In a large family of over a dozen people with four or five able - bodied laborers, after a whole year, after covering all the family's expenses for food, clothing, and daily necessities, they could only save eight to ten taels of silver. They were quite lucky that the emperor had reduced the taxes.
Yi Qing was clearly making an exorbitant demand.
"Bring the silver first."
"No, no, no. Please save her first." Under the moonlight, two streaks of tears were clearly visible on the man's face.
Xiao Tian couldn't bear to watch. He thought Yi Qing was really cold - blooded.
The woman on the door plank was moaning so faintly that it was like a meowing cat. If she wasn't saved soon, her life would be in danger.
Xiao Tian, with his kind - hearted nature, couldn't help but say, "Save her first. We can talk about the silver later."
"Okay."
To his surprise, Yi Qing readily agreed, but her tone made Xiao Tian feel something was off.
Sure enough, then she said with a fake smile, "This is Xiao Tian. He's agreed to save her. You can go to him."
After saying that, she actually turned around and walked inside, looking completely unconcerned.
Xiao Tian was infuriated and reached out to grab her, scolding, "A human life is at stake. How can you be so flippant!"
"Xiao Tian, advising others to be magnanimous will invite retribution," Yi Qing said fiercely.
Her eyes were brighter and colder than the moonlight.
The man kneeling on the ground kowtowed again, "Our family has wronged Miss Yi. Don't worry about the silver. Since I've promised, I'll surely pay."
Yi Qing sneered, "It's only a few steps from your home to mine. With the time you've spent begging me, you couldn't even fetch the silver?"
"My mother, my mother..."
"Tell your mother that ten taels of silver can't marry a daughter - in - law like yours these days, and she'll bring the silver."
The man looked at the woman lying on the door plank. Finally, he seemed to make a decision, "Okay, I'll go right away."
Watching him stand up and run away quickly, Yi Qing didn't even look at Xiao Tian's ugly face. She said indifferently, "Carry her in."
The men carrying the door plank then hurriedly carried the woman in and directly into Xiao Tian's room.
Only then did Xiao Tian remember what Baozi had said. The room he was staying in was the one Yi Qing used for treating patients.
Inside the room, Xiao Tian could clearly see that the woman's belly was very big. Her face was pale and covered in sweat. Her hair was stuck to her scalp in clumps due to the sweat, looking extremely disheveled.
So this was what it was like for a woman to give birth... Xiao Tian unconsciously clenched his fists at his sides.
"Everyone get out," Yi Qing said coldly as she picked up a pair of scissors to brighten the candle. She took out her medicine box from the cabinet, laid it out, and then wiped her hands with a liquid with a strong smell of alcohol.
Xiao Tian went out, and the men who had brought the woman also followed.
One of the young men said, "Miss Yi, the Xu family was really unkind before. But a human life is at stake. Please don't hold grudges against them. Xu Si is actually a good man, and his wife is also a poor woman..."
"Do you mean that I have a good life and deserve to be bullied and starved?" Yi Qing's face was as cold as frost. "If you don't get out now, and the mother and child both die, it'll be your fault."
The man blushed, bowed his hands, and left, closing the door behind him.
Everyone left except this man.
Xiao Tian chatted with him and learned that his name was Sun Xiang. He couldn't help but wonder if this Sun Xiang was from the same family as Sun Xiaohua, who had come to show off and ended up humiliating herself.
"Brother Sun," Xiao Tian said in a way that made people feel comfortable when he condescended to talk to others. "From what you said, does the Xu family have a feud with Yi Qing?"
Sun Xiang sized him up and bowed his hands, "People in the village said that Miss Yi had found a man. I didn't expect him to be so imposing. You're really a good match for Miss Yi."
Xiao Tian: "..."
Hearing this, it seemed that Sun Xiang wasn't angry about Yi Qing's rudeness just now. He was indeed a broad - minded person worthy of making friends with.
Sun Xiang wiped the sweat off his head and said, "To be honest, this is really not Miss Yi's fault."
It turned out that Yi Qing had bought two mu of land before, which was adjacent to the Xu family's land.
Yi Qing didn't engage in farming herself and thought simply. So she hired people from the Xu family to grow medicinal herbs for her at a higher wage, about ten to twenty percent more than the village's standard. She thought it was a good deal, as "a close neighbor is better than a distant relative" and she was generous.
However, things didn't go as she wished. A year later, when she went to check, she felt that her land had shrunk by nearly half.
Only then did she realize that she had been deceived by the Xu family.
The Xu family had moved the boundary markers and encroached on nearly one mu of her land.
Yi Qing went to reason with them, but the Xu family, relying on their four sons, refused to admit it.
In the end, Yi Qing sold one mu of her land and never touched the village land again.
After hearing this, Xiao Tian was furious, "Isn't there anyone in the village to uphold justice and let the Xu family bully the orphan and the widow?"
Sun Xiang said sheepishly, "They wouldn't dare to do so now. But back then, Miss Yi didn't show that she knew medical skills. She was an outsider. Who in the village would offend the Xu family with several able - bodied laborers for her sake?"
Xiao Tian felt a pang of anger building up in his chest.
Sun Xiang lowered his head and continued, "After Sister - in - law Xu Si got pregnant, Miss Yi saw her on the road once and said that her pregnancy looked bad. Aunt Xu said that Yi Qing was just getting revenge and scaring them on purpose, so she didn't take it seriously. That's why..."
Xiao Tian couldn't help but curse, "They deserve it."
He felt a sense of relief. He knew that Yi Qing wasn't cold - blooded.
But at the same time, a feeling of heartache wrapped around him like a vine.
Yi Qing wasn't born cold - blooded. She had been forced by reality.
Just as he was sighing, he heard Yi Qing say inside, "If you don't cooperate, I'll only save the baby. Then your husband will sleep with someone else, your child will be beaten by someone else, and you'll die in vain."
Xiao Tian: "..."
He wondered if there was anything Yi Qing dared not say.
Sun Xiang scratched his head and said, "Actually, Brother Xiao, to be honest, don't be angry. Even if Miss Yi has a child, there are many people in the village who want to marry her."
"Do you include yourself?"
Sun Xiang was stunned. Then his face turned red, but he nodded firmly, "Yes, I do. There's nothing embarrassing about it. Miss Yi is just wonderful. But seeing you today, I know the huge gap between you and me. I've completely given up. I just hope that you'll treat her well in the future. Miss Yi has had a hard life."
He was really a straightforward man.
Xiao Tian patted his shoulder, "You'll surely marry a good wife in the future."
"Hehe, thank you for your kind words, Brother Xiao," Sun Xiang said with a silly smile.
For villagers, finding a wife was about practicality. They just needed someone to live with and be hard - working.
Yi Qing was more like an unreachable goddess, a fantasy in the hearts of the eligible young men in the village, but not an obsession.
After an unknown amount of time, Xu Si finally rushed back, empty - handed. Hearing from Sun Xiang that his wife was already being rescued inside, he squatted on the ground with his head in his hands. No one knew what he was thinking.