Taohua was craving badly and could not help but lick her lips.
Mother Huo sighed. “Let’s wait until our family’s situation improves. I don’t have a single coin left in my pocket.”
Taohua smiled. “Mother, I was joking.”
Ning Yuchan also felt tempted, but now that she was married, she could no longer act as freely as before.
Even her emotions could not be expressed casually.
She only glanced briefly at the candied hawthorns and quickly withdrew her gaze.
She noticed that a medical clinic was hiring general workers. In her heart, she thought that the family’s livelihood was truly difficult. If they could not find another way out, coming out to work as a general helper to earn some silver would also be good.
“Sister-in-law, what does that clinic say at the entrance?”
Ning Yuchan read it to her word by word.
Taohua wanted to share some of the burden for the family. “I wonder if they take female workers.”
Mother Huo pulled her to her side and warned, “Even if they do, you’re not allowed to go. How can we let a child like you come out to work? What if you get bullied?”
After finishing their errands, the three of them headed back. Unexpectedly, they ran into Huo Jingye’s third uncle, Huo Mingqian.
He was one year older than Huo Jingye. Three years ago, he passed the county examination and became a xiucai[1]a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1949190_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1949190_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, and this autumn he will participate in the provincial examination.
He studied at the same academy as Liang Yunxian.
“Second Sister-in-law, Taohua…” Huo Mingqian was dressed in a blue cloth robe, with a hemp-colored bundle slung over his right shoulder.
When he saw Mother Huo, he jumped down from a carriage.
He was tall with long legs and rather slender. Having studied since childhood, every movement and action carried a scholarly air.
Mother Huo disliked the eldest branch, but she did not have much of an opinion about this younger brother-in-law.
With a calm expression, she replied, “Mingqian, you’re back.”
Huo Mingqian turned back to bid farewell to the carriage driver, then walked together with Mother Huo toward Huojia Village.
“What a coincidence. Second Sister-in-law, you came to the city for something, right?”
Mother Huo did not want to answer him. “It’s neither a festival nor the New Year. You’re busy with your studies. What made you think of coming back?”
Huo Mingqian replied honestly, “The day after tomorrow is Mother’s sixtieth birthday. I came back to celebrate her longevity.”
Mother Huo had actually forgotten about this matter.
However, Old Lady Huo’s birthday had nothing to do with their second branch.
“Look at me. I’ve been so busy that I forgot about it. If Mother finds out, she’ll start finding fault with our second branch again.”
Huo Mingqian had left at the beginning of the year and had not seen Taohua for over two months.
Seeing that she had grown taller, he reached out and rubbed her little head.
“Why aren’t you speaking when you see me?”
Taohua snorted. “What’s there to say?”
Huo Mingqian was easygoing. Compared to Huo Changsheng, he was raised more delicately, yet he was not as refined as Liang Yunxian. He stood somewhere in between the two.
Noticing that Taohua seemed displeased with him, he reached out and pinched her cheek, laughing. “I don’t think I’ve offended you. Why are you talking to me like this?”
Taohua snorted again. “We can’t afford to associate with Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt. You’re a xiucai, and this autumn you’ll become a juren[2]a scholar who passes the provincial examination jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1949190_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1949190_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. We can’t afford to associate with you either.”
Huo Mingqian clicked his tongue. “This girl, your mouth is just as sharp as Second Sister-in-law’s. I’m your real uncle, and you speak to me like this? No manners.”
Although he was scolding her, there was a smile lingering at the corners of his lips.
His expression showed that he was speaking to a junior he doted on.
Taohua did not let him pinch her face.
“My father is injured, and our family has no money. We went to Grandmother to borrow some, but Grandmother drove my mother out. Our family can’t even cook a meal now.
If you’re really my uncle, are you going to watch us starve to death?”
Huo Mingqian felt somewhat helpless toward this sharp-tongued little niece.
Noticing Ning Yuchan following beside Mother Huo, he asked in confusion, “This is Old Man Ning’s daughter, right?”
Mother Huo replied, “Yes. A few days ago, Yuchan and Changsheng already held the wedding ceremony.”
