Chapter 57 [VIP]
Wang Ying looked up at the time on the screen. There were seventeen minutes left on the countdown. A chill ran down her spine. It meant that Chen Qingyan had been in the experimental field all this time, and time was almost up.
"There's no time to explain, you need to find a way to untie this rope for me!"
"Hey, hey!" Chen Qingyan quickly helped him untie the rope, but the hemp rope was tied too tightly and was still a knot that couldn't be pulled open no matter how many times he tried. Chen Qingyan was so anxious that he was covered in sweat.
"There's a sickle in the leek patch, go get it!"
Chen Qingyan rushed over, grabbed a sickle, and finally cut the ropes binding Wang Ying's hands and feet, then helped him to his feet.
Because of the blow to the head, I felt dizzy and nauseous when I got up, which should be a concussion.
Wang Ying said briefly, "I was kidnapped by Zhang Shiqiu and I don't know where I'm being held now. He wants to kill me."
Upon hearing this, Chen Qingyan's eyes widened instantly. "I'm going back right now!"
Wang Ying covered the back of her head and said, "It's too late for you to come back now. Mother and the others should have sent people to look for me. I don't know if they will be able to find me."
"What should we do!" Chen Qingyan's eyes turned red with anxiety. He clenched his fists and stomped his feet, wishing he could rush out and fight Zhang Xiucai to the death!
"Let me think of a way..." Wang Ying swallowed hard, took a deep breath to calm himself down. He could hear the sounds outside the experimental field. His sudden disappearance had terrified Zhang Shiqiu, who was wildly waving a knife in the cattle pen.
"Where are you? I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you!"
After waving his arms for three or four minutes, he sat down on the ground, panting heavily, and suddenly started sobbing again, "Father, I was wrong, I shouldn't have killed you... Why did you stop me from killing Mother..."
I finally managed to borrow money from the Lu family to report to the authorities in the county town, but she secretly hid the money and used it to support my uncle, which almost got me beaten to death! Mother, you don't care about your son, you've ruined me! Die, all of you die!" After saying that, she started wildly swinging the knife again.
Wang Ying sensed something amiss from his incoherent words: Zhang Xiucai had actually killed his own parents?
No wonder he's been pretending to be crazy!
Suddenly an idea popped into his head. He quickly took off the headband, ruffled his hair and covered his face with it, then took off his outer clothes, leaving only his white undergarments.
"I'll go over there and scare him. If I can scare him away, I'll be saved. If I can't, I'll have to fight him!"
Chen Qingyan held onto Wang Ying's hand tightly, unwilling to let go.
“Listen, if I… if something happens to me, you must not be as dejected as before, and don’t let your mother worry about you. Study hard with Master Liang and find an opportunity to make a name for yourself in the imperial examinations.”
Chen Qingyan shook his head, sobbing uncontrollably. For the first time, he hated himself for being weak, incompetent, and cowardly, causing Aying to suffer for him.
Wang Ying gave him a deep look, then turned and resolutely left the experimental field.
"Ah Ying!" Chen Qingyan grabbed his sleeve and fell to the ground. Ignoring his grief, he immediately got up. He had to get out of there right away and couldn't waste any more time in the experimental field!
On the other side, Wang Ying called out in a high-pitched voice, "Shi Qiu~"
A chilling scream suddenly echoed from the dimly lit cowshed, and a white figure appeared out of thin air like a ghost.
"Ah!!!" Zhang Shiqiu screamed in fright, grabbed the knife and rushed towards him.
Wang Ying was prepared and immediately opened the experimental field and hid inside.
Zhang Shiqiu missed his target; the cleaver sank deep into the wood of the cattle pen and couldn't be pulled out.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Wang Ying came out again, letting out a series of sinister laughs in a high-pitched voice, "Son, why did you kill your mother?"
"Mother... Mother!" Zhang Shiqiu was so frightened that he soiled himself, and the stench almost made Wang Ying vomit.
He knelt on the ground, kowtowing and admitting his mistake, "It was my fault, I shouldn't have killed you, I was wrong, I was wrong..."
