Old Ling’s fleeing footsteps halted as he turned to look at Su Nuan. What was this tigress going to do now?
Su Nuan curled her lips into a smile and flung the shoe in her hand.
The cloth shoe with its thousand-layer sole smacked against Old Ling’s face like a brick. It was unclear whether his nasal bone was broken, but blood streamed down in two small rivers.
Su Nuan chuckled awkwardly, “I just wanted to return your shoe, but I used too much force.”
After speaking, she swept a cold gaze over the surrounding people and clapped her hands nonchalantly. “I lost my mother at six and was beaten daily by my stepmother. So I learned martial arts from an eccentric old man, thinking that if my father ever divorced her, I’d give her a beating.”
“Ah… forget it. I can’t beat her now anyway. But they say a gentleman seeks revenge even after ten years—except I’m no gentleman.”
She paused before continuing, “I’m a woman. Whoever dares bully me or my family, I’ll seek revenge in this lifetime, until death do us part!”
As she spoke with intensity, the people sitting on the ground in the courtyard shrank their necks like quails.
Satisfied, Su Nuan nodded and turned to enter the house.
She sighed. Such a vast General’s Mansion now only had seven people left, one of whom was practically a living corpse.
She said, “Mother, please give some water to your son. I’ll go find some food.”
Xue Shi asked in astonishment, “Cang’er is still alive?”
Su Nuan nodded, “Yes, he’s alive.”
Xue Shi and Old Madam rushed to Ling Cang’s side. Xue Shi trembled as she felt for his breath, then wept with joy. “He’s alive… thank heavens… sob…”
Old Madam was even more dramatic, collapsing to the ground and kowtowing repeatedly while muttering incoherently.
Su Nuan was speechless. So they had all thought Ling Cang was dead, no wonder they were so emotional now.
After crying for a while, Xue Shi suddenly remembered practical matters. “Nuan Nuan, will they let you go out to buy things? They should give us some food in the evening.”
Su Nuan smiled, “Mother, don’t worry. This town was built for exiled convicts precisely to take their silver.”
“Mother, remember the matrons who searched us? They’re all eager for us to bring money out and spend it here.”
Xue Shi hesitated before nodding, “Alright.”
She didn’t ask further, simply taking out all the silver notes and stuffing them into Su Nuan’s hands. “Take them. You’re in charge now.”
Knowing her eldest son was still alive, Xue Shi felt Su Nuan was the Ling family’s lucky star. Following her would surely be right.
Su Nuan didn’t refuse. The silver notes would be safer with her.
She handed Tuan Tuan to her mother-in-law and pinched the child’s cheek. “Wait for sister-in-law to bring you delicious food when I return.”
Tuan Tuan said obediently, “Tuan Tuan doesn’t want delicious food. Tuan Tuan wants sister-in-law to be safe and sound.”
Su Nuan smiled faintly. This little girl was too adorable.
Old Madam suddenly asked, “Did you really do what they said you did?”
Su Nuan turned to look at Old Madam but didn’t answer.
Sometimes explanations couldn’t clear your name—they only made people think you were making excuses to cover up.
She prepared herself for Old Madam’s lecture, planning to let it go in one ear and out the other.
Seeing her remain silent, Old Madam sighed and said, “Although you have the betrothal documents and gifts from the Ling family, you never completed the wedding ceremony. Don’t force yourself to suffer.”
Su Nuan hadn’t expected Old Madam to say this instead of lecturing her. The words carried an awkward sort of concern.
She smiled candidly and said, “Grandmother, rest assured. I am now a daughter-in-law of the Ling family, so I would never do anything to disgrace the Ling name.”
“As for what outsiders say, we can’t control so many mouths. It’s better to save our energy for arguing and use it for traveling instead.”
The Old Madam nodded. “Mm, don’t push yourself too hard. Staying alive is what matters.”
Su Nuan also nodded without speaking, then turned and went out.
In her previous life, this Old Madam had often lectured her, but she had failed to recognize the kindness in those words. The Old Madam must have felt wronged back then too.
As Su Nuan reached the entrance, she heard the captain standing with his hands on his hips, announcing, “Each family must send one person to purchase supplies. We won’t come across any villages or towns for the next month. Whether you survive depends on how much food you buy.”
The crowd broke into discussion. Some clever individuals quickly guessed that the imperial court was being neither benevolent nor loyal, and that these officers were allowing them to buy supplies simply to extort money.
