Sitting in a secluded area in the tea house's hall, Mrs. Han sighed: "What's your name, Sir?"
If it weren't for the fact that there was no other way, strong Mrs. Han would definitely not disturb Second Elder Sister-in-law's current calm life. But since her father passed away, Yue Chang Shou had become worse. Now he had set his scheming eyes on their own daughter! Although Han Family opened a grocery store with the help of old man Han who just passed away, they had no relatives in Dingyuan. Even if they have relatives, what will happen to Yue Family's daughter? They would also keep intervening. Mrs. Han thought far and wide. She could only find her own way to save her daughter from the fire pit.
"I'm Su Family's steward. My family name is Song. This is a handwritten letter that my family's Miss ordered me to bring over to Third Madam Yue." Uncle Song took out two letters from his pocket. One of which was Mrs. Han's own handwritten letter. Mrs. Han naturally recognized it. The handwriting on the top of the other envelope was very beautiful. At a glance, she knew it was a woman's handwriting. She quickly opened it and read it carefully.
After reading the suggestion in You Jin's letter, Mrs. Han finally sighed: "I didn't want to disturb You Jin at first, but I really have no other way."
Since the death of her father, the originally high-spirited Mrs. Han had aged a lot and gained a sallow complexion. Her originally plump body had lost a lot of weight. Now her last year's clothes were loose on her.
Looking straight at Uncle Song, Mrs. Han can only pin all their hopes on Su Family: "Since You Jin said so and I have no other solution, when is Sir Song going to leave?"
From Yue Chang Shou's intention, it seemed there wasn't time left for her. To avoid long nights and many dreams, the sooner she sends You He away, the better!
Uncle Song pondered for a moment before answering: "Before I came, Eldest Miss had instructed that if Third Madam has the intention, she can go to Luohe Prefecture with us and change the family status to live. It will not be worse than now."
Under the circumstances, if Mrs. Han was willing to go to Luohe Prefecture with him, it was better than staying.
Mrs. Han smiled wryly and shook her head: "If I leave, what about my two sons and my mother?" When she is present, she could protect them a bit. But if she is gone, wouldn't the family be in danger of scattering?
"Please Sir, take You He away. Go far away, don't go back to Dingyuan again!"
Upon seeing her insistence, Uncle Song wouldn't make things difficult for her. He nodded and responded: "So, tomorrow at a quarter past seven in the morning, our carriage will stop at the corner of the street. Third Madam and Cousin Miss, better get ready tonight!"
Quarter past seven in the morning was the time the city gate opened. As long as they got out of Dingyuan, the sky was high and the sea was wide. You He can also be freed! Thinking of this, Mrs. Han gratefully nodded: "Deal. I'll definitely bring You He over tomorrow morning." After speaking, the two parted.
***
That night, taking advantage of Yue Chang Shou fooling around somewhere and not returning home, Mrs. Han quietly entered her daughter's room.
Yue You He was sitting in front of the bronze mirror and wept silently. Seeing her mother coming in, her eyes turned into waterfall: "Mother!"
She didn't want to marry the rich man who was old enough to be her grandfather. She was delicate from young and raised spoiled. Still, she vaguely knew that her mother had found a good family. If her maternal grandfather hadn't died of a sudden illness, it wouldn't have been delayed. Nor would there be a firepit for her to jump into?
"Mother's He-er!" Sitting in front of You He, Mrs. Han wiped off the tears on her face with a handkerchief and then whispered: "Before your father comes back, you should quickly pack up your clothes."
"Pack up my clothes?" You He was a little confused. Her red and swollen eyes looked at Mrs. Han with some doubts.
Seeing her daughter not moving, Mrs. Han opened her daughter's closet by herself, put all the clothes she usually wore in, and then took out the only twenty liang in her pocket and stuffed them into You He's arms: "Mother wrote to You Jin. The people she sent to pick you up have arrived. You will leave Dingyuan with them tomorrow morning."
"Leaving Dingyuan? Then where am I going?" You He never thought that one day she would run away from home: "How did Mother find You Jin? Where are they now?"
After packing all her daughter's things, Mrs. Han took her daughter to sit by the bed. She explained in a hushed voice: "When You Jin's family left Dingyuan, Mother couldn't bear it and gave them some silver. Last year before the new year, she got someone to give it back. Now their family lives in the south and are much better off than ours. You'll go to You Jin's house. Since you're on your own, you have to take care of yourself."
"But if I leave, what will happen to Mother and Maternal Grandmother?" Thinking of how Father had changed in the past six months and wanted to trade her for wealth and prosperity, You He felt that if she leaves by herself, life will not be easy for Mother and Maternal Grandmother.
"Mother will be fine, Mother can't just watch you jump into the fire pit! How many women have been beaten to death by that rich man Zhang!" Mrs. Han wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and steadily looked at You He: "Mother will sleep with you tonight. I will see you off tomorrow morning."
Now, Yue Chang Shou was going out to have fun every day. It was not uncommon for him to stay away from home for a few days. But for the past two days, he always felt a little uneasy in his heart. Mrs. Han, who had been arguing with him before, didn't make any move. It felt like she was planning something. So tonight after drinking with a few friends, he got home drunk and went to Daughter's room to take a look. Seeing Daughter and Mrs. Han sitting in the room, he staggered back to the main room with peace of mind.
Looking at the bundle hidden at the end of the bed, Mrs. Han breathed a sigh of relief: "You He, listen to Mother, Mother can only accept my fate of marrying your father in this lifetime whether he is good or bad. But you are still young, you can't accept your fate! Understand?"
