CHAPTER 350: CHAPTER 325: SUN SHANG

Yu Changhe saw Mrs. Sun coming out with only a thin inner garment on, and quickly said, "Weren’t you lying down? Why are you out again?"

Mrs. Sun sighed and sat on the chair next to Yu Changhe, "You’re not sleeping either, so I came out to keep you company."

Yu Changhe pulled the clothes on Mrs. Sun’s shoulders back towards her, "Go back inside so you don’t catch a cold. I’ll sit here for a while until the fire in the stove goes out, then I’ll come in."

Mrs. Sun knew why Yu Changhe was worried, "Shall we let Lian’er decide for herself about her situation?"

Yu Changhe looked at Mrs. Sun with an uncertain expression, "Do you also think highly of Su Jingchen?"

Mrs. Sun said helplessly, "Su Jingchen knows Lian’er’s secret, and he even plans to go to the Snow Mountain to find that herbal remedy to cure the Gu Worm for Lian’er, called the Green Velvet Herb.

I see that this child genuinely cares for our Lian’er.

I heard that the Green Velvet Herb is only effective when it blooms blue flowers, but it grows on the snow-capped peaks of the Snow Mountain and only blooms once every ten years.

Lian’er told me that wearing those colored lenses every day causes her eyes to become inflamed, and she must find a way to remove the Gu Worm from her body, so she has already decided to go on a journey next year. As for how many years until she returns, it’s uncertain."

Yu Changhe was stunned.

He never thought the separation from his daughter would come so quickly and so suddenly.

The reason for the separation wasn’t because his daughter was getting married, but because of her eye condition.

"So...so is she going with Su Jingchen?" If Su Jingchen is willing to postpone his imperial examinations and accompany her to find the antidote, it proves he is worth his daughter marrying.

Besides, Su Jingchen is skilled in martial arts, and having him accompany his daughter makes him feel at ease.

But these young people, especially a young man and woman together for years, he worries they might act inappropriately, and Yu Changhe grows uneasy again.

"His daughter wants to go secretly, without telling Su Jingchen," Mrs. Sun whispered.

Yu Changhe’s mind was in turmoil, full of conflict.

Letting the Su family boy go with his daughter, he feared for her reputation.

If his daughter went alone, he couldn’t rest easy.

On the night of New Year’s Eve, Yu Changhe fell asleep with a worried heart.

The next morning, right after breakfast, Yu Changhe called Yu Xiaolian into the inner room alone.

"Your mother told me about your plans to go find that herbal remedy for the Gu Worm. I don’t oppose you seeking it, but I can’t trust you going alone. Please, listen to your father and take Zhao Erya with you. She knows about your secret room, and taking her means you’ll have someone to talk to and someone to care for you!"

Even though his daughter has her life-saving space, what if she faces disaster or illness along the way, not having anyone to serve tea or water?

Moreover, if that Su family boy sneaks along, it wouldn’t be just a solitary man and woman; he’d be more at ease with three people.

"Dad, I don’t know how many years it will be before I return. If I take Zhao Erya along, what about San Ya on her own?" Besides, Zhenpin Pavilion can’t do without people, and Zhao Erya is already skilled. Yu Xiaolian isn’t so confident about having someone else as the shopkeeper at Zhenpin Pavilion.

"San Ya won’t be mistreated at home, so why worry?

If you don’t want the sisters to be apart, then take both of them with you, since we have enough people at home now."

Yu Xiaolian shook her head, "Dad, taking the sisters with me will be inconvenient. Traveling alone in light disguise, dressing as a boy on the road, there won’t be much danger, rest assured."

Seeing Yu Xiaolian so determined, Yu Changhe’s head ached terribly, "You really mean to go by yourself?"

He feared as soon as his daughter set out, Su Jingchen would catch up, leaving him helpless to prevent it.

His daughter was still young, unaware of matters between men and women, and could not be allowed to be misled.

But as a father, he couldn’t verbally instruct his daughter about these matters.

Yu Changhe thought to let Mrs. Sun explain it later.

Yu Xiaolian, seeing Yu Changhe like this, had already guessed his thoughts, "Dad, I’m going on my own. Su Jingchen isn’t aware of my decision to go to the Western Regions, and I don’t plan on telling him."

Yu Changhe was somewhat puzzled, "You wouldn’t get engaged to Su Jingchen before leaving?"

His daughter’s departure could last maybe eight or ten years, so could Su Jingchen wait for her?

But even if they got engaged, what would it matter? An engagement shouldn’t be a shackle for either party.

"I’ll discuss the engagement after the New Year when I meet Su Jingchen again." In fact, Yu Xiaolian hadn’t really decided what to do.

She wasn’t even very certain whether that plant, the Green Velvet Herb, had the antidotal effect on the Gu Worm.

She thought about heading to Miaojiang first before setting out for the Western Regions next year, hoping to learn more about the Longevity Gu.

Feeling heavy-hearted, Yu Changhe left, knowing his daughter would leave sooner or later, he felt reluctant.

After Yu Changhe left, Mrs. Sun came to talk to Yu Xiaolian.

Mrs. Sun mainly conveyed Yu Changhe’s intentions for Yu Xiaolian to ’protect’ herself outside.

No matter how much she admires the other, she must remain restrained and observe ’proper procedures.’

Yu Xiaolian stifled a laugh and solemnly agreed.

Soon it was the twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month, and Qi Dalian gave birth smoothly to a boy, which made Sun Fengshou happy, Sun the Elder joyful, and everyone else joyous too.

Having just given birth, Qi Dalian hadn’t produced milk yet, so Yu Xiaolian brought several large bags of infant formula from the supermarket to the Sun Family.

Sun the Elder, now a grandmother again, was delighted and secretly kowtowed three times to the north at night to share the good news with her husband, who had been deceased for many years.

Qi Dalian asked Sun Fengshou to name the child, and after two days, on New Year’s Eve, he finally came up with a name he thought was good — Sun Shang.

Qi Dalian was puzzled, "I see everyone in Fourth Uncle’s and Fifth Uncle’s families uses the character ’Man’ for their children’s names, so why don’t we?"

Sun Fengshou explained, "When Xu was pregnant with Tiger, a Taoist priest predicted the baby had a short life, and naming him something like ’Tiger’ might suppress his ill fate.

Therefore, Tiger didn’t follow the trend of using the ’Man’ character in the name.

I thought if Tiger didn’t use it, neither should our younger child. What do you think?"

Qi Dalian thought for a moment, considering that Sun Man Shang wasn’t as melodious as Sun Shang, and agreed without any objection.

Thus, the name Sun Shang was settled.

However, in ancient times, newborns weren’t typically registered until they turned two years old, since many children died before reaching two. Filing household registration for them before then was considered unnecessary trouble.

Therefore, most families registered their children after they turned two, and when boys reached fifteen, they were considered mature labor forces, and the government would allocate a field for them as individual land shares.

New Year’s Eve was especially lively at the Yu Family. Mrs. Sun, as the head mother, gave everyone a string of Copper Coins, with the least being fifty coins, and one hundred coins for exceptionally well-behaved ones, while each protector and accountant received one tael of Silver.