"Chapter 33"
Just moments earlier, inside the room.
Fu Wei had spent the previous night sleepless, caring for Yu Ying all day, now looking slightly haggard.
He glanced briefly at Fu Ning, who was sound asleep in the middle, then slowly shifted his gaze towards Yu Ying, sleeping on the inner side.
Yu Ying had fallen asleep shortly after taking her medicine.
Fu Wei's gaze rested on her face.
Her skin, usually fair and radiant, had darkened a shade due to her recent excursions into the mountains to gather herbs, yet it remained fair and moist.
He then looked at the faint “stains” on her face, now barely visible, and couldn't help but frown slightly.
Fu An and Fu Ning, still children, were not yet adept at concealing their emotions. If they noticed the disappearance of the dark spots on their aunt's face, Fu Ning might keep silent, but trouble could arise if Fu An inadvertently spoke of it.
An ordinary appearance might suffice, but...
Fu Wei’s eyes swept over her delicate features.
The conclusion was—she was not ordinary.
That morning he had reminded her that her spots had faded, and she had gone to the next room to fetch the wild berries.
But since Fu An was in the room all morning, she hadn't applied them.
However, after taking her medicine, she became drowsy and forgot.
After pondering for a moment, Fu Wei turned to grab the small wild berries from the table, squeezed out the juice onto his fingertip, and then carefully applied it over her old marks.
After finishing, just as Fu Wei wiped his hands, a loud shout suddenly erupted outside—"Officials pursuing a fugitive, stand aside!"
Fu Wei swiftly looked out the window, his eyes suddenly sharp.
Mrs. Luo and Fu An hadn't even realized what was happening before two yamen runners entered the courtyard, heading straight for the house.
Fu An exclaimed anxiously, "What do you think you’re doing?!"
The two yamen runners headed for separate rooms, and when Fu An tried to stop them, one of them roughly pushed him aside.
Pushed away with brute force, Fu An nearly stumbled and fell.
The yamen runners strode into the room and first laid eyes on a man with an ethereal demeanor, seated on the bed, his face marked by exhaustion.
After a brief pause, they realized this man was the Fu family's second son.
In an instant, they surveyed the room, including the woman sound asleep on the couch.
The elderly and young are busy outside, while the young ones lie idly on the bed.
What family tolerates such a lazy woman?
It seems the gossip at the village head was right; this new wife of the Fu family is indeed a woman of ill repute.
With hand on their swords, the yamen runners stepped forward, their faces darkened, and barked, “This is official business! Get up immediately!”
Yu Ying and Fu Ning were awakened by the earlier shout, but Yu Ying's mind was still foggy.
But now regaining her senses, she hurriedly got out of bed, and the frightened little Fu Ning also scrambled down following his aunt.
With her head bowed and eyes downcast, she hurriedly inquired, “May I know the reason for the official’s visit to our humble abode?”
The other yamen runner, hearing the commotion, entered the room as well.
These two yamen runners, mere menials in the yamen, strutted arrogantly in this place.
Chin raised, the yamen runner haughtily declared, “We suspect you of harboring a fugitive. Everyone out! We need to search the place!”
A search?
What is there to search in a room that can be seen at a glance?
Yu Ying, still ill and slow to respond, quickly grasped the situation and understood what was happening.
"The investigators that Fu Wei mentioned have arrived."
The yamen runner glared at Fu Wei on the bed, barking angrily, "You rascal, do you not take us seriously? How dare you lie in bed while officers are conducting an investigation? Get up immediately!"
Yu Ying hurriedly interjected, "Your Honor, please don't be angry. My husband here is a useless cripple, his legs are broken, and he can't even get out of bed. He's completely dependent on others for everything."
Luo Shi and Fu An entered the room, startled, not understanding why Liu Niang, their little aunt, would say such harsh words.
Yu Ying, fearing they would spoil things, frowned and scolded, "Don't you see the official has arrived? Hurry up and fetch water!"
As a former magistrate's wife and having experienced great upheavals, Luo Shi quickly understood the situation, feigning fear, and repeatedly said, "I'll go right away, An An, come quickly."
Yu Ying glared at him and angrily ordered, "Go now!"
Fu An, thinking his former little aunt had returned, shivered, his mind went blank, and his face turned deathly pale.
The yamen runner, seeing this, understood everything.
Everyone in the Fu family feared this absurd new bride.
Unable to accept the return of his little aunt's malicious nature, Fu An's tears suddenly appeared, and with a sob, he ran outside, followed closely by Luo Shi, feeling for the door frame.
Fu Wei glanced at Yu Ying, then lowered his eyes, looking like he was biting his teeth in humiliation, his neck veins bulging, hands tightly gripping the quilt.
The official arrogantly lifted his chin, "I don't care if he's a cripple, if he doesn't leave the bed soon, I'll treat him as an accomplice to a fugitive!"
Fu Wei, gritting his teeth, slowly moved from the bed, sweating profusely. Yu Ying, suppressing the urge to help, imitated her predecessor's temperament and scolded, "You cripple, even getting out of bed is so hard. What sins did I commit in my past life to marry such a useless man like you!"
Suddenly moving to the edge of the bed, Fu Wei's lowered eyes flickered, his hand slipped, and he fell towards the ground.
Yu Ying inhaled sharply, her feet moved slightly, but she still forcibly restrained herself from helping him up.
Fu Wei fell to the ground, his clothes loose and disheveled, his messy black hair covering half of his face, in a pitiful state.
Yu Ying clenched her fist inside her sleeve but still scolded, "Even falling while getting out of bed, what's the use of you being alive? Better to drown yourself and be done with it, rather than being a burden to me!"
The yamen runner looked at the malicious woman and thought to himself, having such a wife, truly is bad luck for generations.
