Chapter 10

Elopement?!

In such an era, what a shocking and rebellious act that was.

Within just half a day, Xu Shuigēn and Han Sanni’er had become the hot topic of the entire Xu Family Village.

It was like a drop of water falling into a pot of hot oil—sparking an explosive uproar!!!

Of course, the Cao household—secluded and of special standing—was the one exception that remained quiet.

All morning, Xu Wanchun was immersed in the ocean of knowledge.

First she reviewed the herbs she had learned yesterday, then studied preparation methods, and by the time she had learned the first sixteen characters of the Thousand Character Classic, she left with her assignment in hand, under the satisfied gaze of her two teachers.

“Taohua really is bright as ice and snow,” Su Nan finally released the excitement she had been suppressing all morning as she watched the child leave.

She was a woman who loved to read. Though life in a secluded mountain village was peaceful, it was also lonely.

Now that she had found such a gifted child, her heart was naturally full of joy.

Cao Xiu was happy too, but he kept his reason. As if to soothe both his wife and himself, he murmured softly:
“No rush, no rush. Let’s be steady, and watch her character carefully.”

Xu Wanchun, unaware of her teachers’ delight and expectations, returned home hugging her notebook—only to find that her mother wasn’t there.

After pacing back and forth inside the house twice, worry gradually set in… Had something happened?

Her anxiety wasn’t without cause—her foster mother was always very attentive to her health, and mealtimes had never once been late.

Yet now, it was already mealtime, and the stove was still cold.

Thinking of the strange men who had occasionally appeared recently, Xu Wanchun’s heart tightened, and she rushed out at once.

“Taohua?” Xu Hehua was hurrying back home in quick steps when she saw her daughter’s little legs carrying her in a frantic run toward the neighbors.

Xu Wanchun skidded to a stop, then quickly turned back.
“Mom?”

“Eh? What’s this about?” Coming up to her daughter and seeing the joy written all over her face, Xu Hehua couldn’t help but laugh and ruffle her hair. “Hungry already? I lost track of time.”

“I’m not hungry—Uncle and Auntie gave me some snacks. Where did you go? And why are you covered in mud?” Whenever it rained, the roads stayed muddy for days, wearing out straw sandals quickly… but her foster mother’s appearance was excessive, no better than if she had rolled in a mud pit.

At that, Xu Hehua could only sigh helplessly. Leading her daughter back home, she explained:
“Your eldest cousin and the girl he likes ran away together last night. Your grandma came looking for me to ask about it.”

“They ran away?” After her initial surprise, Xu Wanchun frowned in displeasure. “It was raining outside—why did Grandma have to drag you into it? Look at you, soaked through. Hurry and change, or you’ll catch a cold.”

Without giving her foster mother a chance to argue, she pushed her out of the kitchen, then quickly scooped water into the pot…

By the time Xu Hehua had tidied herself up and returned to the kitchen with her wet clothes in her arms, the water in the pot was already—

Steam rose.

Xu Wanchun urged,
“The water’s about to boil, Mom, hurry and bring out the wooden tub. You need to take a hot bath.”

Xu Hehua refused.
“Why waste firewood? Summer’s already here, I’m not cold.”

But Xu Wanchun wouldn’t listen. She insisted her foster mother take the bath, and even cooked her some brown sugar ginger tea.

After the bath, and after drinking the sweet syrup, Xu Hehua did feel much more relaxed. But when she thought about how there had only been a single liang of brown sugar in the house—something she had hidden away for emergencies for her daughter—and now half of it had gone into her own stomach, her heart ached.
“… Dead girl, why are you so careless with things?”

“Mom, I’m hungry.”

“Alright, alright.” Xu Hehua instantly saw through her daughter’s attempt to change the subject. Though she grumbled with her mouth, her hands didn’t slow down.

Seeing that her mother no longer dwelled on the sugar, Xu Wanchun brought the conversation back.
“Did they find Big Cousin?”

“No. Your Grandpa gathered a lot of people, the whole village was combed through, but not a single scrap of clothing was found.”

“And Grandma?” Xu Wanchun asked.

“What else? She cried for half the day.”

Xu Wanchun’s mouth twitched.
“You’d better persuade her when you have the chance. If she keeps crying like this, her eyes will give out sooner or later.”

“No use. I’ve been trying to persuade her for decades… Eh, Taohua, where do you think that boy Shuigen could’ve gone?”

“How would I know?” Xu Wanchun blurted out instinctively. But after the words left her mouth, a thought struck her.
“Could it be… he hid in the Qingshan mountains? Are there caves there?”

“There are caves,” Xu Hehua remembered as well. But—
“It’s raining, so the mountain paths are no good. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow… In the end, it’s your uncle and aunt’s fault. They wouldn’t agree no matter what, even when Sanni was such a good girl. And now look, they’ve lost everything.”

Seeing her foster mother grow more upset the longer she spoke, Xu Wanchun quickly comforted her.
“Mom, don’t worry. Big Cousin isn’t young anymore, he won’t let himself starve.”

“These past few years life has gotten better—he could even beg and still survive. I’m just worried he might run into bandits. It’s dangerous outside.”

Having grown up in a peaceful world, Xu Wanchun hadn’t even considered the problem of bandits. She fell silent for a few seconds, unable to think of any solution. Then she deliberately switched the subject.
“This morning I learned sixteen characters. Auntie said I’m smart.”

“Really?!” Xu Hehua was instantly overjoyed. She forgot everything else, her whole heart and eyes filled only with pride that her daughter could now read.

Xu Wanchun was glad to coax her mother. She went to the west room and brought back her notebook.

Xu Hehua couldn’t recognize a single large character, but when she traced the writing on the page, she felt nothing but awe.
“… Our Taohua’s handwriting is beautiful.”

