Chapter 63a: Sudden Crisis

Qili Village was quiet in the afternoon. Huge swaths of farmland could be seen by the road. Lush green wheat, all kinds of vegetables, also farmers busily working on their farms.

As for a luxuriously dressed young girl like Luo Qing Luan, with a look, they could tell that she was born with a silver spoon. Each and everyone of these farmers forgot about their work and raised their heads and watched her in shock. As if they saw a deity, some people were entranced. An expression of being stunned was exposed on their faces.

Simply sweeping her eyes a few times indifferently across them, Luo Qing Luan smiled towards the female farm workers they passed, but didn’t speak. She looked at the sparsely scattered, simple and crude, wooden houses with tiled roofs in front of her. Each family of farmers had a little courtyard. Sometimes, the sound of pigs or sheep could be heard inside, along with the sound of children crying. Although they were not well-to-do, they still exuded their own special kind of style. 

She’d never seen a place like this before. Even though Luo Qing Luan found the experience to be novel, she wasn’t in much of a mood to watch. Right now, she was only thinking about that family that Nanny Song talked about. If the midwife’s niece didn’t know about what happened during the birth, perhaps she knew how the midwife died, in which case, Luo Qing Luan would have some calculations.

“Wet Nurse, where in the world does that Wang Cuihua, who you mentioned, live?” As Luo Qing Luan asked, she looked around everywhere.

“She should be at the east side of the village. When I asked about this before, I was told that there’s a parasol tree in her family’s courtyard. There’s even a bird’s nest in the tree. We should be able to find it.” Nanny Song also looked around. She clearly didn’t know the exact location.

East side, parasol tree, bird’s nest……

After they passed a very high stack of rice crops, Luo Qing Luan’s eyes shone as she pointed straight ahead. “Wet Nurse, look. Is this the place?” 

Lifting her skirts, she skipped over. Because she was too anxious, Luo Qing Luan was unsteady for a moment and nearly stumbled. The news also came too suddenly today, Otherwise she would’ve changed into men’s clothing before leaving. 

At this time, she also could care less about these things as she stood in front of the mud wall surrounding the courtyard and looked at the parasol tree with the bird’s nest at its peak.

“My Lady. This should be the place.” Nanny Song spoke up and looked inside the courtyard. There was only a four to five year old little child squatting at the corner, as if looking at ants, or something. In regards to their arrival, that little child didn’t notice at all. His eyes only fixated on the ground, lost in thought. 

“Little Brother, is there anyone at home?” Luo Qing Luan spoke a little louder.

That little child continued to stare at the ground and didn’t even raise his head, as if he didn’t hear anything. Just when she was going to ask again, she saw that child lift his hand and grabbed something from the ground. Surprisingly, he threw it into his mouth. It was unknown whether he ate some bug or some mud.

Luo Qing Luan was shocked and froze for a period of time before she yelled, “Is anyone there? Is anyone home?” 

There was finally a response from someone inside the house, as a female voice arrived to ask who was outside. The sound of her voice became increasingly clearer and in a blink, they saw a peasant woman with rough skin attired in coarse fabric with only a wood pin to keep her hair in place. She walked out of the house and when she saw Luo Qing Luan and Nanny Song, she froze for a moment. After that, her gaze turned towards the little child and her complexion changed as she cried out in fear, “Ah—-This child, how could you eat these random things again? Stand up and go back into the house!”

“Wah——” The child bawled, but his ear was pulled by this woman and he was dragged into the house by force, wailing loudly all the while.

After a short period of time, the woman came out, complexion not too good, but she still walked to the courtyard door. With a faceful of mistrust, she looked at the Luo Qing Luan duo. “Are you……looking for someone?”

“May I ask if this is where Wang Cuihua lives?” Nanny Song asked.

“You are?” That woman became even more suspicious. She clearly didn’t know these two people.

Nanny Song was about to speak when Luo Qing Luan held her back and smiled. “Oh. It’s like this. Our madam previously was looked after by Mama Zhang. She heard that Mama Zhang already passed away and missed her a lot, so she sent us to find her family. She wanted us to deliver a few things to express her kindness. I wonder if you’re Mama Zhang’s niece, Wang Cuihua?” 

Once that woman heard this, she immediately beamed with joy and nodded repeatedly. “That’s right. That’s right. Turns out you know my aunt? Your Madam……oh, please come in. Please come in.” She promptly opened the door and called for the Luo Qing Luan duo to come in.

She welcomed them inside her home passionately in a very embarrassed manner. She kept saying that her home is small and can’t compare with those in the city. She even said that Luo Qing Luan is so beautiful, was she the madam’s personal maid. 

Luo Qing Luan deliberately let her misunderstand and just nodded her head. She even took out the banknotes that she was carrying. Once that peasant woman saw that it was actually a hundred taels of silver, she immediately smiled, unable to close her mouth again. She wanted Luo Qing Luan to stay put while she went to heat some water in the kitchen.

For the sake of the money, that woman was very enthusiastic. No matter what Luo Qing Luan asked, she didn’t conceal anything at all. Not only did she sigh with sorrow that her paternal aunt died early, she even said that her aunt saved her and how poor their family was now and what not. She then enviously fawningly said that Luo Qing Luan was so blessed to be able to serve the madam. It was truly a blessing derived from cultivating for three lifetimes.

“Mn. Therefore, our madam believes that if it wasn’t for Mama Zhang helping her give birth back then, our family’s young master would very likely have passed away during the difficult birth. Not long ago, she heard that Mama Zhang passed away and was disturbed, so she had us come make a visit.” Luo Qing Luan said faintly.

After she finished speaking, she then took out a banknote worth fifty taels of silver. “From what I can see, your family is not having an easy time. This money is a bit of goodwill from our young master. You should take it.”