CH 50

Chapter 50 – Mountain Forest

Wei Xiaochuan’s mood greatly improved as he eagerly replied, “Sister, don’t worry. Although he’s attending the imperial school and I’m in the local school, but we have acquaintances among us. I promise to tell you everything that he does.”

Yu Tang reminded him, “However, you can’t neglect your studies either.”

If the Li family wanted to obtain that painting, then they would fall into her trap and try to steal Lu Xin’s “inheritance”. They may also use the method they employed in her previous life, that is, forcing her to marry Li Jun.

If the Li family fell for her bait, she would slowly plan out her revenge. She could spend a decade, or even twenty or so years, slowly finding out the real cause of Wei Xiaoshan’s death. However, her current life and her previous life were different, she now has her parents and cousin. Therefore, if the Li family insists on interfering with her marriage, they can only do so by employing devious schemes and not by coercion. They must be holding a trump card.

She only needs them to show their hand.

Right now, the most important thing was to appease Wei Xiaochuan, and not let this matter affect him academically and ruin his future.

Wei Xiaochuan revealed a smile and said, “Don’t worry sister, I know my priorities.”

Just after he spoke, Yu Tang heard her mother’s voice. “What are you doing here?”

Both of them looked up in unison.

Madam Chen was surprised and asked uncertainly, “This should be Xiaochuan, right? The fifth son of the Wei family?”

Wei Xiaochuan hurriedly went forward and bowed to Madam Chen.

Madam Chen hugged him warmly and said, “Good boy, why did you come over? Why don’t you come in and chat? It’s not comfortable to be standing here at the back door. Quickly, follow me into the house.” She also called out loudly to Shuang Tao, “Bring some of the snacks that Young Master Yuan brought back from Hangzhou City a few days ago for Xiaochuan to try.”

Wei Xiaochuan’s face turned red. He said awkwardly, “Aunt, there’s no need for that! I only came over to see my sister. Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, so we are on school vacation now. I still have to go back and help my family with the farming work!”

“Goodness me!” After hearing, Madam Chen’s gaze turned warmer, “You’re studying in school and also helping the family with the farm! It’s good that you are not like some, who after reading a few books, they despise hard labor and refuse to do such menial work. Since you are in a hurry to go back for the holidays, I won’t keep you. However, you must take some snacks back with you! If you don’t like it, you can give them to your brothers and sisters to try.”

Wei Xiaochuan relented and thanked Madam Chen. He accepted the snacks and left.

Madam Chen closed the door and questioned Yu Tang, “Xiaochuan is only a child that’s not even three feet tall and still studying in the local school, why would he suddenly come to find you?”

Yu Tang could only make up an excuse on the spot, “I wanted to find out more about Lady Xiang.”

Madam Chen admonished her, saying “This matter is still undecided. Should anything go wrong because of you, you’ll be punished and locked in the woodshed.”

Yu Tang knew that her mother had a sharp-tongue but had a soft heart. Since young, she stirred up countless trouble, but not once did her mother lift a finger towards her. She wanted to tease her mother so she called out loudly, “Father! Mother is going to beat me!”

Yu Wen came out of the study at once and said loudly before even seeing them “Have a good talk, don’t hit the child!”

“Yutang!” Madam Chen didn’t know if she should laugh or cry.

Yu Tang already went over to Yu Wen and hid behind him.

Yu Wen quickly realized it was Yu Tang who was playing around, so he raised his hands in surrender towards Madam Chen and said helplessly, “Forget it, I’m going back to go write. I don’t care about what the both of you are up to.”

Yu Tang came over to her mother’s side and apologized, and changed the topic, asking about tomorrow’s first marriage meeting. “What do you think I should wear? What if I happen to upstage Lady Xiang and she doesn’t like me as her sister in law even before marrying in?”

“Then we’ll just have to marry you off.” Madam Chen said playfully as she pinched her daughter’s cheek, but still helped her pick out her clothes for tomorrow.

