The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 107

Chapter 107: Including the Side Couple

When she woke up, it was already noon.

Jiang Huaizhen was not there. On the table was the breakfast she had bought from outside, and a note.

The note said, “[I’m going for the execution. I’ll be back in the afternoon. I’ve already asked my older sister-in-law to help with the cooking. There’s no hurry to go back to the village.]”

The two meals for the workers, breakfast was usually just porridge or flatbreads, with some side dishes. These were simple chores, and Old Madam Jiang could handle them herself. But lunch had to have meat and vegetables, and also a soup. The amount for twelve or thirteen people was large, and it was usually Lin Shuang who was in charge.

They were not at home, so it was not a big problem for Jiang’s older sister-in-law to help.

But today was the day the yamen had set for the autumn executions, and Lin Shuang had not known.

It seemed that Jiang Huaizhen’s saying that she wanted to stay in the city last night was a plan all along.

Seeing that it was almost time, Lin Shuang had no interest in going to the execution grounds to watch. Before, she had wanted to go because she was worried about her, afraid that she couldn’t take it physically, and also afraid that she couldn’t take it mentally.

But this person, even though she knew she had to carry out an execution today, had still pulled her along until the rooster crowed. It seemed that she really had the strength. Lin Shuang couldn’t be bothered with her.

She got up, washed up, and ate.

The dirty clothes from last night had already been soaked by Jiang Huaizhen when she had gotten up. The stains were almost gone now. Lin Shuang washed the clothes and the muddy mat from last night and hung them under the eaves to dry.

After washing the clothes, she dealt with the vegetables in the small vegetable garden.

Although she hadn’t lived in the city for over half a month, she would come to water them almost every time she came to the city, and the vegetables were still growing well.

Jiang Huaizhen returned at the third quarter of the Hour of the Sheep(1:00 PM to 3:00 PM.).

After entering the door, she first went to the back room to put away her things and burn some incense, then she went to the second courtyard to wash up.

Lin Shuang made some food. She had just eaten breakfast not long ago, so she just watched her eat.

But who knew that Jiang Huaizhen would take out something wrapped in a handkerchief from her robes and place it on the table. “For you.”

Lin Shuang was a little surprised, then her eyes sparkled. “You bought this specially for me? What is it?”

Jiang Huaizhen said, “You’ll know when you open it.”

Only then did Lin Shuang carefully pick up the thing on the table. In fact, when she had held it in her hand, she had already known what it was, a bracelet.

She had a faint premonition in her heart, but she was not sure. She suppressed her excitement and opened the handkerchief.

Wrapped in the handkerchief was indeed the bracelet that she had asked Jiang Huaizhen to sell for money over a year ago.

It was the only memento her mother had left her. In her past life, it had been confiscated by Matron Lou, who was by Old Madam Qin’s side. Now, it was back in her hands.

Her eyes were hot, and she looked up at her. “How much did you spend to redeem it?”

Jiang Huaizhen said, “The same as before. The pawnshop owner didn’t charge me extra.”

Her reputation had been growing recently, and the pawnshop owner had recognized her and had not charged any handling fees. Jiang Huaizhen was a little embarrassed, but she was really short on money.

The family had money, and it was all earned by Lin Shuang with her. But she just wanted to use her own money to redeem the bracelet.

“You used the reward silver to redeem it?”

Lin Shuang looked at her with love in her eyes, and tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.

Jiang Huaizhen hesitated for a moment and said, “I only had six taels today. I borrowed the other two from Guiying. I’ll pay her back when I earn my own money in the future.”

“You fool,” Lin Shuang scolded with tears in her eyes. “Last time, when you executed Pei Na, Sun Kang gave you two taels. Go and get the money yourself to pay her back.”

Jiang Huaizhen wanted to use her own silver to redeem this bracelet for her. It couldn’t be said that it wasn’t because of her self-esteem, and half of it was because she wanted to give her a purer love. Lin Shuang respected her self-esteem and was also happy and moved by her pure love.

She put the bracelet on her hand, straightened her slender wrist, and looked at it from left to right, crying and laughing.

“I can finally wear the thing my mother left me openly.”

Before she had left the Lin family, she had been afraid that Ma Guihua and her husband would have evil intentions when they saw this bracelet, so she had always hidden it and had not dared to wear it. In her past life, after she had gone to the Qin family, she had only taken it out when she had no other choice, but in the end, it had still been taken away.

Now she could finally wear it.

After she had admired it, she couldn’t help but glare at Jiang Huaizhen with red eyes. “Couldn’t you have given it to me after you had finished eating?”

