The funeral arrangements were simple, but they were still exhausting and labor-intensive. Because of his high fever throughout the night, Xiao Nanchen had been asleep almost the entire time. It was nearly dark when Shen Ning finally heard movement coming from his room.
After knocking, she pushed open the door and saw Xiao Nanchen sitting on the kang, his face filled with the dazed confusion of someone who had just awakened from a deep sleep.
When he saw her, the little fool seemed to suddenly come fully awake. Then he pouted, his eyes filled with grievance. “Eldest Sister-in-Law, hungry.”
Shen Ning laughed despite herself.
Wasn’t this just too adorable?
Looking at the little fool’s innocent, confused, and pitiful gaze, who could have imagined that he was actually the future ruler described in the book—a decisive man with supreme power and a reputation for ruthless methods?
The leftover food had been kept warm with hot water. Shen Ning brought it over and set the small kang table beside him. “Just eat here. You’d better not move your leg around. Starting tomorrow, I’ll think of a way to get some medicine.”
The little fool’s eyes were fixed entirely on the food. He did not care at all what she was saying. As soon as he got the chopsticks, he lowered his head and began shoveling food into his mouth, his head bobbing up and down as he ate.
Looking at him, Shen Ning inexplicably thought of the black-backed dog she had once raised. Normally, it had looked mighty and imposing, but whenever it was eating, it would bury its head in its food, revealing an inexplicably foolish air.
After wolfing down the meal, the little fool let out a long sigh of satisfaction. But the moment he moved, he let out a groan.
Seeing him frown and clutch his stomach, Shen Ning immediately became alert. “What is it? Does something hurt?”
His wound had been infected for quite some time, and there were toxins in his body. She could not afford to be careless.
Clutching his stomach, the little fool looked pitiful. “It hurts…”
“Where does it hurt?”
Her future golden thigh absolutely could not suffer any mishaps.
Shen Ning hurriedly had him lie down, her expression concerned. “Lie flat and tell me where it hurts.”
As she had done during her old rounds, she lifted his tattered shirt and gently pressed his stomach. In a soft voice, she asked, “Does it hurt here?”
The little fool shook his head.
Shen Ning pressed lower, around where the liver was. There were no bruises, and she could not feel any swelling or other abnormalities. She asked, “What about here?”
The little fool still shook his head.
Shen Ning carefully pressed and felt around, paying close attention to the sensation beneath her hand. But just then, the pitiful look that had filled Xiao Nanchen’s face froze, and his gaze changed.
The instant he regained consciousness, he had felt cool, soft fingers pressing against his abdomen—and slowly moving downward. Then he saw the gentle, concerned expression on the face of that frivolous widow, and he immediately remembered what had happened the previous night.
This shameless woman really would not even spare a fool!
Xiao Nanchen raised his foot and kicked.
Shen Ning had trained in combat sports. She abruptly dodged backward, utterly astonished. “What are you doing?”
“You…”
Xiao Nanchen was just about to curse at her when he belatedly remembered that, a moment earlier, he seemed to have said that his stomach hurt, after which she had done this.
But regardless of the circumstances, they were an unmarried man and woman, and she had actually lifted his clothes and felt her way downward. What was more, there was the precedent of the previous night.
Who would believe that she did not harbor improper intentions?
Just how desperate was this woman?
Strenuously maintaining his persona as a simple-minded fool, Xiao Nanchen pursed his lips and said stiffly, “You go out.”
A moment earlier, Shen Ning had already realized that there was nothing wrong with the fool—he simply needed to use the toilet. She sighed helplessly. She was extremely tolerant toward her patient. “All right.”
Seeing the “disappointment” on Shen Ning’s face, Xiao Nanchen secretly ground his teeth, forcibly suppressing the urge to strangle her to death.
Shen Ning turned to leave, but then remembered something and stepped back to remind him, “Your leg is injured, so it won’t be convenient. Do you need me to—”
Before she could finish, Xiao Nanchen hurriedly interrupted her. “No need!”
This shameless woman actually wanted to help him undo his belt!
She had originally intended to ask whether he needed her to support him to the latrine, but seeing how strongly the little fool resisted, Shen Ning did not bring it up again.
She did not know why the little fool had reacted so intensely, but after all, the toxins had entered his brain. He could do any number of strange things.
She could not argue with her future golden thigh. She took the bowls and chopsticks, closed the door, and went out.
That night, once she was lying in her own room, Shen Ning was finally able to calm down and properly consider what she would do with her life from then on.
