Qingheng told them about Jiang Liu’s visit, relayed his proposal, and mentioned the departure time they had agreed upon.

Lady Wang had no objections to any of this.

As a widow with only a young child to care for, she would be overwhelmed if left to manage everything on her own.

That her neighbors would take her into consideration, include her in their plans, and even offer to keep an eye on her belongings and look after Jiu-ger—she was naturally grateful and had no objections.

“Does that young master not understand the dialect of Xizhou?” As they chatted, Lady Wang glanced up at Xing Yue and asked in a lowered voice. “Mm-hmm.” 

Qingheng deftly picked out the small pebbles with her hands and replied, “He’s just arrived and is still adjusting. It’ll be fine in a little while.”

“I knew it,” Lady Wang said with a sigh of relief, smiling. “Jiu-ger was rude, but he didn’t get angry. So he just didn’t understand.”

Qingheng glanced back at Xing Yue, who was sitting on the kang reading a book, then looked away and smiled. “Even if he had understood, he probably wouldn’t have gotten angry. He actually has a pretty good temper.”

If it had been him, seeing Xing Zhao ruin his only pair of boots, he probably wouldn’t have been able to resist giving him a good whack with a broom handle.

Xing Yue merely snapped at him to stop dumping sand in there in the future, then began helping clean up the mess without even raising his voice. Thinking of the boots, Qingheng asked, “You went out early this morning—where did you go?”

At that, Lady Wang’s expression darkened. “I went to A-Jia’s place. I needed the cart.”

Qingheng was surprised. “You don’t have much grain. I could have just taken it to the county seat on my way—why did you have to make a special trip to her place?”

“They’re always using yours. She and her boys treat your things as if they were theirs, and treat your own horses and cart as if they were theirs.” 

Lady Wang frowned. “Even when I went over there just once, they weren’t happy about it. It embarrassed them so much they had to say they’d keep an eye on things for me, and that I could come pick them up this afternoon. If you ask me, we should use them for everything from now on, so they don’t forget and start thinking they’re theirs.”

“Last night, the more I thought about this tax, the angrier I got. They always seem to get the better end of the deal.” Lady Wang’s face was flushed with anger, but as she spoke, she burst out laughing. “The more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t stand it, so I just went over there right after breakfast. Seeing how unhappy they looked instantly made me feel better.”

Qingheng couldn’t help but chuckle.

He asked, “Is everything ready over there?”

“They’re all busy harvesting the grain,” said Lady Wang. “I suppose by the time we get back, they’ll be on their way to the county seat.”

“And to think we’re supposed to be a family,” Lady Wang said, pursing her lips. “I went to find them, but they didn’t even ask me to wait. They just took off, and didn’t even bring mine along—we should’ve gone as a family. The carriage driver was reluctant to let me use it, and he never even mentioned watching over the house or making sure Jiu-ger got fed while I was gone.”

As she spoke, Lady Wang’s spirits sank, and tears welled up in her eyes. “Tell me, so many garrison soldiers were drafted to build those tall towers and palaces. None of them were familiar with the work, so why was it Jiang Lin who fell and died?”

She wiped away her tears and clenched her teeth. “Sometimes when I think about it, I hate him to death. I hate him for not being careful, for leaving us—a widow and our orphaned child—behind. But then I think of those good-for-nothing rich folks. How could they treat us so cruelly? They took our breadwinner away, leaving us—a widow and an orphan—to live in constant fear, struggling to get by…”

She lowered her voice and said bitterly, “Tell me, why didn’t they die instead! I curse them every day—even if they live in palaces and towers, may their wives and children all meet a terrible end, and after death, may they be cast into the eighteenth level of hell to suffer the flames of hell for all eternity!”

Qingheng’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly whispered, “Madam!” 

Lady Wang fell silent.

After a long moment, she took a deep breath, forced a faint smile, and said regretfully, “I shouldn’t have spoken of these things in front of you. Who could possibly know the bitterness in your heart? I’m only a decade or so older than you, yet I’ve let my emotions get the better of me. Don’t take it to heart…”

She paused, then changed the subject. “You were looking for me this morning? Is something wrong?”

The change of subject was abrupt, but since the previous conversation had touched on something a bit sensitive, Qingheng didn’t dwell on it and simply went along with it, saying, “There is something I need to discuss.”

“I didn’t know I’d be bringing the young master along to Xizhou,” he explained. “I hadn’t prepared any clothes or shoes for him. The outfit and boots he’s wearing now were a gift from Master Qingquan, but since there’s only one set, I thought I’d have another one made.”

“We haven’t met before, so I just had a short tunic made based on my elder brother’s measurements—but I didn’t have shoes made,” Qingheng explained. “I was hoping you might have some free time this month to help make a couple of pairs of shoes for him to rotate.”

“Does he still have to serve in the military?” asked Lady Wang.

Qingheng nodded. “I applied for a month of labor-for-debt service. He’s too frail; if he goes off to serve without recovering first, it’s uncertain whether he’ll even survive.”

“But won’t that nearly deplete all your savings?” Lady Wang frowned. “In your current situation, you can’t afford even the slightest risk. If next year’s harvest is poor, you and Guoguo will go hungry, and you’ll still have to help raise this little one…”

“Let’s save his life first,” Qingheng replied calmly. “Haven’t we still got the raisins to sell? If the price is good this year, we should be able to make it through until next year’s millet harvest without any trouble.”

Qingheng didn’t mention that County Magistrate Liu had reimbursed the money paid in lieu of labor—he’d covered it for him.

Magistrate Liu clearly didn’t want to have anything to do with the Xing Family’s exiles. Qingheng understood his desire to do a good deed without getting his hands dirty, so he wouldn’t complicate matters and cause himself trouble.

