The sudden turn of events startled everyone present.
From a distance, Lu Huaihai’s gaze lingered on Xie Miao’er. Seeing the situation, Xie Miao’er hadn’t even had time to react before Lu Huaihai had already tossed aside the medicine pouch in his hand. With a quick turn and a swift stride, he rushed over, grabbed the person lunging toward her, and forcefully flung them to the ground.
It was only then that Xie Miao’er finally felt the lingering fear. She jumped back two steps and hurriedly hid behind Lu Huaihai, peeking out to see the person in a brown outfit lying face-down on the ground.
“You… Who are you?!”
Lu Huaihai, however, had no interest in wasting words. He grabbed Xie Miao’er’s wrist, shielding her within his territory, then promptly delivered a swift kick to the person on the ground.
The person groaned in pain, letting out a sharp cry.
Hearing this familiar voice, Lu Huaihai and Xie Miao’er exchanged a glance, and both saw shock in each other’s eyes.
Lu Huaihai’s face darkened even more. Without saying a word, he bent down, grabbed the back collar of the person on the ground, and dragged them directly toward the inn’s backyard.
Xie Miao’er glanced around. The workers unloading goods and the travelers taking a break had all paused their tasks, seemingly eager to watch the commotion. She quickly smoothed things over. “It’s just a family matter. Everyone, please carry on with your work.”
Cheng Yuandao also instructed the crowd to disperse.
Xie Miao hastily followed Lu Huaihai to the backyard of the inn.
The person in brown from earlier was now crouched by the stable, nearly stepping into the feed trough piled with hay. When she saw Xie Miao’er, she called out with great enthusiasm, “Sister-in-law!”
She tried to lunge toward Xie Miao again, but unfortunately, this time, Lu Huaihai deftly blocked her with an outstretched hand.
Lu Huaihai’s expression had softened slightly compared to earlier. He merely called out the name of this troublesome younger sister with a faint tone, “Lu Hong.”
The warning in his voice was unmistakable.
Lu Hong dared not act recklessly again. She lowered her head and shrank back, retreating slightly, which caused the colt behind her to neigh loudly in dissatisfaction.
She hopped on her feet, moving to another spot to lean closer again.
Xie Miao’er was utterly baffled. She asked, “Young Miss, why are you here? And why do you look so disheveled?”
“Disheveled” was already a very mild way to put it.
At this moment, Lu Hong only needed a straw in her hair to look like someone selling herself to bury her father.
Lu Hong stammered, “I… I just… wanted to go to the capital with you all.”
Xie Miao’er was shocked. “How did you get here?”
Lu Hong sneaked a glance at Lu Huaihai and replied, “I hid in the compartment under the carriage and traveled all the way here. Sister-in-law, you see how hard it was for me… Please don’t send me back…”
Her words nearly frightened Xie Miao’er out of her wits, to the point where she didn’t even notice how strange the term “sister-in-law” sounded.
The compartment under the carriage wasn’t that big. Did she really hide there the entire way?
But Lu Huaihai wasn’t as easy to fool as Xie Miao’er. He said, “Keep spouting nonsense, and I’ll send you back right now. Speak, how did you really get here?”
Knowing that he wouldn’t be easily deceived, Lu Hong aimed to win Xie Miao’er’s sympathy instead. She pouted and said, “If I tell you, can you promise not to send me away?”
Inwardly, Xie Miao’er silently lit a candle for her.
With her limited understanding of Lu Huaihai, she knew he wasn’t someone who could be softened by pleading. Trying to bargain with him was as good as smashing her head against a brick wall.
Sure enough, Lu Huaihai ignored her entirely.
Lu Hong had no choice but to obediently explain: “I ran away from home and headed for Chengdu on my own, but a kind person gave me a ride, taking me all the way to the outskirts of Hangzhou. Then, while their convoy stopped to reorganize, I snuck into a carriage and made my way here.”
There was even a hint of excitement in Lu Hong’s tone as she continued, “Big Brother, that kind person said he was your friend, which is why he helped me. He also told me to tell you not to thank him too much.”
Lu Huaihai’s expression turned visibly cold.
He was almost at a loss for words.
There was no need to guess; with this kind of behavior, who else could it be but Li Chenglan?
This person thrived on stirring up trouble and loved to find amusement in doing things that harmed others without benefiting himself.
