Lu Zifeng opened the bundle and saw the two hundred taels meant for travel expenses. He originally intended to decline, but suddenly thought of something, rolled his eyes, and accepted it with a mischievous grin: “I got it, Second Aunt! You and Yiyi head back to the inn quickly and don’t wander around outside. Go back early tomorrow.”
When he returned, he would definitely be able to repay Second Aunt double the silver!
“Be careful on your way! If you run into danger, don’t try to be a hero—run if you can, and hide if you can’t,” Yun Zhu instructed again, still feeling uneasy.
“Second Aunt, you can put your heart right back in your chest!” Lu Zifeng patted his chest and guaranteed, “I cherish my life more than anyone else. Just wait for me to bring back good news!”
“Alright, hurry inside to get your travel permit,” Yun Zhu urged.
*If we truly reach the stage of fleeing as refugees, what good news could there possibly be?*
Watching Lu Zifeng enter the magistrate’s office, Yun Zhu then turned around and left with her daughter.
“Mother, where are we going?” Yiyi asked.
Yun Zhu bent down to straighten her daughter’s lapel and said mysteriously, “How about Mother puts some makeup on you and we change into new clothes to go shopping?”
To make it convenient to hand over the fever medicine, cold medicine, and anti-inflammatory medicine from her pocket dimension to Lu Zifeng, she had specifically gone to a pharmacy to buy some medicine and small porcelain vials for packaging. At the same time, she inquired about the herbs in critical shortage in this dynasty, concluding that this business was indeed viable.
However, since they had already sold a vanity mirror in the county town before, she planned to keep a low profile this time and disguise themselves.
An hour later, Yun Zhu, dressed as a man, led her “son” out of the largest pharmacy in Daliang County, holding a heavy cloth bag in her hand.
These three hundred and twenty taels were exchanged by selling two wild insam roots and a piece of fleeceflower root.
The pharmacy manager was also a knowledgeable merchant who recognized at a glance that the insam and fleeceflower roots produced from her pocket dimension were of supreme quality, offering a high price.
“Mother, I want to eat the Cherry Pork and Braised Lion’s Head Meatballs we had last time.”
Yiyi tilted her head up slightly to look at her mother, her small mouth pressed together lightly, looking expectant yet coaxing.
Seeing her daughter state her requests so openly, Yun Zhu readily agreed with joy: “No problem, we’ll go to Zuixiao Restaurant right now!”
By the time the mother and daughter arrived at Zuixiao Restaurant, they had changed back to their original appearances. Manager Qin was delighted to see them and personally led them up to the second floor.
Just as they were about to step into their private room, the door of the adjacent private room suddenly opened, and a middle-aged man walked out with a young woman wrapped in his arm.
Seeing Yun Zhu, the young woman suddenly screamed hysterically: “Lady Yun—”
Catching a silhouette pouncing toward her out of the corner of her eye, Yun Zhu instinctively scooped up her daughter to dodge to the side, extending her leg to trip the woman.
With a loud *thud*, the young woman tumbled heavily to the floor.
“Lan’er!” Seeing this, the man hurriedly stepped forward to help the young woman up. “Where are you hurt?”
Yun Zhu took a closer look and realized that the young woman was indeed Lu Jinglan from her memory.
Lu Yiyi also recognized that this woman was the young aunt who had bullied her countless times, and instinctively shrank behind her mother.
“Brother Chen, it’s her!” Crying, Lu Jinglan pointed hatefully at Yun Zhu and said, “It was this woman who sold me into Yingchun Brothel and caused my mother to be thrown into jail! Brother Chen, you must help me get revenge!”
Yun Zhu’s eyes turned cold as she shielded her daughter behind her, sizing up the short, plain-looking man in his forties beside Lu Jinglan.
*So this is the jail master of the magistrate’s office, the brother-in-law of the county assistant, and Lu Jinglan’s man, Chen De?*
Hearing this, Manager Qin’s expression shifted slightly. He stepped forward with a smile, blocking the mother and daughter behind him: “Jail Master Chen, these are my relatives. If they have offended you in any way, Manager Qin here offers his apologies on their behalf.”
