Although the wooden house was simple, it had bedding and other necessities. With the charcoal brazier lit, Yang Xu, leaning against the bed after recovering, didn't feel cold.
"Young Master Xu, drink the ginger soup first to expel the cold," He Nuan handed him a porcelain bowl emitting a strong ginger aroma. Worried that Yang Xu might have been poisoned with the rouge fruit, He Nuan had the old woman prepare the ginger tea and checked it for any issues before bringing it into the room.
Zhan Feiyu looked sympathetically at Yang Xu, who gulped down the spicy ginger tea in a few mouthfuls. "Would you like some dried plums to cleanse your palate?"
"I'm fine." Yang Xu quickly refused, thinking he wasn't a delicate young girl. Recalling the danger of falling into the water today, he couldn't help but say to Zhan Feiyu, "Many thanks to Brother He today."
If He Sheng hadn't been so fast, even though Yang Xu had practiced martial arts for years, prolonged exposure to the icy water would have been too much for his body to bear.
"It's nothing. Even if Ah Sheng hadn't acted, the people secretly protecting you would have intervened." Zhan Feiyu knew that Yang family's former subordinates were hidden nearby. It was just that falling into the water was an accident, catching them off guard. If there had been an ambush, Yang family's former subordinates would have immediately appeared.
He Nuan placed the empty bowl on the table and took Yang Xu's pulse. "Young Master Xu is fine. A bit of medicine to expel the cold after we return will suffice."
Zhan Feiyu nodded, her round eyes blinking as she stared at Yang Xu, making him feel an inexplicable unease.
"Little Yu, I'll be more careful next time." With a strong survival instinct, Yang Xu immediately promised. Thinking about how Miss Fu had pulled him down and they had rolled into the water, Yang Xu's dark face showed embarrassment.
Especially since He Nuan had left, but Yin Wuyan was still here. His sharp and powerful aura ignited Yang Xu's competitive spirit, even though to outsiders he was just a child who hadn't fully grown.
"A life-saving debt is repaid with one's person." Zhan Feiyu's cool, small voice rang out. Seeing Yang Xu's stiff expression, she added another blow, "I heard Ah Nuan say that you hugged Miss Fu after falling into the water."
"I was saving her!" Startled by Zhan Feiyu's words, Yang Xu's voice rose in an urgent explanation. "I was afraid she would sink to the bottom, so I held onto her."
At the moment of falling into the water, Yang Xu was also stunned, after all, he was only an eight-year-old child. Fortunately, after years of practicing martial arts, Yang Xu had reacted after his face was splashed by the icy water.
Seeing Miss Fu bubbling and sinking into the water, Yang Xu quickly reached out to grab her. However, his cotton coat became heavy when wet, and Miss Fu was like an iron weight pulling him down.
Yang Xu couldn't hold on and had to hug her. Fortunately, He Sheng arrived in time, lifting them both out of the water with one hand each. Otherwise, Yang Xu would have been dragged to the bottom of the water by Miss Fu.
Yin Wuyan, standing by the window, finally turned to look at Yang Xu. His narrow phoenix eyes remained indifferent, but Yang Xu saw mockery and disdain in them.
Before Zhan Feiyu could speak, a commotion suddenly erupted outside, followed by a girl's sharp cry, "Miss..."
Yang Xu flinched, staring blankly at Zhan Feiyu, and after a long while, he managed to find his voice, "What happened?"
The cries were a chaotic jumble, and it was difficult to hear clearly through the wooden house.
"Likely her reputation was ruined, so Miss Fu tried to kill herself, but the maid discovered her and she didn't die." With each word Zhan Feiyu spoke, Yang Xu's face became more rigid. By the time she finished, Yang Xu was completely petrified.
Let alone Yang Xu being only eight years old, even if he were eighteen, being forced into marriage would be understandable.
The crying subsided slightly. Yang Xu's eyes were vacant. "I was saving her, and I was wearing so many clothes."
It would have been one thing if it were summer. But in the cold winter, even though Mei Valley wasn't cold, they were all wearing thick cotton clothes. Although Yang Xu had hugged Miss Fu, He Sheng was fast. It hadn't even been half the time it takes for a cup of tea to brew. Could this be considered a ruined reputation?
Before Zhan Feiyu could answer, footsteps were heard outside the wooden house. The door suddenly creaked open, and a figure rushed in, kneeling by the bed with a thud.
"Young Master Xu, this servant begs you to be merciful and save my young lady..." The maid cried mournfully, then kowtowed repeatedly. Even though the floor was covered with wooden planks, the dull thuds of her head hitting the ground caused her forehead to instantly break out and swell.
Yang Xu, leaning against the bed, was stunned again. He looked helplessly at the kowtowing maid, then turned to Zhan Feiyu in the room for help. Yang Xu had no idea how to handle this sudden situation.