“Kind person?” Lu Huaihai let out a derisive laugh and said, “If someone sold you off, would they still count as a kind person?”
Hearing Lu Hong’s account, Xie Miao’er, who had always considered herself quite bold, couldn’t help but find it reckless. She said, “Young Miss, what you did was very dangerous.”
Lu Hong crouched down, clutching her head, her attitude one of resignation. She grabbed at her hair in a self-destructive manner and said, “I’m already fourteen! Why is it that men can travel the world, but I have to stay locked in a boudoir, waiting for the auspicious day of my coming-of-age ceremony? As soon as my hair is tied up, I’m supposed to pack up and prepare to move from one household to another? I refuse! I refuse!”
Upon hearing this, Xie Miao’er fell silent.
The expectations placed on women by society were, more often than not, like this. In truth, she considered herself lucky in both lifetimes.
In her previous life, due to her frail and sickly nature, her parents never intended to marry her off and were always lenient with her. In this life, she was fortunate to be by Lu Huaihai’s side, and he had never used the excuse of protection to restrict her freedom.
However, Xie Miao’er felt that something about Lu Hong’s reasoning wasn’t quite right. After struggling internally for a moment, she spoke up, “No matter what, you must not disregard your own safety.”
Lu Huaihai found the situation equally exasperating.
For the first time, he felt what his father must have experienced when dealing with him.
Perhaps this was karma at work.
Sure enough, Lu Hong argued righteously, “Big Brother, if you can go out and make your mark on the world, why can’t I?”
Lu Huaihai chuckled lightly. It was hard to tell if it was out of disdain or something else. “If you’re using me as an example, then don’t bother.”
He then asked Lu Hong, “Do you have any idea what you want to do?”
Lu Hong froze, puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Lu Huaihai replied calmly and unhurriedly, “If your goal is merely to run away from home without regard for anything else, then I’ll send you back to Taizhou today.”
Xie Miao’er understood his meaning and looked at him thoughtfully.
Lu Hong sprang to her feet, as if she had something to say. She opened her mouth but couldn’t get any words out. In the end, she sat back down, dejected.
She genuinely didn’t know what she wanted to do, not even enough to come up with a convincing excuse.
Lu Huaihai observed Lu Hong for about half a quarter-hour. Seeing that she still didn’t lift her head, he said, “Tomorrow morning, I’ll assign two guards to escort you home.”
The once lively and bouncing Lu Hong suddenly wilted completely.
Xie Miao’er, noticing her reaction, suddenly spoke up: “If you’ve never seen the sky beyond your own world, how can you know what you truly want to do?”
If a person has only ever eaten plain white rice, they wouldn’t be able to choose their favorite dish from a full Manchu-Han banquet.
If someone hasn’t truly witnessed the complexities of life, they can’t make informed decisions about what they want.
It wasn’t clear who Xie Miao’er was speaking for, so when Lu Huaihai turned to look at her, she calmly met his gaze.
After a moment, Lu Huaihai looked away and gave Lu Hong a brief glance. “Write a letter yourself, have it sent home, and don’t make me explain.”
Lu Hong didn’t immediately comprehend, blinking dumbly in confusion.
Xie Miao’er reminded her, “If he were going to send you home, would there be any need for a letter?”
Realizing what this meant, Lu Hong was overjoyed. She sprang to her feet. “I-I’ll write it right away! Don’t worry, Big Brother, I definitely won’t make you take the blame. Big Brother, Sister-in-law, thank you both! I promise I won’t cause trouble on the journey!”
Her transformation was so stark that Xie Miao’er was momentarily stunned.
Lu Huaihai, however, wasn’t surprised by his cousin’s antics. Seeing her current disheveled state after all her travels, he frowned and told the innkeeper to prepare a room so she could clean herself up.
Walking alongside Lu Huaihai, Xie Miao’er suddenly heard him ask, “Are you close to her?”
“Not really,” Xie Miao’er answered honestly, “but, Young Master, you didn’t actually plan to send her back directly, did you?”
“What makes you think that?”
“If you had planned to send her back right away, you wouldn’t have asked her all those ‘ifs.’”
Lu Huaihai listened without confirming or denying it.
He had another question for her.
“Xie Miao’er, what about you? What do you want to do?”
He seemed to have grown accustomed to her being around him but had never thought about what she truly wanted for herself.
