"Ashu, it's me, Brother Cao. Are you feeling better?"
Cao Zixin's voice is just outside the door. Yu Shu hears it and feels relieved. It seems that Cao Zixin doesn't blame her for hiding the fact that she is a girl. But she was picked up by him from the roadside last night. Now she will inevitably feel uncomfortable when she meets him again. Fortunately, he stands at the door and doesn't come in. Yu Shu secretly clears her throat and replies,
"I'm much better, Brother Cao. Thank you for bringing me back last night and for finding a doctor for me."
"Don't mention it. As I said, you can come to me if you need anything." Cao Zixin stands by the door with his hands behind his back. He politely doesn't look inside, which is different from the special situation last night. This time, Yu Shu doesn't know how to answer. If she gets along with Cao Zixin normally, she will play along with his words and make a joke. But now she is not in the mood to make fun of him. She is only thinking about what she should do next. She can't go back to the Ji family, she can't see Yu Xiaoxiu, and she doesn't know whether Master Qing Zheng knows her situation now. She doesn't have a copper coin on her peak. If she doesn't find a landlord to stay for the night, she may have to sleep under the bridge with beggars like yesterday. She doesn't know if Cao Zixin is willing to take her in for a few days. If it is not convenient for him to take her in, then she can only go to the plum forest in the east of the city to seek shelter from Master Jing Chen. Since then, she has exchanged money for him so that he can eat. Every now and then, she will go to the plum forest to make friends with him. Although Jing Chen's attitude towards her is lukewarm, he probably doesn't mind taking care of her for a few meals. As for Master Qing Zheng, he is still eating and drinking in the Ji family, so it's better not to count on him. Cao Zixin waits for a while and doesn't hear anything in the room. He leans to the door and calls, "Ashu?"
Soon there is an answer in the room, "Brother Cao, can I discuss something with you?"
"Speak."
"I …" Yu Shu said shamelessly, "To tell you the truth, I was driven out by my family yesterday. You must know that I was beaten, so I can't go back home. There's no one else I can rely on. Can you take me in for a few days and let me stay here for a while?"
It was quiet outside the door for a while. Yu Shu thought he was in a difficult position, so she quickly added, "I'm not staying here for free. I'm a hardworking person. I can clean the house, cook, and wash the clothes. I can also help with the work in your shop. I don't need your salary. I just want you to give me a place to live and let me eat."
Her humble request is completely devoid of her usual arrogance. Cao Zixin doesn't like it. He holds the door frame and asks softly, "Ashu, is it convenient for you to tell me what happened in your family? Why were you driven out?"
Yu Shu thinks about it. Since she is asking for help, it's not good to lie, so she tells the truth, "I have been hiding it from you before. I'm really sorry. In fact, my mother is a concubine of the Third Master of the Yi Xue Ji family in the city. I have a younger brother. We are not the Third Master's children. We remarried with my mother. Our life at home has been difficult. I-I secretly went fishing in our family's Old Lady's courtyard yesterday. I was caught in the morning. There was a burglary the night before yesterday, but the person was not caught. The Ji family just had nowhere to vent their anger, so they punished me heavily. They whipped me and drove me away." In the end, Yu Shu is a little silent. Now that she is in such a difficult situation, she really needs to reflect deeply on this matter. After coming to this ancient world, she has been too arbitrary. Relying on the fact that she is an adult, she has underestimated the system of this ancient society. She has never seriously studied the habits of the people here. She blindly follows her own likes and dislikes. But she has ignored that this is a place that is very different from the world she has lived in for more than 20 years. She needs to adapt to the environment, not let the environment adapt to her. Before she has the corresponding ability, standing out will only make her kowtow without bleeding. Since she is now living in this place, she must abide by the rules here. Last time, the 20 whips of the rattan didn't wake her up. This time, the whipping is a living, bloody lesson. If she continues to stubbornly go forward, she will have lived half of her life in vain. As Yu Shu speaks and reflects on herself, Cao Zixin listens at the door. He has a lot of thoughts. Hearing Yu Shu frankly say that she was caught for stealing fish and beaten by the Ji family, although he feels that her behavior is immoral, he mostly blames the Ji family for being too excessive. He has also heard of the precious Eight Treasure Fragrant Carp. However, no matter how wrong this little girl was, before the Ji family drove her away, she still insisted on beating her up. Taking out their anger on a little girl is the Ji family's fault. If he didn't meet Yu Shu last night and let her stay in the heavy rain for a night with her injury, it is another matter whether Rui would still be alive or not.
"Ashu, you are a girl. It is not appropriate for you to live with me. I will discuss with Sister Zhao and let you live with her first. What do you think?"
"Yes, why not?"
The answer comes from behind. Cao Zixin turns his head and sees Zhao Hui coming in with a bowl of soup. She says to him, "Go to the kitchen and watch the hot water. I will talk to her."
