Chapter 48 Are you about to become the Crown Prince? Xiao…
That night, no one paid any attention to Xiao Mingzhang outside the door.
The next day, Yunzhu had to go to school in the morning and take the girls to learn horseback riding in the afternoon, so she was very busy.
Before leaving, she called out to Ayan and glanced outside again. Ayan returned and said that Xiao Mingzhang was no longer there. Yunzhu felt an immediate sense of inevitability.
Without saying a word, she led the little girl, Mu Zhaozhi, to the school in an orderly fashion.
Today, little Mu Zhaozhi wore a pair of unusual pigtails and walked beside her mother, occasionally looking up at her.
Since what happened at school yesterday afternoon, Mu Zhaozhi has never dared to mention that man to her mother again. But she knows that the man came home with her and her mother yesterday. He stood outside their door for a very long time, but her mother didn't let him in.
This was a side of her mother that Mu Zhaozhi had never seen before. During the years she lived in the small town, her mother had always been gentle and good-tempered, always kind and gentle to everyone. But in front of this man, her mother lost her composure.
Mu Zhaozhi had no doubt that this man was her father, but she didn't know why her mother just wouldn't admit it.
At only three years old, Mu Zhaozhi's little head couldn't hold too many things. As she walked with her mother on the yellow mud ground, she saw the old lady next door carrying a vegetable basket, clearly having returned from picking vegetables that morning.
Upon seeing them, the old woman quickly stopped and asked, "Oh, Master Mu, there was a man standing outside your door yesterday, standing there for quite a while. What was going on?"
Living in this kind of small town where people value relationships, you're bound to be questioned about certain things.
Caught off guard, Yunzhu glanced down at Mu Zhaozhi when the old woman asked her such a question. She then let go of the little girl's hand and went to the side with the old woman.
She smiled awkwardly at the old woman, saying, "Well, if it were anyone else, I definitely wouldn't bother telling them, but I've always considered you one of my own..."
Yunzhu bit her lip, seemingly still finding it difficult to speak. The old woman patted her and said, "What's there to be ashamed of? We're all neighbors. If you have any difficulties, you should speak up so that everyone can help you!"
Yunzhu looked at the old woman gratefully, hesitated for a long time, and finally said, "Grandma, you know, my husband passed away a long time ago. He was an orphan, and both his parents died long ago. After he left, I was all alone at home with my baby. My family wanted me to give birth and then go back home to remarry... The man yesterday, to be honest, was actually my brother. They came here hoping I would go back and remarry, but I moved out alone while heavily pregnant precisely to avoid remarrying. Grandma, I just want to stay here and take care of my child. I really don't want to go home..."
The old woman next door suddenly realized what was going on and looked at Yunzhu with heartache: "No wonder you refused to let him into the house no matter what. It's so pitiful. Her husband died so early, and she's raising the child alone. Your family is really despicable, disregarding your wishes. You'd be better off without a brother like that!"
“Yes.” Yunzhu nodded solemnly. “I have already made up my mind to sever ties with my family, so I will never go back with him.”
"Poor thing," the old woman sighed. "That man was waiting all day yesterday, and we thought something was wrong. Don't worry, since that's how it is, you must let us know if you need anything. We, the neighbors, will definitely stand by you and your daughter!"
"Okay, then I'll thank you in advance, Grandma." Yunzhu exchanged a few more words with the grandma, then said she had to go to school and saw her off.
Watching the old woman's figure disappear, Yunzhu turned around and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't expected this kind of problem today, but fortunately she was prepared. When she first arrived in this town, she had told people that her husband had died and her family wanted her to remarry, which was why she had come here heavily pregnant.
It seems that quite a few people already know about Xiao Mingzhang's matter yesterday. It's good that this old woman asked today; it's a good opportunity to spread the explanation for her, saving her from wasting her breath and having to say more herself.
She lowered her head, casually took Mu Zhaozhi's hand, and led her to continue towards the school.
The little girl, Mu Zhaozhi, remained silent, but she knew that her mother had just lied.
Her father was not dead, and that man was not her mother's brother, but her father.
However, having learned from yesterday's experience, Mu Zhaozhi will not reveal anything today, no matter how much she knows.
She and her mother went to the school. As usual, her mother took her to half a day of classes, but after school ended in the afternoon, Yunzhu could no longer stay with her daughter.
