A Farm Girl: Three Acres of Fertile Land Can Be Exchanged for a Country

The cat almost couldn't resist pouncing on her, glancing at her again and again while meowing.

Wutong decided to let it have a taste first, so she picked up a piece of meat and tossed it over. The cat was already drooling, and before the meat even hit the ground, it leaped up and snatched it into its mouth.

One stalk was clearly not enough. Seeing that the sycamore tree meant no harm, it cautiously approached her, its wariness gradually dissipating.

Finally, it buried its head in the palm of the phoenix tree and began to eat. The phoenix tree raised its other hand and gently stroked its soft fur.

Just then, the clatter of horses' hooves echoed on the flagstone path. The cat, extremely alert, tensed and darted away in an instant.

Wutong threw away the few remaining beef jerky pieces, clapped his hands, stood up, and saw a gray figure leading a horse out from around the corner.

Even from this distance, in this dark night, she could feel the other person's dejected and low spirits.

Wenxin has returned.

Why aren't you riding a horse?

When Wenxin finally reached the bottom of the steps outside the door, Wutong went over and asked.

Wenxin glanced at her; she didn't seem much better than when she left. She said absentmindedly, "The horseshoe fell off."

A sweep of the paulownia tree downwards revealed that the horse's hooves were indeed limping.

Wenxin is a monk after all; his heart is so soft that he can't bear to let even a horse suffer.

She had a guard lead the horse back to the stable, and walked side by side with Wenxin into the mansion, asking with concern, "Have you found your senior brother?"

He shook his head.

Wutong pursed her lips and said in a low voice, "Actually, if you really want to find him, we can mobilize the army or issue an arrest warrant... Now that we have so many people at our disposal, he can't go far in a short time, and we will definitely be able to find him."

Since it's not right to keep it from him, then we should think of a way to help him, just like countless times before when Wenxin accompanied her through difficult times.

Wenxin raised his head, his eyes reflecting the red lanterns. After a short while, he lowered his eyelids and shook his head.

"Forget it, he doesn't want to see me at all. It's no use finding me anyway, he won't tell the truth."

Wutong thought so too. If Shixin really wanted to be honest with Wenxin, she wouldn't have chosen her as the intermediary.

But she really couldn't understand how Shi Xin could be so heartless as to not see Wen Xin for more than ten years if he was Wen Xin's father, and who exactly was Wen Xin's mother.

Judging from the valuable jade pendant, his mother couldn't have been from a poor family, so how could she have gotten involved with a monk?

A series of doubts loomed over the two of them like dark clouds. Not to mention questioning themselves, even Wutong wanted to bring Shixin back to get some answers.

She thought for a moment, then asked curiously, "What are your thoughts on Shixin?"

Wen Xin's low, husky voice sounded quite ethereal in the quiet night.

“We separated a long time ago. If it weren’t for the fact that his appearance hasn’t changed much over the years, I wouldn’t have recognized him… In my memory, he was just a senior brother who left the monastic life too early. We didn’t spend much time together, so there was no real affection between us. I had never even thought about him… This encounter was completely unexpected, and I was totally unprepared for what he said. Wutong, actually you also…”

He took out the jade pendant, looked at Wutong, and asked, "Is it the same as what I thought? Do you think it's possible? Or am I just misunderstanding, and he's not my father at all?"

Rather than asking questions, his current state...

It's more like a search for validation.

Wutong shared the same thought as him, but without evidence, she dared not make any certainty based solely on her feelings, especially not wanting Wenxin to fall into even greater pain. So she changed the subject, saying, "Senior brother must also have his own unspeakable difficulties."

“Hehe…” Wenxin suddenly laughed, staggered backward, and finally stopped under a peach tree, leaning against the trunk with a bitter smile.

"What unspeakable secret could he possibly have? If he really is my father, why won't he acknowledge me? Why did I abandon him at Hanshan Temple, and we haven't seen each other for over a decade? Did I cause him so much pain?"

As he spoke, he recalled how Shi Xin looked before she left that morning, and his heart ached as if he had been stabbed with a knife—no blood was drawn, but the pain was excruciating.

Wutong approached him and offered a few words of comfort, but it had no effect.

"Could his refusal to acknowledge you be related to his expulsion from the sect? Perhaps his reason for not acknowledging you isn't because he dislikes you, but because he doesn't want you to be implicated?"

With a sudden thought, she said this.

Wenxin was indeed drawn to this statement, and frowned, saying, "Implication? He's just a monk, with no relatives or friends. What terrible things could he possibly do?"

Wutong said, "Aren't we going to Hanshan Temple soon? You can just ask your master then. Nowadays, the only people in the world who know the truth besides himself are probably your master."

Wen Xin said sadly, "But Master won't tell me anything..."

"That was before, maybe he's changed his mind now... Besides, you already have this, don't you?"

Wutong grasped Wenxin's wrist and lifted it up, causing the jade pendant to hang from the rope in front of them, swaying gently.

Wenxin's gaze followed the swaying jade pendant, a glimmer of hope gradually appearing in her eyes. She said with a determined look, "That's right, I have to try! When do we leave? How about tomorrow?"

Leaving tomorrow is too rushed; there's no way to prepare many things.

However, in order to help him find out the answer as soon as possible, and also so that Duan Fufeng could wake up soon, Wutong nodded: "Okay."

The two went back to their rooms to sleep. Early the next morning, Wutong had a carriage and fast horses prepared, with some dry food, travel expenses, and spare weapons stored in the carriage in case they were robbed by bandits.

She didn't plan to bring too many people; just herself, Wenxin, and Duan Fufeng would go, while Shan would stay in Chuanzhou to recover from his injuries. Fewer people meant fewer targets, avoiding being watched.

In addition, Xu Yun's temper was not good. He was already unhappy when only the two of them went. If they had dared to bring guards, he might have really kicked them out, or even refused to let them in the door.

After the carriage was ready, she led people to carry Duan Fufeng over.

Li Deming had already been informed, and he had no objections whatsoever. However, when Wutong arrived, he didn't see him; only two guards were there.

The guards helped the people she brought with them to lift Duan Fufeng onto the carriage.

Wutong watched as they placed soft cushions under him, turning the seat into a bed, and added a partition on the outside to prevent him from rolling off when the carriage bumped.

After doing all this, the guards took their leave.

Wutong glanced around a few times, but still couldn't see Li Deming.

Duan Fufeng is so important to him, so why doesn't he appear at this moment of parting?

Could it be that he's afraid of this kind of scene, so he's deliberately hiding and not showing up?

1 = Lao Qu said