Chapter 161: Father and Daughter Meet
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
So her father was coming back too?
The last time she sent something to her father, there was no response. She didn’t know if it had arrived or not. The Yu family didn’t say anything, but Yu Wan could tell that they didn’t believe that her father was still alive. After all, other than Widow Liu’s husband and Aunt Luo’s son, there was no news of her father.
No matter what, as long as she did not see her father’s iron plate, she believed that her father was still alive.
After saying that, Master Qin left.
Yu Wan did not tell her mother and the Yu family about this news for the time being. She felt that she had to go to the Capital and personally investigate the situation. Coincidentally, the business with Master Qin had been decided. There weren’t enough jars of stinky tofu and fermented bean curd, so she went to town to order them.
“Uncle, don’t forget to drink the medicine.” Before leaving the old residence, she went to the kitchen to remind her uncle.
Uncle, who was painstakingly studying the recipe, nodded with a flushed face. “I won’t forget!”
“Then I’ll go out for a while,” Yu Wan said.
“It’s almost time to eat. Where are you going?” Uncle asked.
Yu Wan avoided the important topic and said, “I’m going to town to buy jars. We don’t have enough jars at home. I plan to order another five hundred.”
At this point, Uncle thought of something. “There’s not enough space in the courtyard. We even lend Aunt Luo’s house. I’m thinking of sending out this batch of goods first. Should we expand the backyard later?”
Their workshop provided lunch. They made lunch at Aunt Luo’s house and ate at Aunt Luo’s house. But now, it was not just a matter of eating. Just the four millstones alone almost occupied the entire backyard.
Yu Wan also noticed it, but the villagers were resting today and the house was empty. She didn’t think about it for a moment. “It’s going to be expanded. Uncle, do you have any ideas?”
Uncle smiled and said, “Your brother knows a lot of people. If you really want to build it, I’ll get him to find someone later.”
“Okay.”
Uncle added, “Have lunch before you leave.”
“No.” Yu Wan grabbed a cornbread that she had eaten in the morning. “I’ll go early and come back early!”
Uncle wanted to say something, but Yu Wan had already slipped out. Uncle gasped. “Are you bullying me because I can’t catch up with my crippled leg? Bruiser!”
“Hey! Uncle!” Little Bruiser, who was squatting in the room and secretly eating pancakes, wiped his mouth and ran over calmly. “What’s the matter?”
Uncle cut a large piece of braised pork belly and wrapped it in oil paper. “Quick, send it to your sister!”
“Oh.” Little Bruiser took the meat and ran out of the old residence. “Sis, Sis!”
Yu Wan, who was eating a steamed bun, turned around. “What’s wrong?”
“Uncle asked me to give it to you.” Little Bruiser handed the pork belly to Yu Wan. “Are you going out again? You’re not bringing me along again!”
Little fellow, are you addicted to traveling? Yu Wan flicked his forehead with her fingertip. “I’m going to do something serious, not play.”
“I want to go,” Little Bruiser said.
Yu Wan threatened, “I’m not taking the ox cart. Can you walk?”
Little Bruiser puffed out his chest and said, “I can walk! I can definitely walk!”
Ten miles, little fool!
It was not a heavy job, so it was fine to bring Little Bruiser along. However, Yu Wan could not bear to let her feet suffer and rented an ox cart for Shuanzi.
The ox cart was slower than her. When they arrived at Lotus Flower Town, it was already past noon. There was no time to order jars. Yu Wan went straight to the carriage shop and rented a carriage to the Capital.
Today, the Capital was exceptionally lively. There were many city guards on the streets and restaurants filled with people. It looked like something big was about to happen.
“Have you heard? The Xiongnu have surrendered!”
After passing by a teahouse, Yu Wan heard a loud conversation coming from inside. She stopped in her tracks and pulled her brother to stand under the windowsill.
“Sis?” Little Bruiser looked up in confusion.
Yu Wan gestured for Little Bruiser to keep quiet.
