Reborn as a Merchant Girl, the General's Beloved

She must be in a mess and pitiful state at the moment, so a gentle servant came over and didn't ask her anything. He just handed her a bowl of hot tea and broke off half of his own pancake and gave it to her. Seeing that she was a little dazed, he smiled innocently and said, "Would you like to come over and warm yourself by the fire?"

She caught a glimpse of a group of men, and saw that although all of them were strong, no one showed any ill will towards her, a woman who came alone. Instead, they were all compassionate and sympathetic. They all huddled together around a small brazier, eating the simplest white flour cakes, and their smiles were as pure as this bowl of clear tea.

Anan smiled and shook her head, still standing there, eating biscuits with hot tea. She thought to herself that if the silly girl pretended to be pitiful and went in through the door openly, she would be fine, but she chose to climb the wall.

The biscuit was dry and hard, like a rock when eaten. Anan could not chew it at all, but he was embarrassed to refuse the other person's kindness, so he simply put the biscuit in his arms and casually smoothed his hair which was messy due to the hurried journey.

The servant walked up to her again, looked her up and down, and then said with a smile: "Miss, what are you doing here?"

She hurriedly replied, "I came to look for my cousin Fu'er. The girl who was traveling with her said that she ran into your manor this afternoon and was tied up."

The atmosphere suddenly became a little stagnant. The people who were originally joking looked at each other in silence for a while. The servant then asked, "Why are you here alone to look for someone? Is there no one else at home?"

She knew that she would make mistakes if she spoke too much, so she just sighed silently, nodded slowly, and then whispered, "I wonder if the young man could help me pass on the message."

He didn't ask any more questions. There was a gleam of tears in his eyes. He glanced back and looked embarrassed.

Seeing his expression, Anan quickly took out the fare that the driver had returned to her and said with a smile, "My cousin is young and ignorant, please help me, brother!"

"Well! You wait here, I'll pass the message on for you, but," he frowned and looked at her, his eyes full of pity, and sighed, "but the master of the family is not here now, and I don't know if Butler Wang is willing to see you."

"Of course, thank you very much, young man." She bowed and stood there waiting. Considering his status, he had done his best to help to this extent.

He really turned around and went in. After a while, he came back and smiled at her excitedly, "Girl! Follow me."

Annan pulled his wet clothes, followed him and walked in.

It was dark and there were no lights around. After passing the screen wall, a servant holding a dim cotton paper lamp led her along a path planted with teardrop bamboos with ease.

The village was very quiet, with only the chirping of insects.

After walking for a while, they entered a small courtyard. There was no one in the courtyard except for one room with a light on. The servant knocked on the door, and heard a muffled response from inside: "Come in!"

Anan gritted his teeth and went in.

The lights in the room were dim. A kind-looking middle-aged man sat at the table. His cheeks were red and he coughed from time to time. The table was piled high with books. He was obviously nervous when he saw her come in. He put down the book in his hand and smiled softly, "Don't be afraid, young lady. Rest in the manor for a while. You can take me there at dawn."

It seems Yuan Fu is fine!

She finally let go of her worries and nodded her head. Just as she was about to follow the servant out the door, she heard a "thump" behind her. When she turned around, she saw Butler Wang lying on the ground in a daze, with a book in his hand.

The servant threw away the lantern, stepped over to help the girl up, and shouted at her, "Go call the doctor!"

Annan responded in a daze, lifted her skirt and walked quickly out of the yard, but she didn't know where to go. There was no one in the place. She vaguely saw a light in the distance, so she ran in that direction along the bluestone path.

The stone road was slippery and her shoes were already soaked. She took many detours and by the time she arrived, she was extremely tired.

A large lantern was lit at the entrance to the courtyard, the candlelight flickering, and the surrounding bamboo fences cast mottled reflections. The bamboo door was wide open, and faint warmth and medicinal fragrance came from inside.

She didn't have time to think and ran in quickly.