Chapter 16: Marry a Chicken, Follow a Chicken; Marry a Dog, Follow a Dog

At this moment, Luo Jin’an felt like he was trapped between ice and fire, unable to advance or retreat. Faintly, he could hear voices speaking around him.

Xu Nian fed him the prepared cherry juice and sea buckthorn juice. Fortunately, he still had the ability to swallow on his own. As the liquid slid down his throat, Luo Jin’an felt as if he were soaking in a hot spring, every pore on his body relaxing in comfort.

Watching as Luo Jin’an’s furrowed brows slowly eased, Xu Nian finally felt the weight on her heart lift.

Seeing that the villagers were still gathered around, she persuaded them, “Young Master Mu is fine now. There’s no need for everyone to keep crowding here. Let’s clear some space for fresh air.”

“Yes, yes, everyone, let’s go back to our work.”

After the crowd dispersed, Madam Wang and Madam Tian pulled Xu Nian aside. Seeing their serious expressions, Xu Nian felt puzzled.

“Grandmother, Mother, what’s wrong?”

“My dear child, how could you so casually take out the offerings given to you by the Mountain Goddess?”

“Nian’er, you’re not a child anymore. How could you be so careless, touching a man like that?”

Xu Nian looked from her grandmother to her mother and sighed helplessly. “Grandmother, if I hadn’t used what I had, what if Young Master Mu had lost his life right here?

“And Mother, I wasn’t ‘touching’ him. I was simply checking his body temperature.”

Madam Tian opened her mouth, wanting to say more, but after considering that it was an emergency, she decided to wait until things settled down before teaching Nian’er about proper etiquette.

Madam Wang, on the other hand, felt a little guilty. In her panic earlier, she hadn’t thought about such things. Sneaking a glance at her daughter-in-law’s expression, she quickly slipped away.

It wasn’t that Madam Wang, as a mother-in-law, feared her daughter-in-law, but she knew that she, a simple village woman, didn’t know as much as her learned daughter-in-law. After all, Madam Tian was the daughter of a scholar and had been educated since childhood.

Madam Tian shook her head helplessly as she watched the grandmother and granddaughter duo escape.

Because of a sudden heavy rain, the villagers were both relieved and worried—relieved that the drought was alleviated but concerned that the soaked grains might mold.

The rain continued for two whole days. Fortunately, it stopped in time; otherwise, Xu Nian feared that after the drought, they would now face a flood.

During this time, two notable events occurred. First, Luo Jin’an had recovered almost completely, though he now constantly followed Xu Nian around, asking endless questions. The second was that disagreements arose among the refugees.

Now, all the men of the Xu family had been called to a meeting by the village chief.

——

“Can you stop following me?”

“I’m not following you. My body feels stiff from lying down for so long. I’m just stretching my legs.”

“There’s plenty of space for you to move around. Why is it that wherever I go, you’re there too?”

“Oh~ what a coincidence.”

Xu Nian prided herself on being a mature adult, but at this moment, she found it difficult to maintain her composure. Ever since this guy had recovered, his personality had become much more easygoing.

Luo Jin’an looked at the girl, who was now puffing out her cheeks and glaring at him. He felt a strange itch in his palm, wanting to poke through her exterior and see what she was really like inside. He couldn’t deny that he was a little curious about her.

By now, the Xu family had grown accustomed to the two constantly bickering and no longer paid them much mind. Madam Zheng even joked with Madam Tian, saying,

“Sister-in-law, look at Nian’er and that young master bickering like a married couple.”

“Second sister-in-law, don’t say such things.”

Madam Zheng was momentarily stunned by the stern tone of Madam Tian. She had just been joking—why did her sister-in-law get upset?

Realizing she had spoken too harshly, Madam Tian explained, “Nian’er is already twelve. Second sister-in-law, you must be more careful with your words in the future. When we reach Beijiang, we’ll need to be even more cautious.”

Madam Zheng, though sometimes a little slow, had one good trait—she was willing to listen to advice.

Just as the two sisters-in-law finished speaking, the men of the Xu family returned from the meeting.

Madam Wang saw her husband looking troubled and couldn’t help but ask, “What did the village chief say to you all?”

Old Man Xu sighed, gathered the family together, and finally spoke, “You’ve all seen it—now that it’s rained, the drought has eased. Many people in the village no longer want to head north. Let’s hear your thoughts.”

Xu Youliang and Xu Fugui both turned to look at Xu Yaozu. They had long been accustomed to following their eldest brother’s lead in all matters.

Xu Yaozu made a decisive statement, “I suggest our family continue heading north.”

Hearing this, Madam Zheng and Young Madam Wang’s faces changed. They still had family back in their hometown. Though they didn’t know where their relatives were now, going to Beijiang would mean they might never see them again in this lifetime.

“I have my reasons for saying this,” Xu Yaozu continued. “Although the Zhenbei Army has held Qingyun City, the fief of the Prince of Zhenbei is in Beijiang. Who can guarantee that another war won’t break out? If that happens, will we have to flee again?

“Besides, even though I have obtained the title of a Juren, who knows how long it will take for the imperial court to assign me a post? Not to mention, the current state of the court is… unpredictable. But things would be different if we go to Beijiang. There, educated talents are scarce, and the Prince of Zhenbei has the authority to appoint officials. I believe that in Beijiang, we can truly elevate the status of the Xu family.”

Old Man Xu slapped his thigh, setting the decision—they would continue north.

“I know that continuing north will be hard on my second and third daughters-in-law,” he said. “But back then, we tightened our belts to support our eldest in his studies for this very reason—to change our family’s fate so that future generations wouldn’t have to suffer as we did.”

“Father, I’ll follow you and Big Brother’s decision.”

Xu Youliang was an honest and straightforward man. He didn’t understand complex reasoning, but he knew one thing—listening to his big brother was never wrong. Besides, his two sons were frail and would likely need their eldest uncle’s support in the future.

“I also agree to continue heading north.”

Xu Fugui wasn’t a stubborn man. He understood that rare things were the most valuable, and if a Juren like his big brother was rare in Beijiang, then his big brother’s worth would increase. That meant their entire family’s prospects would improve.

And so, the Xu family firmly decided to continue northward.

As an observer to this discussion, Xu Nian deeply realized the weight of the saying: “Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog.”

She quietly walked out of the cave and gazed at the drifting clouds in the sky, feeling somewhat stifled.

“What’s wrong? You don’t want to go to Beijiang?”

Xu Nian turned to see Luo Jin’an standing beside her, though she had no idea when he had arrived. She shook her head. There was no point in voicing her seemingly nonsensical thoughts—she didn’t want to be laughed at.

“Are you unsure of what Beijiang is like?”

Luo Jin’an didn’t mind whether Xu Nian truly felt that way or not. He looked up at the sky and curved his lips into a smile.

“Vast, heroic, free.”

Xu Nian found herself momentarily lost in thought as she gazed at the young man beside her. Wearing Xu Yaozu’s robe, his sleeves billowed gracefully, and the stray strands of hair falling over his forehead gave him an air of uninhibited freedom.

Especially those eyes—when he spoke of Beijiang, they no longer appeared so calm and unreadable. Perhaps that was the place that truly mattered to him.

He had successfully piqued her curiosity.

“Freedom sounds nice,” she mused.

“When I return to Beijiang, I’ll show you its landscapes properly.”

“Your family does business in Beijiang?”

“That’s not impossible.”

“Is your real name Mu Changsheng?”

“Changsheng is my courtesy name. You can call me Changsheng~ Gege.”

“Alright, Young Master Mu.”

“…”