Chapter 56.1: Hug Fubao

The next day, it was a clear sky.

On her way home, Pear Blossom noticed that there were more groups of people scattered along the road. Some were even riding horses, wandering around the villages near Daliushu Village. She could immediately tell that these people were part of the same group as those from the other day.

Seeing a young girl walking alone, the men couldn’t help but look her up and down, their gazes filled with obvious disdain. Pear Blossom was certain that if they weren’t on a main road, these people might have attempted to abduct her.

Seeing the situation, she felt even more certain that her actions had been too lenient the other day. If possible, it would be best to completely eliminate this gang of thugs, so that the common folk wouldn’t have to walk in fear.

One of them recognized her as the girl they had tried to abduct when they entered the village, but in the end, she had been bought for thirty-two silver taels.

As a result, their eyes grew even bolder, and one man even made crude gestures toward her.

She didn’t want to cause trouble, nor did she want to attract their attention, so she quickly moved away from them.

However, through her system, she could still vaguely hear the group’s conversation.

“We’ve been here for two days, and there’s been no sign of them. Could they have already fled far away?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. The murderer is with a woman, making them slow-moving. We have people guarding all the roads around here. Where could they possibly escape to?”

“In my opinion, they must be hiding in some cave in the mountains or in one of these nearby villages, where the villagers are hiding them.”

“How coincidental, it’s been raining for two days straight. All the footprints have been washed away, and even the hunting dogs are at a loss.”

“So what should we do? Should we just keep guarding here?”

“Wait. If they’re really hiding in the mountains, they can’t stay there forever. If they’re in a villager’s house, they will eventually slip up. We’ll catch them eventually.”

“Catch them? They silently killed two of our men and managed to escape with a woman right under our noses. Even if we find them, whether they survive is another matter.”

“To hell with you! Stop trying to undermine our morale. That little thief just took advantage of the moment when we weren’t paying attention. If they really had such great skills, why would they need to escape? If they really were that capable, they should have killed the remaining three of us.”

“Pah, keep dreaming.”

“Too bad about that woman though. She’s as beautiful as a fairy. If it wasn’t for the boss wanting her, we’d have already had our way with her and sent her to the Jinfeng Tower. She could have entertained us anytime.”

“Hey, that one-eyed coward can’t even control a woman. What a useless piece of trash.”

Pear Blossom listened expressionlessly. Although the system’s voice was cold and indifferent, the vulgar language still made her feel disgusted, and a surge of anger rose inside her. She couldn’t help but wish to tear these people to shreds.

But now these people were near Daliushu Village. Even though she could use the system to scheme against one or two of them, it would inevitably bring trouble to the village, which would not be worth the risk.

After returning home, Dagen and his son were still building a house at the village entrance for the school. Pear Blossom told her mother about the situation around the village, reminding her to watch for anyone coming into the village. If anyone did come, she must make sure Miss Xia hides.

Mrs. Xiong agreed, but Pear Blossom felt it was not enough. She took a hoe and started digging earth in a hidden spot near the foot of the mountain, planning to dig a cellar over the next few days, just in case.

She had plenty of strength and dug quickly. According to the system’s estimate based on her work rate, if she dug for two hours every afternoon, she could create a small cave large enough to hold four or five people in about three days.

However, to avoid drawing attention, she didn’t plan to ask anyone at home for help. The space was small, and it was hard to turn around, so she decided to do it by herself.

She had training in the mornings, and in the afternoons, she dug the cellar. Even her strong body couldn’t handle it, so after two hours of digging, she went home to rest.

After taking a bath and getting ready, Dagen and Daniu came back, and Mrs. Xiong had already prepared the meal. The family sat down together to eat. Pear Blossom then told her father about what she saw on the road that afternoon. Dagen said he would keep an eye on things, and if anyone came into the village, he would immediately have Daniu come back and report.

Pear Blossom said, “We need to inform Sister Dong too. She’s very pretty, and those people are no good. If they lose one, they’ll just replace her with another. They could easily do something like that.”

Daniu asked, “The bandits are already coming down the mountain into the village. Isn’t the government going to do anything about it?”

Pear Blossom recalled what she had heard at the escort agency these past few days and sneered. “The government is just as bad! It’s better if they don’t come down to rob with the bandits! The city is not peaceful either. There’s fighting everywhere. In a small county, there are five or six hundred yamen runners. The government doesn’t pay them, so they have to live off the money they collect from the common people.”

Dagen sighed. “The common people are the ones suffering.”

Pear Blossom thought for a moment. “Never mind. I’ll go to the escort agency tomorrow and ask Murong Jin for a few days off. Once this blows over, I’ll go back.”

