"I..." Lu Yuanxiu frowned, looking at everyone, then at Gu Xinlan, as if wanting to say something but holding back.
"Speak!"
Wu Guixiang glared at him, pressing closer.
"Aunt Wu!" Lu Yuanxiu took a deep breath, his voice turning cold. "Originally, with Sister Xinlan missing, I had no intention of getting married. I only wanted to dedicate myself to my studies and strive for an official career. The autumn imperial examinations are approaching, and it's a critical time for reading. Even if I were to marry, it wouldn't be now."
Though he said this, anyone with eyes could see he had no intention of marrying at all.
"Then give me a definite answer, what year, what month. Even if it's ten or eight years, our Xinlan can wait."
Wu Guixiang, like a mother hen protecting her chick, shielded Gu Xinlan. Gu Xinlan, still seemingly unaware of what was happening, simply stared at everyone with wide eyes.
With this statement, many cast sympathetic glances at Lu Yuanxiu.
He had been cornered.
Lu Yuanxiu's anger could no longer be contained.
"Aunt Wu, don't you understand? Sister Xinlan has been missing for so long. Who knows what she went through outside? Perhaps she has already been... If her purity is compromised, how can I marry her?"
He finished speaking quickly, his chest heaving slightly, as if greatly insulted.
The surrounding crowd grew even quieter.
Everyone knew what kind of experiences people abducted by traffickers might endure, but no one would voice it directly to the victim's family. It was simply too cruel.
As expected, as soon as his words fell, Wu Guixiang lunged forward.
"What did you say? How dare you speak of my daughter like that? I'll tear your mouth apart!"
"Ah!"
Lu Yuanxiu, caught off guard and being a frail scholar, was knocked to the ground without resistance.
Wu Guixiang, disregarding all decorum and the rules of segregation between men and women, grabbed him by the collar and slapped him. *Pa*, a sharp, clear sound.
"I'll beat you, you heartless wretch! I'll beat you to death!"
She continued to swing her palms, and in a blink of an eye, several blows landed. Lu Yuanxiu's face began to swell visibly, but he was utterly defenseless.
"Guixiang!"
Suddenly, a woman with a gentle face rushed out from the crowd and restrained Wu Guixiang.
"Guixiang, Yuanxiu's words were unpleasant. I'll scold him when we get back. Xinlan has been through such a scare. You can't keep her here, being gawked at like a spectacle..."
She lowered her voice for the last sentence, clearly speaking for Gu Xinlan's well-being.
Wu Guixiang's hand paused, and tears welled up again.
"Why is my life so bitter... My husband is gone, my daughter is like this, and now people are gossiping."
"At least your daughter has returned. Look at all these people; how many have lost their loved ones forever? Stop crying, you'll make everyone else sad too."
The woman's persuasion was indeed effective and hit the mark.
Wu Guixiang glanced at the crowd sheepishly, immediately stopped crying, shot Lu Yuanxiu a fierce glare, and then pulled Gu Xinlan to the side.
"Xinlan, let's go home."
"Everyone, I apologize for the spectacle."
No one laughed at her. Instead, some looked with envy, while others cast accusatory glances at Lu Yuanxiu.
The crowd consciously parted to allow the mother and daughter to pass.
As they walked past Lu Yuanxiu, Gu Xinlan suddenly spoke loudly, emitting a rather unpleasant sound.
"Guan, Guan ju jiu... on the river... isle, a fair maiden, a gentleman's... pursuit!"
Though only four short sentences, she spoke them with great effort, and it was remarkable that everyone could hear her.
People looked at each other, and many sighed.
Before Gu Xinlan's disappearance, she and Lu Yuanxiu had a very good relationship. Lu Yuanxiu would spend his days teaching her characters from books. Now, Gu Xinlan seemed to no longer recognize people, yet she still remembered this. The only thing she remembered was something related to Lu Yuanxiu. Seeing Lu Yuanxiu's attitude, alas...
Lu Yuanxiu wished he could find a hole to burrow into. He had never found these few sentences so jarring.
After the two had completely walked away, Lu Yuanxiu finally got up from the ground. Under everyone's gaze, he somewhat reproachfully said to the woman who had just persuaded Wu Guixiang, "Mother, you just watched her hit me, and you didn't stop her."
Yang Liu spat at him. "Your words were so unpleasant, let alone her wanting to hit you, even I wanted to hit you. Go home quickly, don't embarrass me."
Lu Yuanxiu was so angry he felt like he was about to explode. The short distance of these two steps through the crowd felt infinitely long. With every step, a gaze fell upon him, like undergoing torture.
"Lu Yuanxiu, is it? Your face is injured. Here, take these pills I made myself; they'll help you heal faster."
Suddenly, a hand appeared in front of him, holding dark pills that emitted a peculiar stench.
Lu Yuanxiu was taken aback and turned to see a familiar face. A delicate face with clear eyes, instantly disarming anyone.
Isn't this the newly arrived doctor?
Rarely did he find someone among so many people not looking at him with strange eyes. Lu Yuanxiu inexplicably felt a good impression towards Rong Zhi and took the pills without a second thought.
