"Auntie..." Lu Yuanxiu initially wanted to reason with her, but her words stopped him, a trace of embarrassment flashing across his face. "It was Tie Dan who attacked first. Auntie, you should discipline him properly. You should apologize to Xin Lan, not insinuate things."
"Oh my, defending her, are we? Gu Xin Lan is already married to the hunter Liu, yet you still call her Xin Lan so intimately. Anyone who didn't know would think she's your wife!"
"Auntie! Don't speak nonsense! If this gets out, how will Xin Lan and I face people?"
"Why are you so anxious? Did I hit a nerve?" The woman said triumphantly. "Everyone knows you and Gu Xin Lan were engaged. Perhaps you're envious of her good marriage and can't let go? It's broad daylight, and there's no one around. Who knows what you two were doing just now? Maybe our Tie Dan saw something and you're framing him for hitting you, afraid he'll tell?"
Lu Yuanxiu pointed to his blood-stained face. "My blood hasn't even dried yet. The evidence is conclusive. How can it not be Tie Dan? Look, there's still dirt on his hands! Auntie, if you won't apologize, fine, but how can you slander us?"
"If you have a clear conscience, you won't be afraid of ghosts knocking. If you truly have nothing to hide, why would you slander our Tie Dan for hitting you? Isn't it just to cover up your shameful deeds?"
"You..." Lu Yuanxiu became increasingly angry, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say. Despite his extensive education, he couldn't even win an argument with a village aunt.
The woman was very pleased with this outcome. She patted the little boy behind her. "Tie Dan, come, let's go home."
Tie Dan poked his large head out from behind the woman and stuck his tongue out at them. He grabbed the woman's hand, and she twisted her hips and left.
Lu Yuanxiu pointed in the direction they left, speechless for a long time. He turned to Gu Xin Lan. "Xin Lan, why are there such unreasonable people in the world?"
Gu Xin Lan hadn't spoken until now. She stared in the direction the woman had left, suddenly placed the food box on the ground, picked up two small stones, and casually tossed them out. With a few soft "pa pa pa" sounds, the stones all hit the woman. Some landed on the back of her head, some on her waist, and some on her backside.
"Ouch!" The woman cried out, turned around, glared at them, and began to curse. "Which little brat hit me? Don't you want to live? Believe it or not, I'll beat you to death!"
Just then, Gu Xin Lan quickly picked up the food box, returned to her previous posture, and began to gaze innocently at the sky.
The entire process was extremely swift. Lu Yuanxiu suddenly reacted. He cleared his throat. "Auntie, don't wrongly accuse good people for no reason. Which eye of yours saw us do it? You're so eager to pin this on us. Could it be that your Tie Dan did something shameful and you want to use us to cover it up?"
"You loose-tongued brat, our Tie Dan hasn't done anything shameful."
"Oh? Is that so? I recall Er Niu's mother lost a golden hairpin a while ago. Someone said it was Tie Dan."
Hearing this, the woman's face changed. Her previous arrogance vanished. "You... you're talking nonsense. What golden hairpin? Who saw it?"
Despite her words, she quickly pulled Tie Dan away. It was clear she was guilty.
Lu Yuanxiu let out a sigh of relief and his mood instantly improved. He had long heard that Tie Dan had a habit of petty theft. He had initially disdained discussing such trivial village matters with others, but she had provoked him first.
He turned to Gu Xin Lan. "Xin Lan, your stone-throwing technique is amazing."
Gu Xin Lan smiled shyly. "Thank you for helping me just now. Your head is bleeding. Come with me to Miss Lin's house to apply some medicine."
"...Alright." Lu Yuanxiu was looking for an excuse to talk to her more and quickly agreed.
Along the way, Lu Yuanxiu was preoccupied with the letter, pondering what to say. Should he praise her beautiful handwriting? Or apologize for his past words? Or ask if Liu Hong treated her well? The more he thought, the more conflicted he became. In the end, he suddenly felt that it was fine to say nothing at all, just pretend that nothing had happened.
After all, Xin Lan shouldn't be such a petty person.
The two soon arrived at the entrance of the "haunted house." Gu Xin Lan knocked on the door and was greeted by Liu Hong. Seeing Gu Xin Lan and Lu Yuanxiu together, with Lu Yuanxiu's wound, he was initially surprised, then startled by Lu Yuanxiu's injury.
"What happened? Come in quickly."
"We met a child on the road who threw stones at me. Lu Yuanxiu blocked them for me," Gu Xin Lan said, naturally handing the food box to Liu Hong. This seemingly ordinary interaction made Lu Yuanxiu feel uncomfortable.
Were their feelings really this good?
"Lu Yuanxiu, go wash your wound. I'll get you some medicine," Liu Hong said to Lu Yuanxiu. Lu Yuanxiu nodded. "Thank you." He saw a large vat in the courtyard and went to scoop water to wash his face.
As he was washing his face, a low, hoarse male voice drifted from inside the house: "Zhang Yajing, you must wake up. Even if it costs me my life."
The voice was extremely gentle, like a lover's conversation.
Hearing this, and recalling the commotion in the village last night, he was somewhat surprised. The renowned Divine Physician Chu of Changping County and the county magistrate's daughter were a couple?
When he finished washing his wound, Liu Hong had found the medicinal powder.
