Beautiful Peasant Girl: The Young Marquis's Beloved

Liu Xu had been busy in the kitchen and was completely unaware of the village chief's arrival and departure.

When the food was ready and they were serving it to Liu Dashan and his wife, Fu'an arrived.

"Hey, Grandpa Fuan, you're here. Wait a minute, I'll serve Grandpa and the others a bowl of soup!" Liu Xu thought he came here to get the food box. She also asked Yan Niang to pack a separate portion for Fuan and his wife. Although it was not as rich as Liu Dashan's, it was not bad either.

"Miss, don't worry! I'm here to pass on the old master's message to you!" Fu'an said after bowing.

Liu Xu was a little surprised when she heard this, "Hmm? Grandpa, is there anything you want to tell me?"

"Miss, the old master said that he and the old lady plan to go to the neighboring Yunxi Town to visit my aunt early tomorrow morning. He was afraid that you would worry when you go back, so he sent this old servant to tell you!" Fu'an replied respectfully.

"Hmm?" Liu Xu paused as she covered the lid. "Are you saying that my grandfather and his family are going to visit my aunt?"

"Yes, Miss, the old man and the others said they would go there early tomorrow morning!"

Liu Xu slapped her forehead. Could she say that she almost forgot that she had an aunt? In the original owner's memory, her aunt Liu Xiumei was a very good person. She would bring her candies every time she came back during the holidays, and would secretly give her extra New Year's money during the Chinese New Year. After her father was conscripted, her aunt came back to make a scene with her grandparents. When she left, she secretly left a small string of money (one hundred coins) for her mother, saying that she would come back to see them when she had time. But... since then, her aunt has never come back, and no one in the family mentioned it, so after she came here, she remembered this person except when she was sorting out her memories at the beginning, and then she completely forgot about it...

"Grandpa Fu'an, do you know why my grandfather and the others went there?" Liu Xu asked.

"I'm not sure, but I seemed to hear the old lady say something happened in the yard!" Fu'an said after thinking for a while.

Liu Xu's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that someone had sent a message to her grandfather and the others saying that something had happened to her aunt? "Grandpa Fu'an, take the food back first."

As Liu Xu spoke, she took off her homemade coverall and hurried to the main room.

"Mom, mom!" he shouted before he even entered the door.

The people who were chatting in the room immediately stopped and looked at the little man who had run in.

"What's wrong, Xuer?" Xu Ruolan heard the anxiety in her daughter's voice and asked hurriedly.

"Mom, something seems to have happened to my aunt!"

"What?" Xu Ruolan stood up upon hearing that. The others were a little confused because they didn't know Aunt Liu Xu before.

"Xu'er, who, who told you?" Xu Ruolan asked anxiously.

"I... I guessed!" Liu Xu scratched her head awkwardly. Seeing her mother glaring at her, she continued, "Grandpa Fu'an just came over and said that Grandpa and the others would go to Yunxi Town early tomorrow morning. He vaguely heard Grandma saying something about something going wrong!"

"Then let's get someone to ask! ... No, I'd better go ask in person." He was about to walk out, but after two steps he realized something.

"Sister Ye, Uncle An, Brother Ru, and Duoduo, you guys eat first! My sister-in-law has been very kind to our family..."

"Ruolan, don't worry about us, go and ask what's going on!" Ye Miaoyin stopped what she was about to say and took the initiative to speak.

"Yes, miss, you should go quickly. If you need any help, please send someone to tell us right away!" Xu Hean also advised.

The mother and daughter looked at each other, bowed to a few people, and hurried to the old house.

There was no one in the main room, so they went straight into the inner room and saw the old couple taking food out of the food box. There was a packed package at the end of the kang.

The old couple were stunned when they saw the two men rushing in. Liu Dashan thought something had happened and asked hurriedly, "Second brother's daughter, Xu, what happened?"

Seeing that they didn't look anxious, Xu Ruolan and her mother were puzzled. She asked directly, "Dad, Mom, I heard that something happened to my eldest sister?"

"Ah?" Liu Dashan and his wife looked at each other.

Liu Xu quickly repeated what Fu An had told her. Upon hearing this, the old couple covered the food box again, asked the two to sit down again, and then told them their guess.

"Grandpa, Mom, and grandma's guess is not impossible!" Liu Xu frowned.

The three of them were a little anxious when they heard this, and Liu Xu said, "Aunt always comes back during the first month of the lunar year, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Family Reunion Festival. When she left last time, she told me that she would come back to see us when she was free!"

"Yes, my eldest sister has never gone without contacting our family for such a long time in these years. She is so filial, even if... there wouldn't be no news at all for half a year!" He glanced at Old Lady Zhang.

