Chapter 3 Side Story (Part 3): The Former Ending.
"Miss Mu, why are you back so late today?"
On the path leading to the paddy fields, Zhao Xiaocui, carrying a bamboo basket, greeted Du Zhijin, who was coming down from the back mountain.
She nodded, reaching out to take the basket from her as she replied, "Amo said it's going to rain for a while, so we need to gather more herbs to store up, which is why we stayed on the mountain a little longer."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiaocui beamed with joy: "Oh dear, then I'll take your doctor's good words at heart! Spring rain is as precious as oil, and I'm really hoping for more rain from heaven."
She smiled back, not feeling offended at all. Wuling Village is mainly engaged in farming, and families like theirs who make a living through medicine are ultimately a minority. With this timely rain, everyone's harvest this year will be quite good.
She carried a full basket of herbs on her shoulder, a heavy bamboo basket in her left hand, and her right hand was still free to support Zhao Xiaocui to prevent her from falling, seemingly unaware of her fatigue. Seeing that Xiaocui had to stop and rest every now and then, she couldn't help but remind her, "You're pregnant now, be careful when you walk. By the way, isn't your second uncle at home? Why did he send you to deliver the food?"
Uncle Zhao is Zhao Xiaocui's biological father. Because the family only had one daughter, he took her in as a son-in-law a few years ago. The bamboo basket contained Xiaocui's husband Zhou Shitou's lunch.
Zhao Xiaocui didn't like hearing this and complained, "Don't even mention it! I'm so bored staying at home all day. It's such a rare opportunity to get out and have some fresh air, so you can't stop me." After saying that, she looked at Du Zhijin's flat stomach with envy and sighed, "It's so much better for you. When you're pregnant, you can't go anywhere or do anything. You're so bored."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she had made a mistake and regretted it immensely.
Look at her mouth! Miss Mu and Doctor Ying have been married for three years and there's still no sign of a baby. Saying this in front of others, they might think she's showing off!
Zhao Xiaocui nervously looked up, only to see Du Zhijin with a calm, smiling expression, seemingly unconcerned about her earlier abrupt remarks. This made her feel slightly better. After a pause, she comforted her, "Don't worry. You and Dr. Ying are still young; when the time is right, you'll have a child."
Du Zhijin was taken aback.
Her and Amo's child? Why bring this up all of a sudden?
She dismissed it as the pregnant woman's overthinking and didn't take it to heart. After delivering the people and food to the Zhao family's field, she returned home. When she arrived, no one was home, only the clucking of hens pecking for food. She took off her basket, rummaged through it, pulled out a handful of purslane, and drew the sword she always carried on her back. In a few swift movements, she chopped the wild vegetables and scattered them on the ground.
The hens swarmed over, and she took the opportunity to step into the chicken coop and reach under the straw to feel around.
There were four eggs, two more than yesterday, one of which was still warm, clearly laid by the hen. She marveled at them, carefully placing the four eggs into the earthenware basin, and weighing the lid down with a stone to prevent mice from stealing them.
What did I feed them yesterday? They laid two extra eggs. As she pondered this, she broke off a piece of straw, lit it, and put it into the stove.
With a crackling sound, the orange flames leaped up instantly, and soon white smoke appeared; the water had boiled.
It's strange, but she seems to have a natural talent for starting fires. No matter what you put in the stove, it will burn. Could she have been the Kitchen God in her past life?
Du Zhijin chuckled at her own thoughts. She peeked outside, but the house was still empty, and she couldn't help but feel a little anxious. Just as she was about to go out and ask around, someone walked towards her—it was Aunt Huang from next door.
"Ouch, girl, you're here! Quick, quick, let me take a look! I've twisted my back, it hurts so much!"
Upon hearing this, Du Zhijin immediately abandoned his plan to go out and look for someone. He helped Aunt Huang sit down and turned to go inside to find medicine.
Having lived with the doctor for three years, she knew a thing or two about medicine, and knew how to treat common sprains and bruises. After quickly preparing a plaster for Aunt Huang to apply, she instructed, "Change these plasters three times a day. If it's inconvenient for you, have Honghua come. Also, it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone. Although it's not serious, Aunt, you still need to rest."
Aunt Huang sighed and said helplessly, "If I could, who wouldn't want to rest? But I have disabled and young children at home. If I stop working, I won't have anything to eat. What will my family eat if I rest? We can't just starve."
Upon hearing this, Du Zhijin also fell silent. The Huang family's life wasn't originally this difficult. The couple were in their prime, hardworking, and diligently farmed to raise their daughter. But fate is unpredictable; Uncle Huang's leg ailment worsened, and three years ago he became completely paralyzed, with Ying Jianhua declaring it incurable.
The family of three is now entirely supported by Aunt Huang. If she were to collapse... "Aunt, don't worry. If you're too busy with the work in the fields, just let me know. Anyway, I'm just sitting here doing nothing."
Aunt Huang waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "No, no, that won't do."
Du Zhijin insisted, "You helped Amo so much in the past, I'm just repaying your kindness."
That's quite true. Ying Jianhua became an orphan at a young age, and without the help of her neighbors, she wouldn't have survived to adulthood. She was saved by Amo, so it's fair to say that without Aunt Huang, she wouldn't be who she is today.
Furthermore, she and Aunt Huang's daughter, Honghua, got along very well, and naturally did not want anything to happen to her friend's mother.
Aunt Huang sighed, "It's all thanks to Doctor Ying's own hard work. If it were me, I might not have been able to survive in that environment. Fortunately, things have finally turned around. He has you now, and you two, as a young couple, are living happily together. That's more important than anything else."
