Chapter 194 Recovering from Injuries
Although Li Xiaoxiao woke up, her injuries were extremely severe. She spent a lot of time in a coma every day. Moreover, Tian Qing's family was so poor that she not only didn't have enough to eat, but also no medicine. As a result, it took her five days to be able to stand up with crutches.
She now needs not only medicine, but more importantly, she needs to be fed. Since she woke up, Mr. Xu has only been able to give her a bowl of porridge each day because his family is running out of food.
A bowl of thin porridge could barely sustain her vital signs and was almost useless for her recovery, but at least she was able to stand up.
She needs to take medicine and replenish a lot of energy to make her body better. Unfortunately, she has fallen to this state, even worse than when she first transmigrated.
Although she was injured at that time, she still had the strength to hunt and fill her stomach. But now she has difficulty even standing up, and the family that took her in is so poor that they can't even afford to eat a meal.
She had considered asking for help, but she knew Niutou'ao village all too well. It was a good 30 or 40 miles away from the county seat, and it would take two days to walk there. Most people in Huangshi Town had never been to the county seat in their lives. She couldn't find anyone to help her send a message to the outside world to let them know that she was still alive.
Not to mention that the villagers didn't believe her at all. They thought she was just talking nonsense because she had been struck by lightning. They thought she was in such a sorry state when they rescued her from the water. How could they believe that she was a majestic general of the imperial court, the crown prince's personal bodyguard, and had a life-or-death relationship with the emperor?
Well, she admitted, this was indeed putting the villagers in a difficult position, and she couldn't explain to them why she was there.
Since there was no way to get help, she had no choice but to save herself.
She needs to recover to the point where she can move freely before she can leave the village.
However, the problem of hunger needs to be solved as soon as possible. If she doesn't eat enough, her injuries won't heal, and she won't be able to do anything.
As soon as she could move a little, she went to discuss with Madam Xu: "How much grain do you have left?"
Mrs. Xu looked at her with a face full of questions.
Li smiled and said, "If I don't eat enough, my injuries won't heal. How about this, you cook me some dry rice. After I've eaten for a few days and my body has recovered a little, I'll find a way to return the food to you."
Mrs. Xu asked her, "Do you have money?"
She didn't even have any clothes and had to borrow clothes from Ms. Xu. Where would she get the money?
Li Xiaoxiao shook her head.
Madam Xu said, "Since you have no money, how will you repay my grain?"
Li smiled and said, "I have money, but I don't have it on me. Don't worry, once I recover, I can repay you tenfold or a hundredfold, really."
Madam Xu sighed: "You still don't remember where you came from?"
Li Xiaoxiao was exhausted: "I've said it dozens of times, I really am from the capital... My father-in-law used to be the magistrate of Biyang County, you know? The magistrate of Biyang County in Lin'an Prefecture. Six years ago, when there was a flood in Niutou'ao, many people from Huangshiling Town fled to Biyang County and settled down. If you know them, just mention Magistrate Meng Ying, and they will definitely know."
Xu knew about the flood in Huangshiling Town six years ago, otherwise her family wouldn't have moved here. However, she didn't know where all the refugees had gone. Li Xiaoxiao had nothing on her and couldn't explain why she was by the sinkhole lake, so she still couldn't believe her.
Xu said expressionlessly, "This is all the food we have at home. We can only give you two bowls of porridge a day at most. We old folks don't have much food to begin with. Spring planting isn't even finished yet, and there's no sign of summer harvest. Don't even think about the little food we have left."
Unable to borrow any food, Li Xiaoxiao sighed inwardly. "When will my useless body ever be able to move again?" she thought.
She already ate very little, and going out for walks would only deplete her energy, so she had no choice but to go back to the woodshed, lie down, and go to sleep.
Looking at her, Xu felt a little worried. She was a soft-hearted person, and how could she not know that if the woman didn't have enough to eat, her injuries would be hard to heal? If there were surplus food at home, she certainly wouldn't hesitate to let her have enough to eat, but her family's food was not even enough to feed the two of them. Now that she had taken her in, no one else in the village was willing to contribute food to help feed her. She couldn't bear to throw the woman out while she was still unable to move, so she could only eat sparingly to prevent her from starving to death.
