Seeing this scene unfold, the mix of anger and lingering fear inside Yun Zhu suddenly dissipated, replaced by a sense of faint amusement.
In her memories, this younger son of the eldest branch was a penny-pinching miser who valued money more than his own life.
Yet he was remarkably generous toward Yiyi, always bringing back delicious treats or fun trinkets for her whenever he went out.
After examining Lu Zifeng thoroughly, the physician said, “His life is not in danger, but he has lost a great deal of blood. He must rest and recover carefully for a few days.”
Only then did the heavy hearts of Lu Jinghai and Lady Yang settle back down, and they thanked the physician repeatedly.
“Little Sister, how do you plan to handle these people?” The fat thug pointed at the bound Lady Zhao and her companions as he asked.
Yun Zhu cast a cool glance at Lady Zhao, who was still unconscious.
This old hag had harmed Yiyi time and time again; she could not be spared!
However, murder was a capital crime. How could she dispose of her secretly without raising suspicion?
Seeing Yun Zhu remain silent in deep thought, the fat thug said, “Little Sister, do you have some misgivings?”
Yun Zhu feigned hesitation, appearing caught in a dilemma: “Lady Zhao has attempted to take my daughter’s life multiple times. It would be a lie to say I don’t hate her… Although our family ties are severed now, she was, after all, my mother-in-law in name…”
“And here I thought it was something serious!” The fat thug laughed, then dismissed it with a wave of his hand. “This woman conspired with thugs to break into an inn and cause trouble. Isn’t it only natural if she succumbs to the interrogation under torture while in jail?”
Seeing that Yun Zhu still wore a look of hesitation, the fat thug waved his broad hand dismissively: “Little Sister, you’re too soft-hearted! I’ll take care of this matter!”
Yun Zhu personally escorted the fat thug and the physician out of the inn, taking out a small porcelain vial filled with tap water from her pocket dimension.
“Brother, this bottle contains a liquid medicine that can completely cure your epilepsy. Take three drops every morning and evening. Once you finish this bottle, you should be fully recovered.”
The fat thug was overjoyed and took the vial with extreme care: “Little Sister, you truly are my great benefactor! My family name is Tu, and I’m called Tu Er. From now on, you’re my sworn sister! If you ever run into trouble in Daliang County, come straight to Yingchun Brothel to find me!”
“Thank you, Brother Tu!” Yun Zhu offered her sincere thanks.
When Yun Zhu returned inside the inn, she saw the innkeeper offering apologies to Lu Jinghai and Lady Yang with a look of regret.
Earlier, when Lady Zhao’s group had rushed in so aggressively, he and the waiter had been terrified and hid away. Only now, seeing that the matter was resolved, did they dare to come out.
Lu Jinghai and Lady Yang were both reasonable people. Lu Jinghai said, “This matter arose because of us, so we cannot blame you, Innkeeper. If anything, we broke the tables and chairs in your shop…”
“It’s no trouble, no trouble at all,” the innkeeper waved his hands in haste. “I’ll just have the waiter repair them later.”
These people were guests whom even Tu Er of Yingchun Brothel greeted with smiles—how would he dare demand compensation from them?
Yun Zhu asked the innkeeper to open another room for Lu Zibin to take care of the unconscious Lu Zifeng, while she took her daughter back to their room.
The little girl did not sleep peacefully. Yun Zhu pulled her daughter into her arms, yet she remained wide awake for a long time.
Recalling the natural disasters and human calamities from her dream, deep worry surged in her heart.
Tonight’s incident had served as a stark reminder.
Her daughter was so small; if they truly encountered those dangerous situations from the dream, she feared she might not be able to protect her daughter on her own.
She had to teach her daughter some emergency self-defense skills…
When Yun Zhu and her daughter went downstairs the next morning, they saw Lady Yang and Lu Jinghai already sitting below.
“Elder Brother, Sister-in-Law, how are your injuries?” Yun Zhu asked.
“It’s quite strange,” Lu Jinghai said. “Yesterday, my whole body throbbed with pain, but when I woke up today, I found that the bruises on my body were nearly gone.”
