“Madam’s willingness to take us in shows her respect for the Li family. But Madam is unaware that my eldest son has already passed the imperial examination and is a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations). He is currently studying abroad, and we are going there to seek refuge with him. We are afraid we will have to disappoint Madam’s kindness.”
After hearing this, Madam Sun realized that she had been making some assumptions.
Li Laoda is a scholar, and the Li family can barely be considered a scholarly family. How can they make her a servant? This is simply an insult.
She quickly called her maid to bring twenty taels of silver, which she insisted on giving to Old Lady Li, and also wrote down the Sun family's address.
He instructed them that if the Li family encountered any difficulties, they could go and seek their help.
Old Mrs. Li could not refuse, so she had no choice but to accept it, and she was extremely grateful to Mrs. Sun.
Remembering that the Sun family would have to travel by boat for another seven or eight days, they decided to leave the dairy goat behind.
Madam Sun was very happy because although the wet nurse had recovered somewhat, her milk supply was still not enough for the baby.
Grandma Li carried her granddaughter out, feeling guilty for having given her granddaughter food.
But looking down at her granddaughter, she saw her scratching her little hands, as if saying goodbye to Miss Sun.
She couldn't help but laugh again and leaned down to kiss her granddaughter.
"My Fu Niu'er is such a good child. Grandma will only love you for the rest of her life! No, the whole Li family will love you! Without you, our family wouldn't be so peaceful!"
Jiayin nestled in her grandmother's arms, babbling softly a couple of times, before taking one last look at the little beauty from the Sun family.
Little one, see you again someday!
Taking this opportunity, the Li family also bid farewell to Steward Wang and the familiar maids, servants, and boys.
Soon, the large ship docked at the pier, and the Li family members disembarked one after another.
It wasn't until they had walked quite a distance that the Li family members, who had been silent the whole time, finally came to their senses.
"Have we really arrived in Kyoto?"
"Is this Kyoto? Luckily we took a boat, otherwise it would have taken us a month to get there."
"We're standing on solid ground, so why do we still feel like we're swaying?"
Li Lao Er, who had the best idea of what to do, went up to his mother and asked, "Mother, it's still two or three hundred li to Uncle's house. Should we find a carriage or a caravan to travel with?"
Jiayin was looking around with her eyes wide open. She had never seen a bustling street in ancient times since she transmigrated, and she was very curious.
Seeing this, Old Lady Li quickly said...
"Even if we hire a caravan or find a caravan to travel with, we can't set off immediately. Let's find a place to stay first, so that our Fu Niu can have a good look at the excitement."
Li Lao Er was amused by his little niece's curious expression. The baby, who had just turned one month old, was fair-skinned, chubby, and clean, with a variety of expressions that were delightful to look at.
He reached out and touched his little niece's face, imitating his nephews.
"I'll also share in Fu Niu'er's good fortune and find a good place to stay."
The Li family walked along and soon left the dock, arriving at the nearby commercial street.
This place is less crowded than the dock, but more bustling.
The group walked along the long street paved with bluestone slabs, with shops lining both sides of the street.
The structure features blue bricks and carved wood, white walls and black tiles, and exquisite patterns carved on the window lattices and door lintels.
There are countless stalls outside the shops, displaying a wide variety of items, including all kinds of eating utensils.
The Li family members were filled with amazement, and the boys, especially, couldn't contain their excitement, looking around curiously.
If it weren't for their parents holding them back, they would have run off somewhere long ago.
Jiayin also strained to support her neck, twisting her little head to look around. The antique charm she saw made her marvel at the wisdom of the working people.
"Oh dear..." Jiayin was getting happier and happier as she looked at it, and accidentally tugged at her grandmother's hair.
Grandma Li simply stood the swaddled baby upright, supporting her granddaughter's head with one hand.
Jiayin was finally able to see the world from a normal perspective, which made her feel much better, and she even laughed out loud.
"Look how happy our Fu Niu'er is!" Grandma Li didn't mind being tired, supporting her granddaughter on her shoulder.
Tao Hongying laughed along, and was about to speak when Wu Cuihua suddenly shouted.
"Second brother, second brother! Have you seen Er Gouzi? He was just next to me a moment ago, and he's gone in the blink of an eye. Help me find him!"
Li Lao Er never thought much of Wu Er Gou, so he wasn't worried when he heard that Wu Er Gou had disappeared.
"How could a grown man get lost? He's probably wandering around nearby. We'll find him."
Wu Cuihua was still worried. Seeing that Li Lao Er didn't want to help her search, she simply sat on the ground and started crying.
"I don't want to live anymore. My only brother is missing, and you won't even help. You're so heartless!"
Her outburst drew everyone's attention, making the Li family very embarrassed.
Li Lao Er quickly pulled Wu Cuihua up from the ground. Wu Cuihua didn't dare to make too much of a scene and looked at Li Lao Tai while sobbing.
Old Mrs. Li's face was frighteningly cold; she regretted a thousand times that she had gotten stuck with Wu Ergou, this clingy pest.
But he couldn't ignore it now, so he could only instruct his sons, "Go and look around the neighborhood, be careful, and don't cause any trouble."
Li Lao Er gave Wu Cuihua a hard slap, gritted his teeth in anger, but still coaxed his younger brothers out.
Li Jiaren also disliked his mother and uncle, but he didn't know what to say. He found a shady spot by the roadside and persuaded his grandmother, "Grandma, sit down and hold Fu Niu'er for a while."
Jiayin liked this older brother's composure, smiled at him, and waved her small hand, as if to cheer him on.
With such a difficult mother, this brother is likely to have some trouble in the future...
Li Jiaren, perhaps understanding his sister's good intentions, smiled and squeezed her little hand. Finally, he stood behind his grandmother to shield her from the scorching sun.
Half an hour later, as everyone was getting worried, Li Laosi finally returned, grabbing Wu Ergou by the collar with a gloomy expression.
Wu Er looked very indignant, but fearing Li Laosi's fists, he could only shrink back and pretend to be pitiful.
Needless to say, everyone guessed that he had done something bad again.
"Fourth brother, don't hold him like that, it hurts your neck!"
Wu Cuihua followed behind anxiously, reaching out to try and rescue her brother from Li Laosi's clutches, but after being glared at coldly by Li Laosi, she became somewhat intimidated.
Li Laosi threw Wu Ergou to the ground and said.
"My second brother and I dragged him out of the gambling den. I don't know where this kid got the guts to go gambling!"
If we had arrived any later, he would have had to borrow money from the casino! He's penniless; if he loses, our family would have to clean up his mess!
Li Laosi became angrier the more he thought about it, and kicked Wu Ergou again.
That family was kind enough to take him in and help him escape the north. This kid wasn't grateful at all; he cheats people without even thinking!
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Li looked at Wu Er with extreme disgust.
"Wu Ergou, do you think that just because your sister married into our family, we're obligated to protect you from disaster? We took pity on you before and couldn't bear to see you die. Now that you're in the capital, get out of here! We're not keeping you here!"
Wu Ergou had no money on him and feared he would starve to death if he left the Li family, so he quickly crawled to Old Lady Li's feet.
"Auntie, I was wrong! I just got a little itchy fingers when I saw the gambling den. I'll never do it again! Please don't abandon me!"
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