The main gate of the Hu family was open, and Wang-shi arranged the accommodations with an unfriendly tone.
Father Xu and the two brothers of Little Xu-shi squeezed into the kitchen to sleep on the floor.
She was unwilling to associate with poor relatives, so she had Mother Xu and Xu family’s daughter-in-law take the child to stay in Little Xu-shi’s room.
“There’s only Erlang’s room at home that’s empty, but inside are brush, ink, paper, and inkstone—those precious things. Except for cleaning, I rarely enter. It’s not convenient for the in-laws to live in there, can only wrong the in-laws a bit.”
The cotton-padded clothes on the Xu family members were full of patches. The child was terribly dirty, running wildly all over the Hu family courtyard, and got grabbed and cleaned up by the Xu family’s eldest daughter-in-law.
Father Xu sat on the steps, his back hunched severely.
“No, no.”
Mother Xu had resentment in her eyes.
Just because they had a scholarly son, did that make them so great!
But she didn’t dare offend, so she laughed awkwardly: “We’re all countryside mud-legs, rough and clumsy with no sense of propriety. If we dirty or break anything, what can be done then?”
“Before coming, I also told the child, the uncle from the Hu family is a future xiucai-lang [秀才郎 – a scholar who passed the county-level imperial exam], someone extremely promising.”
These words were endless flattery, and they matched Wang-shi’s mood. She proudly raised her chin, the contempt in her eyes completely unable to be hidden.
Yu Tingwan entered the courtyard at this moment. Her black hair was messy, her clothes had several slits torn open.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward her, among them a man with a dark face whose eyes lit up.
“Cousin Yu, what happened to you? Need help?”
Yu Tingwan frowned and dodged the hand he extended.
This was Xu-shi’s second brother, the most glib-tongued.
The Xu family couldn’t come up with money to get him a wife, so he went around teasing girls.
Last year, he even came to propose marriage, only to be beaten out by Hu Dazhu with a broom.
Yu Tingwan slowly lifted her eyes, a flash of disgust in them.
“Get out of the way.”
Xu Fen’s smile didn’t fade: “Hadn’t seen you since we arrived, only after asking did I know you went to pick firewood. Look how frozen you are, your hands are red from the cold, my heart aches.”
The little girl was beautiful, snow-white skin delicate as porcelain. She had grown a lot, and Xu Fen couldn’t take his eyes off her.
He knew the Hu family looked down on him. But so what?
This time, since he could move in, even if he couldn’t marry Yu Tingwan, just touching her little hand or kissing her little mouth would be satisfying enough.
But Yu Tingwan avoided him like he was a poisonous snake or scorpion.
Yu Tingwan sneered coldly. Her past life memories were fragmented, few and incomplete, so she didn’t know Xu Fen’s ending.
But someone like Xu Fen, lewd and shameless, even privately seducing widows—he would sink sooner or later.
Yu Tingwan spoke slowly: “You look kind of unlucky.”
！！！
Little Xu-shi: ！！！
Why is it this sentence again.
She already had a shadow from it!
Seeing Xu Fen still shamelessly leaning toward Yu Tingwan, she was afraid Second Brother might cause trouble again and quickly pulled him back.
“Wan-niang is probably tired too, eager to go back to the room to rest. Second Brother, whatever you want to say, say it later.”
She’d learned her lesson this time.
Yu Tingwan’s gaze swept across everyone in the courtyard one by one, finally pausing for a moment on the noisy Xu family boy, before returning to her room.
At the moment the door closed, she heard Mother Xu complaining.
“This Wan-niang’s temper is getting worse and worse, my second son is just being kind.”
Would Wang-shi believe that? But she couldn’t be bothered to expose it.
Yu Tingwan didn’t care either. As the room door shut, she dusted the snow off her body and hid the remaining six wen coins.
Only then did she go to treat her wounds.
It wasn’t serious, just the skin scraped open, with some bleeding.
