126 She Almost Died From Their Conspiracy
Zhao Chuchu was in her room. She was at a loss for words after overhearing the words that came out of Xie Jun’s mouth.
How did a kid like him know so much about all these?
Xie Heng was speechless. Even if he lectured Xie Jun, the boy did not know who the current Zhao Chuchu was.
But if he remained silent, Zhao Chuchu might think they were plotting against her should she hear their conversation.
!!
“Brother, when will I become an uncle?” Xie Jun did not want to back down. Even he could tell that the relationship between his brother and sister-in-law had improved a lot as of late, yet they did not act like typical spouses. “Are you perhaps planning to divorce her in the future?”
Xie Heng replied resignedly, “It’s not what you think. Don’t spout such nonsense. Your sister-in-law wants me to focus on my education now. Please don’t misunderstand her goodwill.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Alright, then. I’ll ask her myself once she wakes up. Brother, if you were to mistreat her, I would cut off my relationship with you!”
Xie Heng was dumbfounded.
“Go have breakfast now. She’ll need to decoct some ointment later. You should help her.”
“Okay.”
With that, Xie Jun left to have his breakfast.
Xie Heng rubbed his brows as he recounted Xie Jun’s words earlier. A complicated emotion aroused in him all of a sudden.
However, he regained his composure in no time and made his plan.
Zhao Chuchu was still lazing on the bed at that time.
She did so to avoid making Xie Heng awkward if Xie Jun were to mention asking her and the former to share the marriage bed.
Xie Jun came and stopped by in front of her room door multiple times but left after some hesitation each time. It seemed like he did not want to interrupt her slumber.
Sometime later, Zhao Chuchu finally got up from bed.
Xie Jun immediately brought her washbowl filled with water to wash up and served her a bowl of porridge.
“Sister-in-law, will you be making herbal ointment today? I won’t be going out to play later. So, I can be your helper.”
Xie Jun sat across Zhao Chuchu and cupped his chin while looking at her.
Zhao Chuchu asked with a smile, “How did you know I’ll be making ointment today?”
“My brother was the one who told me. Sister-in-law, he usually keeps everything to himself and won’t even express his care for others. Please don’t mind that part about him.” Xie Jun assisted in bringing them closer.
As he loved his current sister-in-law a lot, he didn’t want his brother to hold her cheap that she ended up leaving him.
“Junjun, what is your type of girl? Do you want me to look for a cute girlfriend for you?” Zhao Chuchu changed the subject because she didn’t want to continue that topic with Xie Jun.
Children would get embarrassed quickly.
As expected, Xie Jun was red to his ear after hearing her question.
“Sister-in-law, please don’t make fun of me. I’m still too young.” Xie Jun moved his eyeballs around, did not know where to look at. “I don’t want a girlfriend. She will take my food away.”
Zhao Chuchu couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, can’t you share some of your food with her?”
“I will only share good food with you,” Xie Jun answered.
“I see. Thank you, Junjun. Oh. By the way, are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”
“Nah. I’m fine.”
“Okay. But still, don’t overexpose yourself to the chilly weather. You should stay at home these few days. Otherwise, you might catch a cold. Your body has always been weak. So, you’ll have nothing but suffering later.”
“Alright. I’ll listen to you.”
Xie Jun uttered those words out of his mouth.
“In that case, can you help me start the fire on the stove?”
“Sure.”
Xie Jun immediately started working after responding.
Staring at the young child’s silhouette, she played a smile on her face.
A retirement life like that did not seem to be a bad idea.
…
The next day, Kang Xiuwan rented a horse carriage and traveled to Lengshui Village to meet Zhao Chuchu.
Tears welled up in her eyes when she saw Zhao Chuchu’s living condition was worse than even her servants. “Chuchu, did you grow up living in this environment?”
“It’s getting better now. It was the worst when I was with my family. However, you don’t have to feel bad for me. I’m okay with the current condition. At the very least, I can make every decision by myself.”