Another yamen runner glanced at the man on the ground, quickly stepped forward, and raised his foot to stomp on Fu Wei's leg.
Fu Wei and Yu Ying tensed up, knowing that if this foot landed and hit the bamboo support, Fu Wei's leg treatment would be exposed.
Yu Ying held her breath, but the next moment, the yamen runner's foot landed just an inch above the ankle.
Yu Ying let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the bamboo wasn't bound there.
But she quickly became anxious again about Fu Wei's foot being stepped on.
"Just don't give anything away..." she thought.
The yamen runner squinted at Fu Wei and drawled, "We were escorting a prisoner to Lingnan, and he escaped on the way. Have you seen any strangers entering the village recently?"
While asking, he ground his foot down hard.
However, Fu Wei's face showed no reaction, as if he didn't feel the foot on his leg.
Yu Ying worried for Fu Wei internally but dared not show any signs.
She replied, "The escape of a prisoner is serious. However, there was a hurricane these past few days, and we didn't go out, so we saw no strangers. But our Lingshui Village has many mountains; the criminal might be hiding in them."
Seeing no reaction from Fu Wei, the yamen runner withdrew his foot, looked around, and said, "It seems the criminal isn't hiding here. Let's go."
The yamen runner, with his sword in hand, turned and walked out of the house with the other runner.
After leaving the Fu residence, one of them looked back and said, "Now we can report back to our superior. The Fu family indeed lives a miserable life, and Fu Wei's leg is truly disabled."
The other voiced his concern, "Do you think they'll guess later that we were sent by someone influential?"
The yamen runner snorted, "Even if they know, what can they do? With their current destitute state, barely able to feed themselves, what could they possibly do?"
"Besides, we didn't break in under the pretense of a search to conceal our identity. Our aim was to catch them off guard. Why should we care if they discovered our identity?"
The man thought for a moment, realizing she had a point, then cracked a smile and said, "True, let's head back and claim our reward!"
Yu Ying slightly lifted the straw curtain of the window, watching the yamen runners leave, then quickly turned to help Fu Wei, asking anxiously, "Are you alright?!"
Beads of sweat formed on Fu Wei's forehead, his face somewhat pale. Yu Ying was unsure whether his discomfort was due to falling from the bed or because the yamen runner had stepped on his foot.
As she helped him, Yu Ying noticed that Fu Wei was not looking at her, his lips tightly pressed, eyes cast downward.
With some effort, Yu Ying helped him up, while Fu Wei also pushed against the bed, straining to cooperate.
Still weak from her illness, Yu Ying was breathless by the time she managed to help him up.
After catching her breath, Yu Ying, noticing Fu Wei hadn't even glanced at her, asked softly, "Are you upset because of what I said earlier?"
Not wanting her to misunderstand, Fu Wei let out a sigh, his voice slightly hoarse, "I didn't want you to see me in this wretched state."
Being trampled underfoot without a shred of dignity, utterly powerless to resist, forced to endure the humiliation—he didn't want her to see him like that.
Yu Ying fell silent for a moment, realizing he needed more than just reassurance, and thus changed the subject, "Let's not talk about that. Today, someone came to probe us, but now we can live peacefully for a long time without being overly cautious about everything."
Thinking of this, Yu Ying felt a sense of relief. As she lowered her gaze, she caught sight of a small figure standing by the wall in the corner of her eye.
Turning her head, she saw Fu Ning standing at the foot of the bed, frozen like a statue, as if petrified with fear.
Yu Ying’s heart tightened. She quickly went over and squatted down, taking the child into her arms, gently patting her back and soothing her with a warm voice, "Don't be afraid, Ning Ning. Auntie didn’t mean to be harsh with you."
She quickly explained, "Those people just now were bad. They wanted to bully your uncle, and I was stern with you only to protect him. Don't be afraid, the bad people are gone now and won’t come back. I won’t be harsh with you anymore."
After a long moment, Fu Ning slowly came back to her senses, her small body trembling slightly.
Fu Wei looked up and saw the comforting embrace of the two, clenching his fists tightly.
If only he had the strength, he wouldn’t have let them experience fear and anxiety.
If he had the capability, why would he let them live in the shadows all this time?
In a moment of crisis, calming his emotions, he began to speak softly to console her, "Ningning, your little aunt didn't mean to say those things, don't be mad at her."
This was the first time he had comforted his niece like this, and one of the rare occasions he used her nickname.
Fuk Ning took her uncle's words to heart, feeling that her little aunt was still the kind person she knew.
In that instant, the little girl seemed to come back to life, burying herself in Yu Ying's embrace and crying with a mix of shock and fear.
Yu Ying gently stroked Fuk Ning's head, worrying about Fuk An who had run off earlier.
She wondered if he had been frightened too?
Soon after, Luo Shi returned with Fuk An.
Yu Ying looked up and saw Fuk An's red eyes staring at her, as if trying to discern who she really was.
Yu Ying lifted Fuk Ning up and said gently to him, "The people earlier were sent by your former uncle, so we had to act and not let them know we are living well."
Luo Shi seemed to have guessed as much, so there was no great surprise on her face.
Luo Shi had realized earlier that Liuniang was acting, and after some thought, she figured that Erlang and Liuniang suspected that the yamen runners were sent by the former adopted son, so she immediately played along.
But she was worried about her son and grandson, which is why she ran out to comfort her grandson.
She reassured her grandson that his little aunt had her reasons and wasn't really angry with them, planning to ask the little aunt after the yamen runners left.
She didn't go far, staying with her grandson, and only hurried back after hearing that the yamen runners had left.
Fuk An suddenly heard the name of the former uncle from his little aunt and was momentarily stunned.
He turned to look at his grandmother, then at his uncle lying silently on the bed, and finally back at his little aunt.
