Chapter 184

Chapter 184

Mrs. Zhang saw Sun Anyuan here and immediately pursed her lips, "Sun Anyuan, when did you arrive? You’re so sneaky."

Sun Anyuan glanced at Lin Chunyan, then turned to Mrs. Zhang with a forced smile, "Aunt, I came to deliver something, just arrived."

Mrs. Zhang was still thinking about what Lin Chunyan had said earlier, thinking Sun Anyuan was a decent man, always taking her words to heart. She wondered if Lin Chunyan would still be so attentive after talking to him.

Most likely not, what a pity.

Lin Chunyan stepped forward, noticing the lingering excitement on Mrs. Zhang's face, and asked, "Mother, what were you saying just now?"

Mrs. Zhang leaned in mysteriously, immediately forgetting about Sun Anyuan, and whispered to her, "Xing Hua has returned!"

Lin Chunyan was momentarily dazed, but upon hearing the name Xing Hua, she finally believed what Sun Anyuan had said.

Indeed, Bian City was in chaos, and who knows if that King Zhao was even alive anymore. Xing Hua had managed to get away.

Lin Chunyan finally smiled—this was truly great news.

Mrs. Zhang, however, looked at her strangely, "Why are you smiling like that? When I saw her earlier, I was so excited I jumped! It’s been a while since we last saw her, but she’s still as beautiful as ever."

Lin Chunyan lifted the curtain and went out to find Zhao Xing Hua. At a glance, she saw Zhao Xing Hua and another person sitting in the corner of the hall, along with Zhou Wanniang and Jiming, who had been found by Wang Yingniang.

This saved her some trouble.

Lin Chunyan quickly walked over. Clearly, Zhou Wanniang and Zhao Xing Hua had already recognized each other, though their veils were still on. From a distance, their figures looked identical, and they were embracing each other in tears.

As she approached, Zhao Xing Hua's slightly choked voice reached her, "Yan Niang!"

Lin Chunyan couldn’t help but tear up as well.

Being able to meet again was truly a miracle. She quickly stepped forward, taking Zhao Xing Hua's hand in one hand and Zhou Wanniang's in the other, leading them to the backyard.

"It’s too crowded and noisy out here, let’s talk in the back."

Their commotion had already drawn the attention of several customers. Zhao Xing Hua and Zhou Wanniang obediently followed Lin Chunyan.

Li Daniang, however, didn’t follow them. She just glanced at the shop and Mrs. Zhang, who had followed them out, and said she needed to go see Li Niangzi.

"I should go check on her too. If anything comes up, you can find me there."

Zhao Xing Hua nodded, her eyes filled with reluctance as she watched Li Daniang walk away.

She had come to rely on Li Daniang during the journey and now felt a bit lost without her.

Once they entered the backyard, the small courtyard quickly filled with people. Lin Cuixiang and the others were still shaken from the earlier chaos, their expressions uneasy, barely managing to support each other as they stood up.

Lin Taohong, oblivious to everything, was the most lively, "You’re finally back! Those awful days are over. You have no idea how much Wanniang and Lihua cried when you were gone. They’ll be so happy to know you’re back!"

Zhao Xing Hua and Zhou Wanniang sat together, hands tightly clasped, and couldn’t help but laugh at Lin Taohong’s words.

They were mischievous too, deliberately removing their veils at the same time, revealing two identical faces.

Someone gasped, looking back and forth between Zhou Wanniang and Zhao Xing Hua in utter shock.

"They look exactly the same!"

"No wonder you two were wearing veils!"

Zhao Xinghua's eyes had been moist from the start, and she greedily looked at the familiar faces around her, calling out their names one by one.

Zhou Wanniang, standing beside her, was in a similar state, and the two of them cried for a while longer before stopping.

"Don't cry anymore, your eyes will hurt soon," the people around them advised. "This is something to celebrate!"

Zhou Wanniang wiped her tears and nodded vigorously, "I won't cry anymore, but these tears just won't stop."

