2002
◎The Second Day of the Scroll King◎
Seeing that there was no immediate danger, the captain ordered the people outside the courtyard to disperse.
Jiang Wanzhou began to clean up the mess in the room, as well as the overwhelming smell of blood and pungent medicine that filled the air.
Aunt Hu and another aunt helped tidy up the house a bit, and then earnestly reminded her, "Keep a close eye on things, and call for help immediately if anything happens."
Then they left.
In the dilapidated mud house, only Jiang Wanzhou, the dazed Shen Xinglian, and the baby remained on the kang (a heated brick bed).
A deathly silence enveloped the entire room like an invisible net.
Jiang Wanzhou felt completely drained, as if all her strength had been drained away.
She leaned against the cold earthen wall, slowly slid down to sit on the ground, and gasped for breath.
Cold sweat soaked through her thin, coarse cloth clothes, sticking to her body and making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
The exhaustion from surviving the ordeal and the immense fear that followed overwhelmed her made her hands and feet weak and tremble uncontrollably.
She stared at the pale, paper-white figure on the kang (a heated brick bed), as if it would shatter at the slightest touch, and the phrase "five million milk tea money" echoed wildly in her mind.
Shen Xinglian, her "enemy friend" who was competitive and eager to make a name for herself in the modern world, actually transmigrated to this era just like her, and almost died at her own hands!
This fate is truly cruel!
The next day, the morning light gently shone on the Jiang family's somewhat dilapidated courtyard.
Jiang Wanzhou slowly woke up, rubbing her sleepy eyes, only to find the courtyard empty and quiet.
Jiang's mother was nowhere to be found, and Jiang Husheng was also nowhere to be found.
A nameless unease quietly spread through her heart.
Jiang Wanzhou quickly got up and hurried towards Shen Xinglian's room.
Before even reaching the door, they saw that the door was wide open and a figure was moving around inside. Who else could it be but Jiang Husheng?
Jiang Wanzhou's heart tightened suddenly, and her steps quickened involuntarily, almost as if she rushed into the house.
Upon entering the room, they saw Jiang's mother holding a bowl of something and bringing it to Shen Xinglian's lips, trying to feed her.
Jiang Wanzhou felt a chill run down her spine, her mind went blank for a moment, and then she came to her senses.
"don't want!"
She rushed over like a madwoman, and with a forceful swing of her hands, knocked the bowl over.
The bowl crashed to the ground with a loud bang, shattering into several pieces. Hawthorn juice splashed all over the floor, emitting a pungent sour smell.
Ever since she learned that she had transmigrated into a historical novel, Jiang Wanzhou has cherished everything even more. Yesterday, she only chose to drink hawthorn water.
There's nothing we can do about it now.
Startled by this sudden turn of events, Jiang's mother froze on the spot. She quickly recovered and burst into a tirade: "You brat! What's wrong with you! I was just trying to help her recover, and you dared to knock it over!"
The cursing echoed in the small room, making one's ears ache.
Jiang Wanzhou ignored her mother's insults and felt a wave of fear wash over her.
Fortunately, it's the body's biological clock.
That was clearly hawthorn water. For a woman who had just given birth, drinking hawthorn water would undoubtedly be fatal!
"Mother, don't lie to me. I know everything. If something happens to my sister-in-law, you'll have to think carefully about how to explain it to my brother!" Jiang Wanzhou looked at her mother.
Jiang's mother didn't particularly like Jiang Renzhou and Jiang Wanzhou, but she was still afraid of Jiang Renzhou.
"What can the boss do to me? She's just a capitalist's daughter seeking refuge with my son, and she's having an affair with someone else. She can find someone better without you, brother."
"Little sister, how could you scare Mom like that?"
Jiang Husheng stood to the side, his face terribly gloomy. He stared at Jiang Wanzhou with a dark and deep gaze, as if he wanted to see right through her.
Jiang Wanzhou looked like a coward who accidentally retaliated and then regretted it.
Jiang Husheng stared for a while, then snorted coldly and walked out with a flick of his sleeve.
Seeing this, Jiang's mother also left the house, cursing and swearing.
After they left, Jiang Wanzhou quickly turned around, picked up a water glass from the table next to her, and handed it to Shen Xinglian's lips, saying softly, "Quick, rinse your mouth."
Shen Xinglian slightly opened her eyes, weakly took the water glass, rinsed her mouth, and said in a voice as faint as a candle in the wind, "I didn't drink it."
Just then, she suddenly mustered all her strength and said in a barely audible voice, "You... that five million... for milk tea... did you... receive it...?"
"I received it. Why didn't you give it to your son and daughter?" Jiang Wanzhou was also shocked to receive a payment from an enemy confidant she hadn't contacted in twenty years.
"You're right about everything. I've worked hard all my life, but my husband doesn't love me, and my son and daughter aren't close to me."
"Only at the end did I realize that you were the only one who truly cared about me."
She gripped Jiang Wanzhou's cold wrist tightly.
"Shen... Shen Xinglian?!" Jiang Wanzhou's voice trembled violently, choked with sobs and filled with disbelief and horror. "You've actually ended up like this?! But how did you get here? Were you reading a novel too?"
As a result, Shen Xinglian fainted.
Jiang Wanzhou went to see a doctor.
In the courtyard, Jiang Husheng stood silently in the shadows by the door, his face grim, like a cold statue.