Yu Tang chose the same lilac dress that she wore when accompanying Ma Xiuniang in the temple. Although Madam Chen was not quite satisfied, she didn’t say anything about it. The next morning, Madam Wang and the others all went to their Yu family’s fields in the countryside in a carriage. After lunch, they pretended to be heading back to their fields and ‘unintentionally’ passed by the Wei family to visit them.

Yu Tang peered at the scenery along the way and was in a slightly low mood.

Usually such meetings were held in a temple or a nunnery.

However, their family and the Wei family arranged to meet in such a way, most likely because they were afraid that it would stir up bad memories of her own marriage meeting.

Her parents showed so much love for her, but yet she has nothing to repay them with.

Yu Tang took a deep breath and reminded herself to be cheerful in front of her mother.

The Yu family’s house in the countryside was pretty large. It was a five-courtyard-brick house which a distant widower relative and his son were living there to help their family take care of the house and manage the fields. He was Yu Tang’s fifth granduncle , and his son was her seventh uncle.

This fifth granduncle was in his sixties, honest and loyal and helped their Yu family take care of the estate in her previous life as well. Knowing that Yu Wen and the others were coming back, he tidied up the house in advance and prepared a banquet.

Yu Tang, her mother, her eldest aunt and other women ate in the house, while Yu Wen and fifth granduncle drank outside.

Fifth granduncle asked Yu Wen, “The Mid-Autumn Festival has not yet passed, so although the grain in the fields has been collected, but it hasn’t been recorded yet, so why don’t you visit the granary to inspect first?”

Yu Wen laughed as he replied. “Today we are just here to enjoy the sights, the matters regarding the fields, you’ll just proceed as per the previous years.”

The fifth granduncle looked at the somewhat overcast sky and wondered why they came to the countryside in this weather.

However, he was a prudent person, so if Yu Wen did not mention it, he wouldn’t pry. Because of Yu Yuan’s marriage matter, Yu Wen had to visit the Wei family’s house in the afternoon, so he did not drink. As it was still early for their meeting with the Wei family, after finishing his meal, he didn’t leave but stayed to drink tea and chatted with fifth grand uncle about the fields.

Seventh uncle was a man in his early forties, average height, tanned and strong. However, for some reason, he was still unmarried. When Yutang accompanied her father to visit the fields when she was little, he often carried her around to play and bought her snacks and headbands, and doted on her a lot.

Later, after her parents’ death, he specially made a trip down to pay his respects, and often sent bags of rice to her.

The seventh uncle stood outside the door and waved at her.

When Madam Chen and Madam Wang saw him, they smiled and said to Yutang, “Go on! Let your seventh uncle show you around the village so you won’t be bored.”

After her rebirth, Yu Tang has not met this seventh uncle.

She smiled and went out the door.

Seventh uncle took out a simple bird cage that looked like he made it himself from behind his back and gave it to her, saying, “For you to play with.”

Yu Tang saw that there were several sparrows in the bird cage, which should have been caught by seventh uncle himself.

He had also brought her roasted sparrows before.

She smiled and thanked her seventh uncle as she took the bird cage.

Seventh uncle asked her. “I’m going to pick osmanthus flowers later, why don’t you come along? I’ll make osmanthus candies for you.”

Yu Tang didn’t really want to go, but she wanted to see the mountain forest of her eldest uncle.

In her previous life, after the mountain forest was sold to the Pei family, the Pei family grew some kind of fruit there and then made it into candied fruit to sell, which was said to be extremely popular in Hangzhou City. Because of this, Lady Gao often scolded Yu Yuan as an idiot, not knowing the land’s worth and actually selling such a good piece of mountain forest land.

After hearing about this, Yu Tang got so angry that she didn’t eat for several days. However, in her heart, she had to admit that the Pei family’s steward was extremely capable to think of such a plan to earn money from a simple mountain forest .

In this life, she wanted to try and see if she could do it as well.

