Hong Xing was the youngest daughter of the Chang family, who lived next door to Xu Yi.
Her parents had six sons before finally having a daughter, so the entire family doted on Hong Xing, showering her with affection.
Moreover, Hong Xing had inherited the best features from her parents. Before she even reached adulthood, her reputation had spread far and wide.
The Chang couple, reluctant to part with Hong Xing, had kept her with them for two more years before officially beginning to arrange marriages for her.
However, the Chang couple had high standards and were unwilling to let their daughter suffer in a poor and harsh household. To this day, they had not found a suitable match.
Although Chai Jin was not from this village, he was familiar with his neighbors' situations because he frequently came to care for Xu Yi.
But he had never imagined that the Chang family's darling daughter would fall for him.
Chai Jin was rather slow when it came to matters of the heart. But when he saw Hong Xing at Xu Yi's place every day, and when Hong Xing took the initiative to talk to him, looking at him with admiration each time, he would have to be blind not to understand Hong Xing's feelings.
Then, he started to actively avoid her.
He was merely an orphan hunter, already old, and had spent all his savings on medicine. Now, he didn't have two taels of silver to his name.
Even the village's famously poor Xiaohua family was unwilling to marry their daughter to him, let alone a prominent family like the Changs with their many prosperous descendants.
Therefore, he never had any thoughts of trying to climb the social ladder.
But Hong Xing seemed unable to understand his rejection. No matter how cold he was, she would appear again the second time, and she was also extremely attentive to Xu Yi, not intentionally using Xu Yi to get close to him as he had imagined.
At some point, Xiaohua's image gradually disappeared from the depths of his heart, replaced by another figure.
However, considering Hong Xing's parents, he adhered to propriety and dared not overstep the boundaries.
Hearing Hong Xing's voice, he felt both joy and a pang of sadness, unsure of what to do.
Hong Xing, receiving no response, appeared slightly crestfallen. However, she quickly cheered up and began chattering animatedly to Xu Yi and Chai Jin about the interesting things that had happened to her recently.
The girl's lively and cheerful voice seemed to brighten the dim wooden house.
Just as Hong Xing was recounting the amusing story of her eldest nephew secretly giving her candy, a dusty figure suddenly burst in from outside the door and fell ungracefully to the ground.
"Ah!"
Hong Xing was startled by the figure and couldn't help but cry out in surprise.
Chai Jin, who had been chopping firewood, rushed to Hong Xing's side in three strides, blocking her firmly behind him, axe in hand, and warily eyeing the figure slumped on the ground.
"Who are you? What are you doing here? Are you fleeing famine or seeking refuge?"
The person lying on the ground extended an arm, struggled to support their upper body, and looked up at Chai Jin, their face streaked with tears. "Brother Chai, it's me, it's Xiaohua."
The axe in Chai Jin's hand immediately dropped, clattering to the ground.
And Hong Xing, who had been blushing profusely behind him, instantly lost all color.
On the bamboo chair, Xu Yi slowly opened her eyelids and looked at the drastically changed Xiaohua with a profound gaze.
...
"The Wang family are simply beasts. They married me just to learn my skills in preparing medicinal ingredients. Ever since I married into the Wang family, I've been constantly making medicine from morning till night, and I can't even eat a full meal. In just a year and a half, they've worn me down to this state."
Xiaohua knelt before Xu Yi, weeping as she recounted her experiences of the past year and a half.
She regretted it, deeply regretted it.
The Wang family was a devil's den. Everyone inside was outwardly radiant, but in reality, they were demons in human skin.
Her status in the Wang family was even lower than that of pigs and dogs, and even the maids and servants of the Wang family dared to bully her at will.
Yesterday, she had fainted from exhaustion in the pharmacy and had slept for a whole day and night without anyone caring for her. She couldn't bear it any longer and had escaped from the Wang family today while the servants weren't paying attention.
She knew that if she went home, her parents would tie her up and send her back to the Wang family, so she could only come to Xu Yi, hoping Xu Yi would save her.
Meeting Chai Jin here was a pleasant surprise.
