Seeing Qin Xiaoruo suddenly burst out of the house, Fu Zhiwen, who had been tiptoeing to avoid waking anyone up, jumped in surprise, “What’s wrong, sister-in-law?”
“I want to go to the city with you.”
Qin Xiaoruo groped her way into the kitchen in the dark, quickly drew water from the tank to rinse her mouth and wash her face, then picked up the bag of herbal medicine that Lady Guan had prepared the night before, and urged Fu Zhiwen, “Let’s go, we’ll wait for Brother Fu at the entrance of the village.”
Fu Zhiwen wanted to say something, but Qin Xiaoruo had already left the courtyard, so he had no choice but to grab a lantern and follow closely behind.
It was still dark out, and Qin Xiaoruo, while Fu Zhiwen wasn’t paying attention, secretly stuffed a bunch of more valuable herbs she had picked from the space into her basket to fetch a bit more money.
When the two arrived at the village entrance, several villagers were already waiting there.
In Houling Village, Fu Zhiwen was the only scholar, and everyone in the village held him in high regard, especially the village chief.
To encourage Fu Zhiwen, when Fu Hanwen was not at home, the chief’s sons took turns using the ox cart to ferry him back and forth every month, while also purchasing goods for the villagers.
The villagers who were waiting so early were also there to ask Fu Hanwen to bring things back from the county city.
Several villagers gathered around Fu Zhiwen and exchanged pleasantries, but only one woman came up to Qin Xiaoruo and exclaimed in surprise, “Hey, isn’t this Xiao Ruo?”
“It’s me.” It was too dark for Qin Xiaoruo to recognize the woman’s voice at the moment.
“Didn’t your father and Lady Woo come back?
Why are you still with the Fu Family?
Are you still living with them?” the woman spoken again.
Qin Xiaoruo’s eyes narrowed slightly as she drawled, “So it’s Aunt Feng, I almost didn’t recognize you!”
It turned out that this Aunt Feng’s real name was Zheng Ahfeng, and she was a distantly related aunt of Lady Woo’s, connected through many twists and turns.
It was Zheng Ahfeng who had brokered the marriage between Lady Woo and Qin Anshun.
Houling Village was a place where hardly any secrets could be kept, so almost everyone knew that Qin Xiaoruo was still living with the Fu Family.
How could Zheng Ahfeng, who was so close to Lady Woo, not know?
Qin Xiaoruo knew what was going on, just waiting to hear what Zheng Ahfeng would say next.
Zheng Ahfeng, seemingly oblivious to the change in Qin Xiaoruo’s tone, had a basketful of scolding words prepared, “Xiao Ruo ah, don’t blame Aunt Feng for being nosy…”
“Aunt Feng, do a lot of people complain about you being nosy?” Qin Xiaoruo interrupted her with confusion, offering a friendly reminder, “If it’s indeed the case, then you really should reflect on yourself.”
Qin Xiaoruo’s voice was not loud, but it carried far in the open space of the village entrance.
Zheng Ahfeng didn’t know if it was being choked by Qin Xiaoruo’s words or if she hadn’t expected the normally meek girl to suddenly fight back, but she remained silent for a long time.
The villagers who were chatting with Fu Zhiwen a few meters away also fell into a strange silence due to Qin Xiaoruo’s remark.
In fact, many villagers in Houling thought it was improper for Fu Hanwen and Qin Xiaoruo to live together before marriage.
But considering how Lady Woo normally treated Qin Xiaoruo and the fact that the village chief himself didn’t interfere, no one wanted to provoke the Fu Family.
At most, they would just gossip behind their backs.
Now that Zheng Ahfeng openly brought it up, everyone understood that she was sticking up for Lady Woo.
Didn’t Zheng Ahfeng realize that Lady Woo had abandoned Qin Xiaoruo on that day?
Lady Woo herself didn’t have the nerve to make a fuss at the Fu Family’s house, so what was Zheng Ahfeng thinking, bringing this up in front of Fu Zhiwen?
Was her head caught in a door, or was she simply mistaken?
The sound of the ox cart came from afar, and Fu Zhiwen broke the awkward silence, “My big brother has arrived!”
PS: Today’s update is complete, thank you all for your votes and rewards, muah~~