Having Xia Xunyan at home would help. If those people came into the village, Sister Dong, a young widow, had only an old woman and a weak scholar at home. If those men had evil intentions, no one could protect her.

Mrs. Xiong quickly said, “Then you should stay at home for a few days. They’re camping on the road and setting up checkpoints. I won’t feel at ease if you keep going back and forth.”

After hearing her mother’s words, Pear Blossom made up her mind.

After dinner, Xinghua excitedly came to find her, saying that Teacher Xia was going to teach her to read. Pear Blossom was momentarily stunned, as she had been thinking about going to find Dong Yun.

So she went to find Xia Xunyan and hesitated before asking if they could delay the lesson until tomorrow.

Xia Xunyan said, “Your younger siblings have already started their lessons today. You’re the last one. If you delay even a little, it’ll be hard to catch up.”

Seeing her looking troubled, he thought for a moment and said, “We’ll only have half an hour today, just to get familiar with it.”

It was already getting dark, and half an hour was all that was needed. She would still have time to visit Dong Yun afterwards, so Pear Blossom agreed and sat down properly at the desk.

What she didn’t know was that at that moment, Dong Yun was holding Fubao and walking toward her house.

Mrs. Xiong had finished eating and was resting by the door. When she saw Dong Yun coming, she smiled and asked, “Have you eaten?”

Dong Yun smiled and replied, “I just ate and came out for a walk to digest. Fubao insisted on finding Pear Blossom, so I brought her here.”

Mrs. Xiong extended her hands to Fubao and said, “Fubao, do you miss Pear Blossom?”

Fubao smiled and snuggled into her arms, nodding, “Yes, I haven’t seen Pear Blossom for a long time.”

“How long has it been? How many days has it been?”

Fubao, hearing this, stretched out one finger after another and said, “One day, two days…”

Her cute little appearance made everyone laugh. Mrs. Xiong said, “Pear Blossom is learning to read.”

Dong Yun was stunned for a moment.

When Fubao heard that Pear Blossom was inside, she didn’t care about anything else and quickly ran inside.

Dong Yun was puzzled, but seeing her daughter run inside, she didn’t have time to think too much and followed her in.

Mrs. Xiong didn’t stop her. She had already told Dong Yun about Xia Xunyan before, so there was no need to hide it. It was just that the rain had kept her from going to the Zeng family these past two days, but it wasn’t too late to explain things now.

Fubao had visited Pear Blossom’s house many times and knew exactly where her room was. After running into the yard, she headed straight for the left room in the west wing. Her little body bumped into the door with a clang, and the door creaked open.

Dong Yun looked up and saw a slender, elegant figure with her back to her, long hair cascading down her back. Sitting at the side table was Pear Blossom.

Pear Blossom was reading aloud, “Zi Ni Mingshi, Shaoyi prodigy…”

The desk was neatly arranged with the four treasures of the study: brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

Seeing this scene, Dong Yun stood still for a while, her mind in shock. The naive and straightforward girl, who had sworn just days ago to study with her, had already invited a female teacher to come and teach her at home. What did that make her feel?

Is it because she feels her own abilities are insufficient, or were the words she said earlier just casual remarks?

It turns out that in the few days they hadn’t seen each other, she had been focusing on serious study.

Dong Yun usually avoids conflicts and doesn’t argue much, but before this, she was a proud woman. She wasn’t without temper, and now, thinking about being treated this way, she felt disappointed, and a trace of anger began to rise in her heart. She didn’t understand why she was reacting so strongly to such a trivial matter, but in any case, she was thoroughly displeased.

If it were someone else, she wouldn’t care. If they didn’t teach, then so be it. She could enjoy her own time and be at ease.

But why was it her? The one who thought she could show her soft side to the girl in front of her?

She wouldn’t rush over to question her, but she sternly called out to her daughter: “Fubao, come back.”

The two people inside the room had already been startled when Fubao pushed the door open. Xia Xunyan, aware of the sensitivity of her identity, instinctively didn’t turn around. But when she heard that stern voice behind her, her hand, which had been resting on the table, suddenly clenched into a fist, trembling uncontrollably.

Pear Blossom immediately jumped to her feet. She was now more familiar with Dong Yun’s temperament, and just hearing that one tone, she knew it was over. She couldn’t care less at that moment and quickly put down the pen and paper, running toward Dong Yun.

Fubao, hearing her mother’s stern tone, frowned. Before she could react, she saw Pear Blossom running out, so she quickly followed behind, patting her feet.

