Page 494

Xiao Jizi lamented loudly, "That won’t be easy to find at all, even if one were to draw it out, it’s like trying to find a needle in the ocean."

Without much thought before, now Lian Hua considered it carefully and indeed it was so. She scratched her head and couldn’t help but wanted to ask.

As if Xiao Jizi had a worm in her belly that knew Lian Hua’s thoughts, she didn’t wait for the question to be asked, continuing with the question Lian Hua wanted to ask, "Madam Lian, do you know who the person who brought the message is, where he lives?"

Lian Hua nodded, Xiao Jizi’s question was good; as long as she knew the rough location, they could search. She continued her movements, reaching for a pen.

Having asked this far, Lin Yuejuan, even if slow, knew how to answer.

She said, "Oh, that young brother came in a hurry and left in one too, rushing on his journey. He didn’t even have the time to drink some water before leaving. All I know is that he travels from south to north with no fixed place to stay; I know nothing else."

Lian Hua stopped searching for the pen, not giving up, she asked, "Doesn’t that person have any fixed place to stay at? For example, an escort agency or something? Is he an escort master?"

Lin Yuejuan’s heart skipped a beat, and she missed a breath, "No, no."

Her heart began to pound wildly, fearing that Lian Hua had remembered something, her complexion turned deathly pale in an instant. Fortunately, Xiao Jizi was blocking her, not giving any clues away.

In front of the vanity, Lian Hua once again slumped, putting down the pen she held, and sat down despondently.

The hard-earned clue was lost again. Alas...

Xiao Jizi sensed Lin Yuejuan’s unusual behavior.

He still blocked Lian Hua’s line of sight, walked in front of the vanity and blocked the view completely, comforting her, "My lady, they’ve sent back a verbal message, your parents and brother are all well—rest assured, they will surely come looking for you soon. "

Lian Hua propped her head up, disheartened, "Soon? When is that? Why haven’t they come looking for me all these years?"

"This..." Xiao Jizi couldn’t answer this question and stuttered without a word.

Sitting in the hall, Lin Yuejuan breathed a sigh of relief, knowing they hadn’t remembered yet. She broke out in a cold sweat all over, feeling almost faint, and the old pain in her waist threatened to flare up again.

Fortunately, they hadn’t remembered, or else she would have truly committed a wrongdoing.

She wiped away her sweat, looked inside the room, and seeing Lian Hua quite unhappy, Lin Yuejuan thought for a moment and said, "Xiao Hua, perhaps it’s because your Clan Uncle and I moved homes. Maybe your parents tried to find us and didn’t succeed, right?"

"Hmm?" Lian Hua turned her head to look over.

Xiao Jizi looked at Lin Yuejuan, made sure her expression was normal again, and stepped aside.

Lin Yuejuan swallowed, gathered herself, and said, "Let Clan Aunt calculate the days for you. With your parents’ abilities, after these years, they must have earned a fair amount of silver. How many months are you into your pregnancy?"

"Almost four months," Lian Hua straightened up, somewhat puzzled. What did her parents’ earnings have to do with the number of months she was pregnant?

"Let Clan Aunt calculate the days," Lin Yuejuan thought to herself. It was now September; judging by the look of it, it seemed like three or four months into the pregnancy, so that meant there were still over six months until the birth.

That meant the child would be born next year. To be safe, nurse the baby for a year, and regain her strength, so it seemed the year after next was appropriate.

After calculating, Lin Yuejuan spoke anew, "Xiao Hua, with your parents’ abilities, perhaps they could return next year, no no, I think it will be the year after next."

"Ah? Why the year after next?"

Lin Yuejuan earnestly said, "The year after next is more secure. You should also give your parents more time to earn silver, so they won’t have to work so hard."

Indeed, the Clan Aunt had considered everything thoroughly.

Lian Hua’s eyes lit up, and she nodded firmly, "The Clan Aunt is right, we should give them more time, otherwise, if they become anxious, it’s too hard on them. It’s not good if they get tired; I can’t be in a rush."

She muttered to herself and started pacing, the more she thought about it, the more she felt it was true; she did not want her parents and three brothers to tire themselves out for her sake.

Her father was only busy during those few tea harvests, usually idle and used to having Uncle Bao and the others manage the tea plantation.

They took care of weeding, fertilizing, and other tasks; her father just occasionally went to give directions.

Therefore, her father would certainly suffer if he were to work too hard.

Her mother was in charge of the household, the shop, and the fields; she dealt with the accounting every day and never did any heavy lifting, as others helped her, so she couldn’t be overexerted either.

Her eldest brother, a scholar, of course, didn’t need to say; he still had to study and couldn’t be overburdened.

Her third brother was too frail to be worn out.

Only her second brother was somewhat capable of shouldering burdens, robust and resilient, but when it came to earning money, he was not the best at it, so that wouldn’t work either.

Looking at it this way, it seemed that even the year after next wouldn’t be feasible; it would be better to let them take their time.

Lian Hua convinced herself as she murmured, completely forgetting about everything else.

Xiao Jizi was baffled by what he heard, "Is that really okay?"

But at least the situation was smoothed over; he let out a sigh of relief. If the master could come to terms with it on her own, then all was well, though he still felt that there was something complicated about the situation.

Lin Yuejuan felt somewhat guilty, yet she also relaxed, managing to bluff her way through. When she went back, she could explain things to the old man.

First, let everyone be safe and not think too much; the focus should be on peacefully nurturing the fetus and having a smooth delivery. As for the matter of the year after next, that could be discussed then.

She would go back and let the old man come up with a plan. Despite his upright appearance, that old man had the most cunning ideas—leaving it to him would certainly be right.

What Lin Yuejuan and Xiao Jizi did not anticipate was that their fabricated story turned out to be true—Lian Hua’s family indeed was looking for her, and by some twists of fate, they hadn’t found Lian Bingcheng. Even so, Lian Hua was reunited with her family much sooner than Lin Yuejuan had said.

Why did Lin Yuejuan undergo such a significant change in attitude upon hearing about Lian Hua’s pregnancy?

There was a story behind it. After giving birth to Huihui, Lin Yuejuan had actually been pregnant one more time.

Huihui’s birth had been somewhat difficult, and it took several years for Lin Yuejuan’s health to recover until she was able to conceive again four years later.

During those four years, she endured the sneers and ridicule of her mother-in-law, hearing every imaginable insult—suffering enormous psychological pressure.

Therefore, when she became pregnant again, she was initially thrilled.

But once the joy subsided, new anxieties emerged, fearing that the child might not be a son.

Coupled with her mother-in-law’s incessant prodding, she fell into a state of constant anxieties, like a startled bird, always scared and uneasy, waking from nightmares about giving birth to another daughter.

Pregnant women are naturally sensitive and prone to worry.

With her mind filled with turmoil each day, the weight on her heart grew heavier.

Even Lian Bingcheng’s comforting did nothing to help; she could neither eat nor sleep well, and the fetus did not thrive.

Ultimately, the child was stillborn, resulting in a miscarriage.

After that, she never became pregnant again.

So Lin Yuejuan, who had gone through the experience herself, could most empathize with such feelings and understand such pain, preferring to tell lies rather than reveal the truth to Lian Hua. She did not wish to see her own tragedy replayed in Lian Hua’s life.

After going through this ordeal, Lin Yuejuan relaxed completely and was no longer as rigid as when she first entered the palace. Once Lian Hua calmed down, Lin Yuejuan took her hand and meticulously advised her about the various precautions she needed to take during her pregnancy.