Huo Mingqian paused. “Changsheng came back?”
Mother Huo’s expression darkened. “Came back? They held the ceremony with a big rooster in his place. Yuchan likes Changsheng and is willing to wait for him. This child has truly suffered.”
Huo Mingqian knew Old Man Ning’s two daughters.
Each one was more beautiful than the other.
Because they had already been betrothed, he had not looked too closely before.
Now that they had become family, he could not help but take a few extra looks.
The young girl had fair skin and a beautiful appearance, a slender waist, and a pair of apricot eyes that seemed like stars in the night sky.
Her red lips glistened, clearer than the dew scattered on lotus leaves in the early morning.
Because she carried a mature charm, she was especially eye-catching.
Changsheng would most likely not return. The young girl had entered the household only to become a widow. It was truly unfair to her.
A trace of pity rose in Huo Mingqian’s heart for no reason.
However, as her uncle, it was not appropriate for him to show it.
“By the way, I remember Changsheng was betrothed to Yuqiao…”
Mother Huo interrupted him. “It was Yuchan. You remembered wrong.”
Huo Mingqian felt a bit embarrassed and scratched his head. “I remembered wrong.”
Ning Yuchan also quietly sized up Huo Mingqian.
She had heard some gossip about him. In earlier years, he had been engaged to a fiancée, but when they were discussing marriage, the girl fell ill and passed away.
After that, Huo Mingqian never spoke of marriage again.
Old Lady Huo was naturally anxious, but Huo Mingqian was busy studying. First, he passed the county level examination, and now he was preparing for the provincial level examination.
Old Lady Huo, considering her son’s future, could only set the matter aside for the time being.
In earlier years, when Liang Yunxian passed the county level examination, he could walk arrogantly throughout the entire village, and the Huo family had envied him greatly.
Especially since both families had scholars, they were often compared.
Liang Yunxian was even one year younger.
It was only after Huo Mingqian also became a xiucai that Old Lady Huo could finally hold her head high.
Ning Yuchan naturally did not know the detailed situation.
However, the two villages were close to each other, and since she had once been the Huo family’s not-yet-married daughter-in-law, many gossip-loving aunties in the village liked to visit her home and chat.
Over time, she came to know many things about the Huo family.
The group of four soon entered the village.
Some villagers wandering on the main street noticed Mother Huo and the others and greeted them one after another.
Seeing that both she and Ning Yuchan were carrying bundles, they curiously asked what was inside.
Mother Huo directly told them it was medicine bought for Father Huo.
Father Huo’s injury was already known throughout the entire village.
Huo Mingqian did not come back often. As the village’s second xiucai, the villagers treated him with a bit more respect than ordinary people.
“Mingqian, you’re back. Old Lady Huo is going to celebrate her sixtieth birthday, right?”
Huo Mingqian politely greeted them, without any airs of a scholar.
After the group disappeared at the end of the road, the villagers began to gossip.
Ever since Huo Mingqian’s fiancée died, he had not sought another match.
Matchmakers who came to his door had nearly worn down the threshold, yet all were refused by the Huo family.
Villagers loved gossip the most. Talking about one family’s affairs and another’s was something they could not go without for even a day.
They especially liked stories with a suggestive tone.
Who had an affair with whose wife, who took extra looks at which family’s eldest daughter, whose wife often lingered at whose doorway. If there was something real, they treated it as a joke. If there was nothing, they would fabricate something just to have a story.
At this moment, seeing Huo Mingqian and Ning Yuchan walking back with Mother Huo between them, those with malicious thoughts quickly found a topic for gossip.
“The Huo family’s scholar lost his fiancé, and the Ning family’s girl lost her fiancé. These two really have some fate together.”
As she spoke, she pursed her lips meaningfully.
Someone quickly caught on. “Exactly. The Ning family’s girl might as well marry the Huo family’s scholar.”
…
Ning Yuchan did not hear this gossip.
After returning home, she devoted herself entirely to preparing the medicinal ingredients they had bought that day.
However, she still lacked confidence in cooking them into a paste to make medicinal plaster.
