Traveling through ancient times: daily life on the run

Entering the city, we were greeted by a dazzling array of goods. Liangzhou City was indeed a wealthy and large commercial city, with businesses filling every street and alley. No wonder the Bai family could become the richest businessmen in Muzhou from this city.

Isn't the Fang family the richest family in Liangzhou City?

Thinking of this, Luo Yu felt happy. She could finally live the good life of a rich lady.

When they drove the carriage through the streets and alleys and arrived at Fang's house, everyone's eyes almost fell to the ground.

It was depressed, desolate and miserable. The plaque on the gate was shabby and one end seemed loose, as if it would fall down at any time.

The paint on the gate was peeling and mottled, and if you didn't know, you would think it was an abandoned mansion.

Qin Bingrui was about to knock on the door, but Luo Yu stopped him.

"You're stronger, so I'll knock on the door. If it breaks, it won't be fixed in a day or two."

Fang's face didn't look very good. She knew that the Fang family had fallen on hard times, but she didn't expect it to be so bad.

"Chu'er, go knock on the door for your mother. Grandpa and grandma are old and their eyesight is not good. I'm afraid they won't recognize you."

There were a few knocks on the door and someone answered.

"Who is it? I am here."

An old, powerful but not serious voice that sounded familiar.

"It's me, Fang Yunjiao, the eldest daughter of the Fang family."

"Jiaoer, you're back!" The old man opened the door tremblingly.

Luo Yu's eyes lit up. This Fang and the old man looked very similar. The old man was probably less than sixty years old, thin, with all his hair gray, but his beard was still black. He had a very cute smile on his face.

"Dad, why are you guarding the door?" Fang called out "Dad" and sadness welled up in her heart.

"Hey, Dad just finished his meal and was strolling around. He just walked here."

"What about Uncle Fang who has been guarding the door?"

"He died last year."

The old man is open-minded and doesn't have any emotions.

He glanced at the two girls and the young master behind Fang, then excitedly rushed over to grab Qin Bingrui's hand, tears in his eyes: "Chu'er, Chu'er, you've grown so tall! Grandfather hasn't seen you in almost ten years. How come you've grown so tall?"

Luo Yu held her forehead with her hand. It seemed that she didn't need to worry about this family recognizing her.

"Grandfather, I am the first one."

As soon as Luo Yu finished speaking, the old man immediately turned around and held her hand, his eyes red.

"Well, good boy, how come you are so thin? You are so thin that the old man can't even see you."

"..."

Bai Lingyi felt that the old man and Qin Bingrui's brother were of the same type.

"Grandfather, I am Bai Lingyi. You saw me when I was born."

The old man turned around and looked at Yi'er, then patted his head: "He looks just like your mother, but it's a pity he's a boy."

Luo Yu was puzzled. It turned out that this old man favored girls over boys.

"Boys who are too pretty are more likely to attract bad luck and bad people. You must work hard to become more manly and protect your mother and sister."

When Luo Yu heard this, he felt that it made sense. If Bai Lingyi, this little kid, didn't have the protection of his family and his own abilities, it wouldn't be a good thing for a man to be too good-looking.

"Grandfather, I will."

The old man nodded with great satisfaction, turned around and shouted towards the door: "Jiao'er is back, she's back with Chu'er and Yi'er!"

There were no maids or servants, so messages had to be delivered by shouting.

"Dad, where are the servants at home?"

"I am incompetent, my family is in decline, and I have sent away everyone I could. The only ones left are your mother and the two personal maids of your eldest sister-in-law."

Qin Bingrui and Luo Yu looked at each other, but it was good, as there were more people and more things to talk about.

After a while, the maid supported the old lady, followed by the eldest sister-in-law and several children, and walked out of the backyard.

"My Jiao'er!" When Old Madam Fang saw Fang Yunjiao, her eyes became moist and tears started to fall.

"Jiao'er, you've suffered a lot. It's because of your mother's incompetence that your husband's family has driven you back to your parents' home. You must have suffered a lot along the way, right?"

"Mom, it's not hard." When Fang heard what her mother said, tears welled up in her eyes.

The eldest sister-in-law and the maid behind her were infected by this scene and took out their handkerchiefs to wipe their tears.