Xie Miao’er, in truth, had never considered this question seriously.
At first, her sole purpose was to change his fate, with no other thoughts in mind.
But now, her heart was occupied by more tasks, most of which stemmed from a sense of responsibility.
Out of responsibility, she had to take good care of her younger siblings. Out of responsibility, she had to manage the Xie family’s business.
These were tasks Xie Miao’er couldn’t say she particularly liked or disliked.
Faced with Lu Huaihai’s question, she responded honestly: “What I said earlier is my true thought. Maybe I just want to see more of the world.”
Standing atop a high tower on the coastline, gazing out at the endless sea, she felt not only satisfaction but an even greater longing.
She wanted to travel to places she had never been.
Perhaps this desire seemed too frivolous. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Xie Miao’er smiled and asked him, “Does that sound shallow?”
Lu Huaihai’s response was firm and decisive: “Not at all.”
Building achievements and defending the land.
This was exactly her place.
—
Once everyone had gathered, they were ready to set off.
Traveling by water along the Grand Canal to the capital was a vast journey spanning thousands of miles. They would pass through no fewer than twelve tax checkpoints, and even with smooth sailing, it would take at least a month.
Thus, there was much to prepare for the journey. In the days leading up to the departure of the merchant ship, no one had been idle.
Xie Miao’er even specifically took a carriage around Hangzhou twice to test which anti-nausea pills worked best for her motion sickness and ended up purchasing over a hundred of them.
Lu Hong behaved herself for two days but couldn’t completely change her nature. She sneaked into a bookstore, bought a stack of storybooks, and slipped mysteriously into Xie Miao’er’s room to share her spoils.
“Sister-in-law, look…”
Xie Miao’er interrupted her, her eyes flickering. “Young Miss, please stop calling me that.”
Lu Hong looked innocent. “But it just comes so naturally!”
Seeing Xie Miao’er’s awkward demeanor, she reluctantly changed her tone and said, “Fine, but then you shouldn’t call me ‘Young Miss’ either. It’s so strange—‘Young Miss’ in the storybooks is always portrayed as arrogant and unreasonable, completely unlikeable.”
Xie Miao’er silently thought: The storybooks aren’t wrong.
However, knowing what to say and what not to say, she merely replied, “How about I call you Hongniang, then?”
Lu Hong protested, “That’s no good, no good! If I’m Little Matchmaker, does that make you Yingying?”
She actually continued this train of thought. “Then who’s Zhang Sheng? My big brother? That won’t do, that won’t do…”
Xie Miao covered her mouth and laughed, unable to associate Lu Huaihai with the image of a scholar.
Lu Hong added, “Those are all outdated stories. Look at this one—it’s new at the bookstore. It’s about a noblewoman who died and came back to life…”
The door to their room wasn’t closed, and as they were chatting, someone suddenly knocked lightly on the slightly ajar door and walked straight in.
Even the sound of Lu Huaihai’s footsteps didn’t catch Xie Miao’er’s attention. She was too eager, pulling on Lu Hong’s sleeve and asking, “Quick, tell me, what happens to her in the end?”
Before Lu Hong could reply, the storybook in her hand was snatched away by Lu Huaihai. He flipped through a few pages and spoke with a hint of disdain.
“Coming back to life—how is that any different from those absurd tales of gods and ghosts?”
Just as Xie Miao was about to stand up, something inside her seemed to snap at his words, like a string breaking with a sharp twang.
Lu Hong, of course, was dissatisfied, but she was too afraid that Lu Huaihai might send her back home to argue loudly. She could only murmur in a low voice, “It’s just a storybook… Besides, in the story, the young lady comes back to life, uses her knowledge to change many things, and even chooses the right man for herself.”
Lu Huaihai flipped through a few more pages, finding the narrative too frivolous and absurd. Closing the book, he said, “Her advantage is nothing more than foreknowledge. If her so-called true love knew that their serendipitous encounters were all carefully planned by her, how do you think he’d react?”
Lu Hong’s voice grew even smaller. “It’s just a storybook. If you overanalyze it like this, no story in the world could ever be written.”
Lu Huaihai tossed the storybook back to her. “Read it yourself, then. Just don’t influence others.”
Lu Hong unwillingly put the storybook away, but when she looked up, she noticed Xie Miao’er’s expression had turned frighteningly pale.