Chapter 22 Quarrel

The gray night gradually deepened, and Wen Zhiheng, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke.

"Eleven, you are not allowed to associate with him from now on."

Chen Shiyi didn't say anything.

"He is a criminal of the Cui family of Qinghe. The Cui family is a prominent family. If you get involved, your life will be in danger."

Chen Shiyi remained silent.

"Eleven, speak."

Wen Zhiheng grabbed her wrist and forced her to look up at him.

Chen Shiyi looked at his hand that grabbed her wrist, then raised her eyes to look at Wen Zhiheng.

Wen Zhiheng unconsciously loosened his hand because of her stare.

Chen Shiyi added a few more sticks of firewood to the fire.

"Master, you should go wash your hands."

Ruier ran in hurriedly.

"Sister, is the meal ready? I'm hungry."

Chen Shiyi smiled.

"It's almost done."

Rui'er looked at him in surprise and touched Chen Shiyi's cheek with his tender hands.

"Sister, why are there finger marks on your face? Were you beaten?"

Wen Zhiheng and Wen Zhirou's faces were filled with surprise.

Wen Zhiheng looked carefully at Chen Shiyi's face and found that her face was swollen and there was a hint of blood at the corners of her mouth.

"Eleven, who hit you?"

"Is it the Cui guy from before?"

Chen Shiyi shook his head.

"No, I don't know that guy. He slapped me and I kicked him. So we're even."

"How can this be counted?"

Chen Shiyi said calmly.

"Master, are you going to do justice for me?"

"Of course, you are mine."

"I am just a servant. You don't have to take it to heart. Besides, I am used to this kind of pain. I have also learned to protect myself. I will take revenge on the spot. I don't need others to interfere afterwards."

Wen Zhiheng softened his tone and asked in confusion.

"Eleven, what's wrong with you today?"

"Let's eat."

The Second Young Lady said weakly while drinking the porridge in the bowl.

"I've been drinking porridge these past two days and I'm exhausted. I spent the whole day cutting clothes yesterday and now I feel a little dizzy."

After hearing this, Mrs. Wen quickly asked Chen Shiyi.

"Eleven, didn't you get some herbs to sell these days? Remember to bring back some meat. If the adults don't want to eat it, Rui'er won't be able to bear it either."

The second young lady continued.

"Remember to pick another bunch of flowers for today. They are really beautiful. I wanted to see your bouquet this morning, but you snatched it back. If you were in the old mansion, you would have been beaten to death by a barracks."

Wen Zhiyuan scolded immediately after hearing this.

"What nonsense are you talking about? It's hard enough to earn money at 11am. It's good enough to have food to eat and not starve to death."

Mrs. Wen said in a deep voice.

"Zhiyuan, Chun'er is right. Why did you do that to her?"

Wen Zhirou interrupted impatiently.

"Why are you talking about that when we were having a meal? Why didn't you guys nitpick when we had nothing before?"

Wen Zhiheng remained silent, looking at Chen Shiyi beside her, eating calmly, as if what they were talking about had nothing to do with her.

What's wrong with her?

Were you okay yesterday?

"Anything else? I'll bring them all back tomorrow."

Chen Shiyi's gentle words put an end to their quarrel.

She turned and asked Wen Zhirou.

"Miss, do you have any rags?"

"have."

"I want a few."

She limped to collect the firewood from the woodshed and brought it under the eaves. After cleaning it up, she moved the door panel into the woodshed, and she slept there from then on.

She had some leftover chicken nest grass, which she mashed up and applied to the red and swollen area on her ankle. She gritted her teeth, took a cloth and tied it tightly, and rested for a night. She should feel much better tomorrow.

Outside the door, a tall figure blocked out the faint silver light of the moon outside.

Wen Zhiheng squatted down and wanted to apply medicine to Chen Shiyi.

Chen Shiyi quickly blocked it with his hands.

"It's already been served, don't worry, young master."

I couldn't see Wen Zhiheng's expression, but there seemed to be a hint of regret in his words.

"You were beaten and your foot was injured, why didn't you tell me?"

Chen Shiyi chuckled.

"My actions were so obvious, I thought you could see it. It's just a small matter, just take a rest for two days, why bother to say more, it seems like you want to be pitied."

"Are you blaming me?"

Chen Shiyi wondered, was there any complaint in what she said?

"Master, you rubbed your hands on the back of my head so many times that they turned red. The night you carried me back, you felt so sick that you soaked your skin in the stream until it was wrinkled. Every time you spoke to me, I don't know how much pride and humiliation you had to endure before you could speak calmly and humbly. You really don't need to embarrass yourself like this."

"I will not resent you for your poor treatment, nor will I be grateful for your caring words. So, you just need to be yourself, just like you disliked me at the beginning. I am your maid, my indenture is in the Marquis' Mansion, and I will do my part well."

"Master, I need to rest."

Chen Shiyi turned his body to the side and heard the croaking of frogs and the chirping of insects in the field, as well as Wen Zhiheng's slightly disordered breathing.

She didn't know when he left.

It doesn't matter, she doesn't need anyone's care.

She has never had it since she was a child, and she doesn't want it.

After a day's rest, her feet felt much better and she started to live her life as normal.

In the early morning, she cleaned the yard, cooked dinner, and went up the mountain to chop firewood. She also gathered grass for the chicken coop as usual. At noon, she went to exchange money, occasionally buying some meat, sometimes a few eggs, but mostly rice. She lived a poor life.

After dinner, she went to tidy up the vegetable garden next door with a torch. She rented a hoe from Brother Zheng in the opposite village for three copper coins a day.

Since the conversation that night, she hasn't spoken to Wen Zhiheng for several days.

To be honest, there was really nothing to talk about between them.

The vastly different identities and experiences meant that they were destined to have no intersection.

Say what?

Say the weather is good today, say what to eat in the evening, say whose clothes are torn again?

Rui'er would sometimes come to accompany her to dig the ground. At his age, everything was new to him and he didn't know what hard work was. Even if he was bitten by mosquitoes and felt uncomfortable, he didn't want to go back.

Once, he found a nest of quails in the field and got several tiny eggs. He was so happy that his face turned red. In the evening, he showed off to his father.

Sometimes he would stay by my side and write and draw with tree branches.

"What did you draw?"

Rui'er pouted.

"My father is teaching me to read and he tests me every day."

Chen Shiyi was silent for a while, then asked.

"Rui'er, there are many job seekers in town who require literacy. I also want to learn. Can you teach me?"

When Rui'er heard that Chen Shiyi was willing to study with him, he suddenly became motivated to study and learn characters. Every time he finished studying and taught Chen Shiyi, he would put on a stern face like a little teacher and act pretentiously.

"You can only learn five words today. You can't eat until you finish learning them."

Sometimes he couldn't recognize all the words himself, but he didn't dare to tell Chen Shiyi for fear of losing his demeanor as a young teacher. Later, he was very serious and diligent in learning to read, which made Wen Zhiyuan very happy.

The time for chicken coop grass is over.

At the beginning of May, the pharmacy was no longer accepting.

Chen Shiyi was very anxious.

"Brother Xue, do you know where else there are other jobs?"

Xue Lianxing shook his head.

"There are too many people working in the town, and everyone wants to make money. It's really difficult."

Xue Lianxing couldn't help him. Besides, he had already helped Nanzhi for a long time for her sake.

She was wandering around the town bored and passed by a clothing store that used to sell cloth. Suddenly, an idea came to her mind.

"Boss, besides ready-made clothes, do you also accept embroidery?"