Chapter 8
Han Meng instinctively wanted to hide and run, but she couldn't outrun the other person's eyes.
Lu Jinxian smiled at her and helped the child turn her head back: "It's okay, just focus on practicing."
The child was still curious: "Who is she?"
Lu Jinxian stroked his chin: "Right now, she should be considered... my... fiancée?"
Thinking of her recent goals, Han Meng quickly composed herself, walked into the venue, stood in front of him, and asked calmly, "Do you have time? Let's talk alone for a while?"
"Let's go inside and talk."
Lu Jinxian led her into Grandma Lin's living room.
Upon seeing the guests arrive, the old woman in the house was overjoyed. Despite her graying hair and wrinkled face, she still seemed unwilling to admit her age, carrying a large teapot that looked quite heavy, and took the initiative to pour tea for the two of them.
Han Meng guessed that this must be Granny Lin: "Granny, I'm sorry to bother you."
Grandma Lin smiled kindly: "My son works in the city and doesn't come home for ten days or half a month at a time. I'm happy to have guests come to chat. But don't worry, you can chat as you please, I still have to go and make shoes for my son."
After saying that, she went into the bedroom.
Now, only Han Meng and Lu Jinxian were left in the living room.
When their eyes met, Han Meng realized for the first time that there was still a galaxy in the other person's gloomy and deep eyes.
Perhaps her gaze was too direct, for the next instant, the man turned his head away, avoiding her gaze.
Lu Jinxian spoke first: "Miss Han has thought of a way to annul the engagement?"
Han Meng was taken aback for a moment, and said, "Since you also have this idea, why don't you think of a way yourself? Instead, you have time to come here and teach martial arts, even on rainy days."
"They want to learn."
"You know my physical condition. Even though my family made me practice martial arts to strengthen my body since I was a child, it didn't have much effect. It's better to pass it on to others."
Han Meng frowned: "Do you know that they practice martial arts to seek revenge!"
Lu Jinxian replied frankly, "I know. They have nowhere to turn for help from gods or Buddhas, so they can only rely on themselves, right?"
Han Meng remained silent for a long time, her eyes showing some hesitation.
Perhaps, in this particular era, the villagers were right, and it was she who was too idealistic.
Lu Jinxian lowered his eyes, "You're new to this village, so you might not be familiar with it yet, which is why you don't know..."
Han Meng was shocked after hearing his description.
It turns out that the man who died unjustly was Granny Lin's son. He lost his mother at a young age, and he was her only child. He was a teenager who worked as a rickshaw puller in the city to make a living.
Once, he picked up a customer from overseas. The customer complained that he was too slow and refused to pay. The young man chased after him to get the money back, but the customer, on the grounds that he had entered an area he shouldn't have entered, had him beaten half to death.
He later died from his illness, and Granny Lin became mentally unstable, always believing that her son was still alive. Many people in the village who had received kindness from the mother and son were also furious when they learned what had happened.
Lu Jinxian supports their learning of martial arts. He said that even if they don't avenge their neighbors, it would be good if they could protect themselves in the future.
Han Meng was also persuaded by him, feeling that in such a chaotic world, ordinary people should indeed learn some self-defense skills.
"You brought them to Granny Lin's house to learn martial arts, probably so that the old lady wouldn't be so lonely."
She was still thinking about it deeply, feeling sorry for Grandma Lin's family and that Lu Jinxian was quite kind.
Lu Jinxian chuckled lightly: "I've finished listening to the story, but Miss Han hasn't answered my question yet."
Han Meng was silent for a moment, then stretched out her hand, her eyes shining with expectation: "Give me two hundred silver dollars."
Lu Jinxian: "?"
"If you can't give it to me, then I can't help you for now. I'm busy making money, so I'm leaving." Han Meng sighed and got up to leave.
She actually wanted to go to the Lu family, but she was worried that they would overthink and ask too many questions, so she deliberately didn't say so.
Lu Jinxian did not stop her.
As Han Meng walked out of the venue, the curious child spoke up again: "Big sister, are you big brother's fiancée?"
"He told you to practice hard and stop gossiping all the time, or you'll get eaten by wild animals someday." She crossed her arms and looked at the little boy, teasing him half-jokingly, "Ouch, you're taking a whole kid's head in one bite!"
Surprisingly, the child wasn't intimidated at all: "Hmph, even if I'm in danger, the big brother will come to save me!"
This world is a strange place; people from different backgrounds can have polarized opinions about the same person.
In Xiqin Village, Lu Jinxian has a very good reputation. He is not a sickly person with a bad temper, but a gentle older brother who teaches without discrimination.
Seeing Lu Jinxian come out of the house out of the corner of her eye, Han Meng smiled mischievously and deliberately shouted, "Young Master Lu, this kid isn't concentrating on his martial arts practice!"
As soon as he finished shouting, he grabbed his umbrella and slipped away.
As for whether the child will be criticized, that's none of her business!
But when people get excited, accidents are more likely to happen—she tripped a boy who was running at high speed.