Fuk An was silent for a long time, his eyes still red and tears beginning to well up.
After a while, he looked at Yu Ying with a choked voice and asked, "Are you really my little aunt?"
His voice began to tremble as he continued, "Not the aunt who would hit me and my sister, but the one who would buy me sugar-coated haws?"
Seeing Fuk An like that, Yu Ying felt a complex emotion and nodded slightly, "I am."
Hearing the affirmative answer, Fuk An immediately burst into tears and ran to hug his aunt.
"Auntie, can you please not go back to being the way you were before?" Fuk An sobbed uncontrollably.
Yu Ying's heart jolted; this was the first time she had seen the usually strong Fuk An cry so pitifully.
Tears gradually filled Yu Ying's eyes too.
She set down Fuk Ning and then squatted to embrace both children, her eyes reddening and moistening along with theirs.
The three of them cried together, leaving Fuk Wei feeling extremely oppressed and desperate to change the situation.
Holding the two children, Yu Ying felt that the emptiness she had been feeling since her arrival in this era was being somewhat filled by them.
Yu Ying couldn't help but reminisce about arriving in this era all alone.
She helped the Fuk family partly because she had nowhere else to go, no place to settle down. Secondly, to foster good relations with Fuk Wei, hoping for a stable life in the future.
Lastly, she gave herself something to look forward to, a goal to keep from breaking down and to keep striving for. Initially, her goal to earn money and help the eldest son was to give herself the motivation to keep living and moving forward.
But now, she doesn't need any motivation or drive to move forward; she simply wishes to save the parents of An'an and Ningning.
To ensure their parents are both alive and well, growing up healthy and strong.
Uncle He and Aunt He, hearing that the yamen runners had gone to the Fuk's, hurried over, only to find upon arrival that they had already left.
The two children, following behind Yu Ying, had red-rimmed eyes.
Aunt He asked, "What happened here?"
Yu Ying coughed lightly and replied, "Perhaps the fierce and menacing yamen runners frightened them."
Uncle He sighed and said, "Those yamen runners, who wouldn't dare to make a peep in the county office, only bully us common folk by throwing their weight around."
Aunt He also sighed and then asked Yu Ying, "Liuniang, how is your health now?"
Yu Ying responded, "Much better, I should be fully recovered in a couple of days."
Upon hearing this, Aunt He exclaimed, "It's good to know some medical skills. Normally, people suffering from colds or fevers take at least ten days to half a month to recover. Of course, it could also be that you, Liuniang, have a strong constitution."
Saying this, she glanced around the yard and added, "Don't busy yourself today, rest well. Your Uncle He and I will help tidy up."
Yu Ying, not wanting to overexert herself, could only entrust things to Uncle He and Aunt He.
She was still recovering from her illness and didn't know the severity of Fuk Wei's fall earlier. Moreover, everyone was in low spirits. Now was not the time to discuss the herbal medicine trade with Uncle He and Aunt He, so she planned to talk about it after recovering more tomorrow.
While Uncle He and Aunt He were helping to tidy up, Fuk An managed to compose himself and took care of the vegetable garden he had been tending, while Luo Shi, unable to assist, could only sigh under the eaves.
Yu Ying, concerned about Fuk Wei's injury, decided to return to the house with Fuk Ning.
She walked over to the table, scooped up half a bowl of warm water, and carried it to the bedside, handing it to Fuk Wei.
Fuk Wei, still with downcast eyes, saw the water she offered. After a brief hesitation, he accepted it and murmured a low "Thank you."
He took a sip.
Yu Ying, sitting on a bamboo stool outside, asked, "Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"
Fuk Wei placed the water back on the table and finally looked up at her, his expression now calm: "Just a bit sore, but no serious injury."
"And your foot?"
"It's fine too, sorry for causing you concern," Fuk Wei replied, his expression still composed.
Yu Ying, not quite believing him, stood up and walked to the foot of the bed.
Knowing what she intended, Fuk Wei tried to move his leg as if to retract his foot, but he seemed too weak to do so.
Yu Ying, noticing the footprint on his trouser leg, slightly lifted it to see a dark bruise on his leg, an inch above his instep.
Yu Ying, as if realizing something, looked up at him and asked, "Did you fall on purpose?"
After a moment's thought, she added, "Did you know they would test whether your leg was truly incapacitated, so you injured yourself first to appear pale and sweaty? So that when they pressed on it again, as long as you didn’t react, they wouldn’t suspect anything, right?"
Fuk Wei was silent for a moment before finally nodding and softly admitting, "Half the reason was that, the other half was to put on a show for them, to lead them to a preconceived notion."
With this, Fuk Wei spoke in a low voice, "I didn’t misunderstand you."
Yu Ying responded, "I know."
Being a smart man, he naturally understood.
Earlier, her explanation was merely to break the deadlock.
After their conversation, both felt somewhat relieved.
By the afternoon, everyone had gradually calmed down.
Due to the events at midday, no one had managed to have lunch.
Yu Ying, feeling a bit more energetic, cooked some plain white rice porridge.
Once the porridge was ready, she served herself a bowl and added the last two eggs to the pot, making egg porridge.
She wasn't very hungry and, having just recovered from a fever, didn't think it was suitable to eat eggs, so she settled for a bowl of clear porridge.
At mealtime, Fuk An said to Yu Ying, "Auntie, the vegetable garden is fine, all the seedlings are well."
Yu Ying nodded, "That's good. In a little over half a month, we'll be able to enjoy our first batch of vegetables."
Fuk An nodded emphatically, then turned to Fuk Wei and asked quietly, "Uncle, are you alright?"
Fuk Wei replied, "I'm fine." He paused before adding, "Don't speak of today's incident to anyone."
Fuk An glanced at his aunt and agreed, "I know, I won’t tell anyone."