After paying for the funeral, she had practically spent every last bit of silver she had. In this impoverished era, having no money meant that she would have to live like everyone else in the village, leading a poor and backward life.
For someone accustomed to the conveniences of life in the twenty-first century, this was truly difficult.
Now that she had finally been given another chance at life, of course she wanted to live better… So the first thing she had to do was earn money.
Besides, Xiao Nanchen’s injuries required silver to buy medicine. She had to think of a way.
While Shen Ning lay on the kang, pondering ways to make money, Shen Danian was raging in the Shen family home in neighboring Shihe Village. The reason was that Shen Qingbai had actually lost the longevity lock around his neck.
It was the only valuable possession in the Shen family.
Because Shen Qingbai had been weak from birth, falling ill every other day and nearly dying several times, his mother, Liu Cuiyun, had used the only silver bracelet from her dowry to have the lock made for him.
But after returning from the Zhao family that day, Shen Danian had inexplicably said that he wanted to look at the lock his son wore. Only then had he learned that Shen Qingbai had lost it.
Liu Cuiyun wiped away her tears. “How could you be so careless? Your health is weak. That lock was meant to protect your life.”
Shen Danian was even more furious. “That was such a large piece of silver! I should’ve spent it myself. I gave it to an unlucky, short-lived wretch like you, only for you to waste it for nothing.”
Liu Cuiyun had always been timid, but when she heard her husband curse their son as short-lived, she immediately lost control. She rushed forward and began hitting him.
Shen Qingbai sat there, his face expressionless.
In fact, the lock had not been lost. He had sold it and exchanged it for broken silver, which he had given to his older sister, Shen Ning.
Two years ago… By the time he had returned home from the village school and found out, his sister had already been sold. The money from the sale had then been spent almost entirely: half had gone toward buying medicine to treat him, and Shen Danian had gambled away the other half.
Even if he had wanted to get her back, he had been unable to. Nor had he had the face to go see his sister in the village only a short distance away.
Later, after learning that she was living a fairly decent life in Qingyuan Village, he had finally been able to feel somewhat at ease. He had never expected that, just over two years later, her husband would die.
Shen Qingbai felt he had let his sister down, so he had secretly sold the lock around his neck.
He did not believe in such things anyway, nor did he think that a silver lock could hold on to a person’s fate. But he would never tell his parents. If he did, they would certainly make a scene and pester her endlessly until they got the silver back.
That silver was what they owed his sister.
Because he had been weak since childhood, he was always bullied whenever he went out. Shen Qingbai was quiet by nature, and even toward the sister who had cared for him since childhood, he rarely spoke.
Shen Ning was constantly beaten and cursed by their parents, and as a result, she was somewhat fearful of him as well. But to Shen Qingbai, she was his sister—the only sibling he had.
After making a scene, Shen Danian left while cursing and grumbling. Liu Cuiyun sat there wiping her tears, while Shen Qingbai read in his own room. When dusk fell, he closed the old book, its edges already curled, and lay down on the kang.
In truth, it made little difference whether he studied or not. The last academic examination had nearly cost him his life, let alone the provincial examination—or even the autumn examination that would follow.
Back then, Pei Yuanzhou of Qingyuan Village had been a licentiate at the same time as him. Now, Pei Yuanzhou was studying at the county school, while he could only linger at home, struggling to survive.
The night gradually deepened, and the countryside slowly became quiet. Only the faint sounds of children crying and the occasional barking of dogs could be heard…
Shen Ning enjoyed nights like this very much. She closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep.
Early the next morning, Shen Ning awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside.
She left some food for Xiao Nanchen, then went out and headed to the neighboring hunter Zhao Tong’s home.
Yesterday, she had seen a bow hanging on the wall of Zhao Tong’s house.
Her archery skills had once been quite good. Qingyuan Mountain lay just outside Qingyuan Village, and there was no shortage of small animals and game in the mountains. She wanted to try her luck and hunt a rabbit, wild boar, or something similar. Whatever else happened, she would first find a way to gather enough money for Xiao Nanchen’s medicine.
His injuries could not be delayed any longer.
When Shen Ning said that she wanted to borrow a bow and arrows, Zhao Tong’s wife, Lian’er, agreed without hesitation. She even specially brought Shen Ning a quiver, which contained more than a dozen arrows, all with iron arrowheads.
Shen Ning knew that these things were valuable household possessions for a village family, so she thanked her repeatedly.
Afterward, she carried her back basket and took the bow and arrows out of the village, heading straight into Qingyuan Mountain…