CHAPTER 469: CHAPTER 469: ANGER

Seeing Qin San Lang’s dumbfounded expression, she walked away with a smile, leaving Qin San Lang alone... still blushing.

Not long after, Gu Jinli came with two bags of medication, followed by Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan.

The two were anxious, and upon seeing Qin San Lang, they quickly asked, "San Lang, is it really you who came back? What’s the situation in Yushu Village? Why did Elder Qin send a soldier to deliver a message, saying that river bandits had entered the village? Is he alright?"

Qin San Lang smiled and said, "Third Grandpa, Uncle Dashan, don’t worry, my grandpa is fine. The river bandits who ran to Yushu Village were led by Zhang Huzi. They have all been captured now, and Uncle Yu from the Military Office is dealing with the situation there."

After hearing this, Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan finally let go of the worry they had been holding onto all evening.

Since San Lang is a steady child and he says so, then it must be true that there’s nothing to worry about.

Qin San Lang then asked, "Everyone in our families is okay, right?"

Third Grandpa laughed and said, "Everything is fine, Han Liu and Wang Yongfu are leading patrols. If they see any strangers, they’ll catch them. And you know what? The village actually caught two cattle thieves."

After the soldier came to deliver the message, they went to inform Village Chief He, prompting him to be more vigilant tonight. Village Chief He was frightened by the incident with County Magistrate Zou, so he immediately sounded the gong to alert the villagers, resulting in the capture of two cattle thieves.

They are now tied up, and when it gets light, they’ll be taken to Si Li Square and handed over to Old Kong, who will in turn send them to the county government, which will also earn Old Kong some merit.

After hearing this, Qin San Lang’s worries were put to rest.

Gu Jinli handed the two bags of medicine to Qin San Lang: "One bag contains poison, and the other an antidote. Take these with you. If you encounter fierce bandits during the encirclement, don’t worry about whether using medicine is frowned upon—throw it first. Your own life is the most important."

In ancient times, whether it was personal combat, government suppression of bandits, or battlefield engagements, people preferred to fight with actual blows. Using poison would inevitably invite criticism. But in a life-and-death situation, who cares about criticism?

Qin San Lang accepted the medicine, placing the two bags on the horse’s back. Holding a torch in one hand, he mounted his horse and glanced at Gu Jinli, then averted his eyes and said to Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan, "I must go now; my grandpa is waiting for me at Yushu Village."

Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan nodded and said to him, "Take care of yourself, and don’t always rush to the front."

"Yes, I’ll be careful," Qin San Lang responded. With a squeeze of his horse’s belly, he vanished into the small path behind the house in the blink of an eye.

Gu Jinli, Third Grandpa, and Gu Dashan turned and went back home.

At home, Third Grandma, Mrs. Cui, Gu Jinxiu, and Brother Cheng were all up.

Upon seeing them, Third Grandma quickly asked, "Elder Qin is alright, isn’t he? What’s the situation with Yushu Village? Oh dear, I’ve heard from old folks who’ve been to the south before that river bandits are ruthless killers, some even massacre entire villages. Yushu Village couldn’t possibly be done for, could it?"

Third Grandpa said, "Don’t get so worked up; you’re scaring the children. San Lang just came back and said Elder Qin is fine. The river bandits who broke into Yushu Village have all been captured, and the Military Office’s people are handling it."

He added, "Everything in the village is also fine; they just caught two cattle thieves. You all go back to sleep now. Dashan and I will keep watch."

"How can I sleep with all this commotion?" Third Grandma looked at the sky and said, "It looks like dawn is about to break. I won’t sleep; I’ll go make breakfast and catch up on some sleep at noon."

Third Grandpa glared at her: "If you don’t sleep, the children need to, didn’t you see Brother Cheng is dozing off?"

Third Grandma looked towards Brother Cheng and compromised: "Alright, then we’ll go to sleep for a while first."

After leaving the main hall, Third Grandma returned to the wing room where she lived with Third Grandpa.

Mrs. Cui carried Brother Cheng back to her room with Gu Dashan. Before entering the room, she called out to Gu Jinli: "Xiao Yu, come inside."

Gu Jinli paused, looked at Gu Jinxiu, and Gu Jinxiu whispered to her: "Mother already knows you ran out recklessly."

Gu Jinli had no choice but to enter Mrs. Cui’s room.

After Mrs. Cui put Brother Cheng on the bed and waited for him to fall asleep, she asked Gu Jinli in a low voice: "Where did you run off to? You were gone for nearly two hours, do you want to scare us to death? You’re getting bolder by the day, a young lady wandering outside in the middle of the night... You... you want to infuriate me!"

Then she pulled her over and checked her from head to toe: "Are you alright? Are you hurt? You didn’t run into any bad people, did you?"

Gu Jinli said: "I’m fine, really. I know I was wrong, mother, please don’t be angry, I won’t dare to do it again next time."

"You’re thinking there will be a next time." After Mrs. Cui finished complaining, she advised earnestly again: "You’re already twelve years old in nominal age. If we were talking about matchmaking early, you could have been married... Qin San Lang is a good boy, last year you were only ten years old, and we were escaping famine on the road, we couldn’t pay attention to much, but now you’re a year older, and we’ve settled down in the village, there are some things you need to beware of."

Mrs. Cui raised her hand to tuck her loose strands of hair behind her ear, her eyes reddening as she said: "You’re still young, you don’t know how hard it is for a woman to live in this world, your father and I let you suffer when the family was in poor circumstances, now that our household’s situation has improved, you can’t be reckless... If something happens to you, if people catch something to gossip about, what am I going to do?"

She had been most worried about Sister Xiu, afraid that Sister Xiu’s good looks would lead her to be taken away by evildoers. Now she realized that the daughter she should really worry about was her second daughter; this girl’s courage reached the sky, and she feared the consequences of her excessive boldness.

Gu Jinli truly felt Mrs. Cui’s fear and promised: "Mother, don’t worry, today was unexpected, I will never leave home in the middle of the night again."

Ancient times were different from the present. Although she didn’t want to follow the rules here, she didn’t want to give people anything to talk about and worry her family.

Mrs. Cui nodded and said: "Mother believes you, and knows you are capable, but you must still pay attention to what should be heeded, you can’t let people gossip, a girl’s reputation is as vital as her life."

There were some things Xiao Yu didn’t know because adults might find it difficult to discuss with her... Doctor Du had told Dashan about an incident that happened in the village where they settled. There was a girl from the village who had also escaped famine, got betrothed after the busy farming season, but before long, gossip spread that she had slept with men on the road to exchange for some food to stay alive.

That girl was unable to vindicate herself, her betrothal was called off, and in the end, she jumped into a well and died.

Mrs. Cui was afraid, it has always been said that girls who escape famine are subject to rumors. She worried that her well-behaved daughters might also become subjects of gossip. Hence she discussed this matter with Xiao Yu, not wanting her to suffer a loss of reputation.

Seeing that Mrs. Cui was still worried, Gu Jinli repeatedly assured, only when she truly set Mrs. Cui’s heart at ease, did she go back to her room to sleep.

When she got up the next day, the village was already bustling.

Village Chief He was having He Dacang send two cattle thieves who had been caught to Si Li Square to be taken to the county government by He Dacang and Old Kong. By doing this, He Dacang could also build some merit, and when the time comes for him to recommend He Dacang as the village chief, this accomplishment would help him.

Due to this incident, Village Chief He was all smiles.