Chapter 369 The Bandits Are Here

"Taking a concubine?"

"You wish! You think you can use my money to buy you a concubine? You'll have to break your legs the next time."

The fourth brother's words infuriated Song Chunxue.

"Didn't you say before that you wouldn't marry anyone but that girl from Ji County? You haven't even married her yet, and you're already thinking about taking a concubine. I think you're asking for trouble."

She stepped forward, grabbed the fourth prince's arm, and pointed at his forehead, saying, "If you ever take a concubine, you must return every penny of the money you spent on me, and don't bring her to see me, and don't let her have any children."

The fourth son begged for forgiveness repeatedly, "Mother, I was wrong. I didn't mean to take a concubine. I just said it casually."

"Hmph, if you hadn't already thought that way in your heart, would you have just said something like that?"

Song Chunxue kicked him and said irritably, "Anyway, think it through. If you don't like that girl from Ji County that much, give up on the idea as soon as possible and don't ruin her life."

"I don't……"

"Do as you please. How can your mother stop you from taking a concubine? I'm just bored." Thinking of what the fourth son did in her previous life, Song Chunxue felt that a leopard can't change its spots, and she was too lazy to interfere.

Anyway, if the fourth brother and that girl from Ji County are really destined to be together but are forced not to marry, wouldn't she have to pick a girl for the fourth brother to ruin himself?

This debt is not something she should bear.

Let him be.

What a scoundrel!

Once on the street, she picked out two deck chairs and a small bed made of willow wood, and couldn't help but think of Sanwa's first child.

Xia Mulan weaned her baby when it was three months old, preparing to have a second child.

In order to wean the child, the child had to be raised by Song Chunxue. Among the five children, the eldest granddaughter was the most sensible and the most taciturn.

Now that she, as the grandmother, has money, Sanwa's children can suffer less.

However, this time she will not help Xia Mulan take care of the child.

In her previous life, Mulan was too busy farming to take care of her child. This time, she can take care of the child herself. If she were as eager to have a son as she was in her previous life, she could also find a wet nurse for Mulan.

"Have you heard? The bandits from the south are coming soon. I heard they started by robbing grain, but later they only took territory. Wherever they go, they demand that the people hang a pig's head at their gate, or they will kill the whole family."

"Huh, why hang a pig's head?"

"They don't eat pork, and the imperial court previously ordered them to move out of the rich areas of Gansu, Liangzhou, Anxi, and Su. They were probably driven to desperation, so they seized the territory and are now trying to intimidate us."

"Where are they fighting now? I heard they're good at picking their targets. It's so dry here, they probably won't come here."

"It's hard to say. The places around here with rivers are pretty good. Anyway, be careful. I heard they carry big machetes and will chop anyone they don't like. Try not to go out unless necessary."

Song Chunxue paid the money and led the way, letting the vendors bring the goods to her doorstep.

"Mother, how about we buy two pig heads in advance? What if they storm into the city?"

"Yes, we should buy them." Song Chunxue nodded. "It would be best to buy three, and have one taken to Mulan's house."

The fourth son asked in surprise, "I thought Mother was going to have someone take him to my eldest brother's house. Don't you care whether my eldest brother lives or dies?"

"They can't reach our side; Mulan's home is to our south." That was the case in her previous life; Mulan had mentioned this before.

Although she didn't remember whether they had actually broken through the gates of Zhuanglang City, Mulan said that the people in the village were so frightened that they killed pigs and chopped off their heads. Some of the older people were quite stubborn; they had raised pigs for the New Year with great difficulty, and they couldn't bear to kill them, so they ended up being chopped off themselves.

When Song Chunxue arrived at the city gate, she asked about the donkey cart that went to Mulan's place and gave him some silver to take the pig's head to Xia Mulan's house.

The fourth brother stood to the side, full of questions and feeling somewhat uneasy.