Seeing that she agrees first, Cao Zixin is certainly very happy. He steps aside and lets her into the room. Yu Shu hears the conversation outside. She doesn't think that she will find the place so easily. When she sees Zhao Hui coming in, she says, "Aunty Zhao, you …"
Zhao Hui sat down on the edge of the bed. The bowl of wonton noodles in her hand was still steaming. She stirred the noodles with a spoon and said to Yu Shu, "I'm going to live alone. Don't worry, you can stay at my place for as long as you want. You should recover first before anything else. Come, eat while it's hot."
When the fragrant wonton reaches her mouth, Yu Shu can't get used to the kindness of an elder. She swallows and whispers, "Thank you, Aunty Zhao."
####
That morning, Yu Shu moved to Zhao Hui's house. The small courtyard is not as big as Cao Zixin's. There is only one room, a kitchen, a small vegetable field in the yard, and some seasoned coriander and pepper. There is also a nest of chickens. Cao Zixin carries the bamboo bed in his study to Zhao Hui's house and puts it in the bedroom. Zhao Hui insists that Yu Shu sleep in her bed. She lays a layer of mattress and sleeps on the bamboo bed instead. Yu Shu's fever has subsided. She doesn't need anyone to take care of her. Zhao Hui changes the medicine on her back again and nestles on the bamboo bed to catch up on sleep. Cao Zixin also goes back to rest. Cao Zixin and Zhao Hui don't help with business today. They both stay at home. In the evening, when Yu Shu wakes up, Zhao Hui actually slaughtered a chicken and stewed chicken soup for her to nourish her body. Yu Shu thinks that she has only met her twice. Although she is ashamed to accept such kindness, she doesn't refuse it. She just remembers this kindness and will repay it in the future. The next day, the whip wound on Yu Shu's back begins to scab. The medicine prescribed by the doctor is very effective, but Zhao Hui is worried that Yu Shu will have a scar on her back after she recovers. Zhao Hui also hears about what happened to Yu Shu. She thinks the same as Cao Zixin. She thinks that the Ji family is too ruthless. Yu Shu is an unmarried girl. She has to suffer from such a scab and has a scar on her back. If she is not angry, she may want to die. It is no different from killing someone. Zhao Hui is worried. She woke up early to change the medicine and draped the clothes over Yu Shu. She comforts her: "When the scab comes off, I will find some honey for you to apply. It can remove scars, and you don't have to worry about leaving a scar."
Yu Shu is not too worried about leaving a scar on her body. She slowly puts on the clothes and turns to Zhao Hui: "Aunt Huei, I feel much better today. You don't have to accompany me at home. You can go out and do business." Zhao Hui chatted with Yu Shu for a while last night. She felt that calling her Aunt Zhao is not intimate enough. She happens to be a woman living alone, and there is no man in the house. So, she changed her address to Yu Shu and called her Aunt Huei. Zhao Hui sees that Yu Shu's complexion is good, so she nodded: "Okay, I will pack up and go out."
Cao Zixin had closed the shop for the whole day yesterday. Today, he had also gone out to open the shop. He had come once in the morning to deliver half of the River Crossing Pancakes, and had a few words with Yu Shu at the door before leaving. As soon as Zhao Hui left, Yu Shu didn't stay in bed. She put on some clothes and got out of bed. She leisurely walked outside and walked around the courtyard for a while. A hen and a few chicks followed behind her, clucking and clucking. It seemed that they weren't afraid of strangers. After getting some fresh air outside, Yu Shu felt a lot better. She went back inside and was about to sit on the bed when she heard the sound of the door outside. She vaguely heard Cao Zixin's voice, so she went out to open the door. As soon as Liu Shuan tried to pull, she was pushed away from the outside. She took two steps back, but before she could stand firm, she was hugged tightly. Her back hurt so much that she gasped. Before she could push the person away, she heard the thing in her arms crying at the top of its voice, "Sister, wuwuwu, sister!"
This crying sound is very painful, and Yu Shu's heart is in a mess. She wanted to slap Yu Xiaoxiu's head, but she fell on his back instead. She hugged him, and her eyes softened. She scolded in a low voice: "What are you crying for? Hurry up and hold it. I am not dead yet."
"Wuwuwu!" Her scolding made Yu Xiaoxiu cry even harder. A chuckle came from the other side. Yu Shu raised her head and saw Cao Zixin looking at her with a smile. His eyes are too gentle, and she doesn't know why she felt a little embarrassed. So she slapped Yu Xiaoxiu's head and said angrily: "Alright, hurry up and let go of me. It hurts so much."
Yu Xiaoxiu finally stopped the devilish sound piercing her ears and let go of Yu Shu. However, he still grabbed her arm and looked at her with tears in his eyes. Cao Zixin said: "When I went to open the shop this morning, he was squatting in front of my shop." His eyes looked back and forth between the siblings, and finally fell on Yu Shu's face. His eyes suddenly flashed, and he pointed out: "Your brother is very smart. He heard you mention it, and he knew to come to me."
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