Chapter 29: Escape from Marriage White Moonlight 6 Stop

Early the next morning, the goat-bearded doctor hurried into the courtyard.

Ali was in good health. After taking some good medicine and having a good sleep, he woke up feeling almost well.

Lu Jingming was not so lucky. He fell and his body was covered with bruises. The cold wind blew on him and he suddenly became weak. He lay in bed all day and did not go out.

Uncle Wei and Aunt Wei regretted it very much. When they realized that something was wrong with the young master that day, they should have called a doctor immediately, and he would not have waited until now to become so seriously ill.

Ah Li's voice was still a little hoarse. After hearing this, he said softly, "Actually, I shouldn't have gone to Master Lu's study that night. Otherwise, he wouldn't have..."

Uncle Wei waved his hand. "Young Master has been unhappy lately and has been eating less. Even the strongest of men can't stand it. The doctor also said that Young Master is depressed and that's why he fell ill. Miss Ali, please don't blame yourself."

"You've caught a cold yourself, so you should get more rest," Aunt Wei also advised.

Ali held the hot water that Aunt Wei poured for her and nodded silently.

Seeing Aunt Wei busy cooking, Ali went over to help. Seeing the light white porridge in the pot, he knew it was made for Lu Jingming.

She smacked her lips, which looked tasteless.

In the past, when she was sick, she hated to drink plain porridge and always begged her mother to put something flavorful in it.

She looked around and saw that the fresh meat Aunt Wei had bought this morning was still untouched, so she said, "Aunt Wei, why not put some shredded pork in there? It'll taste better, too."

"But you shouldn't eat meat when you're sick, as it will cause gastrointestinal discomfort." Aunt Wei hesitated.

Ah Li said, "Plain porridge is too bland. Young Master will definitely not like it. You can chop the pork into thin strips and put it in. This will enhance the flavor and not burden your stomach."

Aunt Wei thought about it and seemed to think that this was a good suggestion, so she started to work.

After finishing the work in the kitchen, Ali went to the fields behind without stopping.

The sky was gloomy that day, and knee-high weeds swayed in the wind. Ali looked carefully at the location of the two acres of land. The high ridges perfectly separated the two acres of land from the surrounding areas. Even if there was a slight breeze, the fire would not spread.

She nodded, took out a tinder from her sleeve, and set fire to the weeds in the field.

Ali stood a little further away and watched the weeds burn quickly as she wished, so she didn't have to remove them bit by bit.

Thick black smoke rose from the fields and burned for an hour before it stopped.

Ali coughed and brushed off the ashes floating on his body and hair, then jumped down to the ground with the small shovel that Uncle Wei used to plant flowers. He walked carefully through the two acres of land, shoveling out the large rocks and tree stumps buried in the fields one by one and throwing them aside.

After working for most of the day, the stones on the edge of the field piled up into a small hill, and finally the two acres of land were leveled.

Ali slowly straightened up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and a look of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

Seeing that it was getting late, Ali walked back briskly with a small shovel in hand. Although she was tired after a whole day, she felt much more at ease.

I've been living and eating for free at the Lu family these days. It would be a lie to say that I'm not nervous. It's like a dream, and I'm always worried about waking up.

She doesn't like this.

The Lu family's farm has two doors, front and back. Ali came back from the fields, pushed open the back door and was about to go to her room. Looking at the huge farm, she paused and remembered what Aunt Wei said about Mr. Lu's father that day.

The Pan family's house is bigger than this one, but even emptier. She and her mother stay in the small courtyard and rarely see her father once a year.

Ali kicked away the small stone at her feet. Although she no longer cared whether her father came or not, her mother had always been extremely concerned about her, otherwise she would not have become sick due to the depression.

She thought that Mr. Lu was probably like this too.

Thinking of this, she came to Lu Jingming's window and knocked.

After a while, the window opened, and Lu Jingming narrowed his eyes unexpectedly: "It's you again, this girl."

Seeing that he looked sick and his beautiful peach blossom eyes were drooping, Ali generously ignored his address and attitude: "It's me, I came to see you, sir. Are you feeling better?"

"Since you are here to visit the patient, why don't you go through the door?" As he said this, he looked weakly in the direction of the door.

"Uh..." Ali's hand clinging to the window sill loosened, "I'm used to it."

Lu Jingming ignored her and turned to walk into the inner room.

"Wait a minute!" Ali quickly leaned over and smelled a familiar fragrance. His eyes flashed quickly and he saw the porridge cooked by Aunt Wei as she said on the table.

"Why don't you drink the porridge?"

Lu Jingming paused and looked over in confusion.

Ah Li leaned half of his body into the window and pointed at the bowl of porridge still steaming on the table: "Aunt Wei has been cooking that bowl of porridge for a long time, don't you want to try it?"

Lu Jingming's patience ran out, and a sneer played on his lips: "She's been waiting for a long time, do I have to drink it? Besides, this is what she should do."

He walked to the table, picked up the bowl, and poured the entire bowl of hot porridge onto the ground in front of Ali.

"How about this?"

When he said this, there was even a faint innocent smile on the corner of his mouth.

Ali stared blankly at the mess on the ground. A cold wind suddenly blew from behind him, and his sweat-soaked clothes stuck to his back, making him feel extremely cold and uncomfortable.

