Becoming the Cannon Fodder Wife of Crazy and Powerful Official - Chapter 33

Huo Qi patted down the soil over the filled pit with his shovel, wiping the sweat from his brow with the cloth on his shoulder, utterly exhausted.

Xin Yueying crouched beside him, her expression grave.

Three lives.

What, was collecting five lives going to make her some kind of god or something?

How did it come to this?

Xin Yueying rubbed her face in frustration.

Huo Qi was so angry he stabbed the shovel into the ground. “You’ve almost gathered all the weak, old, women, and children! Next, are you planning to target babies?!” He pointed to the empty space beside the old woman’s grave. “Should I dig a pit in advance?! Save me the trouble of having to do it again later!”

Xin Yueying covered her mouth, crouching at Huo Qi’s feet. “I didn’t want this either! I told you, she was the one who insisted on clinging to the pillar and wouldn’t leave!”

Xin Yueying looked down and saw the old woman’s outer garment lying by Huo Qi’s feet, still stained with blood, quite dirty. “Why wasn’t this buried? Were you planning to burn it?”

“How can you even ask?! The Second Master told me to keep it! Just wait until he deals with you!” Huo Qi yelled at her. “Follow me!” He turned and walked away.

In the courtyard, Xie Asheng was straightening the wooden beams. He was also very angry. After working for so long, they were finally about to build the wall, but that old woman’s tug had caused the whole thing to collapse.

All their efforts had been for nothing.

“Living at your place for a year, working as a long-term laborer for half a year—you two really aren’t at a loss,” he muttered, wiping the sweat from his forehead. What kind of mess was this?

Shen Qingqi said, “It shows that the beam you set up wasn’t stable to begin with.”

“The wall isn’t even built yet; how could it be stable?” Xie Asheng was exhausted, bending over to clean up. “What was that wretched old woman’s deal? How was she so strong? This Niujiagouzi place is really full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.”

Shen Qingqi gazed into the distance where Huo Qi was storming over with his shovel, followed by Xin Yueying in her light pink pomegranate skirt. She was thin and small, wearing a guilty expression. Huo Qi, tall and burly, took strides twice her size. She clutched her skirt anxiously, her little legs scrambling to keep up with him.

“Hey, wait for me! I really didn’t mean it!”

Huo Qi, “Don’t tell me that! Go explain to the Second Master!”

“Fine, I will!” