Chapter 54 – Lady Song, are you trying to persuade me to give up my child?

“Who are you?”

Jiang Wan glanced at her coldly, her gaze sending a chill down one’s spine. Hua Xiao felt her heart tremble under that look.

“Lady Song, I… I didn’t mean anything by it, I was just kindly reminding you.”

“Noisy!”

Song Jiuyuan’s voice was icy and indifferent. He didn’t even look directly at Hua Xiao, but despite his harsh tone, he was clearly protecting Jiang Wan.

Song Jiuli quickly added, “Even our own family isn’t angry, so why are you pretending to be a do-gooder? Right, brother?”

She said this while looking at Song Jiuyuan, but to her surprise, it wasn’t him who replied—instead, Song Jiuchi answered.

“Yes.”

Madam Song looked at Hua Xiao coldly. “Did your father never teach you not to meddle in others’ affairs?”

She was staring at Hua Xiao’s father as she said this. Hua Father quickly tugged at Hua Xiao.

“Xiao Xiao, don’t speak carelessly.”

“Father, I’m doing it for her own good.”

Hua Xiao frowned, clearly not understanding the Song family. If Jiang Wan ran away and got caught, their entire family could be punished.

But not only were they not angry, they were actually defending Jiang Wan. How absurd.

Hua Father looked helpless as he pulled Hua Xiao to the side. “That’s their family’s business. Stay out of it.”

“Brother Tingyu.”

Hua Xiao jogged up to Lin Tingyu with a pitiful expression. “I was just kindly reminding Lady Song, but she seemed really unhappy about it.”

She thought Lin Tingyu would take her side, but to her dismay, his brow furrowed, and he spoke in a gentle yet cold voice.

“What Lady Song chooses to do is her own business. You shouldn’t have interfered.”

Hua Xiao: …

Seeing her completely deflated, Jiang Wan couldn’t help but laugh, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

She said with a straight face to Song Jiuli beside her, “Li’er, there’s an old man in the capital, already eighty years old. Do you know what he said when people asked him his secret to longevity?”

“What did he say?”

Song Jiuli looked over in confusion, clearly not understanding why Jiang Wan was asking her this.

Jiang Wan chuckled and replied, “He said, ‘I never meddle in other people’s business.’”

“Pfft…”

Song Jiuli couldn’t hold back a laugh, and even Madam Song was all smiles. Song Jiuchi and Song Jiuyuan also slightly curled their lips.

Not far away, Hua Xiao’s face flushed red with anger at Jiang Wan’s words. Her beautiful eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

“Xiao Xiao, don’t be upset. Father knows you meant well, but it’s their family’s matter.”

Hua Father softly comforted Hua Xiao. She felt wronged but, mindful of her image, said nothing more.

Xiao Deng and Old Zhang returned with grains and dry rations. Ren Bang simply began distributing them to everyone before letting them go their separate ways.

People lined up for food. Madam Song told Jiang Wan and Song Jiuli to rest, while Song Jiuchi went to queue for the family’s rations.

During the break, Jiang Wan unintentionally noticed Chen Ce and his wife quietly arguing.

She didn’t need to guess to know what it was about. Soon, Chen Ce went to queue for food while Madam Chen sulked and found a place to sit and wipe her tears.

“Jiang Wan.”

Song Jiuyuan suddenly spoke. His gaze landed on Madam Chen not far away, and remembering his earlier promise, Jiang Wan walked toward her.

“Mother, don’t cry, okay?”

Little Chen Wenhao was hugging Madam Chen’s leg, his baby voice comforting her.

Madam Chen choked up as she stroked his hair. “Wenhao, be good and let Mommy have a moment of quiet, okay?”

“But Wenhao’s worried about you.”

Wenhao pouted and tiptoed to gently wipe away her tears.

“Wenhao, Auntie wants to talk to your mommy for a bit, okay? Can you go over to your father?”

Jiang Wan unconsciously softened her tone. Wenhao hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.”

He ran toward Chen Ce, who was queuing nearby. Only after seeing him arrive safely did Madam Chen relax.

“Lady Song, are you here to persuade me to give up the child?”

As she spoke, her palm gently rested on her lower abdomen. Her eyes were soft, and her entire being radiated maternal warmth.

“No.”

Jiang Wan shook her head and answered honestly, “Chen Ce came to me earlier and asked me to find some herbs, but I refused.”

“He… he was only thinking of my well-being.”

Madam Chen sighed, her eyes brimming with tears. “After I gave birth to Wenhao, I haven’t been able to conceive again.

Who would’ve thought that in the middle of exile, I’d suddenly be pregnant again? It’s really not the best timing, but I can’t bear to give up this child.”

“The road ahead is rough. When your pregnancy advances, it may be dangerous.”

Jiang Wan knew logically that Chen Ce wasn’t wrong. But looking into Madam Chen’s sorrowful eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything harsh.

“I know.”

Madam Chen gently stroked her stomach. “Last night, when my husband tried to talk me out of it, I almost agreed.

But do you know, Lady Song? Last night, I felt the baby kick. That was the child pleading with me, begging me not to abandon her.”

Jiang Wan had never been a mother and couldn’t fully empathize. All she could do now was try to comfort her.

“Whether you keep the child is your decision. But first, you must take care of your own health. Don’t get too emotional—it’s not good for either of you.”

“I understand. Thank you, Lady Song.”

Madam Chen was truly grateful to Jiang Wan. They spoke in soft tones for a while, mostly Jiang Wan comforting her and giving her some advice.

Before Chen Ce returned, Jiang Wan had already gone back to Song Jiuyuan’s side. Seeing the confusion in his eyes, she quietly explained the reason for the argument.

Song Jiuyuan frowned and fell silent. Song Jiuli, however, huffed in indignation.

“That’s a life! How could Chen Ce be so heartless?”

“Li’er!”

Madam Song tapped her head disapprovingly. “We’re not going on a pleasure trip—we’re being exiled.

It’s said the desolate lands are barren. With so much hardship ahead, Chen Ce’s thinking isn’t entirely unreasonable.”

Her few words made everyone fall silent again. Song Jiuyuan closed his eyes and finally muttered two words.

“My fault.”

Perhaps this situation had touched on a painful memory for him, as he remained silent for the rest of the journey.

Meanwhile, Lin Tingyu and his group seemed to be heading in the same direction, following not too far behind.

Along the way, Jiang Wan keenly noticed that Hua Xiao was constantly circling around Lin Tingyu. Tsk. Looks like the Sixth Prince’s sweet little bride got intercepted too.

When bad things happened to her enemies, Jiang Wan was happy. And by extension, Lin Tingyu looked a little more pleasing to her now.

Because they had raided the market and distributed food today, Jiang Wan was feeling generous—everyone’s meal was decent.

Jiang Wan found a chance to slip into the woods and dragged out the dead wolf she’d stored in her space earlier.

Luckily, the space kept things fresh. It looked just like it had been freshly hunted, so others probably wouldn’t suspect anything.

Still, when the crowd saw a delicate young lady dragging a whole wolf behind her, they couldn’t help but be a little shocked.

Especially Hua Xiao—her eyes went wide, clearly frightened out of her wits.

Were ancient women all this fierce?

That was a wolf!