Chapter 53 Chapter 53 Late Night Wolf Attack
The victim was a widower, and without his son, his life was hopeless. Despairing, he attempted suicide, but to no avail. With the guidance of a Taoist priest, he went to the Dali Temple to appeal for justice for his son.
It was a very old and simple case, but because of the victim's identity as a poor farmer and the other party's powerful background, it seemed to be entangled with the royal family, causing the Dali Temple to investigate for a long time but without any progress.
In the end, the Dali Temple Minister clapped his hands and threw the case to Su Guanzhang, asking him to go against the imperial power.
He actually managed to withstand the pressure and clear the victim's name, giving justice to the child who died unjustly.
When Xuan Jinyu heard about this case, she felt sad for the poor innocent child. Now that she was pregnant, she felt even more sad.
Her eyes quickly turned red, and tears dripped onto the quilt.
The last bit of sleepiness in Su Guanzhang's eyes instantly vanished. He carefully held her and coaxed her for a long time. "I shouldn't have told you about this case."
Because of his status and skills, the cases assigned to him by the Dali Temple usually involve either conflicts with powerful families or sensitive and important matters where one could lose his life if he is not careful.
There really weren't many cases he could talk about with Xuan Jinyu. He must have been sleepy and his mind wasn't clear just now, so he told her about a case that would make her empathize and feel sad.
In the second half of last night, the two of them tossed and turned for a long time before they could lie down, and they both got up late in the morning.
When Xu Yu Niang and Xuan Wensheng saw Xuan Jinyu with red and swollen eyes in the morning, they thought he had bullied someone, so they scolded him and made things difficult for him.
Xu Yu Niang scolded her son, "Zhang, your wife is pregnant, and it's already difficult for her, and now she has to accompany you through hardship in this desolate place."
"You are a man, why would you make her sad?"
"Our Su family has been famous for caring for our daughters-in-law since our ancestors. Look at how your father treats your mother and me, and look at how your three brothers treat your sisters-in-law."
"Look at yourself now. In the past few years, you have often made Jinyu upset and angry and ran back to her parents' home. This is enough to bring shame to our Su family."
"Now your wife is pregnant, and instead of being considerate and caring towards her, you're actually provoking her. Look at her swollen eyes."
"If I were Jinyu, I would have such great strength, and I would definitely beat you, a heartless man, to death."
Xuan Wensheng, who was "passing by" and "accidentally" heard the mother and son's lecture, suddenly had an expression that was hard to describe.
He had already scolded Su Guanzhang, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became, so he wanted to give him a hard time again so that he wouldn't make his sister sad again.
I just "accidentally overheard" my mother-in-law scolding her son, and I felt a little guilty for a moment.
He knew his sister's personality very well. She would depend on anyone who was close to her. When she was happy, she would act like a spoiled child. If she was unhappy, she would only lose her temper with the people closest to her.
In the past, in the Xuan family, the mother was the one that her younger sister depended on and spoiled; now in the Su family, the brother-in-law is the one that she gets close to and torments.
When his mother-in-law said, "It's okay if you don't care about her in every way," he looked confused and puzzled.
It turns out that he, as an older brother, didn't care enough about his sister?
He looked at his brother-in-law coldly and thought that he was considerate and caring enough towards his sister, even more thoughtful than him as an older brother.
So this level of punishment will also lead to being beaten to death?
Xuan Wensheng walked away in a daze.
Before leaving, he was thinking that after settling down at night, he would definitely write a letter to his mother and wife, asking them if he had been too incompetent as a brother.
Otherwise, why would he think that a "heartless man" like his brother-in-law is actually quite good?
He must reflect on himself.
Su Guanzhang had just been beaten by his third uncle and scolded by his mother that morning, and was forced to admit the crime of "bullying his wife."
Now that he heard Xuan Jinyu mention last night, he became cautious and didn't dare to respond.
Afraid that she would cry again.
He coaxed her for most of the night last night, and when she fell asleep, he stared at her sleeping face in a daze and fell asleep almost at dawn.
"Then eat another fruit," he said. He then looked at Xuan Jinyu, who had just finished eating and was staring longingly at the wild fruit in his hand, and coaxed her, "Don't eat any more. Be careful of acid reflux, which will make you feel even worse."
Riding in a carriage also has its disadvantages. Xuan Jinyu would get tired easily after sitting for a long time, and she didn't have a good appetite for lunch.
The carriage set off again. After walking for a while, Su Guanzhang found that his wife was holding her stomach and looked uncomfortable.
"I don't get carriage sick either."
Su Guanzhang took her pulse and found nothing wrong.
He must be too sleepy, he thought.
But the lunch break had passed, and Xuan Jinyu didn't want to catch up on her sleep at this time.
He kissed her cheek lovingly and asked Xuan Jinyu, "It's stuffy in the carriage and it's easier to feel sleepy. Do you want to get off and take a walk?"
Xuan Jinyu looked listless and lacked energy, but she still responded with an "OK" when she heard this.
After getting off the carriage, the fragrance of green grass hit me in the face, mixed with the heat of the scorching sun above my head, making me feel warm.
Xuan Jinyu covered her lips and yawned. She felt more and more sleepy in the steaming hot air.
Unable to withstand the overwhelming fatigue caused by pregnancy, she returned to the carriage, lay in Su Guanzhang's arms, and had a good sleep.
When she woke up, Xuan Jinyu's body, which had been lazy in the afternoon, had completely recovered.
Refreshed after a good sleep, her eyes were as bright as stars, which made Su Guanzhang unable to control himself. The two of them secretly exchanged intimate and silent kisses in the carriage.
At dusk, they set up camp by the stream as they had done in the previous days.
It gets dark late in the summer, and after dinner a group of people would walk slowly around to digest their food.
As they walked, the children quickly disappeared into the tall grass, and were then brought out of the grass by the adults, who held or carried them.
"There are so many dragonflies there, so beautiful!" Yan Jie'er was carried on the shoulders of her father Su Guanwu. She noticed with her sharp eyes a group of dragonflies flying low over the water in the distance, occasionally touching the water.
Su Guanwu looked in the direction his daughter's little hand was pointing, and his expression suddenly turned a little bad.
He carried the child back and shouted to the people around him, "Go back, go back, it's going to rain."
Su Guanzhang and Xuan Jinyu were chatting and laughing with Old Madam Su and Second Aunt Su in their tent. They stood up when they heard this.
When Su Guanzhang opened the door curtain, he saw Xuan Wensheng standing outside the door, his hand raised, as if he was about to knock on the door.
Seeing him, Xuan Wensheng said, "There are a large number of dragonflies flying low over the water outside. There may be heavy rain tonight."
They walked on the grassland for a few days, and the weather was fine for a few days. There was no sign of rain before dinner, but they unexpectedly encountered a dragonfly flying low.
As the two were talking, Chen Yang also walked over quickly.
He just went to take a look on the water surface and found that a group of dragonflies had gathered on the water source near their tent.
Hearing Xuan Wensheng's words, he also spoke, "People may not be accurate in their judgment, but when dragonflies fly low, it is very likely to rain, not to mention that they are a group of dragonflies flying low."
At this time, a group of people who had been out for a walk also came back.
Su Sheng walked in front holding Mu Ge'er, and Su Guanyu walked behind carrying Qi Ge'er.
"Is the tent we set up sturdy? Will it get wet if it rains heavily at night?" Su Sheng asked Su Guanzhang. He was the one who set up the tent where Old Madam Su and Second Aunt Su lived.
Su Guanzhang finally found an opportunity to speak and nodded to his father. "The terrain here is high, and the tent material is rainproof. Unless there is a strong wind and heavy rain that blows the whole tent away, it won't get wet."
What he said made the people at the door look a little unhappy.
"You crow's mouth," Xu Yu Niang, who was walking behind Su Sheng, caught up and rolled her eyes at Su Guanzhang in anger. "Stop talking nonsense!"
Su Guanzhang touched his nose and refused to spit. He just shut up awkwardly.
Xuan Jinyu walked over slowly. Seeing him being scolded by his mother-in-law again, she not only did not feel sorry for him or speak for him, but also covered her lips and laughed.
