Chapter Forty-Three: Repaying the Silver

  Early in the morning, Shen Han had just finished preparing breakfast and hadn't even called Zhao Xiuzhuo and others to come out and eat when the courtyard door was knocked on. Unlike the previous few times when it was pushed open, Shen Han was stunned for a moment before putting down his bowl and chopsticks and shouting towards the house: "Young uncle, Youxuan, come out and have breakfast."

  As soon as she finished speaking, she turned around and stepped out of the house, walking towards the courtyard. The knocking sound continued intermittently without stopping, and Shen Han was also puzzled about who would come at this early hour.

  She stretched out her hand to pull open the door bolt, and in the instant when she opened the door, a small face with a hint of blush appeared before Shen Huan's eyes. She couldn't help but feel a little surprised, looking at the person who had come and saying softly, "Zuo Xing?"

  Shen Huan would be surprised, and it's reasonable. After all, the Yuan family and the Zhao family had a big fight over the childbirth, and they tried to avoid each other as much as possible. Although neither family openly quarreled, one side lost their daughter-in-law, and the other almost sold out their entire family property to compensate for the twenty taels of silver. It's impossible for Li Shi and Liu Shi not to have any resentment in their hearts. Even when Shen Huan saw people from the Yuan family, she felt a little strange.

  "Aunt Zhao, my mother asked me to bring something over for you."

  Zuo Xing pulled out a package wrapped in a handkerchief from her sleeve and handed it to Shen Huan. Seeing her cautious manner, Shen Huan didn't reach out to take it, and subconsciously felt that the Yuan family was up to something again. She turned cold: "What is this?"

  "Hmm... Is Aunt Zhao in? If not, I'll just give it to her directly?"

  She had always seen Zuo Xing with a frightened look, especially after Liu's appearance, and now she could occasionally glance at the inner room and even ask to hand over things to her mother-in-law? Shen Han understood it as clearly as a mirror, but didn't point it out and stepped aside: "Come in!"

  Zuo Xing walked in with her lips tightly pursed, and as soon as she stepped onto the stairs, she saw Zhao Xiuzhuo push open the curtain and come out. Her face turned red and her feet also paused for a moment. Just as she was about to greet him, another man appeared in her line of sight - a handsome man in white clothes with a elegant long shirt. Zuo Xing was stunned for a moment, unable to understand how there was an extra man in the Zhao household.

  Shen Huan didn't notice Zuo Xiang's distraction, and simply walked towards the house, turning his head in the direction of the kitchen: "Mother, Aunt Yuan has asked Zuo Xiang to bring something over for you."

  Shen Huan's voice immediately brought Zuo Xing back to her senses, and she no longer dodged her gaze. She followed Shen Huan into the house, looking down with a sideways glance in the direction where Li Shi came from. Li Shi seemed not to have expected that the Yuan family would send someone over, nor did she expect Shen Huan to bring someone directly in. Her first sentence was: "The Yuan family? What good can she... Ah, it's Zuo Xing, come sit and eat, haven't you had breakfast yet?"

  Even if Li's words were translated quickly, the first half of the sentence was almost finished, and Zuo Xing's face turned even redder, nodding slightly: "I've eaten, my mother asked me to bring this over to Auntie."

  After finishing, she raised her eyes and looked at Li, who was also a person with clear likes and dislikes. She was unhappy with Liu, but still felt some sympathy for the young daughter of the Yuan family's side room. Her biological mother had died early, and although she was originally a young lady, she only received the treatment of a maid. Since childhood, she had been treated harshly by Liu, and at 14 or 15 years old, she still looked undeveloped. Naturally, she wouldn't dare to show any temper in front of Zuo Xuan.

  "What is this?"

  Mr. Li opened the small package on the spot, and unexpectedly, it revealed twenty taels of silver inside, even the cloth used to wrap the silver was still the same one Shen Huan had given to Mrs. Li when she was at her parents' home.

  The two women immediately understood, it turned out that the Yuan family was now returning the silver they had originally compensated to them intact? What were they making a fuss about this time? Not to mention Shen Huan and Li Shi didn't understand, even Zhao Xi Qiao furrowed her brow, expressionless, looking at the silver in Li Shi's hand, her gaze slowly shifted to Zuo Xing's body, hoping to get a satisfactory answer from her mouth.

  "Mother said that at the time, she would have let Auntie you compensate for these twenty taels of silver, purely just to shut up the mouths of the people in our household. Now everyone thinks we've already taken care of this matter, Mother's meaning is that originally it should be us thanking you, after all if Big Sister's child in her belly had been lost..."

  Left apricot didn't continue, the people present weren't unclear, even if Hu Youxuan wasn't very clear about the ins and outs of this matter, he could still know roughly seven or eight from these general words. Moreover, in the past few days, I went to Lao Fuzi's place with Zhao Xiuzhuo to read books, and more or less heard some rumors, after all, where there are people, there are rumors, and once the wind is out, it can't be really covered up.

  "Is that so? However, even if my Zhao family is poor, we are still poor with dignity. This money has already been compensated to your family and there's no qualification to take it back. Left Xiuzi, you should return the silver. If your mother has any opinions, let her come find me directly."

  Li glanced at the silver in her hand, no longer having any attachment to it. At first, she was reluctant to compensate for the twenty taels, but the fact that a difficult childbirth could happen anywhere made it a big deal when it happened at the Yuan's house. However, the misfortune lay in the fact that she had not expected the child to be placed on the bed edge, and her original intention was only to move the pillow slightly, which ultimately led to the current tragedy...

  "But..."