Fearing the return of the former uncle and the troubles he could bring, as well as the return of the previous aunt, Fuk An was now very obedient.
Fuk Wei then turned to look at Fuk Ning.
The little girl, glancing at her uncle, blinked in confusion. Although she didn't fully understand, she still nodded.
Yu Ying: ...
The little girl might want to tell others, but she might not be able to speak up.
Though Luo Shi wasn't named directly, she responded, "I understand. I won't talk about it with others."
After the storm passed, Yu Ying continued to share a room with Fuk Wei.
After all, they couldn't make Luo Shi and Fuk An go back to sleeping on the floor. Sleeping for one night or a few more, it's all the same, so they decided to keep it this way for now.
Fuk Wei, initially uncomfortable, gradually got used to the arrangement.
The small bamboo bed accommodated three people.
The trouble caused by the yamen runners was an unpleasant memory, so everyone tacitly chose to ignore it.
On the third day, rejuvenated Yu Ying got up early to look for a new medicine merchant. She carefully got out of bed, but Fuk Wei still woke up.
As Yu Ying pinned her hair up with a hairpin, seeing him trying to sit up, she glanced at the still sleeping Fuk Ning and softly hushed.
Fuk Wei, looking down at the little girl lying close to him, made his movements gentler.
Once he sat up, Yu Ying whispered, "I’ll talk to Mr. Chen about the bamboo bed today. It should be ready in three to four days."
Hearing this, Fuk Wei was slightly startled, but he kept a composed expression and simply said, "Be careful."
After fastening her hairpin, Yu Ying, while straightening her clothes, nodded and added, "We can live a bit more comfortably now. I’ll buy some extra things today; we don’t need to live so frugally."
After a moment's thought, she continued, "I plan to invite the He family for dinner tonight and discuss bringing my elder brother and his wife here. I’ll also ask if they want to join us in the medicinal herb trade."
Fuk Wei nodded lightly, responding in a low voice, "Do as you say."
As Yu Ying was about to leave, she pondered for a moment, then couldn’t help but turn back to carefully ask him, "Do you think the He family is trustworthy?"
Fuk Wei smiled faintly, "If you already have an answer in your heart, why ask me?"
Indeed, if she wasn't certain of the He family's trustworthiness, she probably wouldn't have proposed involving them.
"But I always feel you see deeper than I do, and are better at judging people, so I wanted to hear your opinion," Yu Ying said.
Fuk Wei pragmatically replied, "The He family is the most trustworthy under the current circumstances. If you need company to redeem someone from the stone quarry, they are the best choice."
Continuing, Fuk Wei added, "Whether it's going to the stone quarry or continuing to live in Lingshui Village, maintaining good relations with the He family is beneficial and has no downside."
With Fuk Wei's words, Yu Ying felt more confident in her decision.
Stepping out of the house, she saw Luo Shi and Fuk An tending the vegetable garden.
Yu Ying approached them and said, "If not for Uncle He fixing our door before the hurricane, who knows what damage could have been done inside. Plus, they helped clean up the yard yesterday, so I thought of inviting them over for a meal. What do you think, mother?"
Luo Shi responded, "You take the lead in household matters, Liuniang. I'll follow your decision."
Yu Ying, hearing this, said, "Alright, then mother, please go to the He family with Fuk An at noon and invite them over for dinner, telling them I'll be preparing a meal waiting for them. If they don’t come, the food will go to waste."
Luo Shi agreed, and Yu Ying then left the house.
Though she had planned to make Liangfen at Wu's eatery, the hurricane and the absence of Uncle Chen meant no customers, so she couldn’t deliver Liangfen in the past two days.
The weather cooled down after the hurricane, and she guessed there wouldn’t be many customers for Liangfen today, so Yu Ying didn’t prepare much.
She didn't make Lychee Ice Cream, as there were no lychees available.
She waited for Uncle Chen at the village entrance. Since there were other people in the cart, Yu Ying didn’t bring up the bamboo bed until everyone alighted at the Yun County city gate.
"What a coincidence, Mrs. Yu, you're asking the right person. The one who makes bamboo beds is actually my cousin."
Hearing this, Yu Ying probed, "Then, is there any chance of getting the bamboo bed at a lower price?"
"What, is there a different price for people from outside the village compared to those from the same village?"
Uncle Chen laughed, "Indeed, it's a bit different. Almost everyone in the village is a relative, so how could we charge them more, right?"
That made sense.
Yu Ying then asked, "How much for a bamboo bed for two people to sleep on?"
"For outsiders, it's 75 wen, but for fellow villagers, it's 60 wen. Since our villages are close, I can bring it over for you when it's ready."
Yu Ying: "Thank you so much, Uncle Chen."
Since she could save fifteen wen, Yu Ying naturally decided to go ahead with the purchase.
Initially, Yu Ying considered getting a single bamboo bed for herself, but then thought better of it, not wanting to impose too much on the He family. After all, adding two large items at once might attract unwanted attention, so she decided against it.
According to Uncle Chen, it would take three to four days to make the bed, and there might be a wait if he had other work.
Although Yu Ying didn't want to wait that long, the prospect of saving money and having it delivered was too good to pass up, so she decided it was worth the wait.
When the time came, she'd just have to be a bit thick-skinned and share the bed with Fuk Wei for a few more days, as she certainly didn't want to sleep on the floor, nor could she let the grandfather and grandson do so.
Having made up her mind, Yu Ying didn't dwell on it any longer; she had more pressing matters to attend to.
After delivering the Liangfen, Yu Ying headed to Penglai Inn.
There were several inns in Yuxian, but since Yu Ying had delivered medicine to Penglai Inn twice before, she figured she was somewhat familiar to the innkeeper and the waitstaff, which would make it easier to gather information.
