Shen Yuan understood that the old clan chief's words were actually meant to help her and Chu Yuning reconcile.
The peaches Chu Yuning gave her that year were indeed very sweet, with thin skin. Peeling off the skin revealed plump, sweet, and soft flesh. One bite and the juice would flow out. It was the best peach she had ever eaten that summer.
But it wasn't until today that she learned that those peaches were stolen by Chu Yuning from the old clan chief's orchard, not bought in the city.
Her past with Chu Yuning was filled with too many lies. She could not forget her experiences in her previous life, nor could she forgive Chu Yuning.
Shen Yuan handed the old clan chief a bowl of tea. "Are you thirsty? Have some water."
"After talking for a while, my mouth is really dry."
The old clan chief understood that Shen Yuan meant he thought he talked too much, so he took the teacup and said no more.
Speaking of which, the most outstanding boy in their village this generation is Chu Yuning, and the most outstanding girl is undoubtedly Shen Yuan. She can read and understand pharmacology, and she is also very hardworking. At a young age, she was able to earn money by going into the mountains to collect herbs and support her family.
They were truly the most well-matched couple among the children of their generation in the village, it's just a pity they were destined to be apart...
The old clan chief shook his head dejectedly, unsure whether it was from drinking hot tea and then being exposed to the cold wind at the door, or something else entirely.
The old clan chief had just taken two sips of tea when he suddenly began coughing violently, "Cough cough cough... cough cough cough..."
He coughed so hard he could barely breathe, one cough after another, getting worse and worse until he almost fainted from exhaustion.
Shen Yuan quickly helped the old clan chief lie down, took out silver needles and inserted a few needles between his collarbones, so that the old clan chief did not die on the spot.
But the villagers in the ancestral hall were all frightened by this scene. Before this, they thought the old clan chief had improved, but they did not expect him to suddenly become unwell.
“Yuan girl, what’s going on? Why is the clan chief…” The villager hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.
Shen Yuan knew what they wanted to ask, but said nothing.
The plague was so terrifying because of its extremely high mortality rate. In fact, even if Magistrate Sun hadn't burned down the village, many villagers would have died from the plague.
Unlike ordinary colds and flu, epidemic diseases are far more severe, and from infection to death, it takes at most seven days. She had experienced this firsthand in her previous life at Shan'an Hall.
Even if she had the prescription for treating the plague that she had recorded in her previous life, and this prescription had been improved by Doctor Jiang, she could not guarantee that it would cure everyone.
Moreover, the old clan chief has been ill for seven days, and he received treatment too late. In addition, he is old and has other health problems... I'm afraid he won't make it through tonight.
In the middle of the night, while the villagers in the ancestral hall were fast asleep, the old clan chief suddenly got out of bed, dressed himself, and then walked out the door leaning on his cane.
Shen Yuan, who was leaning against the door frame, was already a light sleeper. He was awakened by the noise and turned to look at the old clan chief.
"I want to go out for some fresh air!" The old clan chief was a little embarrassed when he saw that Shen Yuan had been woken up.
Shen Yuan stood up and walked to the old clan leader. "Let me help you!"
Shen Yuan helped the old clan chief, and the two walked through the courtyard to the main gate of the ancestral hall.
The Chu Family Ancestral Hall is built on the mountainside behind Chu Family Village. Standing at the entrance of the ancestral hall, you can see most of the village scenery.
There are many villages at the foot of the mountain, but now only the Tian family and the old clan chief's family still have candles lit.
The old clan chief gazed intently at the two places where fires were lit, as if he could see the sleeping villagers through those lights.
After a long silence, the old clan chief sighed softly, "Yuan girl, cough cough cough, the people of the village are now in your hands!"
“If you weren’t the first person to come into contact with those two siblings, perhaps you could have gotten through this,” Shen Yuan said in a low voice.
Upon hearing this, the old clan chief turned around and glanced at Chu Yuning and Chu Qiuyue on the straw pile in the corner. There was no blame in his eyes; he simply said, "This is my fate!"
"Back then, when Zhao Juxiang and Chu Xiaoshan got into such a scandal, I was thinking of protecting Chu Xiaoshan, just because he was my cousin."
"I was born as the clan leader, and I have spent half my life planning for my clan. So, to die at the hands of my own clan is... cough cough cough... it is my life coming to an end."
After the old clan chief finished speaking, he slammed his cane heavily onto the ground.
Immediately, the old clan chief knelt down, looked at the village at the foot of the mountain, tilted his head to the side, and let it droop limply.
The villagers inside the ancestral hall were awakened by the sound of their canes hitting the ground. One by one, they sat up and looked at the old clan chief kneeling at the gate.
Chu Yuning was the first to sense that something was wrong. She quickly put on her outer robe, walked into the courtyard, and called out, "Clan Chief!"
Shen Yuan stood outside the ancestral hall courtyard gate, turning to look at Chu Yuning. A mountain breeze swept by, lifting the hem of her dress and scattering her long, ink-black hair. Her face was expressionless, but Chu Yuning could see a trace of pity in her brows.
This compassion contains a divine quality, unlike anything a human would possess.
"The clan leader has passed away." Shen Yuan's voice was very soft, as if it had just been spoken and then dissipated in the wind.
Before he died, the clan chief gazed at his old house for a long time; he must have longed to return home.
But he remembered the rule that once you enter the ancestral hall, you can't leave, so he just stood at the entrance of the ancestral hall and didn't take a single step outside.
Upon hearing from Shen Yuan that the old clan chief had died, the villagers were overcome with grief and knelt in the ancestral hall, weeping loudly.
As dawn broke, Shen Yuan said, "Let the clan chief be laid to rest as soon as possible!"
“According to the rules, the body should be kept in state for seven days. The clan chief has devoted himself to the village all these years, and we can’t let him leave in such a meager manner. We should at least hold a grand ceremony so that everyone in the village can come and pay their respects!” said several other elderly people in the village.
Shen Yuan shook her head. "Before he died, the clan chief said that everything should be kept simple, and he wanted to lie where he closed his eyes."
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