When Gu Nuan found the thatched hut the clan elder had mentioned, she was dumbfounded.
The shaky thatch, the crooked eaves—was this really fit for people to live in?
Gu Nuan carefully opened the door and looked around. Only one room was habitable; the rest were dilapidated beyond repair.
This room, however, was decent enough—just thick with dust. Fortunately, there was a well not far from the thatched hut.
Resigned to her fate, she drew water and began cleaning. The thick dust required several rounds of wiping before it was finally clean.
From sunrise to high noon, Gu Nuan was so hungry and thirsty she could barely stand it before she finally finished.
During the cleaning, Gu Nuan discovered that although the thatched hut was run-down, it fortunately had everything one could need. The open-air kitchen had pots, pans, bowls, and basins—all the essentials were there.
Gu Nuan pounded her sore back and shoulders. After all the up-and-down cleaning, her back ached and her legs hurt.
Back at the village chief's house, lunch had just been prepared.
"Nuan Nuan, you're back! Perfect timing—go wash up and come eat," Wang Lihua said with a smile as she set out the chopsticks.
"Alright, thank you, Sister-in-law Lihua. I'll go wash my hands first." When Gu Nuan returned to the main room after washing her hands, everyone else was already seated.
After the meal, the village chief took Langtou out for a walk, and the others sat under the eaves to cool off.
Wang Lihua had just sat down when she picked up her needlework. She was mending a piece of men's clothing.
"Sister-in-law, is this Brother's clothing?"
Wang Lihua nodded with a smile. "Isn't it just. His clothes never stay in good condition. If I don't mend them for him, he'd have to wear them with holes."
Gu Nuan remembered that she hadn't seen Langtou's father or the others at the village chief's house all day, so she asked, "Sister-in-law Lihua, where are the others—Brother and the rest?"
"Langtou's father has gone to run escort duty. He won't be back for two more days. Second Uncle runs a shop in town and usually comes back once every half month. Youngest Uncle is studying at Wenjia Academy. Since it's far away, he can only come back on festivals."
Wang Lihua then remembered that Gu Nuan had just arrived in Taohua Village and didn't know the family members, so she added, "Besides the three brothers, Father and Mother also have a younger sister. She's already married—to the eldest son of Squire Wang in town."
"Married to whom?" Gu Nuan was startled. Could it be the same Squire Wang of Yunmeng Town—the one the original host was supposed to become a concubine to?
Seeing her reaction, Wang Lihua looked at her in surprise. "The Wang family of Yunmeng Town. What's wrong?"
Gu Nuan realized she had overreacted and composed herself. "Nothing. I'd just heard of a Squire Wang before and didn't know which one you meant."
"Our Taohua Village is under the jurisdiction of Yunmeng Town, so of course she married the eldest son of Squire Wang of Yunmeng. Second Uncle and his wife have a son and a daughter, both living with them in town. Youngest Uncle is eighteen this year. He declares he must focus on his studies, so he hasn't married yet."
Gu Nuan nodded and asked no more. Knowing the general picture was enough. If she was going to settle down in Taohua Village for the long term, she could learn the details gradually—going too far was as bad as not going far enough.
Seeing that the sun wasn't as fierce as before, Gu Nuan thought she'd move her things over first. "Auntie, Sister-in-law, I'm planning to move over now."
"Is it all cleaned up? Let me come with you," Wang Lihua said, setting down her sewing basket.
Gu Nuan pressed her back down as she started to rise and said with a smile, "It's all done. Don't worry."
"Alright, but I still want to come take a look." Wang Lihua stood up anyway and went inside to put away her sewing basket.
Gu Nuan went to pick up the child.
After saying goodbye to Chen Xiaoya, she and Wang Lihua returned to the thatched hut.
Wang Lihua frowned at the dilapidated thatched hut, but upon seeing the clean and tidy room, she nodded in satisfaction.
