Chapter 101 The Strange Village
Fortunately, the four of them had tidied up their appearance and wiped off the excess blood before they set off. Rainy nights are the best weather to hide crimes. All evidence will disappear after a heavy rain.
"Father, sister, are you hurt?!" Xu Huiming showed concern and quickly helped Xu Degui up. Seeing that he looked unwell, she said, "Father, what's wrong with you? Why haven't you come back yet? Mother is almost going crazy, worried that you might get lost or meet with an accident!"
"It's nothing. He just took a fork in the road and your second uncle fell."
"Ah, is it serious?" Xu Huiming looked at Xu Deyuan again. Xu Deyuan was firmly supported by Ming Xiaoshuang, which made him look like he was being held hostage. Xu Deyuan kept moving his lips, wanting to say something but stopping himself. In the end, he just gritted his teeth and said, "It's okay, I hit a rock."
"I have to ask a doctor to see me when I get home!"
Xu Huiming was heartless and seemed completely unaware of the expressions of the others, but Dazhuang was the first to smell blood and he saw Xu Deyuan's hand at a glance.
Injured by a stone?
It doesn't look like it.
It looked more like someone had hit him by holding his hand.
Da Zhuang glanced at Xu Qingying calmly, only to find that her face was calm, showing no emotion. Xu Degui's face darkened, while Xu Deyuan seemed frightened, trembling like a frightened bird.
Something must have happened to them just now.
Liu Dazhuang thought so in his heart.
Xu Huiming said, "Since everyone is alright, let's go back quickly. It's not safe in the woods with all this rain."
The group walked slowly towards the village.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour in the northwest direction, Xu Qingying and others finally saw rows of small tiled houses. There was a sound of rain, but there were dim lights and bursts of voices. Xu Qingying's heart finally settled down.
Before they got close, someone saw them from a distance.
"Oh, they're back! Aunt Xu, your two sons are back!"
"Hey, hey, hey, hurry up and prepare some clean clothes. There is hot water in the backyard. Hurry up and scoop it out to make some bath water for Miss Xu. Let her take a good bath and change her clothes."
"Is there anything to eat? Some soup would be fine too."
When everyone saw them come back, they started working in a hurry without waiting for orders.
Miao and the others went over to meet them and saw that they were all soaked, especially Xu Deyuan, who was limping and bleeding from his hands. They were shocked and asked, "Second Uncle, what happened to you?"
Xu Qingying calmly pulled Miao over and said, "It's okay. They fell in the forest and Second Uncle hurt his hand."
"Oh, what should we do?" Miao was so worried that she didn't know what to do. The second wife and others also went over to ask about her well-being. But Lian was not in a good mood towards Xu Deyuan now. Even when she saw Xu Deyuan in such a miserable state, she remained indifferent. Instead, she made way for his concubines.
"Second Master, why is your hand injured so badly?"
"Should we see a doctor?"
Xu Huizheng, however, was only concerned about one question: "Dad, your right hand is injured. Will you still be able to write in the future?"
The hands of a reader are the most precious.
The second branch of the family was hoping to go to Qianzhou and see if they could supplement their family income by relying on Xu Deyuan to set up a stall and sell calligraphy and paintings.
But if Xu Deyuan's right hand is injured and he can't write, and can't go to the fields to farm, wouldn't that be a disaster for the second house?
The second branch of the family is small and weak. How can they survive in Qianzhou?
When the Second House and the others figured this out, many of them looked as if they had lost their parents. Even the usually considerate and gentle Concubine Mei was worried, her tone even complaining: "Second Master, how could you be so careless? This... You injured your right hand. What will happen to your family in the future?"
Xu Deyuan was burning with anger. He could see the resentment of this family and hated Xu Qingying to the extreme.
What a vicious woman.
Saving his life but crippling his right hand is like cutting flesh with a blunt knife, making his life worse than death.
He couldn't show any emotion, so he suppressed his anger. "What are you afraid of? Am I going to starve you to death? If you don't want to follow me, Xu Deyuan, when you get to Qianzhou, I can give each of you a letter of release. If you have a good future and want to join me, I won't stop you!"
Aunt Mei quickly lowered her head and tried to comfort him: "Second Master, what are you talking about? We are a family, so we should be together."
The other two concubines also immediately expressed their stance: "Wherever the Second Master is, there we will be. In this life, we are the Second Master's people, and in death, we will be his ghosts."
The grandmother felt very distressed when she saw the wound on Xu Deyuan's hand, and was even more heartbroken by his attitude towards the illegitimate sons and daughters of the second house.
