Chapter 88 A Handful of Ashes
"Miss Li, there's no need to see me off."
Shen Yuexi stepped out of the door and said to Li Wan who was following behind her:
"You stay in the house and take care of Madam Li. Be careful not to let her move or shout, so as to prevent the wound from bleeding again. I'm leaving now."
Li Wan listened to the snoring behind her and put on a smile. "Miss Chen, I have to take care of my mother and can't accompany you. I'll just wish you a successful start."
"You're welcome."
Shen Yuexi turned around and walked towards the courtyard gate while being polite, shaking her hands as she walked.
Those two slaps felt really good, but my hands were pretty painful too, and even after a quarter of an hour they were still a little numb.
Perhaps Xiao Zhuo hadn't been willing to use too much force, so she woke up when Madam Li and Li Wan knocked on the door and entered. Initially confused by their intentions, she squinted and observed. It wasn't until she saw their furtive, completely malicious expressions that she decided to strike first.
Madam Li was Xiao Zhuo's aunt, and Li Wan was his cousin. Given this relationship, it wouldn't be appropriate to turn hostile directly. But if he only reprimanded them mildly, they might come back to cause trouble someday. He had to let them know he wasn't to be trifled with.
She was still mad at Xiao Zhuo, so she took it out on Madam Li. The only thing that surprised her was how strong her hand was, not only did it swell up the other person's face, but it also knocked out her front teeth.
Could it be that I've been running around so much lately and that my body has become stronger?
Madam Li's mouth was bleeding, and she was crying in pain. Li Wan was helpless. Shen Yuexi wanted to walk but couldn't, so she had to find a way to help Madam Li stop the bleeding and finally let her sleep.
After such a long delay, I don’t know if the fighting has started at the northern pass yet. I hope it’s not too late.
Shen Yuexi quickened her pace and ran out of the yard.
Li Wan secretly watched Shen Yuexi leave through the crack in the door and breathed a sigh of relief. As she turned around, she saw Madam Li lying on the bed, opening her eyes and jumping out of bed, then going to the window to look.
It turns out that Mrs. Li was pretending to be asleep.
"Mother, why are you up?" Li Wan hurried over to support Madam Li's wrist. "Miss Shen told us to stay in bed and rest. If we move around, we might bleed again!"
My mother's cheeks were swollen and her front teeth were missing. She actually still had the time to think about Shen Yuexi.
"Listen to that bitch's nonsense," Madam Li flung her hand away, pushing Li Wan's hand away. "She did it on purpose!"
Just now, she was lying in bed and the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong.
If Shen Yuexi was truly dreaming, it would have been natural for her to be grabbing with both hands. Instead, the girl grabbed her collar with her left hand and slapped her face with her right, with perfect precision. She clearly knew she was at the bedside.
She was the wife of the Marquis of Pingyang. She hadn't even had time to vent the anger she had endured in the capital, and now, in this remote and destitute place, she was slapped twice in the face. It was a profound humiliation.
Shen Yuexi committed an act of insubordination, and she was slapped in the face but still had to put on a smile. This was a loss for the mute.
The more Mrs. Li thought about it, the angrier she became. When she turned around and looked at Li Wan, she became even angrier.
"Are you still going to harass my daughter? You're so heartless! Your mother got beaten up, and instead of helping her vent her anger, you're still laughing!"
"Mom, you're talking nonsense. I can't help it..." Li Wan quickly frowned, "After Mom's injuries heal, we'll deal with that girl and make her pay tenfold or a hundredfold. The monk can escape, but the temple cannot. Sooner or later, we'll kill that girl and let Mom vent her anger."
"Now that's my dear daughter," Madam Li said, sitting back at the table. "Peel a pear for me to cool down."
Li Wan responded, went to the side to get a knife and a half-peeled pear, sat at the table, lowered her head and continued to peel the pear, while advising:
"Mom, my cousin and his men are fighting the Xirong right now. Let's not cause him any trouble. A gentleman's revenge is never too late. Why rush into a life-and-death battle with that bitch?"
"Nonsense, if she hadn't taken your place, why would I bother with her?"
Mrs. Li retorted to her, picked up the mirror and looked at herself with her mouth open.
