Su Xiaoqi stepped forward to check on Zhao Xiaozhu's condition.
Fortunately, she had only swallowed water and was still alive.
Su Xiaoqi immediately got to work, clearing the mud and sand from her mouth, pressing her chest and abdomen, and administering artificial respiration.
Zhao Xiaozhu coughed up a mouthful of river water and slowly regained consciousness.
However, upon seeing that all eyes were on her in the public square, she let out a sob, covered her face, and struggled to jump back into the river.
Su Xiaoqi grabbed her.
Zhao Xiaozhu cried her eyes out, kicking her feet.
Su Xiaoqi simply gave her a homemade medicinal pill.
Her head lolled to the side, and she slumped onto Su Xiaoqi's shoulder, losing consciousness.
During this time, Shen Yun had been assisting nearby and happened to witness Su Xiaoqi's practiced rescue maneuvers.
He secretly thought to himself, "So the person who saved me back then was really her."
He still remembered the softness of those lips.
Seeing the man beside her staring at her without blinking, Su Xiaoqi glared at him.
"Hey, hurry up and help take her home." Her medicinal pill wouldn't last long.
Shen Yun blinked, then stood up and carried Zhao Xiaozhu on his back.
Su Xiaoqi, meanwhile, thanked the dark and thin man who had rescued Zhao Xiaozhu.
The dark and thin man waved his hand, pointed to his throat, and left alone, leaving behind wet footprints.
"Who is he? Can't he speak?" Su Xiaoqi asked Shen Yun quietly on the road.
He nodded and said his name was Zhao Ye, that he was not only mute but also an orphan.
He had grown up in the village eating meals from many households and now worked odd jobs at the county dock.
Su Xiaoqi looked back at his retreating figure and gave him a thumbs-up, saying that despite his poor background, he had a kind heart.
But those who had gathered on the bank to watch the spectacle, even though they were physically healthy, their hearts were flawed.
This was a novel perspective, and Shen Yun looked at her in astonishment.
Her words held meaning; ever since he could remember, the people of Zhao Village had been like this.
Each person swept the snow from their own doorstep, indifferent to the frost on others' roofs.
This was their attitude towards outsiders, not their own kin. Su Xiaoqi could understand that.
After all, people had to differentiate between close and distant relations.
But what she hadn't expected was that after she and Shen Yun had escorted Zhao Xiaozhu back to her maternal uncle's house in the Zhao family, they were blocked at the door by Zhao Xiaozhu's own mother, Madam Qian, who refused to let them bring her in.
"You brainless fool, damn you! Bringing back such a useless girl like this." Madam Qian stood with her hands on her hips, cursing.
Her words implied that Zhao Xiaozhu's life was ruined because of what had happened to her.
She was now tainted with illness and would be unwanted even if married.
Keeping her at home meant she would only eat for free and would also tarnish the reputation of the elder Zhao family.
It would affect the marriages of her younger siblings.
It would have been cleaner if she had jumped into the river and died.
Su Xiaoqi stood on the steps in shock, looking up at Madam Qian.
"Xiaozhu is your own daughter."
Even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs; how could a mother speak like this?
"My Zhao family does not have such an unchaste woman. Take her away, take her away..."
Madam Qian screamed hysterically, driving them away like they were a plague.
Su Xiaoqi tried to find a hint of maternal affection in her frenzied expression.
Unfortunately, there was none.
Madam Qian's face was filled with disdain and disgust for Zhao Xiaozhu.
Her expression was exactly the same as those villagers who had followed to watch the commotion.
Su Xiaoqi was indignant. "What happened wasn't Xiaozhu's fault; she's also a victim.
If you hadn't sent her to the back mountain to gather firewood, she wouldn't have..."
"No, she was wrong! She was wrong to have not smashed her head against that dirty courtyard back then..." Madam Qian shrieked, refusing to budge an inch.
"What should we do?" Su Xiaoqi nudged Shen Yun lightly.
She didn't know how to deal with such a shrew.
Shen Yun grasped her wrist and saw her thoughts: "If it really comes to it, we can take her back to our home."
He lowered his gaze, thought for a moment, spoke Su Xiaoqi's unspoken thought, and then silently turned to leave with Zhao Xiaozhu on his back.
Madam Qian, still uneasy, followed behind them, shouting, "Our old Zhao family will only accept her corpse. Don't bring the living back."
Su Xiaoqi's heart ached. The memory of being forced into a pig cage and sunk into the river flashed through her mind.
