Dark clouds covered the sky, and heavy rain poured down on us. The rain lines were dense and covered like curtains, and the sky and the earth were gloomy.
Being in this situation, one can't help but feel a little panicked.
Jiang Yushu took a closer look and felt relieved. She answered loudly, "I can walk!"
"Go see mother." Guo Honglei was tall and strong, and he almost held his wife with one hand and supported her as she walked.
"Wow, I'm scared. I'm scared..." There were flashes of lightning and thunder. Guo Yu trembled with fear and hid in his grandmother's arms, crying in terror.
Wang sat on the cart, hugged her grandson with both hands, and said lovingly, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Grandma is here. Nothing can touch Yu'er!"
Guo Hongzhe huddled at the edge, swaying from the bumps, and shouted, "Sister-in-law? Sister-in-law, you'd better sit up and put on your hat to keep out the rain."
Wang Qiaozhen ignored him and lay straight on her back in the rain.
"Hmph, ignore her!" Wang's patience was exhausted, and she scolded unhappily, "The Guo family has suffered misfortune, and everyone is suffering, not just you. Qiaozhen, no matter how sad you are, you should stop. It's not okay to be so sad and lifeless all day long."
"I wish you wouldn't meddle in my affairs," Wang Qiaozhen said indifferently, without moving. "Just let me die, and save myself the suffering."
"You——" Wang's eyes were wide open with anger, helpless.
At that moment, Guo Honglei arrived with his wife. Before he could even stand, he began to persuade him, "It's raining and windy, please sit tight and be careful not to bump into anything. There's still a lot of time to go on, so it's not too late to talk later."
"Oh!" Wang shook her head, very disappointed.
Jiang Yushu touched her nephew who came closer, comforted him with soft words, and became more distant and polite to her eldest sister-in-law.
The group supported each other and hurried on their way in the rain, all of them getting soaked.
Unexpectedly, when they walked through the night with great effort, they found that the wooden bridge leading to the other side had been washed away by a mountain torrent!
Jiang Yushu's clothes were soaked, her face was pale, and she stood on tiptoe to look: down the slope in front of her, there was a river nearly two meters wide, muddy and turbid, swirling with dead branches and leaves, flowing towards the east.
"Where's the bridge?" Leader Zhang Feng said with a gloomy face. He wiped the rain from his face and asked through gritted teeth, "Where's the bridge?"
Several officials searched everywhere and returned with a report: "The valley above has flooded and washed away the bridge!"
"The wooden bridge is simple and will be destroyed by floods."
Liu Qing pulled his feet out of the mud, walked over and asked, "Sir, it's getting dark, what do you think we should do?"
"What else can we do?" Zhang Feng pressed the hilt of his knife and shouted, "I'm afraid the heavy rain won't stop for a while. The post station is on the other side of the river. We can only find another place to stay for the night."
"Near here?" Liu Qing thought for a moment, "The only place is Jueming Temple."
Zhang Feng waved his hand and helplessly ordered: "We can't make it to the post station tonight, go to Jueming Temple instead!"
The exhausted crowd immediately sighed.
"Be quiet!" Guo Honglei said solemnly, his face stern. "Who dares to cross the river without following your orders?"
Faced with the turbulent torrent, everyone immediately fell silent, turned around dejectedly, and followed the officials back. It was not until dark that they knocked on the gate of Jueming Temple.
"Amitabha." The kind-looking abbot clasped his hands together and replied affably, "Although the temple is short of food, there are a few empty rooms. If you have brought your own provisions, it is certainly possible for you to stay here for the night. Please come in."
Zhang Feng clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Master!"
In the simple Zen room
"It started raining suddenly and it won't stop. It's so troublesome."
"This Jueming Temple is remote and not well-known, so it's not very popular. But it's better than the post station. I don't have to sleep on the ground tonight. It's great!" Cuimei was very happy and tied her belt lightly.
