi Huan wasn’t joking.
When it came to matters of the heart, he had no faith in love that blossomed over time.
If there was no spark at first sight, any affection that developed later would only be a calculated arrangement—not the kind of love that set one’s heart racing.
That was why he had agreed to the marriage alliance with Jiang Yonghe, arranged by his grandfather—a decision made purely out of strategic consideration.
But now, the moment he laid eyes on Jiang Youli, the world had spun, everything else fading into gray—except for her, the only burst of color in his vision.
He couldn’t explain why it had to be her.
Perhaps it was the moment their gazes met, the brilliance of the stars in her eyes pulling him into an inescapable whirlpool.
Qi Huan picked up a book from the car seat, carefully pressing the purple flower between its pages before closing it and shutting his eyes.
---
8:00 PM.
Jiang Youli had just finished gathering the herbs drying on the rooftop when her phone rang.
Setting down the bamboo tray, she dusted off her hands and answered.
Ye Ying’s cool voice came through the line.
"Boss, I’ve got the information. The Jiang Family only has one daughter—Jiang Yonghe, born to Jiang Yangxu, the second son of the Jiang Family, and his wife Qin Yulian. She’s the same age as you and is deeply doted on. Two months ago, Jiang Yangxu even secured a prestigious marriage alliance for her—to Qi Huan, the eldest son of the Qi Family, Jing City’s most powerful dynasty. Rumor has it Qi Huan was originally designated as the Qi Family’s heir, but last month, he suffered an accident—his legs were broken, and the succession plans were put on hold."
"What’s Jiang Yonghe like?"
"Her reputation is impeccable—talented, beautiful, the ideal match for many wealthy heirs in Jing City. That’s why she caught the eye of the Qi Family’s patriarch, who approved the marriage."
Talented and beautiful, was she?
Jiang Youli couldn’t help but wonder just how legitimate Jiang Yonghe’s picture-perfect life really was.
"Got it. Now dig deeper—find out if Jiang Yonghe is truly Jiang Yangxu and Qin Yulian’s biological daughter."
"Boss, why the sudden interest in the Jiang Family—especially their daughter? What are you planning?"
"Planning to go home and claim my birthright."
A glint of amusement flickered in Jiang Youli’s deep, calculating eyes.
The identity of the Jiang Family’s true heiress sounded like an interesting new role to play.
After all, she had many faces.
The most frequently used identity of hers was that of a rural herbalist and healer.
Her daily life revolved around assisting retired biology research experts in the village to cultivate new medicinal herbs and develop novel remedies.
Over the years, she had successfully bred twenty rare medicinal plants.
Due to their extremely low yield, these herbs commanded exorbitant prices.
A single specimen auctioned in Jing City could fetch anywhere from a few million to over a hundred million.
Beyond this, she was also a master of ancient medical techniques. For ordinary villagers, she charged standard consultation fees, but when summoned by elite families or influential figures, her starting fee was ten million per visit.
Of course, she guaranteed complete recovery for every case she took—otherwise, she wouldn’t accept a single penny.
This identity alone had made her immensely wealthy, to the point where money meant nothing to her.
So, when her ex-boyfriend Zhang Jinghan—no, Duan Jinghan—claimed she wasn’t worthy of him, a scion of a wealthy family, it was downright laughable.
Laughable, because if she wanted, she could establish herself as a new powerhouse in Jing City, independent and beholden to no one.
After years of cycling through her various identities, she was now ready to try something new.
And besides…
She had to admit, she admired Qi Huan.
Among all the patients she had treated, none had faced sudden, debilitating illness with such composure.
A man of such formidable mental strength was destined for greatness.
Someone so handsome and capable—wasn’t it a shame for him to remain wheelchair-bound?
So, she would cure his legs.
Ye Ying quickly grasped her intention, his usually cool voice tinged with urgency. "Understood, boss. I’ll investigate further immediately."
Late at night.
Jiang Youli was deep in sleep when the sound of splintering wood jolted her awake.
Instinctively alert, she turned toward the door.
Anyone visiting at this hour without announcing themselves was unlikely to be a villager.
A wild animal?
She had scattered beast-repelling herbs around her house—almost no creature dared approach.
That left only one possibility: an intruder.
Silently, she rose and tiptoed to the door, waiting in the moonlight.
Soon, the weathered wooden door was kicked open, and a shadowy figure barged in.
Jiang Youli hadn’t expected such brute force—no stealth, just outright aggression. With a flick of her wrist, she sent a silver needle flying toward the intruder.
"Ugh—"
A grunt, then the figure collapsed unconscious.
She switched on the light, flooding the room with brightness.
After shoving the intruder aside with her foot, she got a clear look at his face—the visage of a hardened criminal.
She fetched a coil of rope, knelt beside him, and swiftly bound his hands and feet.
Once secured, she pricked his neck with another needle from her kit.
Moments later, he stirred awake.
Jiang Youli sat cross-legged on the bed, twirling a silver needle between her fingers. "Speak honestly if you want to avoid suffering. Who sent you?"
The man quickly assessed his predicament. "The employer contacted me anonymously. Who’d reveal their identity for a hit job? They promised me safe passage abroad if I… violated you."
Jiang Youli let out a cold "Oh," her gaze sharpening.
Smuggled abroad?
So, a fugitive.
The man pleaded, "I’ve told you everything I know. Let me go, and I’ll walk away from this job."
Jiang Youli nodded. "Fine."
She uncrossed her legs, approached him, yanked out the needle, and untied his bonds. "You’re free to leave."
The man rubbed his wrists. "Good—"
Mid-word, his expression twisted. He lunged, aiming a kick at her knee.
But—
His foot barely lifted before a searing pain shot through his ankle, followed by full-body paralysis.
Terrified, he looked down to see a small black snake coiled around his leg, its fangs sunk into his flesh.
"A snake… How—?"
Blood gushed from his throat before he could finish. His burly frame stiffened, then toppled. A few spasms later, he lay motionless.
Jiang Youli smirked. "Trying to kill me on my own turf? You brought this on yourself."
"Alright, Little Black, go rest now."
The serpent slithered into the shadows and vanished.
She grabbed a hoe, stuffed the corpse into a bamboo basket, and hoisted it effortlessly onto her back.
She buried the body near her vegetable patch—let it nourish the medicinal herbs.
With the task done, Jiang Youli exhaled, dusted her hands, and gazed at the nearly full moon overhead.
Heh. The moment her identity came to light, someone sent a rapist after her?
Seemed like an early "welcome gift."