“…Can’t I give it to you now?”

“If you give it to me now, and you’re eating, how can I kiss you?”

Hearing this, Jiang Huaizhen’s cool eyes curved into a smile. “We can kiss later.”

…

At the Hour of the Rooster(5:00 PM to 7:00 PM), Changping County Yamen.

Li Changyu was just walking out of the main door of the yamen when Duanwu, who was next to her, suddenly pointed to the front. “Miss, isn’t that Miss Xue?”

She looked in the direction Duanwu was pointing and saw a green-curtained carriage parked outside the yamen. Two people were standing by the carriage. The older woman was dignified and elegant, and the younger girl was in a pink and white dress, on her tiptoes, looking toward the yamen.

In a white dress and a pink skirt, with a pretty face, it was Xue Luan.

“It seems they’re here for us,” Li Changyu said and walked toward the two of them.

Sure enough, when Xue Luan saw them from a distance, she raised her arm and waved, then came up to them with small steps.

“Sister Changyu.”

The young girl’s voice was sweet, and her pink and tender face was set with a pair of smiling eyes, a world apart from the sad and dejected look she had had in the rain that day.

“Miss Xue?”

At this time, Mrs. Xue came over and smiled. “Last time, A’Luan sprained her ankle, and it was all thanks to Miss Li for carrying her back. She’s been wanting to come and thank you in person, but the yamen runner at the door said that you don’t live at the yamen, and we don’t know where your residence is, so we could only wait here. I hope we’re not being too abrupt.”

Li Changyu was a little cool and casual with Xue Luan, but with Mrs. Xue, her smile was very proper. “It was just a small effort that day. You don’t have to take it to heart, Mrs. Xue. Since you’re here, why don’t you come to my humble abode for a little while?”

Li Changyu did not live at the yamen with her older brother’s family. She had bought a house outside, which was only a quarter of an hour’s walk from the yamen.

The three of them got out of the carriage one after another and entered the courtyard.

The courtyard was quiet and elegant, but it also exuded the owner’s unique taste.

In the large three-courtyard house, only Li Changyu lived. Other than Duanwu, who was usually with her, there were also about a dozen maids and matrons.

Mrs. Xue was also a little surprised to see this. Although Li Changyu was the county magistrate’s younger sister, the county magistrate’s monthly salary was only a few taels of silver. The amount that was given to her should not be much. But how could she afford such a house and so many servants?

Looking at this scene, she was either rich or noble.

She suppressed her doubts, sat down to make small talk, and drank some tea.

Xue Luan was inexplicably nervous when she came today. She had drunk a little more water at home, and she had also been waiting outside the yamen for a long time. Now, after drinking two more cups of tea, she felt that her stomach was bloated, and she was a little restless, rubbing her abdomen.

But she didn’t know that these small movements had long been seen by Li Changyu, who was chatting with her mother. She discreetly glanced at Duanwu, who was standing by the side.

Duanwu had been with her for many years. How could she not understand? She quickly moved closer to Xue Luan and said in a low voice, “Miss Xue, if you’re not comfortable sitting for a long time, why don’t I take you for a walk outside?”

Xue Luan couldn’t ask for more. After apologizing to the two of them, she got up and went out with Duanwu.

After she came back from the latrine, she walked slowly along the corridor in the courtyard. Seeing that the scenery in the garden was unique, she couldn’t help but stop to look for a while. She couldn’t help but feel that the scenery in this garden and Sister Changyu were so well-matched. It was indescribably exquisite and elegant. Even the flowers and plants were more beautiful than others.

Just as she was walking back, she heard someone talking in front. One of the voices was Li Changyu’s, and the other was a milky voice, which should be a child of about three years old.

When she got closer, she saw a pink and jade-like little girl being held in Li Changyu’s arms, babbling.

And the woman’s eternally serious face was now looking at the child in her arms with doting eyes, her whole body as if it were wrapped in a faint soft light.

Hearing the footsteps, the child said “eh” and looked at her.

“Call her Aunt A’Luan,” Li Changyu said to the child in her arms.

The little ball obediently did as she was told and called out “Aunt Luan” in a milky voice.

Xue Luan seemed to have realized something, and her heart suddenly felt a pang. She couldn’t say what it was, but a hint of a smile soon appeared on her face, and her eyes also curved into a smile. “Hello.”

The little girl was about to say something, but the child’s wet nurse came rushing over and took her. “Oh my, she was just sleeping. She disappeared in the blink of an eye. I looked for her in the back courtyard for a long time and couldn’t find her, but she ran here.”

Li Changyu said faintly, “Take her back first.”

