The Leisurely Life of a Peasant Woman in the Tang Dynasty

As the sun set, its golden afterglow filled the entire courtyard. Tang Youyou sat by the window, clutching the anonymous letter tightly in her hand, her brow furrowed, her heart heavy with worry. The letter was a little wrinkled from her grip, but the words on it were still clearly visible: "Don't be too proud, your good days are over!"

This short sentence, like the letter of a venomous snake, lingered in her mind. Who wrote this letter? What was their purpose? Tang Youyou asked herself over and over again, but she could not find the answer.

She looked up at the children playing in the yard, a loving smile on her face. Tang Wan was teaching Tang Jin and Tang Xiaoya a new nursery rhyme. The clear children's voices echoed in the yard, adding a touch of joy to the quiet evening.

Looking at the innocent smiling faces of the children, Tang Youyou's heart became even heavier. She must not let anyone destroy her current life, and must not let the children get hurt!

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She carefully folded the letter and hid it in the deepest part of the cabinet. The most important thing now was to find out where the letter came from and who wrote it.

During dinner, Tang Youyou forced herself to smile, trying not to let the children notice that she was unusual. However, Tang Wan was very perceptive and still noticed that something was wrong with her mother.

"Mom, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?" Tang Wan asked with concern.

"No, Mom is fine," Tang Youyou forced a smile, "I'm just a little tired today."

"Mom, you must be hiding something from us." Tang Jin also put down his bowl and chopsticks, ran to Tang Youyou, looked up at her and asked, "Did someone bully you?"

Tang Youyou looked at the children's concerned eyes, and her heart warmed. She didn't want the children to worry, but she couldn't tell them about this, so she could only say vaguely: "It's really okay, don't think too much, eat quickly."

Although the children were skeptical, they sat back at the table and continued eating.

Late at night, Tang Youyou lay in bed, unable to fall asleep. The contents of the anonymous letter replayed in her mind over and over again, making her feel upset. Outside the window, the shadows of the trees swayed, and the moonlight poured down like water, shrouding the room in a mysterious atmosphere.

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she sat up abruptly, got off the bed, walked to the window, and looked out sharply... Outside the window, there was nothing but the swaying shadows of trees and the bright moonlight. Tang Youyou sighed and turned back to the bed, only to find Tang Wan standing by the bed, her big eyes looking at her worriedly.

"Mother," Tang Wan said softly, "You can't fool me. You must be worried about something."

Tang Youyou looked at her daughter's sensible appearance, and her heart softened. She knew that it was impossible for her to hide it any longer. She sighed and told Tang Wan about the anonymous letter she received during the day.

"How could such a thing happen?" Tang Wan's face turned serious after hearing this. "Mom, don't worry. We will find the person who wrote the letter."

"Wan'er, don't worry about this. Mother will take care of it." Tang Youyou didn't want her daughter to be involved in this matter. After all, the other party's origins were unknown. What if...

"No, mother," Tang Wan interrupted her, "You do business for us. Now someone is threatening you, how can we just stand by and watch? Besides, one more person means one more force. Maybe I can even help!"

At this time, Tang Jin and Tang Xiaoya also walked in, rubbing their sleepy eyes. Seeing Tang Youyou and Tang Wan were there, they asked curiously, "Sister, Mother, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Tang Wan told her younger siblings about the anonymous letter. After hearing it, Tang Jin's face flushed with anger. He waved his fist and said, "Who dares to threaten Mom? I'm going to beat him up!"

"You, stop making trouble." Tang Youyou smiled and patted Tang Jin's head, "This matter is not that simple. It can't be solved by fighting."

"Then what should we do?" Tang Xiaoya asked, blinking her big eyes.

"Don't worry, our family will work together to find a way to find the person who wrote the letter." Tang Youyou looked at the three children, his eyes full of determination.

So, the four members of the Tang family began secretly investigating the source of the anonymous letter. They split up, with Tang Youyou responsible for recalling if she had recently offended anyone, while Tang Wan, relying on her good relationships in the village, gathered information. Despite their young age, Tang Jin and Tang Xiaoya also actively participated, running around the village, keeping an eye out for any suspicious people or activities.

A few days later, Tang Wan heard a piece of news. Someone in the village had been secretly discussing that Tang Youyou's business was too big and blocked other people's financial paths, which was why someone wrote an anonymous letter to threaten her. And this person was most likely the landlord Liu who had a grudge against Tang Youyou!

