A Good Country Wife
Chapter 362 - 356_1

Chapter 362: 356_1

Lin Yue knew that he was always very cold to other women, but this time, surprisingly, he didn’t have his usual cold expression, instead showing a hint of warmth. It was obvious that he was familiar with that woman, and she seemed to have deliberately waited for Zhao Erhu at the gates. Upon seeing their carriage, she immediately approached, affectionately calling out "Brother Erhu," which made Lin Yue feel nauseous.

Lin Yue wasn’t someone who got jealous without cause. If it had been Wei Fangcao or the widow Liu Cuicui from the past, she wouldn’t have cared at all. With women like them, even if they threw themselves at Zhao Erhu, he wouldn’t have been interested. It was Zhao Erhu’s attitude that bothered her—the way a woman feels uneasy when she sees her man treating another woman differently.

"Brother Erhu, it’s been a long time, you seem even more spirited now. You’ve been doing well these days, haven’t you?" The woman, ignoring the presence of Lin Yue at Zhao Erhu’s side, said to him.

"Yes, quite well. And you, why are you here?" Zhao Erhu felt that ever since he got a wife, his days had been quite good and he was very happy, especially after delivering the goods to Capital City. He felt a lot more relaxed, and his mood was already good, so his smile became even more evident when someone brought up this topic.

"You know about my husband. He’s just like that, always in poor health, and recently it’s been getting worse. I have a matter that I need your help with. I heard you often come into the city, so I waited here for you specially."

Seeing the two of them so unaware, chatting away at the gate and especially ignoring her presence, was unbearable for Lin Yue. This woman definitely posed a problem; otherwise, she wouldn’t be behaving like this—it was clear that she was hostile towards her.

"Zhao Erhu, who is this? Why don’t you introduce us?" Although Lin Yue still wore a smile, it was obviously forced, and Zhao Erhu, who was talking to the woman, didn’t even notice. It was rare for Zhao Erhu to ignore her feelings, and realizing this, Lin Yue felt even more stifled.

Zhao Erhu himself hadn’t seen an old acquaintance for such a long time, so he was inevitably happy to see her. Upon hearing Lin Yue speak, he remembered that he had ignored his wife. Seeing her complexion, which clearly wasn’t good, and the forced nature of her smile, he wondered if she was perhaps jealous! That was rare indeed. He recalled how Niuniu had dismissed Wei Fangcao when she came looking for him in the past, and now, to see her jealous, Zhao Erhu felt somewhat delighted inside. The more jealous his wife was, the more it meant she cared about him.

Zhao Erhu took Lin Yue’s hand, "Let me introduce you two. Wife, this is Li Xiaotao, the aunt of third brother and fourth brother. Xiaotao, this is my wife Lin Yue. Get to know each other."

When Li Xiaotao saw Zhao Erhu act this way, a dark shade flickered in her eyes. It appeared that what they said was true—Brother Erhu really cherished his wife, far more than her own invalid husband who was clueless and irritable. How did she end up married to such a man? She wondered what her sister had been thinking. She let such a good man like Zhao Erhu go and ran off with another man—why couldn’t she have had the good fortune of marrying someone like Zhao Erhu.

"It’s Sister-in-law, ah, you are truly beautiful, Brother Erhu is really lucky to have married a wife like you." Li Xiaotao, despite her inner disdain for Lin Yue, had to pretend to be enthusiastic on the surface; she couldn’t let Zhao Erhu see through her thoughts.

Lin Yue could see right through Li Xiaotao’s insincere words, "So it’s the aunt of the third and fourth brothers, hello there. You’ve come to see our family’s Erhu today for something, right? Rest assured, our Erhu is the most helpful person around; as long as he can assist, he definitely will."

"Then, I thank Brother Erhu in advance. It’s about my husband’s issue. He has always been unwell; his illness has never improved and recently it’s become even more severe. I heard from people in the village that Brother Erhu knows a Divine Doctor, so I wanted to ask for Brother Erhu’s help, to see if he could invite the Divine Doctor to take a look at my husband’s illness." Li Xiaotao wasn’t genuinely concerned about her husband’s illness; she merely used it as an excuse to get close to Zhao Erhu, especially since she heard that Zhao Erhu’s family had become wealthy, and her sickly husband was not going to last much longer, so she became quite impatient.

Zhao Erhu, though he detested the promiscuous nature of the Li Family, still held a good impression of this little aunt; during those times of his despair due to Li Family’s betrayal, it was this little aunt who had tirelessly taken care of him and his son for a while. Therefore, Zhao Erhu had always treated Li Xiaotao well and naturally wouldn’t refuse her request for help. However, Jiang Ziqi was not so easy to invite, not to mention that he had already left Xin’an City and returned to Capital City.

Although Lin Yue had heard that Li Xiaotao had married, she could clearly sense an unsettling restlessness in her manner, so she remained on guard, especially as this woman clearly harbored hostility towards her, "It turns out Xiaotao wishes to invite Divine Doctor Jiang. His medical skills are indeed exceptional, but he abides by a rule, he must be paid a hundred taels of silver as a consultation fee in advance. Our family’s Erhu did the same. I wonder if you’re aware of this rule, Xiaotao, and furthermore, Divine Doctor Jiang has already returned to Capital City. I’m afraid our family’s Erhu doesn’t have enough influence to invite Divine Doctor Jiang to treat your husband."

Li Xiaotao held hostility towards Lin Yue and didn’t quite believe what Lin Yue said; she turned her gaze to Zhao Erhu, who nodded in agreement, "What my wife said is all true. My life was saved by my wife. Divine Doctor Jiang has a special status, and even if the consultation fee is collected, he might not agree to make a house call." Just like how Zhao Erhu had actually asked Jiang Ziqi to treat his Sister Zhao Yunxiang before and had been turned down—a fact Lin Yue was unaware of.

"What am I to do, then? My husband’s illness is getting worse, and if it continues like this, I’m afraid that..." Upon hearing Zhao Erhu say so, Li Xiaomei’s face turned very sorrowful, and tears came on cue, "Brother Erhu, what should I do? Can you please help me?"

Lin Yue watched Li Xiaomei put on an act in front of Zhao Erhu that seemed all too real, sneering dismissively. Zhao Erhu also realized that Li Xiaotao was somewhat insincere, but given their past connection and Li Xiaotao’s genuine help during that difficult period, he felt this favor still needed to be repaid as a way to settle the past debt.

"Divine Doctor Jiang is not available, but I know that Doctor Zheng from Jimin Hall is quite skilled. Whenever our family has any health issues, we always turn to Doctor Zheng for treatment. How about we ask Doctor Zheng to take a look at your husband? Perhaps he might find a way to cure him." Zhao Erhu, realizing Jiang Ziqi was unattainable, came up with this idea.

Lin Yue wasn’t familiar with the past events between Li Xiaotao and Zhao Erhu. She didn’t know about those matters and saw Zhao Erhu actively helping Li Xiaotao with suggestions, which made her feel a tightness in her chest, unresolved. It seemed that Li Xiaotao was indeed not just anybody to Zhao Erhu.