After saying this, she looked at Zhao Xinghua, who was in a similar state, both with red-rimmed eyes, and could only hold her hand and ask, "You haven't told us how you came back yet, why didn't you write a letter first?"

Zhao Xinghua sniffled and recounted what had happened that day, "The Hu household was suddenly thrown into chaos, and it was thanks to the young servant who came to deliver the news, otherwise we wouldn't have known what was happening, and more people might have died."

Li Daniang was very familiar with the Hu household. Seeing soldiers already surrounding the side gate, she quickly grabbed Zhao Xinghua and ran. She remembered a secluded courtyard in the side yard, usually deserted, with an apricot tree blooming outward.

They dashed inside in desperation, fearing the soldiers outside would close in on them, and didn't care if the tree would scratch their clothes or hands. Fortunately, both Zhao Xinghua and Li Daniang knew how to climb trees.

After scaling the tree, they shut their eyes and leapt down. The streets were in turmoil, with everyone seemingly aware that something major had occurred, running desperately towards their homes.

Bearing the pain, Zhao Xinghua trailed Li Daniang into a nearby alley. Just as they hid, they heard the uniform footsteps of soldiers.

They had already surrounded the area.

Whenever Zhao Xinghua recalled this, a wave of fear washed over her. If they had been delayed even a little, they wouldn't have been able to escape.

Even though it had been a while, she still dreamed of these scenes, either unable to climb the tree or being caught just as she climbed up.

The listeners' hearts were gripped with tension, and seeing everyone on the verge of tears again, Zhao Xinghua quickly comforted them, "It's all better now. After we left the Hu household, we didn't dare to wander around. Thanks to Li Daniang's contacts, such as the vegetable and water vendors, we managed to get out of the city with some effort."

After escaping, they didn't dare to delay for a moment, mingling with the refugees and carriages, and later met a boatman they knew, who brought them all the way back.

After finishing her story, Zhao Xinghua looked at Lin Chunyan and the others and said, "On our journey here, we passed many areas that, while not yet in chaos, were teetering on the brink. I just don't know if our place will also fall into chaos?"

Earlier, Zhao Zilan and Lin Cuixiang had already felt their legs go weak upon hearing Sun Anyuan's words and hadn't recovered yet, feeling as if a stone was pressing on their hearts. Hearing Zhao Xinghua's words, Lin Cuixiang was the first to cry.

What chaos meant, these young ladies also knew.

The room suddenly fell silent, only the lively chatter from the front of the shop could be heard. Even Mrs. Zhang, who had been listening intently, stared wide-eyed for a long time before speaking.

"Oh dear!" She clutched her panicked chest, "What should we do? Let's close the shop and go home first!"

She spun around in place, and Lin Taohong followed her, the earlier joy completely gone, her face turning pale.

Everyone was terrified, some crying, others biting their fingers in confusion, and finally, all eyes fell on Lin Chunyan.

She was their pillar of strength, the most resourceful among them.

Yes, there was still Lin Chunyan!

"Don't worry," Lin Chunyan also received their gazes and forced a smile, "We are far from Bian City, it probably won't reach us for a while. If we don't say anything, who would know that the outside world is already in chaos?"

Even those princes vying for power probably don't want the whole world to fall into chaos.

A small-scale coup is still within their control, but if everything falls into chaos, a new regime would have to be established.

"Right, it won't reach us for a while!" Mrs. Zhang seemed to have taken a calming pill after hearing this, "If a war really breaks out, we'll just hide in the mountains!"

Thinking of this, Mrs. Zhang suddenly wasn't afraid anymore, "That place where we found Huai Zi last time, not even outsiders, but even people from our own village can't find it!"

The mountains are vast, with many hidden caves, indeed a good place to hide.

Mrs. Zhang's words finally put everyone at ease.

Lin Chunyan told Mrs. Zhang to keep comforting them and said to Zhou Wanniang, "I wonder if Madam Bai and the others got caught up in it. If they can escape, they might return in the next few days."