*

Perhaps it was because they learned that Lu Jingming was ill, not long after, a luxurious carriage stopped in front of the manor.

Aunt Wei told Ali that it was Mr. Lu who came.

When she said this, the smile in the corners of her eyes and eyebrows could not be hidden: "The master still loves the young master."

Ali said "Oh", pursed her lips and scooped up a handful of well water to wash her hands. The well water was icy cold in winter, and she frowned and shuddered.

Aunt Wei noticed her absent-mindedness and wrapped her red, frozen hands in her warm hands. "Why are you using well water to wash your hands, kid? There's hot water on the kitchen stove!"

Ali moved his fingers uncomfortably: "I understand, Auntie."

Aunt Wei held her hand and sat down, then asked softly, "What happened to you these past few days? Why do you look so worried?"

Ali looked down at the tip of his shoes and mumbled, "Nothing."

She spent three days deep plowing the two acres of land. For this purpose, she specially asked the blacksmith shop in the market to make a suitable hoe, and also borrowed Xu Ying's old ox for plowing. Now the land is leveled and it finally looks presentable.

But Xu Ying followed and took a look at the side road. He found that these two pieces of land had never been cultivated and were not fertile enough to grow anything. It would take at least three months to restore the fertility to the level where they could be cultivated.

Three months...

Ali was suddenly depressed. The scars on her face had scabbed over and fallen off, revealing pink tender flesh. The wounds on her body were almost healed. She had no reason to stay in the Lu family anymore.

She doesn't have time anymore.

But before evening, Aunt Wei suddenly told her mysteriously that the master had agreed to bring the young master back home in a while and they would no longer have to live in the farm.

Ah Li put down the fragrant sweet potato in his hand and asked the question that had been on his mind for a long time: "Since the master loves the young master so much, why didn't he take him back home earlier?"

Aunt Wei sat with her in front of the fire and told her stories of the past: "Our master was originally from a noble family, but unfortunately his family fell into poverty when he was young, and he was unable to pass the imperial examination as the master and mistress had hoped. To survive, he took up business."

Nowadays, agriculture is emphasized and commerce is suppressed. The classes of scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants are clearly divided, and the status of merchants is low.

"Perhaps thanks to the blessing of his ancestors, the master's business grew bigger and bigger, earning him the title of Imperial Merchant. He built up his current fortune and even married Miss Ni, another wealthy merchant. The two of them are considered a perfect match."

"But the master came from a family of scholars, and he always felt bad about not passing the imperial examination. One day, while out inspecting the shops under his name, he met the young master's biological mother."

Ali paused while peeling the sweet potato, then blew on it to his lips: "And then?"

Aunt Wei glanced at her and said, "After that, a son was born. However, the master never brought them back home. Even the identity and name of this... lady are unknown."

Ali thought of Mr. Lu's serious and gloomy face, and thought that Lu Jingming's appearance was derived from his mother.

"At that time, the old man and I were working in the front yard, and I only occasionally heard people say that the young master's biological mother was a lady from a scholarly family, well-educated and well-mannered..."

In fact, the gossip about this lady in the mansion at that time was very bad. They all said that she was a seductive vixen and shameless. Aunt Wei found it irritating and never gossiped with those people.

Ali understood and couldn't help but feel a little contempt for Mr. Lu.

Aunt Wei sighed, "A few years later, my old man and I were assigned here by the master to take care of the young master, and we never met that lady."

The stove was burning brightly, warming everyone's hands and feet. Ali took a bite of the sweet potato and breathed in the hot air. "If that's the case, then why did the master suddenly want to take the young master back home?"

Aunt Wei wasn't in the study today, so she didn't know what the father and son had said. She could only guess, "It's probably because the young master has been weak since childhood and has been ill recently, and the Spring Examination is approaching."

"Spring Examination?"

Aunt Wei wiped the residue from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief: "A-li, do you still remember what I said, that the young master's knowledge is well-known in Shangxi County?"

"Besides the young master, there are four other young masters in the Xingyang County mansion, all born to that lady," Aunt Wei continued, "but academically, none of them can compare to our young master. It can even be said that the gap is huge."

The firelight was reflected in Ali's eyes, and he nodded slightly.

Lu Jingming and his mother are both the embodiment of Mr. Lu's unwillingness, but this unwillingness has hurt countless people.

Uncle Wei, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up: "In addition to what the old woman said, I overheard something today. It seems that the young master and the master have been talking for a long time about the salt ship transporting goods for the mansion."

He still remembered the master's expression after he heard it, which was extremely satisfied and proud.

However, this time only the young master returned home, and the two of them were left at the farm by the master.

Aunt Wei also fell silent, with tears in her eyes. She hurried out under the pretext of adding more firewood.

Ali looked at the two old men in front of him and read worry in their cloudy eyes.

*

When Ali came out of the kitchen, she felt a dull pain in her chest. She walked along the corridor towards the room, and suddenly a thin figure appeared at the corner.

She was startled and quickly turned around to hide.

"stop."

Two light words came, and they sounded like a death spell to Ali's ears. She had no choice but to stand where she was, with her hands twisted into a knot in front of her.

The owner of the voice was getting closer and closer, and stopped two steps behind her. Ali had to turn around.

Lu Jingming lowered his eyes, his emotions undetectable: "Accompany me to a place."