Jiang Yushu shivered, her head swollen, her body alternating between hot and cold, her face pale. As she put on her mourning clothes, she thankfully said, "Thank goodness we were prepared. Everyone had an oilcloth bag. Otherwise, if our clothes and food got wet, life would have been even more difficult."
"Haha—" Cuimei was startled. She leaned in closer to take a closer look and asked with concern, "Why do you look so bad? Did you catch a cold?"
Jiang Yushu's lips were pale, and she forced a smile. She answered tiredly, "I got caught in the rain, and my head is a little dizzy. How about you? Are you okay?"
"I'm not feeling unwell. Alas, young lady, you've lived a life of luxury since childhood, but I never expected you'd have to endure such hardship once you got married!" Cuimei grumbled softly, urging, "Hurry up and lie down. The Second Young Master has already asked the abbot to get some ginger soup and hot water. You'll have some to drink soon."
"Is he still busy?" Jiang Yushu lay down with her bag as a pillow, her back aching, her head swollen, and she raised her hand to touch her face, which was hot.
Cuimei found her coat and covered herself with it, saying as a matter of course, "The Second Young Master is the head of the family, so he should be the one leading the stewards and taking care of everything!"
"Ah, I just feel sorry for him because he's so busy." Jiang Yushu curled up as if lying in a pile of cotton wool. She felt light and exhausted, and her consciousness quickly disappeared as she fell into the abyss of dizziness.
After an unknown amount of time, when she regained consciousness, she felt a splitting headache, her whole body felt weak and powerless, her ears were buzzing, and she heard someone crying out:
"Girl? Girl?"
"Wake up, it's time to take your medicine."
"You'll get better after taking the medicine."
The maids who came with the Jiang family's dowry were terrified and anxious, calling out one after another.
Wang Qiaozhen, who shared the room with her, slumped in a chair, bored, watching the situation with a cold gaze. She said slowly, "She just caught a cold, it's nothing serious. She'll recover if she takes the medicine on time. Why are you crying? Be careful not to scare the patient."
The next moment, the half-open door of the Zen room was pushed open, and Guo Honglei walked in quickly, carrying a small lunch box. He didn't care about avoiding his sister-in-law's suspicion, and sat down on the edge of the couch and asked directly, "How is it?"
Cuimei cried and replied, "She's burning all over, and no matter how I called her, she wouldn't wake up. If I force her to take medicine, I'm afraid she'd choke."
"She must drink the medicine, otherwise the illness will not be cured!" Guo Honglei's face was as gloomy as water. He leaned over and picked up his wife. He hardened his heart and pinched the patient's palm lightly.
Jiang Yushu, who was half-conscious, frowned and struggled to open her eyes. She was breathing rapidly, her face was flushed, and her eyes were lifeless.
"The girl is awake!" The maids were delighted. Some changed the wet towels, some wiped the sweat, and they all rushed to take care of her.
Wang Qiaozhen's expression changed. She walked closer, bent over, and said, "Yushu, you're finally awake! Look how worried Honglei is! Okay, hurry up and feed her the medicine. We have to travel tomorrow."
Guo Honglei was greatly surprised. He looked at her suspiciously and said politely, "It's rare for you to care about me, sister-in-law. Thank you very much." Then he turned back and said seriously, "You have caught a cold and have a slight fever, but don't worry, the doctor said it's nothing serious."
"I'm so sorry, I, I've caused you all trouble." Jiang Yushu was panting, with stars in her eyes and shaking from time to time.
Guo Honglei sighed, "Stop talking nonsense! Take your medicine quickly and have dinner."
"Yeah." Jiang Yushu nodded gratefully. Fearing that she would fall seriously ill, she suppressed her nausea and forced herself to swallow the medicine.
Wang Qiaozhen frowned, glanced sideways, and then opened the food box. She exclaimed, "Wow!" in surprise, "Noodles? Where did you get them? The imperial court has a law that rations for exiled prisoners can only be provided by the post station. Private purchase is strictly prohibited. Honglei, you are so stupid! Throw it away before the officials find out!"
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