Even women who travel through time can become prime ministers and nobles.

Inside the wooden house, Shi Wanxia and the other girls had just dried their hair when Li Changyu and the others had already prepared dinner. However, the three farm girls seemed timid and hesitant to eat at the same table with them. After all, their mothers had always told them that boys and girls shouldn't sit at the same table, and that they always ate in the kitchen at home.

Looking at them, Shi Wanxia felt a surge of pity. She stepped forward, gently took one of the girls' hands, and said, "Don't be afraid, we're all friends, let's eat together." The girls looked up at Shi Wanxia's gentle smile, and their fear gradually dissipated.

They slowly walked to the table and sat down. Li Changyu and Cui Yu'an also warmly greeted them, and the three of them timidly moved to the table and sat down, their bodies trembling involuntarily, after all, it was the first time they had sat down at the table with men from other places.

Shi Wanxia thoughtfully placed some meat and vegetables in their bowls, but the three of them still sat there blankly, not daring to touch their chopsticks.

"Eat up, don't worry. You'll be eating at the table with me from now on. These three men won't mind, right?" After saying that, the girls looked at them. The three men paused in their eating, but continued eating as usual.

"Don't worry! As your Miss Shi said, she's a smart girl who doesn't care about these formalities. Eat up." Cui Yu, with his gentler temperament, smiled warmly. As a man, he couldn't easily serve them food, so he could only gesture for them to eat in peace. The three girls then picked up their bowls and ate quickly; they were indeed hungry. Shi Wanxia occasionally served them food, and Li Cuicui and Li Xiaoya swallowed their tears with their heads down.

After all, when the girl led us into the mountains, we were too scared to follow. It was only after she explained the situation that we mustered up the courage to go in. We never expected there to be two other men in the mountains.

While serving them food, Shi Wanxia introduced them: "That disfigured man is Young Master Shen, and that smiling tiger is Young Master Cui. They are both my friends. They are both older than you, so don't worry, they are not bad people."

After the three finished eating, they put down their chopsticks, stood up, and bowed to them; "Greetings, Young Master Shen, Young Master Cui."

The two men put down their bowls and chopsticks and waved their hands, saying, "Girls, please rise. Don't be shy. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come to us. No one will dare to bully you."

Li Cuicui and the others immediately nodded. These two young masters were much easier to get along with than Brother Li. It was just a pity that Young Master Shen was disfigured.

Li Changyu deftly cleaned up the leftover food on the table, then quickly fetched a basin of water and began washing the dishes. His movements were practiced and swift, as if this were something he did every day.

Li Cuicui and Li Xiaoya were somewhat surprised to see Li Changyu working so diligently. They wanted to go and help, but Li Changyu stopped them.

“You must be tired too, take a rest, I can do it,” Li Changyu said with a smile, his voice full of care and consideration.

Li Cuicui and Li Xiaoya exchanged a glance, a hint of gratitude flashing in their eyes. Dragged by Shi Wanxia, ​​they sat down at the table. Remembering that Li Xiaoya wanted to change her name, I couldn't think of one right away. Since these two were here, I thought we could all think of one together.

"Brother Shen, my sister Li Xiaoya wants to change her name. What name do you think would be good?"

Shen Yanchu paused in his drinking, putting down the glass. He sized up the woman named Li Xiaoya; her face was sallow, but thankfully her features were acceptable, though her looks were quite ordinary. She seemed somewhat introverted and timid, and he couldn't decide what name to give her. So he passed the question on to her; this girl was quite educated, and he figured there must be a suitable one.

"What do you think? Your knowledge is no less than mine."

"I've thought about it, and she's quiet and reserved. Like a sparse shadow cast by a clear, shallow pool, her fragrance wafting in the twilight, how about you be named Li Shuying from today onwards? What do you think of that name?"

Shen Yanchu and the others nodded repeatedly. It was a good name. This girl must have read a lot of poetry and books.

The name Li Shuying sounds much better than the one my parents gave me at random. I, a country girl, never expected to have a name as beautiful as the village chief's daughter.

"Let me think of a couple of you sisters! A river of misty water reflects the clear sky, and houses on both banks have painted eaves. The elder sister's name is Li Qinglan, and the younger sister's name is Li Qinghuan. Do you two like it?"

Looking at the three girls before her, their faces beaming with joy and excitement, Shi Wanxia felt a surge of emotion. She knew that these three strangers would become her sisters from now on, living together with her.

The three women made a move to kneel and kowtow in gratitude, but Shi Wanxia quickly stopped them. She smiled and said, "Alright, from now on we're all sisters, no need to kneel so easily, understand? It's getting late, you can sleep on the beds tonight, the rest of us will sleep on straw mats."

Shen Yanchu and the other two nodded in agreement after hearing Shi Wanxia's words. After all, those three girls were so thin and bony; how could the three of them, as grown men, possibly compete with them for beds?

Upon hearing this, the three sisters looked troubled. They exchanged glances, their eyes revealing hesitation and unease. One of them said softly, "This is unreasonable. The young lady is our benefactor; how can we let her sleep on the ground?"

Shi Wanxia shook her head, her eyes firm yet gentle. She smiled and said, "Don't worry about it, I don't mind sleeping on the ground. You should get some rest! Tomorrow we're going into the mountains to hunt and gather herbs to sell in town."

In this humble place, the three of them awkwardly lay down. The surroundings were even poorer than at home, yet the young men and women treated them kindly, which gave them a sense of warmth.

The tranquility of the night enveloped them, and they gradually drifted off to sleep. Their breathing became steady, and their weary bodies finally relaxed.

While everyone was still sound asleep, the silence of the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) was broken by the sound of hurried footsteps. Shen Yanchu was startled awake, and heard low whispers in his ear.

"Second Master, the people who killed the First Master and the brothers are in that little wooden house. If the brothers hadn't escaped quickly today, they would have been killed by them too. Oh, right, Second Master, there's a young lady in there who's very fair and delicate..." The voice stopped abruptly, as if someone had suddenly covered his mouth.

Shen Yanchu's heart suddenly raced, and he instantly snapped back to reality, realizing the seriousness of the situation. He quietly got up and peered out through the crack in the window.

A group of dark figures moved swiftly through the night, weapons in hand. Shen Yanchu's eyes followed them closely, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.

Shen Yanchu suddenly opened his eyes, waking up from his sleep. His keen intuition told him that danger was approaching. He quickly got up and gently woke Cui Yu'an beside him.

"Wake up, something's wrong!" he said in a low voice, a hint of tension in his tone.

The crowd was startled awake by his voice, and they looked at him sleepily with a hint of displeasure on their faces.

"What's wrong? It's the middle of the night..." someone complained.

"Shh!" Shen Yanchu gestured for everyone to be quiet. "There's a group of bandits outside, heading this way."

Upon hearing this, everyone was instantly wide awake, their faces showing expressions of terror.

"What should we do? Should we run away?" Li Qinglan asked.

“No, we can’t act rashly,” Shen Yanchu said calmly. “There are too many bandits. If we run away rashly, it will only attract their attention, and then it will be even more dangerous.”

"I think we should pack our things and leave the house as soon as possible. If they go crazy and use fire, we'll be in a very passive position." Shi Wanxia thought about how the bandits had set fire to houses they saw a few days ago. These bandits didn't know the situation yet, so it was better to leave first.

Everyone immediately got up quietly and quickly packed what they could take. Shen Yanchu also carried Shi Wanxia's backpack on his back. In no time, they had almost finished packing. He and Cui Yu'an carefully observed their surroundings, climbed out of the back window, and led them down into the dense forest.