"You? Aunt Dashan, what have I done to offend you that you would say such insulting things to me?"

Although Liu Sen and Liang Shuyan were neighbors, they rarely spoke. Today, her cursing made Liu Sen unhappy. How could she know so much about his family's affairs?

Li Zheng himself looked down on Liu Sen, who was lazy and good-for-nothing. In the village, if anyone saw a man like that, they would shut their door.

He hadn't intended to pay any attention to it, but unexpectedly, he ended up arguing with Liang Shuyan, so he came over.

“I’m telling you, Liu Sen, what Aunt Dashan said is absolutely right. You’re a lazy bum at home. Whenever you see smoke coming from someone’s chimney, you put your hands in your sleeves and go over to their house for a free meal. Tell me, how dare you question Aunt Dashan like this?”

Upon seeing Li Zheng arrive, Liu Sen lowered his head and remained silent.

Aunt Liu quickly stepped forward and kept winking, implying that Liang Shuyan and Li Zheng should not say anything, otherwise, since they would still be family, they would inevitably cause trouble for her.

Li Zheng understood and sighed softly, "Alright, stop shouting. Now that we've rested, let's go. Qingfeng Town is not far ahead. Once we get there, let's find a place to stay!"

Liang Shuyan didn't even want to look at Liu Sen. Feeling sorry for Aunt Liu, she said, "Aunt Liu, look, our two families have been friends for many years. Why don't you kick your husband out or just separate the family?"

Aunt Liu quickly pulled Liang Shuyan aside and said, "I'm telling you, his aunt, he's strong and can hit people. He's really fierce when he hits. He often gets up in the middle of the night to make a scene. How could I possibly be a match for him? Last time we argued, I brought up the matter of dividing the family property, and he almost beat me to death!"

"And what about the family's income?"

"As you know, our income, besides the grain we pay to the village, isn't even enough to feed us. My old man even buries some of it. When he wants meat, he sells the grain. When he runs out of tobacco, he sells the grain. In winter, when the stove for brewing tea runs out of charcoal, he climbs onto the roof and takes the roof off to use as firewood..."

Aunt Liu choked up as she spoke, rolling up her sleeves: "Auntie, I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me, but look at my body, all of this is from that plague-ridden man beating me!"

"Can't your son keep an eye on his father?" Liang Shuyan complained.

“Son, it’s good enough if you don’t beat me. What are you thinking? I’m just unlucky. I’d rather be a widow like you. That way I’d have some peace and quiet. Look at you, you haven’t even come to the city yet, and you’ve already set your sights on my two daughters. What am I going to do?”

An idea immediately popped into Liang Shuyan's mind. She grabbed Aunt Liu's hand and asked, "Aunt Liu, are you willing to believe me?"

"Of course! We've been neighbors and sisters for so many years, how could I not believe it?"

Aunt Liu held Liang Shuyan's hands, her eyes fixed on Liang Shuyan.

"How about this: once we get to town, ask him where he's going and help him find a place to stay. See what his plans are. If he doesn't have any plans, then you can stay with me for now and find a suitable opportunity to shake him off!"

Aunt Liu's eyes widened: "This, this isn't right. No matter what, he's the father of several children. Besides, I've really gotten used to it after all these years."

Liang Shuyan realized she had really stuck her tongue out, so she immediately waved her hand and said, "Anyway, these are all your family matters. If you feel reluctant, then just pretend I didn't say anything!"

Ahead, someone was already shouting: "We're here! Qingfeng Town is just ahead, take a look!"

Li Zheng chose a spot and ordered everyone to stop: "You all wait here. I'll go tell the guards at the gate, and then we'll go in!"

The group stopped again. Liang Shuyan looked at her donkey cart and comforted her family with a smile, "It's alright, we're almost there. We'll rent a bigger room to stay in then!"

Erniu raised his head: "Mother, when we get to town, everything here will be very expensive, right? Renting a house will cost at least several taels of silver, and we don't even have any food left, so where will we get the money to rent a house?"

Liang Shuyan disliked hearing such negative words the most. She poked Erniu's head hard: "You, really, I've taught you so much. Whether it's speaking or doing things, you need to be more positive. Look at what you're saying, there's not a single bit of motivation in it!"

Erniu is eighteen years old this year. He covered his head and said, "Mother, what your son said is right. Where would we get any money right now?"

Li Zheng went over to discuss going into the city, but perhaps he was still upset, because he was sitting on the ground smoking.

"Stop talking, I'm going to check on how Li Zheng's questioning is going. It seems like he's encountered some difficulties."

With a pained expression, Li Zheng said, "The prefectural magistrate hasn't given any notice yet, and the gatekeepers won't let us into the city!"

Liang Shuyan glanced at the two gatekeepers and smirked, "Oh, the gatekeepers won't let me in? Then let's find a way to get them to let me in!"

Li Lanfang sat on the donkey cart, glanced at Liang Shuyan, and then instructed Zhang to follow and see what was going on.

Zhang nodded and followed her mother-in-law.

Liang Shuyan turned around and saw Zhang Shi: "Why are you here? Aren't you taking good care of the child?"

Zhang stammered, "No, Mother, it's my grandmother who was worried and sent her daughter-in-law to find you."

Liang Shuyan sat under a tree not far from the guards, listening intently to what the two guards were saying.

One of the guards seemed to be saying, "Oh dear, in this cold weather, if only we had a jug of wine and a plate of meat!"

Another guard glanced at him and said, "What are you dreaming about in broad daylight? As long as those refugees don't get into the city, our salaries will be safe. You're still thinking about such good things. But I really do want to eat meat and drink wine. Unfortunately, I can only dream about it."

Outside the city, there happened to be a butcher carrying meat on a shoulder pole. Liang Shuyan glanced at Zhang Shi and pointed to the butcher not far ahead, saying, "I see him. Go, go buy two catties of pig's head meat, and then go to the wine shop next door and get two ounces of wine. Hurry up!"

Zhang was dumbfounded: "Mother, aren't we going to the city now? Why waste money like this? We'll have to rent a house when we get there."

Seeing that she was standing there without moving, Liang Shuyan went up and pinched her: "Go away, you piece of porcelain!"