Chapter 367 - Chapter 367: Chapter 363: There Really Is A Problem_1 (1/2)

Chapter 367: Chapter 363: There Really Is A Problem_1

Jiang Jie quickly finished the rice in his bowl and asked his sister, “Sis, did you really kill the barbarian bandits with a stone as big as a millstone?”

“No.” Yingbao dumped the leftover food into Dahei’s bowl, watching it eat voraciously.

“Haha! I knew it, Huzi and Jiang Wu must have been boasting.” Jiang Jie teased.

Huzi retorted hurriedly, “I didn’t! Yingbao really…”

Before he could finish, his mouth was covered by Jiang Wu. Despite Huzi’s struggle, he and Jiang Jie dragged him into the house.

After eating, Jiang Yunniang returned to her room and cried silently.

Her daughter Hong Xiao comforted her, “Mom, don’t go tomorrow, I can go by myself.”

Jiang Yunniang wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, sobbing, “I’ve let your father down, allowing that despicable family to torment him. He was getting better, but then was fed the ‘Wushi San’ by that wretched man’s brother. They wanted to kill him.”

Hong Xiao also burst into tears, “Mom, what’s the use of saying this now?”

A while back, father had sought peace too, but mother was unwilling.

Seeing father leave dejectedly, Hong Xiao felt her heart aching.

The next morning, Hong Xiao woke up intending to sneak out, but Jiang Yunniang also got up and stubbornly followed her.

Thus, the mother and daughter went to the Zhang Family again.

Jiang Cheng also arrived early, bowing and offering incense before the shrine.

Although the Zhang Family did not like Jiang Yunniang, they were very courteous towards Jiang Cheng.

Even the relatives of the concubine treated Jiang Cheng with exceptional respect when they met him.

For this reason, the eldest of the Zhang Family and the concubine’s family didn’t dare to ridicule Jiang Yunniang.

On the way back at noon, Jiang Yunniang took off her mourning clothes and the white flower from her hair and discarded them in the wild.

She was now staying in her niece Yingbao’s house and couldn’t wear mourning clothes in, and with her own parents still alive, she couldn’t wear the white flower either.

Hong Xiao and her brother Yuying did not return with them, as they were required to mourn for their father at the Zhang’s house for three months.

Only after the mourning period could they remove the mourning clothes.

On the 15th of the seventh month, the Ghost Festival, Yingbao accompanied her master and senior brothers to the Taoist Temple for rituals.

Many taboos were observed on this day.

No haircuts, no tomb sweeping, no celebrations, no going out late, no drying clothes, avoiding mirrors, no teasing others, not picking up money or items on the road.

It was also forbidden to sleep facing the door or window to prevent evil spirits from attaching.

Three days later, Yingbao, her two little brothers, and Huzi took a carriage back home.

Zhou Wuchang and his first and second disciples were with them.

On the way, Yingbao saw many people on the road. Most of them were riding mules, horses, or ox carts, laden with luggage.

Could something really have happened in Beijing?

When they arrived at the village, Chunniang rushed over, crying, and hugging her daughter and son.

Yingbao wiped her mother’s tears, saying, “Mom, let me get a bamboo stick later so you can give Xiaowu a good beating.”

Chunniang chuckled, pinched her daughter, then pinched Jiang Wu, “you two debt-collecting devils are going to kill me someday! Now, wash your hands and faces. I’ll go and make some noodles for you.”

Saying this, she went to the kitchen to knead the dough.

Jiang Jie looked at his sister and brother with a sidelong glance, huffed, “Mom has favorites. If I were to do something wrong, she would definitely chase me for two miles with a bamboo stick.”

“She didn’t just chase you!” Jiang Wu retorted: “She chased both of us!”

Yingbao ignored the two of them, going to fetch water for her master and senior brothers to wash off the dust from the journey.

Then she cleaned out two side rooms, took out the bedding to air out in order to get rid of the musty smell, preparing the rooms for her master and senior brothers.

There was no need to clean her own room, as her mother cleaned it every day.

The bedding was fresh, having just been aired out, and still carried the faint scent of the sun.