Chapter Thirty-Three
Half a minute ago, in the room.
Fu Wei didn't sleep for half the night before and took care of Yu Ying all day, so he looked a little haggard now.
He lowered his eyes to glance at Fu Ning who was sleeping soundly in the middle, and after a moment he slowly shifted his gaze to look at Yu Ying who was sleeping on the inside.
Yu Ying fell asleep shortly after drinking the medicine.
Fu Wei's gaze fell on her face.
Because she has been collecting herbs in the mountains these days, her fair and translucent skin has become one degree darker, but it is still fair and moist.
He looked again at the faint "stains" on her face, and couldn't help but frowning slightly.
Fu An and Fu Ning are children after all, and they are not good at hiding their emotions. If they find out that the dark spots on their aunt's face have disappeared, it would be okay if Fu Ning doesn't say anything, but it would be troublesome if Fu An lets it slip.
It's okay if she looks ordinary, but...
Fu Wei scanned her delicate facial features.
The conclusion is - she is not ordinary.
He reminded her this morning, and her spots faded, so she went to the next room to get some wild fruits.
But since Fu An was still in the house this morning, she didn't apply it.
But after she drank the medicine, she fell into a drowsy state and forgot everything.
After thinking for a moment, Fu Wei turned around and picked up a small wild fruit on the table, squeezed the juice onto his fingertips, and then smeared it along the old marks on her face.
After Fu Wei had applied the ointment and wiped his hands, he suddenly heard a loud shout from outside: "Officials are chasing the fugitives, all outsiders, please stand aside!"
Fu Wei suddenly raised his eyes and looked out the window, his eyes suddenly sharp.
Before Luo and Fu An could react to what was happening, two yamen runners entered the yard and rushed into the house.
Fu An asked anxiously: "What do you want to do?!"
The two yamen runners went to two different rooms. When Fu An tried to stop them, the runners pushed him away.
Fu An was pushed away by the brute force and almost fell down.
The yamen runner strode into the room and the first person he saw was a man with an extraordinary temperament. The man was sitting on the bed with a haggard look on his face.
The yamen runner was stunned for a moment, then realized that the man was Erlang of the Fu family.
The yamen runner took a quick look at the situation in the room, including the woman who was sleeping soundly on the couch.
The old and the young are busy outside, while the young are lying in bed.
Who has such a lazy woman?
It seems that what the gossipy woman at the village entrance said is true. The new bride of the Fu family is indeed an indecent woman.
The yamen runner stepped forward with his sword drawn, his face dark, and shouted, "Officials are doing this, and you guys are still not getting up?!"
Yu Ying and Fu Ning woke up from the shout that just came in, but Yu Ying's mind was not very clear.
But now she had recovered her composure, and hurriedly got up and got out of bed. Little Funing was also frightened and followed his aunt to climb down from the bed.
She lowered her head and asked hurriedly, "I wonder what important matter the official has brought to my humble abode?"
Another officer also heard the noise and entered the house.
The two yamen runners were just errand boys in the yamen, but they acted arrogantly here.
The officer raised his chin and said arrogantly, "I suspect you are harboring a fugitive. Get out of here immediately! We are going to search you!"
search?
Why search a house that you can see the whole way through at a glance?
Yu Ying was still ill, and although her brain was slow to react for a moment, she soon understood what was going on.
——As Fu Wei said, the investigators have arrived.
The officer glared at Fu Wei lying on the bed and shouted angrily, "You bastard, don't you take us seriously? I'm investigating a case, and you dare to lie in bed? Get up now!"
Yu Ying hurriedly said, "Sir, please don't be angry. My husband is a useless cripple. His legs are broken and he can't even get out of bed. He is just a useless person who needs to be taken care of when he eats, drinks, defecates and urinates."
Luo and Fuan, who followed him into the room, were stunned and couldn't understand why Liu Niang and Xiaoshen would say such harsh words.
