Chapter 17: Su Xiuer Arrives, Living a Semi-Immortal Life

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After several days of traveling on foot, the Su family finally reached the border relay station of Yuzhou.

They found a patch of open ground near the station and settled there to rest for a while.

Short on money, the family had eaten and slept in the open along the way. After so many days, every one of them was dusty and disheveled; at a glance, they looked like refugees fleeing a disaster.

Su the Elder and Su the Second made use of whatever they could find, setting up a stove and pot on the spot. Beside their resting place stood a withered grove, where fallen branches were everywhere for the gathering.

As for food, a handful of cassava flour softened in snow and a handful of dried vegetables were enough for the whole family to make one meal.

Liu Yuelan and He Daxiang were busy as well. They set up another pot to boil snow, and before long, a pot of hot water was ready. They first used it to wipe the faces and wash the hands of the elderly and the children.

The border relay station stood several dozen yards ahead and to one side. Horses and carriages were parked before its entrance. There were not many travelers, but the place was still lively.

With the New Year approaching, red lanterns had been hung at the station, filling the air with a rich festive spirit.

The old woman and her husband sat together on a large stone beside the wooden cart, Sweet Treasure in the old woman’s arms. Three innocent little rascals laughed and played before their knees.

The elderly couple gazed silently at the red lantern swaying gently in the wind.

“Father and Mother must be worried about Xiuer, too, mustn’t they?” He Daxiang said in a low voice, her heart aching. “In past years, Xiuer would come home on the second day of the New Year. The whole family would be together, celebrating noisily and happily… This time, when trouble struck, we had to leave in such haste that we did not even see Xiuer one last time. Alas.”

Liu Yuelan bent down to add firewood to the earthen stove and answered softly, “Xiuer married out of the family, so she escaped being implicated. Given our situation, it is better that she does not see us. Things cannot be easy for her in the Chen household either.”

When they had left Big Locust Village, relatives from both women’s families had come to see them off. Yet the Chen family, who lived in the neighboring village, had not shown themselves.

Their eagerness to sever all ties was enough to chill the heart. With the Chen family’s cold and heartless character, how could Xiuer possibly have an easy life there?

Liu Yuelan sighed inwardly. Her parents-in-law must have seen through this as well, which was why they were so worried about Xiuer.

Before misfortune befell the Su family, Xiuer had still had her maiden family to rely on, and the Chen family had not dared mistreat her too severely.

Now that the Su family had been exiled, Xiuer’s support had effectively collapsed. A helpless young woman without anyone to depend on would only have a harder life in such a household from now on.

The stove for boiling water stood beside the one used for cooking, so Su the Elder and Su the Second naturally heard the sisters-in-law’s conversation.

“That bastard Chen De acted like a perfect gentleman when he came to propose, flattering us with every sweet word under the sun! If I had known he was such a spineless coward who let everyone else sway him, I never would have allowed him across our threshold!” Su the Second cursed hoarsely as he gripped a piece of firewood.

Su the Elder snatched it from his hand and tossed it into the stove. “Enough. Both of you, be quiet. Do you want to make our parents even more miserable? We are barely able to save ourselves, like a clay Buddha crossing a river. At least Xiuer is still safely on shore. As for what happens next, we can only deal with it when the time comes.”

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The two young couples spoke in voices so low that, against the biting December wind, their words could no longer be heard clearly from any distance.

Sweet Treasure cast a casual glance toward her parents. Her ears twitched slightly, and she lifted her little hand to reach for her grandmother’s chin.

The distracted woman was drawn back to herself by the baby’s tiny movement. She immediately tucked the little hand back into the swaddling cloth.

“Good girl, don’t fuss.”

“Ah.”

The baby gazed at her with round, shining eyes and opened her mouth, blowing a bubble of drool.

The sight tugged a faint smile from the old woman’s gloomy face.

“Old woman! Old woman!” As the old and the young amused one another, Old Master Su suddenly straightened his back, his voice trembling with excitement. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“Xiuer! Xiuer is calling for us—calling for Father and Mother!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Xiuer is hundreds of miles away at the very least—”

The old woman happened to look up, and the scolding died on her lips.