Wang Ying continued, "Mother is so cold. She died without even a decent set of clothes, and she didn't have any money to cross the river. Please burn some clothes for Mother..."
If Zhang Shiqiu listened carefully, he could tell that the voice was nothing like his mother's, but he was so tense that he could no longer think.
"Mother, don't worry, I'm going right now, I'm going right now!" With that, she limped out.
Wang Ying held her breath and waited a moment until she was sure the person was far away before quietly walking out with her sickle in hand.
I don't know where I am. All around me are dilapidated houses, some of which have been washed away by the rain, leaving only bare walls.
Wang Ying dared not wander around, fearing she might accidentally bump into him again. She found a low wall and climbed over it, hiding her body with weeds. She lived in fear until dawn.
The next morning, Wang Ying heard shouts outside.
He quickly got up, and not far away, Ershun and several other people were calling his name.
"I'm here!" Wang Ying tried to reply, but found her voice hoarse and she couldn't speak.
He tried to climb over the wall, but his limbs were too weak and he could only use a sickle to cut off a strip of his clothes and wave it around.
People in the distance saw the white cloth strip and exclaimed, "Look over there!"
Chen Ershun ran over as fast as he could, and was so excited to see his lord sitting on the ground. Suddenly remembering something, he immediately dismissed the people behind him, took off his outer robe and handed it to him, "My lord, put this on quickly, let's go home!"
Wang Ying put on her clothes and was helped out of the courtyard by him. It wasn't until they got on the mule cart at the crossroads that she realized she was outside the town. No wonder she hadn't been able to find him for so long.
After a night of fear and exhaustion, he could no longer stay awake and fell asleep in the car once he was safe.
When the mule cart arrived home, the others had not yet returned, so Er Shun went to deliver a message to the others, telling them that they had been found.
Chen Qingyan ran all the way back, tripping over the threshold as he entered the courtyard. Ignoring the pain, he rushed to the backyard to check on Wang Ying. Seeing her lying safely in bed, his heart, which had been hanging in suspense all night, finally settled down. He called out with trembling lips, "A-Ying."
Wang Ying opened her eyes, looked at his haggard appearance, and reached out to touch his cheek. "Sigh, I'm here."
On his way back from the manor, Chen Qingyan thought a lot. If Wang Ying died, he wouldn't be able to live on his own.
Even if it means surviving for his mother and younger siblings, he will never remarry for the rest of his life.
Fortunately, Ah Ying is alright, and their child is safe too.
Finally, the culprit, Zhang Xiucai, was arrested at home. He was terrified by Wang Ying and ran back to his old house, where he muttered incoherently about burning clothes for his parents.
As a result, a neighbor saw him and reported it to the authorities. The constables quickly arrested him and questioned him about Wang Ying's whereabouts.
At first, he tried to play the fool and get away with it, but after being beaten dozens of times, he confessed everything. He told her that he had kidnapped Wang Ying and tied her up outside the town, and that he had even poisoned his own parents.
Killing his father and mother was truly heinous, and according to the laws of the Wu Dynasty, he should have been executed. Perhaps out of fear, he committed suicide by banging his head against the wall in his cell, and the matter was finally settled.
Although Wang Ying was not injured, Li was so frightened that she fell ill, unable to eat or sleep well, and was listless for several days.
She had only meant well by keeping her son-in-law by her side to take care of her, but unexpectedly, such a thing happened, and she felt extremely guilty.
Wang Ying knew that her heart was troubled, so she comforted her, saying, "Mother, this is not your fault. Besides, my child and I are fine. On the contrary, that scholar Zhang got his just deserts and won't come to harm us again."
"Mother knows, but every time I close my eyes at night, I dream that something happened to you..."
Wang Ying grasped her hand and said, "Why don't you take some time to go up the mountain with Third Aunt to pray to Buddha again? And pray for my child and me to be safe. Only when you are well can Qingyan and I return to the manor with peace of mind, otherwise we won't feel at ease when we go back."