“Dong sister——” Pear Blossom called, quickly catching up to the woman, her eyes cautiously examining her. “I was just going to look for you later…”

But within a breath, Dong Yun’s expression had already softened, and with a smile, she replied, “What are you looking for? I just had a meal and brought Fubao out for a walk to digest. We’ll leave soon. Go back and continue your studies, don’t waste time.”

Inside, Xia Xunyan, with her back to the door, heard the long sentence and trembled even more.

Even though Dong Yun was smiling, Pear Blossom could clearly sense the coldness in her eyes. She quickly shook her head. “No, it’s not urgent anyway.”

“Do as you like, I’ll take Fubao back,” Dong Yun said, not waiting for a response as she grabbed Fubao’s hand and walked out.

At this point, Fubao had already sensed her mother’s mood. Even though she didn’t want to go back, she didn’t dare to cause a scene and obediently let her mother lead her outside.

Mrs. Xiong, standing at the door, noticed they had just entered but were already leaving, so she quickly asked, “What happened? Why are you leaving so soon?”

Dong Yun’s expression remained unchanged as she casually replied, “Fubao insisted on going back.”

Without waiting for any more questions, she quickly picked up the child and walked out of the courtyard.

Mrs. Xiong stood at the door, still confused, but when she turned around, she saw her daughter hurriedly following behind them. This only deepened her confusion. She didn’t dare to interrupt at that moment and decided to wait until her daughter came back to ask.

After leaving the courtyard, Dong Yun didn’t intentionally speed up, and with Pear Blossom’s large strides, she caught up in two steps.

But after catching up, she didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t sure why the other was angry. Perhaps she did know, but Dong Yun’s expression was still the same, smiling and speaking in her usual tone. Pear Blossom knew that even if she asked, Dong Yun would just say she wasn’t angry.

She could only silently follow, hoping she would soften, hoping her mood would improve.

“I’ll carry Fubao,” Pear Blossom said cautiously.

She thought she would be refused, but to her surprise, Dong Yun stopped and, as if nothing had happened, handed the child over to her.

Pear Blossom, now even more uncertain, could only hold Fubao and follow closely behind.

Seeing that Dong Yun didn’t speak first, Pear Blossom didn’t dare to speak either. She had never seen her like this, and she felt a bit intimidated, but more than that, she was afraid that Dong Yun was upset.

They walked for quite a while before Pear Blossom finally mustered the courage to gently call, “Dong sister——”

Dong Yun responded with a “Hm.”

“I——” Pear Blossom started but quickly realized she didn’t know where to begin. Should she start with the incident of saving someone, or should she explain why she had promised to learn to read with her but then went to learn with someone else? Wasn’t that going back on her word?

After thinking for a moment, she cautiously said, “I originally planned to learn to read with you——”

Dong Yun smiled. “Learning with anyone is the same, just learn from whoever teaches well. I’ve been busy with farm work and house chores these years, I’m just like any other village woman. My knowledge has long been neglected. If I were to teach you, I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

Pear Blossom quickly replied, “No, you’re not like that— I really wanted to learn from you—”

Before she could say more, Dong Yun suddenly stopped and said, “Give me Fubao.”

It was only then that Pear Blossom realized they had reached the entrance to the Zeng family’s courtyard. Seeing Dong Yun reach out, she awkwardly handed over the child.

Just as she was about to follow her inside, Dong Yun blocked the entrance, letting Fubao go in on her own first. Then, turning to the young girl, she smiled and said, “Diligence makes mastery; idleness leads to neglect. The sky isn’t dark yet, go back and study. When you have time, come and play.”

Pear Blossom’s heart sank upon hearing this. This was the first time Dong Yun had rejected her at the door; it was unprecedented. She had truly become angry, and realizing this, Pear Blossom’s head buzzed.

“No— don’t send me away,” she quickly pleaded.

Dong Yun smiled. “I wouldn’t send you away. My daughter’s favorite person is you. I wish you could come and play every day. But you have training during the day and have to travel back and forth, and then you have to study. By the end of the day, there’s barely any time left. If I took more of your time away for Fubao, wouldn’t you be exhausted?”

Pear Blossom quickly shook her head. “I’m not tired, I’m not tired at all.”

Dong Yun, who had been smiling, now slightly lowered the corners of her mouth, and the coldness in her eyes spread, her full lips parted and closed. “But I’m tired. You should go back.”

Pear Blossom’s breath caught in her chest upon hearing those words. Her heart seemed to be gripped by a hand, squeezed painfully, and she suddenly couldn’t get a single word out.

As she watched the door about to close, Pear Blossom couldn’t contain her impulse. She jammed her hand into the doorframe, but as the heavy courtyard door slammed forward, it smashed onto her fingers, making a cracking sound.