“I—”
“This is the ointment. You should apply it twice a day—morning and evening.”
Zhao Chuchu interrupted Kang Xiuwan. In fact, the former felt that the latter was way more tragic than her.
So what if she were married into a wealthy family? She almost lost her life after being caught up in their conspiracy against her.
“Thank you. Mother is a lot better now. I was planning to come and visit you earlier, but my physical condition wouldn’t allow me to do so. When do you think is the best time for us to pay you a formal visit?” Kang Xiuwan questioned.
Zhao Chuchu sighed, “To be honest, we are not much different from strangers. I only saved your mother because I am a doctor. It doesn’t matter whether we are relatives or not. As long as you are not vicious criminals, I will definitely save you!”
“Chuchu, that’s not what I meant.”
“How’s mammy doing?”
Zhao Chuchu tried to sidetrack Kang Xiuwan.
She was doing great at that moment. After all, the original owner, who they should sympathize with, had already passed away.
Besides, she was not too fond of the relatives who had never visited the original owner when she was still alive. It was not like she hated them. She only saw them as strangers.
“She’s been put to prison. The magistrate is investigating the case thoroughly. But there’s still no new process at the moment.”
“What would you do if your family were responsible for this?”
“I don’t know. My mother said that she already had an answer. But I didn’t dare to ask.”
Kang Xiuwan lowered her head.
Her mind was in turmoil.
“Are you afraid of hardship?”
“No. I’m just worried about where my mother should go after this.”
“The world is a vast place. What makes you think you’ll have no place to go? By the way, how much do you know about my mother? Can you tell me more about her?”
“I’m not so sure myself either. My mother should know more.”
After contemplating, Zhao Chuchu stated, “I’ll go to the county town to see your mother for further consultation in a few days.”
“Thank you, Chuchu.”
“It’s getting late now. You should go back first. Or else, you’ll miss the city gate’s curfew. Then, you’ll have no place to stay for the night.”
Upon hearing that, Kang Xiuwan knew Zhao Chuchu did not welcome her here. Hence, she took out a pouch and handed it to the latter. “This is the consultation fee. Please accept it. We’ll leave now.”
Just then, Kang Xiuwan got into the horse carriage before Zhao Chuchu said a word.
Zhao Chuchu lifted a smirk. There was no way I would return the silver that I had received.
“Have a safe journey.” She waved her hand, grabbing the pouch as she entered the house.
There were five pieces of silver, two 500 banknotes, and four gold beads inside.
These salt merchants were really an affluent bunch.
Zhao Chuchu let out a sigh.
After storing the banknotes and gold beads in the carry-on space, she set aside the five silver pieces.
“Chuchu.”
Xie Heng knocked on the door.
“What’s up?” Zhao Chuchu opened the door and caught sight of Xie Heng in proper and formal apparel as if he was about to leave the house. “Where are you going?”
“There’s some business I need to attend to. I’ll probably be back in four or five days. Is there anything you want me to get for you?” Xie Heng queried. After pausing for a moment, he said, “I’m going to get something from a schoolmate in the neighboring county.”
“Nothing at the moment. Please do take care of yourself, though,” Zhao Chuchu responded. Then, she shoved into his hands the five silver pieces she had received from Kang Xiuwan earlier. “Take this. Feel free to spend as much as you want.”
Xie Heng was a little dumbfounded.
He came here to ask if Zhao Chuchu needed anything, not to get silver from her.
“It’s okay. I have some silver with me.”
Xie Heng returned the silver to Zhao Chuchu.
“Please take care of Junjun for me.
“And, um, he likes to eat steamed buns.”
In other words, the boy was not a picky eater.
Zhao Chuchu did not know what to say.
Xie Heng pondered for a moment before saying, “I have a short bow on my bookshelf. If there’s any imbecile who gets on your nerves, go ahead and shoot them. I’ll handle it when I’m back.”