"Young Master Xu, this servant begs you. My young lady almost hanged herself just now." Seeing Yang Xu not responding, the maid cried even harder. "This is forcing my young lady to death! She's only eleven years old..."
"Little Yu, what are you doing? Who allowed you to disturb Young Master Xu!" An angry scolding voice sounded from outside the door. Miss Fu couldn't compare to Yang Xu, and her voice was weak, lacking strength.
"Miss, your life is almost gone, this servant had no choice," the maid Xiao Yu, kneeling on the ground, cried helplessly.
Miss Fu hurried into the room. Her skin was already fair, and after falling into the water, her face was now pale and bloodless, her lips tinged with a bluish-purple hue.
The young girl was only eleven years old. She was too anxious and hadn't even put on her cotton coat, wearing only a plain white single garment. Her half-wet hair hung loosely, making her appear even thinner and more haggard.
"Young Master Xu, it's all my fault for poor discipline, causing trouble for Young Master Xu." Miss Fu, no longer cheerful and festive, offered Yang Xu a bitter smile and an apology.
However, when she inadvertently looked up, the marks on her neck from being strangled by a cloth appeared, already red and swollen. If she hadn't been discovered in time, she probably would have really hanged herself with a piece of cloth.
Yang Xu was stunned. Although he was three years younger than Miss Fu, his height was very similar to the Yang family. At eight years old, his height was comparable to a child of eleven or twelve. In comparison, Miss Fu, wearing a single garment, looked even younger and more delicate.
Zhou Shuyao, Miss Feng, and a few other girls followed into the room. Qiu Jinyu and a few young men stood outside the door, but they could clearly hear everything in the room.
"Boys and girls of seven years old do not sit together. Sister Fu is almost of marriageable age. If this gets out, it will indeed harm her reputation," one of the sympathetic girls whispered, her tone laced with a hint of sadness.
It was difficult for women. Once their reputation was ruined, they could not expect a good marriage and could only marry a widower or those old bachelors who couldn't find a wife.
Fortunately, the Fu family were merchants. If they were a scholarly family with strict rules, Miss Fu's situation would mean either a lifetime of solitude or being "sickly" by the family. Otherwise, a ruined reputation would eventually implicate all the unmarried girls in the family, and even married aunts, cousins, and second cousins would be affected.
Zhou Shuyao, who already disliked Miss Fu, spoke impatiently, "Ultimately, she couldn't stand firm herself and dragged Little Xu into the water. Did Little Xu save her incorrectly?"
After speaking, Zhou Shuyao glared warningly at the tearful Miss Fu, suspecting that this wretched girl had used some trick.
However, under everyone's gaze, Zhou Shuyao couldn't be too aggressive. Otherwise, outsiders would think that she, Zhou Shuyao, was not only bullying others with her status but also cold and heartless, trying to force a drowned girl to death.
"It's my fault, and it has nothing to do with Young Master Xu." Miss Fu forced a smile and looked at the maid still kneeling on the ground, saying sternly, "Xiao Yu, why aren't you getting up? If you continue to be so rude, I'll sell you when we get back. My Fu family has no such ungrateful servants like you!"
"We won't spread this matter. Sister Fu, you are still young, and in a few years, no one will mention this again." Miss Feng spoke gently and looked at Xiao Yu. "Hurry and help your young lady back to her room to rest, don't catch a cold."
Miss Fu was only eleven years old. After reaching adulthood, she would get married in at least four or five years. Moreover, Yang Xu was even younger. Miss Feng's words were reasonable.
Yang Xu's attitude and Zhou Shuyao's attitude were clear. Therefore, as soon as Miss Feng spoke, the remaining girls followed suit with comfort, half-supporting and half-enticing Miss Fu to leave.
Who would offend the Yang family for a merchant's daughter? Besides, why should a lowly merchant's daughter marry into the Yang family? They just didn't expect the Fu surname to be so desperate. How old was Young Master Xu, and she dared to stage such a scene as falling into the water.
The room finally quieted down. Yang Xu looked at the traces of blood left by the maid's kowtowing on the ground and asked uncertainly, "Little Yu, she won't try to kill herself again, will she?"
Zhan Feiyu grinned, making Yang Xu tremble with fright.
"Little Xu, haven't you considered that Miss Fu might have deliberately fallen into the water?" Zhan Feiyu asked meaningfully. The situation at the time might have been an accident, or it might have been intentional.
"Just to latch onto me?" Yang Xu tried hard to recall the situation at the time. Miss Fu seemed to have slipped her foot, and he just happened to be standing next to her, so she grabbed his arm and dragged him down with her.
But thinking about the Yang family's impending restoration, his uncle whom he had never met, and his carelessness in rushing from Linzhou Prefecture to Xiangwu County, bringing a cartload of heavy gifts, Yang Xu was no longer sure if Miss Fu's actions were intentional.
