“Greetings, Aunt, Cousin.”
Xie Ninglan hadn’t slept well either. She squinted at the visitor with sleepy eyes, her mind a bit slow to catch up.
*Who’s this?* she asked Xin Nian with her eyes.
Xin Nian searched the original owner’s memories, lightly pinched Xie Ninglan’s arm, and put on a sweet smile. “Cousin is here.”
Then, she lowered her voice and spoke to her mother at lightning speed, “Mom, this is my eldest maternal uncle’s only son, your precious, darling nephew, Xie Rui.”
“A genius child prodigy of a cousin who could compose poetry at three and practice martial arts at five. He passed the provincial examinations at nine, became a Jinshi at thirteen, and now serves as the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Works.”
“The original owner’s affection for this nephew from her maiden family far surpassed that for her own two children. In your heart, Xie Rui’s status is second only to mine.” Xin Nian twisted her fingers on Xie Ninglan’s arm with more force and reminded her in a low voice, “Be more enthusiastic, Mom! Whenever you saw Young Master Xie in the past, your grin would stretch from ear to ear. You were extremely, extremely happy.”
The corner of Xie Ninglan’s mouth twitched.
“Act natural. Go on, pull open the door and exchange pleasantries with Cousin with a smile. Let me tell you, Xie Rui is shrewd, black-bellied, and has a discerning eye. Don’t you dare expose yourself in front of him and let him see that you’re not the original owner.”
Bombarded by her daughter’s rapid-fire speech, Xie Ninglan’s mind instantly cleared up.
She quickly plastered a fake smile on her face and, feigning enthusiasm, pulled open the broken door and walked out. “Oh-ho-ho-ho, it’s Rui’er.”
“Mom, don’t be so over the top,” Xin Nian secretly pinched her arm.
Xie Ninglan’s smile was stuck halfway, neither turning up nor down…
Xin Nian stepped forward with her professional fake smile. “Cousin, why are you the one delivering things so early in the morning? There was no need for such trouble; you could have just sent a servant.”
“How could I do that? I had to see Aunt and Cousin in person. Your journey from the capital is long, and who knows what year or month it will be before we meet again.”
Xin Nian pinched her mother and traced the character for “cry” on her arm.
Xie Ninglan mustered her emotions and managed to squeeze out a few insincere tears. “Rui’er, for you to come and see me off, Aunt is truly happy. Your father is away from the capital year-round, so in the future, I’ll have to trouble you to take good care of your grandfather and grandmother in my stead.”
“Aunt is too kind. This is all Rui’er’s duty.”
Xie Ninglan lowered her head, pinched her nose, and continued to cry. She didn’t know what to say next. It was awkward.
Xin Nian maintained her professional fake smile and spoke in a soft, delicate voice, “Cousin, Mother is overjoyed to see you. Please forgive her for any breach of etiquette in her excitement.”
“Cousin, don’t be such a stranger. We are all family,” Xie Rui said with a smile. “The preparations were rushed this time, but fortunately, I did not fail my mission. All the items on the list have been prepared.”
Xin Nian’s eyes lit up. She quickly walked around him to inspect the five large baskets on the ground. “Thank you, Cousin. You’ve worked hard, Cousin. Good people will surely have a lifetime of peace.”
Xie Rui was speechless.
*The little crybaby seems to have changed a bit, hasn’t she?*
In the past, whenever she saw him, she would be timid and cowardly, trying to hide from him. When had she ever spoken so much?
“Cousin Niannian.”
Xin Nian was busy checking the contents of the baskets. Not bad, not bad at all. Ephedra, Pueraria root, Pinellia, Angelica dahurica, Scutellaria root, and so on.
All the various herbs she had listed were prepared. She could brew the fever-reducing medicine today.
Hearing Xie Rui’s voice, Xin Nian turned to look at him, meeting his faint, smiling gaze.
“Thank you, Cousin. You must be tired after working all day. Uh, why don’t you head back early?”