In fact, it wasn’t beautiful at all—deliberately crooked to match the level of a beginner.
“Mom, let me teach you how to read.”

After all, one day she would need to take the university entrance exam—

If all went well, she would stay in a big city in the future. Her foster mother, who depended on her completely and treated her like the apple of her eye—caring for every detail of food, clothing, and daily life—was always by her side. That was why Xu Wanchun planned to take her along when she left.

It wasn’t just about filial piety or repaying kindness. More than anything, she didn’t want her mother to spend her whole life trapped in this tiny mountain village. She wanted to show her the world.

Xu Hehua was stunned.
“What? Me… me?”

“Of course,” Xu Wanchun said matter-of-factly. “I’ll teach you.” She had long since noticed that while her mother could be cheerful and open in some things, when it came to words, she was both self-conscious and secretly yearning. If not for fear of breaking character, she would have already taught her.

“No, no, no… I’m too stupid. How could I ever learn to write?” Xu Hehua shook her hands in panic. She had never imagined she could recognize words—she was already thirty-one years old.

Xu Wanchun’s eyes turned sly as she switched her approach.
“Why not? I was even thinking that if I teach you, it’ll be like reviewing the material multiple times. That way, I’ll definitely learn even better myself.”

Wait… it could be like that?

Even so, Xu Hehua still wanted to refuse. But every time she opened her mouth, the hidden yearning deep in her heart made her fall silent. By the end, she was so nervous her palms were slick with sweat.

Xu Wanchun pretended not to notice her hesitation. She picked up a pencil and quickly wrote the numbers 1 through 10 in Arabic numerals in her notebook. After explaining their meanings, she shoved it into her mother’s hands, then asked with a proud grin,
“Well? Isn’t it simple?”

The little notebook felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. Yet after hearing her daughter’s explanation, and silently repeating the numbers a few times in her mind, Xu Hehua suddenly felt… maybe it wasn’t so unbearable. Maybe words weren’t as unreachable as she had always thought.

“Mom, it’s really easy. We’ll take it slow. Even if you just learn two characters a day, you’ll know sixty by the end of a month.”

Seeing her mother’s eyes gradually light up, Xu Wanchun knew she was almost convinced, and quickly served up the final encouragement.

It worked. Clutching the notebook tightly, Xu Hehua said expectantly,
“Then… then I’ll give it a try?”

“Of course you’ll try!”

“…But don’t tell anyone else.” She wanted to learn in secret. If she failed, she could just pretend it never happened.

“Alright, I won’t say a word.”

“Not even your Uncle Cao and Auntie Su.”

“I know!”

“……”

---

The next morning at six-thirty, Xu Wanchun arrived at the Cao household again with her completed homework.

This had been arranged yesterday: from now on, she would study every morning, six days a week.

The routine was similar to the day before—two hours learning characters, two hours studying medicinal herbs.

When she returned home with her mind brimming with fresh knowledge, she saw her grandmother’s face full of joy.

Xu Wanchun put her schoolbag back in her room before heading to the kitchen—

In the kitchen:
“Grandma, was Big Cousin found?”

Old Madam Xu’s smile bloomed like a chrysanthemum.
“So you already know?”

Xu Wanchun didn’t actually know, but the old woman’s mood was so easy to read that she turned to her mother instead.

Xu Hehua was sorting through mushrooms the old lady had brought over. A small rain had fallen, and mushrooms had sprouted everywhere.

Seeing her daughter’s confusion, she explained,
“Your Big Cousin and his girl didn’t go anywhere. They hid in the Green Mountain for a whole day and night. This morning, the two of them came back on their own… Look, those mushrooms your grandma brought were picked by the two of them.”

As she spoke, she couldn’t help but chuckle and sigh.
“They’re planning to get married. Said their reputations are ruined now, and marriage would be difficult otherwise.”

Smart people—cutting the knot at its root. Xu Wanchun was a little surprised at how bold they were.
“Whose idea was it?”

Xu Hehua replied with meaning,
“Shuigen said it was his.”

Most likely it was Han Sanya then. Resting her chin in her hands, Xu Wanchun found herself wanting to meet the girl. But she wondered—would a woman who offended her in-laws before even marrying in still manage to live comfortably? And would her cousin always protect her?

“Your mother says you’ve been learning characters?” Now that her eldest grandson was safe and sound, Old Madam Xu had the mind to care about her granddaughter.

Xu Wanchun picked up some mushrooms to sort as well.
“Yes, I study half a day each morning.”

Old Madam Xu frowned in puzzlement.
“What’s the use of learning to read? Your grandma’s been illiterate all her life, and haven’t I managed just fine?”

Fine? Xu Wanchun disagreed. Maybe for others it was fine, but for her, the thought of being blind to words and trapped in a mountain village farming for life was unbearable.

Not wanting her daughter to argue with the old lady, Xu Hehua took over.
“I’m the one who sent her to study.”

Old Madam Xu spoke earnestly,
“We’re just mud-legged farmers. Our fate is to work the fields all our lives. Better to learn weaving, build up a dowry, and find a good husband.”

Xu Hehua hadn’t wanted to bring up the past, but since the old woman seemed ready to nag endlessly, she drew a deep breath and said darkly,
“How is literacy useless? Didn’t Li Shanhai reject your daughter precisely because she couldn’t read?”

That was the killing blow. The old lady faltered for a long moment, then looked away in evasion and turned to her granddaughter.
“Taohua, your Big Cousin is getting married tomorrow. Come with your mother, and Grandma will save you a chicken leg.”

“Thank you, Grandma!” Xu Wanchun smiled sweetly on the surface, though in her heart she was curious about that scumbag Li Shanhai.

Could a man who betrayed his original wife—one who had shown him such great kindness—really live happily ever after?!