CHAPTER 161: CHAPTER 160: NO ONE YIELDS TO ANYONE

Sun and Yu Xiaolian first talked about the braised meat shop’s business, worrying it wouldn’t do well, then moved on to discussing the planting of chili peppers.

To plant chili peppers in Taohua Village, someone must live there, and that means having a house in the village.

Yu Xiaolian said, that’s simple, let’s build a house in Taohua Village.

Both Old Lady Sun and Sun Fengshou shared the same thought; they couldn’t do business and wanted to go to the countryside to plant chili peppers.

Mrs. Sun also preferred village life, intending to build a big house there, rent out a large piece of land, and become a landlord, collecting rent, how satisfying.

Yu Xiaolian suddenly felt her braised meat shop seemed a bit redundant; she should have discussed it carefully with her family before deciding.

Considering her mother was heavily pregnant a few days back, she decided not to involve her in worries, so she discussed things related to the shop with her father.

Now, hearing Sun mention it, she found herself longing for a pastoral life.

Yu Changhe happened to hear Sun’s words about renting a large piece of land as he walked over, wiping the sweat off his forehead, he said, "When I went to the government a few days ago to handle that trade permit, I overheard them say the court might increase taxes this year; it’s like the court doesn’t care about the survival of farmers.

After a year of hard work, all the crops end up as tax; the farmers are left with nothing. Isn’t this just pushing people to despair?"

Sun glanced at Yu Changhe, "Lower your voice a bit, don’t let others hear.

Yesterday, talking with the bookstore lady next door, Mrs. Wu said her father in her maiden family is an official in the Capital; half a month ago he sent a message saying the Emperor’s health isn’t good. Fengyuan City may seem fine on the surface, but deep inside, it’s already in chaos."

Sun’s voice grew softer, "Hearing this, I was a bit scared. After all the effort to settle in Luocheng, just when we think we’re stable, we can’t afford any upheavals.

Fortunately, Mrs. Wu reassured me, saying that Yu State is Prince Jin’s territory; he has soldiers, so no matter where it’s chaotic, Yu State won’t be affected. That calmed my nerves.

I heard that Jie City is already in turmoil, with internal and external troubles; it’s a mess, and the Emperor has ordered the Crown Prince to go and quell the unrest."

Yu Changhe hadn’t expected his wife to gather so much information from the bookstore lady in just a few days, and they’re significant news pieces.

It seems Mrs. Wu’s father holds quite an official position too.

Sun said, "Indeed, it appears he’s a high-ranking officer in the Ministry of Revenue. Though Mrs. Wu is a concubine-born daughter, her father favors her a lot.

When she was young, Mrs. Wu had mutual affections with Shopkeeper Li, and they fancied each other.

Despite her father’s objections, she married into Yu State, and her father had no way to stop her, so he often supported her now and then."

Sun went on about how Mrs. Wu and Shopkeeper Li had been married for over a decade but still hadn’t had children, for reasons unknown.

However, Yu Xiaolian’s thoughts had drifted away when she heard about the Crown Prince going to Jie City to quell the unrest.

Jun Tingye went to Jie City to quell the unrest, and if she’s not mistaken, he’s walking into the trap set by Jun Yian and Jun Mobai, with no way back.

After Jun Tingye’s death, Prince Jin, Jun Yian, is to be made Crown Prince.

Everything happened much earlier.

However, in the book, Jun Yian was made Crown Prince because of her blood.

Jun Mobai used Yu Xiaolian’s blood to create an elixir, which Jun Yian presented to the ailing Emperor, saving his life, and was thus made Crown Prince.

Yu Xiaolian felt uneasy, a bad feeling settled in her heart.

She hadn’t told Fengjie and the others when she left Yangcheng to avoid getting too entangled with them.

As Yu Xiaolian was lost in thought, Su Jingyue ran over, tugging at her sleeve, asking if she had sent a letter to his brother.

Yu Xiaolian snapped back to reality and honestly replied it was too difficult and too far to send a letter, and she had no way to do so.

Su Jingyue looked disappointed upon hearing that.

His brother must be like a headless fly now, searching for him.

Could it be he wasn’t focused on his studies at all?

If he went missing, his brother might even have thoughts of killing Ms. Yao; if his brother committed murder, could he still take the imperial exam?

Brother, if you want to kill, don’t do it openly; do it secretly. Learn from Ms. Yao, who sold him stealthily and then claimed it was Ms. Huo’s fault for not taking good care of him.

Do it discreetly and just say Ms. Yao was carried away by wolves.

While he was in the human traffickers’ hands, he yearned every day for his brother to catch up and save him, but now he hoped his brother was in Linzhou, unaware of his disappearance, focusing on studying for the autumn exams.

Yu Xiaolian noticed Su Jingyue’s eagerness to go home. She too wished to reunite the brothers, but it’s not just the Northern Land experiencing turmoil now; it’s likely that all of Great Liang will be in chaos before long.

The reason she chose to come to Yu State was knowing it was Prince Jin’s territory, making it safe.

In the book, Jun Tingye died, but Prince Jin didn’t immediately become Crown Prince.

The Emperor had many sons, and there were ambitious ones besides Jun Yian who aspired to be Crown Prince.

Yu Xiaolian recalled, there were probably four Princes capable and powerful enough to contend with Jun Yian. Those four hailed from the four corners of the land, none yielding to another. Great Liang was in true chaos for several years.

Later, when the Emperor passed away, and Jun Yian ascended the throne, those Princes weren’t entirely appeased. Jun Yian had to first placate, then suppress, taking many years to secure the throne.

Of course, the assistance from Jun Mobai and Su Jingchen played a significant role in helping Jun Yian stabilize his reign.

Yu Xiaolian told Su Jingyue, it’s currently impossible to contact your brother, so he should settle down and attend Little Tiger’s school, start studying, and wait for a chance to send him back to the Su Family later.

Su Jingyue knew he’d been taken far from home by the human traffickers. In the first half-month, eating buns and drinking water with the other kids, he was in a daze, not knowing how far the carriage had taken them.

During the following days, refusing food and water, he counted each turn of the carriage wheel.

The carriage traveled day and night, carrying them farther and farther, and he realized he couldn’t return home. Thankfully, he met Sister Xiaolian; otherwise, he wouldn’t know what would become of him.

As Sister Xiaolian said, he and his elder brother would one day meet again. Meanwhile, he should use this time to study hard and better himself, so his brother would be impressed when they reunited.

When Little Tiger came home from school, there was not only the delicious smell of braised meat but also the sight of Little Su wearing his new clothes.

Why was Little Su at his house?

Upon learning Little Su knew his sister, Little Tiger was immensely proud. He boasted to Yu Xiaolian, you looked down on beggars; if it weren’t for me sending food, your friend’s brother would have starved long ago, aren’t you going to praise me?

Yu Xiaolian realized she had indeed viewed people through a biased lens initially; ancient beggars were different from modern ones.

In the present day, there are many professional beggars, exploiting people’s sympathy, lounging around stations and subway platforms, enjoying others’ kindness.

In ancient times, most beggars were genuinely needy without any pretense; they truly had nothing to eat.

Although she couldn’t be greatly compassionate, saving all, Little Tiger’s act of sending leftover food to the dilapidated temple every day, Yu Xiaolian wouldn’t stop him from doing so.