Because she was going to teach older girls horseback riding and archery lessons.
Mu Zhaozhi is only three years old now, still very young. Even the smallest foal is too big for her to reach the stirrups. So she will have to grow a little older, around seven or eight years old, before Yunzhu will start teaching her to ride horses.
While Yunzhu was teaching people how to ride horses, Mu Zhaozhi would either be picked up by Ayan and taken home, or she would play with her friends on the grassland in front of her house.
Since she didn't have a good time on the grassland last time, Mu Zhaozhi decided to ask Aunt Yan to take her home this time.
She wanted to go home and practice calligraphy.
So Ayan came to the school to pick up the little girl in the late afternoon.
Yunzhu rode her horse to the grassland alone.
The grasslands on the border in autumn don't turn yellow as quickly as elsewhere. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the grass is still green, and the boundless grassland connects with the azure sky, stretching as far as the eye can see.
On the grass, a group of female students were already waiting for Yunzhu.
Upon seeing Yunzhu, they all called her teacher.
This was a respectful title for her master, and Yunzhu was very pleased that one day she could hear someone calling her teacher again and again.
And what she teaches is something she is completely good at and enjoys.
She rode on horseback and first arranged a warm-up riding lesson for the girls. In Yunzhu's place, horseback riding and archery were always practiced together. After the girls returned from riding, she would start teaching them to continue practicing archery.
Listening to Yunzhu's words, the girls quickly set off, riding their horses and galloping around the grassland.
Yunzhu followed behind the last student, who rode slowly and steadily. Seeing Yunzhu behind her, she turned around and smiled brightly at Yunzhu in the autumn light of the meadow, saying, "Teacher, we've all heard about what happened yesterday!"
Yunzhu was taken aback for a moment, then quickly smiled and said, "Really?"
She didn't know what the student wanted to do by bringing this up at this time, but she was already starting to plan her response.
However, the students weren't trying to pry. Soon, she and Yunzhu said, "Teacher, this morning Grandma Cai told us all about the man's purpose in coming. Don't worry, we won't let him get away with it. You are a good teacher, we all know that. This afternoon, my father and some others carried axes and went to your door to guard it. If he dares to come again, we will beat him to a pulp and leave him covered in blood. He will never dare to bother you again!"
"What?"
Yunzhu's eyes were momentarily blinded by the wind on the grassland. She squinted her bright eyes and asked the student.
The student, beaming with pride, repeated to Yunzhu, "Teacher, you don't know yet, do you? Ever since Granny Cai told us about you, many of our neighbors have united to keep you here. So today, we've all been surrounding your house, waiting for that person to walk right into our trap so we can all give him a good beating!"
Yunzhu finally understood what the students were saying.
But the moment she understood, all the emotions on her face froze instantly.
She meant that the townspeople, in order to protect her, planned to ambush Xiao Mingzhang and teach him a lesson for her.
Yunzhu suddenly began to regret her nonsense that morning. She was uneasy and didn't know what else she could say.
Teaching Xiao Mingzhang a lesson? Putting aside the guards who have been with him all year round, he has now brought an army to Liangzhou. Even if the entire town united for him, they would not be able to defeat Xiao Mingzhang.
But that's not the worst part. If these people really offend Xiao Mingzhang for her sake, what will Xiao Mingzhang do to her neighbors? And how will he retaliate against them?
Yunzhu was still unclear about Xiao Mingzhang's purpose in coming to see her, nor did she know whether he would be waiting for her outside the door like yesterday. However, she knew that Xiao Mingzhang was always vengeful. He seemed like a gentleman, but behind the scenes, he had many unknown methods. Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance that such a thing might happen, it would still be extremely terrifying.
After realizing what was happening, Yunzhu immediately asked the students, "Has everyone gotten there by now?"
“Yes!” The student still looked proud, completely unaware of what Yunzhu was worried about. “But they didn’t all go. They took turns keeping watch. Teacher, my dad and the others have already discussed it. They said that once the man arrives, they will set off a cluster of fireworks. Once the fireworks go off, it means the man has arrived. Then everyone can gather outside your house.”