Zhou Wanniang was also worried about Madam Bai. When Zhao Xinghua ran back, she had considered checking on the Hu family, but Li Daniang stopped her, telling her not to speak carelessly along the way.

None of them knew if King Zhao would end up on top. If that were the case, her coming back now would be risky.

But if she didn't return, in such chaotic times, they might never see each other again.

They had been on edge the whole way.

Zhao Xinghua prayed every day for King Zhao to lose. Now that she had escaped, she never wanted to go back.

"We still need to stockpile food," Lin Chunyan felt that food was the most important. As long as they had food, they wouldn't panic.

There was still some food in the basement, but Lin Chunyan didn’t want to dip into it, thinking it would be safer to buy more.

"Our family might need to grab some too," Zhao Zilan said anxiously. "I'll tell my father when I get back."

"Go tell him now. We’ve only got a slight head start. If we wait too long, it might be hard to buy food."

Lin Cuixiang thought about the food they still had at home and felt they might not need to buy too much, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Sun Anyuan, who hadn't left yet, said when he saw Lin Chunyan planning to buy more food, "It's good to buy more, but don't worry too much. I don't think the chaos will reach us here."

He didn’t want them to panic.

"Yeah, better safe than sorry," Lin Chunyan sighed in relief.

She acted quickly, taking Erlang with her to the grain shop. The shopkeeper, who knew them well, didn’t think much of it when they showed up. "Is business at the establishment going well recently? Are you using more grain?"

Lin Chunyan nodded, but the amount she requested was unusually large. "We need it for the mountains too."

Although the shopkeeper found it strange, he still gave her the amount she asked for.

"I think one cart might not be enough to carry it all back."

"It's fine, someone will help us carry it back later."

Sure enough, three carriages arrived shortly after. Sun Anyuan and Da Zhuang peeked out from the first two, while the Village Headman came from the last one.

Zhao Zilan almost ran all the way home, first finding her father as instructed by Lin Chunyan, and then dragging Dog Dan's Father to the Village Headman's house.

When the matter was brought up, both the Village Headman and Dog Dan's Father were stunned, but they thought Lin Chunyan wasn't the type to speak carelessly, so it must be true.

As for whether the chaos would reach them, no one knew, but they feared the day it might.

The Village Headman drove his own carriage over, loaded it with a full cart of grain, and headed back.

The grain on Lin Chunyan's cart wasn't just for them but also for Tutor Duan, Mrs. Song, and others from the establishment.

Everyone wanted to stock up.

After several trips, they finally finished transporting all the grain. By then, others had also heard about the chaos in Bian City.

Suddenly, the number of people coming to buy grain at the shop increased dramatically. Seeing this, the shopkeeper didn't dare to sell too much, knowing that if chaos really broke out, grain prices would likely rise significantly.

He also remembered that Lin Chunyan had come early to buy a lot of grain, probably knowing that chaos was coming!

Many of the people eating at Lin’s establishment suddenly left in a hurry, all rushing back to figure out what to do.

However, Zhang Xiaojiu and Mashi from the neighboring shop were not too worried. Their village was more remote, and most of the grain they had, apart from what was used for taxes, was kept in storage.

"We should head back and let them know, just to be safe," Zhang Xiaojiu said without delay. He instructed Mashi to lock the doors and windows before going to bed and hurriedly headed home.

Zhang Xiaomei tagged along with him.

Along the way, she grumbled, "We’ve just started living a good life, and now the world is in chaos."

"This kind of thing has happened before," Zhang Xiaojiu said, having heard of such events before. "It happens every few decades."

Zhang Xiaomei asked Zhang Xiaojiu, "Uncle, are you planning to stay in town from now on?"

Zhang Xiaojiu had that in mind, but he didn’t have enough money for it right away, so he could only rent a place temporarily.

Zhang Xiaomei was envious. "I wish our family could move here too, so we could all be together."

