Free Web NovelChapter 46: Chapter 46
Chapter 46
"The medicine is a bit hot, take it slowly," Mu Heng returned with the medicine in hand, helping his petite wife to sit up and drink it. His eyes were full of hope, endearing Yueqian in an inexplicable way.
"Do you wish to have children, husband? Would you prefer a son or a daughter?" she asked.
Mu Heng blushed even more, but he still used his own thoughts.
"I... I want many children; it doesn’t matter whether they are girls or boys first. They could be all girls, so they will be as beautiful as you. Or if they are all boys, they can help you with work," Mu Heng spoke out. He looked at his wife’s frail body and thought to himself that he must try harder to earn money to buy more tonics for her. Considering her frailty, if he wanted five children, he feared she might not withstand it.
"So, many?" Yueqian raised her eyebrows, surprised at Mu Heng’s thoughts.
She had grown up with the idea that having two or three children was ideal because parents had to bear a heavy burden. Moreover, having fewer children would allow them to spend more time caring for them. Some people in her previous life even chose to have only one child.
"Or do you disagree?" Mu Heng felt a slight disappointment but valued his wife’s opinion as well. So, whatever she thought, Mu Heng wanted to hear it.
"Not exactly. Let’s take it slowly, one step at a time. Parents should be well-prepared to have children. If our living conditions improve, then we can think about having more," Yueqian advised him.
"I don’t want our children to struggle. Do you agree?" She asked.
"Uh, I... I’m sorry for making it difficult for you," Mu Heng hadn’t thought about that. He just thought of having many children, wanted to have them running in the house, and caring for them with love.
He did not consider that if he let children be born into hardship, it could cause great suffering.
"I’m not suffering at all, but if we are to have children, we need to think more. First, we must consider unforeseen circumstances about us, in case we might not be able to be there for them anymore. If we expose them to danger on their own, they will certainly struggle a lot," Yueqian said to this point, making Mu Heng understand.
He knew this better than anyone because his parents had died when he and his siblings were still young. His two younger siblings were in their adorable age. Eventually, they had to fend for themselves, managing household chores while waiting for him to return from the fields. It was a real struggle for his younger siblings.
"I understand now, Qian’er... I’ll try harder," Mu Heng told his wife, tenderly kissing her glossy hair, filled with affection.
Having such a wonderful wife made Mu Heng the happiest.
The couple, along with their two little ones, had been living well for over ten days. Mu Heng’s affection for his wife deepened by the day, and their relationship improved significantly until the village encountered some troubling news.
Bang, bang, bang, bang.
The village leader’s signal for a gathering rang out. The villagers, just back from clearing their lands, assembled at the village square. Yueqian and the younger siblings followed from their home to meet her husband there.
Mu Heng looked for his wife; upon spotting the beauty, his tall frame hurried over anxiously.
"What’s happening?" Yueqian pretended to ask, though she already sensed what was underway.
Seeing his wife’s worried expression, Mu Heng felt even more pity for her. He blamed himself for bringing his delicate wife to risk encountering danger in such a remote village. Had she remained in the capital, she wouldn’t have faced such bandits.
"It seems neighboring villages have started spreading rumors about mountain bandits. The village leader called this meeting to announce the danger," Mu Heng told his wife with stern voice, having only just heard the news himself when he arrived at the square. Someone who had contact with other villages had informed them earlier.
"Mountain bandits?"
"Yes, they are very brutal. They kill anyone they encounter. It seems they’ve already killed more than five villagers."
"Their minds are barbaric," Yueqian scoffed, knowing well that those disguised bandits were schemed by others—a vile act to target her specifically.
Many innocent villagers had to suffer because of this. If the situation resolved, Yueqian promised to compensate by providing additional farmland or perhaps by employing women and descendants of those affected to work in her tavern.
Her tavern had recently commenced operations. It was being managed by someone from the Arts Institute, her Brother Dong Dong. He hadn’t come here for nothing. All valuable local herbs he procured here made his trip worthwhile. Thus, his presence in this rural setting wasn’t suspicious at all. He could claim he was buying goods from the countryside to profit in the city, did not have any correlation with Yueqian.
Her Brother Dong Dong didn’t use the land Yueqian had purchased to avoid any association. However, he occupied a space on the same street, making the area busier. Indeed, the businesses he suggested, including the tavern and food shops, were great, offering goods at a cheap price, primarily serving villagers selling their goods to the Arts Institute’s people.
