Chapter 385 Extraordinary Temperament

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  Chapter 140: Warmth (1)

Not long after the shopkeeper left, Li Zhong brought Li Xiu back. At this moment, Li Xiu was wearing semi-old plain clothes. Perhaps due to the recent days of fear and unrest, her complexion was pale, and her spirits were not too good.

This was Mo Yan's second time seeing Li Xiu. Compared to the first time, she looked much calmer now, but there was still a hint of melancholy between her brows.

Li Xiu also recognized Mo Yan as the girl she 'coincidentally' met that day. Although she was weak-willed, she wasn't stupid. Thinking about how smoothly her father had found her, she quickly understood Mo Yan's good intentions. For a moment, she was filled with mixed emotions, overflowing with gratitude in her heart.

But had she been to such a place, did they really not mind? Thinking like this, a hint of unease appeared on her face.

Mo Yan could naturally see her discomfort. She nudged the dumbfounded Li Yan next to her and teased, "Yan'er, your beloved aunt is back. Why are you still standing there foolishly?"

"Aunt... Aunt!" Li Yan spoke dazedly. She had never seen her own aunt before, so seeing this woman who bore a seven-point resemblance to herself, she couldn't snap out of her reverie.

"Ah, good girl, good girl!" Li Xiu was also very excited to see her only niece. Thinking of her deceased brother and sister-in-law, tears filled her eyes, and she became even more affectionate towards Li Yan.

Feeling her aunt's joy, Li Yan also reached out and hugged her aunt's waist, lifting her head buried in her aunt's embrace and revealing a bright smile on her face.

After all, blood relations naturally carried a sense of closeness in their bones. The aunt and niece enjoyed a close moment together, while Li Zhong on the side laughed with tears in his eyes.

Mo Yan and her siblings were deeply moved, genuinely happy for the Li family's reunion.

After the Li family of three calmed down, Mo Yan brought her siblings forward to greet Li Xiu. Naturally, she maintained a close and friendly attitude, dispelling the last bit of unease in Li Xiu's heart.

In fact, besides Mo Yan, who knew about Li Xiu's tragic past, she hadn't told anyone else. Although her father wasn't a conservative person, and her siblings were kind-hearted, even if they knew, it wouldn't matter much. However, since both families would be living in Liuyang qVillage in the future, with many people around, if this matter accidentally leaked out, the gossip could cost Li Xiu her life.

Out of various considerations, Li Zhong also didn't tell Li Yan about this matter. Perhaps he wanted to wait until Li Yan grew up and matured before considering telling her.

After chatting happily for a while, Mo Yan left the space to the Li family of three and took her siblings to the street to sell vegetables, preparing to make a delicious meal to celebrate the Li family's reunion.

It was already late March, and the weather was gradually getting warmer. There were many more vegetable stalls on the street, especially those selling mushrooms and wild vegetables. At this time of year, the mushrooms and wild vegetables were tender and fresh, attracting many customers eager to try them.

"Big Sister, back in Mo Village, we used to go digging for wild vegetables and mushrooms all the time, but our home was too far from the town, and we didn't have enough rice to eat, so we filled our stomachs with the wild grass we dug up."

Xin'er looked at the mushrooms and wild vegetables in the basket, recalling the bitter days in Mo Village.

"Big Sister remembers the rough rice porridge made with wild vegetables and mushrooms. Add a bit of salt, and you and Zhen'er could eat a big bowl!" Mo Yan smiled and said, looking at her siblings' round and rosy faces, feeling inexplicably satisfied.

"But, big sister, wild vegetables don't taste good, and we don't lack vegetables at home. Why do we need to buy them?" Zhen'er frowned. He really didn't want to eat unpleasant wild vegetables anymore!

Mo Yan glared at him, her tone rather stern. "Don't like it, don't eat it? Our family's days are better now. When you're picky and wasting food, have you ever thought about how many people are still like our old selves, unable to even have a meal?"

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 Chapter 888: Thought She Escaped

Shu Yu turned around and instructed the old lady, "Grandmother, you go back first. I'll handle things here and be back soon."

The old lady was somewhat worried. "Are you okay on your own?"

Da Niu got off the other cart and said, "I'll accompany Shu Yu."

"Alright, we'll wait for you at home."

The old lady glared at the clerk, closed the curtain, and urged Lu Erbai to set off.

As the two carts left, Shu Yu turned around to look at the clerk and said, "Let's go."

The clerk watched her back and his face became gloomy. When they were far enough, he hurriedly caught up.

