Miss and farmhand

Huang Chu said, "Actually, it's not that unusual. I heard my father say that a few years ago, a retired Minister of Personnel and his whole family were kidnapped, and it cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to ransom them. The court later sent troops to arrest the bandits, and the bandits and the Minister of Personnel were brought back to the capital together for trial—to be asked where all that silver came from."

Huang Chu couldn't help but laugh as he spoke, but when he looked up and saw that the other two people weren't laughing, he felt a sense of disappointment that his humor wasn't being shared.

"That's why they turned to me after failing to see my father—my father is known for spoiling his daughter, so it doesn't matter who he tries to take advantage of," she said.

Shi Tou and Huang Muyun exchanged a glance.

Stone felt more terrified. He had just said Huang Chu was brave, but now he realized she wasn't just brave, she was practically reckless! What kind of young girl could so casually talk about possibly being kidnapped by pirates? Did she even know what kidnapping was all about?

Why was this happening? He felt as if everything was his fault. Who told him not to study properly at the academy? Because he complained a couple of times, this whole series of troubles had ensued. He was guilty of a terrible crime.

Huang Chu didn't seem to care; in fact, she seemed quite satisfied with the current situation.

Shi Tou opened his mouth as if to say something, but didn't. He turned to look at Huang Muyun and found that Huang Muyun's jaw was taut, her face was dark, and she didn't seem to want to talk. So he figured he still had to persuade Huang Chu that whatever she was going to do, she shouldn't get herself involved.

As soon as he opened his mouth, Huang Muyun interrupted him.

"Did you know they were planning to kidnap you?"

Huang Chu paused, seemingly hesitant, and said, "I think I guessed it too."

Huang Muyun took a step closer to her. "You guessed it? That's it?"

Huang Chu then fell silent, only looking up at him.

"Do you know what happens to a woman who is kidnapped by pirates?"

"They might not have been able to kidnap me. I brought stones with me, and I still managed to escape from the ship."

Huang Muyun was amused by her naive idea.

"What were you planning to do if I hadn't come today? You escaped from the ship; wouldn't they have come down to arrest you too?"

"When I got off the boat, I kicked the gangplank into the sea, and they couldn't get off."

"So I should praise your quick wit? What if they didn't give you a chance to disembark? What if they set up an ambush on the ship? How can you be so sure you'll be able to get off today? You escaped by sheer luck, you know that?"

Shi Tou wanted to pull Huang Muyun away, afraid that he would frighten Huang Chu. However, he also felt that Huang Muyun's words made sense. The situations he described were very likely to happen, and once they did, there would be no going back. Even Shi Tou himself might not be able to come back.

Huang Muyun's aura was extremely intimidating. His relentless questioning made even Shi Tou tremble with fear, and he had no choice but to bow his head under his pressure.

However, Huang Chu was still not afraid. She stretched her neck out and looked up at Huang Muyun, but she did not feel that she was looking up to him. It was as if she still did not take Huang Muyun's words or him seriously.

"I never planned to come back anyway," she said calmly.

Huang Muyun's breath hitched.

"If I were gone, it would be a perfect excuse to wipe out the pirates. With my father's temperament and abilities, he would definitely push the county to rebuild its coastal defenses. No matter what difficulties he might encounter, he wouldn't give up for my sake. At least until he dies, the county's coastal defenses will remain strong. And as long as my mother and Rongniang are alive, he might be able to hold on for another forty or fifty years. That would be enough."

After saying that, she looked away and stared at the corner of the room, as if there was something there that particularly attracted her attention, but there was nothing there.

After a while, the door was opened and closed again. Stone went out.

Huang Muyun said in a hoarse voice, "Then I must praise the young lady's noble character. Why would you give up a perfectly good life to fill in the sea and become a human stake to suppress the sea?"

Huang Chu said, "Who said that? I'm all talk and no action. I don't know anything about lofty ideals. I like living my life as it is now. Who's tired of living and wants to fill the sea?"

Huang Muyun was amused by her: "Then what were you just doing? Trying to make us laugh?"

"I'm just telling you that I know what I'm doing, and I have a plan for what will happen next."

"That's it," Huang Muyun said through gritted teeth, "You still want to go and die."

Huang Chu suddenly tapped the ground lightly with her toe, making a soft "tap" sound. "Was that my fault?"

Her tone suddenly became strange. They had just started their usual argument again—they were always arguing because Huang Muyun was always talking back to Huang Chu, which made Huang Muyun unhappy, and Huang Chu didn't like it either—neither of them was in a good mood.

But Huang Chu suddenly changed his tone, as if he had deliberately withdrawn his emotions, becoming emotionless, calm and detached.

The last time she spoke in this tone was when she told Huang Muyun that she shouldn't talk back to her.

Before Huang Muyun could even notice the subtle difference, he simply followed his instincts and sarcastically remarked, "Of course, the young lady is innocent, who would dare to blame her?"

Huang Chu shook her head. "You've forgotten again, you can't talk to me like that."

Just as Huang Muyun was about to snort in protest, she heard Huang Chu say with certainty:

"It's all your fault."

Huang Muyun was stunned. He slowly turned around, lowered his head, and stared intently at Huang Chu. Huang Chu's small feet were hidden under her skirt, still tapping the ground and kicking up the hem of her skirt slightly.

Huang Chu turned her head to look at him. "I told you before, and Shi Tou told you too. You were just being stubborn and deliberately ignoring us. I only have Shi Tou to rely on. He can't do everything, and I can't do many things either, so in the end, I had to take the plunge myself."

"What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean by 'ignoring'?" Huang Muyun was so confused she almost laughed. "What you and Shi Tou discussed is none of my business. When did you ever ask me anything? When did you ever say a single word to me? How come it's always my fault in the end?"

Huang Chu didn't answer him, but continued to stare at him. Huang Muyun saw the emotions surging in her eyes, but couldn't understand them. Her eyes were like a prison, holding something that couldn't be released. But that thing wasn't obedient, persistently searching for any crack in the wall to escape.

Huang Chu looked at him with that expression and said, "Huang Muyun, remember this: if I die, no matter what happens, it will be your fault."

"..."

Huang Muyun suddenly felt as if he had become a bell. Huang Chu's words struck him like a blow, and he trembled all over, echoing her voice and her words. He became her echo.