When they’ve made a profit, they could still use the money to buy food or nice clothes to take back. Of course, Yueqian was just waiting for the right time
"Um, but these are mountain bandits involved in illegal activities. They shouldn’t be a danger to us, but still, we need to be cautious. From now on, I’ll only go to the farm in the mornings, and in the afternoons, I’ll join you in transcribing textbooks for sell. The bandits don’t rise early; we usually encounter them after noon," Mu Heng shared his thought. fгeewebnovёl.com
He was very concerned about his wife and younger siblings. It was fortunate that they no longer had to gather firewood from the outside; otherwise, they might have faced danger.
Moreover, transcription was quite profitable. The last time he sent four books for sale, he earned 80 brass coins per book. After deducting the cost of paper, the profit was 40 brass coins per book, totaling 160 brass coins for four books.
Yueqian mentioned that if his handwriting improved, he could earn even more. Or if he could produce larger volumes, the income would also increase. Thus, Mu Heng was determined not to give up on the writing work.
"That’s good. This way, you won’t have to exert yourself all day," the young woman told him. How could more family time together be a bad thing?
Soon after, the village leader made an actual announcement about the mountain bandits. Normally, if it was just a robbery, few would care—it was seen as just bad luck. But this wasn’t just a robbery; it was intended murder, a severity that they had to report to authorities.
"This dangerous situation has been reported to the authorities by us. The bandits seem to be numerous, a large group, spreading out across the mountains. They also bear the symbol of the One-Armed Mountain Bandits, recognizable by their bows, specially made. Only the One-Armed Mountain Bandits associated with the neighboring country makes such weapons. So, this threat is not minor. I urge everyone to avoid the mountains for now."
As the leader spoke, the villagers immediately panicked.
The reputation of the One-Armed Mountain Bandits was quite good among the rural folk for a long time, with some even secretly working for them. Usually, they relied on mutual support rather than harassing the villagers. Why then had their methods changed?
But even though they were suspicious, they dared not voice their opinions. If these bandits had truly turned evil, with their large group numbering thousands, it was indeed a real danger.
It was possible that the authorities might decide to eradicate them. Revealing that they knew them might also get them implicated.
"Village leader, if we can’t go into the woods now, where will we find firewood? What about our food?" one of the villagers shouted. It’s easy for the village leader to say, with his plentiful stock, but what about the poor among them? They had been waiting for the snow to stop to collect forest goods, and now they had to face this?
"That’s right, even if they are bandits, they are human too. Can’t we gather and still go into the forest?"
"Exactly, we are local. We should know the paths to escape better than they do."
"True. We agree," when one spoke up, others began to speak.
The village leader looked around worriedly. He knew about this issue all too well. It was true that the villagers were poor. Previously, only a few owned lands and could cultivate it till they had hope. Many relied solely on the forest goods from the mountains for survival. Telling them not to go into the mountains now was like sending them to their deaths.
"Everyone, please calm down. We village leaders had considered this matter. But are you really daring to go? Not only are those being fully armed, but they also use bows. You might not even get the chance to run before an arrow hits you right in the head," the village leader said earnestly.
If it were other bandits, he might consider fighting back, but this group was just too dangerous.
"So what, are we supposed to just wait for death? What will we eat after this?"
"I have children and a wife too. We just started to see a way to live comfortably with the leased land, and now, before we can even harvest, I might starve?"
"I feel the same. I thought I had hope for the end of the harvest season. Why must this happen to me now?"
"Why does life have to be so hard? We, the poor families, had just started to have some hope, and now it’s going to be snuffed out?" Many lamented. Upon hearing how dangerous those bandits were, they were too frightened to confront them.
So, are they meant to just wait to die?
"Sigh, I, the village leader, am also out of ideas. Does anyone have any good suggestions?" The village leader asked for everyone’s opinion. He had been brainstorming with other villages during the meeting and still couldn’t find a better solution.
Yueqian, who had been silent for a while, could guess the story line. Initially, she didn’t want to interfere, but because the deception that the bandits that attacked people were the One-Eyed Mountain Bandits was a part of her and Brother Dong Dong’s plan, she couldn’t help feeling slightly guilty.
"May I, Yueqian, speak?" The beauty said. Amidst the confusion, everyone turned to look at her.