"Thank you."
After Lu Yuanxiu left and the crowd dispersed, Liu Hong returned home as if nothing had happened, as if he had merely been a spectator.
Xia Yunting asked Rong Zhi, "What pill did you just give him? It smells a bit familiar."
"Oh, it's the Ghost Fly Grass that wasn't used up last time, which I planted outside the wall. I made it into pills."
Ghost Fly Grass...
Xia Yunting immediately recalled that hellish scent, which was enough to make him feel like he was about to ascend to heaven just by smelling it. If he ate it, who knew what would happen.
"Can this thing treat external injuries?"
"No."
"Then why did you still..."
"There's a treatment method called attention redirection. It's like scratching an itch. When you feel itchy, scratching with your nails doesn't stop the itch; it just causes the body to feel pain, and this pain overrides the itch. My pills are the same. Ghost Fly Grass has an incredibly foul odor. After taking the pills, the whole mouth and nose will be filled with the stench, making him forget about his facial injury."
Rong Zhi explained it earnestly, but Xia Yunting felt something was off.
"You were just playing a trick on him, weren't you?"
"Very smart."
Rong Zhi smiled faintly, then remembered Lu Yuanxiu and her face filled with disdain.
"I can't stand people like him the most."
"Do you think he should marry Gu Xinlan?"
"No, who he marries is his freedom, it has nothing to do with me. But for him to say such things in broad daylight, how will the young lady marry in the future? Reputation is so important for a girl. He, a scholar, couldn't possibly not know this, yet he still said it. Based on that alone, one pill is not too much."
So that's how it was.
Xia Yunting agreed with this point. His words earlier were indeed rather harsh.
After they returned, Rong Zhi again sorted through the dried medicinal herbs, preparing to deliver them to Ji Shitang tomorrow.
Although she had received some clues from Chu Qingze, she hadn't obtained concrete evidence yet, so she had to continue delivering the medicine for a while.
Just as Rong Zhi was putting bundles of herbs into her carrying basket, Xia Yunting was also arranging the mechanisms in the side room. Although Rong Zhi knew Xia Yunting had set up some traps and mechanisms in the courtyard, the ones in the side room were clearly temporary.
"Do you think Liu Hong will make a move tonight?" Rong Zhi asked.
"Hard to say. We need to be vigilant."
As evening fell, Xia Yunting and Rong Zhi indeed went to Gu Xinlan's house to watch.
Gu Xinlan's house had a rather large yard, but it was messy inside, showing it was rarely tidied. Moonlight shone on the well in the courtyard, and a bucket of water by the well reflected the moonlight.
The two hid at the base of the main house's wall, in the shadows, holding their breath and concentrating fully. Around midnight, a figure suddenly scaled the wall and landed silently on the ground.
"Here they come!"
Xia Yunting and Rong Zhi tensed up.
"I didn't expect his Qinggong to be this good," Rong Zhi squinted her eyes.
Liu Hong looked around and, not finding Rong Zhi and Xia Yunting, relaxed. He went to the window of the room on the right side of the main house, opened it, and jumped inside.
Almost simultaneously, Rong Zhi and Xia Yunting arrived beneath the window. Using the moonlight, they saw Liu Hong immediately grab the person on the bed after entering and quickly head towards the window, apparently preparing to take them out.
The entire process was extremely fast, taking less than three breaths. Seeing a dark figure appear before them and Liu Hong about to flee, Rong Zhi extended her leg to block the ground. The next moment, the tall figure crashed down with a *bang*, losing control of the person in his arms.
Gu Xinlan pulled the cloth from her mouth and was about to cry out when Rong Zhi covered her mouth.
Xia Yunting had already subdued Liu Hong.
Liu Hong looked at the two people behind him with disbelief. How could they be here? He hadn't seen them earlier.
But it was too late. Everything he had just done had been witnessed by them.
Xia Yunting pushed him forward, and Liu Hong had no choice but to walk outside.
Rong Zhi looked at the startled Gu Xinlan and whispered, "Don't be afraid, it's alright. Go back to sleep quickly, don't scare your mother."
The young girl nodded and scrambled back through the window with her hands and feet.
As Rong Zhi left, a lamp was lit in the room. Rong Zhi heard an anxious voice ask, "Xinlan, what was that noise just now?"
Xia Yunting led Liu Hong all the way to the haunted house. He didn't bind him, nor did he threaten him. Xia Yunting was even unguarded, only watching the door, waiting for Rong Zhi to return.
Liu Hong stood to the side, afraid to move. He had originally thought that since his physique and strength were comparable to the person in front of him, he might not be at a disadvantage in a fight. Therefore, he hadn't considered how to escape along the way, but was calmly thinking about how to explain his actions.
However, upon arriving at the house, this Xia Lei simply stood there, not saying a word, yet it inexplicably filled him with a sense of dread, as if any attempt to escape would only lead to certain death.
He didn't know why he felt this way.
"Who... who exactly are you?"
Liu Hong finally couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.