Almost as soon as Wan Shu and San Shun lifted the carriage curtain, Siya pounced on them.
"Mother! Third Brother! I miss you so much!"
"Your mother and Sam-soon miss you so much too."
Wan Shu smiled and ruffled Siya's hair, then looked at Dazhu, Erya, and Wuping, who were standing at the door, equally excited.
"Mother's back! How have you been these past few days? Have you been doing well?"
The three nodded in unison and began to report on the events of the past few days.
Dazhu: "Okay! I've been delivering the braised food from the county town to you on time every day, and I've kept all the money without missing a single penny, and put it in your bedside table, Mother!"
Er Ya: "The chickens, ducks and geese have laid so many eggs these past few days, we can't even finish them all. So I made some preserved eggs according to the method you taught me, and I also took some to Sister Danu's house!"
Wu Ping: "Mother, I'm in charge of the crops in the fields now. I've taken care of them so well that there isn't a single weed. I've also fed the crayfish until they're fat and big!"
Awakened by the carriage noise, Meng Wenyuan, who had also come over, straightened his back and added, "I haven't neglected my teaching duties these past few days either; I've taught them quite a few new words and phrases."
After reporting, they quickly inquired about Wan Shu and San Shun's situation.
"How are Mother and Sanshun/Third Brother? How have they been these past few days? Is the spread of allicin going smoothly?"
Wan Shu: "We are doing quite well. Allicin is spreading smoothly, and the epidemic in Fucheng has been brought under control. I think it won't be long before the epidemic in our Sishui County will gradually ease."
In fact, the news about allicin and the control of the epidemic has been circulating widely in the village recently.
However, no matter how much noise there is, nothing is more reassuring than hearing Wan Shu say it herself.
The four little ones were finally completely relieved and also realized that there was an extra person on their way home.
"Mother, who is this person? Judging from his attire, he doesn't seem to be a guard."
The four little ones looked at Emperor Hongxing as he stepped down from the carriage with wide, curious eyes.
Wan Shu proceeded with her introduction according to the script she had prepared.
"This man is called Mu Ye. He was a patient that my mother treated in the prefectural city. Because he was seriously injured and had lost his memory, he couldn't remember where his home was, so my mother brought him back."
"He will stay at our home temporarily until he recovers and regains his memory, but this period should not be too long."
Dazhu, Siya, and Meng Wenyuan, upon hearing this, did not show much emotion towards Emperor Hongxing, a temporary outsider, and simply nodded slightly.
Er Ya and Wu Ping, however, felt great sympathy for Emperor Hongxing when they heard how miserable he was, suffering from external injuries, contracting the plague, and losing his memory.
Seeing that he was dressed in thin clothes, Er Ya went to the house and brought him a thick coat.
Wu Ping then gave him the boiled egg he hadn't finished eating that morning.
Emperor Hongxing was both amused and exasperated by them, because in his view, such coarse cloth clothes and eggs that had been sitting out for a day were not presentable items.
If this were in the palace, anyone who dared to give him something like this would have been beheaded countless times.
However, he also knew that these two little brats did not know his true identity and that they were ultimately kind-hearted, so he still accepted the two items with a smile.
The lead guard came over to bid farewell to Wan Shu.
"Once I've safely delivered you to Qingshui Village, my mission is complete. I'll take my leave now!"
It was already late at night, and the guards had worked very hard on the journey to get back as quickly as possible the past two days. Wan Shu had no reason to let them leave overnight.
He quickly tried to persuade them to stay: "It's already late, and it's not good to travel any further. Why don't you all rest at my humble abode for the night and continue your journey tomorrow? Otherwise, I would really feel bad about it."
The five little ones nodded in agreement.
"Hmm, it's so late, we can't even see the road clearly. Let's rest for the night and continue our journey tomorrow."
After saying that, the five little boys took turns leading the horses and carrying the luggage.
The guards initially wanted to refuse, but seeing their warm and sincere manner, they knew they weren't just pretending, so they didn't say anything more and smiled as they entered the courtyard with them.
Seeing this, Emperor Hongxing naturally wanted to follow, but before he could even step through the gate, he was stopped by Meng Wenyuan, who was standing to the side.
"what you do?"
Emperor Hongxing was puzzled: "Naturally, we should go and rest."
“This is not a place for you to rest. Only short-term guests are qualified to stay in the courtyard. Long-term patients like us who consume resources can only stay there.”
Meng Wenyuan grinned mischievously and pointed to the location of the old house towards Emperor Hongxing.
Emperor Hongxing looked in the direction he pointed, and his vision went black; he almost fainted again.
What the villagers considered magnificent brick and tile houses were, in Hongxingdi's eyes, merely thatched huts, barely habitable, let alone these dilapidated mud-brick houses!
Even the toilets in the imperial palace aren't this dilapidated!
Seeing his ashen face, Meng Wenyuan felt as if he were seeing his former self, and his mood was filled with relief.
"Hehehe, you should be content. You have no idea, when I first came here, I could only sleep in the animal shed."
Emperor Hongxing could easily see the schadenfreude on Meng Wenyuan's face.
He thought disdainfully to himself, "Who are you, and who am I?"
Even if Wan Shu is unaware of his imperial identity for the time being, even for the sake of future benefits, he would never allow himself to be treated the same as this fool.
He wanted to show this fool that people can be treated differently.
Emperor Hongxing looked at Wan Shu and asked confidently, "Are you really going to make me live in that old house?"
Wan Shu was busy preparing rooms for the guards when he heard Emperor Hongxing's question. He paused for a moment before realizing what Emperor Hongxing meant.
She looked at Emperor Hongxing's arrogant expression, while Meng Wenyuan smiled with schadenfreude.
Without hesitation, she laughed along with Meng Wenyuan, nodding and saying, "Yes, where else would you like to stay? I only agreed to let you stay temporarily, not that I would have to serve you like a servant."
Emperor Hongxing was speechless at the question, and the arrogant expression on his face froze.
He remained frozen for a full ten seconds before he seemed to react, turning around without a word with Meng Wenyuan and walking towards the old house.
Wan Shu watched his slightly dejected and shocked back and shrugged indifferently.
Who cares? Wanting to stay at her house and be waited on like a rich young master? That's just a pipe dream.
Although Emperor Hongxing concealed his true nature well on the surface, Wan Shu could tell that he was just like Meng Wenyuan at the beginning, or even much worse.
Looking at everything around them, they have a sense of superiority and take it for granted that everyone around them should serve them.
Tsk, does he think he's the emperor? He wants this kind of treatment wherever he goes. Let Meng Wenyuan mess with him a bit.
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