There was no need to ask about polished rice or fine flour—no one dared to. Even old grain cost five or six copper coins per pound, twice the usual price.
But no matter how expensive it was, they had to grit their teeth and buy it.
Cheng Yao bought five hundred pounds of old grain in one go, spending two taels and five hundred copper coins.
She had wanted to buy more, but carrying it along the road would be too difficult—and far too conspicuous. She was also afraid they might be robbed by bandits.
After discussing it, they bought a wheelbarrow to haul the grain. Along the way, each household could take turns pushing it.
Since the grain had to be divided among everyone, they also bought wooden scoops, burlap sacks, scales, and the like. They bought salt, needles, and various other odds and ends as well. By the time they were done, half the money in their pockets was gone.
The rest was exchanged for copper coins to take back and distribute first. After all, once every family had gotten a taste of money, they would have some hope of staying alive, wouldn’t they?
On the way back, the setting sun stretched everyone’s shadows long across the ground.
With their empty baskets on their backs, everyone chatted and laughed, their steps light and brisk.
They had never worried about money before. But after being exiled and left penniless, they had nearly gone mad thinking about money. Their minds had been filled with despair and confusion about the unknown road ahead.
Only now, after learning how difficult it was to earn money and experiencing the joy of reaping their own rewards, did they finally feel somewhat grounded.
This time, Cheng Yao did not walk at the front reminding everyone to avoid potholes. Instead, she chatted and laughed with several of the women.
She had smeared her face yellow, dotted it with a few black moles, and drawn her eyebrows thick. At first glance, she looked utterly ordinary—even somewhat ugly. Yet her eyes were astonishingly bright, like stars in the night or clear, tranquil lakes. They were the sort of eyes people found themselves drawn to.
The girls and women in the group followed her example and disguised themselves as well. But for some reason, none of them possessed the same natural warmth and approachability Cheng Yao had.
The only advantage was that no one harassed them along the road, saving them considerable trouble.
Seeing that Cheng Yao looked gentle and easy to talk to, Zhan Yunpeng could not hold back his question. “Sister-in-law, why did you stop me from telling Young Master Xiao who we really are?”
Cheng Yao glanced at him. “If you were in his place, would you do business with exiled criminals?”
Zhan Yunpeng thought about it seriously. “Why not? A fair trade is a fair trade. What difference does it make who you deal with?”
Cheng Yao laughed and shook her head. “That’s because you don’t understand merchants. They care most about auspicious omens. What do criminals represent? Decline, bad luck, and trouble. Ordinary people don’t want anything to do with them for fear of inviting misfortune, let alone merchants. It’s a good thing we aren’t wearing prison uniforms. Otherwise, we’d be like rats crossing the street. Forget doing business—we might not even be allowed on the streets.”
“Oh…” Everyone suddenly understood.
She had actually thought that far ahead!
“Sister-in-law, I almost ruined our business,” Zhan Yunpeng said, his face flushing as he ran a hand through his hair in dismay. “I’ll never speak out of turn again.”
One of the women comforted him. “You’re still young and don’t understand the ways of the world. But you’re right that you should do more, observe more, and speak less.”
Cheng Yao added, “You didn’t do anything wrong. Growing up means constantly making mistakes and learning from them. Still, being cautious can reduce the cost of those mistakes.”
The group nodded thoughtfully.
One of the young men asked, “Sister-in-law, last year, the grapes our household bought were so sour they made our teeth ache. The wild grapes growing on that hillside we picked from were never fertilized or tended, so how could they be sweeter than the ones grown by fruit farmers?”
“Because that slope faces the sun and gets plenty of sunlight, which makes the grapes sweeter. And besides…” Cheng Yao paused. “They have to be picked after White Dew and before First Frost. Pick them too early, and they’ll be sour. Pick them too late, and they’ll rot.”
Everyone nodded. They had learned something new again.
“Sister-in-law, you know so much.” Zhan Qingrou looked at her with sympathy. “You must have suffered a great deal before you were brought back to the General’s Residence, didn’t you?”
Before Cheng Yao could answer, one of the women cut in. “Even after she returned to the General’s Residence, Yao’er still had a hard time.”
Zhan Qingrou pressed her. “Fifth Aunt, what happened?”
