As night fell, the two men, leading three horses, slowly headed towards Dongtou Village. Yun Shenghua, who had heard many rumors in the city, was already waiting at the door with his family. Upon seeing the figures, his tone couldn't help but become excited.
"Father, Mother, Chunniang, look! They're back! They're back!"
Old Man Yun leaned out to look into the distance, but Old Man Yun's wife slapped him across the face. Old Man Yun's wife squeezed Old Man Yun out of the way and saw Yun Ling and Yun Ruochun. She couldn't help but stomp her feet.
Zhang also flew out like an arrow, her eyes first locking onto Yun Ling. Only when she saw that Yun Ling was unharmed did she notice Yun Ruochun. When she saw that Yun Ruochun was also safe, she felt relieved, but her expression remained solemn.
When Yunling and Yunruochun landed safely at their doorstep, Zhang looked around and, seeing no one, grabbed Yunling and slapped her on the bottom.
"You little rascal, doing something so dangerous without even informing us beforehand, and you're even using it as a pretext for doing business. Don't you care about making your parents worry? Do you just want to keep your parents up at night and unable to eat?"
This time, even Old Lady Yun sided with Zhang. Although Ling'er was clever, she was too bold. After all, she was a girl. If she were kidnapped by human traffickers like she had a few years ago, where would they go to cry?
Yunling kept crying out that she was innocent. She felt that Zhang had hit her hard, and her bottom was burning hot from the blows. But since this was her mother and she was in the right, she couldn't argue back. So she simply sat down on the ground, trying to divert attention.
“Mother, I didn’t tell Father I was going to do business. I just said I wouldn’t be coming home tonight.”
Zhang immediately looked at Yun Shenghua, who stammered, "What...what...what did I do wrong?" He just wanted Zhang to stop thinking and rest peacefully, but he never imagined that these two would have such audacity to arrest human traffickers.
Yunling, knowing that Yun Shenghua had been wronged, waited until Zhang's anger shifted slightly away from her before speaking up for Yun Shenghua:
“Mother, Father didn’t want you to worry either. Putting myself in your shoes, I didn’t want you to worry either. After all, this is a big deal. If the news leaks out halfway through, and those human traffickers get away, and those young women are sold elsewhere, wouldn’t all our efforts be in vain?”
"To be honest, ever since I was abducted by human traffickers, I've had a knot in my heart. I resent those human traffickers. I want to bring them all to justice so that I can reconcile with my past self who was only six years old, and also so that my mother can reconcile with the past."
Zhang's eyes welled up with tears. She hated human traffickers just as much, but she was even more afraid that Yunling would be kidnapped by them again. Hearing these words, she seemed to realize that Yunling had really grown up.
She quickly helped Yunling up, and only then did she realize that she had been so angry that she hadn't checked if Yunling was injured, or if she had bumped or fallen anywhere. She hurriedly asked:
"When you were dealing with those human traffickers, did you bump into anything or get hurt anywhere?"
Yunling covered her slightly aching bottom and shook her head, saying:
"I'm fine. As long as it's Auntie's effort, she can take on ten people at once."
Now it was Old Lady Yun's turn to grab Yun Ruochun and look at her, examining her from the left and right.
"Sister Chun, are you injured?"
"No, Mother, don't forget, I can even kill a wild boar. What are a few beasts? It's just that I'm going to take up my post at the county government tomorrow, so I'm afraid I won't be able to stay at home for long."
The atmosphere on the field instantly turned cold.
Tonight's dinner was neither joyful nor sorrowful for anyone. While no one looked grieving, they weren't particularly happy either. Yun Ruoxia was especially so. Although Yun Ruochun was gone, and she could now have her own room, they had lived together for so many years. Now that one of them was suddenly gone, how could the other be happy?
Yun Ruochun forced a smile and explained:
“Look at you guys. I’m working for the government office, not being sold to it. I even get three days off a month. I’ll ride my 0846 home then.”
Old Lady Yun felt that the meat Zhang had cooked today tasted sour. The more she chewed it, the more sour, astringent, and dry it became, making it difficult to swallow.
"Being a yamen runner isn't easy, and since you're new here, you'll definitely be the one doing the hard and heavy work."
"That's natural; everyone goes through this process, and I accept it."
"You'll have to accept it. When the constables encounter villains, they have to be at the forefront, charging into battle. Even though you're strong, you can't withstand the sharpness of weapons. This isn't a good job."
"But what job isn't dangerous?"
After putting the meat she had picked up back into the bowl, Yun Ruochun continued:
"Isn't it dangerous for Ling'er to run to Qingcheng? Isn't it dangerous for Xia Niang to argue with people over a few coins? Isn't it dangerous for Chu'er to go to Ren'an Hall to face patients with unclear conditions? As long as a person is alive, it's like having a knife to their throat. Life and death are preordained, and wealth and honor are determined by fate."
Old Lady Yun swallowed the sour pork, then, with trembling hands, shoveled all the pickled cabbage from the plate into her bowl, jokingly saying:
“You’ve attended school for a year or two, and your head is full of fallacies. I can’t argue with you.”
"Mother, I genuinely enjoy doing this kind of work."
After hearing this, Old Lady Yun was completely at a loss.
She admitted that she favored Yun Ruochun more than her two daughters, simply because her daughter, Yun Ruochun, had suffered so much; she was born with a fierce spirit and endured endless scorn and criticism.
Despite her good looks, no man wanted to be with her. Yet she was also very sensible, helping out at home with chores. Even though Xia Jie often tried to be clever and lazy, she never complained.
Now that her abilities are being seen and recognized by others, and she is no longer seen as a freak, it's a good thing, and she should be happy.
“If you like doing it, then go ahead. If you feel unhappy or it’s not suitable for you, you can quit and come home to lie down. Our family doesn’t owe us a few coins.”
"good."
Yunling let out a satisfied burp. She had been starving for days, and the aroma of Zhang's cooking made her unable to resist the urge to eat her fill. So, as soon as everyone stopped eating, she quickly started eating to fill her own stomach first.
"Grandma, let me tell you, Auntie is amazing. When she was chasing after human traffickers, she..."
Yunling recounted in detail how they had been tracking human traffickers. She imitated Gangzi's storytelling style, making the story full of twists and turns, so that everyone listened without daring to breathe, unaware that the food on the table had gone cold.
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