She nodded in agreement, then took five eggs from the earthenware basin, offering them to take home and eat. Aunt Huang declined, but as they were talking, a figure appeared at the end of the path directly in front of the door. She quickly stuffed the eggs into Aunt Huang's arms and ran a few steps to greet her: "Amo!"
Ying Jianhua, who had been looking exhausted, couldn't help but smile upon hearing her voice, her eyes filled with tenderness.
She leaned close to his ear and told him about Aunt Huang's condition. He nodded and said, "The medicine you prescribed is correct. Leave the rest to me."
Upon his return, Aunt Huang couldn't help but ask about Uncle Huang's leg, but the answer she received was still no.
She was used to it and didn't show any disappointment. She supported her aching back as she returned to her apartment next door. After seeing her off, Du Zhijin noticed Ying Jianhua's bad mood and asked, "Did the people from the Prince's Mansion give you trouble again?"
Three years ago, a major incident occurred in Jinxi City: Prince Chengduan and his heir both died suddenly, the cause of death unknown, supposedly from taking the wrong medicine. From then on, the county government and the Prince's residence interrogated the doctors every few days, and at the worst times, they even imprisoned them all. But even so, after so many years, the murderer was still not caught, and in the end, the matter was left unresolved.
He shook his head and sighed, "No, it's related to Uncle Huang's leg."
"I met a doctor in town today and heard some of his experience. I suspect that it wasn't a leg injury, but rather... a demonic possession."
"Possessed by an evil spirit?" she asked in surprise. "Then, what should we do? Find a Taoist priest to exorcise it?"
Ying Jianhua smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid it's too late." That leg is completely useless, and there is no possibility of recovery.
After she finished speaking, both of them fell silent. After a long while, she pursed her lips, as if she had made a great decision, and said, "Send my sword over there. Isn't it said that a precious sword can ward off evil spirits? It would be good if it could suppress them."
Upon hearing this, he paused for a moment, then advised, "But that's your only thing." "An inanimate object is still an inanimate object; saving lives is the priority."
To avoid leaving himself any chance to regret it, Du Zhijin left with his sword after saying that. When he returned, his hands were empty, but his eyes were red.
How could she not be sad? She was seriously injured and collapsed in the back mountain. When she woke up, she had no memory of anything except her name. The only thing that could prove her identity was a sword.
She originally had another piece of clothing on her, which might have provided a clue. But when Ying Jianhua found her, she was in the mouth of a wolf. After finally driving the wolf away and saving her life, the clothing was already tattered and unrecognizable in style and material.
Now, even the sword wasn't by her side, meaning the last clue had vanished. Du Zhijin felt utterly adrift, without a past or a future.
"No, you still have me." Ying Jianhua took her hand, their fingers intertwined, and gently comforted her, "You still have me. Don't we have a future together?"
Yes, she still has him; they are husband and wife, one as a couple. How can you say there's no future for them?
She seemed to snap out of a daze, nodding slightly in affirmation of his statement: "Amo, you're right. It's okay if you can't remember; the past is the past, as long as we..."
She had intended to say, "As long as we don't separate, things will definitely get better and better in the future," but looking at her reflection in his eyes, she suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity and chill.
She wore simple clothes and a plain hairpin, her eyes were filled with melancholy, and there was still soot on her cheeks from the fire.
A voice inside Du Zhijin told her, no, this shouldn't be, she shouldn't be here... But if she wasn't with Amo, where could she go? She didn't even know who she was, she only had a name.
Ying Jianhua felt her fingers trembling, and then a look of pain and confusion appeared on her face, as if she were struggling with something. This wasn't the first time he had seen her with this expression; it was the same when she woke up and found that she couldn't remember anything.
His heart suddenly clenched, followed by a fine, persistent pain. He leaned closer, exchanging the warmth of their breath, and said patiently over and over again, "If you're feeling really bad, don't think about it for now. I'm here with you, and you'll remember someday."
His breath was hot, and she pursed her lips, her voice hoarse as she uttered a single word: "...Okay."
On the day of Jingzhe (Awakening of Insects), the night rain silently nourishes all things, and the spring breeze stirs up green waves in the fields. The croaking of frogs startles a few egrets into flight, fluttering past the village shrouded in misty rain.
During the Lesser Heat period, the sun blazes high, and a cool breeze is a rare treat. In the afternoon, people grow wildly in the shade of trees like cicadas in summer. A palm-leaf fan is gently swayed, but it cannot dispel the bright sunshine, the fiery pomegranate blossoms, or the brightly colored skirts hanging on the clothesline.
Frost descends, thick white frost climbs from the bottom up, covering the withered grass and tiles. The cold air has somehow spread across the field ridges. Passersby hurry by, but only the late rice sways its ears slowly in the wind, bowing for the harvest.
The heavy snow blanketed everything in sight in white; the sky, clouds, mountains, and water were all the same color, as if the bright moon shone all day long, spreading its clear radiance for thousands of miles.
After sowing, there was a bountiful harvest; the snow melted and then froze again; another year has passed.
Life in Wuling Village is peaceful and fulfilling. It is far from the hustle and bustle of the world and few outsiders enter, making it seem like a paradise.
Du Zhijin stood by the window, gazing at the snow-capped green mountains in the distance, feeling a sense of melancholy.
It seems she has forgotten something very important. What is it?
Before she could think it through, her partner embraced her from behind, his gentle voice whispering in her ear, "The window will be cold if it's open, let's close it."
"Okay." She replied, hesitated for a moment, and then chose to close the window.
Along with the wind and snow, and certain regrets, they were all kept outside.
Author's Note: A seemingly heartwarming yet slightly unsettling ending.
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