Chapter 53: Invitation
As Yu Wan's business grew, many people kindly suggested that she take her family and leave to start over in a safer place.
Whenever this happens, Yu Wan would ask in return, "Where is the safest place?"
The other party couldn't offer any specific advice because as the conversation went on, everyone realized that even the imperial palace was not safe, and was even a thousand times more dangerous than these remote border towns.
After all, the emperor lived there, while the remote mountain valleys might be ignored by everyone.
Therefore, the people in the town are either forced to stay, have nowhere else to go, or simply don't want to leave.
Nowadays, most people have given up all fantasies about the future and only want to solve the immediate problem of basic needs like food and clothing.
Yu Wan observed the boy wiping the bookshelf in front of her; he seemed to be getting more and more used to the job of a shop assistant.
But who exactly is he?
He is handsome, highly skilled, and has been hunted by assassins, yet he never reveals his identity.
It's possible that the name He Suzhi is also fake.
She was lost in thought when she noticed a large hand waving around in front of her.
She then snapped out of her reverie and asked, "What's wrong?"
He Jing looked at her with concern. "I was about to ask you what's wrong. Are you feeling unwell?"
Yu Wan chuckled awkwardly, "No."
He Jing felt that her eyes were different today than usual, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was different.
This feeling made him uneasy, but he didn't dislike it; he just felt a little panicked.
This woman usually wouldn't even look at him, so why is she staring at him all day without saying a word?
"You have something you want to tell me?"
"No." Yu Wan lowered her eyes and flipped through the ledger.
He Jing pursed his lips, his expression showing a hint of disappointment.
"Then I'll go get busy."
Yu Wan nodded, then suddenly remembered the flower planting and instructed, "By the way, I see you know a bit about gardening, so go and talk to Hua Rong more. If she's unsure about anything, try to give her some advice. Anyway, I don't know anything about this, so you guys handle it."
He Jing stared at her for a while, puzzled, then simply gave a faint reply and walked out.
Yu Wan closed the ledger and let out a long sigh of relief.
I wonder when we'll hear some good news from Master Zhu after his two friends leave.
There's also the war going on, so we need to stockpile more food.
They even need to plan escape routes and hiding places to help more people save their lives.
This damn war!
Thinking about it, she realized there were still many things she hadn't done. She took a sip of tea and quickly continued to ponder them.
A few days later, Yu Wan received an invitation.
The message asked her to come to his home and cook several dishes herself, and assured him that he didn't need to worry about the payment, as it would definitely satisfy her.
"Isn't this the address of the ancestral home in the east of the city?" Xue Xiujun leaned closer, curiously examining the invitation.
Yu Wan certainly remembered that the ancestral home was in an excellent location.
Xue Xiujun was well-liked and could chat with many people, so he already knew everything about the county town.
"The owner of that ancestral home hasn't returned for many years. There's only an old butler and a few servants cleaning it regularly. Could it be that the owner has returned? I haven't heard anything about it."
He glanced at the silent boy. "What do you think?"
He Jing said calmly, "I heard that the young master of that family suddenly returned to pay respects to his ancestors and just arrived in the county town this morning."
Xue Xiujun looked at Yu Wan, "Boss lady, that's a wealthy family. If we satisfy them, we might get a large reward. Are you going or not?"
"Of course we'll go! This is a great opportunity for publicity. If they enjoy the meal, they might even help us spread the word when they get back," Yu Wan said confidently.
He Jing frowned, sensing that something was amiss.
The invitation specified that the trip would take place in the evening. After Yu Wan had made all the necessary arrangements, she was about to board the carriage when she saw He Jing following behind.
Yu Wan laughed and said, "I'm going to cook, not collect a debt. I don't need you to encourage me. You go and do your thing."
He Jing said coldly, "I'm not at ease."
He knew that Yu Wan wouldn't easily let go of an opportunity, so he didn't stop her.
Yu Wan shook her head helplessly. It seemed that every time she went somewhere, this person had to accompany her.
When the carriage arrived at the ancestral home in the east of the city, it saw that another carriage had also arrived.
Guan Yanling got out of the car, accompanied by a handsome man.
When she saw her friend, her eyes lit up, and she almost revealed her true colors and rushed over to hug Yu Wan.
After calming down, she greeted him in a cool voice, "A-Wan, you're here too."
Yu Wan nodded and smiled, then looked at the man beside her, "I presume this is Young Master Gao?"
The man bowed and said, "My surname is Gao, and my given name is Hua Hao. I have long admired your name, Madam Yu."
Yu Wan returned the greeting politely, then looked at the plaque above the entrance to the mansion—Han Mansion.
"Does Young Master Gao know the background of this family?"
Gao Huahao replied, "I heard that our ancestors served as officials in the capital, and later the whole family moved there. That was a hundred years ago, and I'm afraid even my parents might not know the details."
Yu Wan asked Jin Yifei in the afternoon, but he didn't know either, and said that even Lord Zhu didn't know.