“The injury on my forehead is the same—it’s already starting to scab over,” Lady Yang added in amazement. “That physician from Yingchun Brothel is truly remarkable.”
Yun Zhu paused for a moment.
Last night, worried that her brother-in-law and sister-in-law might have suffered internal injuries, she had fed them tap water from her pocket dimension. She hadn’t expected the effect to be so pronounced.
“How is Zifeng doing?” Yun Zhu asked again.
“He woke up in the middle of the night,” Lady Yang said, both exasperated and amused. “Once he realized we were staying in an inn, he started making a fuss about going back. He’s quite energetic!”
Where was there any trace of that terrifying state he was in when he was carried back last night?
Yun Zhu couldn’t help but laugh softly.
Without a doubt, Lu Zifeng was simply aching over the spent money.
“Once we finish breakfast later, let’s head back to the village. There are still two *mu* of rice fields left to harvest,” Lu Jinghai said, his heart already flying back to the village now that his son was rescued from prison.
“Elder Brother,” Yun Zhu said, “haven’t our rice crops already been harvested?”
Reminded by Yun Zhu, Lady Yang also came to her senses: “That’s right! The few *mu* of land allocated to us were harvested long ago. What’s left doesn’t belong to us! Since family ties are severed, why should we help them harvest their grain?”
“Sister-in-Law is right!” Yun Zhu smiled. “Besides, I’ve already paid for two nights at this inn. Staying for only one night is far too wasteful. Why not stay another night so we can take our time exploring Daliang County town?”
Supported by Lu Zibin, Lu Zifeng limped downstairs just in time to hear this, and hastily chimed in: “Second Aunt is right, we can’t waste money!”
Lady Yang said in displeasure, “With such a large family, do we not need to eat and drink in this county seat? Where doesn’t cost money?”
Even taking a bath in this inn required extra coppers.
“Mother, you don’t need to worry about that!” Lu Zifeng said with great pride. “There’s a Huanglong Temple in Daliang County. The vegetarian meals there are delicious and completely free. Every time I come to the county, I go to Huanglong Temple to eat—they serve two meals a day!”
Lady Yang’s eyes lit up: “It really costs no money?”
When the family ties were severed, neither of their branches had been allocated any grain. The new grain needed to be saved to exchange for silver and coarse grains; if there were free vegetarian meals to eat, they could save two days’ worth of food.
Lu Jinghai also looked eager: “Speaking of which, your eldest brother doesn’t know that Zifeng is out yet. How about we wait for him?”
Yun Zhu: “…”
They truly were one family!
After breakfast, accompanied by endless instructions and warnings from Lu Jinghai and his wife, Yun Zhu took her daughter out of the inn.
Before long, Lu Zibin drove the ox cart to take his parents to the academy to find Lu Zimo, leaving only the injured Lu Zifeng—who had trouble moving his leg—behind at the inn.
Yun Zhu had gathered a general layout of Daliang County from Tu Er last night. After leaving the inn, she took her daughter straight to the eastern quarter, as it ran along the river and boasted a wharf.
“Wow, there are so many people in the county town!”
Along the way, Lu Yiyi found everything novel and fascinating, calling out happily to Yun Zhu from time to time.
“Mother, the buildings here are so tall!”
“Mother, look, look! It’s a big carriage!”
“Mother, that person’s clothes are so pretty!”
“…”
The closer they drew to the wharves, the more horse-drawn carriages passed by.
Seeing a vessel moored by the riverbank from afar, Lu Yiyi gasped: “Mother, Mother, is that the big ship you talked about?”
Yun Zhu smiled and replied, “It is!”
It was also Yun Zhu’s first time seeing a ship from this dynasty. Unlike modern steamships, this was a multi-story river ship several yards high.
It was magnificent and grand.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Yun Zhu caught sight of a dark shadow hurtling toward her daughter. Reacting with lightning speed, she pulled her daughter to the side.
With a loud *thud*, a tall figure collapsed right onto the spot where Lu Yiyi had been standing just a moment before.