"Landlord Liu?" Tang Youyou put down the teacup in her hand and frowned slightly.

"Yes, it's him!" Tang Wan said with certainty, "Ever since Mother rejected his cooperation last time, he's been holding a grudge and even threatened to teach Mother a lesson."

"But that doesn't mean he wrote the anonymous letter," Tang Jin interrupted. "Maybe someone deliberately framed him?"

Tang Youyou nodded. Tang Jin was right. It would be too hasty to draw conclusions based on speculation alone. She had to find solid evidence to expose Landlord Liu's true identity.

"Wan'er, you've done a great job. This matter still needs further consideration." Tang Youyou patted her daughter's hand, signaling her to remain calm. "Let's not alert the enemy yet. Continue our investigation in secret and make sure we find evidence."

"But mother," Tang Wan said anxiously, "if it really was Landlord Liu who did it, if we keep dragging it out like this, will he become even more aggressive?"

"Don't worry, mother knows what's going on." Tang Youyou gave her daughter a reassuring look.

She decided to do the opposite, no longer passively waiting, but to respond directly to this threat. The next day, Tang Youyou arrived at the village market early. She stood in the middle of the crowd and said loudly:

"My fellow villagers, I have received some anonymous letters in the past few days. They said that my business is too big and has blocked other people's financial paths. They want me to..." Having said this, Tang Youyou deliberately paused, observing the reactions of the people around him.

The villagers were originally busy with their own things, but when they heard Tang Youyou's words, they stopped and gathered around curiously.

"Who is so bold as to threaten Youyou?"

"That's right, Youyou is a good person in our village, who would be so wicked!"

Tang Youyou pressed his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, and then continued: "I know everyone cares about me, and thank you for your kindness. But what I want to say is that I, Tang Youyou, am upright and not afraid of any threats! I will continue to do business and will continue to help everyone!"

As soon as Tang Youyou finished speaking, the crowd erupted in warm applause. In the crowd, a short, fat man wearing a straw hat, with a gloomy face and flickering eyes, quietly left the crowd...

Tang Youyou's words were so powerful that they caused a huge stir in the market. The villagers already admired her, and now that they saw that she was not afraid of the threat, they looked at her with even greater respect.

"Youyou, don't be afraid, we all support you!" The village chief took the lead in expressing his opinion, and other villagers also echoed.

"That's right, whoever dares to bully you will have trouble with our entire village!"

"Youyou, feel free to do your business. If anyone dares to cause trouble, we'll report them to the police!"

Looking at the excited villagers, Tang Youyou felt a warm current in her heart. She knew that in this strange era, she was not fighting alone.

In the crowd, Boss Sun squeezed in front of Tang Youyou and said with a worried look on his face: "Youyou, this matter is very serious. You must not take it lightly!"

"Boss Sun, thank you for your concern. I know what's going on." Tang Youyou smiled gratefully.

"Sigh, I don't know who is so vicious as to resort to such despicable tactics!" Boss Sun said indignantly, "Youyou, have you offended anyone recently?"

Tang Youyou shook her head. She had just arrived and had no grudges with anyone except Landlord Liu.

"Boss Sun, I will get to the bottom of this matter." Tang Youyou said firmly, "I won't let this evil force succeed!"

Boss Sun nodded. He knew that Tang Youyou was a woman with her own ideas, so he didn't say anything more, but just told her to be careful.

There was a lot of discussion at the market about this incident, and everyone was guessing who was behind it.

"In my opinion, it must have been done by Landlord Liu!"

"That's right, besides him, who else would have a problem with Youyou?"

"This Landlord Liu is becoming more and more arrogant!"

Tang Youyou brought the children back home, and the three children surrounded her, their faces full of worry.

"Mom, are you okay?" Tang Wan asked with concern.

"Mom, don't be afraid, I will protect you!" Tang Jin clenched his fists, looking like a little man.

Tang Xiaoya also said in a baby voice: "Mom, if a bad guy hits you, Xiaoya will help you fight back!"

Looking at the innocent faces of the children, Tang Youyou's heart was filled with warmth.

"Mom is fine, don't worry." Tang Youyou smiled and patted the children's heads, "Mom will take care of this."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Tang Youyou opened the door and saw Uncle Li and Aunt Wang standing outside.