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墨書 Inktalez
Recently, a small incident occurred in Chen Family Village—the old residence of the Chen Family needs renovation.
Due to the urgency of the work and the number of hands required, along with a generous payment, all the idle laborers in Chen Family Village came out to help.
Qin Yaru stood at the gate, with her arm around Da Lang's shoulder. It was not yet midsummer, but the trees were lush and had just received a light rain, which was persistent and somewhat annoying.
"Consort Qin, it's quite chaotic here with people coming and going; please step aside."
This person only referred to her as Consort Qin.
Qin Yaru nodded silently, pulling Da Lang back a step to open the gate. The newcomer was a short, plump man dressed in an exquisite purple shirt. He looked very shrewd, resembling a 'very authentic' steward from a wealthy family. His voice was friendly but carried a hint of casual arrogance.
She recalled their first meeting that morning when he had directly opened the door with a key. Upon seeing her, he simply introduced himself: "I am Zhao Yitan, Deputy Steward of Xiangyang Wangfu. By order of the Princess, I am here to oversee the renovation of Chen Langjun's old residence. Consort Qin, please feel free; you need not concern yourself with us."
He had not been rude, but he firmly held the initiative and seemed to regard Qin Yaru as less important than his own pets.
If it had been her former self, she might have felt hurt for a long time. However, this current Qin Yaru found it somewhat gratifying.
She had lived in the Chen Family Old Residence for many years, but it was also where she had been confined for much of her life. Now returning to this place brought some nostalgia, but more than that was disgust. She had long wanted to prepare for her own property and find a suitable residence so that once she clarified matters with Chen Wenyue, she would have a proper place to settle down.
The workers were bustling in and out of the house, creating a cacophony.
Qin Yaru did not make a fuss; instead, she quietly borrowed a donkey cart from the Wang family and took Da Lang with her to transport nearly one thousand coins that had accumulated over these days to Wudang County to exchange for silver or gold.
Currently, copper coins were the main circulating currency; silver and gold were rarely seen in the market. It was Xu Meng, Wang's husband, who was somewhat prominent in Wudang and could be relied upon. He took them to several money exchanges until they managed to complete the exchange. One thousand coins were heavy enough that they needed a donkey cart to carry them; however, once converted into silver, they could fit into two boxes.
Taking the heavy silver box in hand, Qin Yaru finally breathed a sigh of relief. She thought that aside from leaving some for household expenses, the rest of the silver should be exchanged for gold and silver. Firstly, they take up less space and are easier to carry; secondly, gold and silver have guaranteed value; and thirdly, she couldn't possibly stay in Wudang forever. As long as she remained there, she would never escape the shadow of Chen Wulang.
People are reluctant to leave their hometowns; as the saying goes, "people are cheap when away from home." For Qin Yaru, if it weren't for necessity, she wouldn't want to be far from her homeland either. However, when weighing two evils, she preferred to distance herself rather than be forever entangled with Chen Wenyue.
Qin Yaru sighed and secretly planned that once she found Daddy and her elder brother in the future, she would redeem her younger sister. A family reunion, whether in Kaifeng or another big city, was all she desired. As long as the family could be together and live happily, she would be content.
After exchanging all the silver, Wang arranged for two Yamen Runners to help escort her. They first rented two guest rooms at Shunlai Inn near the Establish a Family shop.
Da Lang was confused along the way. In recent days, Qin Yaru had spoken about Chen Wulang more than before; it was no longer just good words about him.
Now Da Lang still had some admiration for Chen Wenyue, but deep down he had begun to doubt. He felt that Daddy no longer wanted him and his mother. This time, a man who claimed to be the deputy manager of the Wang residence suddenly appeared at home, and his gaze was sharp. Children are very sensitive; they can often sense whether someone is good or bad towards them.
This time, Da Lang clearly sensed something was off. He knew that man was sent by his biological father but felt no joy at all—only fear. For several days he couldn't sleep well and felt uneasy whenever he was away from Qin Yaru.
It was only after leaving home with Qin Yaru that he relaxed a little. Upon arriving at the inn, he felt drowsy and fuzzy-headed.
Wang looked at Qin Yaru softly coaxing Da Lang to sleep and felt distressed. She frowned angrily and said, "What is this! That's your home; an outsider suddenly appears and starts pointing fingers in your house, forcing you to flee. How can this be reasonable? Doesn't Chen Wulang feel guilty?"
Qin Yaru's face darkened as she replied softly, "There's nothing I can do. Wang Wu wants to reclaim the old house; I can't stop that. It's just that there are too many outsiders in our home now. As a woman, it's not appropriate for me to stay there. Moreover, Da Lang needs a quiet environment to study; we can only leave."
She reached out to hold Wang's arm and murmured, "Sister Wang, I still have some clothes and belongings at home. Sister-in-law, please accompany me to get them; they are my personal items and leaving them behind would be inappropriate."
Wang gritted her teeth in anger and said fiercely, "Let's go! What pots and pans or clothes and bedding? All of those were bought as your dowry; take everything you can so it doesn't go to waste."
She instructed two Yamen Runners to watch over Da Lang while she took Qin Yaru's hand and walked away. Qin Yaru stumbled a bit but couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time—after all, with the Princess now, they had no shortage of money for renovations; how could they still care about the little scraps of metal at home?
Of course, Wang was just speaking out of anger. Even if Qin Yaru went back to pack her things, it would only be a few items she usually used. Those heavy objects should have been discarded long ago, and she didn't have the strength to move them.
The Zhao Deputy Chief had never thought much of Qin Yaru. The things she took were not many, just two bundles, so he didn't pay attention at all.
By the time he realized that Qin Yaru was not at home and learned that Consort Qin had actually gone to stay at an inn, three days had already passed.
Zhao Deputy Chief was taken aback—when he received orders to return, the Princess and Chen Wenyue specifically instructed him to keep an eye on Qin Yaru and ensure that woman behaved herself and didn’t cause trouble.
However, when he arrived at Chen Family Village, he found that Consort Qin was shy and reserved, not very talkative, making her easy to handle. Even with so many people coming and going in the house, she didn’t dare say a word. He let his guard down, thinking she was just a simple villager who didn’t understand anything; a little intimidation would make her obedient. He planned to leave her alone for a while until the house was rebuilt and then find some random place to settle her.
By then, the house would be filled with his people; how could a mere villager stir up any trouble?
Who would have thought that beneath her gentle demeanor, this seemingly timid sheep had her own ideas and was not easy to deal with! She left the Chen Family in grand fashion, unaware of what rumors might spread!
Zhao Deputy Chief was originally a capable subordinate under Xiangyang Wang but had been sent to serve under Gentle Blue Princess as punishment for making a mistake. He felt quite resentful about being assigned to such a position under the legitimate daughter of Gentle Blue. Although he didn’t show it on the surface and managed to keep Gentle Blue Princess happy, his mood was low, which inevitably led to careless work.
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