"Chapter 33"
Just moments earlier, inside the room.
Fu Wei had spent the previous night sleepless, caring for Yu Ying all day, now looking slightly haggard.
He glanced briefly at Fu Ning, who was sound asleep in the middle, then slowly shifted his gaze towards Yu Ying, sleeping on the inner side.
Yu Ying had fallen asleep shortly after taking her medicine.
Fu Wei's gaze rested on her face.
Her skin, usually fair and radiant, had darkened a shade due to her recent excursions into the mountains to gather herbs, yet it remained fair and moist.
He then looked at the faint “stains” on her face, now barely visible, and couldn't help but frown slightly.
Fu An and Fu Ning, still children, were not yet adept at concealing their emotions. If they noticed the disappearance of the dark spots on their aunt's face, Fu Ning might keep silent, but trouble could arise if Fu An inadvertently spoke of it.
An ordinary appearance might suffice, but...
Fu Wei’s eyes swept over her delicate features.
The conclusion was—she was not ordinary.
That morning he had reminded her that her spots had faded, and she had gone to the next room to fetch the wild berries.
But since Fu An was in the room all morning, she hadn't applied them.
However, after taking her medicine, she became drowsy and forgot.
After pondering for a moment, Fu Wei turned to grab the small wild berries from the table, squeezed out the juice onto his fingertip, and then carefully applied it over her old marks.
After finishing, just as Fu Wei wiped his hands, a loud shout suddenly erupted outside—"Officials pursuing a fugitive, stand aside!"
Fu Wei swiftly looked out the window, his eyes suddenly sharp.
Mrs. Luo and Fu An hadn't even realized what was happening before two yamen runners entered the courtyard, heading straight for the house.
Fu An exclaimed anxiously, "What do you think you’re doing?!"
The two yamen runners headed for separate rooms, and when Fu An tried to stop them, one of them roughly pushed him aside.
Pushed away with brute force, Fu An nearly stumbled and fell.
The yamen runners strode into the room and first laid eyes on a man with an ethereal demeanor, seated on the bed, his face marked by exhaustion.
After a brief pause, they realized this man was the Fu family's second son.
In an instant, they surveyed the room, including the woman sound asleep on the couch.
The elderly and young are busy outside, while the young ones lie idly on the bed.
What family tolerates such a lazy woman?
It seems the gossip at the village head was right; this new wife of the Fu family is indeed a woman of ill repute.
With hand on their swords, the yamen runners stepped forward, their faces darkened, and barked, “This is official business! Get up immediately!”
Yu Ying and Fu Ning were awakened by the earlier shout, but Yu Ying's mind was still foggy.
But now regaining her senses, she hurriedly got out of bed, and the frightened little Fu Ning also scrambled down following his aunt.
With her head bowed and eyes downcast, she hurriedly inquired, “May I know the reason for the official’s visit to our humble abode?”
The other yamen runner, hearing the commotion, entered the room as well.
These two yamen runners, mere menials in the yamen, strutted arrogantly in this place.
Chin raised, the yamen runner haughtily declared, “We suspect you of harboring a fugitive. Everyone out! We need to search the place!”
A search?
What is there to search in a room that can be seen at a glance?
Yu Ying, still ill and slow to respond, quickly grasped the situation and understood what was happening.
"The investigators that Fu Wei mentioned have arrived."
The yamen runner glared at Fu Wei on the bed, barking angrily, "You rascal, do you not take us seriously? How dare you lie in bed while officers are conducting an investigation? Get up immediately!"
Yu Ying hurriedly interjected, "Your Honor, please don't be angry. My husband here is a useless cripple, his legs are broken, and he can't even get out of bed. He's completely dependent on others for everything."
Luo Shi and Fu An entered the room, startled, not understanding why Liu Niang, their little aunt, would say such harsh words.
Yu Ying, fearing they would spoil things, frowned and scolded, "Don't you see the official has arrived? Hurry up and fetch water!"
As a former magistrate's wife and having experienced great upheavals, Luo Shi quickly understood the situation, feigning fear, and repeatedly said, "I'll go right away, An An, come quickly."
Yu Ying glared at him and angrily ordered, "Go now!"
Fu An, thinking his former little aunt had returned, shivered, his mind went blank, and his face turned deathly pale.
The yamen runner, seeing this, understood everything.
Everyone in the Fu family feared this absurd new bride.
Unable to accept the return of his little aunt's malicious nature, Fu An's tears suddenly appeared, and with a sob, he ran outside, followed closely by Luo Shi, feeling for the door frame.
Fu Wei glanced at Yu Ying, then lowered his eyes, looking like he was biting his teeth in humiliation, his neck veins bulging, hands tightly gripping the quilt.
The official arrogantly lifted his chin, "I don't care if he's a cripple, if he doesn't leave the bed soon, I'll treat him as an accomplice to a fugitive!"
Fu Wei, gritting his teeth, slowly moved from the bed, sweating profusely. Yu Ying, suppressing the urge to help, imitated her predecessor's temperament and scolded, "You cripple, even getting out of bed is so hard. What sins did I commit in my past life to marry such a useless man like you!"
Suddenly moving to the edge of the bed, Fu Wei's lowered eyes flickered, his hand slipped, and he fell towards the ground.
Yu Ying inhaled sharply, her feet moved slightly, but she still forcibly restrained herself from helping him up.
Fu Wei fell to the ground, his clothes loose and disheveled, his messy black hair covering half of his face, in a pitiful state.
Yu Ying clenched her fist inside her sleeve but still scolded, "Even falling while getting out of bed, what's the use of you being alive? Better to drown yourself and be done with it, rather than being a burden to me!"
The yamen runner looked at the malicious woman and thought to himself, having such a wife, truly is bad luck for generations.
