Rebirth: I Became The Villain's Dark Moon Chapter 80: The Slap Came Too Fast - Novel Cool

Chapter 80: The Slap Came Too Fast

Chapter 80: The Slap Came Too Fast

The south gate was packed with commoners and those who had come to welcome Meng Qianqian back. The guards had to use their bodies to hold back the tidal wave of people.

Banxia and Tan'er were also squeezed among the crowd.

Tan'er's ears suddenly perked up, and she pushed her way through forcefully.

Banxia reached out to stop her, but couldn't catch her. "Tan'er! Where are you going?"

Tan'er waved at her. "I can hear Bao Zhu Zhu's crying! It must be that my sister has returned!"

She squeezed out from under the guard's arm.

The guard exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, little girl!"

Tan'er ran out of the city gate and stood on the official road, shouting, "Sister—Bao Zhu Zhu—where are you guys?"

A guard tried to catch her, but Qing Shuang stopped him with the hilt of her sword.

The guard understood and retreated with a bow.

Bao Shu, who was still sobbing in Meng Qianqian's arms after being carried onto the carriage, heard this soul-stirring call. Her small body shuddered, and she immediately stopped crying. She stuffed the small sugar candy that Meng Qianqian had brought back from the border for her into her little pouch.

Tan'er flipped open the curtain. "Sister!"

Zhang Feihu was startled. "What are you doing? Who are you calling sister?"

Tan'er frowned. "I got the wrong carriage."

"Bao Zhu Zhu—"

"Sister—"

She began to search for them, carriage by carriage.

Finally, she found them!

Meng Qianqian looked at her with a smile in her eyes. "Tan'er."

"Sister!"

Tan'er giggled and jumped onto the carriage.

Bao Shu's little head was buried in Meng Qianqian's embrace, leaving only a round, little butt visible to Tan'er.

Tan'er lifted her up. "Are you a little ostrich? Do you think that if you hide like this, I won't be able to see you?"

Bao Shu shook her little head, looking up at the sky.

Tan'er noticed her tightly clenched fist pressing down on her pouch. "Hey, what are you hiding in there?"

Bao Shu let out a fierce, "Wah!"

Tan'er hugged her and sat down. "I don't want it! I definitely have one too, don't I, sister?"

She looked at Meng Qianqian with a mischievous smile.

Meng Qianqian curved her lips and pointed to a large box of jujube cake on the table.

Tan'er stuck out her tongue at Bao Shu. "Meh!"

Bao Shu's serious little face softened as she climbed back onto Meng Qianqian's legs, taking over her lap! Tan'er swung her little legs and asked, "Sister, why did you stay away for so long? If you didn't come back, I would have gone to the border to look for you!"

Meng Qianqian laughed. "How did you know I would be back today?"

Tan'er tilted her head. "Manager Cen said so, and Banxia is here too. She's inside the city gate!"

Meng Qianqian lifted the curtain, and Banxia immediately caught sight of her. Overwhelmed with emotion, she exclaimed, "Miss! I'm here!"

Qing Shuang squeezed through the crowd and brought Banxia out.

"Thank you, Qing Shuang."

Banxia expressed her gratitude and quickly walked towards the carriage. Tan'er pulled her up.

"Miss!"

Seeing Meng Qianqian, Banxia's eyes turned red.

It had been over five years since she followed Miss Meng into the Lu family, and this was the first time they had been apart for so long. "Miss, you..."

She had wanted to say that Miss Meng had become thinner, but upon closer inspection, she didn't seem to have lost any weight.

When Meng Qianqian first married into the Lu family, she was a chubby girl with a greedy appetite. Over time, she gradually grew up, but her figure became thinner and thinner.

After going to the border, she seemed to have built up her physique and became stronger and more spirited than before.

Meng Qianqian smiled. "Banxia, you're becoming more and more beautiful."

Banxia, who had been about to burst into tears, suddenly found herself unable to cry.

Banxia blushed and turned her head towards Bao Shu. With a lump in her throat, she said, "Bao Shu has also grown up quite a bit."

Bao Shu proudly lifted her small feet.

Meng Qianqian asked, "Tell me, how have you been doing in the capital?"

