Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 63 - 61 Injured

Chapter 63: Chapter 61: Injured

Chapter 63 -61: Injured

Time went by unnoticed, and lately Shen Chengyao’s family had been busier than ever.

The wasteland had been fully reclaimed, and apart from paying the workers’ wages, Shen Chengyao even used the bait Xiao’er made to catch a large bucket of fish from the river.

He gave every family a fish, weighing two to three pounds, as a thank-you gift.

Consequently, the river was bustling with people carrying baskets to fish, but sadly they returned empty-handed.

Today was Mr.

Shen’s birthday.

Shen Chengyao bought chickens, ducks, fish, and other groceries from the town before dawn; now, in the courtyard, Mrs.

Liu and Mrs.

Li were plucking feathers from the chickens and ducks that had been scalded in hot water.

Mrs.

Lu was killing the fish, and Mrs.

Lan was washing the vegetables.

Mrs.

Li glanced at Xiao’er, heading towards the backyard vegetable garden, and noticed that the girl had grown taller and plumper since their families had separated.

Her skin was rosy and smooth; surprising Mrs.

Li.

The cheeky girl was looking better just after a few days of separate meals!

Looking at Mrs.

Liu’s younger daughter, Mr.

Shen Bao’er even though she was much cute than them.

This filled Mrs.

Li with jealousy.

Why should people worse off than herself live better lives!

Remembering Aunt Wang’s words and recent village rumors, her heart felt uncomfortable due to jealousy, and she decided to make trouble, “Sister-in-law, your Xiao’er is becoming more and more charming, no wonder she attracted the attention of a rich young man.

She is indeed dexterous at such a young age!”

Upon hearing this, Mrs.

Liu violently threw the half plucked duck back into the wooden tub, splashing Mrs.

Li’s face with dirty water.

“Ah… What the hell are you doing, Mrs.

Liu?”

“If you talk nonsense again, Mrs.

Li, I won’t just splash water in your face, I will tear that wicked tongue of yours out!” Mrs.

Liu was furious.

How dare she accuse Xiao’er of seducing a wealthy young man?

If these rumors were to spread, Xiao’er would be devastated!

“I’m not talking nonsense; the whole village is spreading the news!

If your daughter wasn’t seducing the rich young man, why would he have invited you for a ride in the carriage, so familiarly calling ‘girl, girl’, sounding so intimate!

Moreover, recently your daughter keeps riding the carriage.

She once stayed out all night and didn’t come back until the next day.

We don’t even know what she was doing out there!

You might damage her reputation, which may negatively affect my daughter too!” Mrs.

Li’s clothes were splashed with foul-smelling water and chicken feathers, which ignited her rage even further that she let her tongue run loose.

“Slap!” Mrs.

Liu slapped Mrs.

Li hard around the face.

“Our family is merely conducting toy business with those two young masters.

They are visiting our home, out of respect for Xiao’er’s novel and adorable rag dolls which they have purchased all the designs to open a store.

Each time Xiao’er goes out, she is just supervising the decoration and production of the toy shop.

Soon, the store will open in the county, and you can see it with your own eyes!

That day, Xiao’er had to travel to the prefecture city.

It’s a long journey that can’t be complete in a day and her father accompanied her, it wasn’t a mystery what she was doing!

Don’t start speaking nonsense and ruining my Xiao’er’s reputation without knowing the facts.

Do you even deserve to be her aunt?”

Mrs.

Li wanted to rush up and pull Mrs.

Liu’s hair, but Mrs.

Lu held her back, saying, “Sister-in-law, speak respectfully!

”

“Mrs.

Lu, stay out of this!

It’s none of your business!”

Mrs.

Lan: “Sister-in-law, the reputation of a young girl should not be slandered casually.

If you have no evidence, don’t talk nonsense!”

Mrs.

Liu frowned, sensing something was amiss.

“Aunt Wang saw with her own eyes and heard with her own ears that the young man in the carriage was calling Xiao’er ‘girl’ as if they were close!”

Both Mr.

Shen and Mrs.

Shen, hearing the noise, came out of their room, “Everyone stop!”

Seeing this, Mrs.

Li ignored the feathery mess and seated herself directly on the ground.

She showcased her usual antics by flailing her legs and slapping her thighs while shrieking loudly: “Help, she is trying to kill me.

Mrs.

Liu wants to beat me to death.

Husband, come back quickly.

I am oppressed to death by your brother in your absence!”

Mrs.

Liu, seeing Mrs.

Li’s drama, regained her senses.

But she did not regret her actions.

A girl’s reputation is vital.

Now that Xiao’er was unjustly defamed by Mrs.

Li, if this becomes a topic of conversation in future, how will she be able to live with respect, and who would dare to marry her?

