She looked the two of them over before saying, "Dashan has always been an honest and simple man, but he's not good with words. He's been asked to marry so many times, but the other women all think he's dull and boring, so they're not interested in the marriage. That's how things have dragged on until now..."
"Who would have thought that he would see Jing-ge'er from Liu Lizheng's family somewhere last time, and immediately fall head over heels for him. He's been so distracted for days now," Huo Xiuling said worriedly. "Your uncle and I are really worried about this."
Ye Shan was a year older than Huo Duan, exactly twenty-one years old. In this era, that was a bit late; children of similar age in Heqing Village were already old enough to run errands.
Huo Duan listened in, "That's great! Since Brother Dashan likes her, he should pick a good day to propose. We can also have a wedding feast together."
“Sigh,” Huo Xiuling sighed, her eyebrows furrowed like a pretzel. “If it were that simple, your uncle and I wouldn’t have to worry.”
Liu Jingyu and Gu Fengyan had met... They were beautiful and spoke gently, a perfect match for Ye Shan, but they had a slight deficiency.
I guess his aunt was also thinking about this.
"Is Aunt worried that Jing-ge'er can't withstand the strain?" he asked after thinking for a moment.
Huo Xiuling looked at him and nodded, saying, "I like Jing-ge very much too. The illness is a minor matter. Since Dashan likes him, he can take good care of him after he marries into the family. However, Liu, the village head, is a prominent figure in the village, and he only has Jing-ge as his precious son. How can he give him to Dashan?"
Gu Fengyan then understood; the reason was that he was afraid the Liu family would not agree to the marriage.
"Does Jing-ge like Da-shan-ge?" he asked again.
Huo Xiuling nodded. "Although I can't be sure, last time Dashan and I passed by the village head's house on our way to the county... The weather was nice that day, and Jing-ge was in the yard, just blushing and peeking at Dashan. I suppose he did it on purpose."
Gu Fengyan smiled and said, "I see. Since Brother Dashan and Brother Jing are interested in each other, it makes things easier."
Huo Xiuling was taken aback by his words. "Does Brother Yan have any ideas?"
"Aunt, have some fruit..." Gu Fengyan handed the fruit from Huo Duan to Huo Xiuling. "Don't worry about Brother Dashan's matter. Huo Duan and I will definitely take care of it for you."
Gu Fengyan's words were inexplicably reassuring. Huo Xiuling took the fruit plate and said, "Sigh, I want to help with this, but I'm powerless to do so. Let's just leave it to fate."
Gu Fengyan smiled but didn't say anything. He handed a melon to Huo Duan and picked out a crabapple for himself.
"Alright, I'll take the fruit to Rui-ge'er." People in Heqing usually just look at the fruit; no one actually buys it. Huo Xiuling was reluctant to eat it herself, but seeing that the two of them had taken it, she took it out and asked Jiang Xuerui to try it too.
The freshly picked crabapples from the tree tasted sweet. Gu Fengyan took a bite and leaned over to ask Huo Duan for some melon, "Is it sweet?"
Her eyes were wet.
Huo Duan took a bite out of the melon in his hand, and then offered the intact end to Gu Fengyan's lips, saying, "Why don't you take it yourself?"
Gu Fengyan smiled, turned her head and tasted the bite mark, "So sweet."
The pale juice of the melon lingered on his rosy lips, glistening with moisture.
"Cough cough... I bit him." Huo Duan's ears turned bright red, and she didn't dare to look at him.
As if on purpose, Gu Fengyan licked the melon juice off his lips with the tip of his tongue. "You think I dislike this?"
Huo Duan's face turned even redder, and he held the melon, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
This person definitely did it on purpose!
Previously, Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan had both come into contact with the Heartbreak Grass, and large patches of rashes appeared on their arms. They got some medicine when they went to the county, and now they're brewing it and adding it to their bathwater tonight.
The weather was fine. Huo Xiuling and Jiang Xuerui were collecting medicinal herbs, keeping accounts, and making payments. Gu Fengyan brewed them a pot of perilla water and served them a fruit platter.
He tidied up the earthen stove by the courtyard wall and started brewing herbs for the medicinal bath.
Huo Duan was sorting through the medicinal herbs he had collected.
Huo Xiuling turned her head and was startled to see the dense red rashes on Huo Duan's arm. "My God, what's going on on Erdan's arm? Did he eat something that triggered this?"
When she asked, Gu Fengyan and Huo Duancai realized that they hadn't asked Huo Xiuling who had sent the honeysuckle.