"Your father’s too set in his ways for that," Zhang Xiaojiu said, knowing Old Uncle Zhang’s conservative and rigid nature. "I’ll try to talk to him about it when I get back."

Although Zhang Xiaojiu acted no differently than usual, he had a knife at his waist and another in his pack. Having handled the goods so many times, he was no longer the naive young man he once was.

Whether their area would fall into chaos or not, no one could say for sure, but there were bound to be people trying to take advantage of the situation.

Even on normal days, there were plenty of robbers and thieves about, let alone during times like these.

That’s why Lin Chunyan didn’t refuse when Sun Anyuan offered to help bring the grain back.

This wasn’t the time to stand on ceremony.

After the grain was hauled back, Lin Chunyan stashed it all in the cellar. Just as she finished organizing it, the Village Headman arrived.

On his way over, he couldn’t help but think about how, among so many villagers, he had somehow gotten used to seeking Lin Chunyan’s advice.

A few elderly villagers were sitting in their house, all of them advanced in years. After hearing the news, they were also very anxious.

The Village Headman came to see Lin Chunyan alone.

Seeing Sun Anyuan there, the Village Headman felt a bit relieved. "Sun Anyuan, you’ve seen more of the outside world and just returned. Do you think chaos could reach us here?"

Sun Anyuan shared the same thoughts as Zhang Xiaojiu. "Better safe than sorry. Even if chaos doesn’t break out, there will likely be people trying to take advantage of the situation."

Especially since their village, though small, had grown wealthier. Even the butchers were booked until the New Year.

How could people from surrounding villages not envy them?

The Village Headman’s heart sank further. As Sun Anyuan said, he wasn’t really afraid of chaos breaking out, as they could always retreat to the mountains. What he feared was that even if chaos didn’t come, troublemakers might still cause problems.

Lin Chunyan was also worried about this, especially since most of the workers at her place were young ladies. If something happened, it would be hard to explain.

"What if we built a wall around the village?" Lin Chunyan suggested. "Our village isn’t that big, and the west and east sides are already bordered by mountains."

Their village was essentially sandwiched between two mountains, with only the north side completely exposed.

The Village Headman pondered this. "Building it won’t be easy."

After careful consideration, he couldn’t think of any other solutions. "I’ll go back and discuss it with the others."

Lin Chunyan nodded and watched as the Village Headman left.

Sun Anyuan thought that building a wall would indeed be a good idea, "At least it would keep most folks out."

The main problem was finding enough stones, but they could plant a row of trees to form a living fence, similar to how they planted trees along the roadsides.

These trees needed to be tall and preferably survive after being transplanted, so they could continue to grow taller over time.

Uncle Lin (the second uncle) and Uncle Lin (the third uncle) also came over and, after hearing Lin Chunyan's suggestion, said, "That's a good idea. If the Village Headman and the others aren’t on board, we can start by planting trees in our area."

The mountains were abundant with such trees, and considering the trees planted along the roadsides last time, Uncle Lin felt somewhat confident.

Uncle Lin also offered to help, expressing some regret, "If only we had built the house earlier, we've just found the right people."

"Once this is over, we can still build. We’ve got to keep living our lives as usual."

Lin Chunyan thought it over and decided to keep the shop open these days, planning to return to the village and hide only if something really happened.

Moreover, keeping the shop open would keep us in the loop.

Mrs. Zhang disagreed, "What's the point of keeping the shop open at a time like this? We’ve got plenty of food."

She wished everyone would hide now and come out only when peace was restored.

"Let's wait a few days, and I'll also go to the local government office to gather some information," Sun Anyuan reassured them, "They naturally have more information than we do."

Lin Chunyan thanked him, considering how he had been helping all day, and asked if his family needed any grain, "Sorry to have kept you. If your family is short, you can take some from us."

"We have enough at home," Sun Anyuan replied with a slight blush, "Don’t sweat it."

Lin Chunyan didn't want him to help in vain, so she offered to walk him out, planning to share her thoughts.

