Chapter 46: The Lonely Edge of the Village

In the Yang family household of Pear Blossom Village, Madam Sun and Yang Wenbin lay in bed.

Madam Sun's mouth kept spewing curses against Jiang Lihua and Ni Wenyu.

Yang Wenbin listened, feeling utterly distracted and annoyed. He felt as though Jiang Lihua had been born solely to bring him bad luck. Back when Jiang Lihua was still with the Yang family, she had been timid, cowardly, and entirely useless. Yet, the moment they abandoned her, she grew strong and capable of standing against them. Why on earth was that?

Now, that fellow Ni Wenyu had also found a master and encountered noble benefactors, while he remained stuck in this wretched village, swallowing insults and grievances.

He stared at the shabby furnishings of the room, listening to the unending stream of curses from Madam Sun. Suddenly, a wave of intense unwillingness washed over him. He refused to stay here any longer to suffer humiliation; he wanted to venture out into the world and carve out a brilliant future for himself.

In Madam Sun's room, Yang Xiuhua looked at her with cold eyes.

"Wretched girl, why are you glaring at me like that? Don't think that just because your old mother can't move right now, I can't beat you." Irritated by the sight of Yang Xiuhua standing rigidly in her room, Madam Sun grabbed the teacup from beside the bed and hurled it at her.

Yang Xiuhua sidestepped to avoid it, sneering, "Are you happy now? The Lihua processing workshop has shut down, and I don't have any wages coming in anymore."

"If you can't earn money, I'll find some widower and sell you off," Madam Sun spat viciously.

Yang Xiuhua looked at her in disbelief. "I am your biological daughter!"

Madam Sun let out a cold laugh. "Hmph, a daughter? Can a daughter take care of me in my old age and bury me when I die? Having Wen'er is enough for me!"

Madam Sun spoke with absolute conviction. Unwilling to be sold to a widower, Yang Xiuhua cast one deep, lingering look at Madam Sun, as if having made a resolute decision, and turned away.

From midday until evening, Yang Xiuhua did not bring any food to her room. Madam Sun began to wail and scold once more, "Yang Xiuhua, you heartless little wretch, where is the food? Are you trying to starve your own mother to death?"

No one answered her.

Hearing Madam Sun's screeching, Yang Wenbin grew deeply impatient. "Mother, stop yelling. It's giving me a headache. Since she's not here, hurry up and get up to cook something. I'm starving."

Hearing that her precious son was hungry, Madam Sun felt a pang of intense heartache. Enduring her pain, she slowly and laboriously dragged herself out of bed, cursing continuously as she cooked.

Yang Wenbin was utterly exasperated, resolving to leave Pear Blossom Village the moment his injuries healed.

Over in the town, Ni Wenyu had hired someone early in the morning to carve a plaque bearing the characters "Jiang Residence" to hang above the door.

Uncle Jiang and the others brought their packed luggage into town. Accompanying them was Jiang Feixiang, who usually returned home to rest after finishing his daily labor, never expecting that such monumental events would transpire after his departure yesterday.

Upon seeing Jiang Lihua, the burly, rugged fellow wore an expression full of remorse. "Lihua, I had no idea Mother would do such a thing."

Jiang Lihua waved her hand to dismiss the matter. Madam Zhou had already received thirty heavy blows, which was more than enough suffering for her.

She stared intently at Jiang Feixiang for a long while.

Wiping his face, Jiang Feixiang asked sheepishly, "Lihua, is there something dirty on my face?"

Jiang Lihua shook her head. "No, there's just something I'm curious about and wanted to ask you."

"What is it? Go ahead."

Jiang Lihua voiced the question that had puzzled her for a long time: "Do you feel any changes in yourself now compared to the past?"

Jiang Feixiang scratched his head and said, "After I was knocked unconscious and woke up that time, I felt like I suddenly had an epiphany. I realized what a scumbag I used to be, and I couldn't keep living like that anymore."

"So I changed. The strangest thing is that it didn't feel unnatural at all; I just changed as naturally as breathing."

Jiang Lihua nodded.

"Lihua, there's one more thing. Xiuhua came to see me yesterday."

