Chapter 21 Struggle
When Shen Yuexi saw the police, she felt inexplicably nervous.
As soon as she saw the officers, she subconsciously wanted to escape.
The officer passed by her, and she tensed up all over, not daring to breathe.
He turned away and walked quickly towards the mule cart not far away. He heard a yamen runner behind him say:
“Just post it here.”
Her eyebrows twitched, her feet paused, she stopped where she was, and quickly turned around to look.
One yamen runner took a brush and applied a layer of paste on the wall, while another yamen runner unfolded the rolled-up notice in his hand and stuck it on the wall.
Feng Zhang happened to be standing next to the two yamen runners, looking at the notice with curiosity.
Xiao Zhuo's portrait was clearly visible on the notice.
Shen Yuexi suddenly felt cold all over. It was a hot summer day, but she felt like she had entered an ice cave. Her legs couldn't help but tremble.
She wanted to open her mouth to stop Feng Zhang, but she just opened her mouth and no sound came out.
Only then did she notice that Feng Zhang, with his back to her, was obviously stunned, as if he was suddenly frozen in place.
Feng Zhang must have discovered it, and he must have recognized that the person in the portrait was Xiao Zhuo.
Shen Yuexi's mind was in a state of confusion. The notice stated that anyone who provided information about the fugitive would be rewarded with 100 taels of silver once confirmed. That was 100 taels of silver, more than she could earn by selling two tiger skins. Wouldn't Feng Zhang be tempted?
The Feng family was originally poor, and one hundred taels of silver was extremely attractive to such a poor family.
Now she couldn't stop Feng Zhang at all. Two yamen runners were standing in front of Feng Zhang. She stared at Feng Zhang, waiting for his answer, which might be a judgment of death or a ray of hope after a dark period.
Seeing Feng Zhang standing there motionless in a daze, a yamen runner walked over quickly, looked him up and down, waved his hand in front of him, and asked:
"Brother, what's wrong with you?"
Shen Yuexi clenched her fists tightly, staring at Feng Zhang with her eyes fixed, a rare solemnity on her face.
If Feng Zhang just opened his mouth and said he knew this person, and that this person was in Daliang Village, then everything would be over. It was too late for her and Xiao Zhuo to escape. No, maybe Xiao Zhuo could escape early, but she definitely couldn't escape. As for whether Xiao Zhuo would come back to save her, God knew.
Feng Zhang didn't say anything, just stood there in a daze.
The yamen runner who was questioning him was clearly getting impatient. He reached out and pushed Feng Zhang: "Why are you just standing there in a daze? Do you know this person up there?"
Feng Zhang seemed to be suddenly awakened by the words of the yamen runner and turned to look at the yamen runner.
Shen Yuexi held onto the protruding crossbar of the carriage with both hands and made a gesture as if to escape. As long as Feng Zhang dared to speak and confirm, she would run away immediately. As for where to run to, of course, it would be to the village.
"No... sir, no," Feng Zhang's dark complexion flushed. He rubbed the back of his head and said, "This bandit is quite handsome. I've never seen one like him in the countryside before. I was stunned for a moment."
To Shen Yuexi, Feng Zhang's words sounded like the sound of nature.
She tilted her head back, a relieved smile on her lips. She and Xiao Zhuo had not saved Feng Zhang in vain.
She breathed a sigh of relief and slowly slid down the carriage.
At this time, her face was covered with sweat, which slid down her cheeks, and the sweat on her back had already soaked her clothes.
However, she was in such a happy mood.
The yamen runner shouted at Feng Zhang angrily, "Since you haven't seen him before, go do what you need to do instead of standing here."
After saying this, the two yamen runners walked away along the street.
Feng Zhang walked quickly to the mule cart and untied the rope. He extended his arm to Shen Yuexi and said, "Madam Pei, please get up quickly. We still need to ask the doctor to see your husband."
Shen Yuexi looked up at Feng Zhang and saw that his forehead was covered with beads of sweat. He was obviously frightened by the scene just now.
The time from when the yamen runner posted the notice to when Feng Zhang returned was extremely short, but it felt so long to the two of them.
She waved her hand and stood up by herself, holding on to the door frame. After she calmed down, she did not get in the car, but walked forward side by side with Feng Zhang.
When they reached a place where there were few pedestrians, Feng Zhang turned to look at her and said calmly:
"Madam Pei, my life was saved by you and your wife. No matter who your husband is, he is my benefactor. I, Feng Zhang, would never betray my savior. I will pretend to be ignorant of what I saw today."