If he really couldn’t handle it, there was no need to keep wasting time coming over.

Mrs. Zhang's eyes flickered, knowing what Lin Chunyan was about to say, but she didn't stop her, only reminding her not to go too far, "Dinner’s almost ready."

As soon as Wang Yingniang returned, she busied herself in the kitchen, which made her feel better. When Mrs. Zhang came out to check, she found that Wang Yingniang had already started making stir-fried noodles.

Stir-fried noodles were simple but never tiring to eat. After stir-frying the shredded meat with various seasonings, adding bean sprouts and dried tofu, and then pouring in hot water to sizzle.

Then add noodles and a few leaves of bok choy, and once the noodles are cooked, it's ready to eat.

This dish really hits the spot when you’re feeling under the weather or just not hungry.

The village was clearly on edge, and even the children who usually ran around the streets felt the tension, obediently going home when told by the adults, without the usual stubbornness.

The usual smoke rising from the chimneys at fixed times was less, making the village seem as if it had fallen into a deep sleep.

Sun Anyuan also sensed that Lin Chunyan had something to say and followed her to Sanlang's pond.

"I've been meaning to tell you this for a while, and it would be unfair not to clarify," Lin Chunyan took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

Sun Anyuan's heart began to sink, already imagining what Lin Chunyan was about to say.

Was she in love with someone else and didn't want him to come around anymore?

This was what Sun Anyuan feared most. He wasn't afraid of Lin Chunyan rejecting him, but of her not even giving him a chance.

Moreover, he knew how wonderful Lin Chunyan was, and there were quite a few who wanted to marry her, but none met her standards.

She was like a gust of wind, impossible to catch.

Sun Anyuan had already made up his mind. He didn’t think about holding onto Lin Chunyan—after all, the wind is free. He just wanted to be by her side.

Lin Chunyan noticed that in just a short while, Sun Anyuan’s face had taken on a bitter smile, as if waiting for Lin Chunyan to pass a verdict. She laughed first, “Do you know what I’m going to say?”

Sun Anyuan nodded subconsciously, “We’ve talked about this before. You gave me a chance to get to know each other. Now that we’ve spent some time together, do you think I’m not suitable?”

He had been traveling as a bodyguard for years—what young lady could put up with that?

“That’s not it. It’s more about my own issues. I thought it would be better to clarify things with you early on,” Lin Chunyan said without hesitation. “I never planned on getting married. I always felt that everyone was just a passerby to me.”

She always felt like she was playing a real game, where these people were just NPCs without any real depth.

Later, she realized she was wrong. Everyone has people and things they like or dislike; they are all so real.

After spending more time together, Lin Chunyan went from being impatient and disliking them to completely treating them as her own family. She was changing too.

Maybe being with someone isn’t such a bad idea.

“But even though my thoughts have changed now, I absolutely will not have children, and that will never change! You might think I’m a bit odd, maybe even a little crazy.”

Lin Chunyan didn’t want to explain much more. “I know this might be asking too much. Not only will I not have children myself, but I also won’t tolerate any illegitimate children, because what I can’t stand the most is betrayal.”

After getting all that off her chest, Lin Chunyan felt much lighter. She looked up at Sun Anyuan’s gaze and found that apart from the initial surprise, his expression had actually improved.

Sun Anyuan didn’t want children either—he never had the idea of continuing the family line. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have remained unmarried at this age.

“I know that if I say I don’t mind now, you might not believe me and would ask me to think carefully. But—there’s still a lot of time ahead, and you will eventually know that I truly feel this way.”

Sun Anyuan felt much more relaxed. The worst thought—that Lin Chunyan didn’t fancy him—was dismissed, and the only thought left in his mind was that Lin Chunyan was willing to marry him.

Sun Anyuan couldn’t hold back his smile, which gradually grew wider and deeper, giving Lin Chunyan goosebumps.

“Are you okay?” Lin Chunyan asked, hugging her arms. “You seem a bit off.”