Fifth Aunt sighed. “No one in the General’s Residence truly treated her well. Her stepmother suppressed her, and her half-sister set traps to frame her. Just imagine how difficult her life was.”
“What?” Zhan Qingrou clearly knew little about Cheng Yao’s past and looked shocked. “But Sister-in-law doesn’t seem like someone who would let herself be pushed around. How could she allow such a wretched woman to trample all over her?”
Fifth Aunt curled her lips. “That half-sister of hers was capable of drugging her, knocking her unconscious, and making her marry in her place. You can imagine how vicious and arrogant she was on a daily basis.”
She looked at Cheng Yao with deep sympathy. “Your sister-in-law’s little tricks were nothing in front of that mother and daughter.”
Zhan Qingrou stared at Cheng Yao, her eyes reddening. “Sister-in-law, I never realized you were so pitiful. If I’d known sooner, I wouldn’t have disliked you.”
Cheng Yao smiled and was just about to respond when Zhan Qingrou pouted. “But you did take my brother away, so sometimes I still feel a little unhappy about it.”
Cheng Yao was speechless.
Seeing her dark expression, Zhan Qingrou burst into laughter. “Sister-in-law, I was only teasing you. If you and my brother get along well, I couldn’t be happier. Besides, you’re so good to him. The way he loves and spoils you is exactly what you deserve.”
“Sister-in-law, it doesn’t matter if your family doesn’t like you.” The little girl, wise beyond her years, patted the back of Cheng Yao’s hand. “From now on, my mother will be your real mother, I’ll be your real sister, and Second Brother will be your real younger brother. Big Brother will be your protector. You’ll be the treasured darling of our whole family, and we’ll all dote on you.”
The words moved Cheng Yao a little.
She tapped the tip of the girl’s nose. “You’d better mean that.”
“Of course. I, Zhan Qingrou, never tell lies.”
The little girl thumped her chest proudly. She was innocent and adorably earnest, making everyone laugh.
The setting sun stretched their shadows long across the ground. Weary birds flew overhead, their cries heralding the return home.
By the time they reached the main group, the last light had faded and night had fallen.
The people who had stayed behind at the camp had spent the entire day worrying, and now they were finally waiting to welcome their loved ones home!
Wait—what was that cart?
Everyone’s eyes widened. They had a vague guess, but they hardly dared believe it.
Constable Wang, who had been sitting before, abruptly rose to his feet. He looked at their smiling faces, then at their empty baskets, and his breathing quickened. He hurried toward them.
“Dad, Grandpa, we’re back!” Zhan Yunpeng waved excitedly. “Sister-in-law sold all the grapes and even bought back an entire cart of rice.”
“Really?”
All the clansmen swarmed around them.
“You sold all the grapes? They were that easy to sell?”
“Did you buy the cart too?”
“How much money did you make? You bought so much rice and even a cart?”
Everyone was so excited that questions came pouring out from every direction.
Cheng Yao found it exhausting and did not answer a single one. The clansmen who had gone with her could explain everything themselves.
She returned to Zhan Haoting’s side.
“Are you tired?”
“Are you hungry?”
The couple spoke at the same time, perfectly in sync.
They both froze for a moment, then looked at each other and smiled.
“Did everything go smoothly today?” Zhan Haoting asked again.
In truth, the covert guards had already reported everything that had happened to Cheng Yao at the market.
Even so, he wanted her to tell him about it herself—to share everything with him openly and without reservation.
So Cheng Yao briefly recounted the day’s events.
She concealed nothing. Her account was candid and matched the covert guards’ report exactly.
When she mentioned Shen Xi, she even joked, “Young Master Shen was so considerate toward me that if I hadn’t painted myself to look like an old yellow-faced woman, I might really have suspected he had feelings for me.”
“A woman’s beauty lies in her bones, not her skin; love arises from the heart, not the bones. The fact that he’s fallen for you means he values your inner beauty—and proves he isn’t shallow. But if I had been there…”
Zhan Haoting’s eyes glittered with undisguised admiration, sparkling like they were dusted with fine diamonds. Yet the words that left his lips sent a chill down her spine.
“I’m afraid I would have gouged out the eyes of that bastard.”