Qin Bingrui coughed lightly. He couldn't cry like this until the evening, could he? He was almost fainting from hunger.

Luo Yu wanted to roll his eyes at him. Wouldn’t a guy without family affection be moved by this scene?

But she was also very hungry.

"Grandma, Mom, Aunt, why don't we go inside first and cry? It's so hot and sunny outside. Look, my little brother is so sunburned that he doesn't even shout when he sees people." Luo Yu used Xiao Yi as a shield.

Bai Lingyi took a deep breath and then bowed to his grandmother and aunt one by one.

Grandma stared at Luo Yu for a while, which made Luo Yu feel uneasy. Could it be that the old lady noticed something was wrong?

The tears that had just been wiped away burst out again: "My dear Chu'er, why are you so thin and frail? It makes my grandmother feel distressed just looking at you. You must have suffered a lot these days, right?"

Luo Yu immediately went to support the old lady. If this continued, the sun would set.

They haven't had lunch yet!

"Grandma, it's not convenient to talk outside. Let's go inside and talk."

Only then did Old Master Fang pull the old lady and lead the children into the house, and asked the maid beside the lady to take Qin Bingrui to park the carriage in the stable next door.

Qin Bingrui casually picked up two precious boxes, and asked the maid to help carry a box of weapons, and happily walked from the stable into the Fang family's courtyard.

Although the Fang family has fallen into decline, the courtyard is indeed large. Pavilions and towers are connected by intricate corridors. Ponds and waterside pavilions are reflected among the green pines and cypresses. Rockeries, strange rocks, flower beds, bonsai, vines and bamboos are dotted in between. These alone are enough to show the former glory.

Although there are fewer people, the yard is kept clean and tidy, still retaining the orderliness and dignity of a wealthy family.

Grandmother led people to the Yingchun Courtyard in the west wing. This was the courtyard where Fang lived when she was a girl. The rows of forsythia were growing well, with branches swaying in the wind. The flowers and trees in the courtyard were still the same as before, without any sign of decay.

When Fang saw the courtyard of the past, her nose couldn't help but feel sore. Time flies and things and people are no longer the same.

Qin Bingrui appeared out of nowhere and asked, "Where should I live then? There are only three rooms in this courtyard."

The nostalgic atmosphere was broken by his words.

Luo Yu was unwilling to be outdone and asked, "Grandma, Chu'er dares to ask, is our Fang family really so poor that we only have this mansion left?"

"Cough cough cough."

Apart from pretending to cough to cover up, everyone in the Fang family's face turned red and white.

Qin Bingrui laughed heartily and said, "It's alright, let's go eat first. We have a lot of time to talk, so we can talk later."

Fang then asked her eldest sister-in-law softly: "Sister-in-law, where is my brother?"

There are three siblings in the Fang family. The eldest brother, Fang Tianyu, married Gao, a girl from a small family and had three children. The eldest son, Fang Qingdao, is now sixteen years old and is almost of marriageable age. The youngest son, Fang Qinglin, is now ten years old and is a little silly. The youngest daughter is only five years old and is called Fang Qianqian. She is cute and well-behaved, with a pair of round eyes that are always staring at the scar on Qin Bingrui's face.

Fang has a younger brother, who is about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, but has not married or had children. He was interested in Buddhism when he was young, and later became a disciple of Master Xuanfa. It is not known in which temple he is now a monk.

The sister-in-law sighed deeply and said, "Now that our family is in decline, we rely entirely on your brother to do some small business to support the family. We don't know when we will run out of food."

Luo Yu blinked her eyes. She was thinking of returning to the Fang family to enjoy herself and recuperate, so why was it so miserable?

"Is it so dire now? Then it seems I have to work hard to help our Fang family get back on track!"

After she finished speaking, she realized that all the members of the Fang family were staring at her. Except for her mother Fang Yunjiao, everyone else had an expression of disbelief and confusion on their faces.

It's not that they don't believe it, it's that the Fang family's business rivals are too powerful and too terrifying. Not only the Bai family, but also the Guan family that came later, the wife of the prefect's family, and the Rui Wang Mansion, are all vying for a piece of this land.

I believe that the downfall of the Fang family is definitely due largely to the Bai family.