“Little Aunt!!!!”
“Little Aunt!!!!”
Wang Zhaoming leisurely removed the cattail fan covering her face, revealing her delicate brows and eyes as she looked at Wang Yanli, who came charging in like a cannonball.
Behind him followed Wang Yitang, the youngest daughter from her second brother’s family.
“What is it? Is a ghost chasing you?”
“It’s even scarier than a ghost!”
“Little Aunt, do you know? The village chief and those candidates from the Song family who went to take the civil service exam have all returned!”
“We went to look just now—several of them were carried down from wooden carts by others!”
“What if they come looking for trouble with you later?”
“Brother, why would they look for trouble with Little Aunt?” six-year-old Wang Yitang asked Wang Yanli.
She turned her head, tilting it as she stared at Wang Zhaoming. “Little Aunt, don’t be scared! I will protect you!”
Wang Yanli scratched his head, unsure how to explain the matter to Wang Yitang.
He could hardly say that Little Aunt had run right up to them and cursed them, saying they definitely wouldn’t be able to take the civil service exam.
Saying such things at such a crucial moment—anyone with a slightly worse temper would have already raised their fists against Little Aunt and stormed over to their house to cause a scene.
Now, Little Aunt’s words had actually come true, and the Song family candidates could no longer take the exam.
Once they recovered, they would definitely come knocking to cause trouble.
If only one or two people came, it might be manageable, but if the whole Song clan came, there was no telling if their family could handle the beating.
Wang Yanli’s facial features were scrunched up tight with worry.
Wang Zhaoming sat up. Overwhelmed by their cuteness, she cradled Wang Yitang’s face and gave it a good squeeze before speaking to Wang Yanli in an exaggerated, delicate voice:
“Oh my~ Yanli, Little Aunt is so scared! What if they come to beat me up and I can’t fight them off?”
“With this fragile little body of mine, I probably couldn’t even take a single punch from them.”
Wang Yanli grew even more worried.
“How about I go get Maternal Grandfather and the others to help? Eldest Maternal Uncle and the rest are pretty good at fighting.”
Wang Yitang was the most direct; she trotted into the kitchen and came out holding a kitchen knife in both hands. “Little Aunt, don’t be scared! If anyone dares to hit you, I’ll chop him to death!”
Her tiny face wore a forced look of fierceness that hit Wang Zhaoming’s cuteness spot once again.
*Goodness, how could her family’s Tangtang be so adorable!*
*I just want to kiss her to death!*
Thinking this, Wang Zhaoming did just that.
She pulled Wang Yitang into her arms, took the knife from her hands, and planted a barrage of kisses all over Wang Yitang’s face.
Experiencing such intense affection for the first time, Wang Yitang was held tightly by Wang Zhaoming with nowhere to hide, her whole face turning red with embarrassment.
Wang Yanli pouted with indignation. *Why does Little Aunt only kiss this little brat and not him?*
No sooner had the thought arisen than the next second, he vanished from where he stood and appeared right in Wang Zhaoming’s arms.
As a smothering rain of kisses fell, Wang Yanli’s whole face instantly turned so red it looked dark.
“Ah, Little Aunt! I’m a man—Grandfather said men and women shouldn’t have physical contact!”
“I can’t take it, Little Aunt, stop kissing me! I’m going to burn to death!”
“Hahahahahahaha!”
Wang Zhaoming was thoroughly amused by their reactions.
Holding one in each arm, she said, “It’s alright. I believe you two will definitely protect me well.”
Wang Yanli was determined to burst Wang Zhaoming’s bubble. “Little Aunt, but we don’t believe in ourselves!”
“How about you go hide outside? I found a place last time when playing hide-and-seek—whenever I hide there, no one can find me. If you hide there, they definitely won’t find you either.”
Wang Yitang chimed in, “Little Aunt, Second Brother is right! When I play hide-and-seek with Er’duo, I can never find Second Brother’s hiding spot.”
Wang Zhaoming ruffled both their heads. Thinking that since she had nothing better to do, she might as well tease the kids, she agreed, “Alright then.”
Hearing her agree, Wang Yanli made a very noticeable gesture of relief.
Then, with him and Wang Yitang each holding one of Wang Zhaoming’s hands, they pulled her through a series of twists and turns until they found an abandoned house.
This place was near the foot of the mountain. In winter, wild beasts would come looking for food in the mountains, so ever since the previous owner moved away, it had remained vacant.
