To his surprise, his cousin, who had just arrived in Beijing, also ran away the moment he turned around.
Startled, he quickly pulled and dragged the two younger ones onto the carriage. After thinking for a while, still worried, he personally escorted them back to the Su family.
"Sigh, where is Anzhi and Anran?"
Su Wan's first thought was, where did her son take her second brother's two children?
Guan Yi looked somewhat nervous. After bowing to his elders, he explained the situation and took all the blame upon himself, saying, "It's my fault. I didn't keep an eye on them."
Su's mother was very worried. What if he was kidnapped in an unfamiliar place? She got up and prepared to go look for him.
Liu Huan stopped her, "Mother, you know An Ran's personality. She runs around all day and causes trouble for Xiao Yi. With servants around, nothing will happen."
Faced with the family's anxiety, Su Yi and Liu Huan remained surprisingly calm. If it weren't for everyone's genuine concern, they probably wouldn't have allowed anyone to go and find him.
Seeing Guan Yi's self-blaming expression, Liu Huan comforted him, "It's not your fault that they're naughty. Xiao Yi has really grown up and can help take care of his younger siblings."
Guan Yi blushed at these words and said shyly, "Auntie, I'm an adult now."
Upon hearing this, Su Wan teased, "Look at you, you call yourself an adult, you can't even tell whether you should call her 'little aunt' or 'second maternal aunt'."
Okay, what was originally just red at the base of her ears has now turned her whole face red.
That's what he called me when I was a child, and I just kept calling it that without even realizing it.
The laughter was so loud that Su's mother couldn't stand it anymore and pulled the person away, saying, "Alright, is this how elders behave?" She then took out a piece of silver from her purse and coaxed, "Little Yi, take this and buy some candy."
This made Guan Yi so embarrassed that she ran away immediately.
After the atmosphere eased a bit, Qi Yuechan walked up to Su's parents and bowed, saying, "Father, Mother, my parents heard that you have returned and wish to visit. When do you think would be the best time for your daughter-in-law to come?"
Mr. and Mrs. Su exchanged a glance, and their expressions immediately turned serious.
The two elders felt very bad that they hadn't met their in-laws after all these years.
Hearing that their in-laws were coming to visit made them even more embarrassed. "How can we let your parents come? We should be the ones going."
Qi Yuechan explained, "My parents have been traveling a long way and are not familiar with the capital. They were bored staying at home and wanted to go out for a walk. There's no need to say whether it's right or wrong for a family to visit each other."
Su's mother couldn't make up her mind, looking at Su's father and then at Su Cheng.
Su Cheng also sincerely spoke well of his mother-in-law, "Mother, Mother-in-law, you don't care about these things. You are not familiar with the capital. It's not too late to visit each other when you are more familiar with it."
After being repeatedly persuaded, Su's mother cautiously agreed.
They started discussing tomorrow's banquet again, and for a moment everyone forgot that there were still two children outside who hadn't come home.
Meanwhile, the two people who had been forgotten by everyone were now happily walking on the sidelines, unable to move.
Amidst the bustling crowd, a pretty little girl, around ten years old, wearing a light green jacket and skirt, with her hair braided with colorful ribbons and a slightly chubby face, led another little girl of similar age through the crowd.
"Xiaolan, over here!"
"Miss, these things are so beautiful."
It was their first time in the capital, and they were inevitably attracted by the things in the city. They paid for everything they liked with their own money.
A vendor by the roadside saw the two and approached them with his wares, saying, "Miss, would you like to buy something?"
Anran noticed that the man was dressed in tattered, dark clothes and thought about buying one of the ordinary hair accessories.
Without even looking closely, he picked up a flower and asked, "How much is this?"
The vendor held up one finger, "This number."
An Ran gave him a copper coin, thinking to herself that things in the capital were really cheap.
Just as I was about to leave, the vendor called out to me, "Miss, you gave me the wrong thing."
Seeing this, An Ran realized she hadn't given enough, so she added nine more copper coins. At this point, she began to feel that the price was a bit too high.
Even after giving the money to the vendor, they still wouldn't let him leave. Anran asked, "Is there anything else?"
The vendor smiled slyly, "This hair ornament costs ten taels of silver."
Without a second thought, An Ran put the hair accessory back, saying, "Here you go, I don't want it anymore."
Just as she was about to leave, the vendor grabbed her, saying, "You're not allowed to go! What kind of logic is it to take something and then not buy it?"
An Ran looked at the hand that was holding her, and her face immediately darkened.
"release"
The vendor looked around and saw only two children, which emboldened him. "Hey, I said ten taels, and that's ten taels! If you take the goods and don't pay, even if the Heavenly King himself comes, I'm in the right! Give me the money!"
The surrounding vendors also gathered around, criticizing An Ran for being ignorant and inconsiderate.
"This young lady is really something. You should have just paid for it yourself. Dressed so nicely, surely you don't even have ten taels of silver?"
The people around shook their heads as they watched, and An Ran knew that she had probably encountered a gang committing the crime.
"If you like it, you can buy it yourselves. I don't give my money to just any Tom, Dick, or Harry."
The vendor's face darkened. "I'm telling you nicely, but you're unwilling. Don't be stubborn and end up being punished."
With just a wave of his hand, several unremarkable-looking men appeared from the crowd.
If it were any other young girl, she would have been so frightened that she would have given up the money.
"What are you looking at!"
Whenever passersby looked in their direction, the men would aggressively drive them away.
