The snow on the road had reached the knees of Little Black and Da HongZao, and while they were strong enough to run, they couldn’t move much faster than walking, and it was hugely exhausting. Mo Yan was not in a hurry to travel, so she let them walk step by step.
It took one and a half hours to cover the forty-mile journey to the city gate. Once inside, the streets had been cleared of snow, and the two horses picked up speed; it took just a quarter of an hour to reach the Liu Family ho.
Seeing Liu Tinglan co out to greet her, Mo Yan couldn’t help but exclaim, "Sister Lan, how did you lose so much weight?"
She had seed perfectly fine when they t before the New Year, but now, after the holiday, she had changed so much Mo Yan barely recognized her. Thinking of what might have caused her old friend to change like this, Mo Yan felt a heavy sense of foreboding.
A smile squeezed out of Liu Tinglan’s face, and since the servants were present, she couldn’t say much. Holding Mo Yan’s hand, she headed for the house, "Yanyan, how do you have free ti to visit today? It’s perfect timing; my great uncle sent over a large basket of seafood just a couple of days ago. You’re in for a treat."
Jing City isn’t near the sea, and without direct roads to the coast, only dried fish and shrimp could be transported there. But even dried fish and shrimp were precious delicacies, and their prices were beyond the reach of ordinary households.
Knowing that the courtyard was not the place for a private conversation, Mo Yan didn’t continue to inquire, and let a smile creep onto her face as well, "Really? Then you better not fight for the shrimp later."
Hearing this, Liu Tinglan’s smile beca genuinely brighter, "You wish! I love shrimp the most, at most I’ll give you half later."
"Alright, half it is! Before I head back, I’ll tell my aunt to take all the leftover shrimp from your house," joked Mo Yan, hoping to cheer her friend up.
The two won chatted and laughed their way to the main hall, where Mrs. Liu was waiting. Mo Yan approached and perford the junior’s greeting, presenting her gift.
Mrs. Liu chided, "You silly girl, you should just co, no need for such formalities. Don’t do this next ti." Speaking, she personally took the gift box and placed it on the table.
Mo Yan smiled and said, "The thing inside was found in the mountain by . It’s like offering Buddha a borrowed flower. I hope you don’t mind."
Mrs. Liu, understanding from Mo Yan’s words that the box contained ginseng or sothing similar, was not prepared for it to be a Thousand-year Ginseng filled with Spiritual Energy. She pointed at Liu Tinglan and said to Mo Yan, "This girl has been looking forward to your visit. You two sisters should go to your room and catch up. I’ll go check on the kitchen in the anti."
Mo Yan quickly responded, "Aunt, I have other matters to attend to, so just ask the kitchen to prepare a few simple ho-cooked dishes."
Mrs. Liu agreed with a laugh and departed.
"Co on, let’s go to the room," Liu Tinglan said, pulling Mo Yan’s hand as they ran to the room. Her eagerness indicated she had much to say.
Looking at her friend’s despondent face, Mo Yan felt the situation was more serious than she had imagined. Just as they entered the room, Liu Tinglan hugged her tightly and began to cry sobbingly.
Mo Yan sighed silently, wrapping an arm around her friend’s shoulder and gently patting her back. She didn’t offer the usual platitudes of telling her to stop crying: it was always better to cry it out than to bottle everything up inside.
The crying soaked Mo Yan’s shoulder before it finally stopped. She fetched a clean handkerchief for her friend to wipe her tears, looking at her swollen red eyes, her mind cursed Shen Ji thoroughly.
"Yan... Yanyan, how, how can there just suddenly, suddenly be a cousin? If, if there was no cousin, how good would that, that be?" Liu Tinglan stamred, unable to put together a complete sentence.
She was a straightforward and generous woman, not one to be unkind, yet she harbored such resentnt towards her husband’s cousin, which clearly indicated that sothing must have happened.
Mo Yan’s mind raced, and she directly voiced her guess, "Could it be that Elder Mr. Shen and Mada Shen are trying to push their niece onto Shen Ji, aiming for her to share a husband with you?"
Liu Tinglan’s face stiffened, she nodded awkwardly and then hurriedly explained, "This is what the elders want, Brother Shen is not willing." At New Year’s, when that woman wanted to co over for greetings, Brother Shen even scolded her, telling her to read womanly virtues at ho properly.
"He’s not willing?" Mo Yan scoffed, her voice rising, "If he really weren’t willing, why wouldn’t he clarify the matter? Why would he allow you to be upset over this?"
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