Anything usable inside had been quietly carried off by the villagers, leaving behind only some useless stones weathered by wind and sun.
Before stepping inside, Wang Zhaoming stood outside and looked at the resentment emanating from all around, her footsteps pausing slightly.
Without showing any outward sign, she followed Wang Yanli, watching as he entered the ruins with practiced ease, found a spot resembling a back courtyard, and skillfully moved an abandoned water jar aside to reveal the entrance to a cellar.
“Eldest Brother, so you were hiding here! You cheated—we clearly agreed that when hiding, you weren’t allowed to leave the designated area. Your spot is so far away!”
“Little Sister, let your brother teach you a lesson: this is called all’s fair in war.”
“That’s called all’s fair in war.”
Wang Zhaoming offered a helpless correction.
Not a single member of this family had any talent for studying. Wang Zhaoming felt pity for Wang Chengye’s hard life; after all, he himself held the title of a *tongshen* scholar, having passed the entry-level exam on his first try and ranking at the top of the list.
If not for natural disasters, the Wang family of today would likely be enjoying an entirely different situation.
“It’s the same thing! Grandfather said we have to learn to use deceptive tactics to confuse others.”
“Little Aunt, am I right?”
Wang Zhaoming nodded, not minding stirring up trouble. “Spot on. When you go back, tell your grandfather these exact words, and you’ll definitely be rewarded.”
“When you become rich and noble, do not forget me.”
“Heheh, easy, easy! But why ‘dog rich and noble’? Grandfather is clearly rewarding me!”
“Besides, even if I don’t do anything, Grandfather wouldn’t forget me anyway.”
Wang Zhaoming…
*Go read some books, please.*
“Because the dog brought us grain seeds, that’s why it’s ‘dog rich and noble’. Stop dwelling on that—let’s go in and take a look.”
“Do you know what’s inside?”
“I know!”
Wang Yanli had prepared thoroughly, laying a layer of straw in a corner of the cellar, likely to make it convenient for himself to rest while hiding here.
However, the bones lying in front of the straw could not be ignored.
“This family must have been very rich before, hiding so much meat in here that it rotted away and turned entirely into bones.”
“What a pity. If I had discovered it earlier, all that meat would have been enough for us to eat for several meals.”
“Second Brother, I want to eat meat,” Wang Yitang said. Hearing Wang Yanli talk about meat, she couldn’t help but recall the taste of meat she had eaten a long time ago.
Even with three adult laborers in the family and Wang Chengye working as an accountant in town, the Wang family’s life remained tight.
Then again, almost everyone in this era lived like this.
Only during the busy farming season could a few specks of minced meat be seen in their dishes.
Because of her delicate health, their family was among the poorest in the village.
“Little Aunt, do you think these bones still smell like meat?”
Facing Wang Yanli’s and Wang Yitang’s innocent, meat-craving eyes that knew nothing, Wang Zhaoming reached out and covered both their eyes.
When her hands touched the two children, the dark energy swirling around them backed away as if encountering a taboo.
“Little Aunt will treat you to meat tomorrow. Let’s head back.”
“Little Aunt, it’s only safe if you hide here! The Song family definitely won’t find you, trust me.”
“Oh, Little Aunt, why are you covering our eyes!”
Wang Yanli reached up to pull Wang Zhaoming’s hands away.
“If you injure my hands, your grandmother will treat you to a dish of bamboo stick fried meat.”
Wang Yanli stopped moving.
Wang Yitang, on the other hand, remained obedient the whole time.
Coming out of the cellar, Wang Zhaoming had the two children walk ahead while she followed behind.
Walking a bit further away, Wang Zhaoming turned her head and took a glance back.
Right, she heard the county magistrate was still in the village.
If he received such a major case, the county magistrate would probably be very pleased, right?
Wang Zhaoming thought with uncertainty—if one were to ignore the mischievous, wicked smile at the corner of her mouth.
The three arrived home almost at the same time as Wang Chengye.
“Grandfather.”
“Father.”
The three greeted Wang Chengye respectively.
“Where did you kids go to play?”
Wang Yitang took Wang Chengye’s hand with a solemn look. “Grandfather, we didn’t go play. We were taking Little Aunt to hide from bad people.”
“Bad people?”
Wang Chengye looked toward Wang Zhaoming, wanting to know what was going on.
“Grandfather, let me tell you—Little Aunt is in huge trouble this time! The Song family wants to beat Little Aunt to death!”