Chapter 06 – Sick

Wen Hui received warm hospitality at the old man’s house and spent the night there. The next morning, she bid farewell to the old man’s family and continued her journey.

She did not have enough money, so she spent as little as possible. If she could find a place to stay, she would, or even camped outside on some nights. However, she could feel that the further north she went, the colder it became, with nights and early mornings chilling her hands and feet.

Along the way, she used her slingshot to shoot sparrows and set traps to catch deer. She either ate them herself or exchanged them for food or money with people she met. Thus, she made her way home, constantly thinking of ways to manage.

One day, she arrived at a small town she had visited before. She felt dizzy riding on a horse.

She had encountered bad people along the way but had managed to fend them off with her skills. However, her martial arts could fend off the bad people away, but they could not prevent her from falling sick.

Wen Hui realized she might have caught a cold from camping outside the previous night. She did not dare to be careless, she followed her memory to find the inn where she had stayed on her way to Changsha.

Being a lone young girl with a long stick and a strong chestnut horse was rare on the road, so the inn’s staff and the shopkeeper remembered her. As soon as they saw her, they asked, “Miss, have you met your brother?”

Wen Hui was dizzy and was momentarily confused, “My brother?”

The shopkeeper said, “Ah, just a few days after you left, your elder brother came looking for you and asking around everywhere. When we heard his description, we knew it must be you so we directed him the way before he chased after you. He should have taken the main road. Didn’t you meet him?”

Wen Hui cursed in her heart, “Oh no”. She did not expect her brother to come after her. However, she had been staying with people and hunting for food these days, they must have missed each other.

As her anxiety grew she felt her head was getting more heavy and unsteady. She almost collapsed on the spot.

The shopkeeper quickly arranged a room for her, and Wen Hui, with a fever, could not get up once she lay down, burning up and delirious.

Fortunately, the shopkeeper was kind-hearted, and luckily, next door was the only medicine hall in the town with an old doctor on duty. The shopkeeper invited him over. The old doctor said, “You caught a cold.” and prescribed some medicine.

The shopkeeper’s wife helped to decoct and feed the medicine, pulling the young, reckless girl back from the brink of death.

But as the saying goes, illness comes like a landslide and goes like silk being drawn. Although Wen Hui’s fever had subsided, she was weak and kept coughing violently, making it impossible to continue her journey anytime soon.

Wen Hui took the medicine during the day and while lying down, she calculated the money she owed the innkeeper for the room and medicine. With no other options, she decided to sell her horse, though she was reluctant. Once she made up her mind, she felt more at ease and fell into a drowsy sleep.

She didn’t know how long she had slept before she was jolted awake by a loud knocking on the door.

“Yue Ya’er! Yue Ya’er!” A young man’s voice called urgently outside, pounding on the door, “Yue Ya’er, is that you? Yue Ya’er, answer me!”

The shopkeeper’s wife shouted from the side, “Miss, Miss, are you awake?”

“Yue Ya’er!” The man shouted again, “It’s me! It’s me!”

Hearing this familiar voice, Wen Hui felt a rush of grievance and began to cry, “Brother—!”

As soon as she made a sound, the person outside was certain and, without hesitation, pushed the door open with a bang, “Yue Ya’er!”

Wen Hui sat up and saw a young man rush in before the shopkeeper’s wife could stop him. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, a broad build, and was none other than her eldest brother, Wen Bai. Wen Hui, who had almost died from illness while away, burst into tears upon seeing her brother.

Her voice was hoarse, and her crying was particularly unpleasant and pitiful.

Wen Bai was originally full of anger, but it was quickly extinguished by Wen Hui’s crying.

He looked at Wen Hui’s palm-sized and pale face with sunken eyes, and his heart ached, “How did you become so skinny!”

Feeling his concern, Wen Hui felt even more wronged and cried even louder.

The innkeeper’s wife watched with amusement. This little girl was so brave that she dared to go out alone, but upon seeing her family, she showed her true self. After all, she was just a young girl who hadn’t even reached adulthood.

