Chapter 76
The eventful day is finally coming to an end.
Chen Sanhe and Pang Zhishan sat on their beds in their own rooms, massaging each other's shoulders and legs.
Pang Zhishan had served Chen Sanhe, and then lay on the bed enjoying his wife's care.
Chen Sanhe pinched his calf, and he cried out "Ouch!" twice, but the tingling and numb sensation still shot straight to his scalp.
He turned his head and complained, grimacing, "These old arms and legs of mine are getting worse and worse."
Chen Sanhe chuckled, slightly loosening his grip, but his words were sharp.
"This is nothing. There will be many more times when you are even more useless."
The couple are kind and gentle to others in daily life, but they like to bicker with each other in private.
After chatting and laughing for a while, Pang Zhishan became drowsy and slowly closed his eyes.
Chen Sanhe's sigh startled him back to reality.
"When the dike was breached today, did you see Xun and Shu standing together?"
"I saw it." Pang Zhishan answered the question honestly, but still didn't understand why his wife was sighing.
Chen Sanhe asked, "What do you think of them as a couple?"
Wow! This is something new.
Pang Zhishan perked up, propped himself up, and hurriedly asked, "Why did you suddenly think of that?"
Xun Yi didn't want to make a big fuss about the marriage proposal, so Lin Xinghua didn't publicize it either.
No one saw them go up the mountain today, so the villagers are still completely unaware.
Since Chen Sanhe had already started talking, he certainly didn't intend to hide anything from him afterwards. After telling him what happened this morning, Pang Zhishan was wide awake and grinned, revealing his old teeth.
"I won't comment on whether the two of them are a good match, but I know that Xun has long had his eye on Shu."
Chen Sanhe was surprised. "How did you know?"
Pang Zhishan then changed his sleeping position again, lying on his back with his hands behind his head and his legs crossed.
"Guess."
Chen Sanhe looked him over suspiciously. "You noticed it when the dike was breached today?"
Pang Zhishan shook his head.
Chen Sanhe flipped through his memories and guessed, "The night of the grain robbery?"
That night, Xun Yi rescued Shu Wanxiu and escorted them to see a doctor.
Pang Zhishan smiled without saying a word and continued to shake his head.
"It couldn't have been when you delivered the pot, could it?" Chen Sanhe angrily punched him hard.
"I noticed Xun Xiaozi much earlier."
"But I became certain of his feelings last winter."
Fearing that his wife would really be angry, he put away his nonchalant attitude and seriously went over the matter with Chen Sanhe.
"Do you remember last year, after Shuya settled down, one day she brought me a rabbit and asked me to 'solve the case'?"
Chen Sanhe said, "How could I not remember? It was a rabbit that got hit and killed, and we even ate a bowl of rabbit meat!"
Pang Zhishan nodded.
When he was solving the case, he didn't think much about it, but later when he went to work in the fields, he felt more and more that something was wrong.
Shu Wanxiu found a rabbit that had been hit and killed in front of her house, but she also said that she did not see any rabbit burrows near her house when she was clearing the weeds in front of and behind the house.
It's quite strange that the rabbit happened to crash and die right in front of her house.
Pang Zhishan later recalled that some hunters did have ways of controlling wild animals.
The only hunter in the village was Xun Yi, so Pang Zhishan suspected that the rabbit might have been deliberately given to the aunt and niece by Xun Yi.
After all, that kid was shy. Later, when he delivered the pots to the Shu family, he didn't dare to go himself and insisted on having someone else make the trip, which proved to be true.
After that, Xun Yi never asked him to deliver anything again, but according to Pang Zhishan's observation, Xun Yi still went up the mountain quite often.
As the village chief, Pang Zhishan has to pay attention to all matters, big and small, in the village.
Shu Wanxiu settled in the village with her two nephews, one weak and one young, and Pang Zhishan had actually been keeping a close eye on them.