The cloth shop wasn't far from here, otherwise, the clerk wouldn't have seen their figures so quickly.

There were still customers in the shop. When they saw Shu Yu enter, the shopkeeper raised his head and maintained a smiling expression. "Master Lu is here, please come in."

He came out from behind the counter and led them to the backyard.

Taking a moment, he fell behind and asked the clerk, "Where did you find them?"

"I didn't find them. Just now, as I was seeing off a guest, I saw them on the street. They seemed to have just returned from outside the city, and they had two carts."

The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes. "Returned from outside the city? It seems she went back to the village."

The clerk furrowed his brow. "So, they really didn't escape?"

It wasn't surprising that he would think this way. After they agreed to terminate the contract yesterday, they had been waiting in the shop all day today.

However, they waited and waited, but the people never showed up. So the clerk took the opportunity when the shop had no customers and went to the ready-made clothing shop to look for them.

But the door to the ready-made clothing shop was closed tight and hadn't been opened since.

The clerk hurriedly asked the neighboring merchants, and two of the shopkeepers said that after Master Lu returned yesterday and found Da Niu, they closed the shop and hadn't seen anyone since then.

These shopkeepers didn't know that Da Niu and Zhou Qiao had gone to Liufang Lane for dinner and by the time they returned, it was already too late, and the shops had already closed. Moreover, Da Niu and the others woke up early in the morning and left Ningshui Street before the shops opened.

When the clerk heard that the shop had been closed since yesterday evening, he became anxious.

Could it be that Master Lu really escaped from the place of exile and now fled again with her family?

He shared this thought with the shopkeeper, but the shopkeeper thought it was unlikely. If Master Lu herself was a fugitive, it would be understandable, but it didn't make sense for the Lu family to live here in the big house as fugitives. That would be unreasonable.

The shopkeeper asked the clerk to go to the clothing workshop in Liufang Lane to find Ah Xiang and her daughter. They used to deliver goods directly there. They didn't know where Shu Yu was living now, but they were sure to go to the clothing workshop.

So the clerk hurriedly ran to the clothing workshop. Unfortunately, Ah Xiang and her daughter had just gone out to buy some things.

The Lu family's second branch had returned, and Meng Yunzheng and Zhao Xi went to help find a house. They found one in Liufang Lane, and it was quickly settled.

However, the newly rented house was still lacking in many things, so they asked Ah Xiang and her daughter to help with the purchases.

So when the clerk went to Liufang Lane, the door to the clothing workshop was tightly locked.

No one was there, and the clerk became flustered.

You see, the Lu family's ready-made clothing shop settled accounts with them once every three months. The last settlement was two months ago, and in these two months, the Lu family had made three deliveries, but they hadn't paid.

If the people had all escaped, who would they go to for payment

The clerk was extremely anxious, and the shopkeeper also felt somewhat uneasy.

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  Chapter 139: Fate's Play (2)

Seeing that she adamantly refused to serve clients, the madam directly had someone drug Li Xiu and send her to the bed of a guest, who happened to be Fat boss.

For some unknown reason, Fat boss developed feelings for Li Xiu and decided to buy her out for a year with all his money. He also planned to earn the one thousand taels needed to redeem her in the following year.

Among the dozens of people abducted on the Lantern Festival, if it weren't for Mo Yan's unexpected intervention, Fat boss would likely have successfully completed the transaction and redeemed Li Xiu.

By then, he had already decided that after redeeming Li Xiu, he would retire and live a peaceful life. However, due to his past misdeeds, he was destined never to have the chance to be with the person he liked...

Mo Yan sighed incessantly. If Fat boss weren't a human trafficker and Li Xiu had met him earlier, perhaps the two of them could have become a loving and happy couple. Fate can be so cruel!

"Yan girl, if it weren't for you, the three of us wouldn't have had the chance to reunite. I, I don't know how to thank you enough!" Tears welled up in Li Zhong's eyes as he thanked Mo Yan repeatedly. If he wasn't worried about undermining Mo Yan's dignity, he would have knelt down to express his gratitude. Now that his daughter had been found, once the case was closed, they could be reunited as a family, all thanks to the Mo family.

"Grandpa Li, you don't need to say such things. We're like one big family. If you have any problems, can I just stand by and watch?" Faced with Li Zhong's gratitude, Mo Yan felt a bit helpless. Both Li Zhong and her father were good fathers who loved their children. Such kind and righteous people shouldn't be bullied by villains.

Even if strangers fell into such a predicament, she would do her best to help. Who knows if the next person to fall into the fire pit will be her own relative?