Father Huo’s ankle injury was severe. Although the swelling had gone down, he still did not dare to walk.
Ning Yuchan discussed it with Mother Huo. “Mother, I’ll first boil a medicinal decoction for Father and let him drink it directly. It works faster.”
Mother Huo had her heart set on the dog-skin medicinal plaster and had only bought three doses of medicine. If they were all boiled into a decoction, there would be nothing left to make the plaster.
“It’s better to make the plaster.”
Ning Yuchan said worriedly, “I’m afraid that if I fail, it will delay Father’s leg injury.”
Hearing this, Mother Huo also felt uncertain.
“How about boiling one dose for him first, and you can study it more. Try to succeed in one attempt.”
Ning Yuchan asked Taohua to bring out the iron pot. She set up a fire in the courtyard, added water and the medicinal ingredients, and placed the iron pot over the fire.
Just as the water began to boil, she was stirring the medicinal ingredients in the pot with a ladle when Huo Mingqian came over carrying a large basket.
“Boiling medicine?” Huo Mingqian smelled the medicinal scent, walked closer to Ning Yuchan, and looked into the iron pot.
After stirring, Ning Yuchan added more firewood while replying, “Father’s leg injury is serious. Mother bought a few doses of medicine today. The sooner he takes it, the sooner he’ll recover.”
Huo Mingqian carried a large basket of eggs. With a glance, there were at least forty or fifty.
There were also two packages of pastries and a pack of brown sugar.
Seeing Mother Huo come out, he handed the basket to her. “I’ll go see Second Brother.”
Mother Huo originally wanted to refuse out of pride, but on one hand, the family’s life was indeed difficult, and on the other, Huo Mingqian was different from Elder Brother Huo. He was fairly reasonable and just.
Their family was already at odds with the eldest branch. If they also fell out with this younger brother, they would have no relatives left in the future.
“Thank you, Third Brother. Your Second Brother is inside.”
Following the method the doctor had taught her, Ning Yuchan spent nearly an hour and finally finished boiling the medicine.
A full large bowl.
Mother Huo calculated that this bowl alone was worth several taels of silver.
“Yuchan, why didn’t you add more water so he could drink it for a few more times?”
Ning Yuchan smiled. “The doctor instructed it this way. There’s only so much medicine that can be extracted from the ingredients. Adding more water, even if it makes three large bowls, wouldn’t be as effective as one.”
“I see,” Mother Huo did not understand these things. “Alright, do it however you think is best.”
Ning Yuchan carried the medicine into the room and watched with her own eyes as Father Huo drank it.
In front of Huo Mingqian, Father Huo did not say anything.
He would have preferred to use the dog-skin medicinal plaster and apply it to his ankle.
Otherwise, this expensive dose of medicine was being wasted for nothing.
Ning Yuchan’s hands were slender and fair, holding the dark, thick bowl of medicine as she brought it to Father Huo.
Huo Mingqian only felt as if something brighter than light flashed before his eyes.
He could not help but take a few extra looks.
Ning Yuchan noticed his gaze. Remembering that she had written with charcoal earlier, she spoke politely, “Third Uncle, may I borrow something from you?”
Huo Mingqian had never seen such fair and delicate fingers.
It was as if they were gripping his vital point. His breathing became strained, and the blood in his body surged.
Hearing his young niece-in-law’s gentle voice, he pulled his thoughts back and said generously, “Go ahead.”
Ning Yuchan said, “I want to write something down, but there’s no brush or ink at home, and I forgot to buy some today. May I borrow yours?”
It was not that she had forgotten. It was that all their silver had been spent, and she simply could not afford to buy any.
Huo Mingqian was somewhat surprised. “You can write?”
Ning Yuchan nodded shyly. “I learned a little when I was young. I don’t write often, so it’s not very good.”
Father Huo did not like borrowing things from others.
Even if the other person was his own younger brother.
“Yuchan, if we don’t have it, then forget it. We won’t borrow.”
Huo Mingqian understood Father Huo’s thoughts. “Second Brother, are you treating me as an outsider? I am your own younger brother.”
References[+]