Chapter 43
Before leaving, Granny Yu took one last look at Yan Fu'er.
Seeing that she was looking down, holding spices in her hand without moving, I wondered what she was thinking.
“I calculated the time, and according to their schedule, they should be able to reach Lingyang in three days at most.”
"If I don't see you when you return, it would be my dereliction of duty."
"Good girl, would you please go back with Granny?"
Fu'er shook her head and went to the front yard.
Knowing her temperament, Granny Yu had no choice but to leave with the food box.
Wenchun Garden.
After Yunyou's plan to harm Fu'er failed, she remained resentful for some time.
But these past few days, seeing that Granny Yu hadn't managed to bring Fu'er back, she perked up again.
Knowing that Ning Shiyu was coming back, she began to put effort into her appearance.
She started applying pearl powder ahead of time and drank milk that she used to dislike every day.
Ning Shiyu was not at home, and Fu'er had not been invited back either.
Granny Yu then stopped the milk production at the manor.
Now Yunyou can't drink it either, so she specially asked Caiwei to buy some outside the mansion.
Sometimes when I can't finish the drink, I put it on my face.
Although her skin wasn't as fair as Fu'er's, it was still much fairer than the average person's.
Back in Chang'an, she had heard that wealthy girls used this formula to make their skin fairer.
They're spending their own monthly allowance to buy such expensive milk, and it's such a waste.
Caiwei felt sorry for her, "Auntie, you only have eyes for the young master, but he treats you..."
Seeing Yun You's displeased expression, Caiwei had no choice but to swallow the rest of her sentence.
A moment later, Yunyou washed the milk and pearl powder off her face. "You don't understand. There's no such thing as worth it or not."
“From the moment the old lady gave me to the young master, I became his woman.”
"If you don't fight or compete, the final outcome will be that you can't escape being assigned to someone else by the old lady."
What she should do now is let Ning Shiyu touch her.
She became his true concubine.
Once she and her young master had physical intimacy.
Now that she's Ning Shiyu's woman, he won't send her back to Old Madam Ning.
If she has another child with Ning Shiyu, even if he marries a legal wife, then she will have someone to rely on for the rest of her life.
In this mansion, Yunyou also knew that the only one who truly cared for her was Caiwei.
Having lived in the Ning residence for so long, she had never told anyone these things.
Seeing that Caiwei felt sorry for her, she was willing to say a few heartfelt words.
Caiwei used to envy Yunyou, who was not only beautiful but also became the young master's concubine.
They will enjoy endless wealth and honor throughout their lives.
However, Caiwei also truly felt the hardships behind it.
Thinking of what she had overheard in the kitchen, she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Auntie, a few days ago, I overheard something about Miss Fu'er in the kitchen. I don't know if I should tell you."
After washing her face, Yunyou sat down in front of her vanity and began applying face cream.
Upon hearing that it was related to Fu'er, a hint of wariness appeared on his face.
"Of course we should talk about anything that concerns Fu'er."
Caiwei walked to Yunyou's side and whispered, "I heard from Alan that Granny Yu has been sending soup to Fu'er for a month."
"It's ginseng soup that women drink during their postpartum period."
Yun Youteng stood up from the armchair, looking surprised. "Really?"
"This servant's guess is pretty close to the truth."
“That day, when I went to fetch food for my aunt, I overheard Alan talking to the cook.”
Upon seeing the maidservant appear, the two immediately fell silent.
“I asked Alan several times in private, but she always looked frightened and wouldn’t answer.”
In the last incident involving the addition of medicine to the hot soup, Caiwei had essentially bribed Alan.
But no matter how Caiwei tried to get information out of him, Alan shook his head and denied it.
He claimed he was unaware of the situation.
But Caiwei heard it clearly that day, and guessed that she must have guessed correctly.
After listening to Caiwei explain the whole story, Yunyou smiled faintly, as if calculating the price.
"Tomorrow, go outside the mansion and buy two sets of silver jewelry."
Caiwei was puzzled. "Miss, you don't lack jewelry, and you don't wear silver."
Yunyou slowly sat back in the armchair and smiled, "Isn't Alan getting married? Consider this a gift."
Caiwei suddenly realized, "That's right, Alan hasn't come this month."
"You're the girl, you have a way."
*
It is said that Fu'er had only slept in the servants' quarters for a few days when her aunt came to visit again with her two children, one big and one small.
She was covered in wounds and dressed in tattered clothes.