Helping them didn't violate her conscience and also fulfilled the needs of her upgraded space. Morally and logically, she couldn't stand idly by.

"In any case, the great kindness of your family must be repaid by us, even if we have to work like oxen and horses." Li Zhong didn't know Mo Yan's thoughts, but it didn't prevent him from feeling genuine gratitude. Seeing Mo Yan's indifferent expression at the moment, the decision in his heart became even firmer.

The determination in Li Zhong's eyes made Mo Yan's eyelids twitch. She felt that something was amiss...

In the days that followed, Li Zhong no longer came and went early, except to visit his daughter at the yamen or help Mo Yan look after the barren mountain, as well as manage the affairs on Mo Qingze's construction site.

After carefully studying the terrain of the barren mountain, Li Zhong offered many good suggestions to Mo Yan, such as how to irrigate with water, how to preserve soil moisture, and how to manage the orchard in the later stages.

Compared to him, Mo Yan was like a novice. Following Li Zhong's advice, she knew that managing the orchard in the future would undoubtedly be much easier and more efficient.

Early one morning, the shopkeeper of the judicial office brought a horse-drawn carriage full of gifts. He happened to meet Li Zhong about to leave, so he told him to go to the yamen to pick up someone.

Li Zhong was so excited that he forgot to thank the shopkeeper and hurried out to pick up his daughter.

Seeing the carriage full of cloth and grain, Mo Yan couldn't help but twitch her eyes. "Shopkeeper, your master has done me a great favor. Shouldn't I give a gift in return?"

"The young lady is too polite. Indeed, it's the master who asked me to thank you. The person behind the brothel has had some conflicts with the master. This time, the master caught him in the act and vented his anger! The master also said that in the future, if you encounter any trouble, just speak up. He will never refuse."

The shopkeeper smiled somewhat stiffly, feeling a bit embarrassed to look at Mo Yan. In his heart, he once again rolled his eyes at his unpredictable master.

The master had said something like this: "Why is it that every time that girl encounters trouble, the evidence ultimately points to those few guys? Hmm, it seems that I need to keep a closer eye on that girl and deal with those guys following her. It's much easier than catching them ourselves!"

Listen to this! Isn't this cursing Miss Mo's bad luck?

Unaware of Yan Junyu's intentions to take advantage, Mo Yan felt that despite not spending much time together, he seemed trustworthy and honorable, not as dissolute as rumors claimed. His actions were just a bit more unrestrained compared to some others who strictly followed rules and regulations.

When the shopkeeper returned, he took away several buckets of spiritual spring water and the gifts Mo Yan gave. The gifts consisted of the usual space chickens, space vegetables, and this time, about ten kilograms of venison. After all, as the owner, she shouldn't miss out on eating the spotted deer that Xiao Hua caught!

Thinking of Xiao Hua, Mo Yan felt that her attachment to it wasn't particularly deep at the moment. She should return it as soon as possible, or else if they grew closer and then separated, she would feel upset...

Xiao Hua had been thrown into the construction site by Mo Yan a couple of days ago, but Mo Yan didn't plan to return it at the moment. She was preparing to enter the mountains to find the wolf that had overturned it and settle the score!

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 Chapter 887: You Finally Showed Up

"Tomorrow?" Lu Sanzhu rubbed his chin and waved his hand with great arrogance. "Forget it, then I'll ask for another day off tomorrow."

Everyone: "...For the sake of seeing a house, you're not even doing any work? Is that necessary?"

"Uncle," Da Ya also leaned over to the window and looked at Lu Sanzhu on the opposite cart. She said, "You've already taken a day off today. If you take another day off tomorrow, what if the employer gets upset? You just got a raise, be careful they lower your wages."

Lu Sanzhu, full of pride, said, "You don't know this? Your third Uncle has foresight. I knew that Shu Yu would have a lot to do when she returned, so as her uncle, I should lend a hand, right? So I told the employer early this morning that I might need two days off."

Indeed, you are quite a clever one.

In the next moment, Da Bao's head popped out from behind the curtain, his eyes shining strangely. "Then I'll also take another day off. I won't go to the private school tomorrow."

After saying that, he proudly shook his head.

Old Madam pointed her finger at Lu Sanzhu and scolded, "Look at the influence you've had on your son. He's been spoiled by your laziness."

The triumphant expression on Lu Sanzhu's face disappeared completely. He shrank his neck, snatched the reins from Da Niu's hand without saying a word, and hastened his pace to run ahead.

Old Madam snorted. "It's been so long, and I thought he had a proper job and made some progress, but it turns out he's still the same."

