Chapter 52: Father Remarries

Bai Mucheng came out but only saw Tian Mi’s distant figure and Huang Yuanying grinning like a fool.

“Smile all you want, I’m better looking, younger, and of a higher status. She turned you down—how long can you be happy about that?” Bai Mucheng thought bitterly.

He coldly asked, “Is the task finished?”

Huang Yuanying immediately bowed and replied, “Your Highness, it will be ready by tomorrow.”

“Then hurry up and get to it.”

Huang Yuanying responded, “Yes!” Just as he was about to leave, Bai Mucheng asked again, “Did Dr. Tian come for something?”

Huang Yuanying answered, “Tian Mi came to buy some shops and houses.”

Without saying another word, Bai Mucheng turned and walked away. He remembered that the medicine expenses from the military camp had not been settled with her yet. While rewards and punishments had to wait until the war was over, the money owed could be settled now.

When Tian Mi returned to the valley, lunch was ready, and everyone gathered to eat together, chatting about what they would do when the city gates of Qinghe County opened.

Her eldest uncle said, “I’ll go with Erdi to the pharmacy to find a job, save some money, then rent a shop and open a small pharmacy. We’ll take it slow.”

Given the hardships of the disaster years, it was already good that everyone had managed to survive together.

Uncle Xu said, “We still have some silver. I’ll rent a place in the city, find some work, and once we get a feel for things, we’ll go into business. Everyone else can take their time.”

Uncles Cui, Meng, and Liu all expressed their intent to go to the city to find work and get familiar with the local situation.

Tian Mi listened to their plans while eating. The lively and hopeful atmosphere made her feel at ease.

Tian Mi spoke up, “I ran into a bandit den not long ago, took them down, and got some silver. With that, I bought a few shops and houses. I’m planning to start a business. Uncles, and brothers, it might be better for you all to help me instead of looking for work elsewhere.”

Everyone looked at her in surprise while still chewing their food. We’ve all lived in the mountains together—when did you become such a rich lady?

Aunt Feng was the first to happily call out, “I knew Mi’er was destined for great things, she’s really blessed!”

Everyone else was stunned. “You went after bandits again? Is being a bandit really that easy?”

Xu Feiyan exclaimed, “Tian Mi, you didn’t take me with you?”

Another missed adventure!

Tian Dabiao asked, “Daughter, dealing with bandits is dangerous! Why did you go by yourself?”

Her grandmother also said, “You silly girl, what if something happened?”

Tian Mi laughed, “It’s fine. There weren’t many of them, I took their money and ran.”

Everyone finally relaxed.

Her eldest uncle asked, “Mi’er, what kind of business are you planning to do?”

Tian Mi replied, “I’ll start with a pharmacy, then open a restaurant and a beauty shop. Later, we can explore other options. If any of you uncles want to start a business, I can invest in it, and we can do it together.”

This time, everyone was so shocked they couldn’t even close their mouths!

When did you become such a wealthy lady?

Tian Mi felt pleased with their reactions. After being an invisible rich lady for so long, she finally got to bask in the glow of her wealth.

After a long pause, everyone burst into laughter. Finally, they had something to do, and everyone felt much more at ease.

These people had once traveled together as bodyguards, relying on each other and sharing deep bonds. After Mi’er’s mother passed away, they had more or less stayed at one house or another, always looking after her. They even feared she might be hungry when they left, so they’d sneak extra food into her bag.

“A child without a mother should be looked after more carefully.”

One family didn’t know where she had eaten that day, and another didn’t know where she had eaten the next. They just kept feeding her, day after day.

Uncle Xu happily said, “Alright, once the gates of Qinghe County open, we’ll go over and set up the shop. We’ll need to prepare everything in advance.”

The aunts, uncles, and sisters-in-law were the happiest. Although running errands was profitable, it meant being away for months at a time and constantly worrying about their safety. Now, things were much better—following Mi’er to open a shop was much safer, and no one wanted to be stuck alone in an empty house all the time.

Uncle Xu was the best choice to manage the restaurant. Tian Mi worried, though, that he might have his own plans, and at their age, running errands again would be too exhausting. Having him help her run the restaurant was exactly what she hoped for.

This was the happiest day since they arrived in the valley. Before even leaving, they had already arranged their future—just following Tian Mi’s lead would be enough. She was a clever and capable child.

The future was promising!

After finishing their meal, everyone went about their own tasks. Minghui Jie, Feiyan and Miaomiao took the children somewhere to play, while Tian Dabiao seemed to have something on his mind.

Tian Mi could guess what he wanted to say.

“Dad, do you have something to tell me?”

Tian Dabiao hesitated, stammering, “Mi’er, Dad… Dad…”

He stole a glance at Tian Mi but couldn’t say anything for a while. Tian Mi laughed inwardly. There was no need to be so shy about remarrying. It wasn’t a shameful matter.

“Dad, what is it? Just tell me!”

Finally, Tian Dabiao, his face flushed red, said, “If Dad… if I… find you… a new mother to take care of you, what do you think?”

Tian Mi immediately said, “Sure! Our family is too small, and Dad should find a new mother. I think Minghui Jie would be great. What do you think, Dad?”

Tian Dabiao looked surprised and muttered a soft “Hmm! Great!” He nodded, his face turning an even darker shade of red.

Tian Mi barely held in her laughter. “That’s great then! You can go tell grandmother and the two uncles, I’ll go ask Minghui Jie how she feels about it.”

Tian Dabiao nodded, embarrassed, and quickly ran off.

Once he was far enough away, Tian Mi burst out laughing. It was adorable how shy he was about a second marriage.

Tian Mi then called out, “Minghui Jie, come out!”

Minghui Jie, her face red, walked out from behind the wall.

She was too shy to even look at Tian Mi and quietly asked, “When did you know?”

Tian Mi smiled, “My mother passed away over four years ago. Dad really should remarry. Don’t let his usual rough demeanor fool you—he’s really good to people.”

Minghui Jie, of course, knew this. She shot Tian Mi a playful glance and said, “You little rascal!”

Grandmother and the rest of the family were reasonable people. They wouldn’t oppose Dad remarrying.

So, the plan to remarry was essentially settled.

Now, only Huang Yuanying didn’t know yet!

Bai Mucheng was planning to eliminate everyone associated with Bai Dongyuan, including Xu Yunzhou. He was a smart man who had hidden his family away after the attack on Qinghe County. But in the end, he couldn’t escape the city and was captured, along with his mother and Zhou Rongrong. Bai Dongyuan’s people were undergoing strict interrogation. The most serious cases would be executed or exiled, and the less serious ones would have their households erased and be sold into slavery.

Xu Yunzhou was unlucky. He actually thought Bai Dongyuan’s plan to sell his father was a good one, but since he knew the plan, he figured his family would be eliminated afterward. After all, that was a huge piece of leverage.

Unless he had something just as powerful on Bai Dongyuan, he knew his only option was to betray him. The best case would be to sell his father and let Bai Dongyuan know it clearly, ideally selling him to Bai Dongyuan himself.

Unfortunately, plans never work out. His father was gone!

Now, in order to survive, Xu Yunzhou had no choice but to sell out Bai Dongyuan. But without the right connections, his attempt to exploit the city’s weaknesses had no one to hand it over to before Qinghe County fell.

Such was fate!