Chapter 162: Brought Home

Page 1 of 3

Along the way, Wen Yao also learned the names of the family members.

The oldest man was Lu Feng. His two sons were Lu Jiang and Lu He. Everyone called the old woman Mother Lu, while her daughters-in-law called her Madam Lu. The two children were a boy named Lu Bing and a girl named Lu Hua.

A familiar song immediately sprang to Wen Yao’s mind: “The Lu Bing Flower.”

It turned out that Lu Bing had been born in winter, which was why he had been given that name. Little Hua had been born in spring, when flowers bloomed across the mountains and plains, so they had named her Hua.

As the seven members of the Lu family traveled with them, they came to realize that their new masters were all kind people. The master was kind, and the young lady was kind as well. Their anxious hearts finally settled.

No matter what work they were given, as long as they kept to their duties and did their jobs properly, their days certainly would not be difficult.

Wen Yao was genuinely afraid that the uneven weight on either side would overturn the ox cart, so she secretly took two candies from her personal space and beckoned to Lu Bing and Lu Hua.

The two children looked at her with curiosity and a little fear. But children were children after all. Seeing Wen Yao smiling as warmly as spring, they gathered a little more courage.

“Lu Bing, Hua, come over here.” Wen Yao beckoned again.

This time, Lu Feng hurriedly urged his grandchildren, “The young lady is calling you. Go on.”

Only then did the two children timidly inch their way over to Wen Yao. To keep them from falling, Wen Yao lifted one in each hand and settled them beside her.

That gave Lu Feng and the others such a fright that they nearly jumped to their feet. Wen Yao had no choice but to glare at them.

They immediately quieted down.

Honestly, why make such a fuss?

Wen Yao withdrew her gaze and once again became the beautiful older sister. With a graceful turn of her hands, she revealed a lovely fruit candy in each palm, bright and colorful.

She had originally brought them to coax Bighead, but ever since he had tasted Alpine candies, he no longer cared for these.

“One each. Eat them,” Wen Yao said with a smile.

They were children, after all. Their eyes lit up at the sight of the beautiful candies they had never seen before.

Lu Bing was still somewhat restrained. He was older and understood a few things. He knew that they were slaves and Wen Yao was their mistress. Though he longed for the candy, he managed to hold himself back.

Little Hua, however, was only three years old. How could she resist something so pretty, something that smelled so sweet and fragrant? She stole a few glances at Wen Yao and, seeing that the young lady did not seem angry, cautiously reached out her hand.

“Hua!” Lu Feng cried anxiously, startling the little girl into quickly pulling her hand back.

Page 2 of 3

Wen Yao simply pried open both children’s hands and placed the candies in them. Then she looked at Lu Feng and said, “Uncle Lu, there’s no need to be so nervous. We’re really just an ordinary farming family. We don’t have that many rules.”

She turned to the children. “Go on, eat them. Why aren’t you eating?”

Lu Bing hesitated, but Hua could no longer restrain her curiosity and popped the candy into her mouth.

“Mmm, it’s so sweet!”

The little girl’s face blossomed into a huge smile from the sugary treat. The look of utter satisfaction was unbelievably adorable. Three years old—such a soft and precious age. Wen Yao could not resist reaching out to pinch her little cheek.

Lu Bing hesitated for a while. Seeing that Wen Yao truly had no intention of scolding him, he glanced at his grandfather and the others before finally summoning the courage to put the candy in his mouth.

At that moment, he felt as though the whole world before him had brightened.

It was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten in his life.

Only after seeing that they were no longer quite so tense did Wen Yao finally relax.

The ox cart swayed along for a long while before slowly making its way back to Ancient Paulownia Village.

Quite a few villagers were still sitting at the entrance. When they saw Wen Xiuyi and Wen Yao return, they greeted them. But when they noticed the unfamiliar family on the cart, all their extinguished curiosity flared back to life.

They simply did not dare approach and ask questions. Everyone knew that these two were the hardest people in the Wen family to provoke: one was a former reckless troublemaker, and the other was a current one.

“We’re here.”

As soon as Wen Xiuyi brought the ox cart to a stop, Lu Feng and his two sons hurriedly jumped down. Lu Feng stood respectfully to one side while Lu Jiang and Lu He quickly took the whip and reins from Wen Xiuyi’s hands.

Wen Xiuyi looked down at his now-empty hands and truly could not tell whether he had brought these people home to solve a problem or create one for himself.

“Leave the ox cart for now. It can’t stay in this courtyard. Come inside first, and I’ll show you where you’ll be living.” With that, Wen Xiuyi shook his empty hands and pushed open the door.

Madam Luo was certainly at home struggling with her fermented bean paste alongside Little Madam Luo. As for Old Wen, there was no need to mention him—the two younger brothers were surely out in the fields with him. The two younger sisters-in-law and the two nieces could only be at the duck shed. There was not a single person at home.

Fortunately, the house had been built large enough. Otherwise, they really would not have known where to settle this family.

“What are we going to do about these rear rooms? There aren’t even any beds,” Wen Xiuyi asked Wen Yao.

They had never intended to use the rear rooms, so they had simply been left empty. When Carpenter Zhang had made the furniture, he had not made anything for this part of the house.

Just as father and daughter were at a loss, Madam Luo came swaggering in, wiping her hands on her apron.

She had been making fermented bean paste at home when someone from the village suddenly told her that her eldest son and Wen Yao had brought several people back. The news had frightened her so badly that she hurried over at once.

“Eldest! Eldest!” Madam Luo shouted as soon as she entered, searching all around for them.

Page 3 of 3

Wen Xiuyi quickly poked his head out from the rear rooms and waved. “Mother, over here.”

Madam Luo came over, swinging her arms. The moment she arrived, she saw several people standing together. Before she could even make out their faces, all of them dropped to their knees in unison.

“Greetings, Old Madam.”

Madam Luo was stunned.

Wen Xiuyi pressed a hand to his forehead.

This was a disaster.

Wen Yao covered a laugh.

It took Madam Luo a moment to recover. She turned to Wen Xiuyi and asked, “What are they doing? What’s going on?”

Then she noticed that they were still kneeling and hurriedly added, “Who are you people? Get up first, then we’ll talk.”

“Thank you, Old Madam.”

Madam Luo fell silent.

Old Madam? When had she become an old madam?

Wen Xiuyi rubbed his forehead helplessly and quickly pulled Madam Luo to one side, explaining the entire situation in a low voice.

“What did you say?”

Madam Luo calmly picked at her ear, convinced that she must have misheard.

Wen Xiuyi pulled her hand down and said ingratiatingly, “Mother, that’s simply how things are. Whether you accept it or not, I’ve already brought them home. You see…”

Madam Luo smiled. Then, with astonishing speed, she raised her hand and smacked him on the arm. Glancing at the family, she lowered her voice and roared, “You’ve really grown bold! How could you make such a major decision without discussing it with us?”

“Mother, I only did it because I was worried about you all,” Wen Xiuyi coaxed.

The seven members of the Lu family instinctively huddled together.

Seeing them like that, Madam Luo gave Wen Xiuyi another fierce glare. There was nothing more she could say now. Since he had already brought them home, she could not let her son lose face in front of outsiders.

“What are you standing there for? These rear rooms don’t even have a single bed. How are they supposed to live here? Hurry up and take them to the old house. Bring back the beds belonging to Wen Jin and Wen Fa, along with Yingzi’s and Wen Ti’s beds, and make do with those.”

Madam Luo glared fiercely at Wen Xiuyi.

“Just wait until your father comes home tonight. He’ll deal with you.”