Sun Anyuan coughed, trying to suppress his smile. “I’m okay, Yan Niang.”

This was the first time he called her Yan Niang, and after saying it, his face turned red, much like the setting sun.

From a distance, Qian Niangzi and Guan Dalang, who came to ask about the situation, saw them and stared in their direction. Guan Dalang didn’t know what they were talking about, but he could see Sun Anyuan’s usually serious face blooming with smiles.

“Mother, do all young ladies like this kind of thing?” Guan Dalang pointed from afar. “I usually smile like this too. Why doesn’t Yingniang give me a good look?”

Guan Dalang felt his smile was off as he watched, and he made several smiles into the air. “Is this better? Would Yingniang like it?”

Qian Niangzi almost rolled her eyes. “What time is it now? We should be thinking of ways to get by, not studying how people smile!”

Mrs. Zhang had been waiting at the door for Lin Chunyan to return and asked her first, “How did it go? Did you make it clear?”

Lin Chunyan nodded. “But he seems a bit silly now, keeps smiling foolishly. I noticed he can’t even walk steadily.”

Mrs. Zhang was also puzzled. “Could he have been scared out of his wits? Oh dear, what if such a fine young man really becomes silly?”

But then she thought, if he really became silly, maybe he wouldn’t care about having children or not.

When the Village Headman went back to discuss the matter with the elders of the village, it wasn’t very smooth. Their village wasn’t particularly large, but enclosing the entire village wasn’t a simple task.

“Besides, we don’t even know if the trouble will reach us! And that’s Bian City—how could it just fall into chaos? It must be everyone spreading rumors!”

“How could it just be rumors!” the Village Headman sighed. “Xing Hua has already fled back from Bian City. She was originally sold to Bian City.”

"Ah?" These elders naturally knew Zhao Xinghua. Thinking that she managed to make it back from Bian City, they knew that it must be very chaotic there.

"And she happened to meet her own sister on the way. Do you remember when Xinghua’s mother brought her back? It was strange at the time—where had she brought this daughter from? And she wouldn't say when asked."

"What a mess, she really did bring back a child! But this Xinghua is also very fortunate and has a great destiny!"

After talking about this for a while, the Village Headman stood up, "The issue with the wall isn't something that can be explained in just a few words. Since that's the case, let's hold a meeting at the threshing ground tomorrow to discuss this matter."

Lin Taohong came back to pack her things and went to Lihua’s family first to tell them about Zhao Xinghua's return. Lihua was skeptical at first and had to ask several times before she was convinced.

Mrs. Zhao, standing nearby, chanted, "Amitabha, the Bodhisattva has truly blessed us!"

Lihua was almost eager to run to the town to find Xinghua at this moment, "She really has a sister now and doesn't need me anymore, she didn't even come to see me first after returning."

Her voice dripped with resentment.

"You should let her take it easy," Lin Taohong remembered that Zhao Xinghua had just learned about her mother's death, "After all, she raised her."

She had both hated and cared for her mother, never expecting her to end up like this. Nor did she anticipate her father, who always put on a good front, remarrying so swiftly.

Zhao Xinghua hadn't digested it all yet.

And she still had to follow Zhou Wanniang to meet Old Lady Wang.

Back at the Hu household, things were also unsettled. Li Niangzi was naturally thrilled to see her master, but her joy turned to worry upon hearing of the chaos in Bian City.

"Where is the junior sister? Didn't she come along?"

It turned out that Li Daniang had kept Jiang Jinyao from venturing out, limiting her to the vicinity of Bian City, with the thought that she might be of help in the future if the opportunity arose.

Who could have predicted things would escalate so quickly? "There was no time to send a letter, and now I have no idea where she is. I had told her to wait and even arranged for a trusted boatman, but he didn’t see her either."

Li Daniang sighed, "After hearing about the goings-on in your household, could it be that your family’s old lady caught wind of something early on?"

Otherwise, why would Young Master Wang abruptly halt his preparations for the imperial exams?