This is no laughing matter, nor the time to laugh.
Fang Yunxiu quickly controlled her laughter and raised her hand to pat Fang Yuxiu's arm.
"Don't talk nonsense," she said.
"I'm not talking nonsense," Fang Yuxiu looked at Fang Chengyu. "Chengyu, what do you think?"
Lady Fang also turned her gaze to Fang Chengyu.
"She's alright," she stated, even though it sounded like a question.
Fang Chengyu held the letter, his face marked with sorrow.
"Mother, sister, none of you are even a little worried about her," he sighed.
Fang Yuxiu stepped forward abruptly, grasping her hand and looking anxiously at Fang Chengyu.
"How is she now? Is she hurt? What should we do? Did the people there save her?" She asked earnestly and with exaggeration.
Fang Yunxiu nearly laughed again.
Fang Chengyu looked at her.
"She's fine," he said, and then burst into laughter.
Fang Yuxiu spread her hands in resignation, and Fang Yunxiu also breathed a sigh of relief.
"What exactly happened?" she asked.
Fang Chengyu's soft voice reading the letter filled the room; his intonation brought the contents of the letter to life, captivating his mother and sisters who showed intervals of tension and surprise. After the letter was finished, a silence fell in the room.
"I don't even know what to say," Fang Yuxiu remarked. "Those bandits, too, why did they have to provoke her? Now look, they've gotten themselves entangled."
Fang Yunxiu laughed once more.
"It's good that she's alright," she said. "Zhenzhen's compassionate healer's heart might even reform these bandits, which would be a virtuous deed."
"Reforming," Fang Yuxiu laughed. "That really doesn't sound like something she would do."
She certainly didn't reform Lin Jin'er, who meant to harm her and even managed to con Zuo Yanzhi's little trick by a full hundred money.
Unable to comprehend or guess this girl's actions any longer, Lady Fang stood up.
"As long as she's alright," she said. "Remind her to be careful, she must not act recklessly when she is away from home."
Fang Chengyu agreed, as the eastern sky began to brighten.
Back in his room, Fang Chengyu had no desire to sleep either. He asked Baishao and Maidong to grind the ink so he could write a letter.
Fang Chengyu picked up the brush and wrote "gongzhu," but then wasn't sure what else to say. Not willing to stop, he simply continued writing "gongzhu."
One after another, as the characters for "gongzhu" appeared repeatedly on the paper, Fang Chengyu seemed to find a new amusement, writing with earnest pleasure until he had filled a sheet of paper.
The morning light squeezed through the window lattice, pushing away the darkness. Dawn had arrived.
The mountain village in the deep autumn was already chilly, as Liu'er rolled in her quilt on the bed, listening to the footsteps outside that dispelled any remnants of sleep.
"So early every day," she mumbled to herself before reluctantly getting out of bed. After quickly getting ready, she stepped out and saw the guards and escorts already carrying their hoes and scythes, heading out of the village.
"You rookies... better move quickly today, don't let the women outdo you," a man shouted loudly at them.
"We won't..." a guard couldn't help but retort, but a few women carrying bundles and washing basins interjected with laughter as they passed by.
"What are you saying, Shang Chunhua? What about us women?"
"You think you can compete with us?" the women shouted back and forth.
The man who had spoken quickly shrank back, well-versed in the wisdom that a good man does not contend with women.
The laughter at the village entrance made the entire mountain village come alive.
The words the guard wanted to say were choked back; finding nothing adequate to say, the group of men followed the other man and earnestly set to work.
"Actually, I could work too, if it didn't require getting up early," Liu'er said with a chuckle. "I have to take care of my Miss."
A child leading a cow happened to pass by and heard her, making a squeaking sound.
"Sister Liu'er," he said, pointing towards the mountain. "Miss Jun is already up there."
The Miss always woke up earlier than herself. It's one thing for others to say it, but certainly, no one dared to mention it except these carefree children. Liu'er's face flushed slightly, and she hummed in response.
"I still have to make breakfast for my Miss," she said.
The child bit his finger as he watched her.
"Doesn't your family have a cook?" he asked again.
Besides delivering rice, flour, oil, tea, vegetables, and meat, De Sheng Chang had also sent a cook, specially to attend to Miss Jun's eating and drinking needs.
Liu'er glared.
"Go herd your cattle and dig up sweet roots to eat," she shouted irritably, "and stop thinking about my preserved fruits."
These days, because Liu'er was often able to produce various foods, she had grown quite familiar with the village children. The children, in turn, were no longer reserved around her and scampered away laughing at her words.
Liu'er looked towards the mountain, wondering what the miss was doing up there again. Was she still standing at that auntie's doorstep?
Miss Jun had not gone to her mentor's house since the day she decided to let Lei Zhonglian and others follow her in military training.
She still went to the mountains every day, but it was to gather herbs.
By early morning she had already gathered a basketful. Miss Jun checked and saw that it was enough for today's use. Wiping her sweat, she prepared to descend the mountain, passing through the woods where occasionally wild pheasants and rabbits would scurry past.
Although she had not been here long, she already moved with ease through the mountains, avoiding two Hidden Formations and capturing two rabbits caught in another. She also took the opportunity to reset the Hidden Formation.
Just as she had finished resetting it, she sensed someone behind her and turned around to see Yang Jing standing there with a bundle of firewood.
"Uncle Yang, is this for you or for Second Uncle Xia?" she pointed to the rabbits with their legs tied with grass and asked.
"Give it to him," Yang Jing said.
The villagers' game was all collected by Xia Yong to be regularly sold in town, swapped for rice and grains, and then distributed among them.
Miss Jun knew their rules and nodded with a smile, picking up the rabbits.
"Then I'll head down the mountain," she said cheerfully as she waved her hand.
Yang Jing watched the girl's joyful and nimble movements.
"Miss Jun," he called out.
Miss Jun immediately stopped and turned her head.
"Do you have any instructions, Uncle Yang?" she asked.
Yang Jing shook his head.
"I wouldn't dare give instructions," he replied. "Did you repair a few of the broken Earth Nets?"
Miss Jun smiled and nodded.
"Yes, I saw they were damaged and just mended them on impulse," she said, pointing in several directions, "including the tripwire at the entrance of the village and the stake arrows in the river."
Yang Jing had a complex expression.
"We only know how to use them, not repair them. If they break after a while, we can only leave them be," he explained.
That man left, gone for so long; people could still hold on and wait, but things couldn't, once broken, they were discarded.
Miss Jun looked at him and laughed.
"You don't have to worry in the future," she nodded, "I'm here. I'll fix them."
Yang Jing did not respond further and paid his respects to her. Miss Jun waved her hand at him and, before stepping forward, cast an intentional or unintentional glance behind him.
Feeling her gaze, Yang Jing tensed up as if wanting to say something, but Miss Jun had already walked away.
The person moved quickly along the mountain path, with a light song reverberating through the woods and gradually fading away.
Yang Jing stood still in his original spot.
"Those, did she really fix them all?"
A timid female voice came from behind.
"She is so amazing."
Yang Jing turned around to see a girl squatting behind the rocks, her slender body concealed by them.
"Yes," Yang Jing said, "she really did fix them; she is amazing."
Niuniu lifted her head, her face covered by cloth, leaving only her eyes exposed, which now held surprise, admiration, and envy.
"Did my father teach all that to her?" she asked.
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