"Shall I apply it for you?" Liu Hong said casually, making a move to apply the medicine to Lu Yuanxiu's head. Lu Yuanxiu, looking at Liu Hong, who was half a head taller than him, quickly took the medicine.
"No need, I can do it myself."
He applied the medicine and gave a smile of thanks, but felt Liu Hong's expression was a bit strange. He was smiling, yet it felt inexplicably awkward.
Liu Hong said, "Xin Lan brought a lot of food. We can't possibly eat it all. Would you like to stay for dinner?"
Who? Him? Lu Yuanxiu thought he had misheard, but the other person was indeed speaking to him.
He hadn't known Liu Hong very well before. Their relationship had been a bit strained recently due to Gu Xin Lan's situation. He hadn't expected him to invite him to dinner so enthusiastically.
Momentarily stunned, Lu Yuanxiu blurted out, "Okay."
Liu Hong said, "Then I'll go prepare." He turned and went into the kitchen, pulling Gu Xin Lan along with him.
"Xin Lan, why did you make so much food?"
Was it deliberately for Lu Yuanxiu? Impossible, he must be overthinking it.
"It just turned out to be a lot as I was cooking," Gu Xin Lan said with a shy smile.
Liu Hong leaned in and whispered, "How did Lu Yuanxiu run into you? Is he bothering you again? Did he bully you?"
"No," Gu Xin Lan shook her head, saying nothing more.
Seeing her lack of interest in Lu Yuanxiu, Liu Hong felt relieved. Fortunately, this man had no ulterior motives.
He took the dishes out of the food box one by one and placed them on the table. He solemnly said to Gu Xin Lan, "Xin Lan, since you are married to me, I will take good care of you for the rest of my life. Your engagement with Lu Yuanxiu is void. You mustn't fall for him again just because he saved you."
Hmm?
Gu Xin Lan hadn't expected Liu Hong to say this.
She shook her head. "I don't like him anymore."
"And you're not allowed to like him in the future."
"Mm, I won't like him in the future either."
"You promise."
"I promise."
"You swear."
"..."
She had never realized Liu Hong had such a childish side.
While the two were flirting inside, Lu Yuanxiu's face was turning green in the courtyard. Could you two talk a bit quieter? He could hear everything clearly.
He thought Liu Hong was so magnanimous, but it turned out he was secretly jealous.
Lu Yuanxiu felt completely out of place. Just then, a very misleading sound came from the bamboo house.
"Ah... so comfortable. Lower, a bit lower..."
Lu Yuanxiu's face instantly turned red.
The side room had been occupied by Divine Physician Chu and Miss Zhang. The kitchen had Liu Hong and Gu Xin Lan. So, the main house must be... that goddess physician and her husband!
Lu Yuanxiu, a single dog surrounded by three couples: "..." He truly was out of place.
In the main house, Rong Zhi, holding her sore neck, directed Xia Yunting to massage her.
"Lower."
Xia Yunting's large hands kneaded and pounded her neck and back. His ears were red. Didn't Xiao Mo know that by saying this... it was very easy to cause misunderstandings?
"Put more strength into it. My goodness, have you not eaten?"
Outside, Lu Yuanxiu desperately wanted to cover his ears. He was eager to escape. Just as he was about to leave, Gu Xin Lan's voice came from the kitchen.
"Miss Lin, Divine Physician Chu, it's time to eat!"
So Chu Qingze, Rong Zhi, and Xia Yunting all walked out one after another, their gazes falling on Lu Yuanxiu.
Lu Yuanxiu felt even more awkward.
Rong Zhi glanced at him, but didn't say anything. After all, she had heard Liu Hong's conversation with him.
"Since you're here, make yourself at home. Don't be restrained," she said to Lu Yuanxiu, then rubbed her shoulder and went into the kitchen, saying as she went, "My whole body aches. I'm exhausted."
Xia Yunting followed behind expressionlessly, but the blush on his face had not yet faded, making it very misleading. Lu Yuanxiu quickly lowered his head and walked in, only to bump into Chu Qingze again.
"Sorry."
"My apologies!"
They both spoke at the same time, apologized to each other, and then politely walked in.
At the table, six people, with only Lu Yuanxiu feeling out of place. He looked at the lavish meal in front of him and immediately recognized Gu Xin Lan's cooking.
Before Gu Xin Lan was captured, she had been a very popular young girl in the village. Quiet, good at her work, diligent, and filial. But a turn of events had changed everything.
Now, tasting this familiar food again, he felt a sense of change and loss.
Gu Xin Lan said, "I made too much food, and some of it got cold, so I reheated it temporarily. It didn't affect the taste, did it?"
"No, it's delicious," Liu Hong was naturally the first to praise it.
"Mm, Xin Lan's cooking is still the best," Rong Zhi agreed, complimenting it while not slowing down her eating speed. She was truly hungry. After treating Zhang Yajing in the morning, she had been exhausted and hadn't had time to eat. Now, that feeling of hunger had returned.
Only Chu Qingze ate a few mouthfuls perfunctorily, then took an empty bowl and scooped some food.
"I'll take it to Zhang Yajing."
Rong Zhi said, "Do you need my help?"
Zhang Yajing was still unconscious and they didn't know if she could eat. Even if she could, someone would have to feed her. With Chu Qingze's awkwardness around women, he probably couldn't handle such a task.
Unexpectedly, Chu Qingze refused.
"It's fine, I can do it myself."