A farmer has a shrewish wife; he's busy making money every day.

On the other side of the lake, under a withered tree, Lu Chuci and Pei Shao looked at the lonely tombstone.

The inscription reads "Xiao Ci's Tomb".

Pei Shao's eyes were a little red. "Young Master, when we rescued Xiao Ci at the bottom of the cliff, why did you think he wouldn't let us save him?"

Lu Chuci bent down and swept the withered leaves off the tombstone.

My thoughts drifted back to fifteen years ago.

That day, it was raining heavily. Four-year-old Lu Chuci and Pei Shao were escorted by an old woman as they ran through the torrential rain.

"Grandma Zhang, where are we going? Where's Mommy?" Little Lu Chuci was being pulled forward uncontrollably.

The old woman's eyes were filled with fear, and she kept looking back. "Young master, you'll understand when you grow up. Let's run away first, okay?"

Pei Shao, though young, already had the air of a little adult: "Young master, don't be afraid, I will protect you."

"Okay... Ouch!"

She tripped over something and fell to the ground.

"Oh dear, young master, are you alright? Did you fall? Get up quickly, the ground is cold, be careful not to get wet in the rain again."

Under the moonlight, Lu Chuci could see clearly that it was a boy, who looked to be about the same age as Lu Chuci.

The boy's face was covered in cuts and slashes.

Pei Shao also saw it, and quickly squatted down and reached out to check his breath.

"He's still breathing! Young master! Quick, I'll carry him and we'll keep running."

Pei Shao carried the injured and unconscious boy on his back, and the group continued running together.

They soon came across a cave and hid inside.

"I wonder how long this rain will last. Sigh," Granny Zhang sighed, looking at the rain outside the cave.

Lu Chuci focused on the unconscious boy on the ground. After a quick check, she found that in addition to cuts on his face, the boy also had several broken ribs.

In this desolate place, with no medicine and no cure, Lu Chuci's heart sank.

Just when they were at their wits' end, the unconscious boy suddenly trembled and mumbled something incessantly.

"No...don't hit me...don't slash my face..."

His tone gradually filled with fear.

Lu Chuci panicked a little, pulled off her own clothes and covered the boy with them, then leaned closer to him and asked, "What's wrong? Does anything hurt?"

"My whole body... hurts... Daddy, please don't sell me, please... don't let that bad uncle take me away..."

"Bad uncle, please don't hit me..."

Pei Shao was startled: "Did someone sell you out? That's against the law!"

Lu Chuci's eyes darkened, and she gently comforted him, "Don't be afraid, everything will be alright. Hang in there, and I'll take you to see a doctor and take you home once the rain subsides."

The boy seemed to regain some consciousness, his eyes slightly opened as he looked at him: "No, don't save me."

Lu Chuci thought he was still not clear-headed: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, we're here."

"Brother, please don't save me, I beg you." He kept saying that.

Unable to resist his pleas, Lu Chuci tried to divert his attention: "What's your name?"

"Xiao Ci..."

Lu Chuci blinked. "Xiao Ci, what a coincidence, I have this character in my name too."

"Yeah……"

Xiao Ci's eyes widened slightly, as if she wanted to take a closer look at Lu Chu Ci's appearance.

Pei Shao laughed: "Young Master, Xiao Ci's eyes look just like yours."

Lu Chuci was taken aback; it really was true.

Pei Shao smiled and asked Xiao Ci, "Where do you live?"

“…a deserted village.” Perhaps it stirred up bad memories for him, Xiao Ci’s expression was somewhat unpleasant.

Thinking of her own situation, Lu Chuci felt a pang of sympathy for him.

"Xiao Ci, hang in there, things will get better."

Hearing this, Xiao Ci shook her head gently again: "Brother, it's no use, don't save me."

Did he hit his head and break it?

Lu Chuci frowned slightly, deciding to ignore his words.