Sometimes they would quietly get up at night, put on their clothes, and wander around the mountainside or the foot of the mountain, just in case some ill-intentioned person took advantage of the darkness to bully them.
Because he felt it was his duty, he did these things without telling anyone.
But one time, it was a snowy, icy day, with snow and ice swirling around us.
Fearing that the heavy snow would collapse the houses and kill people, he went around the village house by house that night to check on the situation.
He was the last to reach the desolate mountain.
Guess what he saw?
Xun Xiaozi presented Shu Wanxiu with an oil paper package and a rough pottery basin.
"That tender expression on his face—what a pathetic thing! The girl wasn't even shy, but he ran off like a shot, completely lost."
While Pang Zhishan was still criticizing his shameful behavior, Chen Sanhe's eyes had already changed.
Her gaze was unfriendly, and her tone was sinister.
“You noticed the signs last year.”
"But you never mentioned it to me at all."
Pang Zhishan's scalp tightened. "I...this isn't...this is something that's not even close to being decided yet, I can't just say things like that!"
"Oh, it seems I'm the kind of person who talks nonsense in public."
Are you guarding against me?
Pang Zhishan was so wronged that he almost knelt down.
Despite gentle coaxing and persistent persuasion, Chen Sanhe remained somewhat unhappy.
It wasn't just out of anger towards Pang Zhishan; it was more about himself.
Look at today's marriage proposal. Lin Xinghua acted as the matchmaker, which shows that she knew Xun Yi's intentions all along. She finally made it to the evening and told her husband about it, only to find that he already knew.
Chen Sanhe really wondered if she was stupid, since everyone else could see it but she didn't.
After a while of commotion, Chen Sanhe still had something to say, so he had no choice but to let the matter drop.
Pang Zhishan dared not anger her again for a while, so he quickly sat up straight and listened to her speak.
Chen Sanhe also revealed his true concerns.
"I wonder if Xun will accept that Shu girl will bring Shouyi with her when she marries into the family?"
...
After traversing mountains and rivers, every journey eventually comes to an end.
As the thatched hut came into view, Shu Wanxiu watched Xun Yi's steps grow from small to tiny, and then to even smaller, and couldn't help but point out, "Brother Xun, we've arrived."
Xun Yi rarely showed such shamelessness, yet when Shu Wanxiu ruthlessly exposed him, he didn't feel he had lost face at all.
He reluctantly handed Shu Shouyi over, saying, "Alright...you should get some rest."
Shu Wanxiu skillfully took the child from Xun Yi's arms and walked a short distance towards the bedroom. After thinking for a moment, she mustered up her courage and walked back to Xun Yi to discuss, "Could you please stay? I have something to say."
Does this mean he's going to refuse the marriage proposal?
This thought was the first to pop into Xun Yi's head, instantly throwing him into a state of utter confusion.
However, one cannot run away just because one is afraid of being rejected.
He nodded with difficulty. "I'll wait for you."
Shu Wanxiu gritted her teeth and placed Shu Shouyi on the bedroom bed.
Before stepping out the door, she tidied her hair and smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes.
After tidying herself up like this, she seemed to have more courage, and even her back straightened a bit.
She stepped over the threshold, her gaze fixed on Xun Yi, and walked gracefully towards him.
The area in front of the house was spacious, and the moonlight shone on it without any obstruction.
Shu Wanxiu could clearly see Xun Yi's slightly furrowed brows.
Xun Yi could also clearly see Shu Wanxiu slightly part her lips, preparing herself for the judgment that was about to be made.
"Brother Xun, I don't know how to express my feelings."
"But in any case, I was a little surprised that Aunt Xinghua came to arrange a marriage today."
Considering her daughter's modesty, Chen Sanhe felt she should discuss Shu Shouyi's matter with Xun Yi a few days later.
Shu Wanxiu was originally prepared to follow Chen Sanhe's arrangements, but... Xun Yi was a very special person in her heart.
