Accident by the river
While the medicine was boiling, Shi Yanqing checked on the other two injured guards.
Fortunately, there was no fracture, just a minor abrasion, which can be cured by applying some ointment.
"It's okay, let's go out."
Candles were lit in the room. Shi Yanqing looked at Zhou Hanzhang who was sitting on the edge of the bed. There were blood stains on his clothes and his hair was loose and messy.
"Let's go." He stood up.
Huang Zhi and his family had already left the yard. After cleaning up, Dan Ye went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
The guards don't eat here, they live somewhere else. Although they cook their own meals, they get more silver in the end.
There was still some time before dinner, so Zhou Hanzhang went back to his room to take a shower. He threw his dirty clothes into a bamboo basket.
The wooden sign inside the clothes hit the ground, making a sound.
Only then did he realize that he had not taken out the things in his clothes, so he walked to the bamboo basket while tying his belt.
He bent down slightly, reached inside, and pulled out a pamphlet and a wooden sign from the inner pocket of his balled-up clothes.
Zhou Hanzhang grabbed the booklet and the wooden sign with his slender fingers. He put on his clothes, pushed open the door and walked out.
Outside the door, Shi Yanqing was holding two bowls of rice in her hands. When she heard the door open, she turned her head and looked over with a smile in her eyes.
"You came out just in time, we can start eating now."
For dinner, there were three dishes and one soup: spicy and sour shredded potatoes, braised pork balls, stir-fried cabbage, and seaweed egg drop soup.
The four of them ate very happily and their plates were almost empty.
After dinner, Qingping helped Danye wash the dishes, then took the boiled medicine to give to Shi'an.
Shi Yanqing and Zhou Hanzhang returned to the room. She recorded the medicinal herbs used during the day in a book and calculated the remaining amount. She estimated that they could last for another seven or eight days.
Suddenly, several images flashed through Shi Yanqing's mind, and she couldn't help but chuckle.
Han Zhang, ah Han Zhang, you are revealing your true colors too deliberately.
She had already guessed that Zhou Hanzhang's purpose of coming out this time was not just to investigate the people's food storage situation.
He should be investigating the matter of the black witch.
When he first arrived in Yunshui County, he wrote a letter to Grandfather Zhou, hoping to have Grandfather Zhou hand the letter to the empress.
The content of the letter was related to witchcraft.
After this, Shi Yanqing did not learn from him whether the empress had replied or not, but whether she had replied or not, he kept it from her.
This time he brought Shi'an and a few others into the mountains, probably to search for clues left by the black witch.
Putting down the pen, Shi Yanqing raised his head, his eyes meeting Zhou Hanzhang's gaze.
He just sat there, not knowing whether he was looking at her or not.
"Why are you looking at me without saying anything?" Shi Yanqing raised the corner of his lips, half-supported his chin with his palm, and tilted his head slightly.
As if to say, she has seen through the truth.
Zhou Hanzhang blinked and shook his head.
"I just want to look at you like this, without saying anything."
"Aren't you talking to me now?" Shi Yanqing said unreasonably.
She stood up, walked to Zhou Hanzhang's side and sat down, leaning her body against his.
"You've been acting strangely since you came back. Besides what happened with Shi'an, what else did you encounter on the mountain?"
"Can you tell me?"
Shi Yanqing spoke very softly, as if she was talking to herself, but Zhou Hanzhang, who was very close to her, could hear it clearly.
"I……"
"Can't you say it?" Shi Yanqing saw that he was hesitant to utter a word and asked directly.
Zhou Hanzhang felt empty inside. He hurriedly held Shi Yanqing's hand, and after feeling the warmth of her skin, his empty heart was finally filled.
He lowered his head and leaned on her shoulder, seeking comfort in his big bird-like manner.
"I can't tell you yet, but I won't keep it from you for long."
Sensing his uneasiness, Shi Yanqing held his hand in return, "I know."
…
The next day, the clouds in the sky gradually turned light yellow, and the sound of footsteps was heard in the yard.
Just like yesterday, Shi Yanqing took Dan Ye and Qing Ping out after breakfast.
When they passed by Huang Erhe's house, they saw that the door outside the yard was wide open, but there was no one inside.
"Dan Ye, remember to ask around today."
Her words were not clear, but Dan Ye nodded to show that she understood.
When the three of them arrived at the free clinic, they found that there was no one there.
"What's going on? Could it be that everyone in the village has seen the doctor?" Dan Ye was a little confused. She opened the door and looked inside, but there was no one inside.
At this time, Shi Yanqing saw two women running to another place not far away.
She immediately called out to them, "Auntie, where are you going?"
The two women were Huang Zhi and Huang Qin who came to see the doctor yesterday. When they heard Shi Yanqing's voice, they stopped and Huang Qin shouted loudly.
"Something happened by the river. It seems Huang Erhe jumped into the river!"
"Doctor Shi, come with us and take a look. Maybe you can help." This was Huang Zhi who was speaking. After they finished speaking, the two of them ran away.
