Locked the Door

Early the next morning, before dawn, Su Sanyun and his son got up to go to the fields to pick vegetables. The two father and son were full of energy; from now on, all the money they earned would be theirs alone!

Meanwhile, Sun Shi tidied up, eager to return to her parents' home to talk to her brothers about selling the vegetables.

Su Lanxiang lay alone in bed, watching Sun Shi wash up and get dressed obediently.

Sun Shi kissed Su Lanxiang on the head and said, "Lanxiang, be a good girl and listen well at your sister Ali's house. Your parents will be back tonight."

Su Lanxiang peeked out from under the covers, nodding obediently, "Mother, I will definitely listen to Sister Ali."

Sun Shi thought to herself that it was better for Su Lanxiang to be at Ali's house than alone in their cold home during the day, especially since there were so many maids to look after her there.

As Sun Shi was thinking this, she heard a knock at the door. When she opened it, she saw a young girl smiling warmly.

"Third Aunt, my name is Guyu. The lady sent me to bring medicine for Lanxiang," Guyu said with a bright smile.

"Ah, Ali really cares about our Lanxiang!" Sun Shi was deeply touched and quickly invited Guyu inside. Helping Su Lanxiang up, she said, "Lanxiang, see? Your Sister Ali cares so much about you. You must remember this and repay her when you grow up."

Su Lanxiang smiled weakly and nodded, "I remember, Sister Ali is good to us."

Guyu handed the medicine to Su Lanxiang, who, despite being young, was very resilient and tilted her head back to drink it all.

Sun Shi wiped Su Lanxiang's mouth, and Guyu said, "I'll bring breakfast for Lanxiang shortly."

Sun Shi hurriedly thanked her, "Ah, you're too kind, thank you so much."

Sun Shi quickly went out on some errand, walking briskly as if her feet barely touched the ground. Passing by her own door, she saw Old Su at the courtyard gate, peeking through the crack in the door.

Now that Su Sanyun had a better memory, he had locked the front gate last night before leaving, to prevent some shameless people from sneaking in to steal when no one was home.

Sun Shi watched Old Su being blocked by the lock and felt a surge of satisfaction. She didn't want to bother with Old Su, and seeing he hadn't noticed her, she quickly slipped away.

Old Su peered through the door crack, muttering, "Huh, why did the Third Son's family lock the door? There's no one inside. Didn't Su Lanxiang say she was sick? Where's that brat gone?"

Old Su wondered if the adults from Su Sanyun's family had gone to Qingmiao City to sell vegetables, leaving Su Lanxiang locked alone at home.

So Old Su shouted through the door crack, "Lanxiang, are you there? Grandpa's here, come out and open the door for me!"

Old Su shouted for a while, but there was no response from inside. Just as he was puzzled, Su Sanyun's neighbor stuck his head out and said, "Stop shouting, no one's home at Su Sanyun's."

Old Su asked, "Where did they go?"

The neighbor said, "Yesterday I heard them say they went to Su Li's house. No one has returned this morning either. Su Lanxiang is sick, right? She’s probably staying at Su Li's. Hey, you're Lanxiang's grandpa—didn't you know your granddaughter was seriously ill last night?"

Old Su didn’t care how serious Lanxiang’s illness was. He was solely focused on getting rid of this troublesome granddaughter. Ignoring the neighbor, he gritted his teeth and said bitterly, "She’s at Su Li’s again, and that wretched Su Li is meddling! If it weren’t for that, I would have already taken Lanxiang away! Ugh, this is infuriating!"