Beautiful Peasant Girl: The Young Marquis's Beloved

The carriage swayed all the way, and before long, the sound from the carriage at the back gradually died down.

"Qiao Yu? Is the lady asleep?" He Lei asked in a low voice.

"Yeah, he fell asleep!" Qiaoyu replied in a low voice.

"You should take a nap too. I'll call you when we get there!" said He Lei.

There was no response from the car, He Lei wrapped himself in the quilt and said, "Brother, I'll catch up in a while, you take a rest!"

"Yeah!" He Feng wasn't polite. He had been walking for almost an hour and a half, and his hands were a little stiff.

In the front carriage, Xu Ruolan was forcing herself to be alert. Aunt Lin looked at her with some distress. "Madam, please take a rest. I will call you when we reach the fork in the road!"

"Let's wait a little longer. It's not far. I'll rest when we get there. Otherwise, I might take the wrong path." Xu Ruolan insisted.

Tuqiao Village was not like Liujia Village, where you just had to go all the way. There were villages all around them, and there was no one to ask for directions in the middle of the night, so it was easy to get lost.

After another half an hour of shaking, the carriage finally entered Tuqiao Village. The local dogs in the village barked non-stop at the sound of horse hooves, and occasionally scolding could be heard from people's houses.

The carriage stopped at the gate of a small mud courtyard.

"Knock knock knock" The knock on the door was very clear in the middle of the night, waking up the man in the room. He gently pushed the sleeping woman beside him and called softly: "Xiuniang, Xiuniang, wake up!"

Liu Xiumei opened her eyes dazedly and asked worriedly, "What's wrong? Your chest hurts again?"

"No, someone is knocking on the door!" The man was Liu Xu's uncle Liu Laishun.

Not long after Liu Xiumei returned from the Liu family, the eldest son Liu Fulin went to congratulate his future father-in-law on his birthday, but accidentally discovered that his fiancée Fang Qiaohui was having an affair with the son of a large landlord in their village. Liu Fulin punched the man in anger, but was beaten severely by the man and his servants and his legs were broken. The Fang family threw the man back and broke off the engagement.

Liu Laishun went to the Fang family to argue, but was beaten by the Fang family father and son. It was the younger son who was smart enough to ask the village chief of Tuqiao Village to take him back, so he was not beaten to death.

And because the landlord was familiar with the prime minister of Yunxi Town, they could only swallow their anger.

A doctor was called in to treat Liu Fulin, but he claimed that his medical skills were limited. If he treated Liu Fulin, he would still be crippled even if his broken leg was healed. Moreover, Liu Laishun had serious internal injuries and needed to be taken care of with good medicine for a long time, otherwise he would not be able to do heavy work even if he recovered.

The family didn't have much money. In order to pay for the treatment of her son and husband's injuries, Liu Xiumei planned to sell the four acres of good farmland at home, but Liu Laishun refused to do so. Their father and son were already in such a state. If they sold all the land, how would they survive on those few acres of dry land? And what if they couldn't be cured?

He threatened to die, and Liu Xiumei cried so hard. Because both of them were seriously injured, they had to sell two acres of land and borrow some money from neighbors to barely get treatment. Liu Fulin's leg was lame, and Liu Laishun could no longer do heavy work.

As if things didn't get worse, the Li family, who were originally engaged to Liu Laishun, called off the engagement because the father and son were lame and weak. Liu Laishun was already in poor health, and he collapsed in a fit of anger, which made matters worse, leaving him bedridden ever since.

The family was not well-off to begin with, and now having lost two laborers and being heavily in debt, Liu Xiumei and her two daughters not only have to take care of the bedridden father and son, but also have to work in the fields and find ways to make money to pay off debts and buy medicine...How could Liu Xiumei have the time to go back to her parents' home to see Liu Xu and her daughter?

The knock on the door came again, and this time Liu Xiumei heard it too. She got up, put on some clothes, and left the room. The cold wind blew, and Liu Xiumei shivered, and she woke up immediately.

The knocking on the door continued. Liu Xiumei thought for a moment, then searched for a stick in the yard before walking towards the gate.

"Who is it?" Standing behind the door, she asked calmly!

Outside the courtyard, Xu Ruolan heard the words and replied, "Big sister, it's me, Ruolan!"

There was a clang as if something fell to the ground, and then the courtyard door opened. "Ruolan, what happened? Why did you come so late?" Liu Xiumei asked anxiously before she could see clearly who was behind her.

When she saw the carriage and Liu Ming and others outside the door, she pulled Xu Ruolan behind her and said sternly, "Who are you and what do you want to do!" Then she turned to Xu Ruolan and said urgently, "Don't be afraid, come in quickly, my elder sister is here!"

The noise at the door woke up Liu Fulin and his two siblings in the house, as well as Liu Xu who was sleeping soundly in the carriage.