As the wife of the Marquis of Pingyang, she frequently visited high-ranking families and noble residences, and she was particularly attentive to the maintenance of her teeth, which were a symbol of her appearance. Now, not only were her cheeks swollen, but she had lost one of her upper teeth, the middle one. It was as embarrassing as it could be.
How can I go out and meet people like this?
Furious, Mrs. Li raised the mirror high and threw it to the ground.
"I'm so angry! She and I are irreconcilable!"
"Mother, mother, please don't be angry," Li Wan quickly handed the peeled pear to Madam Li, "Eat a pear to calm down."
Madam Li reached out and snatched the pear. In her eyes, this snow-white duck pear was Shen Yuexi, and she hated her as much as she could. With a "crunch," she took a full bite, completely biting through half of it.
The taste is sweet and salty.
"Oh, Mom!" Li Wan screamed, "Your teeth are bleeding again."
"Ah?" Madam Li quickly threw the pear away and pressed her finger against the gap in her front tooth. "Why is it bleeding again?"
She had never experienced such a situation before and didn't know how to deal with it. Seeing her fingers stained with blood and drops of blood falling to the ground, she suddenly panicked and reached out to grab Li Wan.
"Hurry up and take me to find Shen Yuexi. If I keep bleeding, I'll run out of blood."
"What will happen if the water dries up?" Li Wan still didn't understand.
"When the blood runs dry, mother hisses, hisses!"
Hearing Mrs. Li's serious words, Li Wan also panicked. The mother and daughter rushed out of the house in a panic and ran along the path in the village.
"Hurry, hurry up and catch up with Miss Shen, my mother's bleeding won't stop."
Madam Li watched her clothes stained red with blood, her heart filled with fear. She had lived most of her life without ever bleeding a single drop, and suddenly she was bleeding so much that she was completely terrified. She couldn't even think of calling Shen Yuexi a bitch.
Most of the men in the village had gone to the northern pass, leaving only a few elderly people behind. The village head was one of them, leading a few elderly men to sit under lanterns on the roadside at the north entrance of the village, directing the villagers passing by.
He saw two women running towards him like crazy, and for a moment he didn't know what was going on. He quickly stood up and said:
"You two, there's a war going on in the north. You women should not go there."
"Chen...ah no no, has Madam Pei just passed by?" Li Wan was out of breath from running and held her waist while gasping for breath.
"She just went over there. She said she was going to see Master Pei." The village head looked at Madam Li, who was covering her mouth. "Madam, what's wrong with your mouth and face?"
"My mother...his face was thrown against the wall, and her teeth were knocked out. She's bleeding. We must find Madam Pei!"
The village head was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "Hey, I thought it was nothing serious. A broken tooth made you and your mother so anxious. Don't bother Madam Pei, I can fix it myself."
Madam Li was overjoyed: "Please, please stop the bleeding for me, quickly!"
"There's a war going on in the north. I know that war means bloodshed and death, so I had the villagers burn a lot of wood ash to apply to wounds. Is this lady a relative of Mr. Pei?"
He had the impression that these two people seemed to live in the same courtyard as Master Pei, but he was too old to remember clearly.
"My mother is Mr. Pei's aunt."
"Oh, look at my memory, it turns out they are Mr. Pei's family members..." The headman said as he slowly turned back and searched in the basket.
"Oh, you old fool..." Mrs. Li was so anxious that she almost cursed him out loud when she saw how slow he was. Fortunately, Li Wan pinched her hard, and she came to her senses and quickly stopped talking.
"Don't worry, ma'am. It's just a lost tooth." The village head grabbed a handful of wood ash. "Come on, open your mouth... open it wider. The light isn't bright, and my eyesight is blurry... that's all."
He slapped a handful of wood ash on Mrs. Li's face, covering her nose and mouth completely.
"A-choo!" Mrs. Li felt the smell of alkaline noodles in her nose and throat. She sneezed so hard that the ash was sprayed everywhere.
"Ma'am, please don't sneeze. How can you stop the bleeding if you've already sprayed it away?"
"Ahem... then give it another go, ahem!"
The headman grabbed another handful of wood ash, but before he could apply it to Madam Li, the ground beneath his feet suddenly began to tremble slightly.
Everyone looked towards the north.
"Cavalry," the village head stood up tremblingly, "the Xirong cavalry is coming!"
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