Banxia wiped her tears and recounted in detail everything she could think of at that moment to Meng Qianqian.

That day, Meng Qianqian had left in a hurry, only asking Manager Cen to pass on a message to Granny Li and the others, saying that she would be away for a few days.

Thinking back now, the arrangements at that time were indeed a bit hasty.

Fortunately, Cen, the estate manager, was as sharp as ever. That night, he found Li Mama and explained to her that Bao Shu had been crying incessantly and that Meng Qianqian got along well with her. He said that the Grand Marshal had sent someone to take her to care for Bao Shu.

Although Li Mama was worried, what could she do when they had already taken the girl away? Li Mama cursed the Grand Marshal in her heart several hundred times for forcing her hand. The next day, she moved out of Haitang Yard with everyone else.

"We were supposed to wait for you to come back before moving, but we were also worried that the Lu family would notice that you never returned home and would spread rumors to ruin your reputation," Banxia said.

Indeed, the Lu family was capable of doing such a thing.

"You did well," Meng Qianqian praised.

At that time, she had completely forgotten about the move. The court had given her a month's deadline, but in reality, she wouldn't be able to make it back within that time frame.

Banxia continued, "Cen, the estate manager, was a great help during the move."

Old Madam Lu made things difficult for them and didn't allow them to use any of the Lu family's carriages. She even forbade other servants from lending a hand, forcing them to move everything out of Haitang Yard by themselves all the way to the front gate.

It was only then that Cen called upon the official runners and dispatched carriages from the government office that Old Madam Lu finally stopped causing trouble.

"It was also Cen who went to Fengshui Hutong to inform us of your return to the capital," Banxia added.

Tan'er, with her fists tucked under her chin, exclaimed dramatically, "Cen is so pitiful! Every day, Li Mama curses at him, saying, 'Your master is inhumane, kidnapping our young miss! You're not any better for serving him!'"

Meng Qianqian felt a bit embarrassed. "Y-yes, that's a bit pitiful."

Meanwhile, upon receiving news of the victorious army's return to the capital, the Old Madam immediately sent a servant to wait for Lu Lingxiao at the city gate.

However, the servant waited until nightfall without seeing their young master.

When the servant returned to report this to the Old Madam, Lin Wan'er was also present.

She was already four months pregnant, and her belly was starting to show.

The Old Madam valued this pregnancy highly, and although she had intended for Lin Wan'er to wait in the yard, she had insisted on coming over.

The Old Madam's eyebrows, tinged with white, furrowed. "Still not back? Could something have delayed him along the way?"

Indeed, Lu Lingxiao had been held up due to an injury he sustained in Feng County. To spare him the discomfort of riding a horse, Zhang Feihu allowed him to travel by carriage.

Along the way, they encountered an old man and his granddaughter who were on their way to a nearby town to find relatives.

Lu Lingxiao had a soft heart and offered his carriage to them, choosing to ride a horse instead.

Coincidentally, it rained heavily that day, and Lu Lingxiao, still recovering from his injury, got soaked in the downpour for an entire hour. That night, he developed a high fever.

The army couldn't afford to delay their return because of one person, so Zhang Feihu left Lu Lingxiao at the post station with a physician and continued on their way.

When Lu Lingxiao woke up, he was surprised to find a young girl attending to him. He recognized her as the "grandson" from the old man and his "grandson" he had met earlier.

The girl knelt before him and pleaded, "That man is not my grandfather. He's a human trafficker. My father sold me to him for two taels of silver, and now he plans to sell me to a brothel! Please save me, sir!"

Due to his unexpected stay at the post station, Lu Lingxiao arrived back in the capital several hours after the cavalry.

He returned to the Lu family mansion late in the night.

The Old Madam, Lu's mother, Lin Wan'er, and even the second wife's family were all present, except for Lu Xingzhou, who had been called away by the Ministry of Works and hadn't returned yet.

Lu Lingxiao strode into the mansion.

Lin Wan'er's eyes lit up, and she was overjoyed.

"Big Brother Lu, is this your home?"

A delicate and pretty young girl followed Lu Lingxiao into the mansion.

Lin Wan'er's expression froze.

(End of Chapter)

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