Earlier in the cowshed, this group of illegitimate sons and daughters refused to stay and wait for Xu Deyuan.
Now that Xu Deyuan has returned with an injury, instead of asking about the severity of his injury, he is only concerned about whether Xu Deyuan will become a burden in the future.
They are indeed the offspring of my mother, so shallow-eyed. When they were in Bianjing City, they paid their respects every day, carefully served and fawned over me, and treated me with sweet words as if they were free. Now that we are only a short distance away from Bianjing City, they have become harsh in their words and have started to refuse to do anything when asked to do something. They are truly a bunch of ungrateful people!
Huang said angrily, "Alright, all of you have time to sit here and pretend to be sympathetic. Why don't you go get your father some hot soup and some medicine? This wound looks really nasty. If it's not treated properly, it's going to fester."
The illegitimate sons and daughters of the second house then began to busy themselves with serving the horse.
Xu Qingying, on the other hand, was very much pampered. Her aunt brought her hot soup, Lian found her a set of clean clothes, Miao set up a curtain for her in the backyard, and asked someone to bring hot water for her to wash herself. Fourth Aunt went to the carriage to find towels, soap, etc., and also went to the Fang family to get a bowl of rich ginger soup.
Xu Qingying hardly had to do anything, everything was arranged in an orderly manner.
The four women were busy running around, working in coordination, helping each other. First, they gave her a bowl of ginger soup, and while she drank it, someone helped her dry her hair. Then, someone stuffed a pill into her mouth, saying it was for preventing colds. Finally, Miao dragged her to take a hot bath.
The concubines in the second house watched Lian busying herself around for Xu Qingying. Aunt Mei gritted her teeth and sneered, "Our mistress is really weird. Our master was seriously injured, but she didn't even say a word of concern. She even went to the third house to stir up trouble. If you didn't know, you would think she was the sixth girl's mother."
Now everyone is an exiled prisoner with equal status, and there is no distinction between mistress and concubine. Therefore, these concubines gradually no longer take Lian Qiuzhi seriously.
It was obvious to everyone that the relationship between Lian and Xu Deyuan had been getting worse during their exile. Whenever they met, they would argue fiercely and constantly talk about getting a divorce. They had stopped arguing recently, but Lian's attitude towards Xu Deyuan was cold, clearly indicating a growing estrangement.
Chun He also said, "What's wrong with Madam? Hasn't she always disliked the Third House? Why is she hanging out with the people from the Third House every day? Why doesn't the Master do anything about it?"
Lin Xiao is Lian Qiuzhi's maid. She has been quite obedient in Lian Qiuzhi's hands over the years. Having been a servant for so many years, she naturally regards Lian as her master in her heart. She dare not say much and just lowers her head in silence.
Aunt Mei nudged Lin Xiao with her shoulder and said, "Why are you silent again? You are not her slave anymore, so why are you still so afraid of her?"
Aunt Lin smiled faintly, "How can we servants control the affairs of the master's family?"
"Bah, if you want to be a slave for the rest of your life, don't drag us into it." Aunt Mei's voice was shrill and a little harsh. "We are all lowly now, and no one can compare to the other. Have you forgotten what life was like for us under her rule? Now that the Xu family has fallen, does she still want to show off in front of us?!"
Chun He advised her, "Sister Mei, it's better to have less trouble than more. The master hasn't said anything, so why should we care about these things? Besides, the Xu family may have fallen, but the mistress's family is still there. It's better for you to not provoke her."
Aunt Mei's face was filled with indignation. "It's just that she will be reincarnated. If I had a father who was a high-ranking official, I wouldn't have fallen to this point."
"It's all fate, what can we do?"
Lian turned a deaf ear to the gossips of her concubines. In the past, she would have been interested in fighting with them. But now, the thought of fighting for a man like Xu Deyuan made her feel sick.
Now Xu Deyuan has injured his hand again, and he may not be able to write in the future.
Among the younger generations of the second branch, the two illegitimate sons are spoiled to the point of being ignorant of their own limitations. I’m afraid they can’t even support the family.
If we wait in Qianzhou, how will the whole family support themselves?
Really go to the fields to farm? These people have long been dazzled by the prosperity of Bianjing, and they have worked so hard that they don’t even have to do any water. The biggest hardships are still to come.
Lian thought clearly that from now on, instead of fighting with Xu Deyuan's concubines, it would be better to please Xu Qingying.
Xu Qingying took a hot bath.
