Chapter 045: New Home

After returning, Gu Lizong brought two chunks of meat and a jar of wine to the village chief's house to inform him of his family's relocation and to ask him to kindly look after the Feng mother and son.

That very evening, everyone in Maoping Village knew that the Gu family was moving away—moving the entire household to the city! Even the people in the neighboring Chaliu Village heard the news; some were envious, and not a few were jealous.

Meanwhile, inside the main room of Yang Xiuqing's family, everyone sat around gnawing on wild vegetables and coarse cornmeal pancakes. As they ate, they began to hurl accusations at Yang Xiuqing. If she hadn't been so picky and choosy, would their family still be starving for even cornmeal pancakes? Who knows, they might have even had a chance to follow them to the county town and live a life of luxury!

Old Master Yang, sitting at the head of the table, drained the wine in his cup in one gulp and said expressionlessly, "Pack your things. In a couple of days, Patron Gao from the town will send someone to pick you up."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiuqing's eyes instantly turned red. "Father, I'm not going!"

"Whether you go or not, you must! In matters of marriage, a child must obey the commands of her parents and the words of the matchmaker; it is not up to you!" Old Master Yang slammed his wine cup down onto the table hard, his face filled with rage.

Yang Xiuqing looked toward her mother, her face brimming with entreaties. Patron Gao was an old man in his fifties, even two years older than her father!

Madam Cui turned her head away, not daring to meet her daughter's eyes. Patron Gao was willing to offer a hundred silver taels as a betrothal gift just to take her daughter as a secondary wife—one hundred taels! She had never seen that much silver in her entire life!

Yang Xiuqing then looked at her elder brothers at the table, but not a single one of them was willing to speak up for her! Several of her sisters-in-law were even gloating and snickering secretly to the side!

Furious, she threw her chopsticks onto the table, ran back to her room, and buried her face in the bedding, sobbing softly.

When Su Hehua and Lin Huiniang returned, dusk had already fallen. Both of them were in low spirits due to their reluctance to part with their families. But since they had to rise early the next day, everyone washed up and returned to their rooms to sleep.

......

The next day, just as the third watch of the hour of Yin was approaching, the Gu family was already prepared to set off. Quite a few households came to see them off, and the village chief's family also came.

Although they had already said their goodbyes yesterday, when the time truly came to leave a place where they had lived for decades, the sorrow of parting could still not be reined in. Everyone bid each other a reluctant farewell once more.

The paulownia trees witness the third-watch rain; every rustling leaf sounds of parting. The moon waxes and wanes while flowers bloom and fade; there is no feast in this world that never ends. They could only wish that in the coming years, each would remain safe and sound.

......

Two quarter-hours later, a carriage and an ox cart slowly drove out of the village entrance. Pebbles and withered branches made faint creaking sounds beneath the wheels, making the interior of the carriage feel exceptionally desolate.

Gu Qingsong drove the carriage in front, with Gu Lizong seated on the driver's bench. Inside the carriage sat Madam Zhou, Lin Huiniang, and Gu Qinghe.

The carriage was packed full of items, leaving very little seating space for the three women. Fearing that Lin Huiniang might bump into something, Madam Zhou placed a cloth bundle stuffed with clothes beneath her and propped a stack of quilted blankets behind her back, making her much more comfortable.

Gu Qingbai drove the ox cart behind, with Su Hehua, Gu Tingzhi, and Zhen Mi'er sitting inside. Gu Tingzhi was tall with long legs, and there wasn't even enough room for him to stretch his legs inside the carriage. He simply lifted the carriage curtain, intending to sit out on the driver's bench.

Seeing that the wind outside was strong, Zhen Mi'er pulled a newly made cloak out of a bundle, draped it over him, tied it securely, and only then let him go out.

Seeing him leave, Yibai tilted its head, spread its legs, and usurped his original spot. But before it could enjoy the comfort for even a moment, a large hand reached in from outside the curtain, grabbed one of its legs with precision, and dragged it right out.

Yibai: "......"

