Upon hearing An Mantun's grumbling, Liu Xiufen immediately slapped her thigh in grievance and burst into tears.
"Ah... my life is so hard. Just when things were finally getting a little better and we moved into town, this natural disaster and man-made calamity struck."
So it's all the eldest sister's fault, really.
Their whole family just packed up and ran off, why didn't they even send us a message?
Our eldest sister is a heartless wretch; she just wants to watch our whole family die here.
An Mancang, who was pulling the oxcart, pursed his lips and glanced back at Liu Xiufen sitting on the oxcart. "Perhaps, even my eldest sister's family doesn't know about this."
Perhaps she was afraid that Manyi would blame her for this, which is why she and her whole family left the city.
“Our whole family is going to be killed by her, and you’re still taking her side, are you stupid or just plain dumb?”
Didn't you see that your older sister sold everything, packed up her belongings, and left?
Isn't it obvious what lice are on a bald head?
"My eldest sister is a heartless wretch; she doesn't care about the fate of our whole family," Liu Xiufen said through gritted teeth, harboring a deep grudge against An Manxin.
Not only because she fled without taking everyone with her, but also because An Manyi's marriage had ruined her entire family.
It was An Manxin who started all this trouble and organized it in the first place.
Now that something's happened, he's jumped up and run away.
He Sanfeng's cloudy old eyes were filled with tears, her eyelids drooping, and she remained silent.
By this point, how could this old woman not understand what her eldest daughter was all about?
Regardless of the reason for her running away, this eldest daughter is truly heartless.
Once you've made a good living, you stop caring about anything else.
He left the elderly couple behind and went off to enjoy himself.
"Waaaaah... How could my older cousins do this? I treat them like my own sisters, and they didn't even tell me about something this important."
"We grew up together, after all. Am I really so unworthy of their heartfelt devotion?" Anxian wiped away her tears, feeling more and more aggrieved as she cried.
An Ning, sitting in the carriage in front, covered her ears in annoyance and let out a cold laugh.
"You really think you're something special, you idiot. Now you finally understand what kind of people your aunt and her family are, don't you?"
Quietly, she frowned and remained silent. What should this family do now? They couldn't just stay here and die from the plague or be burned to death, could they?
However, the city gates were already sealed off, and they couldn't leave the city even if they wanted to. The only way out was through the city gates, or else—
An Jing tensed up as she considered one possibility.
Just as he was about to speak, Anle, who had been unconscious, was awakened by the crying outside.
"Hmm—"
When He Yusheng saw Anle make a move, his eyes lit up with surprise.
"Lele? Lele, you're awake?"
Quietly glancing sideways at Anle, who was rubbing her forehead, Anle's face lit up with joy. She banished the thoughts that had been swirling in her mind and quickly went to help Anle up.
"Little sister, don't get up yet, lie down, you're still injured."
Anle rubbed his forehead, feeling his head spinning.
The noise outside made her head buzz, and she felt unwell, swaying and rocking in the carriage.
He opened his mouth, his throat dry, and when he spoke, his voice was hoarse.
"Water...give me water—"
"Water? Oh, hurry up and get some water." He Yusheng nudged An Ning, who was sitting next to him.
An Ning was stunned for a moment.
"Little sister is awake?"
Realizing that Anle had woken up, he immediately cheered with joy.
"Oh, right, water, little sister, I'll get you some water right away. Don't get up, just lie still."
An Ning hurriedly rummaged through the carriage, pulled out a bamboo tube, uncorked it, and handed it to He Yusheng, who was nearby.
After taking a couple of sips of water, Anle finally moved her eyes and scanned the cramped environment inside the carriage, momentarily bewildered.
"Big sister, where...where are we?"
"We were originally planning to leave the city in the carriage," An Jing explained with a sigh.
Anle frowned, "Out of the city?"
As soon as the city was mentioned, Anle's dazed mind finally started working again.
She remembered that the boy told Zhenmo that the city had changed hands.
So, leaving the city now is—
"Big sister, why are we leaving the city?"
An Ning, standing to the side, frowned and preemptively explained, "Sigh, this is a long story..."
I explained to Anle everything that happened after she fell into a coma.
Anle paused slightly. The plague?
"So we're... on our way home now?"
She sighed quietly.
"Yes, the city gate is sealed off. We can't get out, so we have to go back."
Anle raised her hand and pointed outside the carriage.
"Is that why there's all this crying and commotion outside? Anyone who doesn't know better would think it's a funeral."
An Ning muttered, "It's almost like a funeral procession. We can't get out of the city, so we'll just be burned alive here."
"Burned alive?" Anle glanced at Anning with a puzzled expression.
He Yusheng then spoke with a complicated expression, "I heard from the manor that a hundred years ago, Hongcheng was afflicted by a plague. The plague spread and was incurable. In order to save more people, the only option was to cremate Hongcheng."
If this were to be repeated, we in Jincheng would likely face the same fate.
Anle's breath hitched. What was that?
cremation?
They burned everyone in the city alive?
Damn it, is this something a human could do?
She didn't want to die here.
But the city was sealed off, and she couldn't escape. Besides, she didn't want to escape.
She had finally established her dessert business in the town, and her grand ambitions were unfolding. Before she could even begin to realize her bright future, her dream was thwarted.
How could she allow such a thing to happen?
****
After traveling for more than a day, amidst the intermittent wailing of Liu Xiufen and her daughter, He Sanfeng, and the comforting words of An Dalin, An Mancang, and Qiao Qiuniang's family, An Le finally returned to the Paradise Dessert Shop, feeling both agitated and drowsy.
By the time we got back to town, it was already broad daylight.
The entire An family finally gathered together, sitting and talking silently in the backyard of the Paradise Dessert Shop.
Anle didn't hear any conversation, but lying in the room, through the window, she could hear Liu Xiufen and her daughter crying and sobbing outside, occasionally mixed with curses directed at An Manxin, and bickering with He Sanfeng.
It was only after being carried off the carriage that Anle realized Zhenmo was missing.
When asked about the situation, he seemed utterly dejected, slumped on the bed, his eyes wide open and vacant, appearing numb to the current situation.
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