This young man who was previously furious and kept saying, “If it’s really her, see how I’ll beat her up”, was now the most anxious and distressed than anyone else.

She smiled and comforted him, “Alright, alright. It’s normal to be like this when you’re sick. She hasn’t been able to eat properly. But it’s nothing serious anymore. Doctor Lu said she’ll recover in two or three months with a few more doses of medicine and proper rest.”

Wen Bai cupped his fists and bowed deeply, saying sincerely, “Many thanks, Ma’am. I’ll never forget your kindness for the rest of my life!”

The shopkeeper’s wife was pleased with the young man’s honest and upright demeanor. She covered her mouth and smiled, “It’s alright, it’s good that she’s fine. There’s chicken soup on the stove today. I’ll go get some for your sister.”

Wen Bai thanked her repeatedly. The shopkeeper’s wife left and closed the door to give the siblings privacy.

Wen Hui leaned against the bed, still sobbing. Now that Wen Bai had found her and knew she was out of danger, his initial relief turned back into anger, “Cry, cry, cry. Aren’t you the brave one? What are you crying for?!”

Wen Hui was scolded. Her crying paused for a moment before she cried even louder, choking out, “I’m sick, and you’re still scolding me!”

“You’re sick and you’re still so fierce? Not only am I going to scold you, I’m also going to beat you!” Wen Bai rolled his sleeves and raised his hand as if to hit her.

Wen Hui knew he was only putting on a show and wouldn’t actually hit her. However, this time was indeed different from her usual mischief. When she ran away, she had been fueled by determination. Now that the matter was resolved, she felt relief. But having almost died outside, she was frightened She didn’t dare to cry again and only pursed her lips and looked at her big brother with tear-filled eyes.

From Qingzhou to Changsha Prefecture, she had traveled a thousand miles alone and suffered a lot. Because of her illness, she had become even thinner. Her previously round cheeks were now sunken. Seeing her in such a pitiful state, Wen Bai was both angry and distressed. He fiercely slapped the air above her head a few times, “Who told you to be brave?! To be fearless?! And who told you to run away?!”

Wen Hui shrunk her neck.

Wen Bai’s pantomimed slaps seemed to vent his anger, and his fury diminished significantly. Hands on his hips, he breathed heavily and scolded, “Do you know how far I chased you? I was almost at Yuezhou Prefecture! On the way, I asked around and people said they saw a girl with a white wax stick passing by. She went over once and then returned!”

When Wen Hui heard this, realized her brother had missed her on the way and had taken many unnecessary detours. Her neck shrunk even further.

Wen Bai poked the top of her head, “You’re shrinking? What are you shrinking for? Are you an old turtle?! You’re shrinking your neck?!”

Wen Hui mumbled, “Then how did you turn back?”

“If I didn’t turn back, should I keep going forward? Am I a fool?”

Wen Bai was exasperated, “I asked around and chased here. When I asked, they said the girl almost died in the inn! Aren’t you strong? Why did you almost die? Ahh, ptooey ptooey ptooey!”

After scolding her, he felt it was inauspicious and quickly spat three times to ward off bad luck.

Wen Hui stammered, “Did father and mother send you to find me? That, are they alright?” They weren’t angered to death, right?

“Alright my ass!” Wen Bai’s hands on hips, pointed at her, and scolded, “Father was almost angered to death by you! Mother was so anxious that her mouth was foaming. She wanted to come after you herself, but Ah Shan and your sister Ying Niang had a ceremony to attend, how could she leave? Ah Song wanted to come, but with me away, Father needed someone to help him, so I stopped him. I’m the only one who could come. Ying Niang wanted to see you, but your sister-in-law covered for you.”

Wen Hui hurriedly said, “Thank you, sister-in-law. When I return, I’ll make shoes for sister-in-law and Hu Ge’er.”

“Making shoes can wait, and I’ll let you do it! Think about how we’ll get back quickly.” Wen Bai, having scolded enough, remembered the main task, “The day after you left, the Lu family sent a letter saying that Madam Lu wanted to bring Young Master Lu over to pay their respects. Mother almost fainted when she read the letter and got the foam in her mouth that night. Father had Wu Xiucai^[1]Scholar, a person who has passed the county-level imperial exam. write a letter back, insisting we had a family elder’s memorial service and postponed the date to next month.

