“Come in, come in, quickly!” Wen Qing waved to the mother and daughter. “We were just talking about you!”
Yun Zhu: … *I heard.*
Ning Sichang felt a bit uncomfortable. “Third Lady Lu, please do not misunderstand. I do not look down on your background at all.”
After saying this, feeling that his words might still be misinterpreted, he quickly added, “Senior Sister was just acting as a matchmaker where she shouldn’t. Third Lady Lu need not pay it any mind.”
Yun Zhu’s embarrassment vanished instantly, and she smiled gently. “This humble woman understands.”
Wen Qing explained on Ning Sichang’s behalf, “Sister Yun, I only used those words on purpose to provoke him…”
“Senior Sister!” Fearing that Wen Qing might say something more that would make everyone uncomfortable, Ning Sichang hurriedly interrupted her, “You ladies go ahead and chat. I still have official business to attend to, so I shall take my leave.”
“Magistrate Ning,” seeing that Ning Sichang was about to leave, Yun Zhu quickly spoke up, “Thank you and the Duchess for your hospitality over the past few days. I plan to return to the village shortly, so I came specifically to bid farewell to you both.”
“Third Lady Lu, are you and Sister Yiyi going back?” Ning Ze stepped forward two paces, asking reluctantly, “Can’t you stay for a few more days?”
He hadn’t even told his father yet that he was willing to let Third Lady Lu become his stepmother.
Seeing Ning Ze, a flicker of panic appeared in Lu Yiyi’s eyes.
Yun Zhu squeezed her daughter’s hand and smiled at Ning Ze. “No, our house back home is being repaired, so I shouldn’t be away for too long.”
Ning Sichang secretly let out a breath of relief. “In that case, I will send someone to escort you back.”
Seeing how Ning Sichang couldn’t wait to send them away, Wen Qing could not help but feel a surge of frustration.
However, since Yun Zhu was insistent on leaving, Wen Qing could not keep her any longer either.
Since that fellow Ning Sichang knew nothing of social graces, she would have to prepare the gifts for Sister Yun herself.
The items Wen Qing prepared for Yun Zhu and her daughter were all very practical: a horse-drawn carriage loaded with rice, flour, grain, oil, and meat, along with a few bolts of the fine cloth that Yun Zhu and her daughter were wearing.
Since her spatial storage could grow grain and medicinal herbs, Yun Zhu had been worrying about where to restock on meat once her current supply ran out, so she did not decline Wen Qing’s kindness.
Before leaving, Yun Zhu retrieved two wild ginseng roots from her spatial storage, wrapped them separately in cotton cloth, and handed them to Wen Qing’s maidservant as a return gift for Wen Qing and Ning Sichang.
It was also a gesture of gratitude!
She was thankful that they had helped eliminate Chen De and his gang, so she and her daughter would no longer have to guard against Chen De’s revenge whenever they visited the county seat in the future.
Delayed for too long in the city, it was already late at night when they returned to the village.
The driver who brought Yun Zhu and her daughter back did not want to trouble the Lu family; after helping carry the items from the carriage into the courtyard, he departed.
The driver did not know how much stuff Wen Qing had given Yun Zhu, so he did not notice that halfway through the journey, Yun Zhu had already moved half a carriage load of meat into her spatial storage.
Seeing Yun Zhu and her daughter return safely, Lu Jinghai and Lady Yang finally felt the anxiety they had harbored for days melt away.
“Why has Yiyi gotten so thin?” Lady Yang touched the little girl’s face with heartache, then held her to gauge her weight.
Lu Ziming noticed that Yiyi’s mood was off and asked, “Yiyi, are you sick?”
Why was the little girl so listless?
“She probably just didn’t get enough rest.” Yun Zhu took her daughter back from Lady Yang’s arms. “I’ll carry her back to the room to sleep. If there’s anything, we can talk tomorrow.”
During the few days she spent in the county seat, the roof and walls of their home had already been repaired, leaving only the construction of the heated brick bed (*kang*).
The next morning, as soon as Yun Zhu and Yiyi finished washing up, they heard Lady Yang calling them over for breakfast.