The thatched hut was so run-down, but fortunately there was still one room fit for living in. The rest could wait until the child's father came back to help repair it—it should be livable for a while.
"Thank goodness there's still one room fit for living! Nuan Nuan, why don't you stay at my place a bit longer? Once the child's father comes back and fixes this place up, you can move over?" Wang Lihua stood at the doorway, looking at the messy pile of odds and ends in the courtyard.
Gu Nuan smiled and shook her head. "How could I keep imposing on you? This room is quite nice. Taohua Village is known for its simplicity and honesty—there are no troublemakers here. We'll be fine."
"Alright then. But there are no bedding here. I'll go bring you some blankets." She left without giving Gu Nuan a chance to respond.
Gu Nuan sat on the only bed with the child in her arms. Looking at the room she had cleaned up, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
She released her Protection, feeling lighter all over. Gu Nuan smiled and leaned down to kiss Gu Yao.
"Good son, this will be our home from now on. It's a bit run-down, but at least we have a place to stay. But Mother will work hard—I'll make sure you get to live in a tile-roofed house soon enough."
She sighed inwardly. That two-bedroom apartment she had worked so hard to buy—she hadn't even gotten to live in it before being struck down here. If she still had that apartment, why would she be living in this shabby thatched hut!
Before she could finish lamenting, she caught a whiff of smoke—the same smell she had smelled at the Gu family home.
Gu Nuan's eyes flew open. She turned and saw that the windowsill of the originally clean and tidy room—the only livable room—had caught fire!
She immediately got up, carried the child outside, and placed him on the farthest flat rock. Then she rushed back to put out the fire. This was the only shelter she and her child had.
But before Gu Nuan could get there, the fire had already spread to the entire room.
Gu Nuan looked at the raging flames, wanting to cry but with no tears. Was she jinxed with fire or what? Why did everything burn to ashes again!
Seeing the fire was too big, she could only give up—there was no saving it. She turned to go get the child, and saw a person with silver hair and snow-white robes holding her baby!
"Hey, give me back my child, now."
The person looked up at Gu Nuan.
Only then did Gu Nuan see his face clearly—ink-black sword-like eyebrows, rare light brown eyes, a straight nose bridge, and moist thin lips tinged with **. A face that in modern times could have been wildly famous—she was stunned.
"Is this child yours?" His voice was deep and magnetic—another critical hit.
"Huh?"
That "huh" snapped Gu Nuan back to her senses. She patted her face hard and walked up to him. "Give me back my child."
"Is this child yours?" he asked again.
Gu Nuan held back the urge to roll her eyes. "If I didn't give birth to him, did you? Give me back my child, now."
Gu Nuan leaned in to take the child back, and saw the baby staring straight at him with wide-open eyes. She instantly felt sour.
"Stinky brat, I gave birth to you and raised you, and I've never seen you open your eyes to look at me. But here you are, staring at a stranger without blinking. If you weren't born from me, I'd suspect your gender—so fond of…" Before she could finish, she was interrupted by a thunderous sound.
"Welcome back to the village, Ancestor!" A crowd knelt down in unison.
He seemed not to hear, and continued looking at the baby in his arms.
Gu Nuan stood beside him, unsure whether to kneel or leave. Seeing the clan elder trembling as he knelt, looking like he might collapse at any moment, she could only tug at his sleeve and ask, "Is he calling for you?"
He glanced at Gu Nuan, then sat down on the stone, adjusted his hold on the child, and finally spoke: "Rise." Then he began to play with the baby.
"Thank you, Ancestor." The village chief helped the clan elder to his feet, and they stood nearby with lowered brows and submissive eyes.
Of the string of people behind them, Gu Nuan recognized hardly any.
The clan elder, seeing the Ancestor holding Gu Nuan's child, glanced at Gu Nuan in surprise. As far back as he could remember, the Ancestor had never held any child in the village—and now he was actually holding the Gu family's child and dandling him!