A Good Country Wife
Chapter 519 - 513_1

Chapter 519: Chapter 513_1

"My sweet wife, I’m back now. I’ll take care of everything from here on out. Just get some good sleep." Zhao Erhu placed Lin Yue gently on the bed, tucked in the blanket snugly, and then tenderly planted a soft kiss on her forehead before he straightened up. Turning to look at the gathering of servants, the affection and concern on his face vanished completely, replaced instantaneously by a stern expression. Even Madam Xu, who was accustomed to handling major incidents, felt a hint of fear and knelt on the ground with trepidation.

In order to avoid disturbing Lin Yue, Zhao Erhu gestured for Madam Xu and Xixi to follow him to the outer room, leaving Dalang and the others to keep Lin Yue company inside. Although Lin Yue had gotten much better over the past few days, Dalang and his brothers still stayed in her room, worried that she might feel bored. However, Lin Yue was concerned that this might disrupt their studies, especially since Scholar Zhang had strict expectations for them. Even though the academy was closed, homework was still assigned. Dalang and his brothers naturally refused to leave Lin Yue alone and instead brought their books into her room to study. Lin Yue couldn’t decide whether the stubborn children were staying by her side partly to keep an eye on her progress.

"This servant begs for the master’s forgiveness. It is my fault for not taking good care of madam," Madam Xu admitted her fault without any defense, knowing Zhao Erhu’s implication of blaming. Despite having little relation to the incident, she thought perhaps she could have prevented it by offering some advice before madam left the house. Besides, ingrained in her since her time in the palace was the idea that when misfortune befalls a master, the servants accompanying them are to blame, regardless of the reason.

Seeing Madam Xu act this way, even though Xixi didn’t know exactly what she did wrong, she knelt down to admit her own guilt, understanding that Lin Yue was injured under her watch. The good attitude of confession shown by Xixi resulted from training by Madam Xu during this time.

Zhao Erhu, seeing their reaction, softened his expression considerably. He was aware of Madam Xu and Xixi’s loyalty to his wife. Having gathered a rough understanding of the situation from his wife’s sobbing account just now, he still needed to clarify the specific details.

After hearing the whole story from Madam Xu, the veins on Zhao Erhu’s forehead bulged visibly, and his body radiated a chilling aura of wanting to flay and grind the wrongdoer to bits, "Damn these worthless bastards!"

Fortunately, Zhao Erhu was mindful of Lin Yue in the inner chamber, worried that making too much noise might disturb her. He barely managed to suppress the urge to violently throw things around, his curse still frightening Xixi terribly. Despite his typically cold demeanor, he now seemed terrifying. However, Madam Xu, having experienced Zhao Erhu’s anger just moments ago, had already regained her composure.

Li Jiansan’s elder brother was an arrest officer in the government office, and Magistrate Ceng Lu of Xin’an City was known as a negligent official. Zhao Erhu certainly didn’t expect the government to punish Ceng Lu, which meant he had to think of other ways. But knowing who was responsible gave him a target, and dealing with Li Jiansan, who wasn’t a significant figure, would be easy. He had inferred from Madam Xu’s words that Jimin Hall had gotten involved with intentions of avenging Lin Yue. Therefore, Zhao Erhu still needed to make a visit to Jimin Hall.

Not only for this matter, but he also owed personal thanks to Doctor Zheng and Manager Liu, who had saved Lin Yue. Zhao Erhu was genuinely grateful. Apart from past events, this time, had it not been for Doctor Zheng’s timely encounter and Manager Liu’s prompt rescue, Lin Yue might have been lost. The mere thought tightened his chest, far beyond mere pain. It was almost suffocating. He couldn’t imagine a life without his dear wife; without her, he felt he wouldn’t be able to continue living, akin to a walking corpse. All his current efforts would lose their meaning.

In the meantime, Zhao Erhu’s mind was consumed with the incident of Li Jiansan mistreating Lin Yue, leaving him with no mood for anything else. After sitting by his wife’s bed for a while and seeing her sleep peacefully, he suspected she wouldn’t wake up anytime soon, so he left the room.

Even if Lin Yue was asleep, Zhao Erhu would have been content to stay beside her, simply watching the person he longed for day and night felt like enough. It seemed he could never get enough of her. Nevertheless, he needed to deal with Li Jiansan’s matter first. The thought of that scoundrel, who had bullied his wife and nearly caused her death, still at large and enjoying himself, made him feel like a fire was burning in his chest, restless and unable to find peace for even a moment.

Zhao Erhu came out from the inner room. By that time, Mother Xu and Xixi had already prepared hot water for Zhao Erhu’s washing. However, Zhao Erhu was in a hurry to leave, so he washed up hurriedly, ate something, and after giving a few instructions to Mother Xu, he was ready to head out.

Mother Xu, hearing that Zhao Erhu was going to Jimin Hall, quickly stopped him, "Master, please wait a moment. If you’re going to Jimin Hall, you might as well take the New Year’s gifts for Manager Liu and Doctor Zheng. Originally, the mistress planned to deliver them personally, but with the recent events, she couldn’t go out, so we’ve been waiting until now to send a servant to deliver them."

"Since that’s the case, I’ll take them with me. Are the gifts all ready?" Zhao Erhu also thought it would be better to deliver them personally and nodded in agreement.

"Everything is ready. We were planning to send them today. Right now, Musheng’s wife is leading others in the greenhouse to pick vegetables and fruits, and it should be ready shortly."

Zhao Erhu nodded upon hearing this and reviewed the list of New Year’s gifts. His wife had already prepared generously, but his gratitude at that time was no small matter, so he decided to add a bit more. He also picked a few items from the things he had brought back, which were goods from the West.

The things Zhao Xinglin had brought back initially were only a part of them, as the rest had not been organized at that time. This time, Zhao Erhu brought back quite a few more items. Moreover, there was a box specifically purchased by Zhao Erhu as a gift for Lin Yue, so he didn’t let Zhao Xinglin take them back with him but planned to deliver them to his wife personally.

Mother Xu’s efficiency had always been good. Zhao Erhu didn’t have to wait long before she had everything arranged; the fresh vegetables and fruits gathered from the greenhouse were also packed up, and Zhao Erhu took the items and headed into the city.

When Lin Yue woke up, her eyes felt sore, and rubbing them, she suddenly remembered that Zhao Erhu had returned. She quickly sat up and looked around but did not see anyone. Mother Xu came in and, seeing Lin Yue sitting up abruptly, hurriedly draped a cloak over her.

"My lady, you are still not well. You must take care, so as not to catch a chill again," she said.

But Lin Yue seemed as if she hadn’t heard Mother Xu at all, only looking toward the doorway, "Mother Xu, where is Zhao Erhu? I remember he returned, why don’t I see him? Am I dreaming?" Lin Yue had just woken up and was still somewhat groggy, uncertain as she asked, unable to distinguish if it was reality or a dream state.

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