FDNL CH 26

Chapter 26

Didn’t Come

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First Arrival in Another World 026 — Didn’t Come

On the road to the county town, Su Lianyi chatted merrily with Old Ma. As he drove the donkey cart, Old Ma gnawed on the steamed bun Lianyi had given him, telling her all sorts of interesting anecdotes from everywhere under the sun, boasting nonstop.

Very soon, they arrived at the county town.

“Uncle Ma, please stop the donkey cart for a moment,” Lianyi said.

“Alright.” Old Ma stopped the cart. “Lianyi girl, what’s the matter?”

Lianyi jumped down at once, picked up her small bundle. “Uncle Ma, I won’t be going to the Li residence. About how long will it take you to deliver the wine? I’ll stroll around the county market, then meet you back here later.”

Old Ma immediately beamed and slapped his thigh. “Good girl! That’s exactly how it should be. Marriage is all about being well-matched. The second young master of the Li family isn’t someone villagers like us can aspire to. Even if you forced your way into that marriage, you wouldn’t live a good life. Dahu may not talk much, but he’s strong and can farm. If the two of you live well together, your days will get better.”

“……” Lianyi gave a wry smile. “Mm, mm, yes, Uncle Ma is right. Haven’t I come to terms with it now? I’ll buy some things in the county and go back to the village with you later.” What a colossal injustice.

After agreeing on a time, the two went their separate ways. Lianyi headed off to browse the market with excitement, while Old Ma drove the donkey cart toward the Li residence.

At the Li residence’s gate, Cui’er was leading a group of people waiting at the back entrance. From afar, she saw the donkey cart delivering wine from the Su family enter the back courtyard gate, and her entire body tensed. Today, she would definitely take that fat girl’s life!

Old Ma led the donkey cart inside. A junior steward received him, and several servants stepped forward to carry down three large wine barrels.

Why would a family as big as the Li family insist on drinking wine from the Su family’s winery? There was, of course, a reason.

Next to Sujia Village was a large mountain that the villagers called Immortal Water Mountain. From the mountain peak, a spring flowed down and gathered into a pool halfway up the mountain, not a single drop flowing to the foot of the mountain. The water was clear and sweet; brewed as tea, it was fragrant and pleasant; used to make wine, the flavor was mellow and rich. Some people had tried to divert the spring downward, but after countless experiments, once the water reached the pool, it would inexplicably seep into the ground, utterly refusing to flow down the mountain.

There was no choice but to give up.

The Su family winery was a hereditary business using an old formula. All the water used came from Immortal Water Mountain, carried down the mountain one bucket at a time by Sujia villagers.

Li Fu’an was a businessman, very shrewd. He had once thought of buying the Su family winery outright, or opening another winery at the foot of Immortal Water Mountain. So, on the pretext of inviting several major clients to drink, he let them taste the Su family wine. Those clients showed no particular enthusiasm, and considering the difficulty of obtaining water from Immortal Water Mountain, Li Fu’an could only abandon the idea.

Thus, the Li residence became the Su family winery’s largest buyer.

“Huh, why didn’t that disgusting fat girl come?” a little maid beside Cui’er asked curiously. These were all people Cui’er had brought to continue “dealing with” Su Lianyi.

Cui’er looked left and right. Aside from the old man delivering the wine, she indeed did not see Su Lianyi. “Go think of a way to ask. Be clever,” she ordered a quick-witted little maid.

“Yes, Sister Cui’er.” The little maid agreed and hurried over.

At the back courtyard gate, the steward accepted the wine and wrote a receipt for Old Ma. At this moment, the little maid walked over with a smile. “Uncle, here to deliver wine? Why don’t I see Sister Lianyi?”

Seeing that she was an unfamiliar maid, Old Ma was puzzled as to when Lianyi had become friendly with a maid at the Li residence. “Lianyi went to the market today to buy things. She didn’t come to the Li residence.”

“What?” Not only the little maid, but even the junior steward and servants nearby were secretly astonished. That Su Lianyi actually didn’t come to the Li residence—how strange!

“So that’s how it is. Then will Sister Lianyi come later? I haven’t seen her for several days and miss her terribly,” the little maid said again.

Old Ma was a simple-minded old man and truly thought the little maid was close to Lianyi. “Lianyi girl won’t be coming today. We just agreed to meet at the county gate. After she finishes buying things, we’ll return to the village.”

“Oh, I see. Thank you, Uncle.” With that, she quickly left.

If this had happened a month earlier, Old Ma would surely have been puzzled for a long time. Maids at the Li residence had higher status than village girls—how could one like Su Lianyi? But after these days of contact, he found Lianyi to be quite good. Perhaps this little maid had noticed it even earlier than he did.

