CHAPTER 221: CHAPTER 221: I’LL GO WITH YOU

Duan did not dare to enter the broken temple. She called Ning Chuyu to the entrance, and the mother and daughter ate meat buns at the doorway in large bites.

The Sun family smelled the aroma of the meat buns and all turned their heads away. Even the youngest, Sun Manyi, stiffened his neck, refusing to look at them.

The Sun family remained unaffected, but it didn’t mean that the beggars, who were starving, could remain indifferent.

Just as Sun Manzhi wandered to a corner inside, a beggar asked him, "Are those two women at the door with you?"

Sun Manzhi shook his head, "No."

The old Sun family had many people, and many men. Sun Wuye had three sons, and after losing Sun Erji, they looked slightly fewer in number.

But Sun Siye had many sons, five in total. With Sun Wulin conscripted into the army, there were still four left.

All four sons were adults, and they also had sons.

Proudly, Sun Siye had eleven grandchildren, and quite a few great-grandchildren.

Had it not been for the fact that the Sun family had many people and men, the beggars would have attempted to rob their food long ago.

Upon hearing Sun Manzhi say that those two women eating meat buns at the door were not with them, several beggars’ eyes sparkled, and they headed straight for Ning Chuyu and her mother.

Ning Chuyu was still savoring how tasty the meat buns were when a pair of dark hands suddenly snatched the bun from her.

While the meat bun was being taken, Duan noticed someone getting onto their carriage.

"Oh no, robbery, someone is robbing us... Quick... Su Jingchen, someone is robbing us!"

"Old Six, there really is silver in this woman’s carriage, we’re rich."

A beggar pulled a bundle out of the Ning family’s carriage and jumped down with laughter.

But before he could celebrate, someone kicked him to the ground, snatching the bundle from him.

The person who took the bundle was none other than Su Jingchen.

The beggar gritted his teeth in pain and shouted, "Didn’t you say those two women are not with you? Why are you meddling?"

Su Jingchen replied coldly, "It’s one thing to steal buns, but leaving people with no way to live is too much."

Although he had no feelings for Ning Chuyu, her mother and daughter had followed him all the way, and he couldn’t ignore them without feeling guilty.

Moreover, if all their traveling expenses were stolen, wouldn’t they be stuck relying on him in the future?

That couldn’t happen!

The beggar who tried to snatch the bundle got beaten, which scared the others, who paused for a moment while eating their buns, but only a moment. They quickly stuffed the buns into their mouths and ran away.

The beggar who received a kick from Su Jingchen got up from the ground and ran off with them.

This group was too large, and some knew martial arts. The beggars realized they couldn’t afford to offend them, so they all ran away.

For a moment, the broken temple was left with only them, and no one else.

Su Jingchen returned the bundle to Duan and advised her to keep her silver coins close to her.

Grateful, Duan accepted the bundle and thanked Su Jingchen profusely.

Ning Chuyu, with oil still shining on her mouth, hurriedly used her sleeve to wipe it away and reached out to stop Su Jingchen.

"Jingchen brother, I never wanted to break off the engagement with you; it was my father who insisted on it.

Now that my father is gone, no one is stopping us from being together, we can..."

As Ning Chuyu spoke, she grabbed his sleeve. Su Jingchen took several steps backward in haste.

"Ah..."

Yu Xiaolian, carrying a large bundle of white steamed buns, bumped straight into Su Jingchen.

Yu Xiaolian complained, "What are you doing? Watch where you’re going!"

Then she ignored the startled Su Jingchen and marched into the broken temple, sweetly greeting Grandfather Five and Grandfather Four.

Sun Wuye never thought he’d see Yu Xiaolian here. This was not Yu State after all.

They were still in the territory of Lu State.

How could this girl be here?

Yu Xiaolian opened a large bundle of buns, "Here, eat first. I’ll explain as you eat."

Between Sun Wuye and Sun Siye’s families, there were nearly seventy or eighty people in total. Soon enough, the large bundle of buns Yu Xiaolian brought was snatched clean.

Some hadn’t even managed to grab one.

Unwilling to see them starve, Yu Xiaolian offered, "I’ll go get some more."

Sun Wuye held Yu Xiaolian back, "Child, don’t go. We’ll share half a bun each."

Now, food was extremely expensive, absurdly so, and pure white buns were even pricier.

Although this area around Weicheng was slightly safer, Sun Wuye was still worried about a little girl like Yu Xiaolian going out to buy a large bundle of buns, given the current chaos.

Seeing someone gobble down half a bun in a few bites, Yu Xiaolian realized they hadn’t been full for a long time. She ignored Sun Wuye’s objection and insisted on getting more buns.

Yes, getting buns, as those buns weren’t bought but from her space.

She had only come by now because she had been busy in the carriage unpacking buns, tearing open the plastic wrap of the original five-per-bag buns and placing them in a linen bundle.

As Yu Xiaolian stepped over the threshold of the broken temple, Su Jingchen followed her.

"I’ll go with you!"

Sun Wuye, seeing Su Jingchen go with Yu Xiaolian, felt somewhat reassured. The young man from the Su family was skilled in martial arts, so they didn’t have to fear encountering trouble.

Yu Xiaolian walked in front and quickly climbed into the carriage behind the broken temple. Su Jingchen naturally sat in the driver’s seat to keep watch for her.

While tearing open the plastic bags, Yu Xiaolian asked Su Jingchen, "How did you come to travel with the Sun family? Where are your father and the others?"

While Yu Xiaolian was questioning Su Jingchen, he was also asking her, "Why have you come to Weicheng? Are you here all alone?"

"I asked you first, so you answer me first."

Su Jingchen said, "When I received your letter, I opened a road permit in Linzhou and planned to go to Yu State to find Jingyue. On my way outside Bohai City, due to traveling overnight, I blacked out and fell from my horse, saved by the Sun family.

Later, I found out they were also heading to Yu State, and moreover, they were relatives of your family..."

Learning that Sun Wuye’s family was heading to the Yu family, Su Jingchen decided to travel with them.

What Su Jingchen didn’t expect was that the Sun family didn’t have a road permit. They had never traveled far and were unaware of the necessity of a road permit.

Before setting off, they knew only to bring the pots, pans, and grains from home, completely unaware that they couldn’t travel far without a road permit.

They had their household registration, but since the Sun family had no scholars, that was useless.

Without a road permit, the fee to enter the city was five taels of silver per person, which they couldn’t afford, leaving the Sun family stranded outside Bohai City for almost a month.

Had I not encountered them, it would have been fine, but since I did, I couldn’t just leave them and go on my own.

Su Jingchen took out a scholar’s document and spoke kindly with the city guards, claiming the Sun family as his relatives and kin.

But the city guards already knew the Sun family; after all, they had been stuck there for a month, collecting porridge daily, weren’t they faces they recognized?

In the end, Su Jingchen had to bribe a stubborn government officer to let them through.