Chapter 30: How to Find Peace

Despite her inner turmoil, Old Madam Feng knew she could not show weakness at this moment. Rolling her eyes, she sneered at Wei Yunlan, “I was just trying to be kind and sent herbs to your family. Could it be that I made a mistake?”

“No mistake, but these herbs smell suspicious. We didn’t dare to brew them for the children as you suggested,” Wei Yunlan replied, pulling a handful of herbs from the basket and offering them to the maid beside Madam Liang. “You can smell them and see if there’s a faint sour scent.”

The maid took the herbs, sniffed them, and nodded, then passed them to Madam Liang.

“Madam Liang can call for Madam Liu, who serves Old Madam Bai. These two herbs are known as bitter herb and silver hemp leaves; they are commonly used in folk remedies for phlegm and cough. However, their effectiveness is limited, and they are often used as fodder for livestock.”

As she spoke, a look of anger crossed Wei Yunlan’s face. “I noticed the sour smell from these herbs yesterday and thought Old Madam Feng was simply negligent. Seeing the young master of the Liang family in his current state, I now realize that Old Madam Feng’s oversight was not accidental—it clearly harbored ill intentions!”

“Miss Wei, be cautious with your words,” Old Master Feng said with a serious expression.

Wei Yunlan grew more impassioned as she continued, “Isn’t it true? Sending us grass smeared with pigeon fruit juice—how could that possibly be out of goodwill?

“If what Old Madam Feng says is true, and we had brewed this grass into a medicinal soup, our family would likely be facing illness right now.

“Even if we didn’t brew it and instead fed it to our livestock, who doesn’t know that my little niece just turned a month old and needs a bowl of sheep’s milk daily? If we had fed the bitter herb and silver hemp leaves to the ewe, my little niece would certainly be in danger!”

Madam Gao and Cheng Yue’e moved to Wei Yunlan’s side, Cheng Yue’e holding the sleeping Little Jiarong in her arms, her face filled with fear as she glared at the Feng family. “You wouldn’t spare even a child who just turned a month old. What a wicked heart you have!”

Madam Gao also had a stern expression as she coldly stated, “Our family merely punished your children for snatching things. This was your family’s wrongdoing, yet you retaliate against us. How unreasonable!”

The dispute had shifted from the Liang and Feng families to the Feng and Wei families, while Madam Liang stood quietly, fiddling with the bitter herb and silver hemp leaves, lost in thought.

Wei Yunlan spoke directly, “Madam Liang, we still have not traveled halfway to Beiguan, and we will be together for over a month. If this matter isn’t investigated thoroughly, how can anyone feel at ease on this journey?”

“What do you suggest we do to investigate?” Madam Liang asked.

“If one wants to hide something, it must be kept under wraps; every action leaves a trace. Madam Liang could easily trace this back through the feed given to the horses and sheep.” Investigating this would require sending someone back to the inn where they stayed yesterday. While other families might find this challenging, it would be easy for the Liang family to send a few servants and soldiers back, and Xie Guan likely wouldn’t mind making this arrangement for the Liang family.

Seeing that Madam Liang appeared to be swayed by Wei Yunlan’s words, Old Master Feng sighed, his face filled with humiliation. He clasped his hands and advised, “Madam Liang, this matter is suspicious. I hope you won’t take the words of others at face value. After all, what you see may not always reflect the truth!”

“Old Master Feng, manage your own family. As for how I conduct my affairs, I don’t need your advice,” Madam Liang said, her expression turning cold as she cast a deep look at Old Master Feng and Wei Yunlan before turning to walk toward Master Liang and Xie Guan.

As expected, Master Liang had persuaded Xie Guan to agree to temporarily stop the convoy in Qingfeng County for two days.

This two-day delay would be spread over the remaining days, adding a few extra miles to each day’s journey.

While this was not much for the Liang family, who would be riding in carriages, it would be a considerable burden for the other families in the convoy.

As she walked up to Wei Yunlan, the girl who had just inquired about the dispute with the Feng family, Bai Si, couldn’t help but complain quietly, “Sigh, I wonder how much benefit Xie Guan received from the Liang family. He seems to be favoring them all along the way.”

“Mind your words.”

Wei Yunlan gently patted the back of Bai Si’s hand resting on her arm. “If you feel that Xie Guan is making things convenient for them, then avoid provoking them in the future, and don’t get too close.”

Bai Si was somewhat surprised. “Elder Sister Wei, Grandma said the same thing.”

Wei Yunlan wasn’t surprised. Old Madam Feng was a muddle headed fool, but Old Madam Bai was a truly wise elder.

With such a wise elder in their midst, as a “stabilizing force,” the Bai family would not be scattered. Even if they couldn’t return to the capital and be exonerated, their lives would still be decent.

To avoid jostling the young master of the Liang family in the carriage, the convoy moved exceptionally slowly toward Qingfeng County.

Wei Yunlan noticed that Old Master Feng was continually trying to strike up a conversation with Master Liang.

For some reason, Master Liang’s attitude towards Old Master Feng was not as cold as Madam Liang’s.

However, Wei Yunlan no longer cared about this. Old Master Feng was cunning, and the Liang family was not easy to manipulate. The bigger the commotion between the Feng and Liang families, the more people involved in investigating this matter, the better.

This would reduce the number of personnel guarding the convoy, making it easier to move without being noticed.

Once the Wei family was gone, leaving only the Feng and Liang families, no matter how eloquent Old Master Feng became, trying to shift the blame, the seeds of suspicion would remain, and as long as they continued to travel with the Liang family, there would inevitably be further disputes.

At that point, whether they could reach Beiguan safely was far from certain!

“Qingfeng County is just ahead. I didn’t realize this country was so large.” Many in the convoy had a look of excitement in their eyes.

They had been staying at inns and guesthouses near the official road; they had never entered a city.

After so long enduring the monotony of hardship, accustomed to the bustling, lively capital, they felt a sense of exhilaration, like fish returning to water after a long drought.

However, before they reached the city gate, they heard Xie Guan say, “We will stop outside the city tonight and rest for two days. We will set out again on the day after tomorrow at the hour of the rooster.”

Then, Xie Guan instructed his deputy to find a suitable place to camp nearby.

He himself, along with four officials, Master Liang, Madam Liang, the young master, and several servants, went directly into Qingfeng County.

“I thought we could enter the city today!”

“Eating and sleeping in the open is not as good as staying at those country inns the past few days!”

At least there were beds to sleep in, better than sleeping on the ground.

Listening to the constant complaints from the convoy, Wei Yunlan felt a sense of relief.

Staying outside was not a bad thing.

The city was densely populated, and the houses were close together. Outside the city, in the woods, there was only their convoy.

If anything were to happen, it would be easier to escape outside the city than inside.