After dragging Su Cuifen back to their room, Xu Shi felt both angry and heartbroken.
Her daughter’s face had been ruined.
This grudge would definitely be repaid.
Just not yet.
Once Ye Xiu’e was married off, she would have plenty of opportunities to deal with Su Wanwan.
And if Ye Xiu’e refused to remarry?
Well, Xu Shi had even crueler plans waiting.
Meanwhile, Ye Xiu’e shut her door again and took a wild pheasant out of her herb basket.
Whenever she went into the mountains to gather medicinal plants, she set traps in hopes of catching rabbits or pheasants.
Today, her luck had been good.
She had caught a pheasant.
Perfect for helping Wanwan recover her health.
Quickly cleaning and preparing it, she added some matsutake mushrooms she had gathered in the mountains.
Everything went into an enamel mug before she poured in water.
The charcoal stove was already burning steadily.
She placed the mug on top and left it to simmer.
Matsutake and pheasant soup.
Just thinking about it made Su Wanwan nearly drool.
She had already discovered how delicious food from this era could be.
Wild pheasant and wild mushrooms—true mountain delicacies.
She couldn’t wait.
Just as Ye Xiu’e finished preparing everything, someone knocked on the door.
“Xiu’e, there are guests in the main hall. Come over for a moment.”
Guests?
And they specifically wanted her?
Ye Xiu’e replied,
“Alright. I’ll be there shortly.”
Su Wanwan immediately had a suspicion.
This was probably a matchmaking visit.
As Ye Xiu’e prepared to leave, Su Wanwan suddenly grabbed her sleeve.
“Mom, do you want to get married?”
The question caught Ye Xiu’e completely off guard.
Her daughter really did say unexpected things.
Then a thought occurred to her.
Perhaps Wanwan had overheard some rumors and was worried that her mother would abandon her.
Squatting down, Ye Xiu’e gently comforted her.
“Mom doesn’t want to get married.
Mom only wants to stay with you and live a good life.”
That was the answer Su Wanwan needed.
Now that she knew her mother had no intention of remarrying, she decided she would help her.
Old Madam Su had already kept the guests waiting in the main hall for quite some time by the time Ye Xiu’e finally appeared.
She motioned for her to sit down.
Then she froze.
What had happened to her?
Her complexion was waxy yellow.
Her lips were pale.
Heavy dark circles hung beneath her eyes.
Combined with her naturally thin frame, she looked like someone terminally ill.
Ye Xiu’e quietly examined the people in the room.
Two women and one man sat waiting.
One woman was clearly a matchmaker.
The other woman and the man resembled each other and were obviously mother and son.
After introductions, she learned they were from neighboring Zhu Family Village.
The man’s name was Zhu Fenqiang, and the older woman was his mother.
The moment she heard his name, Ye Xiu’e almost burst out laughing.
“Pig Dung Wall?”
What kind of name was that?
Still, it sounded oddly familiar.
She felt certain she had heard it somewhere before.
Old Madam Su shot her a glare and spoke earnestly.
“Fenqiang is hardworking and honest. He’s a good man.
Xiu’e, I’ve always hated seeing you remain a widow for Youcai’s sake.
You’re still young.
Before, you insisted on observing mourning and refused to remarry.
But Youcai has already been gone for three years.
So I’ve taken it upon myself to find you a good family.
What do you think?”
Her words sounded sincere and touching.
Had Ye Xiu’e not suddenly remembered who Zhu Fenqiang was, she might actually have believed her.
But she remembered now.
Zhu Fenqiang’s previous wife had died in childbirth.
The situation hadn’t been hopeless.
But the Zhu family had refused to spend money taking her to the hospital.
Both mother and baby died.
And despite his honest appearance, Zhu Fenqiang himself was partly responsible.
He had beaten his wife so badly during pregnancy that complications arose.
The Zhu family’s actions had become infamous throughout the surrounding villages.