Fireworks? Yunzhu thought for a moment. She didn't seem to have seen any fireworks today, which meant that Xiao Mingzhang hadn't arrived yet.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But just as she was catching her breath, suddenly, a sound burst forth from the calm sky. Yunzhu looked in the direction of the sound and saw that a cluster of fireworks was rising from the bright sun, and then it burst into a magnificent display.
She froze instantly. This time, without having time to think, she gripped the reins, spurred the horse, and galloped off.
The students were stunned, not yet realizing what had happened, when they saw Yunzhu speeding away, leaving them only with a rapidly blurring figure.
—
Xiao Mingzhang had been traveling back and forth between Liangzhou and Hanze for two consecutive days.
The two places are not far apart, but they are definitely not close either. Even with a fine horse, it would take two to three hours to make a round trip.
Xiao Mingzhang knew that even if he came to Hanze today, he probably wouldn't get any benefits from Yunzhu. But he just wanted to see her and tell her that he missed her and his daughter. Even if it was just for a moment, even if it was just a simple moment, as long as he could see her and his daughter, he would feel that his journey of the past few hours was worthwhile.
Hearing that Yunzhu was giving the children horseback riding lessons at that time, Xiao Mingzhang went to wait for her at the door of his house.
However, Xiao Mingzhang never expected that as soon as he arrived at Yunzhu's house, a group of people wielding axes and sickles rushed towards him.
It was a group of people who had spontaneously formed themselves. The leader, holding an axe, said, "You bastard, your sister said she didn't want to remarry, but you insisted on forcing her. Today we'll teach you a lesson on her behalf, so you'll know that the men of the grasslands are not to be trifled with!"
Xiao Mingzhang was completely bewildered and wanted to ask someone what had happened, but it was too late; the person had already come at him with an axe.
He quickly sidestepped, and the guards hiding in the shadows rushed out.
The scene quickly descended into chaos.
Xiao Mingzhang wanted to call a halt, but the rough men on the grasslands were not easily controlled by him, and besides, they had no idea who he was.
Just as he was feeling helpless, Xiao Mingzhang saw that the merchant who had sold him horses the day before was also carrying an axe and was about to join the battle.
He finally found an opportunity and called out the merchant's name loudly.
The vendor paused, staring intently at Xiao Mingzhang, and finally called a halt to the battle on his behalf.
The merchant was clearly also baffled. He approached Xiao Mingzhang, bowed respectfully, and stammered as he asked, "Your Highness...why...are you here today?"
Xiao Mingzhang said with a stern face, "Shouldn't I be the one asking why so many of you are lying in wait for me today?"
"Stake out, stake out you?" The vendor looked around, slapped his thigh, and said, "Oh dear, this is a complete misunderstanding! Your Highness, we're not staking out you, but rather the brother of a female cook in town. You don't know, this female cook is a well-known good person in our town, a widow. Her brother has been harassing her lately, wanting her to go home and remarry, but she refuses. So everyone decided to help her get rid of that brother!"
What elder brother? What widow?
Xiao Mingzhang sensed something was wrong, and his expression didn't improve at all. He asked again, "Where does that widow live, and what is her name?"
"Stay here!" The vendor pointed to the gate in front of him and said, "The family is surnamed Mu, with a daughter and a maid. The whole family of three is female, which is quite difficult."
As if to echo his words, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar, just as Yunzhu rode her horse back to her doorstep.
She was on horseback, and with just one glance, she knew what had just happened.
But instead of rushing down to the ground, she gasped for breath and finally fixed her gaze on the most conspicuous person in the crowd.
Xiao Mingzhang's gaze had not left Yunzhu since she appeared.
Finally, when she noticed him, he seemed a little impatient and asked, "You said I'm your brother? You're a widow?"
What else? Yunzhu didn't feel there was anything wrong with her being called a widow.
If she's alone with her daughter, does that mean she's a widow, or is she supposed to say she's fleeing for her life?
She had rushed back to resolve the people's problems, but now that she saw Xiao Mingzhang was basically unharmed and Yunzhu was sitting high on her horse, she couldn't help but show no more politeness to Xiao Mingzhang.
Her eyes were filled with absolute mockery and coldness. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she finally stopped hiding anything and asked instead of answering, "Are you about to become the crown prince, Xiao Mingzhang?"
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Author's Note: Here it is! There's another bonus chapter, which should be posted during the day.
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