Chapter 3: Are You Crazy?

Yu Yiran, born into the prestigious Yu family of the Prime Minister’s residence, was as close as brothers with Yan Jinzhao, the fourth son of the Yan family. Knowing of the Yan family’s downfall, he specifically asked his father for this assignment.

He had met Yan Huan before. The former Yan Huan appeared aloof, like an autumn chrysanthemum in September, solitary and proud. Even though he was a frequent visitor to the Yan residence, she would only nod to him from afar. How could she be so flustered and bewildered as she was now?

Before he could even ask what was going on, Mama Jiang rushed out from inside, her face full of panic. She looked Yan Huan up and down before letting out a long sigh of relief.

“Miss, it’s so good you’re alright! How did the backyard catch fire? And it’s so big?”

“Which heartless bastard set the fire? Our Yan family is already in this state, do they want to wipe us out completely?”

“Could it be that vile concubine Tao who ran back to set the fire again? She emptied the storeroom, and now she’s setting fire to the residence! Isn’t she afraid of retribution?”

“Oh heavens! How can a person be so wicked? If I ever run into her again, I’ll tear her to pieces!”

It must be said that Mama Jiang was truly a thoughtful person. Every time she appeared, she could successfully get Yan Huan out of a difficult situation, arranging everything clearly for her.

Sure enough, after hearing Mama Jiang’s words, a hint of understanding flickered in Yu Yiran’s eyes, and his face took on a somewhat solemn expression.

Whether it was the concubine causing trouble in the residence or someone taking the opportunity to kick them when they were down, he had to investigate. However, the immediate priority was to settle this family of women and children.

His sixth younger sister had suffered a great shock and couldn’t be disturbed by any more troubles. He knew her importance in the hearts of Yan Jinzhao and his brothers. Before coming, he had already heard that his sixth sister had attempted to hang herself because of this upheaval and was barely brought back from the brink of death. Now that she had encountered this again, if anything else happened to frighten her, wouldn’t Jinzhao come after him to settle the score?
Although the Yan family’s confiscation of property was unavoidable, what he could do was to try his best to prevent anyone from making things difficult for them.

First, he had Mama Jiang help Yan Huan inside to rest. As he stepped into the gate of the Yan residence, Yu Yiran realized that things were a bit serious.

Earlier, he had thought that there was only a small fire in the Yan residence. After all, there were so many people in the residence, and it was broad daylight, so how big could the fire get?

But looking at the ruins in front of him, he realized that he had underestimated the seriousness of the situation.

A group of female servants in the residence sat on the ground, some crying and some making a fuss. Although these things no longer belonged to them after the confiscation, they could at least take some personal belongings with them. But now a fire had burned everything, how could they not be heartbroken?

Everything that could be burned in the backyard had turned to ashes, leaving only some blackened stone walls standing there.

The front yard was still in a sea of fire. It looked like the fire had just spread here. The officials who came to confiscate the property instantly turned into firefighters, rushing up to help one after another.

After the confiscation, this place would be imperial property. They came to confiscate, and if they just watched the imperial property turn into a pile of ashes, they wouldn’t be able to report back.

Yu Yiran had a bit of a headache. He hadn’t expected this scene at all.

Everyone in the capital knew the temperament of Madam Xu, the wife of the Yan family. Seeing her sitting on the ground, looking lost and dispirited, he knew he wouldn’t be able to get anything out of her, so he could only turn to look at Yan Huan, who was sitting aside and looked slightly better.

But Yan Huan also looked like she hadn’t recovered from the shock. Helplessly, he could only ask Mama Jiang.

What exactly Mama Jiang and Yu Yiran said, Yan Huan didn’t know and didn’t want to know. She also knew that Yu Yiran wouldn’t make things difficult for them, but she felt a bit guilty, hoping that they wouldn’t implicate him. However, thinking that his father was the esteemed Prime Minister, she felt relieved.

The Yan family members were respectfully taken to prison.

On that day, many residences of the Crown Prince’s faction in the capital were raided. However, the talk of the town among the common people in the capital after meals was all about the Yan family. After all, it was the first time they had seen a confiscation of property where the officials returned empty-handed.

This was the first time in Yan Huan’s life that she had entered a prison. Perhaps because she had her spatial ability to rely on, she wasn’t too afraid, but more curious.

The Crown Prince was the legitimate heir to the throne, and naturally, many followed him. The entire prison was already overcrowded.

At this moment, no one cared about the separation of men and women. Entire families were locked up together, not separated.

The family finally reunited and naturally held each other and wept bitterly.

Madam Xu clutched Yan Qingyi’s sleeve, crying with snot and tears, completely losing her usual dignified appearance.

Several sons consciously formed a circle, protecting their parents inside to prevent their mother from embarrassing herself in front of outsiders.

Although Yan Qingyi felt a bit embarrassed, knowing that his wife had never experienced such a shock, he could only stiffly give her a perfunctory hug to show comfort. After some hesitation, he still sighed softly and gently patted her back.
“Linghe, it’s my fault that you all have suffered.”

Yan Huan stood aside, and her eyes inexplicably turned red.

Although Madam Xu didn’t manage the household well and didn’t know how to control servants, she had filial children and a loving husband. Wasn’t she also a winner in life?

After a period of grief, the family sat together, the atmosphere somewhat heavy. Everyone knew what the future held, and they could only take it one step at a time. Being able to sit together as a whole family was already the best outcome.

Yan Huan sat in this cage, observing the various aspects of life around her, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

Those imprisoned here used to be the powerful and wealthy officials of the capital, but at this moment, each of them had lost their former spirit.

Some were crying out injustice, some were wailing, but what attracted Yan Huan’s attention the most was the disheveled girl squatting in the corner of the next cell.

That girl squatted in the corner, drawing circles on the ground with a stick while actually singing.

There were all sorts of people here, even crazy ones, so singing wasn’t surprising. However, the song that person sang made Yan Huan unable to remain calm.

Those familiar lyrics, the melody engraved in her bones, almost made her scream out.

Loving you walking alone in the dark alley,
Loving you in your unyielding stance…

“An Isolated Brave Man”

It was actually the secret code song for the children of later generations!

Yan Huan felt a surge of ecstasy in her heart. Had she met a fellow乡 (xiāng – native place/hometown person)? She had never thought that she could meet a fellow乡 in this damn place she had transmigrated to, and they were even locked up in the same prison, sharing the same fate.

However, with everyone watching, how could she confirm if the person opposite was a fellow乡?

In just a moment, Yan Huan came up with a plan. She loudly called out to the opposite side, “Come de wei!” (A nonsensical phrase used to test for familiarity with internet slang).

“ABC!”

The girl’s body jolted, and she slowly raised her head, looking at Yan Huan with an incredulous expression.

One of the three great joys in life: meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land!

The Yan family and the Jiang family all stared blankly at the two people across the bars who were excitedly grabbing each other’s hands, screaming and jumping like crazy. At the same time, a thought emerged in their minds: Oh no, could they have gone mad from this shock?