Yu Ying was afraid they were up to no good, so her face darkened and she scolded, "Didn't you see the official was here? Why don't you pour the water quickly?"
Luo Shi had been the wife of a county magistrate, and she had also experienced great changes, so she reacted quickly. As if she was afraid, she responded repeatedly: "I'll go right away, An An, come here quickly."
Yu Ying glared at him and said angrily, "Go quickly!"
Fu An thought it was his former aunt who had returned. He trembled, his mind went blank, and his face turned pale.
When the yamen runner saw this, he understood.
Everyone in the Fu family is afraid of this ridiculous bride.
Fu An couldn't accept that his aunt had returned to her previous vicious self. Tears welled up in his eyes and he ran out with a whimper. Luo Shi hurriedly followed him out, touching the door frame.
Fu Wei glanced at Yu Ying, then lowered his eyes slightly, looking as if he had clenched his teeth after being humiliated. The veins on his neck were bulging, and his hands were tightly grasping the quilt.
The officer raised his chin and said arrogantly, "I don't care if he's crippled or not. If he doesn't leave his bed, I'll treat him as an accomplice of the fugitive!"
Fu Wei gritted his teeth, propping himself up on the bed and slowly moving. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Yu Ying resisted the urge to help and instead, imitating the original owner's temper, scolded him, "You cripple! It's so hard for you to even get out of bed. What sin did I commit in my previous life to marry a useless person like you?"
Suddenly he moved to the edge of the bed, Fu Wei's lowered eyes moved slightly, his palm slipped, and he fell to the ground.
Yu Ying took a breath and moved her feet slightly, but still resisted the urge to go forward and support him.
Fu Wei fell to the ground, his clothes were loose, and his loose black hair covered half of his face. He looked very miserable.
Yu Ying secretly clenched her sleeves into fists, but continued to curse, "You can't even get out of bed and fall down, what's the point of living? You might as well just drown yourself and save yourself from being a burden to me!"
The yamen runner took a look at the vicious woman and thought to himself that it was really unlucky to have such a woman.
Another yamen runner glanced at the man on the ground, took a few steps forward, and raised his foot to step on Fu Wei's leg.
Fu Wei and Yu Ying couldn't help but feel tense. If they stepped on the bamboo frame, then Fu Wei's leg treatment would be exposed.
Yu Ying almost held her breath, but the next moment, the runner's foot landed just an inch above her ankle.
Yu Ying breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the bamboo was not tied there.
But he soon breathed a sigh of relief for Fu Wei's stepped foot.
Don't let it get out of your mind...
The yamen runner narrowed his eyes, staring at Fu Wei's expression, and said slowly, "We were escorting a prisoner to Lingnan, and he escaped on the way. Have you seen any strangers entering the village recently?"
While asking the questions, he crushed hard with his hidden strength under his feet.
There was no reaction on Fu Wei's face, as if he didn't feel anyone stepping on his foot.
Yu Ying was worried about Fu Wei, but she didn't dare to show any clues.
She replied, "The prisoner escaped. This is a serious matter. However, there was a hurricane these past two days, and we women and others did not go out, so we did not see any strangers. However, our Lingshui Village is mountainous, and the prisoner might have hidden in the mountains."
Seeing that Fu Wei didn't react, the yamen runner withdrew his foot, glanced around, and said, "It seems the criminal isn't hiding here either. Let's go."
The yamen runner raised his knife, turned around and walked out of the house with another yamen runner.
After the two yamen runners came out of the Fu family, one of them turned back to look in the direction of the Fu family and said, "Now I can finally report to you, Your Excellency. The Fu family is indeed living a miserable life, and Fu's Erlang's legs are really broken."
Another person couldn't help but worry: "Do you think they will think about it later and guess that we are entrusted by a noble person?"
The yamen runner snorted lightly: "What does it matter if you know? They are in such a miserable state now that they can't even eat a meal. What else can we do?"
