That night, Chen Xueqing stayed in the forest all night, cried all night, talked about rabbits all night, and even successfully hunted down a wild boar.
Early in the morning, Li Xiaoxiao woke up and ran to the forest to rescue her, only to find Chen Xueqing sitting on a wild boar in a daze. She walked over and sat on the wild boar as well.
"Are you feeling any better? I've been venting all night."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xueqing couldn't hold back her tears any longer and collapsed into Li Xiaoxiao's arms.
"Master, I had thought about it, but I never imagined it would be this cruel."
"I had thought it would be that cruel, but I never imagined I wouldn't be able to accept it."
"If only I had known sooner, would I not have been stuck in those mountains? Would I still be a virtuous woman? If I had been as brave as I am now, if I were a virtuous woman, I wouldn't even have looked at Gu Lan. After all, he's divorced. I'm not reconciled with my master..."
Chen Xueqing started crying again. Li Xiaoxiao hugged her and stroked her hair to comfort her, "It's okay, don't cry, don't be sad. It's not too late. You can still live a good life if you change your name. Think about Wu Shiyao. Why isn't she as sad as you? Actually, how you define yourself is up to you. Be brave, accept the past, and forgive yourself. Haven't you already killed those people?"
She had said these words to the woman in her previous life. After not seeing her for so long, she actually missed her. She wondered how Zhu'er was doing in the apocalypse.
"Master, I will not run away anymore, I will not change my name, it's meaningless now," Chen Xueqing replied, sobbing.
The forest was eerily quiet, and the wolves that used to live in Li Xiaoxiao's home had disappeared.
Li Xiaoxiao comforted Chen Xueqing, and once she had calmed down, Li Xiaoxiao used vines to tie up the prey. Chen Xueqing took two rabbits, and the two of them went down the mountain together.
At the entrance, Gu Lan was indeed still waiting. When he saw Chen Xueqing, he was taken aback at first, and then asked with some concern, "Are you alright?"
Chen Xueqing glanced at him, then walked forward in silence without responding. Li Xiaoxiao followed beside him, while Gu Lan felt increasingly guilty and could only follow behind.
Once inside the courtyard, Li Xiaoxiao announced directly, "From now on, Chen Xueqing will be in charge of orders from other countries, and Gu Lan will be in charge of orders from the Northern Wei Kingdom."
Chen Xueqing nodded silently, and Gu Lan nodded stiffly. Right now, the orders from the Northern Wei Kingdom were the top priority. The orders from outside had not yet been finalized. In effect, Chen Xueqing was being sidelined, while most of the power was in his hands.
Gui Sujuan found it a bit strange, but didn't say anything. Among the four sisters, she had the least talent. She just cooked at the Li family and practiced martial arts in her spare time. She was happy every day. Being happy made her more and more carefree. Her martial arts skills were also constantly improving. The scars on her face disappeared, and her face became quite pretty.
"Master, what happened? Why can't Xueqing handle this order?"
When Gui Sujuan asked, Chen Xueqing's eyes reddened and her voice was hoarse, "Sister, please stop asking. It's my choice. We women should develop our own careers."
After hearing this, Gui Sujuan understood everything and didn't ask any more questions. "Would you like something to eat? I recently learned some cooking skills from Manager Hu, so I'll make you some snacks."
"No need, dear sister, I'm going to rest for a while." After Chen Xueqing finished speaking, she went straight back to her room. Gu Lan followed behind without saying a word, her eyes following Chen Xueqing the whole time.
Gui Sujuan sat at the table, having seen through all of this. She sighed, looked at Li Xiaoxiao, and hesitated to speak. These days, her master had gone to Shengcheng, and she herself had also experienced some things.
“Master, there is something I can no longer hide from you. I have a former husband whose leg was broken when I entered the mountain stronghold. I was captured and taken to the stronghold. Now he has come to our door, saying he wants to take me away.”
This was quite strange to Li Xiaoxiao. This man should know about Gui Sujuan's past, so why would he come looking for her?
"So what do you think?" Li Xiaoxiao looked at her, resting her chin on her hand. Gui Sujuan was described very little in the book because she had no strength and was not favored by Wu Shiyao.
“He is lame, and I am my master’s servant, so I will not leave with him.”
Gui Sujuan had a peaceful expression and a serene smile on her face. She looked like a well-bred young lady, and she had been pampered and looked radiant during her time at the Li family's residence.
"Hu Lang said that he wanted to enter into a life-or-death contract under the master's name and stay by my side at all times, which is a bit ridiculous, so he asked the master for his opinion."
As Gui Sujuan spoke, she covered her face with a handkerchief, looking somewhat embarrassed. Li Xiaoxiao understood perfectly and immediately found it amusing. "Alright, let's leave this matter to Steward Hu."
After saying that, Gui Sujuan's face turned a rare pale pink, as if she had transformed back into a young girl, as if she were in a happy swamp, which surprised Li Xiaoxiao.
"I'd like to see your husband."
Gui Sujuan was also very happy. "My husband, my husband's name is Hu Mao. He will come by himself this afternoon. Thank you for your trouble, mistress."
Hu Mao?
Hu Mao?
When this person was mentioned, Li Xiaoxiao was stunned and jumped up from the table in surprise. It was Hu Mao.
In the original book, Hu Mao fell into the demonic path and became Qi Yu's left protector. He carried a corpse with a face full of scars for many years and never smiled. He even carved a scar on his own face. He was seven inches tall and possessed unimaginable magical power.
Later, they become immortal and indestructible, turning into zombies. They will always have two lines of bloody tears on their faces, which will also corrode their faces, leaving two deep scars.
This person is actually Gui Sujuan's husband? Could it be that the scarred corpse he was holding back then was Gui Sujuan?
This realization struck Li Xiaoxiao like a thunderbolt.
What happened next that led the two of them to such a state?
"Okay, have your husband sign it."
Li Xiaoxiao repeated excitedly, "Since Hu Mao is so strong in the later stages, there should be no problem signing him now."
Perhaps she should let Gui Sujuan tell them their story.
In the afternoon, Hu Mao indeed arrived. He was lame in both legs, sitting on an oxcart. Both legs were rotten, and his entire lower body was filthy. His upper body was also somewhat dirty, but his face was surprisingly handsome.
The later description of a swollen, red face mixed with black and purplish stripes is completely inconsistent.
Upon seeing Gui Sujuan and Li Xiaoxiao, Hu Mao tumbled off the oxcart and crawled to Li Xiaoxiao's feet, kowtowing to her with his scarred hands.
"Greetings, Master. Hu Mao is late. I originally intended to take my beloved wife away, but now I am willing to sign a death contract and swear to follow you to the death."
Seeing Hu Mao lying on the ground, half-paralyzed, Li Xiaoxiao felt a mix of emotions. It was as if Qi Yu was appearing before her again. Back then, the man had also knelt before his mother in this way, and she hadn't fully realized how much that hurt his dignity.
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