Yu Jin also wanted to go, but her younger sister hadn’t woken up yet, and their parents had gone out to work. She couldn’t bring herself to leave Yu Zhu alone at home, so she could only wait anxiously at home for any news.
When Yu Yin entered the room, she saw Fu Wenxiao sitting by the bed.
She whispered “Brother-in-law” and then came to the bedside. Seeing Yu Li’s pale face, as white as paper, she covered her mouth and began crying. Her sobs leaked out between her fingers.
Fu Wenxiao looked up at her, furrowing his brow slightly, and asked, “What happened to Li Niang at the Yu family?”
Yu Yin’s tearful eyes were blurred, and it took her a long time to respond. She wiped away her tears and hoarsely said, “Big Sister stayed up all night, and when we woke up in the morning, she had left…”
At this point, she felt extremely guilty, thinking they shouldn’t have fallen asleep last night. They should have let Big Sister return to the Fu family to rest first.
She believed Big Sister must have been exhausted.
Clearly, Big Sister looked even thinner than they did, and worked more than they did. How could her body withstand it?
Fu Wenxiao’s intuition told him that this wasn’t the case. How could someone collapse after just staying up for one night?
He asked Yu Yin to explain in detail, to tell him everything she saw, without skipping any details.
Yu Yin, still overwhelmed by Yu Li’s unconsciousness, didn’t think much about his request. She recounted everything from yesterday to this morning, occasionally adding more details.
Her account was very clear, and she was able to fill in the missing details without hesitation. She was a very attentive girl.
When Fu Wenxiao heard her mention that in the morning, when they woke up and saw Yu Li holding Yu Zhu’s hand, with an odd expression on her face, he vaguely felt that the issue might have started there.
It seemed that after everyone in the Yu family had fallen asleep, she must have done something.
Otherwise, her body wouldn’t suddenly have depleted its Yuan Qi, and her strength wouldn’t have been so drained.
But what exactly did she do? Was it related to the blood on her collar?
Fu Wenxiao couldn’t figure it out, and as he gazed at Yu Li’s pale and peaceful face on the bed, he became momentarily distracted.
This girl, “Yu Li,” was the most mysterious and unpredictable person he had encountered in his life. It felt as if fate had finally smiled upon him in his final years, bringing him an unexpected surprise so he wouldn’t die too lonely.
Her origins were mysterious, and her abilities were enigmatic, leaving him unable to make sense of them.
At first, he suspected that she wasn’t the “Yu Li” from the second branch of the Yu family in Qingshi Village, but someone else who had hidden their true identity by using “Yu Li” as a disguise.
Her vigilance, cold murderous intent, and lack of social graces all pointed to her being different from others.
But when he saw her appearance and the marks on her hands—hands that showed signs of the hard labor typical of rural people—it confirmed that she was indeed the “Yu Li” from the second branch of the Yu family.
Fu Wenxiao suddenly remembered that when he was young, Zhou Shi, his wet nurse, had told him some strange stories about the countryside—about fox spirits transforming into humans to repay kindness, or vengeful female ghosts borrowing bodies to seek revenge.
He speculated that she might be borrowing a body to be resurrected.
She was a wandering soul, he didn’t know from where, who happened to use the body of “Yu Li” from Qingshi Village to come back to life.
Her name must also be Yu Li, because when he called her name, her reaction was completely natural.
If that were the case, it would make sense why she could become the “Yu Li” of Qingshi Village. Perhaps the name itself was the key, the link between them.
–
When the sun was high in the sky, Da Zhuang finally returned with Dr. Xu from the Huichun Hall.
Dr. Xu didn’t expect that the one who was ill was the Fu family’s daughter-in-law. After examining her, his conclusion was much the same as Fu Wenxiao’s.
“This girl has exhausted too much of her strength and depleted her Yuan Qi. She should rest well and nourish her body…”
Dr. Xu was not surprised. From the moment he saw Yu Li, he knew her past life had been difficult—poor diet, lack of rest, and hard, exhausting work. It was common for her Yuan Qi to be depleted under such circumstances. As for her physical exhaustion, it was likely due to the heavy labor in the countryside.
The body has its limits. When pushed to the extreme, something is bound to happen.
Dr. Xu prescribed some herbs to replenish Yuan Qi and instructed Da Zhuang to accompany him to the county to pick up the medicine.
When Zhou Shi and Yu Yin heard this, they both sighed in relief.
“That’s great! Big Sister will be fine!” Yu Yin exhaled, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She was so relieved that she almost cried again.
She couldn’t imagine something happening to Big Sister. In their hearts, Big Sister was incredibly important. They just wanted her to live well, eat enough, and do the things she loved. As long as she was healthy, that would be the happiest thing for them…
As Dr. Xu prepared to leave, Zhou Shi remembered something and quickly said, “Dr. Xu, there’s another patient in the village. Could you please take a look?” She turned to Yu Yin and said, “Ah Yin, please take Dr. Xu to see them.”
Yu Yin nodded in agreement.