Yang Xiuhua?

"What did she want?" Jiang Lihua asked.

"She just told me about what happened yesterday, and also said that her mother plans to sell her to a widower. She wants to ask if I can take her in. Do you..."

Jiang Lihua knew that Jiang Feixiang was worried she might harbor resentment toward Yang Xiuhua because of the Yang family's actions.

To be honest, she didn't have deep emotional ties with Jiang Feixiang and the others, so she didn't care at all whom he chose to associate with. She told Jiang Feixiang to decide for himself, as she had no objections.

Jiang Feixiang nodded, possessing enough self-awareness to simply inform her out of courtesy.

Next came the matter of arranging the processing workshop!

Jiang Lihua had already made up her mind.

The workshop in Pear Blossom Village would be closed down permanently. Instead, she would partner with Gu Qingran to find a place in town to make these pickled vegetables.

Jiang Feixiang would be responsible for collecting the vegetables from their village and delivering them to their location, and they would purchase them from him at a fixed price.

As for what price he acquired them for, that was his own business; how much he earned depended entirely on his own capability.

Hearing Jiang Lihua's arrangements, Jiang Feixiang felt deeply grateful to her.

He had spent his previous years acting like a scoundrel, never studying books nor tilling the fields, utterly incapable of anything. Ever since he started working with Jiang Lihua, he had learned a great deal.

Once matters were settled, Jiang Feixiang took his leave.

At the far end of Pear Blossom Village.

What used to be a bustling village fringe now had only a lonely schoolhouse standing in isolation.

Li Wenya looked at the charred courtyard walls of the Pear Blossom estate, then at the empty, abandoned processing workshop. Ni Wenyu's old home was vacant now, too.

Finally, glancing at the Wenyao Schoolhouse that Jiang Lihua and Ni Wenyu had built for him, he let out a heavy sigh.

Scholar Zhang, who had come over to help with teaching, looked at Li Wenya's sorrowful face and asked, "Old man Li, what are you daydreaming about?"

Recovering his wits, Li Wenya shot him a sideways glance. "Without Lihua and Wenyu here, it always feels like something is missing."

Scholar Zhang nodded in agreement.

Although they hadn't spent a very long time together, whenever those youngsters were around, the end of the village was always lively.

Now, aside from the children coming to school, there was absolute silence.

"Do you think I should go to town and join them?" Li Wenya asked.

Scholar Zhang shook his head. "With these old bones of yours, you'd better stay right here in the village and educate the younger generation! Teach the kids not to be fools anymore."

Scholar Zhang felt that the people of Pear Blossom Village were truly foolish. With someone as wealthy as a god of fortune like Jiang Lihua residing right in the village, prosperity for Pear Blossom Village was only a matter of time, yet they lacked the sense to cherish it.

Hearing this, Li Wenya dismissed the thought of moving to town.

Scholar Zhang was right; with these old bones, his place was to stay in the village and steer the next generation onto the right path.

Several days later, Jiang Lihua found that life in town was somewhat more pleasant than in Pear Blossom Village.

Unlike back in the village, where busybodies constantly came looking for endless trouble.

At that moment, she had set up a small desk under a pear blossom tree and was reading the *Classic of Materia Medica*, creating a scene of tranquil beauty.

Long Tianyu watched this very scene through the open doorway.

Recalling the poem Jiang Lihua had recited when she first arrived here, he murmured softly to himself:

"Pear blossoms pale white and willows deep green,
When willow catkins fly, flowers fill the town.
Melancholy by the eastern railing, a single branch of snow,
How clearly can a human lifetime be seen?"

His mind was filled with lingering questions, and he couldn't help but wonder: Was she truly the same Jiang Lihua as before? Was she really only ten years old?

This poem clearly reflected the melancholy of an old man lamenting the fleetingness of spring, the rapid aging of youth, and the impermanence of life.

Furthermore, looking across the entire Dongning Kingdom, he dared say few people possessed the literary skill to compose poetry of such caliber.

*Bang!*

The front gates of the Jiang Residence were kicked open, and Ni Wenyu, bound tightly like a rice dumpling, was tossed inside.

