As dusk settled, the small village of An Yize became the liveliest place it had been in a while.
The current village was formed by the people from the previous dozen villages who had not yet left, consolidating into this single settlement.
Most of the inhabitants were former residents of the old State of Qin. They had transformed some of the areas reclaimed from An Yize's marshes into land suitable for growing medicinal herbs, which served as the village's livelihood.
As twilight descended, the day's work in the fields concluded, and villagers began their return home, carrying their hoes and lanterns.
Although An Yize was not a place frequented by outsiders, its valuable medicinal herbs attracted trade caravans and merchants. Thus, the villagers were not surprised to see strangers like Song Chaoyu and his companions.
According to Tan Xing, Tan Ye resided in a corner of the village.
Having absorbed all the surrounding villages, the current village was quite substantial in size.
As they walked into the village, they heard an old man's voice call out, "Xiao Xing? Is that you, Xiao Xing?"
Song Chaoyu and the others turned to see an elderly man, hoe in hand, appearing behind them.
Tan Xing, after a moment of stunned silence, recognized the person before him.
With a surge of emotion, he stepped forward and grasped the old man's hand, "Uncle Yuan?"
"It's me, it's me!"
Uncle Yuan scrutinized Tan Xing, appearing equally moved. "It really is Xiao Xing, you're truly Xiao Xing! You've been gone for so many years, and you've finally returned! I thought... I thought you were no longer in this world!"
Seeing the old man's demeanor, Song Chaoyu was reminded of his own grandmother.
They were the same, both harboring the purest concern for their juniors.
Tan Xing's eyes also welled up slightly. "Uncle Yuan, it's me, I'm back, I'm not dead! The village has changed so much. Do Tan Ye and his family still live at the village entrance?"
Tan Xing even hesitated to call Tan Ye "father."
"Ai! You child!"
Uncle Yuan seemed aware of the strained father-son relationship and merely sighed, patting Tan Xing's shoulder. "After all these years, your heart still hasn't let go? They still live at the village entrance; just go to the very end. Xiao Xing, your father... he's living quite a miserable life now. Won't you try not to trouble him when you return this time?"
Miserable?
For some reason, hearing Uncle Yuan say this, Song Chaoyu felt no surprise.
For someone like him, it would be the greatest injustice in the world if he were living well.
Tan Xing nodded, then turned to Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi. "Shall we go?"
Mu Changxi also stepped forward, nodded to Uncle Yuan, and asked, "In the past couple of days, have any outsiders other than us visited the village?"
Uncle Yuan, though he didn't recognize Mu Changxi, nodded, seeing that he was with Tan Xing. "With the summer herbs nearing their selling season, some merchants have come. Most of them are staying at the only inn on the west side of the village. If you're looking for someone, you can check there."
Mu Changxi continued, "Have there been anyone... who didn't seem like merchants?"
Uncle Yuan frowned, thought for a moment, and then nodded again. "Yes. Three people arrived last night, and they are staying at the village chief's house. I can lead you there to find them."
Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi exchanged a glance. Mu Changxi smiled and shook his head. "No need for that. We'll accompany Ah Xing home first!"
"Alright."
Seeing that Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi didn't seem like bad people, Uncle Yuan didn't press further.
Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi, not wanting to alert their targets, asked Tan Xing as they walked towards the Tan family residence, "Do you know the village chief of this village?"
Tan Xing nodded. "If it's still the same village chief from before, then yes. We all called him Uncle Zhu. I don't know if he's still the village chief now."
Uncle Zhu? The person who had poisoned Cong Fei was also from the Zhu family. It seemed they hadn't come to the wrong place.
Song Chaoyu felt a sense of calm settle in his heart. Mu Changxi patted Tan Xing's shoulder from behind. "Let's go, let's go to your home first!"
---
At the very end of the village was where Tan Ye resided.
According to Tan Xing, their former home had a courtyard with two entrances, which was Tan Ye's only valuable possession.
Now, at the village's edge, there was only a small thatched courtyard.
Outside the courtyard stood a large three-entrance courtyard, but it did not belong to the Tan family.
Seeing this, Tan Xing frowned. "He wouldn't have gambled away the entire family courtyard, would he?"
"Drink, drink, drink! All you know is how to drink!"
As the words were spoken, a sharp female voice suddenly emanated from within the courtyard.
With a "bang," the courtyard gate was flung open, and a man reeking of alcohol stumbled out!
Simultaneously, a woman, dressed in opulent attire, vastly different from the man, emerged with her hands on her hips.
She furiously smashed the man's wine bottle to the ground, pointing at him and yelling, "What can you do besides drink? I was blind to marry you! Tan Ye, I'm telling you, even if you refuse a divorce, it's impossible! I'll be moving out in two days. I absolutely cannot live with you any longer, I can't stand it for another day!"
Tan Ye?! Was the man who had been thrown out Tan Ye?
But this was not what surprised Song Chaoyu the most.
What astonished Song Chaoyu was that the woman's appearance bore a striking resemblance, about seventy percent similar, to the Noble Consort in the palace, Mu Changxi's own mother.
All the doubts seemed to be resolved at this moment.
Song Chaoyu now understood why Tan Ye had married such a woman.
Perhaps, all these years, he had never forgotten the Noble Consort!
"Hic..."
Tan Ye, lying on the ground, hiccuped and looked up at Liu Rumei, laughing. "A Shu, you can never leave me in this lifetime, never! I won't agree to a divorce. I'll die with you!"
A Shu... it was indeed the Noble Consort's given name.
"Look at your lowly state!"
Liu Rumei spat fiercely at Tan Ye. "A Shu, A Shu, your entire life has been ruined by that A Shu, and you still mumble her name? Let me tell you, even if your A Shu were here with you now, she'd be disgusted by your appearance! Get out, and never come back!"
Saying this, she grabbed a broom from inside the courtyard and struck Tan Ye viciously.
Tan Ye did not dodge, only continuing to murmur the name "A Shu."
Liu Rumei raised her head in anger, but upon seeing Tan Xing, she froze. "It's you?"