A Good Country Wife
Chapter 587 - 581_1

Chapter 587: 581_1

Lin Yue was awoken in the middle of the night, and as soon as she heard the news of Zhao Yunxiang’s death, she sprang up from her bed. Her first thought was that Zhao Yunxiang had, after all, failed to wait for Zhao Erhu’s return, all her efforts wasted, even taking out the Hundred-year-old Ginseng, not knowing that Zhao Erhu had already come back.

Zhao Yunxiang was already at the end of her tether, her wishes fulfilled, without a reason to hold on, naturally closing her eyes never to awaken again, thoroughly relieved.

Liu Aniu, living next door, was alerted by the noise from Lin Genfa’s side and hurried over. He found that the Dongjia master had returned and briefly reported what had happened during these days, naturally not forgetting to inform Zhao Erhu that Lin Yue was staying in Shanglin Village.

Zhao Erhu was eager to see his young wife right away, knowing she must be exhausted from dealing with family affairs alone during these days, but considering that Lin Yue was staying at her aunt’s and it would be inappropriate to disturb her in the middle of the night, he held back. He did not want to wake Lin Yue since Zhao Yunxiang had passed away so quickly, so he sent Liu Aniu to inform Lin Yue while he was busy with Zhao Yunxiang’s funeral arrangements.

Zhao Erhu didn’t necessarily need Lin Yue to come and help, but since Lin Yue was staying so close in Shanglin Village, it would look bad if she continued sleeping while his older cousin sister had passed away. People would surely talk, and Zhao Erhu didn’t want anyone to slander his young wife behind her back. So, he swallowed his heartache and summoned her to make an appearance, planning to settle everything nicely once he was back. Now that he had returned, he was there to take care of all matters.

Because Lin Yue was in Shanglin Village, and with the assumption that Zhao Yunxiang would hold on for another day or two, it was inconvenient for many people to stay and lodge in Shanglin Village, so Zhao Dahuo’s family had gone back to Zhao Family Village. However, not anticipating Zhao Yunxiang’s passing in the middle of the night, Zhao Erhu had to send a servant to go house by house in Zhao Family Village to inform people, especially the few closer families that always required notification.

Upon learning of Zhao Yunxiang’s death, Lin Yue naturally woke her children and went together to the house. With the night air cold, Lin Yue also reminded Dalang and his brothers to put on extra clothes. Once dressed appropriately, they hurried over to Lin Genfa’s place. Lin Yue thought about her relationship with Zhao Yunxiang; it was not good to arrive too late and face gossip.

The sky was still pitch-black, countless torches lighting up the area. With Zhao Yunxiang’s passing, many people were helping out, and the village seemed quite lively, occasionally interrupted by the sound of dogs barking.

When Lin Yue arrived at Lin Genfa’s house, everything was in disarray. She heard a burst of crying from inside the house, mournful and unceasing. In front of the house, a man with a straight figure was directing everyone in an orderly manner; Lin Yue thought he looked so much like Zhao Erhu that she thought she was seeing things. It wasn’t until Dalang and the others also saw and called out that Lin Yue confirmed she was not mistaken—Zhao Erhu had returned.

"Dad! Mom, Dad has come back." The two younger children, not being very close to Zhao Yunxiang, felt no deep sorrow for her passing. Seeing their father return, their faces showed happiness. Dalang and Erlang, being more aware, quickly pulled Sanlang and Silang aside and whispered instructions to them.

Zhao Erhu also saw Lin Yue and her children at this time and walked over quickly. Seeing that Lin Yue was lightly dressed, his brows furrowed slightly, "Wife, it gets very cold at night. Why didn’t you wear more? What if you catch a cold?"

Lin Yue did feel a bit cold, and Xixi had already turned back to get her cape. "I came in a hurry and didn’t think to put on the cape, but I’ll find it and put it on later. Erhu, when did you get back? How long have you been here?"

Lin Yue noticed that Zhao Erhu’s clothes were covered in dust, and his hair was in disarray, looking travel-weary. It was clear that he hadn’t gone to the Zhao Family’s village but had come straight here. Sighing inwardly, she realized she hadn’t misread Zhao Erhu’s intentions after all. Erhu truly cared for his own sister, even though Zhao Yunxiang had done those things, and even though Erhu had spoken harsh words in the past, he still looked after her in secret. Although Lin Yue felt a little uncomfortable, she was more relieved. It was comforting to rely on a man who valued loyalty and relationships. Isn’t that what made him worth relying on?

"I haven’t been here long either, just had a talk with my sister. Wife, I really appreciate you. If it weren’t for you, I might not have been able to see my sister for the last time." Zhao Erhu was truly grateful to Lin Yue. She wasn’t the kind to repay evil with good; she would speak of repaying kindness with kindness and vengeance with vengeance. If it weren’t for his sake, why would she be so busy with everything concerning his sister’s affairs?

"What are you talking about? I’m your wife, and your sister is my sister. This is what I should do. I was actually regretting that my sister-in-law couldn’t see you one last time. It’s good that you made it. Otherwise, wouldn’t that be regrettable?" Lin Yue felt warm hearing Zhao Erhu’s words. She had been busy these days to let Zhao Erhu see her worth. A man, no matter how affectionate, still needed to be roped in, especially in this male-dominated ancient era where polygamy was normal. Even more so, she had to be careful to keep her man close. Even though she knew Zhao Erhu was sincere, she couldn’t be careless. Stronger feelings were always better. Lin Yue’s actions were also influenced by Madam Xu’s role.

In just a short time, the courtyard was draped with white banners, all prepared ahead of time by Lin Yue. Knowing that Zhao Yunxiang’s time was short, she had Liu Aniu prepare everything needed for the funeral in advance. She ensured that every item used was of the highest quality, aiming to give the funeral the utmost dignity.

Zhao Yunxiang’s funeral took four to five days to complete. After it was over and everyone had left, only Lin Genfa’s family remained, looking especially desolate and bleak. Particularly Lin Genfa’s old mother, whose already poor eyesight became even blurrier, and the three children, with swollen eyes, quietly followed behind Lin Genfa.

Even the normally mischievous Lin Youjin seemed much more sensible after this ordeal, behaving well and sticking close to his siblings, not daring to cause any trouble. Now that the mother who always protected him was gone, he was afraid of being punished by his father with no one to shield him, especially when the village children said that without a mother, his father would take a new wife who might not even feed him. This made him even more frightened.

Zhao Erhu kept a composed face, but he felt a tinge of sadness seeing Lin Genfa and the children like this.