Xiao’er ran back from the backyard, “Mother, what happened?”

Mrs.

Liu pulled Xiao’er into her arms as soon as she saw her.

Her eyes reddened as she shook her head.

Mother’s instinct protects her children at any cost – as protective as a mother chicken bristling her feathers to fight against an eagle.

No one should dare to harm her children!

Mr.

Shen saw that Mrs.

Li’s hair was in disarray, and her clothes were drenched here and there.

Her face on one side was swollen.

He frowned, the situation was embarrassing!

“Second son’s wife, let’s discuss whatever it is peacefully!

You look disgraceful!”

“Dad, you have to stand up for me.

Mrs.

Liu bullied me.

I just said a few words, and she started hitting me, taking advantage of my husband’s absence…”

“You get up and…”

“I won’t let you bully my mother!” Who could have noticed that Shen Jingzhi had scooped the half bucket of boiling water from the pot in the kitchen and splashed it towards the hugging mother and daughter!

“Ah!” Several screams rang out simultaneously.

A purple figure at the entrance quickly leapt towards Xiao’er to block the hot water.

Simultaneously, a shadow in the dark also darted out, shielding the man in purple from most of the hot water!

“Master!” Xiao Fuzi shouted, running over.

Everyone in the courtyard was frightened stiff by this scene.

“Cousin!

Girl!”

Xiao’er just turned her head, a few drops of water splashed on her face, which felt terribly painful.

She saw Shangguan Xuanyi’s arm was half wet, and the man in black was soaked all over his back.

“Quick, quick, immerse your hand in cold water, you!

You take off your clothes quickly, keeping them will worsen the burn!” Xiao’er pulled Shangguan Xuanyi and plunged his arm into a bucket of water.

The man in black did not move, looking at Shangguan Xuanyi’s hand soaking in the bucket, he seemed unaffected by his hot clothes.

It wasn’t until Shen Chengzu poured a bucket of cold water over him that he came back to his senses, coldly glancing at Shen Chengzu, who hurriedly tossed the bucket away, “I, I was just trying to cool you down!”

Shangguan Xuanyi saw a few spots on Xiao’er’s face that had turned red from the burn, his brows furrowed tightly, his fury churning like a simmering volcano ready to erupt at any moment, wanting to devour everything.

His voice, stifled by repressed anger, sounded as if it came from the depths of hell.

“Drag him to the death cell!”

The man in black grabbed Shen Jingzhi by the collar and walked out!

Shen Jingzhi was scared and cried out, flailing his arms and legs.

“Mother, save me, Mother…”

With a single chop from the man in black, he fell limp.

“Zhi’er, Zhi’er…” Mrs.

Li was genuinely frightened into tears, she crawled over to the man in black: “Hero, spare his life, hero…he’s just a child, he doesn’t understand…it wasn’t intentional!”

The man in black kicked Mrs.

Li away and continued walking out.

Mrs.

Li knelt down before Shangguan Xuanyi and began to kowtow.

“Young master, I beg you, let my son go!

He didn’t mean it, he’s realized his mistake, he won’t dare again in the future!”

Mrs.

Liu never imagined things would get this bad.

Upon hearing that Shangguan Xuanyi wanted to throw Shen Jingzhi into a death cell, she felt a pang of guilt.

“Young Master Shangguan, Zhi’er is just a child who doesn’t understand…”

“Ma’am, he has burned my master, a million deaths would not absolve him.” Xiao Fuzi was resentful, longing to peel his skin, and grind his bones.

Hurting the master was a transgression that even all the people paying with their lives wouldn’t suffice.

Xiao’er felt Shen Jingzhi’s crime did not deserve death, but at such a young age, he was cruel and malicious; he needed a lesson to correct him, else things would get out of hand in the future.

“Brother Shangguan, if I can help cure your wounds and your guard’s…

could you…”

“Girl, he’s not worth your plea!”

Shangguan Xuanyi glanced at Xiao’er, interrupting her, “He doused you with boiling water!”

He didn’t mind his hand, but if the boiling water had splashed on her, it would’ve caused severe burns.

Disfigurement was a minor concern; if the wound got infected, it could be fatal!

“I understand, but he is my cousin after all.

If I help you find the medicine needed to treat your wounds, could you spare him his life?”

Shangguan Xuanyi looked at Xiao’er, and then he understood, “The capital crime may be waived, but he can’t escape punishment.”

Upon hearing this, Mrs.

Li still kowtowed, “Young Master, please spare him, he really didn’t do it intentionally!”

“Beg again, and you’ll be punished with him!” Di Shaowei cast a glance at this fool!

Hearing this, Mrs.

Li dared not make a sound.