Although Yun Zhu had mentioned that she wanted to cook separately from the first branch, Lady Yang prepared food for the mother and daughter every time she cooked anyway.
Previously, Yun Zhu was worried about exposing the secret of her spatial storage. Now that she had the gifts from the Duchess as cover, she no longer bothered about whether the household was split or not.
Lady Yang had specially cooked lean pork porridge this morning to nourish Yiyi’s body.
“Yiyi, eat more! You need to gain back the weight you lost over the past few days!” Lady Yang had also boiled an egg for Yiyi, peeled it, and placed it in her bowl.
Yun Zhu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry; Lady Yang was making her look like a stepmother.
“Second Sister-in-law, did Zifeng set off with the escort convoy?” Lu Jinghai inquired about his younger brother’s situation.
“Yes, the escort agency set off on the second day after we went to the county seat.” It was Yun Zhu’s first time eating coarse rice and lean pork porridge, and she found the taste quite pleasant.
However—
“Eldest Sister-in-law, in the future, let’s still eat our meals together as one family,” Yun Zhu spoke up.
After all, splitting the family had turned out to be no different from not splitting it.
Hearing this, both Lu Jinghai and Lady Yang were overjoyed.
Lu Jinghai said happily, “This is what a family should be like!”
“Since we are not splitting the family, Eldest Sister-in-law, we should use the food sent by the Duchess first, and keep the coarse grains we bought for later.”
“All right!” This time, Lady Yang did not object.
“By the way, Second Sister-in-law, how did you come to know that Duchess?” Lady Yang had no clear concept of a Duchess, only knowing that her husband must be a very high-ranking official. “Is she an official’s wife from the Imperial Capital? A few days ago, she sent us so much meat and cloth, and last night you brought back so much again. How can we ever repay her in the future?”
“We met by chance.” Yun Zhu did not want them to worry, so she did not elaborate on the matter with Chen De. “The Duchess is a noble lady from the Imperial Capital. These small things are nothing in her eyes, nor does she expect any repayment from us.”
“Regarding the meat from a few days ago, following your wishes, I sent a strip of pork belly to the village chief and the two clan elders each. Half of what remained was shared among the villagers who came to help repair the house. The half I kept for you has been salted and dried into jerky, or else it wouldn’t keep in this weather.”
“Wasn’t the rest meant for you all to eat?” Yun Zhu didn’t even know what to say. “In this kind of weather, won’t drying meat into jerky turn it foul?”
She hadn’t been able to help with the house repairs and wanted to use food to subsidize the first branch, but who knew they would…
Yun Zhu felt utterly helpless.
“It won’t, I put in plenty of salt.”
Mentioning the jerky, Lady Yang felt a pang of heartache over the salt that had been used.
Yun Zhu stroked her forehead. “Eldest Sister-in-law, we had better eat that jerky quickly. It would be a waste if it goes bad.”
Fortunately, she had the foresight to keep only a few catties of meat out this time.
“Ziming,” Yun Zhu remembered something and instructed Lu Ziming, “None of the villagers know how to build a heated brick bed. Go to the town over the next few days and see if you can find a master craftsman who knows how to build one.”
Yun Zhu pulled out five taels of silver and pushed them in front of Lu Ziming. “It doesn’t matter if the labor cost is a bit expensive.”
Lu Ziming pushed the silver back. “Second Aunt, I have money.”
“Are you planning to transcribe books again?” Yun Zhu glanced at him, remembering her previous plan. “You have to take the academy examination next April. You should head back to the academy to study! During your rest days, you can help tutor Yiyi as well, and I will pay your tuition fee.”
“Why pay tuition fee among family?” Before Lu Ziming could speak, Lu Jinghai spoke up from the side, “Though, Ziming, your Second Aunt is right. You have to take the exam next year. With us at home, you should focus on returning to the academy to study with peace of mind.”
Now that they had a place to live and no longer needed to hand over their earnings to the household, the eldest boy could settle down and focus on his studies.
“I have already written to my master saying that I will return to the academy next spring.” Lu Ziming was a young man with strong convictions, and he had his own considerations.
If the snow disaster Second Aunt mentioned was real, the time left for them was limited.
They had to make proper preparations!