Yang Chuxia just nodded at his words, "As long as that works!" After thinking for a bit, she added, "If it’s possible to keep it from Brother An, then let’s keep it from him. There’s no need to worry him."
"It might be hard to keep it from him," Mu Shaoling shook his head, "But rest assured, I will have someone explain it to him in detail."
"Okay, then when do you plan to return to the capital?" Yang Chuxia asked again, "You have to go back to the capital in person for this matter, right?"
"I will have someone send the witness to the capital first. I’ll return after Linhao has fully recovered, there’s no rush at this moment."
After finishing their conversation, it was already deep into the night. Yang Dachuan, who had just left the study, was greeted by a chill that sent shivers across his body, his clothes soaked in a cold sweat. Perhaps it was due to maintaining the same position for too long, his legs felt numb, and he nearly stumbled and fell.
"Father, are you alright?"
"I’m fine!" Yang Dachuan said with difficulty as he shook his head. "Let’s go, I’ll walk you back to your quarters."
As the father and daughter walked side by side, Yang Dachuan attempted to speak several times but didn’t know where to start.
It wasn’t until they reached the gates of Yang Chuxia’s courtyard that Yang Dachuan finally said, "My dear daughter, I will keep today’s conversation to myself, I won’t speak a word of it to anyone."
"Mm, you should go to sleep early."
Watching Yang Chuxia enter her courtyard, Yang Dachuan turned and walked back, lost in thought. He had never imagined that one day, as a mere farmer, he would come to learn of affairs concerning the imperial court. He realized that his daughter and son-in-law’s lives would surely differ from now on, and perhaps his two sons would also differ, at least not living the life of an ordinary farmer. So, as the parents of such children, if they couldn’t offer their support, the least they could do was not to hold them back. Otherwise, they would fail in their role as parents.
It was from that moment that Yang Dachuan thoroughly changed. And afterwards, Yang Chuxia slowly began to notice that her father was becoming more and more like a family patriarch, handling matters with increasing deftness, solving many issues without even needing Yang Chuxia’s concern.
Yang Chuxia was genuinely happy about this.
Due to matters at home, Yang Chuxia got up very early the next day, drank a dose of medicine, and, with Xiu’er, headed to the front yard. On the way, however, she came across Yang Xiayun and Luo Linyu, both squatting on the ground crying.
Seeing her two sisters, Yang Chuxia suddenly realized that she had forgotten about the two children amid the many issues at home. They must have been scared by the events of the previous night.
Upon seeing her, the two little girls cried even harder.
"What’s the matter? Were you frightened?"
Hearing her question, Yang Xiayun answered through sobs, vigorously shaking her head, "Sister, all the chow chows at home are dead, all dead, they were all chopped down."
At this, Yang Chuxia immediately understood why she hadn’t heard any barking.
"It’s alright, when your brother-in-law comes back, I’ll ask him to get you some more. Or else, you can take the two we have at our place, okay?"
To her surprise, the little girl shook her head even more vigorously upon hearing this, "Sister, those chow chows died trying to save me and Linyu."
Luo Linyu also cried, pulling on her sleeve and speaking through her tears.
Finally, Yang Chuxia figured out the whole story. The day someone broke into the girls’ courtyard, the chow chows started barking. When the maidservants in the yard heard the noise and came out, they were immediately killed.
The little girls were terrified.
Then they saw several chow chows pounce on the two men in black, and seizing the opportunity, Yang Xiayun smartly dragged Luo Linyu outside to escape. Just as they left the courtyard, they ran into Old Yang, who ended up pulling the two to safety.
The men who had invaded the little girls’ courtyard were killed by the chow chows, which also met their fate.