The doctor who had been brought by Feng Dalang last night wasn’t Dr. Xu from the Huichun Hall, as Dr. Xu had been in another village making rounds. Instead, Feng Dalang had found a doctor from a different pharmacy.
Upon hearing about the head injury, Dr. Xu’s expression grew serious. He didn’t say much and followed Yu Yin to the Yu family.
Da Zhuang, meanwhile, took Dr. Xu’s prescription and went to the county to fetch the medicine.
In the afternoon, Da Zhuang returned with the medicine, and Zhou Shi immediately began preparing the decoction.
Fu Yanhui and his younger sister, Fu Yansheng, sat next to Zhou Shi, their little faces full of worry.
“Grandmother, little aunt will be okay, right?” Fu Yansheng asked in a soft, childlike voice.
Zhou Shi patiently replied, “Yes, the doctor said she’s just very tired and needs to rest well. Once she’s regained her strength, she’ll be fine.”
The two siblings blinked and sighed in relief.
Fu Yansheng continued, “Then I’ll give my candy to little aunt, so she can get better.”
“And the cakes,” Fu Yanhui added. “I won’t eat cakes anymore, I’ll give them all to little aunt.”
Since Yu Li started working in the county, she would always buy many things when she came back—candies, pastries, and such—so the family never lacked treats. Moreover, Yu Li was very generous, and everyone shared. The two siblings had been living comfortably, enjoying a good life.
Now, seeing Yu Li lying on the bed, they were anxious, afraid she might fall ill like their little uncle. They wished they could stop eating and give all the food to their little aunt so that she could get better.
Zhou Shi gently patted the heads of the two children, feeling a pang of sadness.
As the saying goes, children are the best at discerning good intentions. If Yu Li weren’t truly a good person, how could they like her so much?
Originally, Yu Li was brought into the family to bring good fortune, but now Zhou Shi no longer cared about the good luck part. She just felt that with Yu Li in the family, it truly felt like home. Even Xiao Ge’er seemed to have become more energetic.
After preparing the medicine, Zhou Shi entered the room with the bowl.
Once the medicine had cooled down a bit, she carefully fed it to Yu Li.
Fu Wenxiao sat to the side, watching. Normally, others took care of him, and he had never had to take care of anyone himself, let alone a sick person. Zhou Shi, not trusting him to do it properly, insisted on doing it herself.
After feeding her the medicine, Zhou Shi went to cook, planning to prepare some plain porridge, so that as soon as Yu Li woke up, she could drink it.
The doctor said she should sleep well, and once she rested, she would wake up. However, it was uncertain when she would wake up. Worried that Yu Li might be hungry when she regained consciousness, Zhou Shi decided to have food ready at all times, making sure she wouldn’t be left hungry.
In the afternoon, Yu Jin came over.
Now that Yu Zhu was being watched by Yu Yin, she finally had the time to visit Big Sister.
Seeing her older sister lying unconscious on the bed, Yu Jin covered her mouth and began to cry, her shoulders shaking with sobs.
Fu Wenxiao sat quietly to the side, not offering any comfort.
After a long while, Yu Jin finally stopped crying and wiped the tears from her face.
“Brother-in-law, please take good care of Big Sister, along with Aunt Zhou.” She said in a low voice. She wanted to stay, but since Big Sister was married now, it was inappropriate for her to stay here.
Fu Wenxiao gave a faint acknowledgment with a simple “Hmm.”
Yu Jin glanced longingly at the person lying on the bed, then left the room.
She ran into Zhou Shi and once again asked her to take good care of Yu Li, and if anything happened, to send someone to the Yu family to find her.
Zhou Shi patted her reassuringly, “Li Niang is just too tired. She will be fine.”
However, upon hearing this, Yu Jin’s lips quivered, and she almost started crying again.
Yu Jin choked up and said, “Big Sister really is too tired. Before… and afterward, she never had time to rest. She always worked so hard and so seriously.”
Whether it was before her marriage or after, Big Sister was always a hardworking person, never lazy or resting. Her life had been so difficult, so tiring, it was heartbreaking to think about.
Zhou Shi sighed. That’s true.
In fact, there were many people in this world who lived such hard lives. Everyone was busy running after their daily existence, living just to survive, working hard for a better life, never having a moment’s peace.
By night, Yu Li still hadn’t woken up.
Zhou Shi was very worried. As she wiped down Yu Li’s body, she muttered, “I wonder when Li Niang will wake up. She barely ate anything last night and hasn’t eaten all day today. She must be terribly hungry. I need to make more buns, so when she wakes up, she can eat…”
Not just buns, but also other food that could be stored. When Yu Li woke up, it would just need to be heated.
After taking care of Yu Li, Zhou Shi turned to Fu Wenxiao and said, “Xiao Ge’er, you should rest now. If anything happens, you can call me.”
She said this but was still uneasy—one patient taking care of another… how could she feel at ease?
But there was nothing she could do. The Fu family only had two rooms for living, while the rest were the hall, kitchen, firewood room, and warehouse—there was simply no space for more. She certainly couldn’t make Fu Wenxiao sleep with the two children.
With a heavy heart, Zhou Shi left.