"Little brother, go and see what happened!" Liu Fulin said anxiously. He hated the Xu family who broke his leg even more. Liu Fukang, needless to say, turned over, put on his clothes, opened the door and rushed out. Liu Hongying also opened the door with him.

Xu Huairen and the other two standing at the door were dumbfounded, but Xu Ruolan felt sour and swollen in her heart:

"Sister, it's okay, it's okay. They are all family. They are servants in the family, and this one is my foster brother." Xu Ruolan explained hurriedly.

This time Cheng Liu Xiumei was stunned. At this moment,

"Mom!" "Mom, what's wrong?" "Aunt, Mom!"

Three different voices came from the yard and from behind the carriage.

Liu Xiumei ignored her children and looked behind the carriage, only to find that there was another one.

In the dim light of the lantern on the shaft, Liu Xiumei saw a girl about the same age as her daughter, carrying a little girl wrapped like a zongzi from the carriage, with two young boys standing beside her. The little girl was grinning at her and shouting, "Aunt, I'm here!"

When Liu Xiumei welcomed everyone into the yard, she still looked a little dazed.

Liu Hongying said something to her father and went to boil some water. Liu Fukang went back to the house and told his brother that his second aunt had come, then ran back.

The Liu family's original conditions were indeed quite good. They had three main rooms, two rooms on the east and west sides, all of which were made of mud and bricks.

In the main room, Liu Xiumei lit the oil lamp. A group of eight people was not a small number, so the brothers Liu Ming and He Feng stayed outside.

"Ruolan, are these all your servants?" Liu Xiumei couldn't believe it.

"Yes, all of them. This is my brother Xu Huairen from my mother's side, this is Aunt Lin and Qiaoyu, and the ones outside are Liu Ming and brothers He Feng and He Lei!" Xu Ruolan patted her hands and explained with a smile.

Aunt Lin and Qiaoyu looked at each other, stepped forward and saluted, saying, "This servant greets you, aunt!"

"Greetings, my aunt!" Xu Huairen bowed.

Liu Xiumei opened her mouth, but couldn't react for a long time. When she came to her senses and saw that the other person was still polite, she quickly waved her hand, "Don't be polite, hurry up and sit down!"

"Hey, stop being so polite, auntie, and please don't sit down. We are here just to see you today, and we can talk about the rest in the morning, okay? Xu'er is so sleepy!" Liu Xu was indeed a little sleepy, and all she wanted to do now was fall asleep.

"Ah? Yes, yes, let's talk about it in the morning! It's just that the place at home is small, so you may have to squeeze in. And there are quilts... please wait a moment, I'll go to the village to borrow a few beds!" Liu Xiumei said as she was about to go out.

"Sister, that's not necessary. We have some in the car! Just take it down." Xu Ruolan quickly grabbed her.

"Well, that's fine! You two will sleep with Hongying first. The room where Fukang slept before and the room you lived in before are both empty. We just have to squeeze in..." Liu Xiumei thought about it and started to make arrangements after hearing this.

At this time, Liu Fukang came in and said, "Mom, we can still sleep one more person in that room!"

"Okay, then we don't have to be too crowded. Kang'er, go and clean up quickly. It's still early and we can all get some sleep!"

"Oh, got it!" Liu Fukang responded and went out.

"Cousin, let's go and help too!" Liu Ming said when he saw this.

Then... Liu Fukang took them to clean up the house.

Liu Hongying acted quickly and brought hot water in a moment. "Second aunt, Xu'er, and the others, drink some water to drive away the cold. It's just... I put some ginger in it, so it may not taste very good!"

"Hey, good, Hongying is still so sensible!" Xu Ruolan took it and drank it without any disgust.

The same went for the others. Aunt Lin and Qiaoyu saw off the three people who were leaving.

Seeing that Liu Xiumei was hesitant to speak, Xu Ruolan patted her sister-in-law's hand and comforted her, "Don't worry, we came here today just to see you. As for why it's so late, I'll tell you slowly tomorrow when we get up!"

"Okay, then go and rest early and we'll talk about it tomorrow!" Seeing that there was indeed no change in her face, Liu Xiumei felt relieved.

"By the way, sister, where are brother-in-law and Fulin?" Xu Ruolan had already noticed that they had been here for so long but had not seen Liu Laishun and Liu Fulin, which was a bit strange.

"He...they are sick and resting, so I didn't call them. You guys rest first, and we'll talk about it tomorrow if there's anything!" It was late at night, and my brother's wife and niece were tired. They would talk about it after they woke up. Then he said to his daughter:

"Hongying, take your aunt and Xuer to sleep in your room!" Afterwards, Xu Huairen and Liu Fukang were arranged to live in one room, Liu Ming and three others lived in one room, and Aunt Lin and Qiaoyu lived in another room.