"I was bitten by an insect last night. The county prescribed medicine, and Yan Ge'er is brewing it right now. Soaking it in water once will make it nothing serious, so don't worry, Aunt." Huo Duan brushed it off calmly.
If we let them know now that the poison almost cost them their lives, it will only cause them guilt. Besides, the person who did this has some connection with Rui Ge'er. If we say that, how will he save face?
It would be better to ask first.
"Alright, be careful in the future. There are the most bugs in the summer. Ruige'er's floral water works really well. Don't mind the smell, apply some before bed." Huo Xiuling instructed.
Huo Duan simply agreed.
“By the way, Aunt,” Gu Fengyan continued, “I noticed several sacks of honeysuckle in the main room. Who sent them?”
Huo Xiuling didn't think much of it and replied, "I did receive some honeysuckle the other day. I thought it was quite nice, so I accepted it. I can't remember who sent it to me."
She looked at Jiang Xuerui again, "Does Rui-ge'er still remember you?"
Jiang Xuerui frowned and thought for a while, then nodded and said, "Hmm, I remember it was delivered by Sister Xue and the Lin family from across the river. They said they picked it from the back mountain, and they only got a little bit. I don't know if they'll accept it."
Gu Fengyan listened and nodded, while Huo Duan seemed lost in thought, and neither of them responded.
They had previously guessed that Yu was probably behind this, but it turned out that the two people Rui Ge'er mentioned didn't seem to be familiar with Yu.
Huo Xiuling noticed something was wrong, put down her work, and asked, "What's wrong... Could there be something wrong with those honeysuckle flowers?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuerui also became serious and looked at the two of them, waiting for their reply.
After thinking it over, Huo Duan felt it was better to let them know, as it was a matter of life and death, and it would also make them more cautious when purchasing medicinal herbs in the future.
He looked at Gu Fengyan and nodded.
Gu Fengyan wiped his hands, took out a bag of honeysuckle from the main room and poured it on the ground. "This morning, Huo Duan and I were going to pack up these bags of flowers as well, but we accidentally discovered that there was something else mixed in with the honeysuckle. This thing is poisonous. Since this is a serious matter, we thought we would ask our aunt first."
Huo Xiuling and Jiang Xuerui were both knowledgeable about medicinal herbs, and they immediately noticed that the honeysuckle was mixed with many heart-breaking grass flowers.
This is highly poisonous; ingestion can be fatal!
The two men immediately turned ashen-faced.
A note from the author:
I posted two chapters today! I'm so proud of myself! (Hands on hips)
Summer is so hot! Everyone, please remember to protect yourselves from the sun, take care of your health, and beware of mosquito bites and heatstroke. (Tilting head and rubbing against something)
Chapter Thirty-Four
Huo Xiuling was both shocked and angry. "How could this be! Who could be so heartless!"
Huo Duan sighed, "It's all thanks to Yan Ge'er's keen observation that he discovered it; otherwise, if this medicine had been sent to the county along with other medicines, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
"It's my fault. I thought we were all from the same village and knew each other well, so I didn't think of that..." Huo Xiuling felt extremely guilty. "Aunt apologizes to you."
Gu Fengyan comforted Huo Xiuling, "Aunt, don't worry, there's always a way to salvage the situation..."
He paused, his brows furrowing as he pondered, "Rui-ge'er said these words were sent by Sister Xue and the Lin family from across the river... But they don't seem like the kind of people who would do such a thing."
Of the dozens of households in Heqing Village, most had spoken a few words to Huo Xiuling. Leaving aside the Lin family's daughter-in-law, Xue Dajia's husband often embroidered and dug wild vegetables with Huo Xiuling.
She thought for a moment, "Yan-ge'er is right. I don't think his sister-in-law Xue is the kind of person who would do such a dirty thing."
Everyone remained silent.
At this moment, Jiang Xuerui spoke up with a pale face, "It was my sister-in-law who did it."
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan exchanged a glance. Before they could speak, Huo Xiuling hurriedly pulled Jiang Xuerui away, exclaiming, "Brother Rui, you can't say that! If your sister-in-law finds out, she'll make a scene again."
“It’s true.” Jiang Xuerui shook her head, lowering her eyes. “Yesterday when I came, I saw Sister-in-law Lin coming down from the mountain… and my sister-in-law too. They were chatting and laughing. Then, when Sister-in-law Lin wasn’t looking, my sister-in-law switched the things in her wicker basket with Sister-in-law Lin…”
“My sister-in-law has always been the kind of person who likes to take advantage of small things, so I didn’t care… I never expected her to do something like this.” Jiang Xuerui was full of shame and didn’t dare to look at the Huo family. “It was my negligence. I’ll go and call Azhuo, my brother, and my sister-in-law right away, and the whole family will come to apologize!”