When Su Guanzhang went to support her, he saw that her eyebrows were curved, which made her bright face look sweeter, and his eyebrows softened.
"I'll go reinforce the tent." Su Guanyu came over from the end of the crowd, put down Qi Ge'er from his shoulders, and took the initiative to help his brother out.
Su Guanwen and Su Guanwu looked at each other and agreed with a smile, "Let's go too."
Xuan Jinyu was smiling when her eyelids suddenly started twitching wildly.
"What's wrong?" Su Guanzhang asked her.
"I have a bad feeling." She covered her chest and said, feeling panicked, as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest.
Su Guanzhang nervously took her pulse and found that it was a little fast.
Xuan Wensheng hadn't left yet. Seeing this, he remembered something and asked, "Sister, do you think something will happen tonight?"
Xu Yu Niang had just entered the tent and was about to pour some hot water for Xuan Jinyu to drink to see if it could make her feel more comfortable. Upon hearing this, she turned around in surprise and looked at Xuan Wensheng, then at Xuan Jinyu.
She still remembered what Xuan Jinyu said when they were in the carriage during the heavy rain a few days ago, that her intuition was very good.
"You really don't feel good?" Xu Yu Niang asked nervously.
Since she accepted her daughter-in-law's immense strength, it was no surprise for her to accept her other side, which was her accurate intuition.
She even felt that Xuan Jinyu was a lucky star that God had specially sent to the human world out of pity for her unlovable youngest son.
Otherwise, with so many young women of marriageable age in the Great Sheng Dynasty, why did Yue Lao tie the knot for just these two? If this wasn't fate, what was it?
For this reason, she liked Xuan Jinyu more and more, and correspondingly, she became more and more "disdained" for her son.
Old Madam Su, Su Sheng and Second Aunt Su had obviously also heard her talk about the cave incident, and upon hearing this they all cast glances towards Xuan Jinyu.
Xuan Jinyu was surrounded by the curious gazes of the elders, feeling somewhat uneasy. However, having grown up under the care of her elders, she was no stranger to such gazes, and she quickly calmed down.
"We could be in big trouble tonight," she said, and seeing everyone's expressions change, she quickly added, "My intuition isn't always right, but we'd better prepare."
She said the phrase "it may not be very accurate" in a very vague way, as if it was just a polite remark to prevent them from worrying too much.
Everyone present was smart and could understand what she meant.
Late at night, when everyone was asleep, something really happened.
The white falcon they rescued has been following them for the past few days. At night, it would quietly nestle in the corner of the tent, burying its head in the side of its wing that was not burnt or trimmed.
From a distance of several miles, it keenly sensed some movement outside and hopped on one foot on the ground anxiously.
But such a subtle sound was drowned out by the chirping of insects and frogs in the surrounding grass.
Because of Xuan Jinyu's words, Su Guanzhang didn't sleep well that night.
When a faint smell of blood wafted into his nose, he suddenly opened his eyes and reacted extremely quickly to pick Xuan Jinyu up and sit her up, holding her in his arms.
The sounds of the white falcons' jade claws breaking through the air rang out almost at the same time. Each sound was sharp and rapid, carrying a deterrent power that humans could not detect.
At this moment, the subtle sound of someone falling outside reached his ears, accompanied by a slight running sound that did not sound like that of a human, and it was almost silent.
The sounds of swift and light running paused for a moment after hearing the shock of the white falcon, and soon continued to swiftly move in this world isolated from humans.
"Be alert." Su Guanzhang shouted loudly and quickly put clothes on the half-awake Xuan Jinyu.
He said this with his inner strength, and his voice was clearly heard outside the tent.
But in fact, he didn't need to remind them. The white falcon's warning had already awakened many people. The candles in the tent lit up almost at the same time he spoke, and the torches outside quickly burned as well.
Soon, chaotic footsteps and several screams were heard from all sides of the outer tent. "The night watchmen are all dead."
"Wolves, they were bitten to death by wolves."
"How did the wolf get in? Get up!"
"The wolves are here. Oh my god! There are so many wolves!"
"Everyone get up quickly, there are wolves coming."
…
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