Chapter 644: Resting for a Night in the Small Earthen Hut

Not far away stood a low, small earthen house.

They had gone inside while searching for people during the day; there was nothing in the house, not even windows or a door.

It was an abandoned house that had once been lived in by someone watching the fish pond.

Sheng Hanyu pointed at the small house: "Let's go stay in the earthen hut for the night; it's better than being out in the open."

"Okay."

He helped his wife stand up, and the two of them supported each other as they walked toward the earthen hut.

The only functional feature of their mobile phone now was the flashlight.

Sheng Hanyu picked up some reeds from the ground, twisted them into a Rope, and tied the phone to a roof beam to use as a lamp.

He let his wife rest inside the house while he went outside; before long, he returned with a large armful of reeds, spread them over the earthen platform, and had Shi Youxuan sit on them.

The cold dew was heavy at night, and the reeds could insulate against the chill and keep her warm.

"You come and rest, too." Shi Youxuan made space for him in the best spot beside her.

Sheng Hanyu didn't go over, but instead rummaged around in the corner, saying as he searched: "I'm not tired."

"Xuanxuan, look at this, what is it?" He pointed to the corner and said with pleasant surprise.

Shi Youxuan looked in the direction her husband was pointing and saw a few blackened honeycomb coal briquettes lying in the corner, along with an iron pot that had lost one of its ears.

"Can the pot be used? It wouldn't be leaking, would it?"

Having a pot, a stove, and coal in this deserted place was the greatest stroke of luck amidst misfortune!

Sheng Hanyu held the pot up to the light; very good, no light was leaking through.

"It's not leaking, I'll go to the water's edge and wash it."

Once washed clean, they could boil water to drink; the two of them were thirsty and hungry, but they didn't dare drink the raw water.

"I'll go instead."

Shi Youxuan struggled to stand up.

Although her whole body was still aching terribly, she had recovered quite a bit of strength after resting for a while.

Her husband had been taking care of her all day, busy without a break, and her heart ached for him.

"No, the water's edge is too dangerous, I'll go." Sheng Hanyu refused.

"It's fine, I'll be careful."

"That still won't do."

The two were at a stalemate, and in the end, they went out together.

Sheng Hanyu had his wife wait on the bank while he went over to scoop up water.

"Alright, be careful."

"Mm."

Sheng Hanyu agreed, taking off his clothes as he walked.

Shi Youxuan:...

"Hey, why are you taking off your clothes? Don't go into the water, it's too dangerous."

Shi Youxuan's palms were sweating with nervousness.

But her husband didn't respond, instead stepping into the fish pond step by step.

"Hanyu, come back, husband, come back." Shi Youxuan's voice was choked with tears.

"Don't worry, I'm a very good swimmer."

As soon as Sheng Hanyu finished speaking, he dove into the fish pond, not even splashing a single drop of water.

"Husband!"

"Hanyu."

Shi Youxuan's heart was practically jumping into her throat.

Ten-odd seconds later.

"Splash—"

By the cold moonlight, she saw her husband appear in the middle of the fish pond and finally let out a breath of relief.

Sheng Hanyu called out to his wife with a laugh: "Don't worry, I'm fine, the water in the middle is cleaner."

With the pot filled with water, Sheng Hanyu balanced it on his head, supporting it with one hand while paddling with the other, slowly swimming back toward the bank.

There were many floating, aged reeds in the water by the bank, so the water in the middle was indeed cleaner, but it was still too dangerous.

Her younger sister hadn't been found yet; if anything else happened to her husband, Shi Youxuan wouldn't want to live.

Sheng Hanyu finally swam to the bank, and she took the pot from him.

Just as she reached out to pull her husband up, Sheng Hanyu turned around and swam back out.

He took his clothes, held them by both ends to scoop through the water a few times, then tied the two ends of the clothes together and dragged them as he swam back.

This time he got ashore quickly, and the clothes kept jumping around on the ground.

Inside was a large fish, weighing at least three jin!

The two of them boiled fish soup.

After eating their fill, they huddled together to rest.

Although there was no salt and the taste was bland, having hot food in their stomachs made their bodies feel warm.

Sheng Hanyu and Shi Youxuan could not be reached, and the household was in chaos.

Jin Wan'er's disappearance was already enough to make people anxious, and now that even Sheng Hanyu and Shi Youxuan couldn't be contacted, everyone speculated whether they had also been kidnapped by bad people.

Lady Jian: "Could it be that Wan'er was kidnapped by Sheng Hanyu and Shi Youxuan? Just to take revenge on me!"

Back when Shi Youxuan gave birth to Sheng Zichen, she was jealous and conspired with her younger sister to steal Sheng Zichen away.

Now she suspects that Sheng Hanyu is taking revenge on her for that incident.

Jian Yining:...

Jian Yixin:...

The sister and brother were speechless.

It would be one thing if she were just acting foolishly as usual, but to be so unreasonable at a time like this—the sister and brother didn't want to say another word to their mother, and didn't even want to pay her any mind in the future.

"Can you stop talking nonsense?" Jian Fu, who usually had a good temper, was now so angered by his wife that he lost his temper too.

"Someone, lock the Madam in her room. No one is allowed to let her out without my word."

Lady Jian raged: "Have you gone mad? At a time like this, you're still siding with outsiders? You all listen to me..." No one listened to her.

Even the pair of children she was so proud of did not have a single person stand up to speak a word for her.

She was locked in her room by the servants, and the living room finally became quiet.

Jin Wan'er was locked back into the room she had first been brought to.

The servant did not leave like the previous few times, but stayed behind to persuade her: "Young Master, the Clan Leader is doing this for your own good. Please agree to go back with our Clan Leader... There are plenty of those stinky men where we are; you can have as many as you want, and they will do whatever you ask."

Jin Wan'er:...

Have as many as she wants?

Did she think men were objects?

The more the better.

"Men and women are equal. I don't understand why Auntie insists that the east wind must prevail over the west wind," Jin Wan'er asked.

The servant looked as if she had heard something incredible, her eyes widening in shock: "How could they be equal? Women are naturally superior to men. Stinky men are just tools for continuing the family line; they are lowly people, only fit to do the most menial, bitter, and tiring work..."

"Please do not say things like 'men and women are equal' in the future, especially not in front of the Clan Leader. The Clan Leader will be very angry, and the consequences will be very serious."

Jin Wan'er:...

She once again realized what it meant to have nothing in common to talk about.

But this person seemed determined to make her accept her own philosophy, pouring the ideology of "men are inferior, women are superior" into Jin Wan'er's ears incessantly.

"Stop talking, I don't want to listen."

She didn't want to hear this nonsense and asked about useful things: "What place is this? How did you bring me here? Where are the people who were traveling with me?"

"Rest assured, they are all very safe, in the places they ought to be."

"The Clan Leader has supernatural powers; there is nothing she wants to do that she cannot accomplish. It was our Clan Leader who personally went to bring you here. This is a property of the Ji Family in Jiangzhou."

Jin Wan'er:...

Fine, she had said a whole lot, but it was the same as saying nothing.

Not a single piece of useful information had been gleaned.

The servant brought food to her and said: "You should still eat something. Even if you aren't hungry, the little Young Master in your belly needs to eat."

When she first arrived, she had no appetite because she didn't know the situation.

Now that she knew who had abducted her, Jin Wan'er also felt hungry.

She was right; if she didn't eat, the child in her belly would need to eat too.

After Jin Wan'er finished her meal, the servant took the tray and left happily: "Young Master, please get some good rest. I won't disturb you further."

"Wait a moment."