But she immediately asked to eat all of her family's leftover food and said she would repay her tenfold or a hundredfold. What kind of boast is that? What if she gets better and runs away? Where will she find someone then?
There was only so much food left at home, and she refused to give it up no matter what we said.
Li Xiaoxiao slept in the woodshed. Xu Shi carried a hoe to the field and worked with Tian Qing to hoe the land. The rice seeds had already been sown, and they had been busy turning the soil these days. They would plant the rice seedlings when they were old enough to be separated.
Every day and every hour is crucial during the spring planting season. She had already missed several days of work because she had to take care of Li Xiaoxiao. There were already few people in her family, and if she didn't hurry up, she would fall behind.
After working in the fields all morning, at noon she took out wild vegetable dumplings from her bosom and sat down with Tian Qing at the edge of the field to eat. Other families in the village did the same, making dumplings with their rice and bringing them to the fields.
People would only get together to chat during lunchtime. Niutou'ao Village was small, and there wasn't much gossip. These days, the topics of conversation among the aunts and gossipy women all revolved around Li Xiaoxiao.
Madam Xu said, "She can get up and walk a few steps now with the help of crutches, but she is still very weak. She even asked me for food today, saying she wasn't getting enough to eat..."
The gossipy women sighed, "It's good enough that you've survived, let alone want to eat your fill."
"We're not getting enough to eat either. Right now, it's the lean season when food is scarce. Who can afford to eat their fill?"
"Is she mentally sound or not? Is she still spouting nonsense about being some kind of general?"
Mrs. Xu sighed: "She won't talk about it if I don't ask her, but she still says the same thing when I do ask her. I don't know what kind of trauma she suffered to keep saying this."
One of the women had a vivid imagination. When she heard Xu mention what trauma she had suffered, she slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "Do you think she was abused by her husband's family before? The more I think about it, the more uneasy I feel. Her body covered in bruises, and her sudden appearance in front of the sinkhole lake—did she go to drown herself?"
This idea was so novel that even the men who had been listening to gossip in silence were immediately convinced. Madam Xu had never thought of it this way before, but now, inspired by this, she was stunned and murmured, "That seems to make some sense."
The woman said decisively, "It's not just a guess, it's definitely true! How could a perfectly healthy woman have so many bruises on her body? She must have been beaten! She's been traumatized and her mind is no longer stable, that's why she's talking such nonsense. I've heard that some people who are mentally unstable claim to be reincarnated fairies~" That's why she said that she was a general, it was all because she was traumatized.
People recalled encountering people who had gone insane, and it seemed like someone had said something similar.
Although the women were gossipy, after unanimously reaching this conclusion, they felt a bit more sympathy for Li Xiaoxiao. When Xu returned home, she had several wild vegetable buns in her hands, which were saved from their own food by the aunts and gossipy women for Li Xiaoxiao to eat.
Everyone's family is struggling financially, so it's impossible to ask them to contribute more food. These few buns were just given to her out of pity.
So that evening, Li Xiaoxiao drank a large bowl of thick porridge and ate five wild vegetable buns, feeling full for the first time.
After she finished eating, she asked Mrs. Xu, "Where did all of this come from?"
Xu said, "The food was given to you by the older women in the village."
Although it wasn't very nutritious, it at least filled her stomach. Li Xiaoxiao asked Xu to thank them and said earnestly, "I will repay them for the food when I recover."
Xu listened to these words but didn't take them to heart at all.
A few days later, Li Xiaoxiao finally threw away her crutches and was able to walk a few steps in the yard.
Although she had porridge to drink every day, she lost a lot of weight due to malnutrition. Now that she could move around, she thought about going to find some food to eat.
With her physical condition, she naturally couldn't go hunting in the mountains. Since she couldn't go into the mountains, she decided to go down to the river. She also wanted to go back to the sinkhole to see how it was doing.