"Besides, we didn't break in under the guise of a search to protect our identities. Our purpose was to catch them off guard. Why should we care if they discovered our identities?"
The man thought about it and it seemed to be true. Then he grinned and said, "That's right. Let's go back and claim our reward!"
Yu Ying slightly lifted the straw curtain of the window, watched the yamen runner leave, and quickly turned to help Fu Wei: "Are you okay?!"
A thin layer of sweat appeared on Fu Wei's forehead, and his face was a little pale. Yu Ying didn't know for a moment whether he was in pain from falling off the bed, or because the yamen runner stepped on his foot just now.
While supporting him, Yu Ying discovered that Fu Wei was not looking at her. He kept his lips tightly pursed and his eyes lowered.
Yu Ying struggled to help him up, and Fu Wei also supported himself on the bed with his other hand, secretly cooperating.
Yu Ying had not yet recovered from her illness and was a little weak, so after she helped the man up, she was already out of breath.
After a pause, Yu Ying saw that Fu Wei still didn't even glance at her, so she asked him softly, "Are you angry about what I just said?"
Fu Wei didn't want her to misunderstand, so he secretly exhaled, his voice slightly hoarse: "I don't want you to see me in this miserable state now."
Being trampled underfoot without any dignity, without even the ability to resist, he could only endure the humiliation. He didn't want her to see him like this.
Yu Ying was silent for a moment. Knowing that he didn't want peace right now, she changed the subject and said, "I won't say anything else. Let's just say that someone came to test us today. This will allow us to live in peace for a long time. We don't have to be so cautious about everything."
When Yu Ying thought of this, she felt relieved. When she lowered her eyes, she caught a glimpse of a small figure standing under the wall.
She turned her head and saw Fu Ning standing at the end of the bed in a daze, as if he was frightened.
Yu Ying's heart tightened. She quickly stepped forward and squatted down, holding her in her arms. She patted her back gently and comforted her in a gentle voice, "Ningning, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Auntie didn't mean to be mean to you."
She also immediately explained: "Those were bad guys just now. They wanted to bully my uncle. I was mean to protect him, so I was mean to you. Don't be afraid. The bad guys are gone and won't come back. I won't be mean to you anymore."
After a while, Fu Ning slowly came back to his senses, his small body trembling.
Fu Wei raised his head and saw a big and a small person hugging each other, and secretly clenched his palms tightly.
If he had the ability, why would he make them so frightened?
If he had the ability, why would he let them live in the shadows forever?
Fu Wei adjusted his mind while breathing, and spoke softly to comfort her: "Ningning, my aunt didn't say those words on purpose, please don't be angry with me."
This was the first time Fu Wei comforted his little niece in this way, and it was also one of the few times he called her by her nickname.
Fu Ning listened to her uncle's words and she could feel that her aunt was still a good aunt.
At this moment, the little girl seemed to have come back to her senses. She buried herself in Yu Ying's arms and sobbed in fear and shock.
Yu Ying gently stroked Fu Ning's head, and couldn't help but worry about Fu An who had just run away.
I wonder if he was scared too?
After a while, Luo and Fu An came back.
Yu Ying looked up and saw Fu An looking at her with red eyes, as if trying to figure out who she was.
Yu Ying picked up Fu Ning and said to him softly, "Those people were sent by your ex-uncle, so we have to act like this and not let them know that our family is living a good life."
Luo Shi seemed to have guessed it, so there was no excessive surprise on his face.
Luo Shi just realized that Liu Niang was acting. After a little speculation, she probably knew that Erlang and Liu Niang suspected that the yamen runner was sent by their former adopted son, so she immediately cooperated.
But she was worried about her son and also worried that something bad might happen to her grandson, so she ran out to comfort her grandson.
She also told her grandson that her aunt had her reasons and was not really angry with them, and that she would ask her aunt again after the yamen runners left.
She didn't dare to go far, holding her grandson's hand. When she heard her grandson say that the yamen runner had left, she came back anxiously.