Another yamen runner glanced at the man on the ground, quickly stepped forward, and raised his foot to stomp on Fu Wei's leg.
Fu Wei and Yu Ying tensed up, knowing that if this foot landed and hit the bamboo support, Fu Wei's leg treatment would be exposed.
Yu Ying held her breath, but the next moment, the yamen runner's foot landed just an inch above the ankle.
Yu Ying let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the bamboo wasn't bound there.
But she quickly became anxious again about Fu Wei's foot being stepped on.
"Just don't give anything away..." she thought.
The yamen runner squinted at Fu Wei and drawled, "We were escorting a prisoner to Lingnan, and he escaped on the way. Have you seen any strangers entering the village recently?"
While asking, he ground his foot down hard.
However, Fu Wei's face showed no reaction, as if he didn't feel the foot on his leg.
Yu Ying worried for Fu Wei internally but dared not show any signs.
She replied, "The escape of a prisoner is serious. However, there was a hurricane these past few days, and we didn't go out, so we saw no strangers. But our Lingshui Village has many mountains; the criminal might be hiding in them."
Seeing no reaction from Fu Wei, the yamen runner withdrew his foot, looked around, and said, "It seems the criminal isn't hiding here. Let's go."
The yamen runner, with his sword in hand, turned and walked out of the house with the other runner.
After leaving the Fu residence, one of them looked back and said, "Now we can report back to our superior. The Fu family indeed lives a miserable life, and Fu Wei's leg is truly disabled."
The other voiced his concern, "Do you think they'll guess later that we were sent by someone influential?"
The yamen runner snorted, "Even if they know, what can they do? With their current destitute state, barely able to feed themselves, what could they possibly do?"
"Besides, we didn't break in under the pretense of a search to conceal our identity. Our aim was to catch them off guard. Why should we care if they discovered our identity?"
The man thought for a moment, realizing she had a point, then cracked a smile and said, "True, let's head back and claim our reward!"
Yu Ying slightly lifted the straw curtain of the window, watching the yamen runners leave, then quickly turned to help Fu Wei, asking anxiously, "Are you alright?!"
Beads of sweat formed on Fu Wei's forehead, his face somewhat pale. Yu Ying was unsure whether his discomfort was due to falling from the bed or because the yamen runner had stepped on his foot.
As she helped him, Yu Ying noticed that Fu Wei was not looking at her, his lips tightly pressed, eyes cast downward.
With some effort, Yu Ying helped him up, while Fu Wei also pushed against the bed, straining to cooperate.
Still weak from her illness, Yu Ying was breathless by the time she managed to help him up.
After catching her breath, Yu Ying, noticing Fu Wei hadn't even glanced at her, asked softly, "Are you upset because of what I said earlier?"
Not wanting her to misunderstand, Fu Wei let out a sigh, his voice slightly hoarse, "I didn't want you to see me in this wretched state."
Being trampled underfoot without a shred of dignity, utterly powerless to resist, forced to endure the humiliation—he didn't want her to see him like that.
Yu Ying fell silent for a moment, realizing he needed more than just reassurance, and thus changed the subject, "Let's not talk about that. Today, someone came to probe us, but now we can live peacefully for a long time without being overly cautious about everything."
Thinking of this, Yu Ying felt a sense of relief. As she lowered her gaze, she caught sight of a small figure standing by the wall in the corner of her eye.
Turning her head, she saw Fu Ning standing at the foot of the bed, frozen like a statue, as if petrified with fear.
Yu Ying’s heart tightened. She quickly went over and squatted down, taking the child into her arms, gently patting her back and soothing her with a warm voice, "Don't be afraid, Ning Ning. Auntie didn’t mean to be harsh with you."
She quickly explained, "Those people just now were bad. They wanted to bully your uncle, and I was stern with you only to protect him. Don't be afraid, the bad people are gone now and won’t come back. I won’t be harsh with you anymore."
After a long moment, Fu Ning slowly came back to her senses, her small body trembling slightly.
Fu Wei looked up and saw the comforting embrace of the two, clenching his fists tightly.
If only he had the strength, he wouldn’t have let them experience fear and anxiety.
If he had the capability, why would he let them live in the shadows all this time?
In a moment of crisis, calming his emotions, he began to speak softly to console her, "Ningning, your little aunt didn't mean to say those things, don't be mad at her."
This was the first time he had comforted his niece like this, and one of the rare occasions he used her nickname.
Fuk Ning took her uncle's words to heart, feeling that her little aunt was still the kind person she knew.
In that instant, the little girl seemed to come back to life, burying herself in Yu Ying's embrace and crying with a mix of shock and fear.
Yu Ying gently stroked Fuk Ning's head, worrying about Fuk An who had run off earlier.
She wondered if he had been frightened too?
Soon after, Luo Shi returned with Fuk An.
Yu Ying looked up and saw Fuk An's red eyes staring at her, as if trying to discern who she really was.
Yu Ying lifted Fuk Ning up and said gently to him, "The people earlier were sent by your former uncle, so we had to act and not let them know we are living well."
Luo Shi seemed to have guessed as much, so there was no great surprise on her face.
Luo Shi had realized earlier that Liuniang was acting, and after some thought, she figured that Erlang and Liuniang suspected that the yamen runners were sent by the former adopted son, so she immediately played along.
But she was worried about her son and grandson, which is why she ran out to comfort her grandson.
She reassured her grandson that his little aunt had her reasons and wasn't really angry with them, planning to ask the little aunt after the yamen runners left.
She didn't go far, staying with her grandson, and only hurried back after hearing that the yamen runners had left.
Fuk An suddenly heard the name of the former uncle from his little aunt and was momentarily stunned.
He turned to look at his grandmother, then at his uncle lying silently on the bed, and finally back at his little aunt.