After that violent explosion, she lost consciousness and thought she was surely dead. But when she opened her eyes, she was still in Dawu. Had the time tunnel not opened? What about Silver Wolf's body? Could it have remained there?
But after observing for the past few days, she found that the people of Niutou'ao Village had not mentioned anything about the silver wolf. Now that she could walk, she wanted to go back and see what exactly happened that day.
Since she's going, she can't come back empty-handed. The sinkhole and lake have been around for five or six years now; there should be some fish around, right? If she doesn't take good care of her health, she'll become a cripple.
She dreamed of recovering her health and finding a way back to the capital as soon as possible. So much time had passed; they must all think she was dead, and they must be heartbroken.
She told Xu about her idea and asked her to help borrow the raft that had been used to rescue her that day from the village chief.
Madam Xu looked surprised: "You want to go to the sinkhole? You can barely walk, why do you want to go there?"
She looked nervous. Could it be that she remembered something and wanted to drown herself in the lake again?
Li Xiaoxiao said, "There's nothing to eat at home. The sinkhole is so big, there must be some fish, right? Give me a sewing needle, and I'll make a hook to go fishing."
Hearing that she wanted to go fishing, Madam Xu breathed a sigh of relief, but still advised her, "You shouldn't have too high hopes; there aren't many fish in the sinkhole."
Li Xiaoxiao asked in surprise, "How could such a big lake have no fish?"
Xu said, "This lake is usually dark and scary. If you look at it for too long, it looks like it will suck you in. Children are not allowed to go near it. It's not like the young people in the village haven't tried to fish there, but after half a day or a whole day, they can only catch some small fish that are less than two fingers wide. The number is very small, so over time no one goes there anymore."
Actually, the lake looks really scary. Usually, when there are only one or two people, no one dares to go near it. Plus, we've never caught any big fish, so hardly anyone goes there.
But Li Xiaoxiao insisted on going. She had no other way to find food except to check the situation, and she was determined to see for herself.
I heard that the crazy woman wanted to borrow a raft to go fishing in the sinkhole. The village chief tried to dissuade her again and again, but to no avail. He really didn't want to lend her the raft, but seeing her attitude that if she wouldn't lend it to him, he would just make one himself, so he had no choice but to lend it to her.
Tian Qing and Xu helped her carry the raft to the edge of the sinkhole. Tian Qing saw that she had put a large bamboo basket on the raft and was holding a fishing rod made of a tree branch. She couldn't help but worry: "Are you sure you can do it? Why don't you just fish from the shore?"
Li Xiaoxiao didn't listen to him. After arriving at the lake, she carefully observed the activity of the sinkhole.
It wasn't her imagination; the feeling of chaotic magnetic fields had disappeared. The once dark lake water had turned a deep turquoise, calm and still. She felt relieved; it seemed the time tunnel had truly closed.
Although she couldn't understand why the tunnel had only sucked away the silver wolf while she had been left behind, she couldn't figure out the reason.
Could it be that because she was so badly injured that her powers disappeared, the time tunnel couldn't sense her energy and thus left her behind?
If you can't figure out the reason, then stop thinking about it; as long as the result is good, that's enough.
She risked her life to finally defeat it, and from then on, monsters like the Silver Wolf would never appear in Dawu again.
She couldn't help but get a little excited, and her breathing became heavier.
Ms. Xu, being a woman, was naturally much more sensitive. She immediately said, "Are you feeling unwell? Otherwise, you shouldn't go into the water. Let's go home."
She was afraid that recalling unpleasant things from the past would trigger a relapse.
Li Xiaoxiao stepped onto the raft: "I'm fine, I'm just excited."
Watched by Tian Qing and his wife, she slowly rowed the raft into the lake.
She didn't paddle too far, stopping about seven or eight zhang from the shore. Then she took out the earthworms she had dug up beforehand, put them on a needle, and threw it out.
Perhaps her luck had finally turned around. Less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea after casting the line, she felt the line tighten. She quickly pulled, and a fish weighing about half a pound was pulled out of the water. The fish thrashed its tail frantically, trying to break free of the fishing rod. Tian Qing and his wife, who had been watching her from the shore, exclaimed in surprise, "We've got a fish! Quickly, put it in the basket!"