Su Nuan wasn’t surprised. She strode out confidently. Since they wouldn’t be able to leave the official road for the next month, she needed to buy practical items; otherwise, they’d have to survive on black bread cornbread.
The town was quite large, but Su Nuan didn’t plan to go far. She headed straight to a nearby tavern.
Why a tavern? Because taverns stocked plenty of dried meat, and there was one particular item that could only be found there.
The waiter was momentarily taken aback by the bloodstains on Su Nuan’s face but still smiled and asked, “What would you like, ma’am?”
Su Nuan inquired, “How much dried meat do you have left?”
The waiter replied, “The village just delivered a fresh batch today, but it costs ten times more than fresh meat.”
Since the town was near the capital, prices were high. Pork cost ten coppers per jin, so dried meat would be a hundred coppers per jin.
Su Nuan said indifferently, “Bring it all. Also, send a cart of liquor to the Posthouse.”
“Right away!” The waiter’s eyes lit up—this was a big spender.
Soon, the waiter weighed all the dried meat: eighty jin of fingernail-sized meat cubes and fifty jin of finger-length meat strips, all unsalted since salt was expensive.
There was also cured meat preserved with coarse salt, smoked until dry and blackened on the outside.
Cured meat kept well, so there were over sixty jin of it.
Su Nuan recalled that she had about a jin of salt in her Space. After all, salt was rationed at this time, and only those with household registration could buy it.
Not seeing what she wanted, she asked, “Do you have any other preserved goods?”
The waiter nodded. “Yes, but I’m not sure if you’d be interested.”
As he spoke, he deftly retrieved a clay jar from the shelf behind him, opened it, and pulled out a handful of dried fish, each about an inch long.
Su Nuan picked one and put it in her mouth. It was a sea fish, heavily salted and pungent—exactly what she needed.
She remembered how, in her previous life, someone had suffered from a severe goiter, which later rotted a large part of their neck. The physician had said eating seafood could prevent the disease.
Now that she had sea fish, eating some occasionally would serve as prevention. Back then, the illness had spread to many people. Her Little Aunt, being young and frail, hadn’t escaped it and was left with an ugly scar.
Feeling pleased, she said, “I’ll take these too. How much in total?”
In her past life, these dried fish had been bought by an old woman named Qian, who was no good—she was always scheming to have her foolish son sleep with Su Nuan. Thankfully, Su Nuan had managed to avoid it every time.
The waiter clattered away on his abacus. “Thirty taels in total. Since you’re buying so much, this bag of dried fish can be a freebie.”
It was clear the dried fish weren’t selling well. The tavern couldn’t bear to throw them away, so they were given away as extras.
Su Nuan reached into her sleeve and pulled out a hundred-tael silver note.
The shop assistant checked the note, then returned fifty taels in silver notes and twenty taels in loose silver.
Su Nuan said, “The minced jerky is for the soldiers to go with their drinks. I’ll take the rest.”
“Right away.” The assistant wasn’t one to ask unnecessary questions.
Su Nuan walked out carrying one hemp sack in each hand, making the assistant stare in astonishment.
She ran into an alley, looked around to confirm no one was there, then stored the contents of the bags into her Space, stuffing two thin quilts inside instead.
After all, they didn’t know what she had bought. When she returned, what she took out would be whatever she said it was.
Carrying the two bags, she emerged from the alley. Considering Old Madam’s poor teeth and Little Aunt’s weak digestion, she went to a blacksmith’s shop.
The blacksmith asked, “What would you like, young mistress?”
Su Nuan inquired, “How small is your smallest pot?”
The blacksmith pointed nearby, “They’re all over there.”
Su Nuan walked over and looked around. The smallest one had a diameter of one and a half chi—it would do.
“I’ll take this one.”
The blacksmith nodded, “One tael of silver.”
Su Nuan pressed her lips together. So expensive, but this was their territory, and high prices were unavoidable.
She paid the silver and placed the pot in the hemp sack.
Leaving the blacksmith’s shop, Su Nuan noticed someone following her. She pretended not to know but secretly felt pleased.
Someone was delivering silver right to her doorstep—what luck.
She quickened her pace, ducked into a narrow alley, and when she reached the depths, turned around, crossed her arms, and waited for the fish to take the bait.