Chapter 53 – Wherever Song Jiuyuan is, I, Jiang Wan, will surely be there

“Is this warm jade?”

Jiang Wan wasn’t some clueless girl. Her single question caused Song Jiuyuan to fall into a moment of silence.

“Mm, it should fetch some silver,” he replied.

After saying that, he closed his eyes, clearly not intending to continue the conversation. Jiang Wan was left speechless.

She had no idea who had offended him today—he was acting like he’d eaten gunpowder. She casually put the jade pendant away and turned to leave the inn.

Xiao Deng and Old Zhang were driving the ox cart. Jiang Wan quietly followed using her powers. Along the way, she couldn’t help but touch the warm jade again.

She didn’t know whether it was truly as magical as described in novels and dramas—warm in winter and cool in summer.

But it was definitely a good item. She couldn’t bear to pawn it, and for Song Jiuyuan, it might hold some special meaning.

Jiang Wan tossed the jade into her spatial storage and kept moving, soon arriving at the market that Ren Bang and the others had mentioned.

They had come quite early—some shops hadn’t even opened yet. That worked in Jiang Wan’s favor, so she headed straight for a medicine shop.

This idea had been inspired by Chen Ce—she wanted to gather medicinal herbs just in case, and also hoped to concoct some defensive items.

With a flick of her fingers, the herbs were absorbed into her space. Jiang Wan left behind a silver note on the counter—at least the shop wouldn’t suffer a loss.

Then she went to a seed store and did the same. Thinking of the large grassy field in her space, her appetite stirred again, and she stopped by a sapling shop.

She planned to grow some fruit trees—this way, she’d always have something to eat. The ready-made food in her space had already been consumed quite a bit. Imitating what she had done before, Jiang Wan swept through the market.

In addition, she also gathered winter supplies—cotton clothes, pants, quilts, and more. She had memorized the route earlier and didn’t need to wait for Xiao Deng and Old Zhang.

Jiang Wan moved quickly, afraid of delays, and used her powers to hurry back to the inn. By then, the inn was practically in an uproar.

“Officer, Jiang Wan must’ve run away!”

Madam Song Second spoke firmly, a hint of schadenfreude in her eyes as she glanced at Madam Song First.

Madam Song Third also hated Jiang Wan to the core. She stood with Madam Song Second and echoed confidently:

“Exactly! She’s been gone so long and still hasn’t shown up. If she didn’t run, what else could it be?”

“Ladies, perhaps Madam Song just went to relieve herself. Maybe you’re misunderstanding.”

Hua Xiao, as she said this, stole a glance at Lin Tingyu and noticed him nodding unconsciously. She was satisfied.

So what if Madam Song was impressive?

She was still a criminal. But she, Hua Xiao, was different. If she could get on good terms with Lin Tingyu, she would benefit a lot.

So if she could use Madam Song to draw closer to Lin Tingyu, Hua Xiao figured it wasn’t a bad deal.

Madam Song Second sneered and turned to Song Chen beside her, saying, “Relieving herself, huh? Chen’er, go check the latrine.”

“Alright!”

Song Chen also despised Jiang Wan. Without waiting for the officer’s orders, he rushed to the latrine.

To silence Ren Bang, he even made a round through the kitchen and elsewhere. When he returned, he said to Ren Bang:

“Officer, I’ve checked the kitchen and the latrine. I didn’t see that dear sister-in-law of mine anywhere.”

He thought smugly, Let’s see how you’ll keep favoring Jiang Wan now.

“My wife is a woman—how could you check the latrine properly?”

Song Jiuyuan’s expression turned cold. He rarely spoke, but a single sentence made Song Chen’s face flush a deep red.

“I called out for her outside the latrine.”

“Chen’er.”

Madam Song Second tugged Song Chen’s sleeve and said directly, “If you can’t go, I can. I’ll go right now.”

“Sister-in-law, are you trying to make things difficult for us?”

Madam Song First was furious. She declared firmly, “Wanwan wouldn’t run away.”

Seeing how upset she was, looking unwell, Song Second Brother gently tugged Madam Song Second’s sleeve.

He actually felt some sympathy for this eldest sister-in-law. But the more he did, the more rebellious Madam Song Second became. She shook him off harshly.

“Whether she ran or not—we’ll only know if we check!”

Now that Old Madam Song had become senile, Madam Song Second and Third had grown increasingly arrogant without restraint.

Ren Bang had a headache. He wanted to protect Jiang Wan, but if she kept not showing up and he didn’t take action, it would provoke public outrage.

Hua Xiao’s eyes flickered with calculation. “How about this—I’m not one of your people, so I can be more neutral. Why don’t I go check for you?”

Her tone was soft, and her demeanor gentle, which easily earned goodwill. Song Chen felt his heart skip a beat.

“What are you trying to check?”

A soft voice suddenly came from the entrance.

Jiang Wan walked in with a smile, holding a small bundle in her hand.

“I just ran into a fellow villager at the door and traded a few clothes with him. What were you all talking about?”

“Sister-in-law! They were accusing you of running away!”

Song Jiuli ran over, quickly taking the bundle from her hands, her nose stinging with emotion.

Earlier, when their family was pushed to the brink, she missed her sister-in-law terribly. If Wanwan had been there, the Song family wouldn’t have been able to bully them.

Jiang Wan chuckled, “You must all be mistaken. Everyone in the capital knows how deeply I love my husband.

Wherever Song Jiuyuan is, I, Jiang Wan, will surely be there. If I wanted to run, why would I wait until now?”

Her explanation sounded suspiciously like a love confession. Song Jiuyuan’s ears turned red, and his heartbeat quickened.

He pressed his hand over his chest and finally felt his emotions settle a little.

This woman… always speaks the raw truth.

Everyone: …

She said such deeply affectionate words without even blushing. Truly…

Not far away, Lin Tingyu heard Jiang Wan’s words and felt an inexplicable sense of loss.

It was as if he had met her too late.

Hua Xiao, on the other hand, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t foolish—she could see how much attention Lin Tingyu paid to Jiang Wan.

But after what Jiang Wan said tonight, perhaps he would finally give up.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Song family was left speechless by Jiang Wan’s rebuttal. Song Jiuli gave a little snort in agreement.

“Exactly! You lot are just full from eating and have nothing better to do. All you’re doing is wasting the officer’s time!”

“W-We didn’t mean to…”

Madam Song Second started to panic, sensing that things were going badly. Sure enough, Ren Bang’s expression was stiff as he sneered coldly:

“Stirring up trouble for no reason—deserves punishment!”

He then looked at the officers behind him and ordered, “Ten lashes each—to set an example!”

“Understood, boss!”

The officers responded and dragged Madam Song Second, Madam Song Third, and Song Chen outside for a beating.

Ten lashes weren’t fatal, but for people already covered in bruises, it was agonizing.

Song Jiuli and Song Jiuchi watched with glee and even went outside to enjoy the show.

Jiang Wan gave Ren Bang a slight nod to express her gratitude. With so many eyes and ears around, she wasn’t going to reveal anything about herself.

After the thrashing, the Song family quieted down for a few days. Once Xiao Deng and Old Zhang returned, they packed up to get ready for departure.

At the inn’s entrance, Hua Xiao quietly approached Jiang Wan and said:

“Madam Song, I truly am grateful for you saving us earlier.

That’s why I wanted to give you a little advice. What you did before was wrong. If you’d come back any later, you might have dragged your family down with you.”