Chapter 71: Business Came Knocking
Yu Wan did not dare to let the three little fellows continue to stay by her side after such a thing happened. At the very least, she had to avoid the limelight for the next few days. It was better to wait for the Thousand Possibilities Pavilion to really be destroyed before bringing the children over.
Yu Wan put on the clothes for the three children who were sleeping soundly. The children seemed to have sensed something and opened their eyes in a daze.
When they opened their eyes, they saw Shadow Thirteen and Shadow Six, who had returned from his “business”, behind Yu Wan.
The three little fellows frowned and pounced into Yu Wan’s arms. Their chubby little hands hugged Yu Wan’s neck tightly, as if no one could snatch them away.
The two guards had served the little masters for so many days, but they had never seen them clinging to someone like this. They thought to themselves that Miss Yu really knew how to take care of children. If only they could invite her back to the residence, then they and Uncle Wan would not have to be “tortured” to death.
Yu Wan patted the heads of the three little fellows and coaxed them nicely. She also promised to visit them the next time she entered the Capital. She did want to go to the Capital because she wanted to treat her uncle’s leg. In that case, she was not lying to the few little fellows.
Under Yu Wan’s solemn guarantee, the three little fellows finally let go.
However, their aggrieved expressions make it seem like they were abandoned by Yu Wan.
The two guards did not know that this wave of assassins was coming for Yu Wan. Naturally, they did not understand that Yu Wan was doing this to protect the little masters. They even thought that Yu Wan was afraid of being implicated by the little masters. Therefore, when they saw Yu Wan push the little masters away so ruthlessly, the two of them more or less felt some resentment in their hearts.
Yu Wan saw their expressions and knew that they had misunderstood. She held her forehead.
Everything was a double-edged sword!
Shadow Thirteen and Shadow Six took the three little fellows away.
Yu Wan did not know if it was her imagination, but the moment before she disappeared, she seemed to have seen the three little fellows secretly wiping their eyes.
The little fellows left, but the little snow fox did not. Its tail was slightly injured, not by the black-clothed person, but by itself…
Yu Wan was dumbfounded by the way it fought.
Yu Wan bandaged it with clean gauze.
“Eh? Aren’t you the little…. who locked yourself in the animal cage that time?” Yu Wan wanted to say “little stupid fox”, but when she saw the aggrieved expression on the little snow fox’s face, she quickly changed her words. “Little snow fox?”
The little snow fox’s eyes lit up!
“It’s really you.” No wonder it could bite itself. There was probably no other fox in the world that was so stupid.
“Are you with them?” Yu Wan asked after tying the gauze.
The little snow fox turned away. Hmph! I’m not with them!
Yu Wan was amused by its proud and cute look. After bandaging its wound, she went to the kitchen to heat up a big meat bun.
The little snow fox obtained a meat bun that was bigger than its face and left in satisfaction.
The next day, Little Bruiser, who liked to stay in bed, woke up early. He carried the big box of snacks that he wanted to eat but couldn’t bear to eat and ran to Yu Wan’s room. He originally planned to share it with the little fellows, but he realized that it was already empty.
At the old residence, Uncle also personally cooked the Scallop Egg Custard that the children liked.
“They left…” Uncle said with a disappointed expression.
Yu Wan did not mention that she had been visited by assassins in the middle of the night. She only said that they were picked up at dawn. Uncle did not suspect anything and just missed those children.
After breakfast, the group went to the mountain to pay respects to their grandfather, grandmother, and a few ancestors of higher seniority. They burned paper money and kowtowed. When they returned to the village, they met Zhao Baomei, who had also gone to pay respects.
Zhao Heng and Zhao Baomei’s father had lost his life during their escape. They could not even collect his corpse. After settling down in Lotus Flower Village, they set up a cenotaph for Mr. Zhao with the help of the villagers. In previous years, it was Mrs. Zhao who brought her children to pay their respects.
This year, Mrs. Zhao had “dropped into the well” and was half dead. Only the two children could come. However, Zhao Heng was nowhere to be seen.
Zhao Baomei didn’t dare to provoke the Yu Family anymore. When she saw them, she couldn’t wait to lower her head and avoid them.
When they brushed past each other, Yu Song stopped her. “Hey, where’s your brother? Don’t tell me he didn’t want to return the money and slipped away overnight?”
Zhao Baomei was so angry that she stopped and glared at him. “My brother won’t slip away! Isn’t it just a few hundred taels of silver? Do you think my brother can’t afford it?!”
Yu Song chuckled and said, “I don’t know if Zhao Heng can afford it. I only know that you only have three months. In three months, you’ll have to hand over the money and we’ll hand over the engagement certificate. Otherwise, you’ll be chased out of the village.”
These were the words of the village headman. This was only because Zhao Heng was a scholar. Otherwise, with the Zhao family’s unscrupulous actions, it wouldn’t be as simple as just paying some money.
Zhao Baomei was trembling with anger!
“Alright, it’s the New Year. Stop talking.” Aunt pulled her son, not letting him get involved with the Zhao family’s bad luck.
The family went down the mountain happily, and no one bothered with Zhao Baomei anymore.
Zhao Baomei was a spoiled child. All the things she was proud of were gone overnight. Her mother was injured and her brother blamed her. She still had to suffer the disdain of the entire village and be ridiculed by the Yu family. She felt extremely aggrieved. She squatted by the roadside and hugged her head as she cried…
Did Yu Wan sympathize with her?
No.
If she hadn’t saved that cow, if she hadn’t cleared the rumors, that pitiful little girl who was squatting by the roadside crying her heart out might have been her.
On the fourth day of the New Year, business came knocking.
The market at the entrance of the town did not even open in the first month of the year. Yu Wan did not expect their business to open so quickly.
“Happy New Year!” Shopkeeper Cui of the White Jade Restaurant alighted from the carriage with a flushed face.
The carriage stopped in front of the old residence and the family was eating inside.
“Happy New Year!” Uncle greeted him with a smile.
Uncle hasn’t met Shopkeeper Cui before so Yu Feng quickly introduced, “Father, this is Shopkeeper Cui of the White Jade Restaurant. Shopkeeper Cui, this is my father.”
Behind Shopkeeper Cui was an unfamiliar man in his thirties. He was dressed in a low-key manner and it did not look like a very expensive cloth. However, his aura was very powerful and it was obvious that he had a powerful background.
Shopkeeper Cui smiled and said, “This master’s surname is Xiao. He’s the fifth son of the family.”
With that, he winked at the Yu family.
“So it’s Fifth Master Xiao.” Yu Wan gracefully brewed tea. “Shopkeeper Cui, Fifth Master Xiao, please have some tea.”
Shopkeeper Cui took the tea, but Fifth Master Xiao did not touch it.
Yu Wan noticed that ever since he entered the house, this master’s eyes had been on the top of his head. If she knew, she would say that he was here to discuss business. If she didn’t, she would think that he was here to collect a debt.