The old woman was severely injured, so Chen Wanqing assumed the move would be postponed.

To her surprise, her mother had no intention of changing her mind.

Xu Su Ying said, "The moving day was chosen for its good fortune. If we don’t move tomorrow, we’ll have to wait until April. Think of all the delays that would cause. Besides, we’ve already contributed money and lent a hand where we were supposed to. We’ve done our part. The rest of it—caring for her—that’s a matter for your Third Aunt and Chen Lin. It has nothing to do with me."

"The plan hasn’t changed. We’re still moving tomorrow. You and Jing should come over first thing in the morning. You can stay at the new house for the day and come back the morning after next."

Chen Wanqing had already discussed this with Zhao Jing, so she nodded and readily agreed.

Worried that Mrs. Zhao would be anxious at home, Xu Su Ying urged the couple to hurry back.

She, on the other hand, paced around the house, wondering what else they could take with them tomorrow.

The day passed in a flash.

While the Chen family’s home was quiet, word that several vicious bandits had appeared in Qingshui County was now the talk of the town.

It was the end of the year, a time that should have been bustling and festive, but now this had happened. Everyone was too scared to leave their homes. The once-lively streets grew desolate overnight. People bolted their doors and slept with scissors and kitchen knives under their pillows, terrified that someone would break in during the night and slaughter their entire family.

With news of such a vile incident spreading so quickly, how could the county magistrate not be furious?

In his rage, he interrogated the survivor, Chen Lin, over and over again, hoping to pry some useful information out of him.

But whether his nerve had been shattered by the attack or he was just naturally timid, Chen Lin was useless. In the magistrate’s presence, he was too scared to breathe a word and couldn’t even form a complete sentence.

Getting any useful information out of him was a fool’s errand. He just kept repeating the same thing over and over: "I was scared stiff. Then one of them kicked me, and it hurt so much I just clutched my leg and cried. I don’t know what happened after that."

With nothing to be gained from Chen Lin, the case hit a dead end.

Chen Song came home late and found himself tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Then, a chance remark from Xu Su Ying sparked an idea.

"I saw them heading to the county seat that day. The old couple, Chen Lin, and Li’an were all on the cart. The other three were injured, but what about Li’an? How come I didn’t see him when we were at the old family home?"

Hearing this, any thought of sleep vanished from Chen Song’s mind.

In the dead of night, he scaled the wall of the old family home and made his way to his eldest nephew’s room under the cover of darkness.

Chen Lian had spent the entire day freezing on Xiaoao Mountain, and his head was still fuzzy.

It wasn’t until dusk, when he feared he would freeze to death, that he finally groped his way down the mountain.

But he hadn’t eaten all day and couldn’t sleep. Just as he was debating whether to sneak to the kitchen for something to eat, he heard the door CREAK as someone pushed it open from the outside.

Chen Lian thought it was a ghost—either one he had brought back from the locust grove, or the restless spirit of someone who had died fleeing from disaster.

He was so terrified his soul nearly left his body. He opened his mouth to scream.

But in that instant, a large, warm hand clamped over his mouth.

"Li’an, don’t make a sound. It’s your uncle. I need to ask you a few things, and I want you to answer me honestly."

When Chen Lian came to his senses, he let out a sigh of relief as if he’d just escaped death, then nodded frantically to show he would cooperate.

Just then, his stomach chose that moment to let out a traitorous RUMBLE. Chen Song pulled him to his feet. "Come on. You’re coming home with me."

Xu Su Ying couldn’t sleep either. She was busy planning how to load the trunks onto the ox-cart.

’There are so many of us; if we all ride on the cart, there won’t be room for more than a couple of trunks. That means we’d have to borrow another one from a neighbor.’

’No, why borrow from someone else? We’ll just use the one from the old family home. With everyone there either sick or injured, it’s not like they’ll be using their ox-cart anytime soon.’

’Chen Song gave them five taels of Silver, after all. So what’s the problem with us using their cart?’

’It’s not asking too much; it’s perfectly justified.’

Just as she was mulling over these things, she heard Chen Song’s heavy footsteps outside, followed by his hushed call. "Wife, is there anything to eat? Just something simple, for Li’an to have a bite."

Xu Su Ying went outside and saw that the person Chen Song had in tow was none other than Chen Lian.

The young man had been perfectly fine just yesterday. He’d greeted her with a loud voice and a sweet smile. But after only a day, he looked like a frost-bitten eggplant—completely wilted.