"Your mother is so fond of Xia Mulan. Don't you think that now that Sanwa is studying, Xia Mulan is no longer a good match for him?"

Song Chunxue paused for a moment, then said, "So what? Sanwa is a scholar. Does he have to break his promise and violate the marriage agreement? He wants to pass the imperial examinations and get a degree. We can't let others have a handle against him."

Before the fourth brother could say anything more, Song Chunxue interrupted him, "Don't say anything. Anyway, I just like Mulan. She's the one I like the most."

The fourth child stopped arguing, since the third child hadn't objected anyway.

In the days that followed, Song Chunxue and Lao Si didn't go out much. She spent her mornings meditating and her afternoons sewing clothes and quilts, preparing for Sanwa's wedding.

Hongying brought her child to help, but she was sent back and told not to go out easily. She also lent her one of the wolfhounds to guard the door.

Before we knew it, it was mid-May. Everyone was filled with anxiety, and whenever they went out, they would talk about it.

I heard that the bandits have already reached the neighboring county and will arrive in Zhuanglang County in less than three days.

Song Chunxue originally didn't want to go out, but the white flour at home was all gone, and they got tired of eating coarse grain flour every day, so they had to go to the mill to grind flour.

Zhuanglang County has several mills, all of which use donkeys to pull millstones to grind grain. Wheat flour and buckwheat flour are the most troublesome to grind. Wheat flour needs to be ground three or four times, and buckwheat needs to be ground at least twice.

In case bandits suddenly storm the city, there wouldn't be enough time to run away if they ground too much wheat. Song Chunxue and Lao Si pulled a bag of wheat, thinking they would grind a little bit first to make do with what they had.

Song Chunxue led the chestnut horse, which was tied to a wooden pole on the millstone, and blindfolded it.

"I'm sorry to trouble you. This was originally a job for the donkey, but my senior brother took the donkey away. I'll mix wheat bran with hay for you when we get back."

Song Chunxue patted his neck, led the horse around a few times, and then the horse resignedly started pulling the millstone.

"Bandits are coming! Bandits are coming! Run!"

Halfway through, I heard someone shouting in the street.

"Mother, run!" The fourth son rushed into the mill and hoisted the sacks off the ground onto the cart.

Song Chunxue panicked and hurriedly went to untie the rope tied to the horse's mouth.

The more anxious you are, the slower you become; in your panic, the more you try to untie it, the tighter it becomes.

"Mother, Mother, run! I hear the sound of horses being driven!" The fourth son jumped up and down in a panic, running in to help untie the ropes.

Song Chunxue wiped the sweat from her brow. "Let's go, let's go, it's untied, run!"

They led the horse out of the mill, quickly tied it to the cart, and ran home.

However, the sound of horses' hooves behind them grew closer and closer.

The fourth son cried out, "Mother, waaaah... I heard that when they ride on horseback and wield big machetes, people on the road will have their heads ripped off. Mother, you must bow your head later!"

Song Chunxue held the reins with both hands and unconsciously lowered her head.

Fortunately, their horses didn't hold them back and galloped into the alley.

They quickly opened the courtyard gate, removed the threshold, and drove the carriage into the courtyard.

"Bang!"

The moment the door closed, Song Chunxue's legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground.

The fourth brother grumbled, "That scared me to death! Sanwa and Hongying should have gone home by now."

Song Chunxue's heart pounded like thunder. "They should be at home. They should be at home."

"Clang, clang, clang."

Just then, someone knocked on the gate, and the startled dog sprang up and ran toward the gate.

"What should we do? Could it be bandits knocking on the door?"

Song Chunxue's heart was in her throat. She didn't notice at all that the dog at the door not only didn't bark, but also sniffed around and wagged its tail anxiously.

P.S.: Updates will resume at the normal schedule tomorrow. Sorry to the person who had their birthday yesterday; it was my sister's birthday yesterday too. But please hope I do well, otherwise I'll starve!