“They really surrendered?”
“How could that be fake? Even Grand Marshal Xiao was mobilized! The title of War God is not exaggerated!”
The world’s Grand Marshal, Xiao Zhenting, had been in the military for half his life and had never been defeated. He was nicknamed “War God Xiao”. Yu Wan had not come to the Capital a few times in vain. She had heard a little about this War God Xiao. She heard that he was the second son of the Xiao family’s legitimate wife and had married the former Princess Consort Yan, who was also Yan Jiuchao’s biological mother.
No wonder the princess consort asked her to bring the three little fellows to the Xiao Manor. The sounds from the second floor of the teahouse continued—
“But I heard that the reason why they defeated the Xiongnu so quickly this time was because someone found out about the spies from the Prefecture You and turned the tables on the Xiongnu army.”
“No, there was a list of spies. After Grand Marshal Xiao obtained the list, he beat them at their own game and revealed fake military intelligence to the spies. That was why the Xiongnu army suffered a crushing defeat.”
“Isn’t it all the same!”
“How can this be the same? Are pears the same as apricots?”
“They’re all fruits!”
The scholars in the teahouse started arguing, and the topic quickly changed. Yu Wan saw that there was no need to stop and left with Little Bruiser. From those people’s words, she was sure that the borders had really won the war. She wondered if the people who were captured would be able to return immediately.
“Sis, I’m hungry,” Little Bruiser said as he rubbed his chubby belly.
“I’ve already given you the streaky pork, yet you’re still hungry?” Wasn’t this little fellow’s appetite a little scary?
Little Bruiser hung his head.
“What do you want to eat? Noodles?” Yu Wan asked.
Little Bruiser shook his head, his eyes still on his shoes. He raised his hand and pointed weakly at the street opposite. “Osmanthus cake.”
Yu Wan was both angry and amused. “I don’t think you’re hungry. You’re just gluttonous!”
“Definitely not… slurp!” Little Bruiser gulped.
Yu Wan : “…”
Yu Wan brought Little Bruiser along.
That osmanthus cake shop had been around for decades. The people queuing up were almost all across the street. It was no wonder that Little Bruiser was gluttonous. The two of them queued for a long time. When it was finally their turn, there was only one piece left.
“How did you sell it?” Yu Wan asked.
“Ten copper coins,” the lady boss said.
Yu Wan went to take the copper coins from her purse, but suddenly, a fair hand reached over domineeringly and placed the copper coins on the table. “I want it. Wrap it up for me.”
Yu Wan looked at the owner of the hand and realized that it was actually an acquaintance. If she remembered correctly, this girl was Yan Ruyu’s personal maidservant, right? She had seen her at the Master Chef Competition.
“I came first,” Yu Wan said indifferently.
Lychee rolled her eyes at her and said arrogantly, “So what?”
Yu Wan said coldly, “Does your Yan Manor lack this osmanthus cake? Are you deliberately looking for trouble?”
The lady boss looked at Lychee and then at Yu Wan. She didn’t know who to give the osmanthus cake to.
Lychee reached out to snatch it, but Yu Wan grabbed her hand.
At this moment, Yan Ruyu slowly walked over. “Forget it, Lychee. If Miss Yu wants it, just give it to her. Miss Yu is right. The Yan Manor doesn’t lack osmanthus cake, but Miss Yu is different. She’s from the countryside and doesn’t eat such good food every day.”
Lychee sneered and threw the osmanthus cake back onto the table. “For you, country bumpkin!”
The lady boss tactfully retreated into the room. It was obvious that this kind of noble lady was not someone a small businessman like them could afford to offend.
Yu Wan glanced at the osmanthus cake that had been broken into two. “This osmanthus cake is mine to begin with. Do I need you to give it to me? Is Miss Yan bored and deliberately guarding the road to find trouble with me?”
Yan Ruyu narrowed her eyes. “I haven’t settled the score between Madam Du and Chef Bao. Be sensible and don’t embarrass yourself.”