Hearing this, Shi Yanqing could no longer stand.
"Hurry! Let's go check it out too."
After about a few minutes, the three of them ran to the river, where there were many people gathered, almost everyone in the village was there.
Shi Yanqing immediately saw Huang Qin and Huang Zhi who were still on the periphery and were about to squeeze in.
"Tsk tsk tsk, what a sin! How could such a good person be so desperate as to commit suicide by jumping into the river?"
"Of course, ordinary people can be open-minded, but Huang Erhe has contracted a strange disease. He definitely can't stand the fact that he used to be such a serious guy and has become like this."
"Oh, what a sin."
"Maybe. Five years ago, their family had close ties with those people in the mountains..."
"Shh! You're asking for your life, and you still dare to mention that group of people."
The two men who were talking were the ones who hadn't squeezed in. They were standing one or two meters away from Shi Yanqing, observing whether she had heard the conversation.
After staring at her for a few minutes and seeing that there was nothing unusual in her expression, the two men breathed a sigh of relief and quickly left.
Just as more and more people gathered to watch the fun and the noise became more and more chaotic, an old woman with white hair and a cane appeared here.
"Quiet! The village chief is here." Someone shouted at the top of his lungs, and after a few seconds, the crowd quieted down.
The man's crying sounded particularly clear.
The old woman is the village chief Huang Jinyun.
She glanced at everyone seriously, "It's already this late, what are you still standing here for? You think you have too much money to spend, right?"
"No, no, we're just passing by here. I'm going to work now!"
"Yes, yes, we are just passing by."
A few brave villagers chatted and laughed for a while, then pulled their companions away from the river.
The remaining villagers did not dare to challenge the village chief's authority and left in a swarm.
"He boy, stop crying." The village chief walked slowly towards Huang Erhe who was sitting in the river with her crutches. At this moment, her eyes became kind, no longer as majestic as before.
"The river water is icy cold. Aren't you cold sitting in it? Hurry up and get up and come back with me to change clothes and drink the ginger soup."
Huang Erhe didn't say anything, he covered his face and continued crying.
Seeing him like this, the village chief didn't know what to say for a moment and could only sigh heavily.
"He boy, get up. You should take good care of your body."
This sentence hit Huang Erhe's sore spot. He raised his head, revealing his red eyes stained with tears. "I don't want to cherish my body at all now. What's there to cherish in this state?"
"Before I got sick, I earned the most money in my family. My grandparents, my sister-in-law, and my brother all welcomed me with open arms. But after I got sick, they refused to let me get treatment because of the money."
"Everyone else in the village thinks the doctors in the capital can't cure me, but you know, Village Chief, I can definitely be cured. It's just over thirty taels of silver, I used to earn more than that, but they can't bear to part with it."
Huang Erhe almost shouted the last sentence.
He wiped the tears from his face, lowered his head, and his eyes fell on his lower body soaked in water.
Looking through the water, his lower body had become somewhat fatter and moved away from him.
"I should have left here a long time ago and followed those people."
"Huang Erhe!" The village chief's voice became a little stern.
Huang Erhe's body trembled slightly, and a teardrop as big as a bean fell on the water, causing ripples.
Shi Yanqing was three meters away from them, but he could still hear their conversation clearly.
For some reason, she felt depressed, as if since coming to Yunshui County, her sense of powerlessness had become increasingly severe, and she had become increasingly lonely.
It's not real loneliness, but loneliness in the heart. There are too few people like her here.
"Huang Erhe, I can cure your illness."
She suppressed the inexplicable emotions in her heart, walked quickly towards them, and stopped one meter away.
The village chief was originally unhappy about her appearance, but after hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, and the hand holding the crutch slightly tightened.
"Doctor Shi, can you really cure He Xiaozi?"
Even Huang Erhe, who was on the verge of a breakdown, looked up at her with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
Facing the gazes of the two people, Shi Yanqing nodded, giving people a feeling of confidence and determination.
"I wanted to treat you yesterday, but your grandma stopped me."
Speaking of yesterday, Huang Erhe seemed to have thought of something, and sadness flashed in his eyes.
Huang Erhe's mood gradually recovered as his illness could be cured. With Qingping's support, he staggered to his feet from the river.
Water kept dripping from his wet clothes. A gust of wind happened to blow, and Huang Erhe trembled and sneezed several times.
"Go to my house to change clothes first. I made a new set of clothes for your second brother a few days ago. You have to apologize to him later." The village chief lifted his foot and walked home.
Seeing this, Shi Yanqing stepped forward and held her arm.
Behind them, Huang Erhe sneezed a few more times. He wiped his nose and said, "I'll take my second brother to the county to buy him some clothes. That will be my apology to him."
"No, just buy a piece of cloth. Otherwise I won't let him take it."
When Shi Yanqing heard them talking like this, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly and he smiled.
Several people walked towards the village chief's house, but they didn't notice that a man in black was watching them by the river.
His eyes were gloomy and a little cruel.
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