The mid-May of the tenth year of Taiyan Mingzheng.
Qingyu Village is located slightly north of Changkui County. As the weather gets warmer, the fields are lush green. The wheat ears are full and hanging their heads, waiting for the golden harvest brought by the June sun and the summer solstice.
The villagers were preparing for the busy farming season next month, and the Yu family was also busy weaving baskets for grain. After finishing the canes at hand, Old Lady Yu glanced at the east room and asked Zhao, the daughter-in-law of the third room, "Is the one in the east room still breathing? If it is, inform the second room to wrap it up in a broken straw mat and throw it up the mountain as soon as possible, so as to avoid bad luck at home!"
After hearing this, Zhao's face turned a little ugly, and she snorted coldly, "She is lucky. I took a quick look at her this morning, and she was still breathing. She's not dead!"
After saying that, she broke off a cane with force and said through gritted teeth, "Fortunately, our fourth brother abided by the rules and didn't cause any trouble, otherwise..."
She lowered her voice, still with an angry expression on her face, "Even if Second Sister-in-law wanted to bring good luck, she shouldn't have brought all that dirty stuff home. She almost brought disaster to my Fourth Brother."
The old lady's wrinkled face showed a cruel look, "No matter if he is still alive or not, this man's second wife can forget about staying here!"
The couple from the first wife's house, both with their heads down, were busy with their work and didn't dare to say much.
In the east room, Song, the second wife, fed Yu Mengshan some medicine, and then carefully checked the wound on her husband's left leg to see if there was any bleeding or ulceration. She felt relieved, but her face was still filled with worry.
Yu Mengshan wiped the medicine from the corner of his mouth, handed the handkerchief to Song, and asked, "How is the girl from the Meng family?"
Song sighed, afraid that her son who was reading in the inner room would hear her, so she whispered, "The third brother was ruthless because of Jin Yan. The girl's legs were beaten bloody. Dad had her locked up in a small room and no one was allowed to see her or treat her injuries. The old lady meant to wait until she died, wrap her up in a straw mat and throw her on the mountain!"
After hearing this, Yu Mengshan said anxiously, "Then where..." Before he could finish his words, he started coughing violently due to his unstable breath. Song hurried to help him calm down.
Yu Mengshan said in a hoarse voice, "That won't work. It's a life after all. In the final analysis, it was because of the wedding for our second branch that the girl was killed..."
He sighed and continued, "Go, go check on the girl from the Meng family. If she wakes up, send her some food. Don't let her die."
A trace of embarrassment flashed across Song's face. If she really went to see him and the old lady found out, she would probably get angry with her again.
But she still responded, "Okay, I'll go take a look."
Just as Song was about to go outside, a thin and frail figure walked out from the inner room. The light in the room was not very bright, but the young man's handsome face was exceptionally fair, a pale complexion caused by years of illness.
"I'll go." The young man's voice was calm, neither hurried nor slow, with a scholarly flavor.
Both Mrs. Song and Yu Mengshan were a little stunned. They didn't expect that their son, who was always taciturn and indifferent to Miss Meng, would take the initiative to ask to go see her.
Yu Mengshan came back to his senses first, looked at his sick son, and said, "Qizhe can go and deliver these foods to Miss Meng."
He pointed to the steamed corn bread in the bowl beside the bed, which Yu Mengshan had specially left for him when he had breakfast in the morning.
Yu Qizhe walked slowly to the bedside, put the rice noodles in the bowl into his sleeve, and walked outside. Although his body was extremely weak due to his illness, his back was as straight as a bamboo when he walked.
Song looked at her son's back and whispered, "Will Qi Zhe feel resentful towards Miss Meng?"
Yu Mengshan shook his head. "I don't think so. He is too cold and indifferent. He doesn't care about Miss Meng at all. So where does the resentment come from?"
Yu Qizhe had already carried his nest to the abandoned hut in the corner of the east room. The hut was originally the Yu family's kitchen. Later, a new kitchen was built and this small kitchen was abandoned. After the stove was removed, it was used to store some sundries and used as a firewood room.
Yu Qizhe pushed open the wooden door of the small firewood shed, stirring up a cloud of dust. He fanned it with his sleeves, frowned slightly, glanced at the spider web on the corner of the door, and half-knelt down to enter the shed.
Yu Jiao, who was lying on the floor in the hut, had just regained consciousness, but her eyes felt as if they were covered with paste and she couldn't open them. She was dazed and felt pain all over her body, especially in her chest and legs, as if she had been in a car accident. The place she was lying on was cold and hard, and a musty smell filled her nostrils.
The sudden light made Yu Jiao open her eyes. A handsome face with a scholarly air appeared in her sight. The man was wearing a long-sleeved, wide-flared, right-fronted blue robe. A trace of doubt flashed through her clear eyes. What was going on? Was she dreaming?
Seeing that Yu Jiao had woken up, Yu Qizhe said nothing, took out the Wo Wo from his sleeve and handed it to Yu Jiao.
Yu Jiao took a look at the black "thing" in his hand, barely recognized it as Wo Wo, and wanted to reach out to take it, but the movement caught her ribs in the chest, causing her to grimace in pain, gasp several times, and her face became even paler.
Seeing this, Yu Qizhe bent down slightly, stuffed the steamed bread into Yu Jiao's hand, turned around and walked out of the hut.
Although Yu Jiao hadn't figured out the situation yet, her dry lips and tongue made her instinctively ask the handsome boy in front of her, "Little brother, can you give me a glass of water?"
Yu Qizhe's movements froze slightly, and a hint of anger appeared on his face as he turned his back to Yu Jiao. This woman is so shameless!
He flicked his sleeves and left the hut.
Yu Jiao looked puzzled. Although she could only see the boy's back, she always felt that he seemed angry.
She just wanted a glass of water, why was he angry?
Yu Jiao wanted to turn over, but as soon as she moved, she groaned in pain. She touched her chest and found that one of her ribs was broken. Fortunately, it was not dislocated and she would be fine after a few days of rest.
But what if my legs hurt like they were broken? Yu Jiao raised her head slightly and looked at her legs. She saw blood all over the hem of her skirt. When she touched it with her hand, she saw scars lined up one after another, which looked like she had been beaten.
Yu Jiao's forehead broke out in sweat because of the pain. She looked around. It was a dilapidated hut with some farm tools piled beside it, a skylight, and many gaps in the roof. She was lying on a pile of straw, wearing ancient clothes. When would this nonsensical dream end?
She closed her eyes, thinking that when she woke up and opened them again, she would be back in her soft, wide bed, and the pain in her body would disappear.
In the yard, after Yu Qizhe came out of the hut, he was spotted by the third wife Zhao and the old lady. The old lady called him, "Is he dead?"
Yu Qizhe said calmly, "Not yet."
After saying that, he walked towards the kitchen, scooped a bowl of water from the wooden barrel, walked out with it, and went towards the cabin.
Old Madam Yu saw this and frowned, "Fifth brother, spill the water!"
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