"Young lady, you'd better buy these flowers if you know what's good for you, or else...!"
An Ran pulled Xiao Lan back a step, and several men surrounded them.
Some of the bolder people nearby criticized, "It's outrageous that such a young child is being extorted."
The group acted as if nothing had happened, shamelessly extending their hands and saying, "Young lady, you look like a rich girl. Surely you don't even have this much money?"
An Ran looked at the black hand extended in front of her, a hint of disdain in her eyes. "Want money? I'll give it to you right now."
The master and servant had excellent teamwork; despite their young age, they took down two people in a single round.
Seeing this, his accomplice became furious and said, "Damn it, grab them! They're so young, yet they won't listen to reason, so they'll have to suffer the consequences."
An Ran was wearing a padded jacket and skirt today, which made it inconvenient for her to carry her braid. The two of them were fighting a group of big men with their bare hands, and they would soon be at a disadvantage.
In the restaurant next door to the fight, a boy of about ten years old, dressed in black, stood quietly by the window watching when the door was suddenly pushed open forcefully.
A boy in blue walked in. "Cousin, what are you looking at?"
The boy in black did not answer, watching expressionlessly as the two girls fought against a group of men.
The boy in blue couldn't help but clap his hands, "These two girls are amazing, they managed to beat so many men."
The two men watched for a long time and saw that the two girls were clearly exhausted and could be caught at any moment.
The boy in blue was getting anxious. "So many grown men are bullying two little girls! It's a disgrace to men! Cousin, wait here, let me go teach those shameless good-for-nothings a lesson!"
As soon as the boy in blue went out, the boy in black saw several people appear in the crowd, beat the men to the ground, and then disappear in an instant.
Only one boy, who looked very much like the little girl, remained, but was half a head taller than her.
The boy may have scolded her, because he's stomping his feet and saying something.
It was too far away to hear clearly; all I could see was the braids on her head swaying with her movements.
It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't persuade the boy, and in the end, she had no choice but to follow behind him like a quail.
The boy in blue went down and saw a group of soldiers tying up the men.
"Hey, where are those two little girls?"
The servant behind him looked around for his master and said, "Young master, he's probably been rescued."
The boy immediately became furious, "Who's blocking my way to play the hero and save the damsel in distress?"
The servant behind him couldn't help but laugh out loud, earning him a glare.
"What are you laughing at? Humph, you're so ignorant."
Angrily, she prepared to go upstairs to find her cousin, only to discover that he was also gone when she entered the house.
"Did you see where the young master went?"
After asking around and finding no one who had seen him, the boy stormed off in a huff.
Meanwhile, An Ran followed behind An Zhi guiltily. The little girl was unusually well-behaved after doing something wrong, burying her head in her shoulder and exchanging glances with Xiao Lan from time to time.
Xiao Lan said she was helpless, as she was barely able to take care of herself, and the people she feared most in the family, besides the adults, were this young master.
Anzhi brought the person home, directly to the study.
Seeing this, Su's mother was worried and wanted to go and see, but Liu Huan stopped her, saying, "Mother, don't worry about it. Anzhi won't hit her. At most, he'll just yell at her a couple of times."
Su Yi looked unhappy, his face dark. On one side was his beloved daughter, and on the other was his son who looked down on him.
She wanted to save her daughter but was afraid of offending her son.
She emerged quickly and stood motionless at the study door.
The group that returned from Nanchang County knew they had been punished by being made to stand.
The Su family in the capital could hardly believe it when they heard that An Ran had been punished by An Zhi by being made to stand.
Liu Huan explained to everyone, "An Ran has been mischievous since childhood, while An Zhi has matured a lot. He has always been the one taking care of his younger sister, and over time he has developed the authority of an older brother. An Ran is not afraid of anyone except her older brother."
Another thing Liu Huan didn't mention is that her favorite is also her brother. The twins have a bond that they have from the womb, and sometimes they can even sense when the other is unhappy.
Qi Yuechan was very envious. Her son, Su Feng, didn't like his younger sister, thinking she was too young and not wanting to play with her. But his sister adored her brother, and the two of them were always arguing. "An Zhi is clearly a good older brother."
He stood there until dinner time, when Su Yi personally went to pick up his daughter for dinner.
He then personally served her soup, which made the old father feel very sorry for her. "After you finish eating, take a bath and let Xiaolan massage your legs."
An Ran easily won over her doting father with just a few words, and he even peeled all the shelled things for her.
Su Wan looked at An Ran and then at Liu Huan and said, "An Ran really looks like Huan Huan when she was little."
Anyone in the Su family who had seen Liu Huan when she was around ten years old thought she looked very similar. Since then, Liu Huan had gone missing, so their memories of Liu Huan as a child remained at that point.
Hearing this, An Ran looked up, her large eyes fixed on Su Yi, "Father, do I look a lot like Mother when we were little?"
Su Yi looked her over carefully, as if she were seeing the old Liu Huan acting coquettishly towards him through her, so he said very gently, "She looks a lot like her."
The little girl suddenly became very proud, "No wonder I'm so pretty, I took after my mother when I was little."
Anzhi picked up a piece of food from the dish in front of him and put it in her bowl. "Eat."
Before eating, Anran didn't forget to sweetly say to her brother, "Thank you, brother."
The rest of the Su family believed it; the brother and sister really had a good relationship, but it was different from Su Yi and Liu Huan when they were young.
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