"No need to buy any. Master has already instructed me to prepare some. They're in the back of the carriage. We've already fed them. Don't worry, they definitely won't go hungry."

Hearing this, Liu Yunwan nodded, relieved.

"Sister Yan is always so thoughtful. Alright, let's go quickly, don't delay." After saying that, she climbed into the carriage and sat down.

Nan'er, who was standing nearby, also got into the carriage.

Fifteen minutes later, the three of them finished their lunch at the wonton stall. The coachman wiped the grease from his mouth with the back of his hand, while Liu Yunwan and Nan'er wiped their mouths clean with handkerchiefs. There were three empty bowls on the table, all of which were cleaned up, not even a drop of soup was left.

Nan'er took Liu Yunwan's purse and paid the stall owner.

After a while, the carriage drove away from the city gate.

Heading towards Shuangqiao Town.

Unlike Jiashu County, Shuxian County, though large in area, is mostly mountainous. There are only two towns in the county, one in the east and one in the west, which are far apart. Therefore, Shuxian County has two city gates, one on the east and one on the west.

The He family lived in the town to the east, so the carriage entered through the east gate.

Although Jiashu County is small, it has four towns. The other three towns are relatively scattered and separated by mountains of varying heights. Therefore, Shuangqiao Town is the main town and is located in the center, which is why the county government was built here.

If you look down from a high place, you will find that Jiashu County resembles a giant "口" (mouth) character.

They surrounded the people of the county completely.

The city gate of Jiashu County was built in Shuangqiao Town.

There was only one city gate.

If the enemy attacks, the people in the other towns can only flee to Shuangqiao Town or the mountains, otherwise they will surely die.

Of course, very few people would actually fight their way to Jiangnan.

The carriage arrived at the city gate as dusk was falling.

The guards at the city gate already recognized Yan Xia's car, so they let it through without even having to queue.

Since it was dinnertime, it would be impolite to visit, as it would seem like she had come specifically for dinner. Therefore, Liu Yunwan suppressed her desire to thank Yan Xia and had the coachman drive the carriage back to the Yan residence alone.

The coachman walked into the second courtyard, knelt on the floor of the main room, and said to Yan Xia, "Master, I have completed the task you assigned."

"Get up, you don't need to kneel. Did you safely send Sister Liu back?"

Yan Xia held a wild vegetable, lean meat, and egg pancake, eating it while asking him a question.

"It has been sent back, Master. Madam Liu asked me to tell you that she will come to visit tomorrow."

The coachman obediently stood up and answered Yan Xia.

"Okay, you did a good job. I understand. Go and rest now. Remember to eat." Yan Xia thought for a moment. She didn't have anything to do tomorrow, so she decided to wait at home for Liu Yunwan to come over. After finishing the last small piece of pancake in her hand, she praised the coachman a couple of times.

"Yes, Master." The coachman was extremely excited upon hearing Yan Xia's words.

Being praised by one's master means that one has been remembered by one's master.

From now on, if the master needs someone to do something, he'll definitely be the first person he turns to. Why worry about his future? He might even become a manager after a few years of hard work.

The coachman happily withdrew and went to the kitchen for his meal.

At the Yan residence, masters and servants eat together at mealtimes.

So the coachman returned at just the right time. As he stepped into the kitchen, the people at the table had just started eating. He quickly grabbed his bowl and chopsticks, found an empty seat, filled a bowl with rice, and began to eat heartily.

Actually, he hadn't eaten enough at noon.

But since Liu Yunwan was treating, he felt embarrassed to say so.

I can only endure it until now.

"Da Liang, you're quite something, kid. You've only been here a short time and the master is already asking you to do something. Looks like you have a bright future ahead of you."

He had only taken a few bites of his meal when he was teased by the servants at the table.

"Cough cough cough, no way, it's just that the master asked who could drive, and I happened to know how, cough cough, so the master asked me to do it. How can I compare to you? I just entered the manor and don't know anything. I was even thinking of asking you older brothers, cough cough cough."

Da Liang was so frightened that he choked on his food and coughed violently, adopting a very humble posture.

No one paid any attention; they were just chatting idly out of boredom.

The Yan family treated them exceptionally well.

Everyone is living a happy life.

Those who were chosen by Yan Xia and Jin Yu to enter the manor must at least have good character.

Therefore, there were no cliques or infighting within the household, and everyone got along very well.

After all, in this era, being able to eat your fill and stay warm already puts you ahead of a large number of people.

The Yan family was very harmonious from top to bottom.

After finishing her meal, it was already dark. Yan Xia took a walk around the restaurant, washed up, and prepared to go to bed.

But at this time, at the home of craftsman Huang.

Two candles were lit in his private crafting room, making the room bright so the gemstone didn't glow. Huang Shaoji was covered in sweat; he had already cut more than half of the gemstone in his hand.

"Knock knock knock—"

Someone knocked on the wooden door from the outside. Huang Shaoji wrapped the gemstone in a cloth before opening the door.

"Shaoji, stop working on it. Let's do it tomorrow. The children are asleep. You should go back to your room and sleep too. Not only are candles very expensive, but this is also bad for your eyes."

Since his wife was urging him, Huang Shaoji naturally had to obey. He told Huang Wu to go back to her room first, then he tidied up the workshop, carefully placed the gemstones on the soft cloth on the table, blew out the candles, and closed the door.

Then I washed up and went to bed.

late at night.

Huang Shaoji's eldest son, Huang Nian'an, woke up because he needed to urinate after drinking too much water at night.

He squinted, got out of bed, opened the door, and felt his way along the wall to the outhouse.

"Splash splash splash splash—"

He peed a huge amount.

After feeling refreshed, he felt less sleepy and prepared to go back to sleep. But when he walked into the yard, he suddenly noticed that his father's workshop was emitting a faint green light, which even shone through the small window.

Huang Nian'an was so frightened that he was completely awake.

He thought the will-o'-the-wisp had come to his house and set it on fire. He was about to scream, but then he thought about it and felt that something was wrong. So Huang Nian'an shut his mouth and swallowed the sound before it could be uttered. He held his breath and moved step by step to the door of the workshop, carefully opening the door.

There was a round object on the table that was glowing, and the green light was emanating from it.

Huang Nian'an was stunned.

"This, this is... a luminous pearl??"

As the son of a craftsman, he needed to have broad knowledge. His first lesson was to learn to read, then read books, and learn about various gemstones, gold, silver and other materials. Naturally, he had also heard the legend of the luminous pearl.

Legend has it that in ancient times, demons roamed the land, causing widespread suffering and death among the people. In a remote northern village, a baby girl was born. This girl was a reincarnation of a deity who had committed a transgression and was sent to the mortal realm to undergo tribulation. At the time of her birth, the moon went from crescent to full, its light illuminating the earth as if it were daytime. Moreover, she could speak immediately after birth and grew into adulthood overnight. Therefore, her birth mother named her "Moonlight". One day, demons attacked the village and slaughtered all the villagers. Fortunately, Moonlight had gone up the mountain to chop wood and escaped the calamity.