Fu An was stunned when he suddenly heard the name of his former uncle from his aunt's mouth.
He turned to look at his grandmother, then looked at his uncle who was lying on the bed with his eyes lowered and silent, and finally looked back at his aunt.
Fu An was silent for a long time, his eyes were still red and tears were gradually filling them.
After a long while, he looked at Yu Ying and asked with a choked voice, "Are you really my aunt?"
His voice gradually trembled as he continued to ask, "Isn't it the aunt who beat me and my sister, but the aunt who bought me candied haws?"
Seeing Fu An's expression, Yu Ying nodded subtly, "I am."
When Fu An heard the affirmative answer, he immediately ran over crying and hugged his aunt.
"Aunt, please don't change back to your previous appearance, okay?" Fu An cried loudly.
Yu Ying's heart was shocked. This was the first time she saw the strong Fu An cry so miserably.
Yu Ying's eyes gradually turned red.
She put Fu Ning down, then squatted down and held both children in her arms, her red eyes becoming moist.
The three of them cried together. Fu Wei felt very depressed and wanted to change the current situation urgently.
Yu Ying held her two children in her arms. Her heart, which had been empty since she traveled through time, seemed to be filled with emptiness at this moment.
Yu Ying couldn't help but recall that she came to this era alone.
She helped the Fu family, firstly because she had nowhere to go and no place to stay, and secondly because she wanted to befriend Fu Wei and hoped to have a stable life in the future.
Finally, she gave herself a hope, a goal to keep herself from collapsing and to strive for. So she started with the goal of earning money to save Dalang, just to give herself the motivation to live and move forward.
But now, she doesn't need any effort or motivation to move forward, she just simply wants to save An An Ningning's parents.
Let them grow up with both parents healthy.
*
Uncle He and Aunt He heard that some yamen runners had gone to the Fu family, so they hurried over, only to find out when they arrived that the yamen runners had all left.
The two children followed behind Yu Ying, their eyes red.
Aunt He asked, "What's going on?"
Yu Ying coughed twice and replied, "Maybe the yamen runners were so fierce and ferocious that they scared them."
Uncle He sighed and said, "Those yamen runners in the county office don't even dare to fart. They can only bully us ordinary people by taking advantage of the power of others."
Aunt He also sighed, and then asked Yu Ying: "Sixth Mother, how are you?"
Yu Ying replied: "Better now. I should be fully recovered in two days."
Hearing this, Aunt He sighed and said, "It's better to have some medical skills. Usually, people with colds and fevers won't recover for ten days or half a month. Of course, it could also be that you have a good foundation, Liu Niang."
As he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at the yard, saying, "Don't be busy today. Take a good rest. Your uncle He and I will help you clean up."
Yu Ying didn't want to be stubborn anymore and could only ask Uncle He and Aunt He for help.
She was still ill, and she didn't know how serious her fall had been. Besides, everyone was in a low mood, and now wasn't the time to discuss the medicinal herb business with Uncle He and Aunt He, so they decided to wait until tomorrow to recover.
While Uncle He and Aunt He were helping to clean up, Fu An also calmed down and went to take care of the vegetable garden he had been taking care of. Luo Shi was unable to help and could only sigh under the eaves.
Yu Ying was thinking about Fu Wei's injury, so she took Fu Ning back to the house.
She walked to the table, scooped half a bowl of warm water, brought it to the bedside, and handed it to Fu Wei.
Fu Wei still had his eyes downcast. When he saw the water she handed him, he hesitated for a moment before finally taking it and whispered, "Thank you."
He picked it up and took a sip.
Yu Ying sat down on a bamboo bench outside and asked, "Are you injured?"
Fu Wei put the water on the table, and finally looked up at her, his face looking calm: "It just hurts a little, but it's not a serious injury."
"What about the feet?"
"It's nothing serious. Sorry to have caused you worry." Fu Wei replied calmly.