The letter was sent, but we don’t know how they’ll respond. But Mother said I must bring you back before the date Father gave them. She said if I were even one day late, we wouldn’t need to return at all! We’d be on our own outside!”

Wen Hui was stunned and asked, “Is it settled?”

Wen Bai replied, “Of course! Master Lu is a scholar, a top-ranked graduate! He said he wanted to marry into our family to repay Father’s life-saving kindness, so it was naturally settled!”

Wen Hui’s throat began to itch and started coughing. She lowered her head and stopped talking.

Her mischievous little sister had become so thin that her eye sockets were sunken, her cheeks hollowed, and her chin pointed. She revealed a look of worry that had never appeared before, making Wen Bai suddenly see her as a grown woman.

Wen Bai paused and suddenly lost the energy to scold her. He sighed and asked, “Did you see him?”

Wen Hui lowered her head, “I saw him.”

Wen Bai sat down by the bed, “You really saw him? You found the Prince Xiang Manor, and found him just like that?”

However, Wen Hui said, “No, I met him on the way before I reached the Changsha Prefecture …” She didn’t dare mention the fight. She only said she had asked someone about the Xiang Manor on the way and happened to meet him.

“Such a coincidence?” Wen Bai found it unbelievable. He paused, sighed, and asked, “How is Lian Yi now? Is he well?”

Wen Hui only lowered her head and did not speak. After a long silence, she said, “He’s dressed brightly, but he no longer has his own name.”

“What else could it be? He’s a slave now. What else can he do?” Wen Bai shook his head.

He didn’t mention that Huo Jue’s situation was not an ordinary slave’s. Ordinary slaves could be redeemed. Even if they were official slaves, if they were lucky enough to be pardoned, they could still change their appearance and become new people.

However, Huo Jue had been castrated and became a eunuch.

There were no further prospects in this life. No descendants, no chance to remove his status, and couldn’t even be buried in the ancestral grave.

It was Wen Bai who personally took care of Huo Jue in prison, washing his body. He couldn’t bear to look at the cut area, always feeling a chill down his spine.

Growing up in a military fort, Wen Bai had seen many injured soldiers with severed limbs or disfigured faces, but he’d never been so scared. Huo Jue’s injury scared him so much that his calves and stomach were cramped.

“Alright, you’ve seen him. And then what?” Wen Bai asked. “You traveled all this way. What were you planning to do?”

“I didn’t plan to do anything. I just want to say a few words to him.”

“And did you?”

“I did.”

Wen Bai didn’t ask what Wen Hui had said to Huo Jue. With Wen Hui’s simple little brain, what else could she have done? She was either apologizing out of pity or words of encouragement and comfort for him.

“You’ve seen him and talked to him. Are you at ease now? Can you come home with me now?”

“Yes,” Wen Hui said. “I’ve made things clear with him, and now I feel completely at ease.”

Not only that, but she also fell seriously ill because of him. Wen Hui believed it was a small punishment from the heavens for breaking off the engagement.

Just like when she was naughty when she was young and got punished with hand slaps or kneeling in the ancestral hall. Once the punishment was over, the matter was considered settled.

She and Huo Jue had cleared things up, and he had agreed. The heavens had also punished her. Though her body was still weak, her heart felt much lighter and clearer than when she came.

—Because they were even, and they were settled.

From now on, the Wen family’s Hui, and Huo Jue, Huo Lianyi owed each other nothing and had nothing to do with each other anymore.

The eldest son of the Wen family, Wen Bai, looked up at the sky and heaved a long sigh of relief.

“Alright, as long as you’re at ease, come home with me,” he said. “After the ceremony, you’ll be part of the Lu family.”

“You’re the daughter-in-law of a top scholar. In the future, you might even become a scholar’s wife, enjoying the honor and titles.”

“This kind of good marriage falling from the sky. Our family didn’t even dare to think about it in the past.