  "Stop stalling and take the money back quickly!"

  Zuo Xing pursed her lips, and at that time, when Liu's family called her over to hand over the money, she had said that if she didn't give the money to Li, she wouldn't be allowed to come back. Now Li's family wasn't accepting her money either... thinking that she might have to suffer another brutal beating, Zuo Xing's eyes welled up with tears...

  Shen Huan saw the situation and wanted to say something, but in her heart, she was clear about the purpose of the Yuan family's actions. For the past few days, rumors had been circulating outside, and Shen Huan had tried to stay indoors as much as possible to avoid attracting more gossip. Now, with Hu Youxuan added to the mix, she wondered what other stories these gossipy women would come up with in the next few days.

  The Yuan family had left the matter of sending money back to Zuo Xun, naturally wanting to show off their family's style. But this matter would definitely not be well received by the Li family. The persimmon would naturally squeeze the soft one, and Zuo Xun became the sandwich cookie for the two families to vent their anger on each other.

  "Mom, why don't you take the money first and then give it to Aunt Liu yourself?"

  At this somewhat awkward scene, Zhao Xiuzhuo spoke up. He looked at Zuo Xuan's face which had turned red and was hesitant to leave or stay, and he also felt a bit unbearable in his heart. Originally, there were still half a sentence left behind, but he forced himself not to say it out loud.

  "Why should I give him two taels of silver again?"

  After hearing this, Li felt uncomfortable in her heart, but thinking of the poor little girl Zuo Xing made her feel uneasy too. The words she said at that moment were not pleasant to hear either. Zuo Xing immediately took a step back and lowered her head, saying: "Auntie, don't be angry, I'll go back now."

  As soon as she finished speaking, Zuo Xiang turned around and walked towards the gate of the courtyard. The tears that had been held back for a long time finally burst out... It's all her own fault for being bullied at home, her mother was just a concubine who died early, it's her own fault for not being born with a good fate, now being treated as a scapegoat is also her own destiny!

  "Sister, you wait a minute, when you go back just tell your mother like this..."

  Shen Han couldn't bear to see the poor girl go back and continue to suffer, so she could only try her best to calm things down. She took two steps forward, caught up with her, and whispered some words in her ear. Li Shi looked at her with some doubt, but didn't stop her, after all Shen Han had always been measured in her actions. As it happened, Li Shi also didn't want to make things difficult for the young girl, so she went along with Shen Han's plan.

  "Thanks... thanks sister-in-law, and auntie... Zhao Er Ge, I'll head back first."

  Shen Huan's words seemed to have some effect, and although Zuo Xing still had tears on her face, she was much better. She turned around and bid farewell one by one, and when her eyes met Hu Youxian's, she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. She didn't know what to call him either, so she just nodded in greeting.

  It wasn't until she reached the door that she clearly heard a strange yet pleasant voice coming from inside the house: "Poor little girl!"

  Zuo Xing didn't stop in her tracks, but when she turned around to close the door, she couldn't help but take a glance inside again, and once more met Hu Youxuan's gaze. Her heart skipped a beat as something in those eyes conveyed a sense of danger that she couldn't quite decipher yet unmistakably felt.

  "Han'er, what did you just say to Zuo Xing?"

  As soon as Shen Huan sat down, Li Shi couldn't help but ask: "If I were to go to the Yuan family, I wouldn't go. That place is too unlucky!"

  Xinzhī Pópó had too great a gap with the Yuán family, Shěn Hán nodded and said: "Alright! Then you don't have to go, I'll just go myself."

  "What are you doing? Don't you know..." Li said, glancing at her son, but Zhao Xiuxiu still maintained his attitude of not speaking while eating and sleeping, lowering his head to eat as if he hadn't heard Li's words. Only Hu Youxuan seemed very interested, sitting properly on the side without moving his chopsticks from start to finish, listening to the conversation between Li and Shen Han.

  "Mother, I just went to clarify things. Since the troublemaker's seed is on me, isn't this move by the Yuan family just trying to clear their position in this rumor?"

  Shen Hanyu blinked at Li, having her own thoughts in mind. She couldn't keep hiding and avoiding like this forever. As for the rumor, Shen Hanyu wasn't foolish enough to believe it was spread by the Yuan family; they had no need to do so.

  "Alas, if it weren't for the fact that Old Wang and Old Li had agreed to go collect money today, I would have gone with you. How about... let Ruxuan accompany you instead? I'm not at ease with you going alone."

  Originally wanted to say let Zhao Xiuzhuo accompany, a sudden thought turned and thought that his uncle and aunt are now the rumored couple among all the people in the town, if they let them appear together at the Yuan family again, wouldn't it be hard to explain?

  "No need, Yu Xuan isn't going with Little Uncle..."

  "No problem, it's been a while since I've bothered Auntie and Uncle Ye, and now that there's a need for me to go with them, let me accompany Second Sister on this trip!"

  As soon as Shen Huan's words fell, Hu Youxian took the initiative to offer himself as a protector of flowers. His face didn't show any special expression, and Li Shi just casually said so, still hoping that Shen Huan could dispel this idea. It was just that his own son couldn't be used as a shield, but he didn't expect Hu Youxian to respond, the atmosphere on the scene suddenly became a bit strange.

  Three people spoke to the awkward moment, Zhao Xiuxiao slowly put down the chopsticks in his hand, picked up the bowl and drank the remaining clear porridge, then swept his gaze over Shen Huan and the three of them, with a seemingly unintentional sigh escaping from his throat: "Then trouble Brother Youxuan, accompany Sister-in-law for a walk."