Yu Tang brought the bird cage in and handed it over to Madam Chen and Madam Wang, saying: “Let eldest cousin use this and play with Lady Xiang. I will follow seventh uncle to pick some osmanthus flowers.”

Madam Chen instructed her, saying “Don’t pick them yourself, lest it stains your hands, and you won’t be able to wash them off” She also called seventh uncle in and asked him to keep an eye on Yu Tang.

Seventh uncle repeatedly assured her.

Seventh uncle and Yu Tang went to the foot of the hill where osmanthus flowers bloomed.

Amidst the lush green leaves, there were numerous small yellow flowers.

Seventh uncle gave her a cloth bag and said, “You stay under the trees where its shady. I’ll go and pick the flowers.”

Yu Tang nodded.

While Seventh Uncle picked the flowers, she stood on her tiptoes and looked left and right as she spoke to him. “I see that other people’s forests have planted walnuts, peaches and plums, so why is it that there’s nothing growing in our land?”

Seventh uncle deftly picked the osmanthus flowers and replied. “Your eldest uncle’s mountain forest land isn’t good, the soil quality is particularly bad. Previously, during your grandfather’s time he too planted walnuts, but the walnuts produced were bitter and astringent, and could not be sold. Later he planted bamboo shoots. Although bamboo trees grew large and numerous, but the bamboo were like dry like firewood, so let’s not even talk about growing peaches and plums……. Later on, when your eldest uncle took over, he just let things be, since growing a few trees to sell as firewood was fine as well. Of course you as a young lady wouldn’t know! In winter, firewood is also good business. Even in our Lin’an City, supply is not enough to meet the demand…… I heard people say that firewood prices in Hangzhou City were better, but your fifth granduncle’s health isn’t too good, therefore I cannot go too far, otherwise I would have gone to Hangzhou City to sell the firewood ……”

Yu Tang was a little confused.

Selling firewood in Hangzhou City? Surely the money earned from the sale of firewood wouldn’t be enough to even cover for the boat to transport the firewood in the first place, right?

In her previous life she never cared about these matters, and thus, didn’t pay much attention, thinking that the things her seventh uncle said were pretty interesting. But in this life ……

Yu Tang smiled bitterly and shook her head silently.

With her previous life’s experiences, no matter how hard she tried to pretend, she would never return to being that person she was before.

She was sorting out the osmanthus flowers picked by her seventh uncle when suddenly there was a rustling sound, as if there was someone was approaching from the fields.

Yu Tang looked up and saw several suspicious-looking young men.

When they saw Yutang, several of their gazes brightened up, as they exchanged looks with each other, clearly harboring ill-intentions.

Several alarm bells went off in Yu Tang’s head and she called out to seventh uncle, “Do you know these people?”

Seventh uncle turned around and laughed. “Oh, they are just a few rascals from our village. Don’t worry about them, they won’t dare to do anything!”

Although he said so, he looked very nervous. Just now, with only a gentle pinch, the flower would be picked, but now even tugging at it twice, it refused to budge.

Could it be that seventh uncle had some issues with them?

Yu Tang said sharply, “Seventh uncle, let’s go back! I have to accompany my mother and eldest aunt to the Wei family later, so I’ll come back another time to pick osmanthus flowers with you.” After saying that, she went to pull on the corner of seventh uncle’s coat.

The corner of seventh uncle’s mouth trembled, but he refused, saying, “No, don’t go back yet, I’ll finish picking in a while.”

Something is wrong!

Yu Tong looked over towards those men, who were walking towards her at a brisk pace.

The aura emanating from them was quite fierce.

Yu Tang looked towards her seventh uncle again.

The hand he was using to pick the flowers was squeezing the branch with deadly force, and his knuckles were white.

Yu Tang suddenly thought of the Li family that she had been guarding against….

She immediately set off in a sprint.

“You little imp, stop right there!” Those people shouted loudly as they rushed towards her.

However, her collar was yanked back by someone.

Yu Tang turned around and saw her seventh uncle’s apologetic face.