Although it was just a small fish, Li Xiaoxiao was still quite satisfied. She put the fish in the basket before unhooking it from the corner of its mouth.
She got off to a good start, and things went incredibly smoothly from there. One after another, white or blue fish were caught and brought to the surface, the smaller ones weighing about half a pound and the larger ones weighing three or four pounds. She quickly filled a small half-basket. In the end, she had to row back on a raft because she felt she had caught a big fish that weighed at least five pounds, but the fishing line was too thin and the hook wasn't strong enough, so it got away.
She was already very satisfied; this small basket of fish was enough for her to have several good meals.
She rowed the raft back to shore. Tian Qing and Xu Shi looked at the fish in the basket with excitement, and their expressions towards Li Xiaoxiao were different.
This is the first time someone has ever caught so many fish in a sinkhole.
That's amazing.
Fearing being discovered, Tian Qing quickly picked a few large leaves to cover the fish, hoisted them onto her shoulder, and went home.
In the evening, Li Xiaoxiao finally ate her fill. She ate five fish, each weighing at least a pound, leaving Tian Qing and Xu Shi speechless.
I knew she had a big appetite, but this was way too much! She ate the whole thing, soup and meat, and ate the equivalent of five people's worth of food all by herself.
Li Xiaoxiao finally finished eating and felt warm all over. She even asked Tian Qing to give the village chief who lent her the raft a fish weighing about two pounds, indicating that she would need to borrow his raft for a few more days.
She went fishing for three days in a row, and the villagers could no longer keep the fact that there were fish in the sinkhole a secret. When Li Xiaoxiao wanted to borrow the raft again, the village chief's wife refused. The next day, her son took the raft to the lake to fish.
Li Xiaoxiao has no fish to eat again.
But after three days of good food, her grief subsided somewhat, and her strength returned a little.
She started helping Xu with chores, chopping wood and fetching water. She did it very skillfully and quickly; she could chop up a pile of firewood that was half a person tall in one morning.
She never runs out of water in the tanks; she seems to be quite strong, filling both tanks with water in just a few trips.
Mrs. Xu was pleasantly surprised, as someone had taken care of most of the housework, and she and Tian Qing were finally relieved of their exhaustion.
Every day, after finishing her chores of chopping wood and carrying water, Li Xiaoxiao would take her fishing rod and go fishing in the sinkhole. Although she no longer had a raft, she would find a spot on the shore to fish and fish all day long, always managing to catch enough fish for a hearty meal.
She was able to bring fish home to eat every day, and even Tian Qing and Xu Shi benefited from it, getting plenty of food and sleep every day. In just a few days, their complexions became much rosier, and they had much more strength to do chores.
Mrs. Xu was overjoyed. It seemed that Li Xiaoxiao's injuries had healed. She was so capable.
But Li Xiaoxiao shook her head: "My injury hasn't healed yet, and I need to recuperate for a long time."
She has only recovered about 30% of her former strength, and is no different from an ordinary person, except for the strength on the surface of her body. But now it is April, and a month has passed since she was rescued.
The injury is healing too slowly; she needs to recuperate further. Until she regains even 50% of her previous strength, she will be unable to protect herself and will not be able to leave this place.
It takes two days to walk from the village to the county town. If she doesn't recover her health, she won't be able to make it out. If she faints again on the way, she might not be so lucky as to meet such a kind family as Tian Qing and his wife.
Although Li Xiaoxiao is not fully recovered, in other people's eyes, she is already as well as can be.
Her nimble movements as she chopped wood and carried water, coupled with the fact that she had been eating well lately and her complexion had become rosy, made her stand straight despite wearing Xu's old clothes. Her features were well-defined, and she exuded an indescribable charm that made her incredibly attractive. As a result, some people began to have designs on her.
The village chief's wife approached Xu: "Is Li Xiaoxiao alright now? Is she still talking nonsense?"