"Are you alright?" She offered to help the other person up, but they had already gotten up and, disregarding how badly they had fallen, continued running forward.
It looks like something extremely urgent has happened.
She noticed that the other person seemed to be limping as they ran, and felt a little guilty. She decided to follow them to see what was wrong and if she could help.
As a result, they ended up back at Grandma Lin's house.
She quickly learned what the other person was anxious about.
The boy rushed here because he and his brother went to the jungle to pick wild fruits while the adults were away, but instead of picking any, they accidentally knocked over a hornet's nest.
The older brother was stung many times by wasps while protecting his younger brother. The two brothers had just escaped home when the older brother fainted.
Having no other choice, the younger brother came to find his father, who was learning martial arts here.
Everyone comforted the child, even the child who had been playing earlier, who was probably younger than him, comforted him in a childish voice.
But no amount of comforting could help; large tears kept falling as she kept muttering, "Please save my brother."
The child's father was also very worried: "It's hard to find a doctor on a rainy day, and being stung by a wasp is no small matter. What should we do?"
At this moment, Lu Jinxian walked towards them: "I know how to handle this, but I need someone to go and buy medicine right away."
The villagers are all very kind, and everyone is eager to help run errands.
Han Meng replied without hesitation, "I know the way, I'll go, I own a pharmacy."
A woman dressed in expensive clothes, clearly a rich young lady, would actually take on such physically demanding work as running errands? And on a rainy day when the roads were difficult to navigate.
Everyone present was surprised.
Even Lu Jinxian hesitated slightly.
In fact, Han Meng's reputation in the elite circles wasn't much better than his; people often complained that she didn't have the demeanor of a well-bred lady.
However, Lu Jinxian chose to trust his own judgment.
Without pen and ink, he dictated the names of the medicines he needed to buy, and Han Meng memorized them after hearing them only once.
She whispered to Lu Jinxian, "Are you really sure you know how to treat stings? If not, don't do anything rash. I'll just find someone else..."
Find someone to carry the old Chinese medicine doctor to the village!
The man didn't explain much, but simply curled the corner of his mouth slightly: "Of course, you've heard of the saying 'experience makes one a doctor,' right?"
Before leaving, Han Meng asked the child's father for his home address.
She also suggested that it would be best if someone could meet her at the village entrance, otherwise, if she couldn't find her address, it might delay the child's treatment.
...
A short while later.
Seeing the boy covered in wasp stings, his skin swollen and red, with a large patch of stingers still attached to his back, Lu Jinxian gasped, his expression grave.
"I need candles, needles, and vinegar."
Before the medicine arrives, let's remove all the thorns.
"Then I'll have to boil some water," he said after a moment's hesitation.
...
Han Meng has always had a good memory. After returning to the pharmacy, she immediately asked Chen Miaoyin to help her get the medicine, and not a single medicine was missing.
On her way back to Xiqin Village, the rain lessened considerably. Without a second thought, she threw away her umbrella and ran straight to the village gate.
Looking towards the main gate, several villagers were guarding it.
She smiled with relief, handed them the medicine, and told them to go and deliver it first, while she stopped to catch her breath.
Then, she walked slowly, stopping occasionally to rub her legs and massage her shoulders, until she reached the injured boy's home.
However, the first thing she saw was not the injured person or their family, but the handsome but sickly man.
He lay on a bamboo chair in front of the door, holding a steaming cup of tea in his hands, his eyes closed, his long eyelashes slightly curled.
At this moment, the injured man's younger brother tiptoed out, gestured for Han Meng to be quiet, and whispered, "Big brother has removed all the poisoned needles from my brother's body. There are so many of them. He must be very tired. Sister, please don't disturb his rest."
Han Meng nodded, took out a bottle of liniment for sprains and bruises from her pocket, put it in the boy's hand, and then pointed to his leg.
She had accidentally tripped and injured the other person's leg, and she didn't forget about it while she went back to the pharmacy to get medicine.
After the boy left, she quietly watched the person on the bamboo chair.
Although he looked pale, the post-rain sunshine on him created a beautiful scene.
As for the injured person's condition, she thought she didn't need to go see him anymore. So many people were helping this child through this difficult time, there was no reason for it to fail. Besides, Lu Jinxian was a pretty reliable person.
At least he wasn't the useless person those powerful people imagined.
The injured boy woke up, and his father, wanting to thank them, wanted them to stay for dinner. However, seeing that they were both reluctant, he gave them some snacks instead.
They traveled together for a distance from the village.
While eating her snacks, Han Meng carefully chose her words: "That night at the Wang Family Hotel, someone led me into your room by mistake. Shen Jianhe has already admitted that he hired someone to do it."
Lu Jinxian was not surprised at all: "Yes, I said it before."
Han Meng asked in surprise, "Then why don't you try to persuade your dad? He must have misunderstood us, right?"
She had been investigating Lu Wen, the head of the Lu family, in recent days, and had also come to understand the reason why the two families had become mortal enemies. Logically speaking, given the depth of their conflict, there was no reason for them to arrange a marriage.
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