Unlucky

  An Yan brought the meal prepared by his mother, Madame Bai, into her room. As he entered, he saw that she was propping herself up, with her head turned towards the east, clearly preoccupied with something in that direction.

  An softly finished eating and put the food on the kang frame. Then he raised his eyes and looked at Bai Shi with a warm gaze.

  It was already past mealtime, but Bai's gaze didn't even glance at the food, instead fixing his urgent eyes on An Yan.

  "What's going on? What was all the commotion outside just now?"

  She didn't plan to keep everything from Bai Shi, after all, the commotion outside was too great. If nothing had happened, Bai Shi wouldn't have believed it either. So she sat down on the edge of the bed, holding Bai Shi's hand and said gently: "Today, Su San went to Hsinchu County to sell the white family's ancestral bamboo leaf green wine, but encountered the pressure of Qingfeng Building's boss to lower the price, now everyone is worried about this matter."

  An didn't mention that the Ruan family came over to humiliate them, causing the Bai family to be in debt of ten taels. It wasn't that she wanted to shirk responsibility, but rather she didn't want to worry Madam Bai. Madam Bai's body was getting worse and couldn't withstand any more big blows.

  She looked at Bai Shi's pale and weak face, and a hint of sadness quietly rose in her heart. Bai Shi was once the pride of the White family, but after marrying into the Tang family, she was initially pampered. However, as time passed, the White family declined, while the Tang family prospered, becoming one of the most renowned merchant families in Qing City. And so began Bai Shi's difficult days, with a hint of sorrow and melancholy in her gentle eyes, yet still maintaining a calm and serene expression. Just by looking at her, she felt that her originally worried and anxious heart had quietly calmed down.

  An Yan looked at the calming expression of Madame Bai and brought over the food, saying warmly: "Mother, those things outside will be taken care of by Uncle. Your priority now is to take good care of your body, which will also help alleviate Uncle's worries."

  Bai listened to An Yan's words, which were so clear and reasonable, and couldn't tell whether he felt moved or bitter in his heart. However, his hands obediently took the food from An Yan, and then he quietly started eating.

  An Yan watched as Bai Shi finished eating and then took out the empty tray, leaving the room and returning to the main hall.

  When they arrived at the main house, they found that everyone had not eaten yet, but were sitting quietly. At this time, her nominal husband Su San was also seated at the dinner table.

  Seeing her return, Uncle Bai smiled and said: "Jinxiu is really sensible now, and as an uncle, I can rest assured."

  Bai Qi's face was full of comfort and smile when he said this. Although today's twists and turns were endless, his usually self-centered and selfish niece had become sensible and reasonable, which was a comforting thing to see.

  She sat down beside Su San with a look of deep emotion on her face, her voice slightly low and trembling as she spoke: "In these days, Jinyu and my mother have been taken care of by Uncle, Auntie, and cousins. Otherwise, we would have turned to dust long ago. After going through the gate of hell once, Jinyu has also come to a great realization, knowing that she was indeed too foolish in the past. Jinyu knows that her past mistakes cannot be undone, but from now on, she will definitely become a better person."

  Her words were as clear as a pair of bright eyes, shining with sincerity. Bai Qi and Wang Shi looked at each other and believed seven parts of it, while the remaining three parts would naturally wait to see how things developed later. As for Liu Shi and Xiū Niáng, although they still felt some disbelief in their hearts, after all, blood was thicker than water. Even if someone had been a rascal before, now that they had shown signs of repentance, as family members, they should support them silently from behind. Moreover, everyone inexplicably felt that this time's brocade was indeed different from the past.

  "Alright, Uncle believes you."

  Bai Qi's face became increasingly relieved, and due to Jin Xiu's performance this time, the originally heavy atmosphere was actually alleviated a bit. An Yan looked at everyone's slightly more relaxed expressions, and a shallow sense of helplessness flashed in her elegant eyes.

  While sitting next to her, Su San remained silent and kept his head down as An spoke those touching words. Su San sat there all along, but he had never blended in. He always seemed like a towering mountain, profound and solemn, with a stern expression that was almost rigid, making him impossible to ignore.

  Next, although everyone was still worried in their hearts, they finally started eating. Especially the three-year-old chubby girl, who didn't know the taste of worry and ate very happily. The adorable rabbit-shaped steamed buns made her smile with joy. The people at the dinner table looked at her innocent and carefree face and couldn't help but show a few smiles on their own faces.

  As for this ancient food, An Yan didn't have any special feeling, although the seasoning was insufficient, but the non-polluted ancient vegetables made up for some of it.

  Although An Yan didn't notice anything, the Bai family members couldn't help but steal several glances at him after dinner, their eyes filled with astonishment.

  After dinner, An Yan originally wanted to wash the dishes, but was instead taken over by Liu Shi. An Yan looked at Liu Shi's persistence and stayed in the main room with everyone else to wait for Bai Ping's return.

  As the night grew darker, the atmosphere in the hall became increasingly quiet and still. At this moment, everyone's eyes and faces were filled with anxiety and unease. An spoke without leaving any trace, sizing up the crowd with a glance, finally fixing his gaze on Su San.

  Su San was leaning against the pillar in the hall, his eyebrows and eyes dyed in the soft light of the dim oil lamp, making his features look even more stern. It seemed that under this hazy light, his overly serious and rigid face had also softened quietly. At this moment, he slightly closed his eyes, outlining a lonely and elegant arc. An Yan's gaze flickered lightly, she knew that this man who married the notorious Tang Jin Xiu must have an unspeakable story behind him.

  When she was slightly distracted, a sound came from outside the door that had been open all along.

  That was the sound of the wooden wheels of the rickshaw scraping against the ground, but to everyone's ears, it sounded like celestial music. Bai Qi was still calm, although his face showed some urgency, he remained seated in the main hall. Su San seemed as if she hadn't heard anything at all, her eyebrows and eyes didn't move a single bit, still calm and composed. An Xuan also stood quietly in place, knowing that Bai Ping would definitely come in immediately to tell Uncle about the situation.

  Although everyone knew it was bound to be this result, one by one they hastily walked out of the hall and hurried to the gate.

  A noisy footsteps gradually went away, but a hurried footsteps was quickly approaching.

  Bang!

  Suddenly, a loud noise rang out, and everyone looked in the direction of the sound to see that Bai Ping had already fallen to the ground. As soon as they saw this situation, everyone's heart was lifted, and they already knew that this trip to retrieve the bamboo leaf green wine from the White family would not be very smooth.

  "Dad, I've let everyone down."