CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 53: WAR HAS COME!

The sky grew darker and darker, yet no one had returned home.

Yuan Bao understood that she had to do something.

She quickly crawled out from under the quilt, got off the kang bed-stove, and dashed to the kitchen.

Lighting a fire wasn’t difficult.

The hard part was adding water to the pot.

Given her height, this was indeed a bit challenging for her.

But no matter how difficult it was, she had to overcome all obstacles and warm up the kang.

If she didn’t, when night fell and the temperature dropped, her small frame might not withstand it.

At this moment, Yuan Bao was no longer thinking about her family, whose whereabouts were unknown; she had to solve her heating problem first.

Well, and heat up some food for herself in the process.

There was still leftover rice, and besides that, there was fish soup.

Fish soup with rice could fill her belly, and it should be nutritious enough.

She added water to the pot, put the food into the pot, covered it, and then Yuan Bao started the fire.

Once the firewood was lit, Yuan Bao arranged the chopped dry wood under the pot before leisurely exiting the kitchen.

Standing in the courtyard, Yuan Bao observed the entire village. To her shock, besides her family’s kitchen emitting smoke, there was no other smoke rising in the village.

"Could it be that the whole village has left, leaving me behind?"

The absence of smoke left Yuan Bao’s mind in turmoil.

What kind of situation would cause the entire village to leave?

War!

Shiqu Village was near Sanchuan City.

And Sanchuan City was the closest county to Xiao Pass. If Xiao Pass were breached, the enemy would besiege Sanchuan City first.

If Xiao Pass was indeed breached and Sanchuan City received news, the city would surely fortify itself, moving the people from outside the city into the city to fiercely defend and buy time for the imperial army to gather.

"Could my luck really be this bad?"

Yuan Bao mumbled to herself.

Truly, the heroine wasn’t her.

"But wait, that doesn’t make sense!"

"If a war had broken out and Xiao Pass was breached, my family fleeing would definitely take everything necessary! So, the house shouldn’t be this orderly!"

Realizing this, Yuan Bao decided to carefully check each room in the house.

Upon inspection, Yuan Bao was dumbfounded!

The main room, where her grandmother and grandfather stayed, was indeed orderly, but the quilts on the kang bed-stove were missing.

The other rooms in the house were also missing quilts, and the cotton clothes in the cabinets were nowhere to be seen.

"This is not right!"

Even if war was coming, why was she the only one left behind?

Yuan Bao couldn’t comprehend it.

...

Inside Sanchuan City, in East City, on Mopan Street.

A large number of people had gathered here.

The villagers from the areas outside the east gate of Sanchuan City, who had been relocated into the city, were all concentrated in this area.

The Yuan Family was among them.

However, compared to everyone else’s unease, the reaction of the Yuan Family was particularly prominent.

It wasn’t until they entered the city that they discovered Yuan Bao had been forgotten at home.

Yuan Zhaodi held her eldest son, Yuan Shouhu, her face ashen, while beside her, Mrs. Xiao Li’s face was streaked with tears.

But when the Sanchuan City garrison came to inform them to take refuge in the city, Mrs. Xiao Li had specifically reminded her husband not to forget the child.

However, Yuan Zhaodi assumed she was carrying the son while his wife carried the daughter.

Who would have thought that Mrs. Xiao Li, because she was helping Mrs. Zeng pack, never returned to her own house.

Thus, Yuan Bao, who was sleeping in the house, was left behind.

Now, the city gates were already closed and wouldn’t open again until the enemy outside left or was defeated.

"This is fate!"

Having lost the Yuan family’s treasure, Old Yuan felt that their family’s good fortune was coming to an end.