Perhaps it was because of similar experiences and the long time they had spent together, but in any case, Shu Wanxiu felt that Xun Yi was different.
She vaguely felt that she didn't need to care about so many worldly opinions in front of Xun Yi.
Because Xun Yi had the ability to block those gazes.
But this kind of thinking is terrible.
She is clearly someone who should be supporting a family on her own, so how could she suddenly have such delusional thoughts?
So, on this night, at this moment, she, Shu Wanxiu, was ready.
She was going to disregard social conventions and reserve just once.
She wanted to see it with her own eyes or hear it with her own ears, to get an answer.
After making thorough preparations, Shu Wanxiu blinked and asked with utmost seriousness, "Do you want to know why, why I didn't agree to the matchmaking when Aunt Xinghua came to propose today?"
As she uttered those words, Shu Wanxiu felt her chest tighten as if it were about to explode.
She was so nervous that she even swayed slightly.
As expected, it was related to the matchmaking; as expected, it was time to refuse.
Xun Yi was deeply troubled.
Why would you refuse?
He had been thinking about it for a short while after Shu Wanxiu entered the room.
Was the dowry not generous enough? Yes, it was indeed a bit lacking; she deserved something better.
Perhaps he should think of a way to scrape together some more money to buy another gold hairpin, making a pair.
Something feels off, and it might not just be a matter of the betrothal gifts.
She probably felt that the income from the blacksmith shop was insufficient and was worried about her future livelihood.
That's true, we really need to be worried.
It's normal for a woman to worry about her future food, clothing, and daily necessities after marriage.
Perhaps he should think of a way to move the shop to the county town or the prefectural town and earn more money.
What else?
Xun Yi thought about his own shortcomings and weaknesses.
Perhaps she felt she was too boring and didn't talk enough.
Perhaps she felt that all she knew was blacksmithing and hunting, and that all she had was brute strength.
Xun Yi's thoughts had never been so active.
Amidst a flurry of thoughts, I saw Shu Wanxiu sway slightly, as if she were about to lose her balance.
He instinctively reached out and offered a helping hand to Shu Wanxiu.
How I wish we could stand together like this a little longer, how I wish I could hear the words of refusal a little later...
It can't be delayed for too long.
Seeing that Shu Wanxiu had regained her footing, Xun Yi reluctantly replied, "I want to know."
Shu Wanxiu, who was the one who started the conversation, pursed her lips tightly at this moment.
Will Brother Xun's expression change after I say what I'm about to say?
Yes, it will.
He might find it hard to accept, or he might be very surprised.
Perhaps he'll think he's an ungrateful wretch who can't be tamed, and that he's just daydreaming...
Shu Wanxiu clenched her fists tightly, the words on the tip of her tongue, she so desperately wanted to back down.
but……
If the marriage doesn't go through, the two will definitely have to avoid each other in the future.
Perhaps they will never have the chance to speak face-to-face like this again.
Shu Wanxiu felt a dull ache in her heart.
Speak up, speak up.
It might be a little embarrassing, but she really wanted to see Xun Yi's most genuine reaction, not his words embellished by Aunt Chen or others.
She clenched both fists tightly and asked, "When you asked Aunt Xinghua to act as matchmaker, did you think about how Shouyi should be settled?"
"I will not abandon him!" Shu Wanxiu answered before Xun Yi could speak.
“My elder brother and sister-in-law entrusted their child to me before they died, and I personally agreed, so I will never abandon my parents and uphold my duty for the rest of my life.”
“He is my brother and sister-in-law’s only bloodline, and I cannot change his surname.”
Shu Wanxiu knew that it was humiliating to blurt out everything at once, but how embarrassing was it to be rejected word by word?
So at the last moment, she suddenly changed her approach and took control of the conversation.
"That's why I didn't agree to this marriage, Brother Xun, I'm sorry."
"This marriage will not happen."
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