Ever since she got married, she realized that good men like Chai Jin were hard to find even with a lantern, but she had missed him. She wondered if it was too late now.
Chai Jin looked at the emaciated Xiaohua, her hair dry and brittle like straw, and couldn't bear it. "Where is your husband? Doesn't he help you?"
Chai Jin's emotions were complex.
At the time, he had thought Xiaohua would live a leisurely and prosperous life after marrying into Magistrate Wang's family, so despite being heartbroken, he hadn't tried to stop her.
Now, it seemed the situation was completely different from what he had imagined.
"Husband? He's a wimp, useless despite his looks, a gilded reed. He doesn't dare say a word in front of his parents and only goes out to fool around. How would he care about me, his wife from a humble background?"
Xiaohua sneered, her tone sharp and sarcastic.
Chai Jin's brow furrowed. The Xiaohua before him was vastly different from the one in his memory, making him feel uncomfortable.
But he quickly thought that Xiaohua had become this way because of the abuse from the Wang family, so it was understandable.
After Xiaohua's complaints, finding no one to respond, she looked pleadingly at Xu Yi, "Grandma Xu, I really can't take it anymore. Please save me!"
As she spoke, she kept kowtowing to Xu Yi. The thudding sounds were headache-inducing.
Chai Jin wanted to stop her, but Xu Yi glared him into submission, and he could only withdraw his hand silently.
Xiaohua, her head bleeding from the kowtows, saw that Xu Yi remained silent. She stopped and gazed at Xu Yi with resentful eyes.
"Are you blaming me?" Xu Yi said.
"Xiaohua wouldn't dare."
Xiaohua lowered her head, afraid to meet Xu Yi's eyes.
"I advised you back then, and you stood here and firmly said you wouldn't regret it. These are all your own choices now."
Xu Yi, pitying Xiaohua for being sensible and obedient, taught her the art of medicine preparation, giving her the means to support herself.
Xu Yi also worried that Xiaohua would be dragged down by her family, so she often shared life lessons with her, hoping she could discern right from wrong.
But what had Xiaohua done?
Xu Yi's disappointment in her was not sudden but accumulated over years.
Over these years, she had gradually come to understand a principle.
Things cannot always go as one wishes, but one can at least be true to oneself.
She had done all she could; the rest was up to herself.
Since Xiaohua had chosen this path, she had to bear the consequences.
"Grandma Xu, I know I was wrong, I regret it! Please save me, save me!"
"Then let me ask you, when I told you not to teach your medicine preparation skills to others, did you do as I said?"
Xiaohua guiltily turned her face away, then, as if remembering something, quickly defended herself, "I didn't intend to teach them, they forced me! Really!"
Xu Yi closed her eyes in disappointment.
"You also said that Brother Chai was my good match. Do you remember that!"
Xiaohua, having some understanding of Xu Yi's temperament, knew that the possibility of Xu Yi helping was very small from Xu Yi's actions. She couldn't help but cast her pleading gaze towards Chai Jin.
"Brother Chai, I've actually always liked you. Marrying into the Wang family was also against my will. Are you willing to take me away now? Let's elope and leave this place, okay?"
Xiaohua crawled forward several steps, reaching Chai Jin, intending to grab his leg.
"Don't you dare touch Brother Chai!"
Hong Xing, who had been silent, cried out sharply, pulling Chai Jin back and avoiding Xiaohua's hands.
Xiaohua froze for a moment, then immediately recognized the identity of the person behind Chai Jin, and her eyes instantly turned fierce.
Chang Hong Xing!
It was the youngest daughter of the Chang family, whom she had been jealous of since childhood!
Why was she here?
And why did she call Chai Jin "Brother Chai"?
Xiaohua's cold eyes swept across Chai Jin and Hong Xing, making them feel uncomfortable.
Just as Chai Jin was about to say something, Xiaohua suddenly shouted hysterically, "You two are secretly involved, aren't you! When did you get together! Chang Hong Xing, how can you be so shameless!"
Chai Jin's face immediately turned ashen.