Trying to kick him out and burn the bridge as soon as the goods were in hand? Xie Rui was secretly amused. He nodded. “These things are all quite heavy. Do you want me to have my men carry them inside for you?”
Xin Nian waved her hands repeatedly. “No, no, thank you, Cousin. I’ll just ask… Third Uncle and the others to come move them later.”
“Alright then. When Aunt and Cousin arrive in Binzhou, someone will be there to receive you.”
Receive them? He made it sound like they were assisting in a prison break.
Xin Nian gave her cousin an innocent and bright smile. “It’s best to let everything happen naturally. We can’t be too much of a burden to Eldest Uncle.”
A jailbreak was out of the question. As the Prefect of Binzhou, as long as Xie Rui’s father served the imperial court for a single day, he couldn’t use his public office for private gain by taking their mother-daughter pair in to raise them in Binzhou.
They were sentenced to exile in the frigid lands of the far north, and they couldn’t fall short by even a single li!
A transmigrated person with a transmigrated soul should be strong, independent, and self-sufficient. It was better not to implicate the native residents…
“Niannian may not know, but there have been many upheavals in the imperial court recently. The people of the Sitianjian have predicted that a Natural Disaster will befall the world within a month. Calculating the time, it will be right around when you all arrive in Binzhou,” Xie Rui said, staring at the young girl with a smile playing on his lips.
Interestingly, after he said this, he didn’t see the slightest hint of shock or panic on the little girl’s face.
Was the little crybaby usually this calm? She actually wasn’t scared to tears!
“Therefore, we discussed it with Father via letter. If a Natural Disaster truly does occur then, Father’s side will immediately send people to receive you. Please, Aunt and Cousin, do not worry too much.”
Xie Ninglan’s eyes widened. “A Natural Disaster?”
She didn’t mishear, did she? Damn it! She had changed locations and even transmigrated to ancient times, so how could there still be an apocalyptic Natural Disaster?
Xin Nian was expressionless. “Cousin, do you know what kind of Natural Disaster the Sitianjian predicted? An earthquake? Or extreme heat, extreme cold, polar day, polar night?”
Xie Rui’s handsome brows arched slightly, his expression unreadable. “Niannian is so knowledgeable about Natural Disasters.”
How could Xie Rui know that this was everything Xin Nian’s family had experienced in their previous life…
And those were just the most basic Natural Disasters, not even including cataclysms like hailstorms, acid rain, mudslides, intense light, radiation, venomous insects, poisonous moths, and mutated animals.
Xin Nian gave an awkward laugh. To Xie Rui, there wasn’t the slightest trace of a smile on his little cousin’s tender face.
“The Sitianjian predicts that Skyfire will descend within a month, sweeping across a vast area of the central plains. The Skyfire will cause trees to wither and leave not a blade of grass alive.”
Xie Ninglan and her daughter stared at each other.
What?
The lush green oasis they had just seen was going to be destroyed by the heavens again within a month?
“Aunt and Cousin need not be nervous. This is merely a prediction from the Sitianjian; it may not actually happen.”
Xie Rui soothed the two with a gentle voice. “His Majesty does not believe these rumors, saying that the people of the Sitianjian are being alarmist. Thus, he has exiled the few who were leading this. That Director of the Directorate of Astronomy and his two disciples are now in your exile convoy.”
Xie Ninglan was speechless.
She didn’t know what to say, so she could only offer a polite smile.
Don’t believe rumors, don’t spread rumors. But for all things in the world, some matters couldn’t be fully believed, nor could they be fully disbelieved.
What if that jinx from the Sitianjian turned out to be right?
Being unprepared on the road to exile, if they truly encountered a Natural Disaster, there would be absolutely no way out.
After relaying this information, Xie Rui bid the mother and daughter farewell with a bow.
Xin Nian waited for a while, and seeing that the boy didn’t double back for a surprise check, she waved her hand and stored all the baskets of goods into the Space Condensation Pearl.
She left only one basket out, picked out some of the herbs to put inside it, and then covered it with a linen cloth so outsiders couldn’t see what it was.