These days she had been rushing about, but after all, as a woman her energy was limited. In her current state, she likely couldn’t go out anymore. The firewood would have to be saved.
The room was damp and cold, but she didn’t bear to use the firewood. Her hands were already numb from the cold. She took off her not-warm-enough padded clothes and climbed onto the bed, covering herself with the thin quilt.
But it was still cold.
She added a few clean clothes over herself, then scooped out a little ointment and evenly spread it over her hands.
A wave of soothing coolness eased the itching.
She was very tired, and her eyelids grew heavier. Just as she was about to fall asleep, fragmented memories surfaced before her eyes.
She only heard the sound of gongs and drums, firecrackers non-stop.
People passing by the Dong family in the county would all stop and watch.
A group of people gathered in one place talking.
“This Lord Dong, old in age but not in heart, his wife’s bones not even cold, and he’s already marrying another.”
“It was Matchmaker Liu who arranged the marriage, just no one knows which girl it is. The Dong family and Liu family act like thieves, their mouths tightly shut, not leaking a single word.”
“Eh, have you heard? That niece of the Hu family is missing.”
Someone asked.
“Which Hu family?”
“The younger son who studies in our county, always gets the top scores. Heard he couldn’t go home for New Year, and Teacher Chu even invited him to his house for New Year’s Eve dinner.”
Someone sighed.
“I’m from the village next door, and I heard it too. The road back from the county only reopened after the New Year. Hu Dazhu carried big and small packages back home, only to find out his niece was missing. He treasures that niece more than his own eyeballs, made a huge fuss over it.”
“Now everyone in Xilin Village is helping search, but there’s not a single clue. In private, people are saying she probably went deep into the mountains and was eaten by wild beasts.”
Someone’s eyes turned. [眼珠子一转 – literally “eyeball rolled” or “glanced sideways,” usually indicating a scheming or calculating thought]
“Not right, I feel there’s something fishy. Say, could it be a coincidence, that Dong family’s bride is actually…”
Before the words were finished, they were cut off.
“Impossible, Wang-shi wouldn’t dare.”
“If Hu Dazhu found out, wouldn’t he beat her to death?”
“Not to mention they have a scholarly son at home. If she did something like this, it wouldn’t just ruin her son’s reputation, it would cut off his entire future.”
“She wouldn’t be that muddleheaded.”
Outside, the discussion was heated like fire, but inside the Dong family’s inner residence, it was a complete mess.
The bride ran away.
Yu Tingwan had never been to the county before, everything around was unfamiliar, and she could only charge forward blindly with a single breath.
She was extremely panicked.
Helpless and fearful.
But no one came to save her.
Different from the Dong family’s red lanterns and bright decorations, the street on the other side had white silk hanging from every household.
This was the only road for General Wei Zhao’s coffin to be sent back to the capital.
The road was cleared, and under a powerful sorrow, people on both sides covered their faces and wept.
These were commoners who had followed the funeral procession from the borderlands all the way here, sending it off again and again, until the soles of their shoes were worn through.
Under heaven, all land belongs to the king.
The people may respect the emperor sitting on the dragon throne in the capital,
But in years of endless war at the borders, the only ones they saw as protectors were the Wei family army.
Their lives were exchanged by Wei Zhao, risking his life on the battlefield.
The soldiers of the Wei family army all wore mourning clothes, white belts tied at the waist. Carrying the coffin, unable to bear the grief, they marched forward numbly.
“Stop! Don’t run!”
“Advise the new madam not to anger the master! The one to suffer in the end will still be you.”
“Those from the countryside just don’t have any manners!”
Chasing after Yu Tingwan were the Dong family’s servants.
Tears welled at the corners of her eyes, and she ran with all her might toward the crowded area, not daring to stop, as if the people behind her were a flood of beasts.
Paper money spun in the air like a whirlwind. This street was plastered with mourning couplets and hung with mourning banners.
Everywhere was soaked in grief.
Until… a flash of bright red, stumbled and crashed in through despair.
“Save me.”