Fuk An was silent for a long time, his eyes still red and tears beginning to well up.
After a while, he looked at Yu Ying with a choked voice and asked, "Are you really my little aunt?"
His voice began to tremble as he continued, "Not the aunt who would hit me and my sister, but the one who would buy me sugar-coated haws?"
Seeing Fuk An like that, Yu Ying felt a complex emotion and nodded slightly, "I am."
Hearing the affirmative answer, Fuk An immediately burst into tears and ran to hug his aunt.
"Auntie, can you please not go back to being the way you were before?" Fuk An sobbed uncontrollably.
Yu Ying's heart jolted; this was the first time she had seen the usually strong Fuk An cry so pitifully.
Tears gradually filled Yu Ying's eyes too.
She set down Fuk Ning and then squatted to embrace both children, her eyes reddening and moistening along with theirs.
The three of them cried together, leaving Fuk Wei feeling extremely oppressed and desperate to change the situation.
Holding the two children, Yu Ying felt that the emptiness she had been feeling since her arrival in this era was being somewhat filled by them.
Yu Ying couldn't help but reminisce about arriving in this era all alone.
She helped the Fuk family partly because she had nowhere else to go, no place to settle down. Secondly, to foster good relations with Fuk Wei, hoping for a stable life in the future.
Lastly, she gave herself something to look forward to, a goal to keep from breaking down and to keep striving for. Initially, her goal to earn money and help the eldest son was to give herself the motivation to keep living and moving forward.
But now, she doesn't need any motivation or drive to move forward; she simply wishes to save the parents of An'an and Ningning.
To ensure their parents are both alive and well, growing up healthy and strong.
Uncle He and Aunt He, hearing that the yamen runners had gone to the Fuk's, hurried over, only to find upon arrival that they had already left.
The two children, following behind Yu Ying, had red-rimmed eyes.
Aunt He asked, "What happened here?"
Yu Ying coughed lightly and replied, "Perhaps the fierce and menacing yamen runners frightened them."
Uncle He sighed and said, "Those yamen runners, who wouldn't dare to make a peep in the county office, only bully us common folk by throwing their weight around."
Aunt He also sighed and then asked Yu Ying, "Liuniang, how is your health now?"
Yu Ying responded, "Much better, I should be fully recovered in a couple of days."
Upon hearing this, Aunt He exclaimed, "It's good to know some medical skills. Normally, people suffering from colds or fevers take at least ten days to half a month to recover. Of course, it could also be that you, Liuniang, have a strong constitution."
Saying this, she glanced around the yard and added, "Don't busy yourself today, rest well. Your Uncle He and I will help tidy up."
Yu Ying, not wanting to overexert herself, could only entrust things to Uncle He and Aunt He.
She was still recovering from her illness and didn't know the severity of Fuk Wei's fall earlier. Moreover, everyone was in low spirits. Now was not the time to discuss the herbal medicine trade with Uncle He and Aunt He, so she planned to talk about it after recovering more tomorrow.
While Uncle He and Aunt He were helping to tidy up, Fuk An managed to compose himself and took care of the vegetable garden he had been tending, while Luo Shi, unable to assist, could only sigh under the eaves.
Yu Ying, concerned about Fuk Wei's injury, decided to return to the house with Fuk Ning.
She walked over to the table, scooped up half a bowl of warm water, and carried it to the bedside, handing it to Fuk Wei.
Fuk Wei, still with downcast eyes, saw the water she offered. After a brief hesitation, he accepted it and murmured a low "Thank you."
He took a sip.
Yu Ying, sitting on a bamboo stool outside, asked, "Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"
Fuk Wei placed the water back on the table and finally looked up at her, his expression now calm: "Just a bit sore, but no serious injury."
"And your foot?"
"It's fine too, sorry for causing you concern," Fuk Wei replied, his expression still composed.
Yu Ying, not quite believing him, stood up and walked to the foot of the bed.
Knowing what she intended, Fuk Wei tried to move his leg as if to retract his foot, but he seemed too weak to do so.
Yu Ying, noticing the footprint on his trouser leg, slightly lifted it to see a dark bruise on his leg, an inch above his instep.
Yu Ying, as if realizing something, looked up at him and asked, "Did you fall on purpose?"
After a moment's thought, she added, "Did you know they would test whether your leg was truly incapacitated, so you injured yourself first to appear pale and sweaty? So that when they pressed on it again, as long as you didn’t react, they wouldn’t suspect anything, right?"
Fuk Wei was silent for a moment before finally nodding and softly admitting, "Half the reason was that, the other half was to put on a show for them, to lead them to a preconceived notion."
With this, Fuk Wei spoke in a low voice, "I didn’t misunderstand you."
Yu Ying responded, "I know."
Being a smart man, he naturally understood.
Earlier, her explanation was merely to break the deadlock.
After their conversation, both felt somewhat relieved.
By the afternoon, everyone had gradually calmed down.
Due to the events at midday, no one had managed to have lunch.
Yu Ying, feeling a bit more energetic, cooked some plain white rice porridge.
Once the porridge was ready, she served herself a bowl and added the last two eggs to the pot, making egg porridge.
She wasn't very hungry and, having just recovered from a fever, didn't think it was suitable to eat eggs, so she settled for a bowl of clear porridge.
At mealtime, Fuk An said to Yu Ying, "Auntie, the vegetable garden is fine, all the seedlings are well."
Yu Ying nodded, "That's good. In a little over half a month, we'll be able to enjoy our first batch of vegetables."
Fuk An nodded emphatically, then turned to Fuk Wei and asked quietly, "Uncle, are you alright?"
Fuk Wei replied, "I'm fine." He paused before adding, "Don't speak of today's incident to anyone."
Fuk An glanced at his aunt and agreed, "I know, I won’t tell anyone."