“Oh,” Lady Wang sighed. “Who doesn’t want stability? But these days, you can’t be sure of anything. What if taxes go up again one day…”

“Let’s just get by for now,” Qingheng reassured her. “Jiu-ger is growing up, so you’ll have some help. Later on, when you have more free time, you can take on some sewing work, and we’ll manage just fine.”

Qingheng praised her: “Your needlework is the best in the neighborhood. I went to the East Market in the county town yesterday to buy a quilt, and the shoes there weren’t nearly as good as yours.”

Lady Wang beamed, unable to stop smiling. “Don’t flatter me like that—if you keep it up, I’ll lose my bearings.” 

“Then I’ll show you the way, Mother.” A clear voice suddenly rang out from behind Qingheng.

Lady Wang looked up, and Qingheng turned around. It was Jiu-ger.

He hadn’t stayed in the drying house for long before sneaking back.

This time, he wasn’t alone; Xing Zhao was trailing behind him. Both had grabbed a handful of raisins, grinning from ear to ear as they skipped and hopped over. But Jiu-ger’s clothes were covered in yellow dust—from his chest down to his knees and up his arms—so he must have climbed over the wall again.

As for Xing Zhao, his face was streaked with gray here and there, looking as dirty as a tabby cat’s, and his body was covered in dust—who knows where it had stuck to him. The two of them really looked like local specialty products that had crawled right out of the dirt.

Lady Wang: “……” 

Qingheng: “……” 

Xing Yue: “……”

Lady Wang’s face was as black as coal.

Jiu-ger, however, didn’t notice. He ran excitedly over to Xing Yue, held out his blackened hand, and offered a handful of raisins: “Here, these are for you. I said something wrong earlier, so I’m apologizing. My family’s raisins are really sweet—give them a try.”

“Big Brother.” Xing Zhao, as if competing, held out his own hand, which had somehow turned black—his dark, gleaming eyes sparkling with joy as he said, “You—”

“Try my raisins—I picked them out just for you. They’re really good.”

If you ignore the fact that he looked like he’d rolled around in the dirt, he was actually quite cute. But…

Veins throbbed on Xing Yue’s forehead. He closed his eyes briefly, set down the paper scroll, took a raisin in each hand, and waved them off without looking at the boys. “Go play.”

Just one more look at this brat, and he’d lose his temper. If he didn’t snap, he’d spit blood from the frustration.

“Well then, Big Brother and Brother Heng, we’re off to chase the birds and keep watch over the drying house.”

“Mom, I’m going to the drying house too!”

The two of them actually ran off hand in hand, grinning.

No one knew how it happened, but in the blink of an eye, despite the language barrier, they’d become fast friends.

The three elders were all a bit speechless. They could already foresee that things were going to get lively between these two courtyards from now on. The three of them involuntarily shifted their gaze to Qingguo. This little one…

Qingguo seemed to sense their gaze. He was looking around, happily playing with his own little hands, when suddenly he burst into tears with a loud “Waaah!”

The three: “……”

Qingheng hurriedly tried to soothe him, gently patting his back a few times. But Qingguo’s crying wouldn’t stop.

“Is he hungry?” Xing Yue put away his scroll, got up from the bed, walked behind Qingheng, untied the rope, loosened the cloth, and cradled Qingguo in his arms, then reached down to feel his bottom—no wetness.

“He must be hungry,” Qingheng said. “Usually at this time, he’d have another meal and sleep for an hour.”

As he spoke, he reached out to take the crying Qingguo back, but Xing Yue said, “Let me feed him and put him to sleep.”

Qingheng thought that he would have to entrust Qingguo to his care tomorrow as well. It would be good to put him to the test now and see how things went, so he said, “All right, just call me if you have any problems.” 

After Xing Yue left, Lady Wang commented with a smile, “From the looks of it, he really does have a good temperament.”

“But…” Lady Wang furrowed her brow and asked in a low voice, “Is it really over with that fiancée of his in the capital? You mustn’t let him deceive you!”

Qingheng：“……”

It seemed that Lady Wang had already heard the news during her morning rounds. In their village, no piece of news could stay hidden; it spread like wildfire.

Fortunately, he’d had the foresight yesterday to go to Lizheng first and explain the situation, ensuring that if news spread, it would come from them directly rather than from a jumble of rumors.

However, Lady Wang lectured him: “What’s the difference between a son-in-law by marriage and a servant! Given his background, the fact that he agreed to become a son-in-law by marriage means he must be incredibly patient. A man with such a deep and calculating mind is more than we common folk can handle.”

“You can save him, but don’t let your heart be moved, and don’t trust him,” Lady Wang said earnestly. “If he doesn’t make it through this ordeal, so be it; you two will go your separate ways. If he’s willing to compensate you with some money, all the better; if not, so be it. Don’t throw yourself into the mix.”

Qingheng：“……”

Let alone falling for him—saving him was still a long way off. Right now, he only hoped they could suffer as little as possible, stay alive, and survive.

Still, he thought that if word got out about him becoming a son-in-law by marriage, people would sympathize with Xing Yue and wouldn’t look down on him.

Unexpectedly, the situation turned out the opposite: Lady Wang thought he was calculating and untrustworthy.

Qingheng suddenly felt a twinge of guilt and chuckled awkwardly. “Well, he’s not necessarily that calculating.”

“You’ll see when you meet more people,” Lady Wang wouldn’t listen, poking him on the head with her finger. “Someone who can keep quiet isn’t someone to be trifled with.”

Qingheng：“……”

He felt like she was taking a dig at him.