Manager Qin cupped his hands in a respectful bow to apologize to Chen De.
Chen De coaxed Lu Jinglan with a face full of distress, wiping away the tears on her face before looking arrogantly at Manager Qin: “Manager Qin, if it were anything else, I would certainly give you face!
“But right now, the ones harmed are my woman and my mother-in-law. If I don’t settle this score, everyone will be able to walk all over Chen’s head in the future!”
Toward the end, Chen De’s voice sank, carrying a few hints of threat.
He knew the owner behind Zuixiao Restaurant was from the capital, but this Qin Danyuan was merely a manager—which meant he was just a servant!
“Haha, Jail Master Chen, could there perhaps be some misunderstanding here?” Manager Qin did not back down due to Chen De’s tough stance, remaining firmly in front of Yun Zhu and her daughter. “It would be best to clear up the misunderstanding.”
Referring to the biological mother of a concubine as a mother-in-law was a complete laughingstock!
He usually detested petty villains like Chen De who abused their power to bully others. Now that Chen De wanted to cause trouble in his Zuixiao Restaurant, did he truly think he was a push-over?
There was simply no reasoning with people like Chen De and Lu Jinglan, yet Yun Zhu was still deeply grateful for Manager Qin’s protection of her and her daughter.
“Manager Qin…”
Just as Yun Zhu was about to speak, Manager Qin turned around: “I will handle this. You two go inside to dine first.”
As Manager Qin turned, Chen De caught a glimpse of Yun Zhu’s face and was instantly mesmerized.
He had never seen such a beautiful woman!
It was a pity she already had a child so big, otherwise…
Manager Qin did not miss the wretched light that flashed across the bottom of Chen De’s eyes, and alarm bells rang wildly in his mind.
“Manager Qin is right!” Jail Master Chen changed his earlier fierce demeanor, looking past Manager Qin’s shoulder with a smile: “It is very likely a misunderstanding between Jinglan and this lady. How about this: I’ll host lunch today, and we can all sit down together for a meal to clear up the misunderstanding?”
Although she had given birth, playing around with her was still fine.
“Brother Chen?!” Thinking she had misheard, Lu Jinglan cried out, “There’s no misunderstanding! She’s the one who harmed me and my mother!”
Chen De was Lu Jinglan’s first man, and since they had only been together for a few days, the novelty was still fresh. Chen De patiently whispered to her: “Don’t worry, I will help you take revenge.”
Yun Zhu also didn’t miss Chen De’s lecherous gaze, and said in a heavy voice: “I have no interest in dining with strangers!”
Saying so, she led her daughter into the private room right in front of them and shut the door behind her.
Having his face slapped in public, a sinister malice flashed across Chen De’s eyes.
*There has never been a woman I fancied that I couldn’t get!*
Chen De snorted coldly, wrapping his arm around the sobbing Lu Jinglan as they departed from Zuixiao Restaurant.
When Manager Qin walked into the private room, his expression was somewhat solemn.
“Lady Yun, I’m afraid you’ve been targeted by Chen De,” Manager Qin said. “After you finish your meal, I’ll have the coachman drive you home.”
Yun Zhu checked the time and said, “The city gates should be closed by now, so I’m afraid we won’t be able to leave the town.”
She had agreed with the pharmacy manager to deliver another batch of herbs around the Hour of the Dog, so it wasn’t good to break the appointment.
As for being targeted by Chen De and Lu Jinglan, she wasn’t worried.
Inside the private room, after finishing her meal, Yun Zhu took out a mini stun baton and a bottle of pepper spray from her pocket dimension, patiently teaching her daughter how to use them.
“If any bad people try to bully us, use what Mother just taught you to deal with them, understand?” Yun Zhu placed the items into a small purse and tied it to her daughter’s waist.
The little girl’s face was filled with unease, desperately holding back her tears: “Mother, I’m scared…”
Yun Zhu hardened her heart and said, “Yiyi has grown up and must learn to protect herself.”
Of course, she wouldn’t stand by and watch her daughter get hurt!
However, with the need to flee as refugees coming next summer, her daughter had to learn self-defense.
Tonight would serve as a rehearsal in advance.