At the beginning, under the instigation of Chen Shuman, Mrs. Zhang scolded her elder sister-in-law very badly. But as a child should not talk about his parents' faults, she swallowed the words that came to her lips.

But everyone in the room was there, so they all understood. Liu Xu and his wife were a little embarrassed, Liu Dashan glared at his old wife, and old lady Zhang opened her mouth and lowered her head.

Her scolding was a bit harsh at first, and she was in the wrong. But thinking that her daughter might be in trouble, she raised her head and looked at Liu Dashan: "Old man, how about, how about we go tonight?"

Without waiting for Liu Dashan to speak, he said to Liu Xu and his daughter, "Second brother, Xu girl, I know I have done a lot of wrong things before, and I don't ask for your forgiveness. But can you lend us your carriage for the sake of Xiumei's kindness to you over the years?"

"I... I know that people in the village are scolding me for selling my daughter... But as for Liu Laishun, I really went to Tuqiao Village to find out everything about him before I agreed. They are all my flesh and blood..." As Old Lady Zhang spoke, she actually started to cry.

Liu Xu was stunned, and Xu Ruolan was also shocked. You know, although it was not the first time for them and her daughter to see this old woman cry, but in the past it was just fake crying. Not like this time... She was really crying, and crying out of self-blame!

It feels kind of... unreal.

Liu Xu couldn't help pinching herself, and she gasped in pain. When she saw her mother looking over, she smiled awkwardly. Then she realized that her grandmother was crying... For a moment, her expression was hard to describe...

"Okay, okay, don't cry, old lady. We'll go tonight. Don't cry!" Liu Dashan comforted her while wiping her tears clumsily.

Liu Xu and her daughter felt like they were being forced to eat dog food.

"Um... Grandma, you... please don't cry first! I didn't say I won't lend it to you!" Liu Xu shivered and spoke quickly.

Upon hearing this, the old couple looked over.

Liu Xu closed her eyes, swallowed, and quickly said, "Grandpa and grandma, what I mean is that you two shouldn't go. You two are already old, what if you get frozen to death? I'll go with my mom, she can find a place, we'll take Uncle Ming and Brother He Feng with us, and I'll bring Aunt back no matter if there's anything wrong, okay?"

"Well... let's go!" Liu Dashan hesitated and refused, "I'm not old at all! The carriage is windproof, at most we can bring two more quilts. You still have so many things to do tomorrow, don't delay."

"Dad, just listen to Xu'er. You two just need to wait at home. Doctor Meng has repeatedly emphasized before that you have to take good care of the child. I will tell Uncle He and the others about the family matters. There is also a manager at the workshop who will be back in half a day. It won't delay anything!" Xu Ruolan advised.

"Okay, it's settled! You two elders can sleep peacefully! I will bring your aunt and the others back to you tomorrow! Don't make a fuss, or I won't go with you and won't give you the carriage!" Liu Xu said with a stern face.

It’s just that his face is too chubby and his expression isn’t fierce enough, so he looks so cute that he made the other three laugh!

"Okay! Grandpa won't go, you little girl..." Liu Dashan smiled and shook his head, then looked at her lovingly, "Grandpa won't go, but you and your mother must wear more clothes and bring two more quilts. And bring more people, okay? The road is hard to walk on at night, so ask the driver to drive slower! If you have nothing else, take a rest when you get there and come back!"

Liu Dashan kept on giving instructions, and Liu Xu and her mother did not seem impatient and just nodded in agreement.

It was already 5 p.m. when the two left.

When they got home, they found that Xu and An had not eaten yet. They were sitting in the main room waiting for them, and asked Aunt Lin to take the food downstairs to warm it up. When they came back, they brought it up one by one.

The mother and daughter were touched by this and invited everyone to eat. Since they were all family members, they did not shy away from telling everyone about the incident while eating.

They didn't say much about the mother and daughter's decision, after all, it was their family affair. But they also suggested taking two more people with them, after all, the two towns were still quite far apart at night, and it would take nearly two hours to drive a horse carriage during the day.

There was only one carriage in the house, but Xu Hean bought one today [the others were rented from the carriage shop] and borrowed it to use.

Xu Huairen was worried about his young lady and asked to go with them, while Lin Miaoyin suggested taking Aunt Lin along as well.

Han Duoduo: "Mom, why don't I go too? I can protect Junior Sister and Aunt Xu."

Lin Miaoyin was somewhat tempted. If she brought men along, it would be inconvenient if something happened. However,

"How about Duoduo and I go too? You guys don't have time, and it won't be convenient if something happens."

Liu Xu was stunned by the ideas of her master and sister, and looked at them helplessly: "Master, sister... we are just going to a farmer's house... you are acting like we are going to have a group fight with some masters."

The point is, her senior sister still looks eager to try. But... it's quite unreliable!