Old Madam Su absolutely knew this.
Yet she still wanted to push Ye Xiu’e into that pit of fire.
Ye Xiu’e’s expression immediately turned cold.
“Mother, you don’t need to worry about my marriage.
I’m doing just fine and have no intention of remarrying.
Besides, do you really think I don’t know what kind of people you’ve brought here?”
Hearing this, Madam Zhu became furious.
In her eyes, Ye Xiu’e was only a widow.
What right did she have to look down on them?
“Our Fenqiang is hardworking and honest, yet you think he’s beneath you?
Look at yourself first!
You’re lucky anyone wants you at all!”
Truthfully, Madam Zhu had already been considering leaving.
Ye Xiu’e looked half-dead sitting there.
Now she was being rejected first.
That was the last straw.
She stood up immediately.
Old Madam Su hurriedly grabbed her and whispered into her ear.
Only then did Madam Zhu calm down slightly.
Old Madam Su promised there would be no bride price.
They could simply take Ye Xiu’e away.
More importantly, she was a registered barefoot doctor.
She received government subsidies every month.
A wife that cost nothing and brought income?
Even if she only survived another month, that was still ten yuan.
And Old Madam Su had insisted that she was usually healthy.
Faced with such a profitable opportunity, Madam Zhu found it difficult to refuse.
After persuading Madam Zhu, Old Madam Su turned back to Ye Xiu’e.
But before she could speak, Ye Xiu’e suddenly began coughing.
At first it sounded ordinary.
Then it became more violent.
The coughing grew worse and worse.
Suddenly—
Pfft!
She spat out a mouthful of blood.
Everyone in the room froze.
Coughing blood was a terrifying sight.
Covering her mouth weakly, Ye Xiu’e said,
“Mother, it’s not that I don’t want to marry.
You know my health isn’t good.
I don’t want to burden anyone.”
The room exploded.
Madam Zhu immediately erupted like a string of firecrackers.
“You wicked old woman!
You knew she was sick and still called us here?
Trying to dump a dying invalid on my family?
Do you think we run a funeral home?
If we marry her today, we’ll be holding a funeral tomorrow!
Your intentions are truly vicious.
Did our Zhu family offend you somehow?
I swear you’re rotten from head to toe!”
Old Madam Su was equally furious.
She felt wronged too.
She genuinely didn’t know Ye Xiu’e was supposedly ill.
That morning, the woman had eaten half the rice from the porridge pot.
How had she suddenly become a dying patient?
Yet looking at her current appearance, it didn’t seem fake.
Old Madam Su was left speechless.
Madam Zhu, her son, and the matchmaker cursed all the way out of the house.
Hearing the commotion, Xu Shi came out to investigate.
The moment she saw Ye Xiu’e’s appearance, she was shocked.
Ye Xiu’e ignored everyone and returned directly to her room.
Unfortunately for Xu Shi, she had arrived at exactly the wrong time.
Old Madam Su was overflowing with anger.
Unable to vent at Ye Xiu’e, she redirected everything toward Xu Shi.
“This was all your rotten idea!
Now everyone will think I’m trying to marry off a dying widow.
If she actually dies, that’s one thing.
But if she recovers, who will ever want a widow who supposedly kills husbands and is always at death’s door?”
Xu Shi didn’t dare argue.
She stood there silently taking the scolding.
When Su Wangcai returned and saw the situation, he immediately asked what happened.
Xu Shi hurriedly dragged him back into their room and explained everything.
The moment he heard Ye Xiu’e supposedly had a serious illness, he grinned.
Then another thought occurred to him.
She was a doctor herself.
What if she cured herself?
No.
That couldn’t be allowed.
He needed to make things worse.
He had heard that seriously ill people couldn’t handle emotional stress.
If he could keep upsetting her, perhaps her condition would never improve.
With that thought in mind, Su Wangcai made a decision.
After lunch, he would head straight to the Cheng family.