The wet nurse quickly carried the child, who was still babbling, to the back.

Xue Luan looked at the two of them’s retreating figures and asked, “That… is that your child?”

Li Changyu’s expression, which had had a hint of a smile, stiffened, and then she said with a blank expression, “Where do you see that I’ve had a child?”

Her figure was slender and tall, and her hair was not tied up. Of course, Xue Luan couldn’t tell. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say, afraid of offending her. After repeated consideration, she finally stammered, “Everyone says that a woman should get married after she reaches the age of marriage. Sister is older than me, so I had this guess…”

Li Changyu couldn’t help but sneer. “Which everyone says that you have to get married after you reach the age of marriage?”

Her words were a little aggressive. Xue Luan didn’t know which of her words had made her unhappy, but after thinking about it, it seemed that every sentence was not right. Her heart couldn’t help but be a little anxious.

“I misspoke. I apologize to you, sister.”

Her cautious appearance was all taken in by the condescending Li Changyu, and in the end, she did not make things difficult for her.

“That’s my older brother’s daughter, named Ning’er. She likes to cling to me.”

Hearing that it was her older brother’s daughter, Xue Luan was inexplicably relieved, and the corners of her mouth curved up. “Ning’er is so cute.”

Li Changyu looked at her round and pink cheeks, and her mind flashed with her niece’s equally full cheeks. A sentence was on the tip of her tongue, but after a long time, she still swallowed it and asked, “Is it resolved?”

Only then did Xue Luan realize what she was talking about. Thinking that it was she who had had Duanwu take her out just now, her ears burned, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito. “It is.”

“Let’s go. Let’s go and talk to your mother. She’s been left in the living room for a long time.”

She had just been talking to Mrs. Xue, and when she heard that Ning’er was missing, she had just come out for a little while.

The two of them walked side by side through the corridor and returned to the living room. The wind chimes on the eaves tinkled in the wind, making the surroundings even more quiet.

Xue Luan felt that the atmosphere was a little stagnant, so she said in a low voice, “Can I ask for your age, sister?”

Li Changyu replied, “Twenty-four. How old is A’Luan?”

“I’m sixteen this year…” Xue Luan’s ears were slightly red, and her gaze swept over the swaying bamboo shadows outside the corridor. “Does sister not live with her family?”

“My older brother lives at the yamen. We don’t live together.” Seeing Xue Luan’s hesitant expression, she could guess what the other wanted to ask, so she replied, “I’m not yet married. I’m alone.”

Xue Luan’s heart trembled slightly, and she asked, “Then if sister never meets someone… will she always be single?”

“Yes.”

“Then in the future… in the future…”

“You mean, what will I do when I’m old, right?” Li Changyu looked at this little girl who was just beginning to think about life and chuckled. “I have a status and I’m not worried about money. Why should I worry about not being at peace when I’m old?”

Hearing this, the thought that had been wavering in Xue Luan’s heart suddenly settled. The tangled vines that had been wrapped around the bottom of her heart seemed to have been torn open, and a little light came through.

She eagerly took two steps forward and asked, “May I ask, Sister Changyu, whether it’s a local yamen or a central agency, it’s always been a man’s world. How can a sister get a foothold in it and fight for a chance to realize her ambitions?”

Li Changyu’s expression was faint. “Speak with strength.”

“What if your strength is not enough?”

“Then find someone with strength to back you up.”

“Can sister back me up?”

Li Changyu was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at the little girl beside her. After a while, she replied, “I can.”

Then she added, “But I have to see what chips you have.”

“What chips does sister want?”

Li Changyu’s expression suddenly became light. “I don’t know yet. When you need my backing, maybe I’ll think of it.”

She said as she walked, her long hair tied loosely with a ribbon and hanging behind her. Her moon-white clothes moved with the wind, and she actually had a hint of a dashing air.

Xue Luan stared at the fluttering corner of her clothes, and the lake in her heart also rippled. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she found that the two of them were just turning into the main door of the living room, and her mother was sitting in front, so she closed her mouth.

Seeing that it was getting late, and seeing them come out, Mrs. Xue also took the opportunity to get up and take her leave.

Li Changyu said, “Why don’t you stay for dinner before you go?”

Mrs. Xue politely refused.

Xue Luan stood behind her mother without a word, but her two big, grape-like eyes were secretly glancing in Li Changyu’s direction.

Li Changyu made some polite remarks and personally saw the two of them to the door. Finally, she said to Xue Luan, “A’Luan knows my address now. When you have time in the future, you can come and find me to play.”

Xue Luan bit her lip and replied softly.