Yu Ying didn't quite believe it. She stood up and walked to the end of the bed.
Fu Wei knew what she wanted to do. He moved his legs as if he wanted to retract his feet, but he was powerless.
Yu Ying saw the footprints on the trouser leg, lifted it slightly, and saw that the leg bone an inch above his instep was already black.
Yu Ying seemed to have thought of something. She looked up at him and asked, "Did you fall on purpose?"
After thinking for a moment, he asked again, "You know they'll test whether your leg is really broken, so you fall and hurt yourself first, making yourself look pale and sweaty. Then when they step on you again, as long as you don't show any emotion, they won't be able to tell, right?"
Fu Wei was silent for a moment, then finally nodded and whispered, "That's half the reason, and the other half is just to put on a show for them so they'll have a preconceived notion."
At this point, Fu Wei whispered, "I didn't misunderstand you."
Yu Ying responded: "I know."
He is a smart man, so he can naturally see it.
Just now, she explained to him only to break the deadlock.
The two talked for a while and their moods eased a little.
In the afternoon, everyone gradually calmed down.
Because of what happened at noon, no one had time to eat lunch.
Yu Ying regained some energy and made some rice porridge.
After the porridge was cooked, he served a bowl for himself, then beat the last two eggs into the ceramic pot and made egg porridge.
She had no appetite and her fever had just subsided, so she was not suitable to eat eggs and just wanted to drink a bowl of porridge.
During the meal, Fu An said to Yu Ying, "Aunt, the vegetable garden is fine. The seedlings are all doing well."
Yu Ying nodded: "That's good. In half a month or so, we will be able to eat the first batch of vegetables."
Fu An nodded heavily, then looked at Fu Wei and asked in a low voice: "Uncle, are you okay?"
Fu Wei replied, "Nothing." After a pause, he added, "Don't tell anyone about what happened this afternoon."
Fu An glanced at his aunt and replied, "I know, but I can't tell anyone."
Fu An was afraid that his former uncle would come back and cause trouble, and he was also afraid that his former aunt would come back, so he was very obedient now.
Fu Wei looked at Fu Ning again.
The little girl blinked in confusion when her uncle looked at her. Although she didn't understand much, she still nodded.
Yu Ying: ...
Even if the girl wants to talk to others, she may not be able to open her mouth.
Although she didn't mention Luo by name, Luo also responded: "I know my limits and won't tell anyone else."
*
After the hurricane passed, Yu Ying still lived in the same house with Fu Wei.
After all, we can't let Luo and Fu'an go back to sleeping on the floor. It's the same whether they sleep for one night or two or three nights, so let's just leave it like this for now.
Fu Wei also gradually adapted to the situation after being uncomfortable at first.
Three people were lying on a small bamboo bed.
The incident of the yamen runners coming to cause trouble was a bad memory, so everyone tacitly ignored it.
On the third day, Yu Ying, who had recovered her energy, got up early to find a new drug dealer. She got out of bed carefully, but Fu Wei still woke up.
When Yu Ying was pinning a thorny hairpin on his bun, she saw him trying to sit up on the bed, so she glanced at Fu Ning who was still sleeping and sighed softly.
Fu Wei looked down at the little girl lying very close to him, and his movements became much slower.
After seeing him sit up, Yu Ying whispered, "I will talk to Master Chen about the bamboo bed today. It should be ready in three or four days."
Hearing this, Fu Wei was slightly startled, but he didn't show it on his face. He just said, "Be careful."
Yu Ying fixed her hairpin and adjusted her clothes, nodding as she adjusted her clothes. She then added, "At least I can feel a little better now. I'll buy some more things today so we don't have to live in such a difficult situation."
After thinking for a moment, he continued, "I plan to invite the He family over for dinner tonight. I'll also tell them about our plan to bring my eldest brother and his wife out, and ask them if they want to join us in the medicinal herb business."