"Um……"
*
After visiting the temple twice, Li's health gradually improved, and Wang Ying and Chen Qingyan returned to the village. By then, it was already the end of July.
As the dog days of summer passed and the weather grew cooler, the popsicle business gradually declined.
Because the incident caused such a stir, Wang Ying was afraid that her three children would be criticized, so she simply closed the shop for a while, which gave Lin Qiu some free time to prepare for his wedding.
Back in the village, time seemed to slow down. In her spare time, Wang Ying would go for a walk in the fields to help the villagers solve problems with their crops.
Although he didn't know much about millet, he understood the basics and the diseases and pests were all similar. He could handle most of them, and even those he couldn't handle, he would teach people how to prevent and control them.
Over time, Wang Ying's reputation grew louder and louder in the nearby villages. If anyone had a problem with their crops, they would cut a bunch of crops and go to Chenjiazhuang to find Wang Ying, who would surely cure them.
After breakfast, Wang Ying carried a bamboo basket and planned to go to the village to hire a raccoon dog.
Before leaving, Chen Qingyan ran over and asked, "Shall I go with you?"
"No need, it's not far, I'll be back in a bit."
“Then let Uncle Chen go with you.” Ever since that incident, Chen Qingyan has been worried and doesn’t feel comfortable letting him go out alone.
“That works too. I’ll have Uncle Chen help me dig up a cherry tree.” Wang Ying had been wanting a cherry tree for a long time but never had the time to dig one up. Now that she had some free time, she could dig up two and transplant them into the experimental field. If she planted them now, she could eat cherries in the winter.
The two went out and encountered many familiar people along the way, who all greeted them.
"Have you eaten, my lord? Come to my house and have a bite to eat."
"I've eaten. Uncle Yang, how's your bean field doing?"
"Last time, following your advice, I had my grandchildren catch some flower worms and lacewings and put them in the field. It really helped a lot; now we can hardly see any red worms anymore!"
"That's good." His soybean field had recently been affected by a common soybean disease called soybean red spider mite.
These adult and nymph spiders damage leaves with their piercing-sucking mouthparts, and spin webs on the back of the leaves, causing the leaves to curl, turn yellow, and eventually fall off, thus affecting the growth of bean seedlings.
Modern treatment typically involves spraying pesticides, but in ancient times, without these, the only option was the most basic biological methods.
Ladybugs and lacewings are natural enemies of spider mites; adding some can suppress spider mite infestations.
After crossing the farmland to reach the village, the cat they wanted to hire belonged to a family surnamed Zhao. They had recently met the young man from the Zhao family, who said that their cat had given birth to several kittens and asked if he wanted one.
Wang Ying hadn't originally planned to keep a cat, but recently the warehouse had been plagued by rats that were swarming into the rice bins and she couldn't get rid of them all, so she had no choice but to keep a cat.
When they arrived, Zhao's young master was already waiting and led the two to the cat house to choose kittens.
"The owner can take whichever one they like; they've all been weaned and can eat solid food."
There were four or five kittens, each about the size of an adult's palm, lying in the cat bed. They came in several different colors. Wang Ying picked out a pretty little orange kitten, because she had heard that these were the easiest to raise and had a huge appetite.
After leaving behind the betrothal gifts he had prepared in advance, Uncle Chen put the kitten into a basket and the two walked back.
There are a few wild cherry trees by the roadside on my way home.
There's a saying that cherries are delicious but the trees are hard to grow. Cherry trees belong to the order Rosales and family Rosaceae. They are deciduous small trees that are sensitive to both cold and heat, drought and waterlogging. They are very delicate and difficult to grow without modern improvement techniques.
However, he has experimental fields where he can adjust the temperature and weather at will, so he is not afraid that the crops will not survive.
After digging up the cherry tree, Wang Ying saw that no one was around, so she habitually put the sapling into the experimental field. Only after she finished did she remember Uncle Chen beside her, and he looked over nervously.
Uncle Chen was stunned for a moment, then looked up at the sky and pretended not to see anything. Having been with the two of them for so long, what didn't he know?
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