"Get some rest, you'll feel better after a good night's sleep."

At that time, Lu Chuci would never have known that a person without the will to live, once asleep, would never believe again.

This was the first time death had unfolded before his eyes.

He couldn't accept even a stranger.

"Young master! Madam asked me to take you to a safe place! You can't be willful now!" Granny Zhang said anxiously as she looked at Lu Chuci, who was determined to walk into the deserted village.

"No, I'm right here! I'm going to avenge Xiao Ci!"

Young Lu Chuci's heart was pure, like a blank sheet of paper.

He didn't know what it meant to plan before acting, or that everything required a strategic approach; he was simply impulsively trying to find an explanation for the boy who resembled him.

"Oh dear, young master, you can barely protect yourself. If you go like this, won't you just give them a chance to find you? You'll be dead!"

Grandma Zhang desperately tried to hold him back, not letting him leave.

Lu Chuci gradually calmed down.

That's right, this won't get you anywhere, and you'll end up getting yourself killed.

Granny Zhang thought he had thought it through, and a smile played on her lips: "Young master?"

The next second, Lu Chuci snatched Grandma Zhang's bundle, took out a bunch of makeup tools, and started applying them to her face.

Not long after, a horrible scar appeared on his face.

“Grandma Zhang, you go to the county first. I’ll stay here. This place is remote and desolate. They won’t find it so quickly. It might even be safer here.”

"Besides, without me, you wouldn't have to hide all day long."

"This! How can you live here?" Granny Zhang looked at Lu Chuci anxiously, her eyelids drooping.

"Use Xiao Ci's identity!" Lu Chuci handed the bundle to Pei Shao and turned to walk into the village.

Pei Shao ignored them and followed them. Halfway there, he turned back and called out, "Granny Zhang, I will protect the young master. Let's keep in touch!"

……

Lu Chuci pulled herself out of her thoughts and chuckled softly, "At the time, I pretended to be injured and unconscious, and told passersby that my name was Xiao Ci. They then took me back to the village chief's house."

Do you know what Xiaoci's parents said?

Pei Shao shook his head silently.

"I pretended to be unconscious and heard them arguing loudly and smashing bowls."

Lu Chuci looked into the distance, seemingly lost in memories.

"Lu Meng! Did you sell Xiao Ci to someone else?! You old bastard, how could you be so wicked! He's your own son! Look at the injuries on his body, how much suffering did he endure?"

Li You pushed Lu Meng with all her might, her face full of disbelief.

Lu Meng remained silent for a while, listening to Li You's loud rant, then slapped her across the face: "Alright! Shut up! You're blaming me? If you hadn't given birth to him so mentally challenged and half-crippled, would I have sold him because I saw no hope?"

Li You covered her face and wept silently.

"Don't you even consider our current situation? A mentally challenged cripple, what's the point of me wasting food raising him? Huh? We might as well sell him, then his birth would at least have some meaning!"

Lu Meng's words struck Lu Chuci's heart like a knife.

Li You cried even louder: "We've had Xiao Ci for so long, how can you give birth to another child if you lose him!"

"You!" Lu Meng was so angry that he was speechless.

The room was quiet for a while.

Lu Chuci then heard Lu Meng say, "Forget it, forget it, let's just raise him like this... Sigh!"

As the recollection ended, Lu Chuci's lips curled into a mocking smile: "I don't know what benefits they found in me again, or perhaps it was their ridiculous paternal and maternal love at work. After that day, they became a little nicer to me, even expanding my room and saying that I would be more comfortable. They even agreed to my choice of a name for myself."

"I thought they felt guilty."

"Later, I overheard them discussing how to have another child, and that's when I realized they were using me as a backup plan."

"Until they really couldn't have any more children, they started teaching me how to give birth, ha..."

Lu Chuci lowered her head and suddenly laughed, her eyes filled with mockery: "Tell me, how could Xiao Ci possibly still want to live?"