Guan Yanling couldn't resist snuggling up to her friend, linking arms with her and whispering,
"Don't you also feel something's a bit strange? This family has been gone for so many years, they don't have any relatives here anymore, right? Why did they suddenly come back to their ancestral home? And they even said they were going to worship their ancestors. They haven't been back for so many years, why did they suddenly come back to do this? Either their ancestors gave them a message in a dream, or they have some unspeakable secret."
Yu Wan did have a feeling she couldn't quite put into words, but this was someone else's ancestral home, and she could come and go as she pleased; there seemed to be nothing to say.
She tried to think positively, "Could it be because of the publicity from the magistrate's two friends? In any case, let's go in and take a look first."
Anyway, there are so many of them, including martial arts experts, they shouldn't suffer any losses.
At that moment, the door opened.
Two servants came out and blocked the crowd's way.
“My young master said he doesn’t like a lot of people. He’s just cooking a meal. The two ladies can go in. There’s no need for the others to follow. They can wait outside.”
Guan Yanling panicked a little, "Awan, should we still go in?"
Yu Wan made up her mind; she wanted to see who was inside and what tricks they were up to.
She took the lead and went up first, refusing to believe in any evil spirits or demons.
If someone is targeting them, there's no way to hide.
Seeing that she had already rushed off, Guan Yanling hurriedly followed.
Gao Huahao called from behind, "A-Ling..."
Guan Yanling followed him inside without looking back, and the door closed behind her.
Gao Huahao was about to ask the boy next to him what to do when he saw him lightly leap into the courtyard.
"..."
Yu Wan and her companion were first invited to the kitchen, where the servant was very arrogant and ordered them to prepare the meal within half an hour.
Guan Yanling helped add firewood to the fire. "Isn't it strange? I can't cook, yet they specifically asked me to do it. They specifically asked for our pastries, but these things don't need to be made on the spot. Anyone can bring them over. Why did they specifically ask me to bring them?"
Yu Wan continued working and asked, "Have any strangers visited your shop in the past few days?"
Guan Yanling shook her head, "No, I have absolutely no recollection of it."
As Yu Wan pondered the situation, she finished preparing the meal. It seemed that the other party had invited them over for more than just a meal.
Before long, someone came to collect the food and told them to wait in the kitchen. If the host was pleased, they would let them go and receive a reward.
Guan Yanling clung to Yu Wan's arm; she wasn't stupid, and she had guessed a little bit of what was going on.
"A-Wan, what should we do? If it's just one person, the two of us can barely handle it. But there are several servants in this mansion, and neither of us knows martial arts. It's a bit risky."
Yu Wan had already guessed it beforehand, and since she didn't want to tell her and scare her, she kept quiet.
"I'll cover you for a bit. Don't worry about anything, just run out."
Guan Yanling's eyes were red; the other person's words confirmed her suspicions. Her voice trembled as she asked...
"And what about you?"
Yu Wan smiled and comforted him, "I'm not even afraid of a pack of wolves, why would I be afraid of a lecherous man?"
Guan Yanling is one of the most beautiful women in the county. Although she usually wears a veil, her beauty still attracts many men to her shop just to catch a glimpse of her.
Presumably, the person who invited them asked her to personally deliver the pastries for this very reason.
Guan Yanling breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, yes, you're so capable, you'll definitely be alright. But I won't leave you behind. We'll come together, we'll go together!"
A short while later, the steward came with his head held high and called them to collect their reward.
"Ladies, my young master is of noble birth. You must be careful what you say and not anger him. If he gets sick from anger, even the lives of your two families would not be enough to compensate for it."
The two girls followed behind, rolling their eyes at the back of the butler's head in unison.
Anyone who didn't know better would think it was the emperor himself, making it seem like a royal audience.
These words couldn't scare them.
The butler continued, "Just do whatever my young master tells you to do, and you'll be rewarded. Do you understand?"
Yu Wan pursed her lips; the implication in those words was far too obvious.
She didn't regret coming here; on the contrary, she was glad she did.
If only Guan Yanling came alone, it would be like a lamb entering a tiger's den.
The two held hands nervously, and could feel the cold sweat on each other's palms.
"We've arrived. You can go in now. Remember what I just told you."
The housekeeper stopped at the door and gestured for them to go in by themselves.
Yu Wan stepped across the threshold, wanting to see just how capable the other party was.
As the two entered, they first heard the voices of two young men talking from the other side of the screen.
"The food at Yu Family Restaurant is truly excellent. I was worried about my stomach suffering after leaving the capital. Brother Han, although you were punished by the old man to come here to reflect on your actions, it's good that I came with you, otherwise you really wouldn't have been able to enjoy this delicious food."
Another young man said unhappily, "How can you talk like that? Are you even a good buddy? Why bring up something you shouldn't talk about? My old man is so annoying. I only caused a little trouble, and he kicked me out all the way here."
"Don't say that, Brother Han. I think your father still cares about you a lot. You have no idea how my old man treats me. If I make a mistake, it's not as simple as being kicked out of the capital to pay respects to my ancestors. It means I can't get out of bed for three months. I've had dozens of sticks broken from beating me since I was a child."
"Stop saying anything. We're both stuck with fathers like these; we must have done something terrible in our past lives."
"Your steward has been gone for so long, why haven't the two young ladies arrived yet? Could something have happened to them?"
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