Chapter 244 - 253: Confusing the Enemy

Madam truly is no ordinary woman, Ah Qing thought to herself, even Xiao Xi’s demeanor has changed since following Madam, much more composed and calm than before.

Feng Ruolin had been married into the Su Family for a while now, having entered the family when Su Wenyue was twelve years old. So, not only did Feng Ruolin hold deep affection for her sister-in-law, who she had lived with for years, but Ah Qing and Xiao Xi had also grown familiar and felt that Xiao Xi was indeed very different now, as if no matter how big an issue, it was nothing to her.

Su Hengyi worried about his younger sister, so he didn’t dare to stray far in this long while, waiting right in front of the Li Mansion. Upon seeing Su Wenyue emerge, he breathed a sigh of relief. Although he knew that the people of the Li family would not dare to be so bold as to openly lay hands on Su Wenyue, he couldn’t feel at ease until he saw her come out.

“Younger sister, you’re out. How was it? Did anyone bully you at the banquet?” Upon seeing Su Wenyue safe and sound, Su Hengyi was worried that his sister might have been bullied and couldn’t wait to ask.

“Big brother, don’t worry. Who do you think your sister is? I couldn’t have been bullied by a bunch of soft, unthreatening women. You’re really underestimating me,” Su Wenyue said with her usual flair for theatrics, puffing out her chest and lifting her head in front of her elder brother.

Seeing his younger sister behave like this, Su Hengyi thought she must not have been bullied. He looked toward Ah Qing, who was following behind Su Wenyue, and seeing her nod, he believed that his little sister indeed hadn’t been bullied.

Ah Qing was inwardly sneering, probably Eldest Young Master didn’t know that Madam had become so formidable now. If he knew what Madam did at the Li Mansion, he would surely not believe it. It wasn’t Madam being bullied at all, but rather Madam bullying others, alright? Her eloquence was so sharp, Ah Qing couldn’t understand how Madam managed to handle those ill-intentioned people so easily.

At this time, Feng Ruolin was also eagerly waiting for Su Wenyue to return, having sent the servant girl to look countless times at the entrance. She couldn’t understand why the three children, who had clearly been fed and had their diapers changed, kept crying badly. According to the nanny, they were probably missing their mother, and Feng Ruolin was at a loss, only hoping the children’s mother would return soon. Seeing the three little ones crying with their chubby faces turning bright red, she felt an ache in her heart.

“Don’t cry, my babies, be good. Your mother is coming back soon, don’t cry, be good babies,” Feng Ruolin consoled the youngest, Si Yu, while holding her. The other two, in the arms of the nanny, just wouldn’t stop crying, no matter how the women tried to soothe them. They wailed unremittingly, struggling to catch their breath.

“Madam, you’ve finally come back, please go see the young master and young miss,” the servant girl, who had been squatting at the door, rushed up to Su Wenyue, relieved to finally see her return.

Su Wenyue, with a jolt in her heart upon hearing this, and seeing the servant girl’s urgent demeanor, feared something had happened to the children: “What happened, did something happen to the children?”

Su Wenyue, anxiously grasping the servant girl’s arm, squeezed involuntarily hard, causing the servant girl some pain. The servant girl, not daring to complain, quickly responded, “Madam, be assured, the young masters and miss are fine, they’re just missing you, crying badly, and no one can soothe them.”

Hearing that the three little ones were crying badly, Su Wenyue’s heart wrenched. Without a thought for anything else, she immediately ran towards the Inner Courtyard, indeed hearing the children’s cries from a distance.

“Younger sister, you’re finally back. Otherwise, with the three little ones crying like this, I would have been at my wit’s end,” said Feng Ruolin, relieved to see Su Wenyue returning. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“My sweethearts, mother is back, no more crying.” Su Wenyue spoke gently, yet despite her hurry, she didn’t immediately pick up the children. After cleaning off the outside dust, changing her clothes, and washing up, she took the eldest from the nanny’s arms.

It wasn’t that Su Wenyue was partial, but having cared for the children so long, she understood the three little ones well. The two younger ones usually cried in response to their older brother. As long as the eldest stopped crying, the two younger would settle down.

Indeed, as the nanny had said, Brother Xing ceased his tears upon entering Su Wenyue’s embrace. The two younger ones, hearing their brother stop, gradually calmed down too, although their little faces remained flushed from the previous wailing.

Witnessing this scene, Feng Ruolin considered it nothing short of magical. How clever the three children of her younger sister’s family were, despite being so young. They would certainly be smart when they grew up.

Only after calming the three little ones did Feng Ruolin have the opportunity to talk with Su Wenyue and asked about her visit to the Li Mansion.

“The Li family really had ill intentions. It’s good that you, my wise sister, hurried back. Otherwise, they would have certainly taken advantage of you!” Feng Ruolin, upon hearing Su Wenyue’s account, was outraged. By now, Ah Qing had regained her composure and was thinking about telling Madam all the events at the Li Mansion later, Madam really was no ordinary person.

“Sister-in-law, rest assured, am I someone so easily bullied?” Su Wenyue said, glancing at Ah Qing. Since she hadn’t specifically instructed Ah Qing otherwise, she assumed that Ah Qing would tell Big Brother and sister-in-law everything that happened today, then they would naturally believe it.

Now that Su Hengyi and Feng Ruolin were assured of Su Wenyue’s safe return from the Li Mansion, they, too, were extremely busy. After leaving the bodyguards they brought, they rushed back to the Su Family.

“Younger sister, before your brother-in-law returns, these bodyguards should stay with you. They’ll provide extra security and allow us to rest easier.”

Su Wenyue naturally wouldn’t refuse the kindness of her big brother and sister-in-law, but her greatest worry now was Han Yu. Even Han Yu himself didn’t have full confidence in his situation, for it was indeed perilous. Otherwise, those people wouldn’t be so certain that Han Yu wouldn’t make it back. But she had done everything that could be done, now it all depended on Han Yu himself.

At that moment, Han Yu was settling down with his soldiers in a secluded cave deep within the forest. The camps pitched on the outside were only manned by a few soldiers as a decoy to confuse the enemy. Considering the enemy’s intentions to eliminate Han Yu, even if they didn’t actively deal with the bandits, the bandits would be eager to get rid of them, hence the utmost caution was necessary.

With the cotton-padded clothes and quilts prepared by Su Wenyue, and a fire lit inside the cave, they didn’t feel cold at all. Following Su Wenyue’s instructions, Han Yu taught everyone to bury sweet potatoes in the embers to bake and used a large pot over the fire to boil water, added some flour-like substance into it to cook porridge, and they all ate their fill, feeling even warmer.

The bandits on the mountain had received word of Han Yu bringing soldiers to suppress them and had waited for two days, but there had been no movement. They were all baffled.

“What’s going on? Could the news be inaccurate? They said government soldiers were coming to wipe us out, but why is there no sign of them?”