Divorced woman with child travels through time

Zhao Lue was awakened by the pain. But he only stayed awake for a short while before fainting again. However, because of the pain, his consciousness returned briefly, and he vaguely knew that someone was cleaning his wounds. He felt a little relieved.

Chen Wenfang had no idea what was going on; she only knew that he shuddered slightly when she scalded him. She assumed it was a physiological reaction and didn't think much of it. After scalding him, Chen Wenfang put some freshly picked dandelions into a bamboo tube, crushed them with a stick, and applied them to his wound.

After all this was done, it was getting dark. The feng shui of this cemetery was quite good. It was really easy to get dizzy. The tall trees above blocked the light and moderate rain from getting wet. There were also trees growing on the slope in front of the grave, with quite tall canopies. The grave could not be seen from the outside, but it was clearly visible from the cemetery.

Chen Wenfang glanced at the long-legged man; he should be alright, right? She used a knife to cut some grass to cover his body.

A light drizzle began to fall again. It had been raining a lot lately. Chen Wenfang hadn't brought a raincoat, so she shielded her head with her hand and ran home on her own.

When they got home, the three little ones had already finished their mung bean soup. When they saw Chen Wenfang return, Dazhuang and Shitou got up to say goodbye.

Chen Wenfang saw them off, saying, "Come play again tomorrow. I'll take you fishing."

The rain intensified.

The next day was another sunny day. Chen Wenfang made a pot of corn buns, of course with syrup. They were made from fermented white flour and cornmeal, resulting in fragrant, soft, and sweet yellow buns. One bite and she couldn't resist eating two and a half herself, feeling full. Chen Xuanyu, though small, had a big appetite and also devoured two.

After a while, Shi Tou and Da Zhuang came over. Chen Wenfang called out, "Hurry up and wash your hands, come and eat some steamed buns."

"Oh, time to eat steamed buns!" Stone cheered and ran to wash his hands. Dazhuang, blushing, followed suit.

After washing their hands, Chen Wenfang handed each of them two steamed buns and said, "After we eat, let's go fishing. We've had this net for so long but haven't used it yet."

The two children ate heartily. "It's so delicious!" Shi Tou said. "Sister-in-law, I want another one."

"Okay." Chen Wenfang brought over four more. Dazhuang quietly ate one more as well.

Chen Wenfang found it smelled especially sweet. Suddenly, she remembered—should she go check on the man at the grave in the woods?

But it doesn't seem to be her fault, I already saved him. But what if he dies? If he dies, it's not my fault, it's not like I injured him.

As Chen Wenfang was lost in thought, someone knocked on the door. Chen Wenfang went to open the door and saw three government officials.

The lead officer's expression softened considerably when he opened the door and saw the three children sitting obediently at the table eating steamed buns. He asked, "Madam, have you seen any strangers lately?" With a wave of his hand, the other two officers went into the room and began to search around.

Chen Wenfang did not stop them and let them look around.

When asked, Chen Wenfang shook her head and replied, "I've never seen it." Turning to the children, she asked, "Have you seen it?"

The children shook their heads in unison and muttered, "Never seen it before..."

Chen Wenfang then asked, "But what are the characteristics? A womanizer? Should we be careful not to go out?"

The officer paused for a moment before saying, "No distinguishing features, no, as long as you don't see any strangers, it's fine. Just go out as usual."

After saying that, he waved his hand again and said to his companion, "Let's go."

He led his men, who hadn't seen anything unusual, and left.

Chen Wenfang thought to herself, could that man be the notorious womanizer that Aunt Liu was talking about a few days ago? But it doesn't seem like it. A womanizer should look rather sleazy, right? That man looks upright, like he's about to join the Party. People's appearance reflects their character, so it doesn't seem like him at all.

If they were flower thieves, they wouldn't have alerted me, would they? Could it be because I'm not pretty enough? Definitely not. This official seems to have something to hide; he looks constipated. There's definitely something wrong.

"Sigh, could they be looking for that man on the mountain? He shouldn't be a bad person, right? He looks so upright. Someone so righteous can't be a bad person, otherwise why wouldn't the officials tell the truth?" Chen Wenfang realized with a start. What should she do? Should she go and check? Never mind, she should see things through to the end. After the officials had left for a while, Chen Wenfang went to the kitchen.

There was still some water left in the pot from steaming buns, so I added some firewood and brought it to a boil. I also added some dandelion and prunella vulgaris, simmering it until it became a thick broth. I ladled it out, added two spoonfuls of thick syrup, and poured it into a bamboo tube. I picked up my wood-chopping knife and said to the children, "You guys play for a while, I'm going to chop some firewood. Before it gets too hot, we can go fishing together when I get back."

Stone was quite disappointed. "We still have to wait."

Chen Xuanyu, being obedient, said, "Then Mother, please come back soon."

Dazhuang asked honestly, "Does Sister-in-law Chen want me to help you chop some?"

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "No need, no need, I'll be back in a bit. It'll be quick."

After Chen Wenfang finished dawdling and went outside, she looked around and saw that the three constables had long since gone to a deserted place.

Chen Wenfang climbed back to the grave on the back hill, parted the grass covering the person, and checked their breathing. Hmm, not dead. Good thing they weren't dead.

With a sigh of relief, Chen Wenfang touched his forehead; the fever had subsided. He hoped the fever hadn't made him stupid. She turned him over and examined his wounds with his clothes. They seemed less red, and some areas were beginning to scab over. Chen Wenfang changed the dandelion dressing on him. "Indeed, people in ancient times didn't have much immunity," Chen Wenfang thought. "Dandelion, you are the eternal god of herbs."

She helped him up, and following the same routine as yesterday, fed him the medicine while supporting his waist, then put him back face down. Looking at him, she felt something was off; lying face down wasn't ideal, so she helped him lie on his side, placing some dry grass beside him. After a while, Chen Wenfang realized the man was still unconscious. "Never mind," she thought, "I've done my best." She covered him with more grass to conceal him. Chen Wenfang finished all this very quickly, probably in about ten minutes—a speed that even she admired herself for.

After cutting down two more small trees on the mountain behind, Chen Wenfang also bundled up two small bundles of firewood and carried them home.

At the grave, Zhao Lue was still unconscious, but he was mentally alert. He was probably too weak, but he knew someone was feeding him medicine, which tasted quite good. "I should rest and recover first, no rush," Zhao Lue told himself.

When Chen Wenfang returned, the three children were very excited. They had all their things ready and were just waiting for Chen Wenfang.

"Mom, let's go, I'm ready," Chen Xuanyu said, carrying a small wooden bucket and a small shovel.

"We're not going to the ditch, why did you bring a shovel?" Chen Wenfang couldn't help but say, as she unloaded the firewood and put it in the yard.

"I want to take it, I want to shovel mud," Chen Xuanyu said proudly.

"Go ahead and take it. Sigh." Chen Wenfang picked up the bucket and fishing net. "Dazhuang, help me carry the bucket. Let's go."

Stone, being very perceptive, said, "Sister-in-law, I'll get the fishing net."

"Okay." Chen Wenfang handed it to him.

After locking the door, the four of them went to a pond not far away.