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Chapter 96: Arrival

Just as everyone had finished tying up the bandits and before they could set off, an unexpected event occurred ahead.

It wasn’t another danger, but rather a group of about twenty women—some cradling babies, others holding children by the hand—making their way down the mountain.

When they reached Wen Ruyu and her group, the women all knelt down together.

Even before they opened their mouths, Wen Ruyu had a rough idea of what the situation was.

Then the women began to plead:
“Please, lords and ladies, show mercy and spare them!”
“They were truly driven to desperation—so many people have starved to death on the way, that’s why they resorted to robbery.”
“If you kill them, what will happen to us widows and orphans?”
“Take us instead, and exchange us for our men’s lives!”
“We adults can go hungry, but without their fathers, the children will starve to death!”

As they spoke, they had their children kneel and kowtow repeatedly.

The head guard wanted to hear Wen Ruyu’s opinion first, so he approached her and said, “These people look thin and malnourished. They don’t understand the codes of the underworld either. They really do seem like desperate refugees who became bandits along the way.”

Wen Ruyu didn’t speak at first. She simply signaled her household staff to surround the women and children.

Then she said, “If you were fleeing from disaster, the county town is just ahead—why didn’t you go there?”

Besides, if they were traveling from the south to the north, they should have passed through the Qinghe County region.

How come she had never heard of these refugees?

Could they have been part of the bandits who attacked and burned the Longxing Temple outside Qinghe?

But they didn’t seem like that either.

So where exactly did these refugees come from?

One woman in her thirties, cradling her child and crying, said, “The Yellow River burst its banks. The north is in chaos—bandits are everywhere. We fled from the north. There were tens of thousands of us at the start. But the numbers were too great, and no county would take us in. We scattered and moved in waves. Many died. After splitting several times, only about a hundred of us are left. The court ignored us, and that’s how we ended up like this!”

Her cries were pitiful, and soon the other women around her began to cry too.

Wen Ruyu listened in silence.

At this moment, Lu Cheng ran up to her and said, “The Yellow River broke its banks about ten years ago. They repaired the dikes back then. I haven’t heard any news about another breach recently.”

Lu Mingzhu, beside Wen Ruyu, frowned and said, “The Yellow River is quite far from Qinghe County. It’s understandable if the news hasn’t reached us yet. Besides, everyone’s attention has been on Prince Cheng’s rebellion and the border unrest lately. Maybe there was news, but we just didn’t notice it.”

“So what should we do now?” Lu Cheng asked, waiting for Wen Ruyu’s instruction.

Wen Ruyu thought for a moment and then said, “Tie them up too. When we get to the city gates, we’ll let the women and children leave. If any insist on following, they should also be handed over to the authorities. For all we know, they might have accomplices and could alert others. We’re almost there—don’t let soft-heartedness ruin everything.”

Even if they had been forced into becoming bandits, that didn’t excuse the crimes they had committed. People on her side had died—how could they just let it go?

If they let them go now, who’s to say they wouldn’t come back later to dig traps and ambush them?

When it came to the lives of strangers versus her own, Wen Ruyu naturally prioritized her own.

Besides, whether these people were genuine refugees was just speculation. There was no certainty.

In times like this, facts mattered most. She wasn’t a savior trying to ensure every citizen lived well.

In such chaotic times, as long as she wasn’t harming others, what was wrong with a bit of selfishness?

As for the fate of these people in the future, that wasn’t her concern—that was for the authorities to handle.

None of the escort guards had any objections to her decision.

Even though these bandits looked pitiful, some of their own had just died fighting them. To let them go just like that—they couldn’t accept it.

Sure, the bandits had wives and children, and they might’ve been forced into this, but what about the wives, children, and parents of their fallen brothers? Weren’t they pitiful too?

In the end, if what these people said was true, then the real object of hatred should be the government, not the bandits.

Resources were scarce. In this age of scarcity, government inaction essentially allowed civilians to slaughter each other.

There was no point in civilians hating one another. The only meaningful thing was identifying the root of the problem—and eradicating it.

Otherwise, the phenomenon of civilians being forced into banditry and killing one another would only grow more frequent.

Fearing changes on the road, Wen Ruyu and her group sped up their travel in the afternoon.

By evening, just before the city gates closed, they finally reached the city.

Wen Ruyu then had the steward Lu Cheng work with the escort guards to hand the criminals over to the authorities.

They had already informed the city gate guards about this beforehand.

Suppressing bandits was considered a political achievement, so the county magistrate would not refuse to accept them.

Those primarily responsible for the bandit suppression would also be rewarded, so the Lu family had to send someone to explain the situation clearly.

The women in the group, including Wen Ruyu, didn’t need to go.

Once they settled into their lodging, Wen Ruyu finally had someone inquire about recent events they’d missed.

Apparently, the imperial court had descended into chaos—a young emperor had died, and the empress dowager had been placed under house arrest.