If she hadn't specifically brought it up, Madam Xu would have forgotten about it. In her opinion, Li Xiaoxiao had fully recovered. Although she could eat a lot, she was also very capable. She could finish those rough jobs as if they were just playing around, which made Madam Xu very happy.
Moreover, as long as she wasn't asked about her past, she wouldn't talk nonsense. Her responses and actions were no different from those of a normal person, so Xu thought she was fine: "She stopped talking about it a long time ago, and she's perfectly normal now."
The village chief's wife said, "But she's a young woman in her early twenties, she can't stay in your house forever, that's not right."
She's so capable, and the Xu family has no son. They've considered taking her in as their goddaughter. They could work hard to save some money and find a son-in-law to live with them so they can support them in their old age. They just don't know if Li Xiaoxiao would be willing. But judging from the village chief's wife's tone, she seems to have something to say: "Is there something you want to ask her?"
The village chief's wife said, "I think she's a very nice person. She won't talk nonsense unless provoked, so I was thinking of introducing her to someone. My cousin is thirty years old this year. His wife died the other day, leaving behind two children. He needs someone to take care of them. She's so capable, why don't I introduce her to him?"
Ms. Xu was unwilling to listen, but she didn't dare to offend the village chief's wife, so she racked her brains to find a way to refuse: "She must have a previous husband, and maybe even children. What if they come looking for us?"
The village chief's wife scoffed and waved her hand dismissively: "If she really had a husband, her family would have come looking for her long ago. How much time has passed? They must have thought she was dead by now, and maybe they've already remarried. Besides, she was beaten like that, do you really want to push her into the fire again? Let me tell you, my cousin's family has ten acres of fertile land and fifteen acres of dry land. They're quite well-off. He's been married to his wife for over ten years and has never laid a finger on her. He treats her very well. She won't be wronged by marrying him."
Madam Xu remained silent, thinking about how poor her family was. Even if she wanted her to stay and marry into the family, her family didn't have any decent dowry to offer.
But since she was an outsider, she couldn't make decisions for Li Xiaoxiao, so she kept quiet.
Unexpectedly, the village chief's wife was very enthusiastic, and two days later she brought a middle-aged man to the Tian family.
Tian Qing and Xu Shi went to the fields and haven't returned yet. Li Xiaoxiao was chopping firewood alone in the yard. With one swing of her axe, she split a thick piece of firewood in two. She reached out to lift it up and then swung it again, splitting it evenly into four pieces. She didn't even blush or pant, looking very relaxed.
The village chief's wife was very satisfied. She glanced back at her nephew and found that he was staring at Li Xiaoxiao's face with his eyes wide open, his face flushed red, and he didn't know where to put his hands.
The village chief's wife was very pleased with herself. She had been reluctant to come before, and was scolded by her aunt before she finally agreed. But after just one meeting and without even exchanging a word, she agreed.
There's nothing more to say to Tian Qing and his wife. Li Xiaoxiao isn't their relative. At most, when the betrothal ceremony is held, they can exchange the meals Li Xiaoxiao ate at their house these past few days for grain to repay them. That would be a way of thanking them for taking her in.
She greeted Li Xiaoxiao with a smile and introduced him as her nephew. Seeing that Li Xiaoxiao didn't react, she didn't mind and left with her nephew.
When Tian Qing and his wife returned, they didn't ask about it, and Li Xiaoxiao didn't take it seriously or mention it to them. Two days later, the village chief's wife brought a matchmaker over.
Upon learning that the village chief's wife's nephew actually wanted to propose marriage to her, Li Xiaoxiao was stunned: "Are you crazy? My husband is a good official in the capital, what are you talking about marriage for?"
Oh no! She's started talking nonsense again.
Tian Qing and Madam Xu were extremely anxious, they hadn't expected her to react so strongly!
The village chief's wife said with a stern face, "Mrs. Li, you don't need to dwell on the past anymore. You just married the wrong person, that's why your husband's family treats you badly. My cousin is not the kind of person who beats his wife. As long as you take good care of him and the children after you marry him, you will always have food to eat. If you have another child, everything will be settled."
