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Chapter 53: Setting a Trap
When the children returned home, Ye Xin Ran had already prepared dinner.
They handed her a wreath they had woven. “Auntie, this flower crown is for you to wear,” they said.
Ye Xin Ran took it and saw that the crown was made of willow branches and adorned with dandelion flowers.
“Thank you,” she said happily.
“But this flower crown isn’t as beautiful as Auntie,” Chang An sighed. “Next time, I’ll make an even prettier one for you.”
“You little flatterer,” Ye Xin Ran chuckled, pinching Chang An’s increasingly rosy cheeks.
During dinner, Ye Xin Ran seemed distracted. Even when Chang An called her, it took two tries before she responded.
“Auntie, what’s wrong? Are you upset about something?” Chang An asked.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Ye Xin Ran replied with a smile, regaining her composure.
“Auntie, did something happen today that’s worrying you?” Chang Sheng asked cautiously, noticing her expression.
Ye Xin Ran initially didn’t want to discuss the day’s events with the children. However, considering that her family might not give up so easily, she thought it was better to be prepared.
“Over the next few days, my family might come to cause trouble,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about how to make them leave.”
“Auntie, did your family hit you again?” Chang Ping exclaimed, standing up and gripping the table in anger.
Chang An grabbed Ye Xin Ran’s hands and began examining them carefully.
“No, no!” Ye Xin Ran reassured them.
“It’s just that I ran into them on the road today. They saw me going to the Wei residence and want to use me to curry favor with Director Wei. But I don’t want to deal with them,” she explained.
Not only did she not want to deal with them, but she also wanted to teach them a lesson to vent her frustration.
“You’re right not to pay them any attention. Don’t worry, Auntie. We’ll protect you,” Chang Sheng said confidently.
“You don’t need to worry too much,” Ye Xin Ran said. “I just wanted to give you a heads-up. If they show up, you should stay inside and not come out.”
“No way! Auntie, I know how to keep them out. As long as you’re okay with offending your family,” Chang Ping said with confidence.
“What’s your plan?”
“Chang Ping is great at making traps and mechanisms!” Chang Sheng chimed in.
Chang An clenched his fists excitedly. “Second Brother learned it from Second Uncle, and he’s really good at it!”
“Is it complicated? Hard to do?” Ye Xin Ran asked, intrigued.
“Not at all!” Chang Ping replied, full of confidence.
“Great! Let’s set a trap. If they dare come, we’ll make sure they regret it!”
“Yes!” the three children nodded enthusiastically, their eyes sparkling with excitement.
After dinner, they got to work.
The children took the lead, clearly experienced in such tasks. Ye Xin Ran wondered when they had needed traps before. Since her arrival in the village, she hadn’t seen them do anything like this.
“Hide this rope in the ground, and I’ll go fetch two buckets of manure,” Chang Ping instructed his brothers.
“Manure? That’s too gross!” Chang Sheng protested.
Chang Ping clenched his small fists. “It’s still too lenient. If we had molten iron, I’d use it to turn those who bullied Auntie into slag!”
Inside the house, Ye Xin Ran was tying hemp ropes. Hearing their conversation, she couldn’t help but feel a chill.
She had always thought of Chang Ping as a sweet and obedient child. She hadn’t expected him to have such a ruthless side.
The children didn’t finish setting up the traps the previous night, so the next morning, before dawn, they got up to complete the work.
Ye Xin Ran prepared breakfast and called them over to eat.
Instead of going straight to the meal, Chang Ping pulled her to the front yard.
“Auntie, see this spot? Don’t step here. And this one, you need to walk around it,” he said.
The children pointed out all the trap locations, making sure Ye Xin Ran memorized them. Then, they walked her through the yard a few times to ensure she wouldn’t make any mistakes. Only after confirming everything did they join her in the backyard for breakfast.
“Auntie, remember, as long as you avoid those spots, nothing will go wrong,” Chang Ping reassured her.
“Got it. I’ll remember!” Ye Xin Ran nodded.
She had only helped with a small part of the traps and was genuinely curious about their effectiveness.
After breakfast, with some time on her hands, Ye Xin Ran decided to prepare the badger oil she had requested from the village elder earlier.
Badger oil was excellent for treating frost bite, and the preparation was simple. It just needed to be slowly boiled, cooled, and stored.
As she tended to the pot, she kept an eye out for any signs of her family. However, instead of her family, the village elder arrived first.
The elder knocked on the door while shouting, “Ye niece, are you home? Why is the door locked in broad daylight?”
“Chang Sheng, go see what the elder needs,” Ye Xin Ran instructed, unable to leave the pot unattended.
Chang Sheng went to the door and asked through it, “Elder, what do you need from Auntie?”
“I have something important to discuss with her,” the elder replied.
“Sorry, Auntie is busy right now and can’t see you,” Chang Sheng said firmly.
“That’s fine. Just open the door, and I’ll go in to talk to her,” the elder suggested.
“You can’t come in either!”
The elder was taken aback. “Hey, what’s gotten into you today? I really need to speak with her! Don’t you want to keep going to school?”
“Elder, school can wait. We need to deal with bad people first before opening the door,” Chang Sheng explained.
“Bad people? What bad people?” The elder was utterly confused. “Have you lost your mind, boy?”
“Elder, I’m not lying. Not letting you in is for your own good!”
Just as Chang Sheng finished speaking, a carriage came speeding down the village road. It paused briefly, as if asking for directions, and then headed straight for the Xiao household.
The carriage stopped at the gate, and the driver jumped down. Pointing at the elder, he asked, “Is this Xiao Huai’an’s house?”
“It is! Who are you people?” The elder was puzzled. When did Xiao Huai’an have such wealthy acquaintances?
The driver, satisfied with the answer, ignored the elder and returned to the carriage. Speaking through the curtain, he said in a low voice, “Master, this is the place.”
From inside the carriage came a sharp voice, “Go knock on the door and tell that ungrateful daughter her parents have come to visit. She should come out and welcome us immediately!”
“Yes, sir!”
The driver pushed past the elder and used his whip to bang on the door.
“Miss Ye! Master Ye and Madam Ye have come to see you! Please come out to greet them!”
He repeated this several times, but there was no response from inside the yard.
Turning to the elder, the driver asked, “Is there no one in the house?”
The elder scoffed, “How should I know? I didn’t go inside. If no one’s answering, then maybe they’re not home!”