Fearing the return of the former uncle and the troubles he could bring, as well as the return of the previous aunt, Fuk An was now very obedient.
Fuk Wei then turned to look at Fuk Ning.
The little girl, glancing at her uncle, blinked in confusion. Although she didn't fully understand, she still nodded.
Yu Ying: ...
The little girl might want to tell others, but she might not be able to speak up.
Though Luo Shi wasn't named directly, she responded, "I understand. I won't talk about it with others."
After the storm passed, Yu Ying continued to share a room with Fuk Wei.
After all, they couldn't make Luo Shi and Fuk An go back to sleeping on the floor. Sleeping for one night or a few more, it's all the same, so they decided to keep it this way for now.
Fuk Wei, initially uncomfortable, gradually got used to the arrangement.
The small bamboo bed accommodated three people.
The trouble caused by the yamen runners was an unpleasant memory, so everyone tacitly chose to ignore it.
On the third day, rejuvenated Yu Ying got up early to look for a new medicine merchant. She carefully got out of bed, but Fuk Wei still woke up.
As Yu Ying pinned her hair up with a hairpin, seeing him trying to sit up, she glanced at the still sleeping Fuk Ning and softly hushed.
Fuk Wei, looking down at the little girl lying close to him, made his movements gentler.
Once he sat up, Yu Ying whispered, "I’ll talk to Mr. Chen about the bamboo bed today. It should be ready in three to four days."
Hearing this, Fuk Wei was slightly startled, but he kept a composed expression and simply said, "Be careful."
After fastening her hairpin, Yu Ying, while straightening her clothes, nodded and added, "We can live a bit more comfortably now. I’ll buy some extra things today; we don’t need to live so frugally."
After a moment's thought, she continued, "I plan to invite the He family for dinner tonight and discuss bringing my elder brother and his wife here. I’ll also ask if they want to join us in the medicinal herb trade."
Fuk Wei nodded lightly, responding in a low voice, "Do as you say."
As Yu Ying was about to leave, she pondered for a moment, then couldn’t help but turn back to carefully ask him, "Do you think the He family is trustworthy?"
Fuk Wei smiled faintly, "If you already have an answer in your heart, why ask me?"
Indeed, if she wasn't certain of the He family's trustworthiness, she probably wouldn't have proposed involving them.
"But I always feel you see deeper than I do, and are better at judging people, so I wanted to hear your opinion," Yu Ying said.
Fuk Wei pragmatically replied, "The He family is the most trustworthy under the current circumstances. If you need company to redeem someone from the stone quarry, they are the best choice."
Continuing, Fuk Wei added, "Whether it's going to the stone quarry or continuing to live in Lingshui Village, maintaining good relations with the He family is beneficial and has no downside."
With Fuk Wei's words, Yu Ying felt more confident in her decision.
Stepping out of the house, she saw Luo Shi and Fuk An tending the vegetable garden.
Yu Ying approached them and said, "If not for Uncle He fixing our door before the hurricane, who knows what damage could have been done inside. Plus, they helped clean up the yard yesterday, so I thought of inviting them over for a meal. What do you think, mother?"
Luo Shi responded, "You take the lead in household matters, Liuniang. I'll follow your decision."
Yu Ying, hearing this, said, "Alright, then mother, please go to the He family with Fuk An at noon and invite them over for dinner, telling them I'll be preparing a meal waiting for them. If they don’t come, the food will go to waste."
Luo Shi agreed, and Yu Ying then left the house.
Though she had planned to make Liangfen at Wu's eatery, the hurricane and the absence of Uncle Chen meant no customers, so she couldn’t deliver Liangfen in the past two days.
The weather cooled down after the hurricane, and she guessed there wouldn’t be many customers for Liangfen today, so Yu Ying didn’t prepare much.
She didn't make Lychee Ice Cream, as there were no lychees available.
She waited for Uncle Chen at the village entrance. Since there were other people in the cart, Yu Ying didn’t bring up the bamboo bed until everyone alighted at the Yun County city gate.
"What a coincidence, Mrs. Yu, you're asking the right person. The one who makes bamboo beds is actually my cousin."
Hearing this, Yu Ying probed, "Then, is there any chance of getting the bamboo bed at a lower price?"
"What, is there a different price for people from outside the village compared to those from the same village?"
Uncle Chen laughed, "Indeed, it's a bit different. Almost everyone in the village is a relative, so how could we charge them more, right?"
That made sense.
Yu Ying then asked, "How much for a bamboo bed for two people to sleep on?"
"For outsiders, it's 75 wen, but for fellow villagers, it's 60 wen. Since our villages are close, I can bring it over for you when it's ready."
Yu Ying: "Thank you so much, Uncle Chen."
Since she could save fifteen wen, Yu Ying naturally decided to go ahead with the purchase.
Initially, Yu Ying considered getting a single bamboo bed for herself, but then thought better of it, not wanting to impose too much on the He family. After all, adding two large items at once might attract unwanted attention, so she decided against it.
According to Uncle Chen, it would take three to four days to make the bed, and there might be a wait if he had other work.
Although Yu Ying didn't want to wait that long, the prospect of saving money and having it delivered was too good to pass up, so she decided it was worth the wait.
When the time came, she'd just have to be a bit thick-skinned and share the bed with Fuk Wei for a few more days, as she certainly didn't want to sleep on the floor, nor could she let the grandfather and grandson do so.
Having made up her mind, Yu Ying didn't dwell on it any longer; she had more pressing matters to attend to.
After delivering the Liangfen, Yu Ying headed to Penglai Inn.
There were several inns in Yuxian, but since Yu Ying had delivered medicine to Penglai Inn twice before, she figured she was somewhat familiar to the innkeeper and the waitstaff, which would make it easier to gather information.