"But what can I do if I go to the south?" You He was already a person who wanted to accept her fate. Now there was suddenly a new hope in front of her, she was a little confused. That was right! What can she do once she leaves?
Mrs. Han shook her daughter's shoulder vigorously and said, "You He, no matter what, it won't be worse than you jumping into the fire pit, understand?" Although Mrs. Han was also a little worried, she believed. She can only believe that You Jin's character and not treat You He badly.
The mother and daughter talked quietly for a long time. While in the main room, the sound of Yue Chang Shou's snoring rang out. The small courtyard was peaceful, but Mrs. Han didn't feel sleepy at all. She sat on the edge of the bed with her eyes wide open until the next day arrived.
She gently woke her daughter up. Under Mrs. Han's signal, You He quietly put on her clothes and put on a cloak to protect against the cold in early spring. The mother and daughter stealthily walked out from the back door opposite You He's boudoir. What they didn't realize was that a figure of a young boy followed behind.
At the corner of the street where Mrs. Han's grocery store was located, a half-new carriage parked quietly by the side of the road. Uncle Song was sitting on the shaft of the carriage with the driver, while the sleepy Qiao-er was lying on the window as she scanned around.
Due to fear of being seen by others, Mrs. Han specially ordered You He to lower the hood of her cloak. Seeing Uncle Song looking around, the mother and daughter walked faster: "Mr. Song."
Seeing Mrs. Han, Uncle Song jumped out of the carriage and said, "Third Madam."
He took the bundle in Mrs. Han's hands and looked at the girl with only half of her fair face revealed: "This must be Cousin Miss!"
"It is. Please take care of her from now on, Sir!" Mrs. Han pushed You He forward. You He had learned some etiquette. She bowed politely: "Mr. Song."
"Cousin Miss is too polite, let's get into the carriage quickly. In a moment, it will be inconvenient when there are too many people." Uncle Song turned away from her to not accept her bow. He asked Qiao-er to come down and help You He into the carriage.
Mrs. Han looked at her teary-eyed daughter through the window of the carriage. Her own eyes were red. She hurriedly took out a letter she wrote last night from her bosom and handed it to Uncle Song: "Must trouble Sir to bring back to You He. In future, You He will be entrusted to her!"
Uncle Song nodded and put the letter carefully into his pockets. Then he told the driver to set off. The driver raised his whip and patted the horse's back lightly. The carriage nosily went down the street and disappeared after a while.
Seeing the disappearing carriage, Mrs. Han couldn't hold back tears in the end: "Mother's He-er..."
"Mother!" Yue Wen Sheng, who had been silently following behind Mrs. Han mother and daughter, tightly supported slightly wobbling Mrs. Han.
"Wen Sheng! Why are you here!" Mrs. Han looked at the eldest son in horror. Did he see her send Daughter away?
Yue Wen Sheng supported Mrs. Han home. He didn't make any comment. Just said: "Let's go back soon. Father will wake up later!" Hearing what her son said, Mrs. Han knew that Son would protect this secret for her. The mother and son tacitly quickened their pace and returned home while no one was paying attention; pretending that nothing happened.
Back to Yue You He in the carriage. She discovered that there was only a ten year old little girl with two braids in the carriage and was looking at her. She asked, "Where are we going?"
Seeing that You He, who had taken off her cloak and looked pretty, Qiao-er felt closeness. She smiled and held the hot buns that her father bought just now to You He: "Cousin Miss, hurry up and eat some buns. It will take us a good few days to get back to Luohe Prefecture!"
"Luohe Prefecture?" You He asked with some doubts. Since she was born, she was in Dingyuan and never left. Naturally, she didn't know where Luohe Prefecture was.
At the mention of Luohe Prefecture, Qiao-er explained everything she knew like beans in a bamboo tube pouring out. In the end, she concluded: "Our Eldest Miss is amazing!"
After listening to Qiao-er's words, You He's eyes widened in disbelief. Second branch actually lived so well after they left Yue's house? Then what kind of trouble will she, the burden, cause to the other party? Amid You He's uneasiness and vague expectations, the carriage traveled through days and nights. On the morning of the fifth day, the group of four returned to Su's house in Wuliqiao.
This morning, You Jin had a rare idle time to accompany and chat with Mrs. Su at home when she heard the noise coming from the front. Shortly later, Uncle Song came in with Yue You He, who had grown gracefully like a budding white lotus.
You Jin came up to greet her: "Elder Sister You He, you're finally here. Mother had been mentioning for the past two days whether it's time for you to arrive!" While taking You He to the main courtyard, she ordered Auntie Song to take You He's bundle. The rooms that had been tidied up are put in order.
"Are you... You Jin?" You He felt that the pretty girl in front of her who was enthusiastically pulling her looked familiar, but she didn't dare to confirm it. So she asked hesitantly.
You Jin pulled her over Mrs. Su and then smilingly answered: "We haven't seen each other for three years and Elder Sister You He doesn't recognize me?"
You He was shocked by second branch's current wealth and at the same time shocked by how much the people in second branch had changed. She couldn't recover for a long time.
"Since you're here, you can stay here with peace of mind. Back then, we were going through difficult times. Thanks to your mother who sent us charcoal in the midst of snow and supported us both openly and secretly. Now it's time for us to repay you." Mrs. Su wiped the corners of her eyes. Thinking of You He's rough fate, she felt very sorry for her.
Without anyone noticing it, Yue Family's daughter in Dingyuan who was about to marry into Rich Man Zhang's house disappeared and a gentle and elegant cousin miss appeared in Su's house in Luohe Prefecture hundreds of miles away.