"Grandmother, don't worry. We can't spend a whole day just looking at the house. After we finish tomorrow, we'll hurry him back to work."

Shu Yu turned around and smiled, speeding up as well.

The two mule carts entered the city gate one after the other.

Since the city gate was closer to Ningshui Street, the plan was to drop off Da Niu and his wife at their inn first and then return to Liufang Lane.

However, just as the carts entered Ningshui Street, a voice filled with anger sounded.

"Master Lu, Master Lu!!"

Shu Yu pulled the reins, looked around, and saw a person rushing over from behind.

Oh, he looked familiar, like the clerk from the cloth shop yesterday.

The clerk ran up panting and glared at Shu Yu with a dissatisfied expression. "Master Lu, you finally showed up."

Shu Yu, sitting on the cart shaft, kicked her feet casually. "Your words are strange. What do you mean by 'you finally showed up'? It's as if I deliberately hid from you. Who are you? Do I need to hide from you?"

"You..." The clerk instinctively wanted to retort, but he remembered the instructions from the shopkeeper and had to suppress his emotions. He said, "Master Lu, I didn't mean that. It's just that you told our shopkeeper yesterday about terminating the business contract between our two families, and our shopkeeper thought that you had just returned and were too busy to remember."

His voice wasn't low at all, and they were in the middle of the street. People passing by could hear him.

Shu Yu smiled. "You speak so nicely. Are you worried that I'll go back on my word? Rest assured, I will do as I promised. Your shopkeeper's business is in such a sorry state, and I'm afraid of being at a disadvantage if I continue to cooperate with you."

The clerk's face turned black, and he looked around. He indeed saw many people with expressions of surprise.

He wanted to explain, but Shu Yu had already gotten off the cart.

"Alright, since we're terminating the contract, let's go. I don't want to drag it out any longer."

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 Chapter 384: Please

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 Chapter 383: Returning to Secular Life

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   Chapter 138: Fate's Play (1)

On the other side, the shopkeeper quickly relayed Mo Yan's request to Yan Junyu. For Yan Junyu, it was merely a matter of raising his hand. He promptly dispatched people to secretly investigate the brothel overnight.

The scouts acted swiftly. Early the next morning, they laid out all the intricacies of the brothel before Yan Junyu.

As Yan Junyu looked at the familiar names on the stack of papers, a particularly charming smile appeared on his handsome face. Seeing this, the observer's heart trembled. This ancestor, who was he going to trouble now?

"Take these to the Wucheng Military camp and tell the one surnamed Xiao that I've been swindled out of twenty thousand taels by the people there. Tell him to retrieve it quickly." Yan Junyu tossed the stack of papers to the observer and continued feeding bread to the fish in the pond.

Shopkeeper Xing rolled his eyes secretly but put on a flattering demeanor. "Master, if it's just about money, it should be handled by the Prefect of Justice. Involving Master Xiao might cause trouble."

Yan Junyu kicked him. "Can't you come up with a better excuse after following me for so many years? You're still this foolish!"

Shopkeeper Xing dodged agilely and chuckled, "Then I'll say someone tried to assassinate you, and the assassin fled into the brothel, surely colluding with the people there."

Yan Junyu twitched his eye corner, utterly speechless. How much hate had he accumulated to be stabbed twice in just three months?

Xiao Ruiyuan had just finished the morning court session and was about to handle official business when he received news that Yan Junyu had been attacked and instructed to seal off a brothel. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

However, when he finished reading the information passed to him by Shopkeeper Xing, Xiao Ruiyuan's expression turned serious, and he immediately dispatched two hundred soldiers to the brothel...

All the people in the brothel were apprehended. Xiao Ruiyuan recognized Li Zhong, took his testimony, and then released him. When Li Zhong returned home in the afternoon, Mo Yan, who had been anxiously waiting all day, finally relaxed. However, Li Xiu didn't return with him. Although she was surprised, she refrained from asking.

Li Zhong, on the other hand, sent the three children away and took the initiative to tell Mo Yan everything that had happened to Li Xiu after she was abandoned.

Mo Yan felt that something was off, but she patiently listened.

It turned out that after Li Xiu was abandoned by the Zhang family, fearing to shame her parents and siblings and having no money for travel expenses, she decided to stay in the capital.

Li Xiu was skilled in embroidery, so she found a reputable embroidery workshop to work as an embroiderer, enough to support herself.

However, her embroidery skills were too good. Not only did she gain the favor of the shopkeeper, but some clients also specifically requested her work. Coupled with her focus on her work and lack of communication with other embroiderers, over time, the other embroiderers naturally became resentful.