Zhen Mi'er and Su Hehua exchanged glances and shook their heads with a chuckle.

The space inside the ox cart became much larger. Zhen Mi'er adjusted the positions of several bundles and cleared the wooden bench she had been sitting on. "Second Sister-in-law, I see the dark circles under your eyes are quite prominent; you certainly didn't sleep well last night. Let's swap places, and you can lean against these bundles to sleep for a while."

Su Hehua truly hadn't slept well the previous night and was terribly sleepy now, so she didn't stand on ceremony with her. She moved over and sat down. "I'll sleep for just an hour, then we'll switch so you can sleep. Be sure to wake me up."

Zhen Mi'er agreed, and only then did Su Hehua close her eyes with peace of mind.

From Maoping Village to Yun'an County, the ox cart would take five hours of travel, while the carriage was faster and would only need three and a half hours.

Initially, Madam Zhou was worried about leaving Gu Tingzhi and the others behind, so she told Gu Qingsong to drive the carriage a bit slower to ensure the ox cart behind could keep up.

After a while, however, Lin Huiniang's face turned pale, and she covered her mouth in dry hetes for quite a while. Everyone no longer dared to wait for the ox cart behind; after instructing the others to be careful on the road, Gu Qingsong drove the carriage ahead first.

Gu Qingbai also dared not delay, knowing they had to reach the county town before dark to be safe, so he too tried to quicken their pace. Two hours later, fearing that continuous driving would be too exhausting for Gu Qingbai, Zhen Mi'er suggested stopping to rest for a while.

Remembering that further ahead there was a pavilion where travelers could rest, Gu Qingbai drove on for another quarter-hour and indeed found it.

Su Hehua had woken up by this time as well. Stepping down from the ox cart, she glanced at the sky outside, reached out, and pinched Zhen Mi'er's soft, tender cheek. "Didn't you say you'd wake me up after an hour!"

Zhen Mi'er hurriedly begged for mercy, covering her mouth with a smile. "I saw that Second Sister-in-law was sleeping so sweetly, so naturally I couldn't bear to wake you."

Gu Qingbai, who was busy tethering the ox, chimed in, "We listened to your snoring the entire way."

Su Hehua widened her eyes in disbelief. "Re-re-really???"

Gu Tingzhi, standing nearby, nodded his head vigorously as if confirming a grave matter.

Su Hehua covered her face, feeling as though she had nothing left to live for.

Zhen Mi'er suppressed her laughter and consoled her, saying, "They're just talking nonsense, it was only for a little while." She hadn't expected that her delicate and lovely Second Sister-in-law would actually snore when sleeping; when she first heard it, her jaw had nearly dropped off in shock.

Her face flushed crimson with embarrassment and lingering anger, Su Hehua walked over to Gu Qingbai and pinched the soft flesh at his waist hard. She whispered, "Why did you never tell me!"

Gu Qingbai held her hand within his own palm, massaged it gently, and coaxed her in a low voice, "You sounded like a little pig. It was very cute."

Su Hehua's pretty face turned even redder in an instant.

Seeing the sweet couple, Zhen Mi'er smiled from the bottom of her heart, took Gu Tingzhi by the hand, and pulled him toward the pavilion.

The four of them simply partook of some dry rations in the pavilion and rested for another quarter-hour before setting off once more.

By the time the four of them arrived at the county town just before nightfall, all of them wore looks of utter exhaustion.

The carriage was much faster, and Gu Qingsong and the others had arrived by the hour of Shen. Being young and full of vigor—and with Gu Lizong having driven for an hour on the way—he didn't feel tired at all.

After leading everyone into the residence, he unloaded the items from the carriage. Noticing Lin Huiniang's pale complexion, he ran without a moment's rest to a medical clinic and invited a doctor over to check Lin Huiniang's pulse. Fortunately, nothing was seriously amiss; she was merely suffering from motion sickness and would recover after a couple of days of rest.

After seeing the doctor out, he carried the unloaded items into their respective rooms, went to the market to purchase some missing necessities, and bought the ingredients for dinner as well.