Shen Yuexi was stunned. She didn't expect him to say that, and then a smile appeared on her lips.
But she still wanted to explain something. She glanced around and saw that no one was around, so she whispered, "Brother Feng, my husband is not a bandit. He was wrongly accused..."
"I know everything," Feng Zhang wiped his forehead with his sleeve, and resumed his usual honesty. "You and your wife saved my life. Besides, I've seen bandits before, but judging by Master Pei's words and actions, he's definitely not one of them."
Shen Yuexi understood.
Although Feng Zhang was a rough and honest man, he was not stupid. Even he could see that Xiao Zhuo was not a bandit.
"And you gave me twenty taels of silver from the tiger skin I sold today. It's enough for me and my mother to spend for the next year or two. My mother always taught me that one should be grateful and repay kindness."
Shen Yuexi raised an eyebrow and looked at him, wanting to raise her hand to pat his shoulder, but before she could do so, she realized that this was ancient times and there was a difference between men and women, so she lowered her hand again.
She curled up the corners of her mouth and looked at the scorching sky. The birds were chirping, and she suddenly felt that this hot day was particularly refreshing.
Feng Zhang didn't care about status, he only cared about right and wrong, so he gave the twenty taels of silver to the right person.
But even so, her and Xiao Zhuo's true identities could not be known to outsiders. For Feng Zhang, the more they knew, the less safe they felt. After all, their enemy was the almighty emperor.
The two of them made their way to the south of the city. The house the drugstore clerk pointed out wasn't very large, and looked like it belonged to an ordinary family. At the gate stood an oxcart, on which sat a child of eight or nine, weaving a cricket cage out of willow branches.
Shen Yuexi walked up to the little boy and asked, "Little brother, is this car Dr. Hua's?"
Without even looking up, the child said, "Are you here to see Grandpa again? Wait at the door, Grandpa will be out soon. Don't bother me while I'm weaving a cage."
Seeing that he was weaving seriously, Shen Yuexi stood in the shade, lifted the veil, and looked at the gate of the house.
Soon, the gate of the house opened, and a woman as fat as a bucket came out, accompanied by an old man with gray hair and a vigorous spirit, carrying a medicine box on his back.
The fat woman said to the old man, "Doctor Hua, I have to go back to take care of my husband, so I won't see you off any further."
The old man looked up at Shen Yuexi and said, "No need to send me off, no need to send me off. I have a patient here who needs treatment."
After the woman closed the door, Shen Yuexi hurriedly walked up to the old man and bowed. Before she could speak, Doctor Hua asked, "No need to be polite. Just tell me where the patient is and I'll be right there."
Feng Zhang asked curiously, "Doctor, how did you know we were here to see you?"
Doctor Hua stroked his beard and smiled. "As a doctor, one must observe, listen, ask, and palpate, and observation is paramount. I saw this girl staring at me eagerly, so she must be looking for me. You came all the way here to wait for me. It seems the patient's condition is quite critical, right?"
Shen Yuexi found that she and Dr. Hua were also a fun person, and without her, they would have to talk too much.
"My husband was shot in the back of the shoulder by bandits a few days ago."
Doctor Hua nodded and walked towards the oxcart, asking as he went, "How is his diet and daily life? Is he feverish? Is there pus and blood in his wound?"
Shen Yuexi told Doctor Hua about Xiao Zhuo's condition one by one.
Doctor Hua nodded and said, "Since we're in Daliang Village, let's set off now. Baby, come drive the ox cart for Grandpa. It's twenty miles away. Let's have lunch there."
The old man left as soon as he said he would, very happily, without even asking for the medical expenses.
The child reluctantly put down the half-finished cricket cage and said, "Next time, let my brothers drive for you. They run around here and there all day long, and they're nowhere near as relaxed as my dad."
Feng Zhang asked, "How many brothers do you have?"
"Two, the two busy at the counter of the drug store, my eldest brother and my second brother." The little boy helped Dr. Hua onto the ox cart, and then sat in the driver's seat.
"What about your father? Why isn't he here?" Shen Yuexi was also a little curious as to why the child's father didn't do anything.
"My dad never goes anywhere. He's such a lazy guy," the little boy chuckled. "He's unlike grandpa, so grandpa lets him sit in Baohetang and spend his days practicing medicine."
Shen Yuexi and Feng Zhang looked at each other.
It turns out that arrogant guy in Baohetang is actually Doctor Hua's son...
But those are all small matters. The most important thing is that we finally found a doctor who can treat Xiao Zhuo's injuries.
A stone in Shen Yuexi's heart fell to the ground.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com