Lost in thought, Long Tianyu was abruptly startled by the loud crash. He furrowed his handsome brows in displeasure and cast an icy glare toward the entrance.

"What happened to Young Master Ni?" Mother Zhang rushed forward to help him up and untied the ropes binding him.

Jiang Lihua walked over to the front entrance, her face cold and rigid as she demanded, "Who are you people?"

Several burly, muscular men standing outside sneered, "Consider this a warning not to meddle with Young Master Zhu in the future, or this will be your fate." With that, they strode away arrogantly.

Utterly outrageous.

Jiang Lihua boiled with anger.

At the moment, the household only contained a recovering patient and Mother Zhang; if Uncle Jiang were here, she would have certainly had him teach those thugs a thorough lesson.

Ni Wenyu's face was flushed crimson, his hands trembling. To be subjected to such humiliation filled him with profound shame.

Seeing the deep worry etched across Lihua's face, his heart ached terribly. He took a deep breath to steady his emotions and said, "Lihua, don't worry. I will exact this vengeance myself."

A gentleman takes revenge ten years later, and it is not too late.

Though worried for him, Jiang Lihua knew he was a man with his own pride. She simply nodded without further words, choosing to place her faith in him.

To have someone like this by one's side must be quite wonderful, shouldn't it?

Long Tianyu watched the two of them and offered a faint smile.

Then, his gaze shifted toward the open door.

Young Master Zhu?

How dare he interrupt his contemplation? Hmph! A cold, dark light flickered in Long Tianyu's eyes.

Three years later.

"He passed! He passed! The young master has passed the imperial examinations!" cried the pageboy, Yeluo, running back in wild delight to deliver the good news.

Hearing this, everyone beamed with joy, genuinely happy for Ni Wenyu.

"What place did he get?" Jiang Lihua asked anxiously.

While Ni Wenyu had remained calm and composed after taking the Autumn Provincial Examination, Jiang Lihua had been a nervous wreck.

"First place! The young master is the Jieyuan!"

Before Yeluo could even finish, Jiang Lihua lunged forward and threw her arms around Ni Wenyu. "Wenyu, you're amazing!"

Ni Wenyu stiffened, his cheeks flushing slightly.

Ever since leaving Pear Blossom Village with Lihua, she had become much more cheerful than before, and whenever she was excited, she had a habit of hugging people.

Three years had passed; he was now sixteen years old, and Lihua was thirteen. Both of them had changed immensely.

Looking at the young maiden in his arms whose face was flushed with excitement, his heart pounded wildly against his ribs.

He raised his arms to embrace her in return, speaking softly, "Lihua, thank you."

"We're family, what's there to thank?" Jiang Lihua replied nonchalantly, completely missing the deep affection overflowing in his eyes.

To celebrate, Jiang Lihua treated everyone to a lavish feast at the Wanfu Restaurant.

Business at Wanfu Restaurant was booming nowadays, with private dining rooms fully booked every single day. Fortunately, since they were all family, sitting in the main dining hall was just as pleasant.

Just as everyone was eating and enjoying themselves, a harsh, grating voice cut through the air.

"Well, well, if it isn't the provincial top scholar, Master Ni? Why are you sitting out here in the public hall?"

Without even turning his head, Ni Wenyu knew it was Zhu Yitong!

Hmph, he had arrived right on time. Even if Zhu Yitong hadn't come looking for him, Ni Wenyu had been planning to hunt him down anyway.

He was no longer the naive young scholar who understood nothing when he first left the village three years ago. Ever since that humiliating incident engineered by Zhu Yitong, he had secretly sworn to exact personal vengeance.

His senior martial brother, the current Crown Prince Long Tianyu, had found him after the incident and given him two choices:

First, the Prince could send men to deal with Zhu Yitong directly; or second, the Prince would subject him to grueling, rigorous training, allowing him to seek his own revenge once his skills were mastered.

Without a moment's hesitation, Ni Wenyu had chosen the second option.

He refused to remain powerless the next time he was bullied, and more importantly, he wanted the ability to protect Lihua when she was in danger, rather than waiting for someone else to rescue her.