Chapter 123: Chapter 123: So Similar Yet So Different
Zhou Anran abruptly stood up, trying to get a better look at the dignified man who had become the center of attention from all the people present.
Her sudden movement had startled Zhou Shuran and others. "Elder Sister?"
She and Xiao Yuyan also looked in the direction Zhou Anran was staring at.
At this moment, Zhou Anran could feel her heartbeat pounding deeply with a faint sense of desperation. She glanced at her younger sister and second daughter, trying to see a flash of recognition in their eyes.
Will they recognize the man in the dark robe as Xiao Wei too?
Alas...
"Fortunately, the father and child are alright. The noble is a kind person..."
Zhou Anran couldn’t hear the rest of the words coming out of her younger sister’s mouth. She snapped her head back to the scene, but the carriage had already started to drive away.
At a super quick speed.
She almost thought she was hallucinating.
Her eyes landed on her second daughter. Xiao Yuyan remained calm, with a hint of relief as if she was glad that the pair of father and child had been saved.
Then, she glanced at her youngest daughter.
Xiao Qingya... was also sitting obediently. The System was also quiet.
She almost felt like she was going crazy. Was she the only one who had seen a man wearing her husband’s face?
"Shu’er, did you see the kind noble’s face?" She asked, trying to make it as natural as possible.
"It had been too far, but I had caught a glimpse. It was a male nobleman." Zhou Shuran replied. Xiao Yuyan also nodded in agreement.
Zhou Anran took a deep breath and collapsed in her chair, closing her eyes briefly.
So, she was hallucinating...?
Yet, that face felt so vivid in her mind.
Xiao Wei had always been a good-looking man. Many unmarried girls in Hejia village secretly had a crush on him at that time.
His expression always carried kindness with a sense of sternness. He has always been a polite man, slightly rough but also honest. On the other hand...
That male nobleman radiated the sense of dignity, like a ruler above thousands—someone who had been in a high position for so long.
The kind of look she had never seen on her husband at all, carrying a hint of distance. Meanwhile, Xiao Wei could easily blend with people, often smiling and not wearing such an expressionless face.
"Mother," Xiao Qingya tapped on her mother’s hand in confusion.
Why does she have the kind of look as if the whole world is collapsing?
[System, did something happen while I was dozing off?]
She was thinking about how to extract some information from Auntie Sun’s ghost. The Ling siblings had revealed that her presence alone could cleanse Qiu Mu’s resentment through a period of contact.
However, Qiu Mu was hovering above a river, so far away from her, so the process might also take longer.
Zhou Anran snapped back to her senses. She hugged her daughter and caressed her silky hair, her hands trembling a little.
"Little Ya has to stay obediently besides Mother, Little Aunt, or Sister, alright? Don’t run off anywhere without telling us." She let out a breath.
[Ah, Mother seems to be scared I will run around and get hurt. Don’t worry, Mother, I am no longer a two-year-old! I will be three years old soon. How can I act like a kid?]
Although she said this in her mind, Xiao Qingya still nodded on the outside.
Thanks to her words, Zhou Shuran and Xiao Yuyan also seemed to understand where her worries had come from.
"Don’t worry, Elder Sister. Little Ya is so smart. She will never run around on her own, especially when she has so many older siblings to take care of her," Zhou Shuran tried to reassure her sister.
Xiao Qingya scrunched her little nose, and she shook her head in a protest. "Aunt, I am not a two year old."
Her words drew some giggles from her aunt and sister.
Zhou Anran’s heavy heart also lessened slightly, and she convinced herself she must have been seeing things. For the whole time, she was distracted.
"Mother, let’s go home." Xiao Yuyan told her softly.
The eggs were already sold out since they sold them one copper coin less compared to other sellers. On the other hand, the soy milk still had two jars left. Still, the result was decent for the first day of opening their stall.
The next morning, they went to check the fields. Although birds generally avoided their place, the family still put a few scarecrows around.
Xiao Fenghao and Zhou Wenzhi worked hard to make these scarecrows. It helped them to explain to the neighboring field owners the reason there weren’t many birds around.
Even if these people held some doubt, they had no way to confirm it. The Xiao family also didn’t waste their chance to promote Merchant Yang’s rice seeds.
These farmers might not buy the seeds right away when Shun Zi opened another shop in the county’s market, but they will inevitably grow curious if they keep on hearing about the product.
Eventually, they wouldn’t be able to resist buying it just to prove its authenticity.
In the evening, it was Zhou Anran who actually volunteered herself to go to the county’s market with her younger sister.
That man’s face had kept on haunting her for a whole night. Even in her dreams.
When she woke up, she couldn’t recall the content of the dream, but she was feeling quite restless about it. For the whole morning, she also had been keeping an eye on her youngest daughter, hoping to glean some clues from her conversation with the System.
Alas, she found nothing.
"Do you know who is the noble from yesterday? I heard he stayed in the magistrate’s house."
Zhou Anran subconsciously gripped the corner of her garment tighter. The magistrate’s house...?
Upon arriving at home, Zhou Wenzhou suddenly brought a news. His face was solemn.
"Jing’er just returned from Hejia Village. Shun Zi has come to the county and is currently staying in an inn." He took a deep breath as he looked at Zhou Anran with a serious face.
"Ran’er, he wants you to accompany him in meeting Magistrate Xu."
