Chapter 114: The Head of the Household Has Returned!

Outside Cang Cheng, in Zhangpu Village.

Separated by a window, the outside world is dim and gloomy, while inside all is peace and harmony.

Ouyang Yan sat before the small table, flicked an abacus bead upward, producing a clear crisp sound.

His fingers were thin and long, with thin calluses on the pads; his bead‑flicking motion was unhurried, pausing after each flick, as if silently calculating something in his mind.

Inside the earthen house the light was very dim.

The already small window was more than half obscured by rain‑seepage, so the light that came in turned into a hazy gray sheet, falling on the tabletop and even blurring the shadows of the abacus beads.

An oil lamp burned in the corner of the wall; its wick had been trimmed not long ago, the flame steady, only occasionally swaying when a draft slipped through the door crack.

Ouyang Yan flicked the last bead, lowered his head to glance at the ledger, and his brows furrowed slightly.

He was delicate‑featured, with fair skin, high brow bones and a straight nose; if he were ten years younger he would be considered handsome.

Now in his early thirties, fine lines had appeared at the corners of his eyes, his lips were thin, and when he pressed them together they betrayed a hint of thriftiness.

"If this rain keeps going..."

He spoke, his voice low, as if talking to himself:

"The mill is probably so deserted even mice won't come."

Opposite the table lay a half‑grown child, about ten years old, with a round face and bright eyes.

He rested his chin on his hands, elbows on the table edge, with an old, well‑read book spread before him, its page corners curled from frequent reading.

Ouyang An tilted his head, thought a moment, then said:

"Big brother, why are you still worrying about money? Having less silver is fine—what matters more than silver is our elder sister."

"Our elder sister has been out for six days straight and still hasn't returned; we don't know where she went."

As he spoke, his tone was earnest; the two delicate brows on his round face drew together, making him look like a worried adult—yet perched on a child's face, it seemed rather comical.

The rain outside pattered against the window; the paper could not bear the weight and rattled with each drop.

Ouyang Yan lowered his head, flicked another abacus bead, and said in a flat tone:

"What's there to worry about? The Wife Master certainly won't die."

Ouyang An blinked, suddenly remembering something, leaned forward and broke into a big grin:

"Great fortune, great destiny?"

"Our elder sister is so mighty, even aspires to be emperor—she must be a person of supreme fortune; saying she has great fate and great destiny is hardly wrong!"

Ouyang Yan lifted his head.

He glanced at Ouyang An, his mouth twitching as if to smile but not quite; the expression was hard to read—neither helpless nor anything else—just as he pushed the abacus aside, freed his hand, and picked up a coarse porcelain tea bowl from the table corner.

The bowl held aged tea; the leaves had unfurled and sunk to the bottom, the liquid already cold through.

He took a sip of the cold tea, set the bowl down, and said:

"No, it's a calamity that will linger for a thousand years."

"You keep chanting 'elder sister, elder sister'—don't you see what state I've been reduced to by these accounts lately?"

"It's no small feat that Du Shanü managed to round up all of us and assign each a task."

"People who oppress others like that—if they all died, Du Shanü still wouldn't die."

Ouyang An froze for a moment, then pursed his lips and puffed his cheeks, as if wanting to rebut but not knowing what to say.

He lowered his gaze to the book his elder sister had given him, glanced up at Ouyang Yan, then buried his face in his arms, revealing only two moist, puppy‑like eyes, and muttered:

"Our elder sister is certainly no calamity."

"Our elder sister is willing to take them in, to feed them, to let them study, to let them do what they love..."

"This is far better than when they were household slaves—by leaps and bounds."

"Our elder sister is clearly the best!"

Ouyang Yan did not respond.

He drew the abacus back before him and flicked the bead on the far right; it struck the rail, making a soft sound.

"Instead of wasting time worrying about her, we should think about the grain stored at home. If this rain continues for a few more days, it's likely to mold."

"When the first rain arrived, he worried the grain would get damp, so he decided to move all the household stores into the empty room at home."

"Even so, after six straight days of rain, the air always carries a faint musty smell mixed with the grain's own scent..."

"It's really rather unpleasant."

Ouyang An lifted his face from his arms, locked eyes with his elder brother, and both looked visibly worried.

The two—one big, one small—sat there facing each other.

One fiddled with the abacus, the other rested his chin on his arms, dazed.

The abacus beads clicked one after another, unhurried, like raindrops dripping from the eaves.

Ouyang An suddenly spoke again:

"Big brother."

"Hmm."

"You say, where is our elder sister right now?"

Ouyang Yan's finger paused on the bead, then resumed flicking; the sound of the beads striking remained unhurried.

"I don't know."

"You say, has she been caught in the rain?"

"She has a raincoat."

"Is that the raincoat from home?"

"Hmm."

"That raincoat is a bit old; it can't keep out much rain, so it will get wet."

Ouyang An's voice was muffled:

"If I had known sister would be out for so many days, I should have bought her an oilskin raincoat."

Coated with tung oil, the oilcloth naturally keeps out wind and rain better than a straw raincoat.

Ouyang Yan didn't answer; the abacus beads in his hand clicked a few more times, then finally stopped.

The room fell quiet, and the sound of the rain became especially clear.

Then, the door was kicked open——

"「Bang! 」"

The intruder kicked with some force; the door panel flung inward, hit the wall with a thudding bang, making the window paper tremble three times.

Ouyang An jumped up like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, nearly overturning his chair.

He stepped back two paces, eyes wide, about to get angry, but upon seeing who stood before him, he couldn't utter a sound.

A person stood at the doorway, an old raincoat soaked through and clinging to her body, her hair bound with a hemp rope at the back of her head, rainwater dripping down from her chin.

She had a crossbow slung at her waist; rainwater gathered on its limbs into thin streams, dripping drop by drop onto the threshold.

Du Shanü stepped over the threshold, entered the room, glanced at the two stunned people, and said matter-of-factly:

"「Get up, get up—Ouyang Yan, rub my shoulders; little An'an, don't idle, go fetch me a basin of hot water to wash my feet. 」"

This wrongdoing demeanor is far more arrogant than when she was earlier grinning while feeling corpses.

Chinu, following behind, twitched the corner of his mouth and muttered involuntarily:

"「...... rewarding them again。」"

Du Shanü: "......"

You're not right, brother.

You're quite off.

"「Who calls shoulder rubs and foot washing a reward?! 」"

The two inside, being far apart, didn't hear Chinu's words, but both rose to greet:

"「What's wrong? Why did you only come back today? 」"

"「Sister, you're soaked through! Are you cold? I'll go get you dry clothes right now! 」"

"「Those who can speak human language are just different! 」"

"「Whether true or false, hearing it made Du Shanü feel relieved. 」"

"「She lifted the bulging bundle behind her, raised her hand, and threw it to the ground. 」"

"「The bundle hit the ground with a thud and scattered. 」"

"「Out rolled several pieces of intact but blood‑stained clothing, with three knives wrapped in the middle; their scabbards tapped the blue‑brick floor, making a clear 'ding'. 」"

"「Du Shanü looked at the two people staring at each other before her and smiled: 」"

"「I killed your family's fifth. 」"

"(This chapter's Shasha:)"

"?? This chapter's Shasha: I've come for the family throne!"