"One must guard against others, but since things have already happened, Miss Fu, who could try to kill herself once, can try again." Zhan Feiyu estimated that there was a ninety percent chance that Miss Fu had intentionally plotted against Yang Xu. Even if she couldn't become the main wife, even a concubine would be a high攀 for the Fu family.
Moreover, Yang Xu was young, and Miss Fu was cunning and calculating. Even if the start was not good, with "childhood sweethearts" and growing up together for ten years, and then having a child first, would she still need to worry about not being able to establish herself in the Yang family?
Yang Xu's relieved heart was once again in suspense. He was agitated like a small tiger trapped in a cage, completely unsure of what to do.
However, to suddenly be betrothed to a girl he had just met, Yang Xu was unwilling and had never thought of it. But thinking of the marks on Miss Fu's neck, Yang Xu, like a trapped beast, wilted.
"If this was just an accident, Miss Fu wouldn't try to kill herself to force you." Zhan Feiyu looked sympathetically at Yang Xu. Fortunately, this was in Mei Valley. If they had returned to Qiu Mansion, Old Mr. Qiu would probably have scolded Yang Xu so much that he would wish he could roll back into the water and drown himself.
"What if she tries to kill herself again?" Yang Xu asked sullenly. Could he just watch her hang herself?
But if this was the other party's scheme, and he had to step into it, Yang Xu became even more agitated. Why didn't he stay with Grandpa Qiu to study and practice calligraphy? Why did he come to Mei Valley!
Yin Wuyan looked down at the indecisive Yang Xu and said coldly and heartlessly, "Then let her die."
Uh... Yang Xu was stunned. But looking at Yin Wuyan's cold and expressionless face, he understood that he was not joking. This person's blood was cold to the bone, otherwise, how could he say such cruel and heartless words?
Big Brother is indeed simple and rough! It's likely that no woman would dare to force Big Brother with such means.
Zhan Feiyu looked at the shocked Yang Xu. Big Brother's words were too cruel. "Little Xu, if Miss Fu threatens you with death, as long as you don't soften your heart, she won't really die. Life is more important than glory and wealth."
The more ambitious a person is, the less likely they are to die easily.
"What if?" Yang Xu was still worried. If someone really died, he would have a lifetime of guilt.
Yin Wuyan placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her from speaking, looking disdainfully at the hesitant Yang Xu. "If you're afraid of accidents, then get engaged. Little Yu, it's time to eat."
Without giving Zhan Feiyu a chance to speak again, Yin Wuyan forcefully and dominantly led her away.
Zhan Feiyu didn't intend to stay either. The incident had already happened, and it was useless for Yang Xu to be so conflicted. He needed to make a decision. Zhan Feiyu planned to ask Yang Xu again after dinner.
He Nuan was preparing lunch. With the incident involving Miss Fu, everyone else had lost their appetite and was taking a nap indoors.
In another wooden house, a maid peeked furtively before hurrying back into the room to report, "Miss, Miss Zhan has already left."
Zhou Shuyao put down her teacup and stood up. "You continue to keep an eye on that Fu surname. Have the old women prepare lunch, and I'll go see Yang Xu."
Knowing Zhan Feiyu's identity, Zhou Shuyao, even though she disliked her, did not confront her directly. Her attitude became more respectful, and her words showed a hint of flattery.
It was the same with Yang Xu. Zhou Shuyao was somewhat arrogant, but after years of upbringing by the Zhou family, she knew who she couldn't offend. Naturally, she didn't want to miss the opportunity to win over Yang Xu.
In the room, except for the occasional crackling sound of the burning charcoal, Yang Xu had been leaning against the bed, lost in thought, since Zhan Feiyu left, completely unsure of what to do.
When footsteps were heard outside the door, Yang Xu's eyes lit up, and he looked expectantly towards the door. However, when he saw that it was Zhou Shuyao pushing the door open and not Zhan Feiyu, a palpable disappointment appeared on his dark face.
"Little Xu, are you alright? I've already sent people to guard Miss Fu, and she won't try to kill herself again." Zhou Shuyao made a good impression first.
Yang Xu felt a headache just thinking about Miss Fu. Hearing Zhou Shuyao's words, he couldn't help but say gratefully, "Thank you."
Closing the door behind her, Zhou Shuyao sat down on a round stool by the bed and, after careful consideration, spoke again. "Little Xu, today's incident might have been an accident, or it might have been Miss Fu's scheme."
"Her attempt to kill herself might also be to force marriage with you. The Yang family has not yet been restored. If a murder case occurs at this time, it might cause further complications." In Zhou Shuyao's opinion, this was the reason for the Fu surname's confidence. The Yang family, for the sake of stability, would probably also arrange for Yang Xu to get engaged.