Fu'er and the others guessed that it was her uncle's gambling addiction that had caused her aunt to be beaten like this.
Luo Linchun was furious when he saw his sister like this.
She resented her younger sister for being blind in the past, not listening to their parents' advice, and only looking at her brother-in-law because he was good-looking.
She insisted on marrying him.
Ms. Wen also felt sorry for her sister-in-law and her two children who were not yet grown up.
The eldest, Xu Ge'er, is ten years old, and the youngest, Ling Jie'er, is seven years old.
All the money his family had earned over the years had been gambled away by his brother-in-law.
After cooking a bowl of noodle soup for the mother and her two children, he also specially stir-fried a bowl of fatty pork.
The brother and sister's eyes lit up when they saw the meat.
Without any further politeness, they wolfed down their food.
Seeing Fu'er broke my heart.
Despite her pitiful state, Ms. Wen had no choice but to reveal the truth about her family.
"Guihua, our home is in a remote area, and we have nowhere to stay."
"Besides, if Brother Xu's father comes looking for us, our whole family won't have a peaceful time."
"Why don't you and your two children go to an inn and hide for a few days?"
Guihua knew her sister-in-law was telling the truth, and she lost her appetite.
She choked back tears and said, "Sister-in-law, to tell you the truth, all the money we had was gambled away by that heartless man."
"I can't afford to stay in an inn."
Seeing his sister being bullied like this by her husband, Luo Linchun was furious, thinking about her past foolishness: "Whose fault is this?"
"What's the use of coming to us now?"
"You work yourself to the bone every day, but in the end, you can't control your man or your money."
"You deserve it."
Before Zhang Tiezhu started gambling, he and his wife ran a tofu shop.
Having watched her parents make tofu since she was a child, Luo Guihua is just as skilled as her brother.
However, shortly after her daughter was born, Zhang Tiezhu developed a gambling addiction.
He gambled away all of the family's savings.
Even the money Luo Guihua hid would be found by him.
Gradually, the family business failed, so Luo Guihua took up embroidery to support her family.
Even though they were struggling to get enough to eat, Zhang Tiezhu still refused to stop and gambled away the little money Luo Guihua had earned.
If Luo Guihua refused to give it to him, Zhang Tiezhu would beat and kick his children and her.
Luo Linchun couldn't stand it, so he and Luo Qiusheng went to deal with Zhang Tiezhu.
I know that once his habits are formed, they won't change overnight.
Let Luo Guihua go back to her hometown, and just ignore Zhang Tiezhu.
However, Luo Guihua couldn't let go of her husband, after all, they had been married for many years.
After a few kind words, he regained his belief that he would win back what he had lost.
He also secretly received a lot of money from Fu'er.
Luo Guihua didn't dare tell her brother and sister-in-law about this yet.
A year has passed, and Zhang Tiezhu has not only failed to win back what he lost in the past.
She still owed a lot of gambling debts, and people outside were chasing after Luo Guihua every day demanding money.
Zhang Tiezhu felt no remorse whatsoever.
They became even more cruel to Luo Guihua, whereas Xu Ge'er used to be able to study at the private school.
Now the family is destitute and can no longer afford to go to school.
On one side are debt collectors, and on the other is a husband who's blinded by gambling.
Unable to bear the torment any longer, she went to her brother and sister-in-law for help.
Hearing their uncle's harsh words, the two children put down their chopsticks and hid behind their mother, sobbing.
Guihua slapped herself in regret.
With red eyes, Fu'er tugged at her aunt, "Aunt, it's all Zhang Tiezhu's fault. Why are you hitting yourself?"
"Your only mistake was believing him time and time again."
Then, she persuaded her father, "There's no point in yelling now."
“Xu-ge’er and Ling-jie’er are so pitiful. Your shout scared them so much that they couldn’t eat.”
“Our aunt only has us in Lingyang. If she doesn’t come looking for us, who else can she go to?”
"Are you going to leave that mother and her two children to live on the streets?"
Man'er spoke softly and gently, coaxing the two children to continue eating.
Hearing Fu'er recount her heartache, Luo Guihua's eyes welled up with tears of grievance.
Fu'er patted Luo Guihua on the shoulder, "Auntie, let me help you."
Luo Guihua looked up at Fu'er in disbelief, her lips trembling slightly as she thought about the money she owed Fu'er last time.
I feel guilty for troubling her again and I don't know what to say.
Holding Fu'er's hand, she sobbed, "It's all my fault, I've dragged you all down with me."
Luo Linchun knew that his silly daughter was actually very kind-hearted.