Xu Ruolan wanted to ask again, but Liu Xu pulled her mother's hand. She had a hunch that something must have happened to the Liu family, but her aunt said that she could tell them tomorrow, there was no rush!

Xu Ruolan opened her mouth, but seeing her daughter's disapproving look, she stopped talking.

Liu Xiumei arranged everything for everyone and returned home only after everyone had gone back home.

Liu Laishun was awake in the room. When he saw her come back, he asked hurriedly, "I heard from my daughter that my second brother's wife came. It's so late, what happened?"

Liu Xiumei took off her coat and climbed onto the bed, rubbing her hands as she replied, "Ruolan said she was fine and just came to see us. I saw that she didn't look abnormal, and they brought two carriages and five or six servants, so she should be fine!"

"Servant? Could it be that my second brother has returned?" Liu Laishun wondered.

"It shouldn't be. How can we not come with my second brother when he comes back? I guess it must be my second brother's wife's family who came to find us. My second brother said that Ruolan was the daughter of a wealthy family. She came to our house because she was separated from her family when she met refugees that year. Ruolan also said just now that one of them was her foster brother! Okay, don't think about it. Go to bed quickly. You will know what happened tomorrow when you wake up!" She worked a lot during the day and got up in the middle of the night, so she was sleepy.

"Okay, let's talk about it tomorrow!" Liu Laishun didn't ask any more questions, and the couple fell asleep quickly.

The others were also very tired. Liu Ming and Aunt Lin were their own family members, and they fell asleep soon after lying down.

Liu Fukang led Xu Huairen back to the house and told his brother about the situation. Hearing that this was his second aunt's foster brother, Liu Fulin was a little surprised and greeted Uncle Xu politely.

Xu Huairen saw that the boy was just sitting on the bed to greet him. He caught a glimpse of the boy's legs that didn't move, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. But his face remained calm and he greeted him gently. The three of them then lay down to rest.

Liu Fukang couldn't sleep. Not only did his second aunt drive a carriage, but she also brought so many servants. I wonder how his second aunt's family compares to the Xu family! The Xu family, the Fang family, and the Li family made his father and brother disabled and sick. How could he not hate them? If it was his second aunt's family...

In Liu Hongying's room, after the three of them lay down, Xu Ruolan couldn't help but ask, "Hongying, tell your aunt the truth, what happened to your father and your brother?"

She just saw that in the past six months, her elder sister-in-law looked much older than at the beginning of the year, and even had white hair on her temples. You know, her elder sister-in-law is only in her early thirties!

Liu Xu was not so sleepy at this moment, and looked at Liu Hongying with some curiosity, "Yes, cousin, don't talk about mother, I can see something is wrong, my uncle and eldest cousin like me very much, but they were not seen today! And my little cousin is sleeping in my eldest cousin's room!"

Liu Hongying looked at the two of them, sighed, and slowly began to explain the cause, process and outcome of the incident. After hearing it, the mother and daughter were both angry and sad.

"Cousin, don't worry. You will come back to Liujia Village with us tomorrow. Grandpa Meng is an excellent doctor. Let him check on my uncle and cousin! As for those three families, hum..." Liu Xu gritted her teeth and snorted.

Most people in Liujia Village are kind, and even if they have some small thoughts, they would not do such a thing! Of course, except for Liu Chengming and his mother, they are not considered Liu family members, but Chen family members are almost the same.

"Xu'er is right. The most important thing right now is your father and your brother. Let's put other things aside for now!" Xu Ruolan nodded.

It was their carelessness. If it weren't for Mrs. Zhang's sudden action, they wouldn't have known when they would have reacted. Thinking about it, they felt extremely guilty.

"By the way, second aunt, cousin, why are you here so late?" Liu Hongying had wanted to ask for a long time, but when Liu Xu said she was sleepy, her mother hurriedly arranged for her to go to bed. Now that she saw that her cousin and aunt were no longer sleepy, she couldn't help but ask.

"Puchi" Liu Xu remembered the old lady Zhang's crying face and couldn't help laughing out loud.

"You!" Xu Ruolan nodded her daughter's head and said to her niece, "This is all thanks to your grandmother!"

Xu Ruolan briefly told her how Liu Xu got the news from Fu'an, and how he came to find her, as well as what happened when they went to the old house.

Liu Hongying was silent after hearing this. Xu Ruolan saw this and took her hand and patted it, "Your grandmother is not a bad person. She just has a simple mind. It's all in the past, ah!"

Liu Xu curled her lips: That's not simple, that's stupid, stupid and self-righteous... Her father and aunt are so good, she doesn't cherish them, and her heart is biased towards Liu Dongcheng. The result... Humph.

Liu Hongying didn't know what to say. After a long time, she nodded gently, only to find that Xu Ruolan and her daughter had fallen asleep at some point.