Chapter 25: Changes

Yan Huaiwen was filled with a lingering fear.

What was the point of living another life if he couldn’t save his daughter and son, and make up for past regrets?

At this moment, he realized deeply that circumstances would not remain unchanged.

Everything from the moment he awoke with memories of his past life had become uncertain.

But no matter how the external world changed, the corruption of the human heart was hard to reverse.

He no longer confined himself to a corner, took initiative, sold land to pay off debts.

This disrupted the Li Zheng family’s plans to curry favor, prompting Guo Xiaoxiang to come to the village earlier than expected.

This time, it wasn’t that no one was home; it was just that Daya happened to be out, and the villagers were busy harvesting wheat, giving Guo Xiaoxiang an opportunity.

If his second brother’s family hadn’t returned in time, and Guo Xiaoxiang had managed to drag Daya to a deserted place, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

His second brother managed to return so quickly from town by borrowing an ox cart.

And the ox cart was meant for his trip to Guanzhou.

The money to buy the ox cart came from selling the land…

Thinking about it this way, everything was interconnected, and even the slightest deviation in any link could have led to a vastly different outcome.

Yan Huaiwen fell into deep contemplation.

“Father, we can’t let that scoundrel off easily. Let’s go to the yamen and submit a petition, asking Your Honor to deal with him strictly.”

Yan Huaiwen looked at him, frowning slightly, then quickly relaxed.

Fortunately, Heng’er didn’t say they should file a lawsuit at the yamen, nor ask for Your Honor to administer justice.

Don’t underestimate the difference of a single word; it means something entirely different.

The latter would mean taking it to court and making a big fuss, not to mention whether the high-seated Your Honor at the county yamen would handle it according to the law.

Just the matter of a daughter’s reputation would be a loss for the Yan Family.

As for submitting a petition and asking Your Honor to punish him privately, what could they really achieve?

A show of a few beatings, maybe a small compensation.

Daya was only frightened; they might even skip the beatings and settle it with a fine.

What he had experienced back then, did he have to go through it all over again?

Daya’s suicide, an end to all, the dead can’t speak for themselves.

Everything was left to the Guo family to say, denying everything.

What could he do but swallow his grievances?

“Don’t be foolish, Heng’er! If this gets out, how will Daya live?” Yan Lao’er really wanted to knock some sense into his eldest nephew. Did he think this was a perfectly lawful new society?

Even in a new society, women who are harmed don’t have it easy, suffering great physical and psychological trauma.

Daya isn’t a strong person, a girl raised in tears, extremely fragile. Didn’t you see how his wife didn’t dare leave her side, afraid she would be alone and get stuck in a rut?

“Brother, Heng, as your uncle, let me say something. If you truly care for Daya, don’t bring this up again. Our Daya is sensitive and delicate.

She was really frightened today, her body was stiff for a long time before she recovered. If this isn’t resolved, the child is bound to overthink, and if she does something foolish, it will be too late for regrets!”

Yan Huaiwen said coldly, “Your Second Uncle is right. If Your Honor is strict, a few beatings; if lenient, a few taels of silver. If Guo Xiaoxiang claims to admire Daya and acted improperly, and then pretends to be a lovesick fool, Your Honor might even want to make it a romantic story.”

Yan Lao’er: Old Yan, you really get it!

Yan Xiangheng was simple, not stupid.

Just a little thought, and he understood that his father and Second Uncle had thought it through, and that’s how things were.

But he was still unwilling: “We can’t just let it go like this!”

Yan Huaiwen stared intently at his second brother.

Yan Lao’er felt uncomfortable under his gaze.

“Tian You, what were you just doing?”

Yan Lao’er quickly ran through his thoughts, deciding whether to tell the truth.

“What about Guo Xiaoxiang now?”

Yan Lao’er: …

How did you guess that?

“Brother, how did you know?”

Yan Huaiwen: I didn’t know anything, just testing you.

Yan Lao’er thought, Guo Xiaoxiang wasn’t kicked to death, he’s still alive, and he has a mouth, so there’s no point in hiding it.

“Well, you know, our ox is newly bought and not very good-tempered. He got too close and got kicked.” Yan Lao’er embellished the story a bit.

He also laid the groundwork for Sanbao being shy and not to be approached easily.

Perfect!

Yan Huaiwen wasn’t surprised; his brother wasn’t known for being a good person, wasn’t that common knowledge?

He didn’t have a reputation for being vengeful only because he was a “Scholar.”

He was petty from a young age, often jealous of their father’s favoritism, always comparing himself to him.

It wasn’t until their parents passed away, leaving only the two brothers, that this trait gradually faded.

As for how the ox could kick someone, that wasn’t important.

“Is it serious?” Yan Huaiwen asked, with a hint of expectation.

“Well, how should I put it…” Yan Lao’er recalled the scene he had witnessed.

Seeing an ox accurately kick someone in the chest is quite difficult, but he actually saw it.

First, you have to knock the person down, then, without any resistance, land a kick.

If, by some chance, they fall on their back, you have to flip them over.

His Sanbao, worked hard!

“He’s definitely not dead.” Yan Lao’er said confidently.

Yan Huaiwen was satisfied and decided to personally feed the ox later as a reward.

Yan Xiangheng felt that his father and Second Uncle’s image had been somewhat overturned today.

His father was calm in the face of trouble, worldly-wise.

His uncle would consider the family and secretly take action…

…

“Is the Scholar home?” someone called from the courtyard gate.

Yan Yu, squatting by the door of the east room eavesdropping, stood up and stomped her feet, shouting into the house, “Uncle! Uncle Qi is here with our wheat!”

Yan Lao’er was the first to come out and saw his daughter standing at the door, grinning foolishly, and couldn’t help but ruffle her hair. “Be careful, or you won’t grow taller.”

Yan Yu didn’t care.

Worrying about not growing taller had no scientific basis.

Yan Xiangheng followed closely behind, paused, and whispered, “Er Ya, don’t tell anyone about today’s events, and don’t mention it in front of your Eldest Sister, got it?”

Yan Yu raised her innocent face and replied crisply, “Got it, big brother!”

Yan Xiangheng nodded and hurried over to help.

Yan Yu looked into the house, and Yan Huaiwen waved her over.

She walked over with her short legs, calling out brightly, “Uncle!”

“Er Ya, what’s your Eldest Sister doing?”

“Eldest Sister is doing needlework with mom.” Yan Yu asked worriedly, “Uncle, will that bad man come again? Eldest Sister is scared, and I’m scared too.”

“Don’t be afraid. Once the wheat is milled, we’ll leave, and he won’t find us,” Yan Huaiwen reassured her.

“Will we take Sanbao with us? Sanbao is so obedient.”

“Sanbao is…”

“It’s our family’s ox. I named it. I’m Dabao, the one in mom’s belly is Erbao, and it’s Sanbao.”

Yan Huaiwen: …

Accidentally became the ox’s uncle.

“Can Sanbao understand words?”

“Yes, yes, Sanbao is very smart. It lets me pet it and even lets me ride it!”

Yan Huaiwen didn’t mind. The ox had a gentle temperament, likely well-trained by its previous owner, and seemed to understand human nature to some extent.

(End of chapter)