Gu Nuan watched the two of them run past in a huff before stepping out from the bushes where she had been hiding, heading in the opposite direction.
Fortunately, she had reacted quickly and hidden herself, or they would have caught up with her—she didn't dare imagine the consequences.
Just as she felt her feet were about to give out from walking, she finally spotted an ox cart. Seated on it was an uncle who looked to be in his fifties or sixties, with a kind and friendly face.
Gu Nuan hurried over to ask, "Uncle, are you heading to Peach Blossom Village?"
The man driving the ox cart looked at Gu Nuan and chuckled, "Not going there, but I'll pass by it. If you want a ride, hop on."
Gu Nuan had just sat down when, before the cart even moved, she remembered that her money was still sewn into the hem of her clothes and hadn't been taken out yet. She gave a stiff smile and said, "Uncle, I'm completely penniless right now. Could I owe you the fare?"
Even asking this made Gu Nuan's face burn with embarrassment.
"Just sit tight, it's on the way anyway." The uncle didn't fuss over the two copper coins' worth of fare.
Gu Nuan quickly thanked him, "Thank you, thank you. If I hadn't run into you, I don't know if I'd have made it to Peach Blossom Village before dark."
"Haha, it's only two or three li from here to Peach Blossom Village. With a quick pace, you'd still make it in time."
"You're not from Peach Blossom Village, are you? I haven't seen you around much. Are you heading there with your little one to seek refuge with relatives?" The uncle said with a smile as he drove the cart.
He traveled this road often, so he knew the distances better than anyone.
"Yes, my husband's family met with misfortune, so I'm going to seek shelter. I hope they'll take us in." Gu Nuan said uncertainly.
She was heading to Peach Blossom Village because there was a vague memory of that place in her mind—not very clear, just faint impressions. But it probably had no connection to the Gu family, or else she wouldn't be going there.
"They should take you in. The village chief of Peach Blossom Village, Tao Dalin, is a good man. Which family are you seeking out? Let me see if I know them—I'm quite familiar with Peach Blossom Village." The uncle said cheerfully.
Gu Nuan's eyes flickered. She truly didn't know who she was seeking out. A lie from the start would have to be covered with more lies along the way.
So she casually made up a surname as an excuse, "I think my aunt's family surname is Li."
The uncle scratched his head, "The Li family? You mean Li Meng's family? Peach Blossom Village seems to only have that one household surnamed Li—everyone else is surnamed Tao."
"Yes, that's right." She'd actually guessed correctly by luck. After confirming, Gu Nuan quickly changed the subject and asked, "Uncle, I don't know what to call you yet. May I ask your surname?"
The uncle waved his hand and said, "Ah, no need for such formalities. This old man's surname is Liu, from Willow Family Village, the village next to Peach Blossom Village. Everyone in the village calls me Uncle Dazhuang—you can call me that too."
"We're almost there now. I won't take you into the village. I drive my cart into town every day, so if you ever need to go to town, you can catch a ride with me. I set out around five in the morning."
Gu Nuan got off the cart holding her child, "Alright then, Uncle Dazhuang. Thank you so much. When I catch your cart to town another day, I'll repay you today's fare."
"Don't mention it. Consider it a good deed. Go on into the village now." Liu Dazhuang said, then drove his ox cart away.
Gu Nuan took a deep breath before stepping toward Peach Blossom Village, hoping she could find a safe place to settle down.
It was already dusk by now—probably the end of the shen hour in ancient timekeeping. Most households in Peach Blossom Village had already closed their doors for the evening.
Gu Nuan knocked on the courtyard gate of the nearest house. She waited for quite a while before someone came to open it—a boy of about ten or so.
Seeing that it was a child, Gu Nuan quickly smiled and asked, "Little friend, could you tell me how to get to the village chief's house?"
The boy looked Gu Nuan up and down for quite a while, then glanced at the child she held tightly in her arms before speaking: "I'm not your friend. I don't know you."
"Ahem, sorry, I didn't know how to address you so I called you that. Could you tell me how to get to the village chief's house?" Gu Nuan nearly choked on what little saliva she had left. She had forgotten that people didn't address others that way here.
"Langtou, who's outside the door?" a deep voice asked.
"Grandpa, I don't know her, but she's probably looking for you." The boy Langtou turned sideways to look at Gu Nuan and said, "Come in, this is the village chief's house."
Gu Nuan let out a breath and walked in after thanking him.
After Gu Nuan stepped through the courtyard gate, Langtou closed it behind her and went straight into the house.
Gu Nuan looked at the old man walking toward her and gave a bow. "Hello, are you the village chief of Taohua Village?"
The old village chief looked at Gu Nuan with a puzzled expression. "I am. And you are?"
"Village Chief, my husband's family has met with disaster. I originally intended to seek refuge with relatives, but they have already moved away and cannot be found, so I wish to settle temporarily in Taohua Village. Might I ask the village chief to be accommodating?" Gu Nuan wore a bitter expression as she fabricated yet another lie.
The village chief was silent for a moment before saying, "I cannot agree to this for now. I need to obtain the clan elders' consent before I can give you an answer."
The village chief thought for a moment and then added, "How about this: tonight you stay at my house for one night, and tomorrow I will go ask the clan elders."
Hearing this, Gu Nuan quickly bowed and thanked him. "This humble woman, Gu Nuan, thanks the village chief." Her original name could not be used, and she did not want to change her name either, so she could only add an extra "Nuan" after Gu Nuan.
"You're too kind! Langtou's mother, tidy up the side room and let Mrs. Gu and her child rest there for tonight." The village chief nodded and called toward the inside of the house.
Soon a woman of about twenty-five or twenty-six came out of the house. "Yes, Father. Your daughter-in-law will go tidy it up right away."
Langtou's mother glanced at Gu Nuan and then turned and walked toward the room at the very side. That room clearly had not been lived in for a long time; spiderwebs under the eaves were swaying in the air.
Gu Nuan did not have the right to be picky. Having a roof over her head was already good enough, so how would she dare complain?
Seeing that no disgust showed in her eyes, the village chief introduced her: "She is Langtou's mother. Her surname is Wang, given name Lihua. Just call her Sister Lihua. If you need anything, you can look for her."
"All right, thank you, Village Chief. Sorry to trouble you, Sister Lihua." As Gu Nuan spoke, she bowed again. As the saying goes, no one minds extra courtesy; being thoroughly polite would naturally deepen a good impression.
Following Wang Lihua into the side room, she saw that aside from a worn-out bed and a table missing a leg leaning against the corner, the rest of the space was piled with a jumble of tools.
While cleaning off the dust, Wang Lihua said, "Don't mind it too much. There's only this room left empty in the house. You'll just have to make do for one night."
"How could I mind? That the village chief is letting my child and me stay for one night is already something I am endlessly grateful for. Thank you very much, Sister, for helping to tidy up." Gu Nuan was holding the child, so she did not step forward to help.
"Sister, my surname is Gu and my given name is Nuan Nuan. Just call me Nuan Nuan."
Lihua worked very efficiently and quickly cleaned the room. "All right then, Nuan Nuan, sit for a while first. I'll go get you some bedding."
"Sorry to trouble you, sister-in-law. I'll feed the baby now." The baby had only been fed once when they left the city, and after all this time, he hadn't fussed at all. If he hadn't occasionally moved, she would have thought he was already gone.
"Alright, I'll close the door for you." Wang Lihua walked out and shut the door.
After confirming the door was firmly closed, Gu Nuan placed the baby on the ** she had just cleaned, and began removing the weeds bundled around her body.