The Story of a Destitute Noblewoman Farming

After the 24th day of the 12th lunar month, the village suddenly had an atmosphere of celebrating the New Year. Every household was buying New Year's goods, and even Daqiao Town and Chongshui County were bustling with people.

It’s not easy to celebrate the New Year, so you can’t treat yourself badly.

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, there was a heavy snowfall. People put their hands in their sleeves and hunched their necks as they went to the town. They walked in groups on the road, leaving many footprints.

Yun Yi, his younger brother and sister-in-law followed Lu Linlang in the carriage. Today, their family's horse-drawn carriage, mule-drawn carriage, and ox-drawn cart were all out, and they were all full of villagers. The children had a holiday yesterday and would not go to school until after the 15th.

The Dahua sisters had not participated in such a lively atmosphere of shopping for New Year's goods for several years. They chatted all the way. There were also a few children in the carriage, and they were also happy to be able to sit in the carriage.

"Dahua, Dahua, look, that man is holding a candied haws. Last year during the Spring Festival, I went to the market with my parents. My brother and I each got a string of candied haws. They were delicious."

"It's delicious, sour and sweet, and the sugar on top is crispy." Dahua and Erhua have eaten a lot of candied haws that their sister brought back from the county town these days, so they don't envy others at all. Instead, they discuss it with other friends with great interest.

Xiaolan and her brothers and sisters had just gotten off the ox cart. When they heard this, they were very envious. However, she no longer dared to provoke Dahua. Dahua had become the kind of person she used to envy, and she did not feel superior in front of her.

She lowered her head, afraid that Lu Linlang would notice her. These days, she was studying in school, and the teacher never scolded her for bullying Dahua before. However, she herself was in fear of being retaliated against. It was not until Dahua took the initiative to remind her that she had written the wrong word that she gradually relaxed.

After school, Xiaolan found Dahua and apologized to her, which she had not said sincerely out of anger.

She still remembered Dahua saying, "I don't care about this anymore. Just study hard. If you study hard, you won't be sold to the mountains by your parents. My sister said, if you can pull yourself together and become your own supporter, you won't be jealous of others because of your own lack of confidence."

She was extremely ashamed at the time. It turned out that Dahua had always known about her envy, jealousy and fear, but she had never attacked her because of this. She was petty-minded.

There was a saying in the teacher's words: A gentleman is open and honest, while a villain is always worried and concerned. She was the villain, so she was always calculating and looking at others with the eyes of a villain.

However, Lu Linlang didn't take Xiaolan's guilt and worry seriously at all. In her opinion, as long as the villagers didn't bully Dahua and didn't act sarcastic, the matter was over. There was no need for her to hold on to a little girl who had already repented because of this matter.

The town was much more lively than usual, with stalls and people buying things lining up in a long street. In fact, Lu Linlang's family had already prepared New Year's goods, but she wanted to experience the rural customs, and her younger brothers and sisters also wanted to experience more of this kind of human touch, so she brought everyone out to play together.

The exiles also came to the town at this time. Although they were dressed similarly to the local people, their temperament and appearance were incompatible with the locals and they were very easy to identify.

When someone saw the Lu siblings in the crowd, their expressions changed. Aren’t these the children of the Zhongyong Earl’s family who had left in a panic? Why are they here today? Could it be that they were also exiled?

That's not right. They left on their own initiative. And I heard that the emperor later made an exception and gave them a title. Judging from their clothes, although they were not wearing silk and satin, what they wore was not something ordinary people could afford.

"Qiuyue, find a chance to talk to Miss Lu later. Maybe you can lend her some money to treat your father's illness. Otherwise, I'm afraid he won't survive this winter." Li Qiuyue's mother, Zhou, wore a tattered winter coat filled with reeds and brought vegetables she grew to sell. However, even if all the vegetables were sold, it would not be enough to pay for Li Qiuyue's father's medical treatment.

"Mom, I'll go and try later. I wonder if Miss Lu still remembers me." Li Qiuyue didn't hold much hope in her heart. She and Miss Lu had only met once at a banquet. But for her father's illness, she had to go and try.

After Lu Linlang and the others walked to a place with fewer people, Li Qiuyue ran forward. She was also wearing clothes filled with reeds. Now that the snow had stopped, she was shivering all over.

"Ms. Lu, I'm Li Qiuyue. My father used to be the head of the Ministry of Personnel. Do you still remember me? I want to ask you a favor." Li Qiuyue found an opportunity to come to Lu Linlang and knelt down on the snow.

"Miss, what are you doing? If you have something to say, please tell me nicely. You are the head of the Ministry of Personnel? I remember it was Miss Li. What are you doing?" Lu Linlang saw a girl jogging towards her and was about to defend herself, but she knelt down on her knees. People around also saw this scene and stared at her.

Hearing her introduce herself, Lu Linlang remembered her identity and pulled Miss Li up to look at her carefully. It was indeed Miss Li, but her face had frostbite and she was wearing thin clothes. It took her a while to match her with the person.

"I, I want to ask you to lend me some money. My father is seriously ill and can't get up. We really have no other options. We don't have enough money to hire a doctor. That's why I just saw you and wanted to ask for your help. As long as you are willing to help, I will do anything. I can embroider, and I will slowly earn money to pay you back. I can also sell myself into slavery. I just ask you to save my father."

"Don't worry, your father is here, I will help you right away. It's so cold, don't kneel on the ground, it's not worth it to freeze to death." Seeing her miserable state, Lu Linlang couldn't help but sigh in her heart, handed the hot water bottle in her hand to her to warm her up, and invited her to the carriage.

"My father caught a cold on the way here and didn't see a doctor in time. By the time we arrived in Dongshan Village, all the money in our family had been taken away. We wanted to treat my father's illness and finally earned enough money to hire a doctor, but we couldn't afford the medicine he prescribed. Seeing that my father was seriously ill, we had no choice but to reclaim the land near our home to grow vegetables in preparation for his treatment. Oh, my mother is still selling vegetables over there."

"Okay, don't get excited. Go find your mother. Let's go see your father first."

When Zhou saw that her daughter had really asked Miss Lu for help, she quickly expressed her gratitude. When she learned that Yunxi knew medical skills, she was even more grateful.

On the way back, Lu Linlang also recalled the original situation of Miss Li's family. Miss Li's father, Li Cong, was the head of the Ministry of Personnel, and his official position was not very high, so the difference in their identities and status was very large at the beginning, and they rarely attended banquets of the same category.

It was because the Lu family fell into poverty and Lu Linlang's former circle was unwilling to accept her that she met Miss Li. At the banquet, many people laughed at Lu Linlang openly or secretly, and even ridiculed her. Miss Li was insignificant at the time and did not dare to speak for Lu Linlang, but she did not join the group in criticizing her. She also comforted Lu Linlang behind her back and told her not to be sad.

The two had no more contact later, and with the departure of the Lu family, the two never met again. Who would have thought that they would meet here? Miss Li grabbed Lu Linlang like a life-saving straw. Lu Linlang also remembered that Master Li was once a good official, so she was willing to do this favor.