371 Panic
Those two people were none other than Fan Mingyuan and the woman she had met once.
The two of them walked out. Their table was in the corner, so the other party did not see her.
Shen Yijia frowned. Had Xiao Ruoshui been cuckolded?
“Right?” she thought.
Seeing that the two of them were about to disappear from her sight, she subconsciously wanted to follow them.
“Sister Jia?” Madam Li’s voice brought her back to her senses. “What are you looking at?”
Shen Yijia looked over and realized that the two of them had already finished eating. They looked at her curiously.
“Mother, I just saw Fan Mingyuan walking with a woman,” Shen Yijia said honestly. She thought for a moment and told her about the actions of the two people in the county office. In the end, she asked, “Is Fan Mingyuan going to take in a concubine?”
Madam Li paused and turned to look at the door. She did not see the two people Shen Yijia was talking about. She asked uncertainly, “Is the woman you’re talking about Miss Cheng?”
Fan Mingyuan was already ten years old when he was brought into the Bulwark Duke’s residence. Coincidentally, she had just given birth to Brother Hao and Sister Huan. After giving birth to two children, her body was weak and she recuperated for half a year.
Later on, she focused most of her energy on Brother Hao and Sister Huan.
By the time she could free herself from the twins, Fan Mingyuan would have grown up.
Coupled with the fact that he had been living in the outer courtyard and usually went to the academy or studied by Song Yi’s side, Madam Li did not see him often.
Apart from having a meal together at the family banquet on New Year’s Day, Fan Mingyuan could only speak to her when he came to the inner courtyard to pay his respects.
He simply said that he would remember to tell her if he needed anything.
To be honest, as his teacher’s wife, her concern for him was limited to not letting anyone treat him badly in terms of food, clothing, accommodation, and transportation.
“Mother, you’ve seen her?” Shen Yijia’s eyes widened.
It was over. Fan Mingyuan was an orphan. Madam Li was his only elder.
They had already progressed to meeting their elders.
Madam Li did not know what she was thinking. She nodded and said, “He came to the house the next day after we returned from the mountain. You were still unconscious at that time, so you didn’t know.”
That day, Fan Mingyuan also had a girl by his side.
Fan Mingyuan introduced the girl as his savior. She was an orphan. Because she saved him, she was gossiped about by the villagers, so he acknowledged her as his adopted sister.
“Savior? Foster sister?” Shen Yijia puffed up her cheeks.
She had seen this familiar plot many times.
Seeing that his savior was pitiful, the male protagonist acknowledged her as his sister. He originally wanted to repay her kindness, but she wanted to sleep with him as his wife.
Because of this sister, the male and female protagonists misunderstood each other and started to torment each other.
Shen Yijia remembered what Da Hua had sung in her ear. “How many good sisters do you have?”
Then, she substituted Xiao Ruoshui into the story.
She imagined Xiao Ruoshui crying and singing this song to Fan Mingyuan. In the end, she asked, “Who are you going to save if your sister and I fall into the water?”
Shen Yijia shivered.
Far away in the capital’s general’s residence, Xiao Ruoshui sneezed.
“Miss, did you catch a cold? I’ll find a doctor to take a look at you.” The eldest maidservant, Xi Que, who was preparing food for her, asked with concern.
“It must be that wretched girl, Xiao Ruoqian, talking bad about me again. I haven’t settled the score with her for complaining about me to Father yesterday.” Xiao Ruoshui rubbed her nose and said angrily.
Xiao Ruoqian was her most annoying step-sister.
She had only gone to the Ten Thousand Flowers Restaurant in men’s clothes to broaden her horizons. She did not know how Xiao Ruoqian saw it, but she turned around and told General Xiao, causing her to be grounded.
Although this thing was useless to her, Xiao Ruoqian’s actions provoked her again.
The more Xiao Ruoshui thought about it, the angrier she became. She put down the chopsticks in her hand and stood up. “Does Xiao Ruoqian really think I’m made of clay? How dare she scold me behind my back? Let’s go and find that wretched girl.”
The corners of Xi Que’s mouth twitched. She could even blame Second Miss for a sneeze. This was indeed Eldest Miss’s usual style.
There was a moment of silence.
Shen Yijia did not know that someone had taken the blame for her. After paying for the noodles, she drove the carriage to the best funeral shop in the county.
Bruiser wanted Widow Wang to leave with dignity. He wanted to buy only the best for her.
Apart from building a house, he still had a lot of money left from the money he earned from the arena. In addition, Widow Wang usually saved money, so he did not have to worry about not having enough money.
The shop would arrange for these things to be delivered to their doorsteps.
After coming out of the shop, the carriage passed by a jewelry shop. Bruiser suddenly stopped it.
He entered the shop alone and came out not long after.
Shen Yijia did not ask him why he went inside. She drove the carriage out of the city and back home.
As soon as they arrived, the person who delivered the funeral products also entered the village.
The villagers of Xiagou Village were originally curious why they didn’t see Widow Wang when Bruiser returned. They saw the ox cart containing the items parked in front of Bruiser’s house.
Only then did everyone understand and sigh.
Madam Li brought Shen Yijia, Brother Hao, and the others to help decorate the mourning hall. A white cloth was hung at the door.
Halfway through, Auntie Tian also came to help.
This was the first time Shen Yijia had seen her since she returned.
Auntie Tian had changed a lot compared to before.
Her complexion had improved, and she was no longer wearing the same rough linen clothes.
Instead, it was the thin cotton cloth that she would sigh at every time she saw Madam Li make clothes. There were also two silver hairpins on her head.
It was obvious that without Father An’s body as a burden, their family’s days were better.
Moreover, Nianci had given birth to a fat grandson for the An family in February this year. When she was in a good mood, she looked young.
By the time they were done, it was already dark. Shen Yijia did not give Bruiser a chance to refuse and forcefully carried him back to the Song family.
After dinner at the Song family’s house, they let him go back. Brother Hao and Lin Shao followed him.
Actually, these two people had been living there recently, but Shen Yijia did not know.
When Song Jingchen returned home, everyone had already gone to bed. Only candlelight shone from the east wing.
He pushed open the door and entered. He saw Shen Yijia sitting on the bed in her pajamas, reading a notebook. There was also a pile of books on the bed.
He recognized them because he had asked South Wind to buy them. He heard that they were the most popular novels in the world.
It was unknown what she saw, but she looked angry.
Hearing the commotion, Shen Yijia looked up. When she saw him, her eyes lit up. “Hubby, you’re back.”
Song Jingchen saw the change in her emotions and smiled.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Mother heated up food in the pot. I’ll bring it over for you.”
With that, Shen Yijia was about to put on her shoes.
Song Jingchen pressed her back down. “Don’t worry. I’ve eaten.”
“Alright.”
Song Jingchen rubbed her head and took out a paper bag. “This is for you.”
“What is it?” Shen Yijia opened it. It was a full bag of candied plums. She thought of the pouch he had taken away and grinned. “Didn’t you say that I can’t eat too much?”
Song Jingchen rubbed his nose. “Your injuries haven’t recovered yet.”
He wasn’t the one who bought it, anyway.