Li Xiaoxiao almost laughed in anger: "Auntie, I think you've gone hysterical! Me, a dignified third-rank military officer, do I have to be reduced to marrying a widower and becoming someone's stepmother? Don't push your luck!"
Oh no, if you push her too hard, she'll go even crazier. The matchmaker looked at the village chief's wife and Li Xiaoxiao with horror. What's going on? This person is insane and dares to talk to her cousin?
Li Xiaoxiao was furious and gave the village chief's wife and the matchmaker a good scolding, leaving them speechless and pale-faced before leaving in a hurry.
Tian Qing and Xu Shi looked at Li Xiaoxiao with concern. With that outburst, she had completely offended the village chief's wife. She would definitely find a way to get rid of her when she got back.
What should we do?
Actually, as long as her past isn't mentioned, she's a very capable and hardworking good woman, and you can't tell from her everyday speech that she has a mental problem. But as soon as her former family is mentioned, she starts talking nonsense.
Li Xiaoxiao was so angry that her chest ached, so she went back to her room and lay down early.
After she was able to walk, Mrs. Xu cleaned up the room next door for her to live in, so she no longer had to live in such a damp and dark woodshed.
Normally, she would take a walk in the yard after dinner to stretch her muscles and bones, but today she was so angry that she didn't even want to move.
She lay in bed, unable to hold back her tears.
Meng Guanqi, where are you? Do you know I'm still alive? I'm injured and being bullied. Please help me stand up for myself.
The longing gnawed at her like a leech, causing her excruciating pain. She longed to return to the capital to find him, to see Liu Shi, Magistrate Meng, Rui Rui, Granny Qi, Mama Mao, and A Ze, the Emperor, the Empress, Pang Shi…
More than four months have passed since the day they parted. They must all think she's dead, right? She was seriously injured and trapped in this isolated little village, unable even to report the crime to the authorities. These country women were even trying to arrange for her to marry someone else. She was furious, but there was nothing she could do…
Meanwhile, in the capital, Emperor Hongxing received a memorial from Meng Guanqi. After reading it, he asked Wan Quan, "Has he not returned yet?"
Wan Quan shook his head: "Lord Meng went to see General Li again..."
After returning to work at the Hanlin Academy, Meng Guanqi suddenly requested Emperor Hongxing to grant him a post outside the capital. However, he had been in the Hanlin Academy for less than three years and was not familiar with the workings of the various departments of the court. At this time, a post outside the capital would be very detrimental to his career advancement. But Emperor Hongxing knew why he wanted to be sent outside the capital; he wanted to go out and find Li Xiaoxiao.
Just as he said, he wouldn't believe Li Xiaoxiao was gone until he saw her body.
He even selected several places for his posting, all of which were prefectures and counties along that river.
He's made up his mind to keep searching.
Emperor Hongxing could not agree to his request, but he also could not bear to refuse him. So he changed his approach and appointed him as an imperial envoy, sending him to a nearby place to handle government affairs.
Sending him out would give him the opportunity to use official business to look for Li Xiaoxiao. However, imperial envoys have time limits for their missions. Once one mission is completed, he can go on the next one and continue his search. This way, he can fulfill his wish without actually being sent to a lower-level post.
However, Meng Guanqi spent far too much time searching for Li Xiaoxiao.
In order to squeeze out time to see his wife, he handled his business very quickly, and each time he would almost always return at the last minute.
He had been searching for so long, but he still hadn't given up. Emperor Hongxing didn't know how to persuade him and could only leave everything to time.
Can he find her and bring her back?
Emperor Hongxing knew in his heart that there was a 99% chance that it was impossible, but he still had a tiny bit of hope that perhaps she was still alive?
The bounty notice has not been withdrawn. The offer of a thousand taels of gold for the whereabouts of one person has already driven the world crazy. If there really is news about Li Xiaoxiao, can they really keep quiet about it?
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Author's Note: Almost there! In the next chapter, Xiaoxiao will be figuring out how to get to Beijing. [Thumbs up]
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