The courtyard was desolately cold, not to mention people, not even a shadow.

If it weren’t for the moonlight, the footprints in the courtyard would have been particularly chaotic, indicating that several people had indeed approached here just now. Gu Yundong even began to doubt whether all the sounds he heard earlier were hallucinations.

But… the thief who was just here, where did he go?

Gu Yunshu rushed out, “Big sister? Where is everyone?”

Gu Yundong rubbed his chin and thought, “Could it be that they have other sinister intentions?”

“What?” 

“I don’t know.” Gu Yundong let him go inside first, and then went to check the kitchen, outhouse, and other places. There was indeed no one there, so he turned back.

Gu Yunshu asked in a low voice, “Big sister, did you find anything?”

“No, maybe… they came here tonight just to scout.” That’s all she could think of, but to be cautious, Gu Yundong didn’t sleep all night, keeping herself highly alert.

Therefore, the next day when she went out, she had obvious dark circles under her eyes.

So she planned to go to the homestead in the morning and then come back to catch up on sleep quickly, to prevent those thieves from coming back at night.

Who knew that when she arrived at the courtyard of the Zeng family, she saw Shao Qingyuan again.

There was no one in the courtyard. Mrs. Dong was boiling ginger tea, and her daughter, the seven-year-old girl she saw yesterday, was helping to make the fire. The nine-year-old eldest son and the five-year-old youngest son were not at home; they had gone out to collect firewood.

Gu Yundong walked up to Shao Qingyuan and sat down, asking him, “Did Madam ask you to come for lunch?”

“No,” Shao Qingyuan said, “I’m waiting for you here.”

Gu Yundong was surprised, “Waiting for me? What’s the matter? Are you going to hunt wild boars in the mountains again? Ah, did you find the tracks of the third wild boar?”

Shao Qingyuan said, “…”

“I haven’t been to the mountains these past two days. I waited for you to tell you that your house has been targeted,” Shao Qingyuan said solemnly. “Last night, four ruffians sneaked into the yard where you live, intending to steal something.”

“You saw them?”

“Yeah.” Shao Qingyuan nodded. “I knocked them out and took them away.”

Doing good deeds should be acknowledged.

Gu Yundong had an expression on her face that was particularly complicated, accentuated by the dark circles under her eyes.

Shao Qingyuan couldn’t help but furrow his brows. “What’s wrong?”

Gu Yundong thought, whether he meant well or expected gratitude.

So she tried to say it as tactfully as possible, “Actually… these past two days, I, um, have been waiting for thieves to come. So, I thought, um, since building my house would definitely make many people jealous, instead of constantly guarding against sabotage, it’s better to set an example and let everyone see what the consequences are for targeting our house. Don’t think that just because there are no adult men in our house, we’re easy to bully. Last night… uh, I was sitting in the hall… waiting for them.”

As she spoke, it seemed like she heard someone grunt. She originally thought it was those thieves making a sound due to accidentally hurting themselves, but it wasn’t.

Shao Qingyuan tightened his grip on her hand slightly, and his lips pursed tightly.

Gu Yundong didn’t really blame him, but Shao Qingyuan got up abruptly and said, “Got it.”

Then he left, striding away with his long legs.

Gu Yundong didn’t even have time to say ‘thank you’. She sighed quietly, touching her forehead.

After talking to Mrs. Dong for a few words, Gu Yundong went back to sleep for the afternoon. She wasn’t particularly sleepy in the evening.

So when she heard movement outside in the courtyard, she suddenly sat up from the bed.