Her stubbornness kicked in, and she turned back, grinding her teeth, and retorted fiercely,
"Don't worry, the living Zhao Xiaozhu will never set foot in your old Zhao family again. She'll stay with me.
If she lives a better life in the future, don't you dare try to take advantage of her."
With her by her side, would Zhao Xiaozhu's life be anything but good?
Taking her back to the Shen family's home, there was no place to put her.
Shen Xiaomei eagerly vacated her room.
Su Xiaoqi sat down and skillfully examined Zhao Xiaozhu's pulse, prescribed medicine, and brewed it in one go.
Shen Xiaomei fed her a bowl of medicine and, seeing Su Xiaoqi's brows furrowed tighter, couldn't help but ask worriedly,
"Sister-in-law, is Xiaozhu sister very seriously ill?"
Su Xiaoqi nodded. "Her physical foundation was already weak, with long-term malnutrition, and then the fall into the river damaged her vitality...
Of course, what hurt Zhao Xiaozhu the most was the experience of being violated by those few men.
And being disdained by Madam Qian.
These are psychological wounds that will not heal quickly.
Therefore, the current Zhao Xiaozhu has no will to live; she truly wants to die!
"The situation is not good. I need ginseng to sustain her. You stay with her and offer her comfort and encouragement."
Su Xiaoqi thought for a moment, then got up and grabbed Shen Yun to go to the county town to buy medicine.
She needed a ginseng root of many years.
She could find it in the mountains with her abilities, but it would take an uncertain amount of time.
It was more cost-effective to buy it now.
Knowing that she wouldn't know the way and seeing her urgency, Shen Yun quietly borrowed the village head's ox cart.
Arriving at the county pharmacy half an hour later, they found the price of ginseng to be exorbitant.
Ordinary ones cost ten taels of silver each.
The five-hundred-year-old ginseng Su Xiaoqi wanted cost a hundred taels of silver each.
Su Xiaoqi's face darkened. Without thinking, she was about to offer rice in exchange.
She calculated that selling all the rice, flour, and fish from her spatial dimension could raise fifty taels.
But she was still fifty taels short!
She looked at Shen Yun, who reached into his pocket and pulled out a fifty-tael silver note.
"This is the money Young Master Qi gave me for the calligraphy and paintings."
Su Xiaoqi blinked her eyes, not expecting Shen Yun to be carrying such a large sum of money.
It was a pity that the silver note had to be used before it had even warmed up.
Su Xiaoqi sighed and suddenly remembered the fifty taels of silver she had casually taken from Su Jiamo.
Her heart skipped a beat, and without thinking, she took it out.
This time, it was Shen Yun's turn to look at her in surprise.
So she had also hidden some private money.
After buying the medicine, the two left without any delay.
However, at the city gate, they saw thick smoke rising from a part of the city, with flames soaring into the sky.
"Where did the fire start?" Su Xiaoqi frowned.
Shen Yun glanced at it and said, "Judging by the direction, it should be the Hongfu Inn."
It was a landmark building in Mianzhou City, the tallest and offering the best views.
Su Xiaoqi suddenly thought of Qi Yunwei. She told Shen Yun that he was staying there.
She had overheard him mention it when they rescued them from the kidnappers' lair.
With such a large fire, would he be in danger?
As they were talking, a carriage came up from behind.
The curtain was lifted, and it was Qi Yunwei, whom they had just mentioned.
"Brother Shen, Miss Su, I have urgent business requiring my return to the capital. We shall meet again if fate allows."
Qi Yunwei appeared very anxious.
He had initially hesitated about whether to greet Shen Yun and Su Xiaoqi.
He hadn't expected his luck to be so good as to run into them at the city gate.
"What's the rush? I still have paintings and calligraphy to give you."
"No need, not for now. Alas, perhaps I am not fated to have your calligraphy and paintings."
Qi Yunwei sighed and told them that all the calligraphy and paintings he had bought from Shen Yun had been burned to ashes in the fire.
Shen Yun didn't take it to heart, saying his calligraphy and paintings were not valuable and he would make amends after he finished his imperial examinations.
After all, the money had been spent and could not be repaid.
Su Xiaoqi grabbed him. Looking at the hundred-tael ginseng she was holding.
Thinking about the fifty taels of silver each of them had received.
And Shen Yun's works that had vanished in the fire...
Her heart skipped a beat, and she seemed to understand something.