Warm medicine emits fragrance

After giving the boy a warning look, Feng Ji released him. "Are Uncle and Aunt home?"

The boy realized he had said the wrong thing and didn't dare to talk nonsense anymore. He pushed open the door and led the two into the house.

"I'm packing my luggage; I have to go back to the village soon."

"Brother Ji, are you going back this time too?"

As Feng Ji invited Fan Liuer into the house, he said, "I'll be there in a couple more days. This lady is going to see your sister Siqing. You can take her with you on the way."

Upon hearing this, the boy turned to Fan Liuer and smiled, "Really? Then you can stay at our house, sister. Sister Siqing's house is too big for everyone, and I'm not married yet, so my family is small."

Looking at the round face in front of her, Fan Liuer thought to herself that Si Qing's family must have something special about them, since everyone there carried an air of honesty and simplicity.

It makes people feel close to it.

Feng Ji pushed the boy away, "Don't meddle. Your sister Siqing will take care of things." With that, he pushed open the door to the inner room.

"Uncle and Aunt."

A couple came out of the house; they didn't look very old, probably in their late thirties.

The two reacted to Fan Liuer just like the boy.

Fan Liuer thought to herself, "Birds of a feather flock together."

Feng Ji briefly explained Fan Liuer's background to the family. He naturally didn't mention that Fan Liuer was Li Chenbi's concubine. He only said that Fan Liuer was a good friend that Siqing met in the master's house and that she usually took good care of Siqing.

Upon hearing this, Uncle and Aunt became even more enthusiastic towards Fan Liuer.

After handing Fan Liuer over to the family, Feng Ji hurriedly left. He couldn't stay out for too long; he had to rush back to the inn.

After he left, his uncle and aunt didn't ask too many questions. They were busy packing their luggage, as they had to leave before dark.

Fan Liuer couldn't just stand there, so she helped tidy up.

The boy was very talkative, chatting with Fan Liuer as he packed. By the time the luggage was finished, Fan Liuer had already learned about all the relatives in Siqing's entire extended family.

The boy in front of me is named Feng Xu, the only son of Si Qing's uncle.

Siqing's father had two brothers, and he was the second oldest. Feng Ji was the son of Siqing's eldest uncle.

Siqing also has an older brother, who is one year younger than Feng Ji. He is already married and has two big, healthy sons.

Siqing is the only daughter in the family, so she is very much loved.

Fan Liuer could see this from everyone's enthusiasm for her.

After packing their luggage, the family didn't waste any time. Carrying their bags and packages, they set off with Fan Liuer.

Siqing's village is called Yaoli Village, which is two mountains away from Guanshan Town.

Although Fan Liuer's family was not wealthy, she grew up under the pampering of her parents and was born in the city. She had never done farm work or hard labor, and she was lazy and disliked exercising.

She was exhausted after only reaching halfway up the mountain.

Later, Feng Xu couldn't bear to watch any longer, so he hung all her luggage on his own body and dragged her forward with a rope.

What should have been a two-hour journey across the mountains took Fan Liuer an entire night, and they didn't reach the village entrance until the roosters crowed.

Fan Liuer was too exhausted to walk any further. She plopped down in front of the road sign at the entrance of the village and waved her hand, saying, "You guys go home first, I need to rest for a while."

Uncle and Aunt had to rush back to tidy up; the house was uninhabited year-round, and it was impossible to live there without cleaning.

Feng Xu then volunteered, "Father and Mother, you two go back first. I'll stay here and rest with Sister Liu'er."

Now that they had reached the entrance to the village, and with Feng Xu accompanying them, the couple were not worried and carried their luggage into the village.

Fan Liuer was so tired that she couldn't even speak.

Feng Xu, being sensible, didn't talk to her. Instead, he sat down next to her and kept her company, playing with the torch in his hand.

After sitting for an unknown amount of time, a crowing sound suddenly came from the village.

This sound seemed to awaken all the sleeping roosters in the village, who began to crow in unison.

Fan Liuer looked up in the direction she had come from. The night sky was still dark, and the path she had come from was now obscured by firelight, leaving only a hazy darkness.

She stared at that spot for a long time, so long that even Feng Xu couldn't help but feel curious.

"Sister Liu'er, what are you looking at?"

Fan Liuer murmured, "We can't see Xingzhou from here, can we?"

Feng Xu assumed she was just exhausted and laughed, "Of course you can't see it. It takes a lot of mountains to get from here to Xingzhou."

Upon hearing this, Fan Liuer felt a pang of inexplicable sorrow, and the image of Li Chenbi appeared in her mind.

Will he be able to protect himself in this war?

She dared not think about it any further; the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt.

She looked away and started chatting with Feng Xu, trying to distract herself.

Feng Xu was a chatterbox, and his words poured out like beans, which actually diverted Fan Liuer's attention and prevented her from thinking about anything else.

The two rested at the entrance of the village for about half an hour. As dawn broke, a light came from inside the village toward them.

Upon seeing this, Feng Xu immediately stood up from the ground, saying, "Someone has come to pick us up."

Fan Liuer turned her head to look, but it was too far away. She could only see a ball of fire, and nothing else.

How did you know you were here to pick us up?

"It's so early in the morning, before dawn, who else could it be but Sister Siqing coming to pick us up?"

Fan Liuer stood up and craned her neck to look ahead, just like him.

As the firelight drew closer, she finally saw the figure behind it.

Who else could it be but Siqing!

It had been a while since the two had last seen each other, and Fan Liuer was overwhelmed with joy as she ran towards Siqing.

"Siqing! Siqing!"

Siqing was also very happy. When she heard her uncle and aunt say that Fan Liuer had come to seek refuge with her, she immediately woke up from her drowsiness, jumped off the bed, and without even combing her hair, grabbed a torch and went to find her.

She was happy. She was happy that Fan Liuer came to find her, and even happier that Fan Liuer made the choice to leave Li Chenbi.

She left the village at the age of fourteen to find work, and worked for many wealthy families.

She had seen a lot of things happening in the inner quarters. Few concubines lived well, and even those favored by the head of the household only enjoyed temporary favor.

Pampering may not last, but a man's tendency to tire of the old and crave the new will never change. Once a new woman enters the house, the old woman's former glory will be replaced by her current misery.

Fan Liuer was the best person Siqing had met in all these years, and she didn't want Fan Liuer to end up like that in the future.

Fan Liuer was not like ordinary people; she had a special constitution. If she hadn't received Li Chenbi's favor, it was uncertain whether she could have survived a winter in that cannibalistic mansion.

Rather than gambling your future on a man who might change his mind at any time, the wisest choice is to take the money you've made now and run away.

At least from now on, she can take control of her own life and won't have to worry about being abandoned all the time.