Once, a wealthy client asked Li Xiu to embroider a large piece as a birthday gift. However, on the day before completion, it was destroyed by someone, but the culprit was not caught.

The shopkeeper didn't dare to offend the wealthy client and pushed all the blame onto Li Xiu. Not only did Li Xiu lose her job, but she also lost all her money. At her wit's end, she was deceived into the brothel.

"It's all my fault. I raised Xiu too meek and introverted. If she were more assertive, even if nothing else happened, the Zhang family wouldn't dare treat her so harshly, and none of this would have happened. It's all my fault!"

Li Zhong blamed himself, his aging face filled with regret. He overlooked the treacherousness of human nature and blamed himself for everything.

Mo Yan didn't know how to comfort this sorrowful old man. At this point, any words of comfort would be too pale.

Li Zhong wiped away his tears and choked out the rest of the story.

Tricked into the brothel, Li Xiu was renamed Xiang Xing'er. She had tried to escape and resist, but she was beaten half to death each time. However, she couldn't bear to leave her family back home. She couldn't bear to die.

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 Chapter 886: Returning to the County Town

Not only Lu Dasong, but even Old Madam and the others who were planning to get on the mule carts stopped abruptly and turned to look at Shu Yu.

Old Madam hurriedly walked over. "Shu Yu, you want to repair the ancestral graves?"

"Yes, I've returned in glory, so it's only right to repair the ancestral graves."

Old Madam frowned. "Why do you need to do it? Your grandfather has three sons. Let them do it. But now they don't have any achievements yet, so we can wait until they have money..."

"Grandmother." Shu Yu interrupted her. "Now is the most suitable time."

Lu Erbai, who was standing by, nodded after a moment of silence and said to Old Madam, "Mother, Shu Yu is right. She has returned in glory and become the village lord. Everyone is discussing it fervently. The villagers already know about the content of the imperial decree, including the gold that the Emperor rewarded. Today, Shu Yu went up the mountain to pay respects to our ancestors, and after coming down, she proposed to repair the ancestral graves. Everyone thinks Shu Yu is filial and grateful."

Perhaps Shu Yu didn't care about her reputation, just like when she went to the Ruan family with an axe, she didn't mind being called unfilial.

But as the father, Lu Erbai didn't think the same way. Shu Yu was about to come of age and would soon be married. The matter of repairing the ancestral graves would only benefit her and had no drawbacks.

After hearing this, Old Madam also found it reasonable.

However, she couldn't help but glare at her three sons. It was all their fault for being useless, otherwise, why would it fall on Shu Yu, the younger generation, to repair the ancestral graves?

Lu Erbai rubbed his nose. In Old Madam's eyes, he was probably nothing more than a weed.

With no objections from anyone, Lu Dasong nodded and said, "Alright, then. I'll take care of this. Don't worry."

"In that case, Uncle, it's up to you." Shu Yu got on the mule cart.

The people from the main house stood at the village entrance and watched their carriages leave.

Lu Dasong was overjoyed. He was the happiest about being able to repair the ancestral graves. He turned around and walked back home, ready to start working on the matter as soon as possible.

Lan Hua and Er Niu were also excited. They walked back with their heads held high. Seeing the envious glances from the villagers, the two of them couldn't help but exchange a smile.

Only Li Shi stood in the same spot for a long time, feeling a bit jealous. She also wanted to go to the county town, but just now, Old Madam called her aside and severely reprimanded her, saying that if she caused any more trouble, Lu Dasong would divorce her.

Now, Li Shi didn't dare to provoke Old Madam. With Shu Yu supporting her, she felt quite smug.

The two mule carts soon headed toward the county town. As they approached the city gate, the road became wider. Lu Sanzhu hurriedly urged the mule cart to speed up and squeezed onto the same line as Shu Yu.

Then he handed the reins to Da Niu, who was also sitting on the cart shaft, and turned his head to smirk at Shu Yu. "Shu Yu."

Seeing his expression, Shu Yu couldn't help but sigh. "What's the matter?"

"Shu Yu, let's go and see that mansion after we return to the county town."

Shu Yu looked at the sky. "It's getting late. That mansion is a large courtyard with three sections. I heard from Xiang Daren that it even has a large backyard. If we want to see it all, it will be dark."

Old Madam also pushed aside the curtain and looked over, glaring at him. "Lao San, don't cause trouble for me. When we get back, we still have to see the rented courtyard and organize things. We don't have so much time to take you to explore the mansion. We'll go tomorrow."

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