Behind an ornamental rockery, a group of maids were hiding.

“Sister Cui’er, that dead fat girl didn’t come to the Li residence. The old man said the fat girl went to the market to buy things and won’t be coming today,” the little maid reported.

“What? She’s not coming?” a group of maids exclaimed.

Cui’er was momentarily at a loss. “You all watch here. I’ll go and come back.” This task concerned her life; she dared not be careless, and ran toward the second young master’s study.

Begonia Garden. Li Yutang was checking accounts with a steward, his expression calm, as if completely unrelated to the impending murder in the back courtyard.

“Second Young Master, Second Young Master, requesting an audience with Second Young Master!” Cui’er’s anxious voice sounded outside the study.

The Li residence’s chief steward followed the family head Li Fu’an, while the second steward followed Second Young Master Li Yutang. Cui’er’s unruly shouting made the second steward, who was serving nearby, frown and prepare to go out and reprimand her, but Li Yutang spoke first.

“You may all withdraw. Let her come in.” His voice was淡淡, without discernible emotion.

“Yes.” The second steward led the stewards out of the study. Cui’er entered and with a thud fell to her knees. “Second Young Master, that dead fat girl… no, Su Lianyi, she didn’t come.”

“Finish what you’re saying.” Dressed in white, Li Yutang leisurely flipped through the account books, while Cui’er broke out in a cold sweat.

She quickly steadied herself. “Reporting to Second Young Master, Su Lianyi did not come to the Li residence. The old man delivering wine from the Su family said Su Lianyi went to the market to buy things and then returned directly to Sujia Village.”

Li Yutang’s long fingers paused for a moment, then immediately returned to normal. “You may go.”

“Yes.” Only then did Cui’er feel relieved. The second young master now knew.

“Mo Nong.” After Cui’er left, that calm, slightly distant voice sounded again in the study.

The attendant Mo Nong entered. “Yes, Second Young Master.”

His pale hand flipped another page. “Send someone to see what Su Lianyi is doing.”

“Yes.” Mo Nong went out.

“Come in. Let’s continue.”

As the words fell, the second steward led the stewards back in to continue checking accounts. Li Yutang remained as calm as ever, as if nothing at all had happened just now.

At the same time, elsewhere, Su Lianyi was very busy.

First she went to the pharmacy and bought a small grinding mill specifically for grinding medicine, exchanged her banknote for loose silver, then went to the blacksmith’s shop to buy several sharp small knives, weighed out a few taels of good tea, bought some needles and thread, and then returned to the county gate.

By the time Lianyi arrived, Old Ma had already been waiting for quite a while.

“Uncle Ma, sorry to keep you waiting,” Lianyi said, hurrying a few steps while carrying the heavy small mill. Old Ma stepped forward to help her take it and load it onto the donkey cart. “What are you buying this thing for?”

Lianyi smiled. “It wasn’t me—it was Dahu who told me to buy it. I don’t know what he wants it for.” Poor Dahu, taking the blame just like that. This insignificant matter didn’t warrant much explanation; Old Ma would forget it soon anyway.

Old Ma urged the donkey cart forward, swaying along as they headed out of the county town.

“Uncle Ma, this is for you.” She handed over one of the packets of good tea.

Old Ma took it, smelled it through the paper wrapping. “Oh! This is good stuff—quite expensive. Uncle can’t accept it.” As he spoke, he tried to stuff it back to Lianyi.

“It’s not expensive—very cheap. I have too many clothes at home; I can’t finish wearing them before they go out of style. I picked a few I didn’t like and pawned them, exchanged the money to buy some things. Uncle Ma mustn’t refuse—this is a junior’s small token of respect.”

Old Ma was deeply moved. He was merely a long-term hired hand at the Su family winery, yet was treated with such respect by the Su family’s young lady—naturally, he was extremely touched. “Lianyi girl, Uncle misunderstood you before. You’re a good girl,” he said sincerely.

Lianyi smiled without speaking. As she turned to tidy her things, the smile faded from her face, replaced by contemplation. If she hadn’t been mistaken, someone had been following her earlier—ever since she left the pharmacy, they had followed her all the way.

She had thought they were bandits, so she deliberately stayed among crowds. But thinking back now, those people were clean and neatly dressed, with fine-quality clothing—not like ordinary robbers, but rather like servants from a wealthy household.

“Oh, right, Lianyi girl—when I was delivering the wine just now, a maid came to ask me where you’d gone. She said she hadn’t seen you for several days and missed you,” Old Ma hurriedly added.

“A maid? Missed me?” Lianyi froze. She suddenly had a strong premonition that those people today were from the Li residence. What exactly were they trying to do?