His gaze, like a poisoned icicle, was fixed on Jiang Wanzhou, then slowly swept over Shen Xinglian, whose life or death was unknown, lying on the kang.
His lips moved silently, and Jiang Wanzhou could clearly see the shape of his mouth—"Still not dead!"
A chill ran from the soles of Jiang Wanzhou's feet straight to the top of her head, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
She knew that Jiang Husheng absolutely knew that pregnant women and postpartum women should not drink that bowl of hawthorn water!
If Shen Xinglian dies, this debt will definitely be attributed to her, and she will have no way to defend herself.
If Shen Xinglian survives, half of his conspiracy will be exposed. Given his ruthless nature, he will never let them off easily!
Jiang Wanzhou thought for a moment and then asked the neighbor's child to call the doctor.
—
night.
"Cough...cough cough..." A faint, painful cough suddenly broke the deathly silence on the kang (a heated brick bed).
Jiang Wanzhou suddenly raised her head, sprang up instantly, and pounced on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).
Her voice trembled without her even realizing it, and she asked softly, "Shen... Shen Xinglian? You... you're awake? How are you feeling?"
Shen Xinglian struggled to lift her heavy eyelids, her gaze unfocused for a while before slowly refocusing.
When she saw the face in front of her, stained with tears and filled with panic and worry, Shen Xinglian's pupils suddenly contracted.
Then a sense of resignation, deep weariness, and absurdity welled up within her.
She opened her mouth, but her chapped lips only emitted a faint breath, as if she had used up all her strength.
Jiang Wanzhou quickly picked up half a bowl of cold water and clumsily and carefully brought it to her lips, feeding her little by little to moisten her lips.
After drinking a few sips of water, Shen Xinglian seemed to have regained some strength.
She closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, the confusion and pain in her eyes had faded somewhat, replaced by a cold self-mockery.
“Jiang…Wanzhou?” She called out her name accurately.
"What a fucking twist of fate." The tone was full of helplessness and bitterness.
"They've all traveled through time together."
She took a slight breath.
Can you tell me now?
"What exactly happened with that bowl of deadly hawthorn water?"
“And…” Her gaze slowly swept over the dilapidated mud house.
She forced a cold laugh that was more like a grimace, a laugh filled with mockery and resentment. "This... utterly awful... 1970s... stepmother novel... what exactly is it? I didn't finish reading it."
Jiang Wanzhou froze, as if she had been frozen in place, unable to move.
She met Shen Xinglian's eyes, which, though weak, were still incredibly sharp.
Jiang Wanzhou opened her mouth.
After discovering the extra money, she reconnected with Shen Xinglian.
Jiang Wanzhou's high school classmate recommended a period novel with the same name featuring a female supporting character.
Jiang Wanzhou shared it with the wrong person; she sent it to Shen Xinglian.
She only found out later that the first wife's name was Shen Xinglian.
The "same-name time travel" rule is terrifying.
Shen Xinglian paused for a moment: "You are the younger sister-in-law in a stepmother novel, while I am the original wife who died young."
Jiang Wanzhou nodded.
Just then, with a creak, the dilapidated wooden door was suddenly pushed open.
Jiang's mother walked in, carrying a chipped, rough porcelain bowl and cursing, interrupting their conversation.
"What a wailing! All he ever does is talk about illness, illness, illness! What a jinx!"
Jiang's mother slammed the bowl heavily on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), splashing a few drops of the murky millet porridge. "Here! Drink it quickly! Otherwise people will say that the Jiang family mistreated you! Giving birth to a boy was so difficult!"
The porridge was so thin you could see your reflection in it, with a few yellowed wild vegetables floating on top, but it didn't smell like it had been sitting overnight.
Shen Xinglian didn't even lift her eyelids, just kept her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling slightly, as if she didn't even have the strength to speak.
But Jiang Wanzhou keenly noticed a faint hint of mockery and coldness in her tightly pursed lips.
Seeing that no one paid attention to her, Jiang's mother became even angrier. She glared at Jiang Wanzhou and turned her attention to her: "And you, you brat! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and sweep up the broken pieces of the bowl on the floor! It's bad luck to look at! You good-for-nothing! That bowl of potion-changing medicine was so precious! And you just wasted it like that! I think you did it on purpose! You ruined your sister-in-law and now you want to ruin your own mother too?!"
That shrill voice hurt your eardrums.
Jiang Wanzhou took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in her heart.
"Mother, my sister-in-law had a potion to change her sex before she gave birth, so why did you secretly give it to her after she gave birth?"
She slowly stood up, supporting herself against the cold earthen wall. Her gaze swept over Jiang's mother's harsh face, finally settling on the bowl of porridge on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).
A thought, like a match struck in the dark, instantly took shape in her mind—she had to get the money!
Shen Xinglian needs nutrition, and the child needs nutrition!
"Mother," Jiang Wanzhou's voice was deliberately lowered, carrying a frightened, timid, and tearful tone, her body trembling slightly in response, "I...I didn't mean to...I was craving something sweet, and my sister-in-law bled so much last night, I was scared..."
“My brother works under Uncle Shen’s comrade-in-arms. If it’s found out we’re treating my sister-in-law badly…”
As she spoke, she wiped away non-existent tears with her sleeve, secretly observing Jiang's mother's reaction.
Sure enough, seeing her cowardly appearance, Jiang's mother became even more arrogant, spitting as she demanded, "What's wrong with her?!"
What's so good about it?
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