Yu Wan was surprised. “What debt does Miss Yan want to settle with Madam Du and Chef Bao?”
Yan Ruyu said in disgust, “If it weren’t for you, would Madam Du have left for no reason? Also, Chef Bao left the Capital without a word after seeing you, tell me honestly what you did to him.”
Yu Wan was so angry that she laughed. “Do you suspect that I’m trying to silence them? Are you crazy, Yan Ruyu?”
Of course, Yan Ruyu would not suspect that Yu Wan had killed them to silence them because someone had seen Chef Bao walk out of the Capital with their own eyes. However, she had a feeling that Chef Bao’s departure was related to this village girl.
Yu Wan glanced at her and said, “Stop guessing, Yan Ruyu. Old Master Bao went to look for his son.”
Yan Ruyu asked aloofly, “Did Chef Bao say anything to you that night?”
Yu Wan smiled. “With our relationship, do you think I’ll tell you if he really say anything?”
“You…” Yan Ruyu choked.
“Who is she, Sis?” Little Bruiser asked curiously.
“A passerby.” Yu Wan put the copper coins back into her purse. “Let’s go. I’ll buy you something else to eat.”
“Okay.” Little Bruiser nodded sensibly.
The siblings left.
Yan Ruyu’s gaze became sharp.
Lychee glanced at her. Suddenly, a hurried carriage drove over. Without thinking, Lychee pushed Little Bruiser away.
Little Bruiser let out a cry and crashed into the speeding carriage!
The horse’s hooves were raised high. Just as it was about to step on Little Bruiser until his intestines and stomach were rotten, Yu Wan rushed forward and pulled Little Bruiser back. Then, she didn’t even look at Lychee at the side. She just reached out like a demon and grabbed Lychee’s head, pushing her into the middle of the road!
“Ah—” Lychee’s leg bone was broken, and she let out an incomparably miserable scream.
Little Bruiser pounced into his sister’s arms with a pale face, his little hands wrapped tightly around her waist.
Yu Wan rubbed his little head comfortingly.
Yan Ruyu, who was at the side, was stunned by the scene in front of her. Wasn’t this woman’s reaction too fast? She didn’t even see how she moved. The child who should have been trampled to death by the horse’s hooves had been saved, but Lychee, who was supposed to be standing beside her, was trampled to death by the horse—
The incident did not end there. When the horse hooves stepped on Lychee, the carriage jolted violently. The owner of the carriage hit her head and angrily stopped the carriage.
“What happened?”
“Princess, a woman bumped into our carriage and our horse injured her.”
They were not speaking Central Plains Chinese and were not wearing Central Plains clothes.
“You mean I have to apologize to that woman?”
“I wouldn’t dare.” The accompanying guard placed his right hand on his left shoulder and lowered his head deeply.
“Drag that woman out and kill her!”
This sentence was switched to Central Plains Chinese.
Yan Ruyu frowned suspiciously. The General Manor had always been well-informed. She had long known that the Xiongnu had been defeated and wanted to negotiate with the Great Zhou. Among the envoys accompanying her was Princess Mingzhu who was deeply loved by the Xiongnu King. Could she be the woman in the carriage?
“Princess!” Yan Ruyu suddenly walked forward and said to the carriage with the curtain closed, “It wasn’t my maidservant who deliberately offended you. She was framed. Someone saw your carriage and deliberately pushed my maidservant out.”
The Princess of Xiongnu used the handle of the whip to lift the curtain of the car window. She looked at Yan Ruyu and swung the whip.
Yan Ruyu’s heart trembled, but the whip did not hurt her at all. It only knocked off her veil. She broke out in a cold sweat.
The Princess of the Xiongnu was the number one beauty of the grassland, and Yan Ruyu’s looks were not bad either. The two of them could be said to be on par, but Yan Ruyu was too weak and lacked a heroic spirit. After sizing her up, the Princess of the Xiongnu felt that she was better.