Xu Ruolan also coughed awkwardly, and said with a smile: "Yes, Sister Ye, you can stay at home with Duo'er, we will be back tomorrow. Brother..."

"You don't have to persuade me, I must go!" Xu Huairen didn't give her any chance to refuse.

"Okay, okay, Master, senior sister and Grandpa An, you just stay at home! I brought Qiaoyu, Aunt Lin, Uncle Ming, Brother Hefeng, Brother Helei..." Seeing Xu Huairen looking at her straight, she added: "Well, there's Uncle Huairen, that's enough. You all go back to sleep, go!" Liu Xu waved to the few people who stayed at home.

Seeing this, they didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and could only agree. However, they were still worried about them, so they gave them a few more instructions.

Liu Xu also asked Uncle He to go next door early tomorrow morning to remind Uncle San and Uncle Dazhu to send something to Zhenxiu Pavilion the day after tomorrow. If they bring butter tomorrow, remember to ask Granny Fang and the others to refine it and prepare the brine.

She went back to the study and gave him the recipe for the spices and herbs for the stir-fry base that she had written earlier, and asked him to arrange for several people to buy them separately.

Xu Ruolan also went back to the house to feed the two children, then handed them over to Yue Niang. She also told Zi Ling to take care of the workshop, and the group left in two carriages.

It was winter, and it was even colder at night, with the breath turning white. Liu Xu took Qiao Yu, and Xu Ruolan took Aunt Lin, each sitting in a carriage.

Aunt Lin was fully prepared. Not only did she prepare quilts and bedding for the people in her car, she also prepared a bed for each of the two people driving the car outside.

The official road from Liujia Village to Tuqiao Village in Yunxi Town is about fifty miles away, but because we have to travel at night, we may arrive there in the late night.

Unlike the quiet car in front, the car carrying Liu Xu and his friends was very lively.

He Lei is a chatterbox, and Liu Xu is also talkative. Qiaoyu is not very old, and has been with Liu Xu for some time, so her personality has become much more lively.

He Feng was driving the car quietly, while the other three kept honking their cars.

"Miss, let me tell you, now the boys in our village respect me. Whenever I go out, they are all very enthusiastic and pester me to teach them Kung Fu!" He Lei sat on the edge of the car wrapped in a quilt, saying with a complacent look on his face.

That's right, this guy has not been quiet for a few days since he came to Liujia Village. As long as there is nothing to do at home, he will run out for a stroll. He has already become familiar with the boys in the village, and there is a vague illusion that he is the king of the children.

"So did you teach him? You wouldn't eat someone else's food and then turn around and deny it, right?" Liu Xu said jokingly.

"Well... How is that possible? I did teach them, but they are just too stupid and didn't succeed in learning!" He Lei's eyes rolled around, looking guilty.

"What are you teaching that is so difficult?" Qiaoyu wondered.

"...the simplest and most commonly used one," He Lei muttered.

"?" Qiaoyu was even more confused, and Liuxu also blinked. The simplest one? Horse stance?

"He teaches people Qinggong!" He Feng replied suddenly.

"Puff" the two people in the car were stunned.

"That's right. When I first learned it, it only took me half a day!" He Lei retorted.

"Because you started learning internal energy techniques when you were six years old!" He Feng interrupted.

"Brother!" He Lei was embarrassed and angry, but He Feng ignored him and concentrated on driving the car.

"Brother He Lei, I'm afraid you're going there to get free food and drinks?" Liu Xu couldn't help but complain.

Even a rookie like her knew that without internal strength, one could not fly. Even if one could barely jump higher, it would take a long time of practice with weights.

She just couldn't understand why this girl was so keen on cheating those boys out of their food when the food at home was many times better than that of the villagers.

He Lei: You don’t understand the fun of it!

"By the way, Miss, did you say that little black guy has left Dongsheng?" The topic was changed quite abruptly, but traveling at night was boring, so Liu Xu didn't complain about him.

Liu Xu: "It shouldn't be yet? Qinghe County is said to be still far from the seaport. It's only been a few days."

Qiaoyu: "Miss, did those people really become like that because of food poisoning?"

"Pfft, what nonsense are you talking about? How can I say it? Their skin color is a kind of race, and it has nothing to do with poisoning. Just like this horse, the horses in Dongsheng and Beihan are different, but they are all called horses, right? Because of the environment, the place where Jayne and his friends live is like our midsummer all year round, hot and sunny. Over time..."

On a quiet night, the cold wind blew as hard as a knife. The carriage moved forward at a steady speed on the rugged road. The wheels rolled and made a "creaking" sound, and the sound of horse hooves was particularly loud. Wind lanterns were hung inside the carriage and on the shafts, and the dim flames swayed with the bumps of the body. As the carriage continued to move forward, the sound was also getting farther away.