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“Big Sister, let’s go out and find someone to help us look for Mother!” Erya cried.
She couldn’t live without her mother.
She could go a lifetime without eating meat, but she couldn’t live without her mother.
Daya’s eyes were also filled with tears, but she was more composed than Erya. “We need to find Li Zheng; his words carry weight. Otherwise, others might not be willing to help.”
In the freezing cold, with snow falling heavily and the darkness so thick you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, who would be willing to go up the mountain to search for someone?
“Erya, take good care of Sanya and don’t run off. I’ll go to Li Zheng’s house first, then… then I’ll visit the Xiao family.”
The Xiao family, who had broken marriage arrangement with Daya, consisted of several hunters, all of whom were most familiar with the terrain of the mountain.
“If that old pious woman, Zhao Shi, is there, they won’t help us.”
“I know. If they help us find Mother, then the ten taels of betrothal money she promised to return will be considered canceled.”
Xiao Yan’s eyes held a look of approval.
“A reward will surely draw brave men.”
Life and death were at stake; there was no room for hesitation.
What could he do?
“I know. That area is where the aristocratic families live.”
The Yunque area, originally the site of the former dynasty’s ancestral temple, was now a gathering place for the powerful and influential.
“That’s right,” Xiao Yan nodded. “Would you dare to go and deliver a letter to the Yun Guogong’s residence?”
“You want to find someone to help look for my mother?” Daya was quick-witted and soon understood Xiao Yan’s intention.
“Yes.”
“Then I dare!”
“Good. I’ll write the letter right away, and once it’s finished, you’ll deliver it.”
“I won’t go myself. I’ll find someone else to send it for me,” Daya said. “I need to go into the mountains to help look for my mother.”
“As long as you find someone reliable, that’s fine.”
“Alright, I’ll think of someone. You start writing the letter. I’ll go to Li Zheng’s house first.”
“Go ahead.” Xiao Yan thought to himself, if Daya were a boy, with such calm and composed character, unshaken in the face of danger, she would have a promising future.
What a pity.
“There’s no such thing as a reliable person. I’ll go!” Erya said to Xiao Yan. “Hurry up and write, once it’s done, I’ll deliver it. You keep an eye on Sanya!”
“Second Sister is afraid of the dark,” Sanya said, “You lead the way, and I’ll give you courage.”
“That’s nonsense, I’m not afraid.”
Xiao Yan was just about to start writing the letter when he heard Daya’s crying from outside the courtyard.
His heart suddenly sank.
Lu Qiniang had encountered trouble!
He struggled to get off the kang, slipped on his shoes, and stumbled as he hurried outside.
It had started snowing again outside, the snowflakes drifting down softly.
During the warm afternoon, the snowmelt had turned to water, now frozen on the ground.
A layer of ice covered by snow, the ground was extremely slippery.
Xiao Yan had barely stepped outside when he slipped and fell heavily to the ground.
“Ah! Who fell?”
Xiao Yan, lying on the ground, heard Lu Qiniang’s familiar loud voice.
The pain from the fall was immediately replaced by overwhelming joy.
Lu Qiniang was alive! She had returned!
It was only then that Xiao Yan felt a rush of fear.
He couldn’t imagine how the family would survive without Lu Qiniang, or what the future of the three girls would look like.
Lu Qiniang was the soul of the family.
Fortunately, she was fine. It seemed like what she always said—good people are rewarded—was true.
With her kind heart, she wouldn’t get into trouble.
“Xiao Yan, why did you come out? Let me see, did you hurt yourself when you fell?”
Lu Qiniang hurriedly entered, but as soon as she stepped in, her feet slipped, and she fell to the ground.
Oh no, not just falling to the ground, but rather, falling and tumbling right onto Xiao Yan.
They ended up in a heap, with their heads at opposite ends.
It seemed that Xiao Yan had suffered some internal injuries. His chest was squeezed, leaving him with no air to breathe.
Lu Qiniang… really was a bit heavy…
“Bah, bah, bah,” Lu Qiniang spat out the snow in her mouth and rolled to one side. “Xiao Yan, are you alright?”
Xiao Yan felt the air rush back into his chest, and his entire body seemed to come alive again.
“I’m fine.” He endured the pain in his body as he spoke.
“That’s good to hear. Today, I… it’s hard to explain. But the result is good. Come, let me help you inside, then I’ll tell you everything. Daya, keep an eye on the wild boar for me. Once I’m done, your father will handle it.”
Xiao Yan, still recovering from the shock, asked, “Wild boar?”
So Lu Qiniang had gone hunting wild boar today, which was why she had returned so late?
A thin layer of anger appeared on his face. He really wanted to scold her.
—Her actions were incredibly dangerous.
But then, thinking it over again, Xiao Yan realized that if it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t have been in such a situation.
In the end, it was all because of him.
Xiao Yan felt a sharp pain in his chest; every movement sent waves of agony.
Yet, he gritted his teeth and endured, allowing Lu Qiniang to help him back onto the kang.
He pushed open the window and saw Lu Qiniang proudly dragging a wild boar into the courtyard, tossing it down and saying, “This big wild boar weighs nearly one hundred and eighty jin. Most wild boars aren’t this big; it might fetch a good price.”
Daya stood by her side, crying uncontrollably, unable to speak.
Erya was furious. “Mother, didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t go into the deep mountains? If something happens to you today, I’ll just take some poison and end it all—what’s the point of living anymore!”
That fiery little spitfire, her mouth never spared anyone.
Sanya clung to Lu Qiniang’s leg, crying uncontrollably, unable to calm herself.
“Alright, alright, Mother didn’t mean to. Come, let’s go inside, and I’ll explain everything to you.”
Lu Qiniang, unable to bear how dirty she was, first went to change her clothes before sitting down to explain the events of the day.
She really hadn’t gone into the deep mountains.
Making money was indeed good, but life was more important.
However, just after she had tied the second knot, she saw Hutou, stumbling and crawling, coming down the mountain.
“Hutou!” she called out to him.
Hutou, still a half-grown boy, panicked when things went wrong. At this moment, his face was covered in tears as he explained that Xiao Dashan had encountered a wild boar and been shoved into a trap by it.
He tried to rescue his father, but Xiao Dashan had shouted at him, telling him to run quickly and go find help.
“…I thought, saving someone is as urgent as putting out a fire, so I had Hutou take me to rescue his father.”
The result was that Lu Qiniang subdued the wild boar, even capturing it alive, and then tied it up.
She made a simple stretcher and, together with Hutou, carried the injured Xiao Dashan down the mountain.
She even wrapped vines around herself and stubbornly dragged the wild boar all the way to the foot of the mountain.
“I sent Hutou and his father back, and then, worried that others might get jealous when they saw the wild boar, I carried it and ran straight home. I was exhausted!”
Mother had returned, safe and sound, talking and laughing just like before.
All the panic Daya had felt earlier immediately turned into grievance, and she began to sob uncontrollably.
Lu Qiniang set the boar down and covered her mouth, saying, “Daya, don’t cry, or you’ll attract attention, and we won’t be able to hide the wild boar anymore.”
She had specifically told Xiao Dashan and his son not to mention the life-saving deed.
The gratitude for saving their lives was unnecessary. Keeping the matter of the wild boar to themselves was enough of a repayment.
After all, she had gotten a wild boar!
Xiao Yan watched her, eyes gleaming with amusement as she excitedly recounted the rescue. A smile unconsciously tugged at the corner of his lips.
But the pain in his chest made him furrow his brows.
“Mother, why did you save him? He still owes us twenty taels of silver for the bride price!” Erya said angrily.