The killing intent in the princess’ eyes faded. “You said that someone deliberately bumped into my carriage? Who was it?”
Yan Ruyu turned around and said, “It’s her.”
Yu Wan: “?!”
She had seen shameless people before, but she had never seen someone so shameless. Who exactly had deliberately bumped into this princess’s carriage? This princess only had two guards with her. If she hadn’t called herself a princess, who would have guessed who was sitting in the carriage?
Speaking of which, her appearance, language, and dressing did not look like the royal family of the Central Plains.
The princess followed Yan Ruyu’s gaze and looked at Yu Wan. With just a glance, the princess clenched her whip tightly.
After her family’s situation improved, Yu Wan no longer wore patched clothes when she went out. However, she did not wear silk or satin. She only wore a plain white dress with a waist and a long blue dress. The long dress was also tied at her waist. Her waist was slender. She was slender and her fingers were fair. Her fair swan neck was slender and beautiful. She had her hair in the simplest bun, and her dark hair hung down her shoulders, making her skin look like jade. She was so fair that she seemed to be glowing.
Her facial features were elegant, and there was a heroic spirit between her brows. However, she was not aggressive. On the contrary, she had a tranquil and distant temperament.
The princess had never seen such an eye-catching woman. Was she really human? Not a demon?
The princess hated women who were more beautiful than her.
“Are you the one who rammed into my carriage?” she asked imperiously.
“No,” Yu Wan said neither servile nor overbearing. “It was that maidservant who pushed my brother first. I saved my brother and couldn’t stand still in a hurry, so I pulled that maidservant.”
This wasn’t a lie, but she used a little more strength when pulling Lychee.
Yan Ruyu said, “Princess, don’t listen to her nonsense.”
The princess said, “You shut up too! I have my own decision!”
“Yes.” Yan Ruyu agreed respectfully, but she was very disdainful in her heart. She was just a princess of a defeated country, yet she dared to show off in front of her. When she became the Princess Consort Yan, let’s see what else she could be arrogant about!
The princess looked at Yu Wan and said, “Come over and receive three lashes from me. I’ll spare your life!”
Her tone was as if asking her to whip her was an honor.
Yu Wan met the princess’s gaze indifferently. “Princess, this is the Capital. You know very well whether I deliberately offended you or not. You did not show your identification as a princess and I’m a commoner, so how could I recognize you in the carriage? Since I didn’t recognize you, how could I have deliberately offended you?”
The princess said, “I don’t care! You pushed her! So you’ve offended me! I must teach you a lesson today! Are you going to stand there obediently and let me beat you up, or are you going to be held down by my guards!”
“You’re not allowed to hit my sister!” Little Bruiser held back his fear and stood in front of Yu Wan.
The princess whipped at him! Yu Wan grabbed her whip.
Another one who grabbed her whip? Was her whip not used to the atmosphere after coming to the Central Plains?
The princess shook her one arm and sent out an internal force that followed the whip towards Yu Wan.
Yu Wan felt as if a thin needle had drilled into her meridians. It was so painful that her heart was on fire. Her eyes turned cold as she pulled fiercely and actually snatched the whip from the princess hand!
The hand holding the whip went numb. The princess had no doubt that if she hadn’t released it early, it would have fallen out with the whip. Damn it, when did the women of the Central Plains become so powerful?!
The princess was humiliated and flew into a rage out of humiliation. She said in the Xiongnu language, “What are you waiting for? Hurry up and take her down!”
“You bad woman! How dare you bully my sister! I’ll fight it out with you!” Little Bruiser used his Iron Head Technique and charged towards the princess!
It was too late for Yu Wan to catch him. Two guards blocked her path.
The princess knew martial arts. How could this little fool bump into her?
“Ouch—” Little Bruiser’s head hit something, but it wasn’t a woman’s soft stomach. It was a hard thigh!
Little Bruiser fell to the ground, his eyes sparkling.