Even the Yellow River flood and the refugee crisis turned out to be real.

Both the north and south were in disarray, and Wen Ruyu now fully understood the gravity of the situation.

She believed there must still be capable people in the court to resolve such civil unrest.

After all, hundreds of talented individuals were selected every three years. How could they not come up with viable solutions?

It was just that the internal rot had run too deep.

When Zhao Shu heard that things were chaotic in the capital, she became very worried and came to speak with Wen Ruyu that night, concerned about her husband.

“I don’t know how my husband is doing in the capital.”

After such a long and exhausting journey, everyone was physically and emotionally drained.

At that moment, Zhao Shu wanted to cry—afraid something had happened to Lu Songnian in the capital.

It was rumored that many had been killed in the latest political purges. Lu Songnian didn’t have any strong backing, and if someone wanted to get rid of him, they wouldn’t even need a reason.

Wen Ruyu comforted her, “He’s not a high-ranking official, and he only recently passed the exam. How many connections could he possibly have? What kind of interests could he be involved in? Don’t scare yourself. Killing too many people serves no purpose for the court. If they run short of talent, they’ll just have to invest time and energy recruiting again.”

Zhao Shu felt a bit more at ease after hearing this.

Compared to her eldest son in the capital, Wen Ruyu was more concerned about the Lu family’s youngest daughter.

“How’s Bao’er? Is everything okay?”

Zhao Shu said, “She’s doing great. She has no idea what’s going on outside and slept soundly in her nanny’s arms today.”

Lu Qing wasn’t frightened either. To him, today’s ordeal was more like an adventure.

The boy even remembered stories his second uncle once told him. That night, he couldn’t sleep from excitement and wanted to play “bandit games” with Nier and the others—clearly unaware of the seriousness of it all.

Lu Jinnian had also gradually recovered in the past few days—able to eat and sleep again.

Realizing there was no reliable man at home now, he felt he had to step up and began pulling himself together.

The next morning, Lu Jinnian had breakfast early and went to arrange for boat rentals.

After handing the bandits over to the authorities, the county magistrate—upon learning that Wen Ruyu’s eldest son held an official position and Lu Ke was a juren (a degree-holder)—invited Wen Ruyu to stay for a couple of days, even arranging for the women in the family to be hosted.

This gave Zhao Shu and Lin Xiaoyin time to rest. They also wrote a letter detailing the recent events and sent it to the capital.

When Lu Songnian and Lu Ke received the letter, they finally knew where Wen Ruyu and the others were.

Reading about their encounter with bandits and the resulting deaths, both brothers broke into a cold sweat.

From that day on, neither of them could sleep peacefully.

It wasn’t until Wen Ruyu and the whole Lu family finally arrived in the capital that Lu Songnian and Lu Ke could finally rest easy.

Coincidentally, Lu Songnian had the day off when they arrived. The two brothers had already prepared a carriage and waited at the docks.

They arrived near noon, ate lunch at the docks, and finally saw Wen Ruyu and the others.

Upon seeing her, Lu Songnian and Lu Ke knelt down and kowtowed to Wen Ruyu. After she helped them up, they quietly wiped their tears.

Then, Wen Ruyu and the rest of the women returned to the Lu family residence by carriage.

They didn’t rush to do anything that day—only cleaned up the house and settled in.

After disembarking, Wen Ruyu first wanted to bathe, so she let her son and daughter-in-law go ahead.

Naturally, the best courtyard in the house was reserved for Wen Ruyu.

Everyone knew she was especially fond of Lu Mingzhu, so Mingzhu stayed in the east wing of her courtyard—they shared the same space like mother and daughter.

Now that Lu Songnian was an official, their home in the capital, while not as large as their estate in Qinghe, looked far more prestigious.

Lu Songnian and the others had moved in earlier and had already had the rooms warmed up by the servants, so Wen Ruyu felt comfortable right away.

That night, after washing up, the whole family gathered at her place.

Lu Songnian, Lu Ke, and the others came with red eyes—tears of joy from being reunited after a long separation.

When Wen Ruyu learned that not only had Lu Songnian survived the court’s turmoil, he had even been granted an official post, she was truly delighted.

That meant her honorary title (gaoming) was now within reach.

Still, Wen Ruyu reminded Lu Songnian, “This recent court turmoil should serve as a lesson. From now on, our family must not get involved in factions or cliques. We don’t have a strong background in the capital, so we must focus on self-preservation. Avoid dangerous things, and don’t fall for grand promises. Just do what’s right in front of you.”

Of course, that didn’t mean they could avoid being used entirely.

But Wen Ruyu trusted that Lu Songnian was steady and intelligent—not someone who would be easily harmed.

Now that they had a capital official in the family and Lu Songnian’s appointment as editor was confirmed, there was no need to live in fear of every threat.

Whatever came their way, they would deal with it head-on.

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