Chapter 124 – Night Pearl
Yan Xiaosi was not actually sleepy. She wanted to wait until Ms. Zhong and her sisters fell asleep so she could enter her portable space and cultivate her spiritual power.
The bit of spiritual power she currently had was barely enough to deal with the Chen brothers. She needed to hurry and cultivate so she could protect her mom and three sisters in this chaotic world.
“Third sister, aren’t you sleepy?”
Previously, when she had her own room, she could enter her portable space to cultivate after locking the door at night. Now with the whole family living together in a mountain cave, she had to wait until everyone else was asleep before she could move freely.
Yan Shuyun was spirited as her nimble hands swiftly embroidered the last bit of fur into a fur ball that could be paired with the wooden hairpins Yan Shuqin and Yan Shuxue had whittled.
“Third sister isn’t sleepy. Big sister and second sister whittled quite a few wooden hairpins. I have to hurry and finish making these fur balls so we can sell them as sets at the Daxing Town market tomorrow.”
“Xiaosi, I’m not sleepy either. The night wind on the mountain is strong. Sitting here you might catch a cold. Listen to third sister and go back to the cave to sleep,” said Yan Shuqin energetically.
If the fur balls and hairpins sell, they could earn some money. They just needed a little more silver to buy land and build a house. She had to work hard.
Yan Shuxue’s thoughts were similar as she swiftly scraped the whittled hairpins smooth with a knife.
Ms. Zhong did not pause in chopping firewood either.
The batch of firewood they had stockpiled for winter had to be taken to Daxing Town tomorrow to sell, so they needed to stockpile another batch for the coming winter.
Seeing her mom and three sisters so energetic and spirited, they would not be going to sleep for a while. Yan Xiaosi got up and placed the luminous stone where she had been sitting, then yawned and headed into the mountain cave.
“I’m really sleepy. I’ll go to bed first. Mom, eldest sister, second sister, third sister, don’t stay up too late.”
The cave was rather deep, so the luminous stone’s light only reached the entrance. Yan Xiaosi walked into the pitch-black cave, out of their sight, and quickly entered her portable space.
There were no seasons or day-night cycle in her space. The temperature was constant and it was always daytime. While it was pitch-black outside, it was blue skies and white clouds inside, with gentle sunshine.
As soon as she entered, she felt her body surrounded by a gentle aura.
As her body gradually recovered, the spiritual energy in the space reverted to normal.
To make the most of her time cultivating, she immediately went up to the third floor of the small western-style building without even taking a bath, and entered the cultivation room next to the bedroom.
…
“Third brother’s family, Shuqin, Shuxue, Shuyun, I’ve finally found you all.”
Following the sounds, Yan Bozhang and Yao Jin finally arrived at the mountain cave and saw Ms. Zhong chopping firewood while Yan Shuqin and her sisters did handicrafts. Yan Bozhang was pleased to have found them at last.
Now he wouldn’t offend that nobleman from the capital.
Seeing so many people aggressively coming up the mountain at night, Ms. Zhong held her axe guardedly.
Yan Shuqin and her sisters also had guarded expressions, staring tensely at Yan Bozhang.
They had already been driven up the mountain. What more did the Yan family want to do?
After a moment of silence, Ms. Zhong frowned and asked Yan Bozhang, “Eldest brother, why have you brought so many people here late at night? These mountain caves on Four Sisters Mountain don’t belong to Shaoyao Village. You have no right…”
Afraid that Ms. Zhong’s words would let Yao Jin know of the Yan family’s actions, Yan Bozhang quickly interrupted her with a smile. “Third sister-in-law, you misunderstand.”
“Uncle, why have you come here so late at night? What do you want to do?” Yan Shuqin asked coldly.
Yan Bozhang shifted his gaze to Yan Shuqin and noticed the luminous stone Yan Xiaosi had left there.
“What is that glowing thing?”
On closer inspection, it seemed to be a rock. The only rock he knew that glowed was night pearl.
Thinking this, a hint of greed appeared in Yan Bozhang’s eyes.
If it really was a night pearl, one so big would be a priceless treasure. If he could present this night pearl to that nobleman from the capital, he was guaranteed a promotion.
Noticing Yan Bozhang’s greedy gaze, Yan Shuqin bent down and hugged the glowing luminous stone to her chest.
This had lit up their pitch-black mountain cave.
“Uncle, this is called luminous stone. It glows at night but is just an ordinary rock in the day, it’s worthless,” she said.
Night pearls also only glowed at night and were ordinary rocks in the day.
Yan Bozhang was certain it was a night pearl. Not just him, Yao Jin also thought so. No one present did not covet that “luminous stone.”
But because the nobleman had expressly named wanting to see Yan Xiaosi, before figuring out Yan Xiaosi’s relationship with him, Yan Bozhang and Yao Jin did not dare act rashly.
“Is that so? Eldest uncle is hearing about this for the first time,” said Yan Bozhang, concealing his greed. His eyes flicked around but did not see Yan Xiaosi. “Third sister-in-law, where is my nephew Xiaosi?”
Ms. Zhong’s gaze remained fixed on Yao Jin and the attendant beside him.
One look and she could tell they were from the county government. Could the Yan family have used county government connections to deal with her and her orphaned daughters?
“Eldest brother, who is this?” she asked guardedly.
Seeing Ms. Zhong’s guarded expression, Yan Bozhang quickly explained, “Third sister-in-law, don’t be so nervous. This is the head of our Xize County, Magistrate Yao. Today, a noble from the capital arrived and specifically mentioned that he wanted to see Xiaosi. Magistrate Yao came late at night to find Xiaosi and bring him to the county government to pay respects to the noble.”
Hearing a nobleman from the capital wanted to see Yan Xiaosi, Ms. Zhong’s expression became even more grave. Yan Shuqin and her sisters were extremely nervous.
Holding the luminous stone, Yan Shuqin walked to Ms. Zhong’s side and softly asked, “Mom, our Xiaosi has never left Xize County before. Why would a nobleman from the capital want to see him?”
Ms. Zhong also didn’t know why. She didn’t know if this was fortune or misfortune, but her heart was full of melancholy.
“Mom, can Xiaosi not go?” Yan Shuxue and Shuyun anxiously pleaded.
The capital was a completely different world. As the dynasty’s capital, a nobleman there could destroy a commoner like them with a flick of his finger.
Ms. Zhong also did not want Yan Xiaosi to go, but with the county magistrate and Yan family present, she had no choice.
After thinking for a bit, she said to Yao Jin, “Xiaosi is sleeping in the cave right now. If the county magistrate insists my Xiaosi meet that nobleman, please allow this common woman to accompany him there.”
