It was early summer, but the evening breeze was still a bit chilly. Shi Lan huddled here for half an hour, feeling the cool wind blowing, and she shivered all over. Fortunately, she had figured out the situation here, and her mood was no longer as tense as when she first arrived. Finally, she was in the mood to tidy up her wet clothes on the shore and walk towards the village entrance following the path she remembered.
Li Tiezhu's house was near the village entrance, but also closer to the woods. It took at least a quarter of an hour to walk from the river to his house. Shi Lan was still wet, her thin clothes clinging to her shapely body. She had to avoid the houses with rising smoke and the faintly visible figures in the distance, deliberately choosing the edge of the wasteland overgrown with waist-high weeds. Stumbling and falling, she finally saw the dilapidated wooden gate she remembered when she could no longer go on.
Shi Lan hugged the wooden tub that was about to fall to the ground, and with a few forced pats on the door, she leaned against it limply, too weak to move an inch.
Soon, steady, powerful footsteps echoed in the courtyard. The door creaked open from the inside, and a figure flashed through Shi Lan's starry vision. She only managed a soft cry before everything went black, and she collapsed to the ground.
When she regained consciousness, Shi Lan felt dizzy and occasionally felt a splitting pain on her head. She also felt cold and shivered from time to time, giving her the illusion that she was in an ice cellar.
What's wrong with her?
Shi Lan frowned slightly, moved her throat, and tried to swallow to relieve the dryness in her throat. But as soon as she moved, she felt a sharp pain in her throat as if a fishbone was poking her back and forth. This made her unconsciously shrink her shoulders. The soreness and numbness in her shoulders finally made her unable to bear it and let out a low cry.
Shi Lan's voice was very soft and weak, not much louder than a puppy's whimper.
But even this slight noise made the man who was squatting on the ground by the door, boiling medicine, drop his fan and rush in in a panic. "You're awake? How are you feeling? Is anything bothering you?"
The man bent down and looked at her unnaturally flushed face, asking her questions with concern.
Shi Lan nodded at Li Tiezhu, the original owner's husband who had been married for only a short time, and asked in a hoarse voice, barely better than a broken gong, "What's wrong with me?"
Li Tiezhu tucked the blanket around her shoulder and frowned, saying, "You caught a cold. I told you before that your injury hadn't healed and that you needed to rest properly, but you wouldn't listen and insisted on washing clothes. Now look what happened, you almost hurt our child."
Shi Lan was startled, her eyes widening in surprise. "What, what did you say?"
Li Tiezhu awkwardly turned to the side, avoiding her incredulous gaze, a dark blush flashing across his dark face. "Your period is still early, so be more careful in the future. Um, your fever hasn't gone down yet, lie down first, I'll go get the medicine." Before he finished speaking, he hurriedly darted out of the room.
The faint sound of clinking cups and tiles reached her ears. Shi Lan smelled the familiar scent of medicine, a strange expression on her face, and her hand unconsciously touched her flat stomach.
...There was a life quietly growing here.
Shi Lan grinned, her dry, chapped lips twitching. A slight stinging sensation brought her back to her senses, and another thought involuntarily came to mind.
So, Li Chunni not only killed the original owner of this body, but also harmed this innocent little life that had just arrived in this world? No wonder the original owner wished Li Chunni a terrible death and that she would never win Li Tiezhu's heart.
Shi Lan squinted her eyes habitually. Outside, Li Tiezhu carefully carried the bowl of medicine into the house. "Come on, drink it while it's hot so the medicine will be more effective and you can also sweat it out."
Li Tiezhu placed the bowl next to Shi Lan, straightened her leaning body, picked up the bowl and blew on it twice before bringing it to Shi Lan's lips.
Shi Lan frowned and glanced at the medicine with disdain. Remembering that in the previous world, she always drank medicine with various candied fruits and dried fruits, she sighed. However, she wisely took the bowl and forced herself to drink a sip despite the bitterness. To her surprise, the temperature was just right.
Shi Lan glanced at Li Tiezhu, then lowered her head and gulped down the soup. The bitterness in her mouth made her curse Li Chunni a hundred and eighty times in her heart, and the strange emotions that had just surfaced gradually disappeared.
Li Tiezhu stared at Shi Lan, only feeling relieved after watching her drink every last drop of the medicine. He then reached out to help her lie down again.
Shi Lan placed her unusually cold fingers on his palm, looked up at him, and corrected his previous accusation word by word: "This time it wasn't my fault. Yesterday I was washing clothes by the river, and someone pushed me from behind, which is why I fell into the water..."
"What?" Li Tiezhu stood up abruptly, his face turning ashen. "Who is it? Tell me, and I'll avenge you."
Shi Lan pursed her lips and lowered her eyes. In her memory, the original owner had not yet met Li Chunni, so she should pretend not to know her. So she looked at the indigo-blue quilt cover and shrank her shoulders. "I haven't been here long and I haven't met everyone yet, so how would I know who she is? But I saw her heading towards the village, so she should be from Li Family Village."
Li Tiezhu frowned deeply, the veins on his large hands bulging. He wanted to continue asking questions, but seeing Shi Lan's pale face and lingering fear, he dared not say more. He could only hold his breath and slowly and gently put Shi Lan back into bed.
Shi Lan obediently lay down, turned her head to look, and saw his murderous gaze. She quickly called out to Li Tiezhu, who was about to turn and leave, "Stop."
Li Tiezhu paused, glanced at her sideways, and continued walking towards the door without saying a word.
Shi Lan was anxious. She wasn't sure about Li Tiezhu's feelings for the original owner yet. If she rashly let him meet Li Chunni and gave that poisonous woman an opportunity to confess her feelings, she would be a fool.
Shi Lan shrugged slightly, pretending to get up to stop him but being forced back down by the pain, and sighed, "Alright, husband, go ahead, I won't stop you. That person is heartless, not only harming me but also our child. If you can kill her now, it will be avenging me and our child. However, you will have to pay for her life afterward. In the future, you will not be able to see us, a widow and orphan, being bullied. You will be happy to have some peace and quiet."
Shi Lan's words were like an iron hammer, pinning Li Tiezhu firmly to the ground, where he remained motionless for a long time.
Seeing his appearance, Shi Lan moved her hand out from under the covers, slowly reached out and tugged at his clothes, and whispered, "If you really care about me, then keep this to yourself. After all, he's from the village, and we'll get our revenge eventually."
Li Tiezhu grunted in frustration and strode out. Soon, the sound of pots and pans clattering came from next door. Shi Lan smiled and closed her eyes without saying a word.
Lijia Village wasn't big. Back then, Li Chunni ran back to the village from the riverbank, soaking wet. Anyone with eyes could see her. If Li Tiezhu had been interested, he could have easily found out.
Men value their own bloodline. Li Tiezhu, having been alone for a long time, especially longed for the continuation of his bloodline. If Shi Lan knew that it was Li Chunni who wanted to kill his wife and son, she would also want to see how Li Tiezhu would react.
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