He immediately stopped her, saying, "Can the little money you earn fill the hole in her family's coffers?"
Fu'er smiled and said, "I'm not going to fill the hole in his family's hole, I just want to help my aunt."
"But I also have requirements."
Luo Guihua raised her tear-streaked face and asked, "What are your demands?"
"That is, to completely sever ties with Zhang Tiezhu. If Aunt can't do that, then Fu'er is powerless to help."
Luo Guihua remained silent for a moment, looking completely bewildered.
Her two children hugged her tightly, crying, "Mother, please say yes to Sister Fu'er!"
"We don't want to be beaten to death by him."
Seeing her two children covered in injuries, one sentence brought Luo Guihua to her senses completely. With a firm expression, she said, "I promise you."
Fu'er had long wanted to help his aunt, seeing her living in dire straits.
After seeing her aunt's statement, Fu'er thought it over and went to the vicinity of Zhu Ping's house to rent a courtyard for Luo Guihua and her two children.
Tongluo Lane is almost out of town, far from her home, as long as her aunt doesn't actively seek out Zhang Tiezhu.
Zhang Tiezhu couldn't find them.
As for her aunt's job to make a living, Fu'er told them to rest for a while first.
She then took her aunt to Zhu Ping's house to say hello.
Please ask them to take care of Luo Guihua and her two children regularly.
The Hua couple were naturally delighted to see Fu'er come to their door.
They warmly invited the group to stay for a meal before returning home.
If time is delayed, it will be too late.
Fu'er had no choice but to spend the night here.
In the morning, Juanjuan, who had gone to deliver clothes to Zhu Ping, took the pancakes her aunt had made and returned to Nancheng.
Fu'er didn't go home; she went straight to the shop on Qingyu Street.
Chen Qiao just got back from buying goods.
Before the spices were even taken out, guests arrived.
Before the two could even get everything in order, Zhu Ping's younger sister, Juanjuan, rushed over.
She looked anxious, and bumped into Chen Qiao, causing him to stumble.
Fu'er was also startled. "Juanjuan, what's wrong with you?"
When Juanjuan saw Fu'er, it was as if she had seen a savior.
She grabbed Fu'er's hand and cried, "Sister Fu'er, please go and save my brother!"
Seeing her crying so hard she could barely breathe, Fu'er became anxious. "What happened?"
"The shopkeeper said my brother stole the shop's fabric."
"They even reported it to the authorities."
“My brother never does anything petty or dishonest.”
Fu'er also knew something about Zhu Ping and believed Juanjuan's words.
I think there must be some misunderstanding.
"Juanjuan, don't worry, I'll go to the Lingyi Shop with you right away."
The two hurriedly arrived at the main street of the East Gate of Lingyang and saw the yamen runners escorting Zhu Ping out of the shop.
Fu'er stepped forward to stop them, "Sir, you can't just listen to the shopkeeper's side of the story."
“He is my brother, and I’m sure there’s some misunderstanding involved.”
"How about you let us solve this ourselves?"
The officials didn't recognize Fu'er, so they wouldn't give her any face and pushed her away.
He shouted sternly, "Where did this troublemaker come from? How dare he stop us from carrying out our duties?"
Zhu Ping saw Fu'er fall to the ground and used all his strength to break free from the two constables.
She quickly helped Fu'er up, asking, "Are you hurt anywhere?"
Seeing Zhu Ping's calm expression, without the slightest fear, Fu'er became worried.
“I’m fine. You should tell the official that you didn’t take the shop’s fabric.”
Seeing that Fu'er believed him without the slightest hesitation, Zhu Ping felt a surge of joy and warmth in his heart.
The officers, completely ignoring him, stepped forward to continue detaining him.
"You trust me that much?"
"Of course I believe you. After all, I watched you grow up."
Upon hearing her words, Zhu Ping knew that she was treating him like a child again, and his face immediately darkened.
Seeing Fu'er and her sister's panicked expressions, she comforted them instead.
"Don't worry, I'm innocent, I won't be in there for long."
"Someone will come to save me."
Fu'er was blocked by the officials and couldn't get close to Zhu Ping at all.
Thinking Zhu Ping was terrified and his speech was incoherent, they loudly reminded him, "You're just a shopkeeper. If you don't explain this clearly, who will come to your rescue if you end up in jail?"
"I will save him."
The voice was so familiar that Fu'er trembled slightly and turned around abruptly, only to see Ning Shiyu standing in front of her.
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