The man helped the dizzy Little Bruiser up. “Are you alright?”
What a beautiful voice…
Little Bruiser felt even more dizzy.
The princess looked at the man who arrived in time and said, “Why are you so late? Two unruly commoners offended the royalty and offended me. I order you to kill them!”
Yu Wan was hit in the shoulder by a guard who was skilled in martial arts. She gasped in pain.
When the man heard this voice, his heart tightened. He did not know what had happened to him, but he actually stepped over without care and saved the little girl from the hands of the Xiongnu guards.
If Yu Wan didn’t hear wrongly, that princess had asked this man to kill them. Why did he save her?
Yu Wan looked up in shock and saw a well-defined handsome face. “D-Dad?”
Yu Shaoqing was stunned. “Ah Wan?”
After not seeing each other for six years, the father and daughter had changed a lot. In the Host’s memory, Yu Shaoqing was a complete fresh meat. Now, he was almost an old piece of meat, but he was also more mature and charming. When Yu Shaoqing left, his daughter was only eleven years old. He really could not believe that she had grown so big…
He called her Ah Wan. It seemed that she was not mistaken. This man was her father. Her father was back!
Yan Ruyu gripped her handkerchief tightly. It couldn’t be such a coincidence, right? The guard of the Princess of Xiongnu was actually the father of this village girl?
Yu Shaoqing had made a great contribution this time, so he had to be rewarded when he returned to the Capital. However, before he was rewarded, he still retained his position as a centurion. The Princess of Xiongnu used the excuse that she did not have enough manpower to ask Xiao Zhenting for help. Xiao Zhenting ordered Yu Shaoqing to be responsible for escorting the Xiongnu envoy, but it was not only limited to the Princess of Xiongnu.
They were originally resting at the courier station. The princess of the Xiongnu could not sit still, so she secretly entered the Capital early.
Yu Shaoqing was here on Grand Marshal Xiao’s orders.
“Who is she?” The princess of Xiongnu walked over unhappily.
A rare gentleness appeared in Yu Shaoqing’s eyes. “My daughter.”
“What?” The Princess of Xiongnu was stunned.
Yu Wan brought Little Bruiser over. “Bruiser, call Dad.”
Yu Shaoqing was stunned again.
Little Bruiser asked strangely, “What? Isn’t my father dead?”
“Achoo!” Yu Shaoqing sneezed heavily.
Yu Wan gritted her teeth. Who was the one who had such a big mouth to let Little Bruiser hear such disgraceful words? She would go back and chop him up!
Aunt Bai, who was sleeping in the room, suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
“Why do you have a child?” The Princess of Xiongnu said bitterly.
Yu Shaoqing said seriously, “I’m married, so I naturally have children.” However, he did not expect there to be two children… Happiness came too suddenly, and he was caught off guard.
He looked at Little Bruiser excitedly and gently. Little Bruiser poured cold water on him. “Don’t be happy too early. I might not be your biological child.”
Yu Shaoqing, whose heart had been stabbed ten thousand times: “…”
Yan Ruyu saw that the Princess of Xiongnu treated Yu Shaoqing differently from the other guards and knew that this matter was probably going to be left unsettled. She coldly flicked her sleeves and got someone to carry the unconscious Lychee onto the carriage and return home.
“What a wet blanket!” The Princess of Xiongnu stomped her feet and got into her carriage.
Not long after, Xiao Zhenting’s guards arrived.
Yu Shaoqing negotiated with them for a while. They nodded and looked at the princess of Xiongnu coldly before forcefully taking her away.
Yu Shaoqing turned around and looked at Yu Wan and Little Bruiser in front of him. Little Bruiser had never seen him before, so he naturally wasn’t close to him. His daughter had been separated from him for six years, so she must be distant.
Yu Shaoqing, who had never been nervous about killing enemies on the battlefield, suddenly stuttered, “Ah… Ah Wan…”
Yu Wan pulled his scarred hand and gently smiled. “Dad, let’s go home.”