Fu Wei nodded slightly and replied in a low voice: "Just do as you say."
As Yu Ying was about to leave, she pondered for a moment, then turned around and asked him carefully, "Do you think the He family is trustworthy?"
Fu Wei smiled faintly: "You already have the answer in your heart, why bother asking me?"
Yes, if she was not sure whether the He family could be trusted, she might not have brought up the matter of involving the He family.
"But I always feel that you see things more deeply than I do, and you can judge people more accurately than I do, so I want to hear your opinion." Yu Ying said.
Fu Wei said pertinently, "The He family is the most trustworthy right now. If you're looking for an escort to redeem someone at the quarry, the He family is your best choice."
At this point, Fu Wei added, "Whether we go to the quarry or continue living in Lingshui Village, being on good terms with the He family will only bring benefits and no disadvantages."
With Fu Wei's words, Yu Ying felt more at ease.
Coming out of the house, I saw Luo and Fuan tending to the vegetable garden outside.
Yu Ying walked over and said to Luo, "If Uncle He hadn't built the door for us before the hurricane, I don't know what would have happened to the house after it passed. And he helped clean up the yard yesterday, so I thought of inviting the He family over for dinner. What do you think, mother?"
Luo said, "All matters in this family are decided by you, Liuniang. I will listen to you."
Yu Ying heard this and said, "Okay, then. Mother, go to the He family with Fu An at noon and invite them to dinner in the evening. Tell them that I have prepared the meal and am waiting for them. If they don't come, the meal will be wasted."
Luo responded, and Yu Ying went out.
Although she had planned to make jelly at Wu Ji Restaurant, due to the hurricane two days ago, Uncle Chen did not come and there were not many customers in the restaurant, so she naturally could not send the jelly over.
After the hurricane, the weather became much cooler. Yu Ying estimated that there wouldn't be many customers ordering jelly today, so she didn't make a large quantity.
Lychee ice cream was not made because there were no lychees.
She waited for Uncle Chen at the village entrance. Because there was someone in the cart, Yu Ying did not mention the matter of the bamboo bed. She only mentioned it after everyone got off the ox cart at the gate of Yun County.
"What a coincidence, Madam Yu, you really asked the right person. The person who can make the bamboo bed happens to be my cousin."
Upon hearing this, Yu Ying asked tentatively, "Is there any room for a discount on this bamboo bed?"
"Why, the price is different for people from other villages and people from the same village?"
Uncle Chen smiled and said, "It's really a bit different. People from the same village are almost all relatives. How could they charge a high price, right?"
That's true.
Yu Ying asked again, "How much silver did the bamboo bed those two people were lying on cost?"
"It's 75 wen for outsiders, but 60 wen for people from the same village. The two villages are close, so I can bring it over to you when the time comes."
Yu Ying: "Thank you so much, Mr. Chen."
Since it could be saved by fifteen cents, Yu Ying naturally decided to buy it.
Originally, Yu Ying wanted to see about making another single bamboo bed for herself, but then she changed her mind and decided not to cause too much trouble for the He family. After all, adding two large items at once would always attract people's attention, so she gave up.
According to Uncle Chen, it would take three to four days to make the bamboo bed, and he didn't know if there would be any work. If there was any other work, he would have to wait.
Although Yu Ying didn't want to wait that long, she could save money and someone would help send it back, so she thought she might as well wait a few more days.
At that time, the most she would do is shamelessly sleep with Fu Wei for a few more days. After all, she didn't want to sleep on the floor, and it was impossible for her to let the grandparents and grandchildren sleep on the floor.
Having made up her mind, Yu Ying didn't think about it anymore. She had more important things to do.
After delivering the jelly, Yu Ying went to Penglai Inn.
There are several inns in Yu County, but because Yu Ying had delivered medicine to Penglai Inn twice before, she thought that she should be familiar with the shopkeeper and the waiter, so it would be relatively easy to find out information.
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