During her exile, Xu Qingying seldom took a bath. In the past, she didn't have the conditions and it would have been a waste to boil hot water, so she usually just wiped her body with a towel.
This time she took a bath happily, and when she came out with the basin, she found something wrong. It seemed that only their yard in the whole village was a little lively. There was no sound at all from other houses, and it was pitch black.
Xu Qingying actually discovered it when she just entered the village, but considering that it was a rainy night, people in ancient times went to bed early and might have fallen asleep at eight or nine o'clock. But after such a long time, without seeing a stranger, Xu Qingying finally felt that something was wrong.
The third branch of the Xu family was only allocated one room. There was a kang in the room, but it was cold.
During the exile, there was no longer any distinction between men and women. Men and women slept on the same kang, either end, which was better than sleeping in the wilderness.
The farmer's yard was nothing fancy, but the house looked like it had just been cleaned up, yet it still felt inexplicably cold.
After drying her hair, Xu Qingying took a small stool and sat by the fire to warm her hair. Unexpectedly, she heard the voices of Miao and Zhao Bantou talking outside the yard.
The sound of rain was pattering, and Miao's voice was very low, and it came into Xu Qingying's ears intermittently.
The two people seemed to have some dispute.
Xu Qingying vaguely heard words like "dead person".
Zhao Bantou came to visit her on a rainy night, even though he knew she had just finished taking a bath. He must have encountered some difficult situation.
Xu Qingying had no choice but to wrap her hair with a towel. She quickly walked to the door, opened it, and the wind blew in. She said to Zhao Qiaonian, who was standing not far from the door, "Captain Zhao, what happened?"
Miao looked disapproving, but Zhao Bantou had already spoken first, "Miss Xu, there's something wrong in this village. I wanted to tell you earlier. But you were soaking wet, so I couldn't say it, so I had to wait until now—"
"It's okay. What happened?" Xu Qingying used her eyes to reassure Miao, but Miao still had a worried look on her face, looking at her hesitantly, wanting to say something. Zhao Bantou took two steps forward and stood by the door, saying in a low voice, "Miss, there's something wrong with this village. When we arrived, we found it completely dark, without a single light. Once inside, we discovered that the village was indeed empty, but there were several bodies."
"Corpse?" Xu Qingying frowned, but did not hesitate, "Come on, take me to see it."
Miao was thinking: Why do they always ask her daughter to do everything? Money-making matters are fine, but now a body has been found, and they're calling Ying'er too. Have they forgotten that Ying'er is only thirteen years old and unfit to witness such a bloody scene?
Miao's face was displeased, but she knew she couldn't stop Xu Qingying. Xu Qingying seemed to see through her worries and took her hand to comfort her, "Mother, don't be afraid. It's just a corpse, just a pile of meat. If you're scared, go stay with Daddy and Brother."
Miao was speechless, and said helplessly, "It's not that I'm afraid of corpses, I'm worried that you won't be able to sleep after seeing the bloody scene. You're still an unmarried girl, why do you want to participate in such a bloody thing?"
Zhao Bantou scratched his head awkwardly and chuckled.
Indeed, in his haste, he had forgotten that Fourth Miss Xu was still only thirteen years old. For some reason, Zhao Bantou now looked for Xu Qingying first whenever he encountered any problems.
"No." Xu Qingying tied her hair neatly, revealing her smooth forehead. Her eyes were bright and sharp, but there was no trace of fear. "Mother, Zhao Bantou came to me because he trusts me. And there is indeed something strange in this village. I'll go take a look. You wait here."
After Xu Qingying finished speaking, she and Zhao Bantou walked out.
Not long after Xu Qingying left, Xu Degui came out after washing himself and changing into dry clothes, but found the room empty. He also saw Miao sitting in front of the kang, looking dejected and sighing.
As soon as Miao saw him, she started complaining, "What's going on? And Zhao Bantou, why does he always come to my Ying'er for everything? She's not even married yet. So many dead people are around, it scares me, and he's still dragging Ying'er over to make decisions."
"Dead people?" Xu Degui was a little confused. "What dead people?"
Remembering that Xu Degui still didn't know about this, Miao gave a brief account, "When we first arrived at the village, we found it deserted, not a soul in sight. We thought everyone had fled, but upon entering, we found so many dead bodies that we almost left. If it weren't for the heavy rain, we would have packed up and left this unlucky place long ago. Look, a few brave ones dragged the bodies to a house, and now Captain Zhao is looking for Ying'er to make a decision."
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