She sprang to her feet and stared fixedly across the way, her lips trembling uncontrollably.

At the end of the official road stretching behind the relay station, a figure was stumbling toward them, apparently shouting something.

As the figure drew nearer, the voice became clearer.

“Father! Mother!”

Old Master Su also pushed himself to his feet with the support of his cane. Tears flowed before he could say a word.

“It’s Xiuer! It’s Xiuer!”

Su the Elder and Su the Second heard the call as well. They rose excitedly in unison and looked in that direction.

The young woman who entered their sight looked haggard and travel-worn, her hair disheveled. She appeared even worse off than they did.

The three little rascals recognized their aunt and ran toward her, shouting and jumping.

“It’s Auntie! Auntie is here!”

Sweet Treasure blew another bubble of drool inside her swaddling cloth, calm as an old hound.

She had heard her aunt’s voice before the woman even appeared.

Her ears had never been this sharp before. After becoming a baby again, Sweet Treasure had discovered that many strange things had happened to her. Her ears were sharper, her eyes were sharper, and there was also…

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Sweet Treasure gazed innocently at the sky. Inside the swaddling cloth, her little hand found a loose bit of fabric and gave it a gentle tug.

Rrrip—

A tear opened in the cloth.

Sweet Treasure released it without the slightest change in expression.

As long as she refused to admit it, no one would know she had caused the damage.

While she was quietly committing her mischief, Su Xiuer and the rest of the family had finished embracing one another and crying their hearts out.

“Father, Mother, I’m going with you to the borderlands!” Su Xiuer wiped away her tears, a smile lifting the corners of her mouth. “I asked Chen De for a letter of repudiation. From now on, I have nothing to do with that family. As long as I can stay with you, I’ll be happy even if I’m exiled!”

The old woman’s eyes reddened. She struck her daughter’s back hard with one hand.

“You foolish girl! You foolish girl!”

“Mother, I’m not foolish. News of what happened to our family reached the Chen household that very morning. Old Madam Chen was afraid of being implicated and immediately changed her tune. She cursed me for being a barren hen, saying that after two years of marriage I had still failed to provide the old Chen family with an heir, and ordered Chen De to divorce me.”

Su Xiuer spoke of these distressing matters with an almost careless calm.

“Chen De is weak-willed. After hemming and hawing, he told me that if I agreed to let him marry his cousin, he would make sure I could keep my place in the Chen household. I refused and asked him for the letter of repudiation outright. From this day forward, I have nothing to do with him or the Chen family. He wanted the blessings of two women, but I refused to endure such humiliation. Wherever you and Father go, I will go. I will serve you both for the rest of your lives!”

Su the Second declared firmly, “Well done! The Chen family is a nest of snakes and rats. Cutting ties with them means you’ve escaped from a life of suffering! Don’t worry. Father and Mother have Big Brother and me to care for them, and Second Brother will provide for you too! I refuse to believe it. So what if we’ve been exiled? We can still live perfectly well!”

Su the Elder broke into a smile as well.

“Xiuer, you truly haven’t come at the wrong time. Don’t let our dusty faces fool you. We’re living a kind of carefree life we never managed to find before! The guards look down on insignificant people like us and were unwilling to suffer through escorting us, so they told us to make our own way to the borderlands and receive our punishment there. With no one supervising us, the journey has been more like sightseeing in the mountains. We eat whenever we want, rest whenever we want, and we do not even have to work! Surprised? It’s practically a life among the immortals!”

The entire Su family fell silent.

A moment later—

“Hahahaha!”

The family was whole once more. By finding humor in hardship, their broad and cheerful spirits finally dispelled the oppressive gloom.

Laughter drifted through the woods on the wind and carried into the relay station.

At a dining table by the window in the station’s inner hall, a beautiful young woman was feeding a child. Drawn by the laughter outside, she turned her head and peered out.

“Who is making such a commotion over there?”

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