After he finished speaking, he ran out of the yard in a panic.
Gu Fengyan quickly grabbed him, "Rui-ge'er, let me say something."
Jiang Xuerui felt so guilty she almost cried, but she still managed to stand firm.
"Don't go to your sister-in-law yet. Huo Duan and I guessed this a long time ago." Gu Fengyan pulled him and said, "Your sister-in-law is a formidable person. We don't have any substantial evidence. If we rashly accuse her like this, we might end up shooting ourselves in the foot."
“We know what kind of people you and Brother Shen are. You shouldn’t have to take the blame for the mess your sister-in-law made… Just leave it to us.” He comforted Jiang Xuerui.
After all, Madam Yu was his and Shen Zhuo's sister-in-law, and Jiang Xuerui felt even more ashamed. She kept apologizing to Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan... until someone came to the courtyard to buy medicinal herbs, and then the group got busy.
While packing the medicinal herbs, Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan discussed how to catch Yu Shi in the act.
"Let's keep quiet for now. She'll definitely be curious. If she can do this once, she can do it again. Let's just keep an eye on her," Gu Fengyan said.
Huo Duan thought for a moment, "It would be best to give her an opportunity when none of us are around."
Gu Fengyan thought it made sense. "We're going to Brother Xue's house this afternoon to get some medicinal herbs, right? No one will be home then, so Madam Yu won't miss this opportunity."
“This tactic is called ‘luring the enemy into a trap’…” he said to Huo Duan with a smile.
After much discussion, they finally finalized their plan, waiting to lure Yu into their trap that afternoon.
After helping out, Huo Xiuling and Jiang Xuerui packed up and headed home. Before leaving, Jiang Xuerui felt ashamed of Yu's behavior and didn't even ask for her wages.
Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan had no choice but to keep the money for now and find some excuse to return it after this matter was over.
As evening approached, Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan went to the Xue family to retrieve the medicinal herbs. Huo's father had gone to help Ye Bixian and his wife look after the house and wouldn't be back that night.
The gate was wide open, and the empty courtyard was filled with drying medicinal herbs, like a hunter's trap, waiting for someone to jump in...
Yu has been living in constant fear these past few days.
In the yard, they were shelling broad beans. The second son, with snot running down his face, clung to her arm and shook it back and forth, "Mother, Mother, let's eat..."
The eldest son is already seven or eight years old. He should be in school, but he's playing in the mud under the jujube tree, his hands and face covered in mud like a cat's.
"Eat, eat, eat! All you ever do is open your mouth and ask for food! Go ask your good-for-nothing father for some!" Madam Yu shoved his hand away and snapped.
The second son, with snot hanging from his nose, burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.
Shen Dingshan was sitting in the courtyard smoking his pipe when he saw his second son crying. He quickly pulled him over to comfort him and then scolded Yu Shi, "He's so young, what can he do? If he's hungry, he's hungry. Just give him something to eat. Why did you have to yell at him... What kind of mother are you?"
Yu was furious and slammed a handful of beans into the basket. "Of course he's useless! They say like begets like, and a rat's son knows how to dig a hole. I think that's absolutely true. His father is a good-for-nothing coward. What good can he do?"
This anger then turned to Shen Dingshan. He frowned and tapped his pipe on a stone. "What's wrong with you now? I go out to take care of the fields by myself, and when I come home I have to put up with your temper. Don't you see how considerate other women are..."
Madam Yu immediately flew into a rage, stood up abruptly, put her hands on her hips, and began to berate, "Other women? I haven't even told you to go and see other men, and you're telling me to go and see other women?! Shen Dingshan, you have quite the nerve!"
"Our eldest son will be going to school this spring, and our second son doesn't even have a decent piece of clothing. We're dirt poor, and what do you do? You come home and give your wife and children a hard time!" Madam Yu was furious. Pointing at Shen Dingshan, she demanded, "How could I have married such a good-for-nothing?!"
The second son in the courtyard was panting heavily with snot hanging from his nose, while the eldest son, frightened by Yu Shi, also started to cry at the top of his lungs.
The courtyard was bustling with activity.
After many years of marriage, Shen Dingshan had tolerated the frequent arguments, but now he finally couldn't hold back any longer.
"Why are you saying all this! Are you kidding me, the child is crying like this?!" he roared, his face stern. "How could I have married such a crazy woman like you!"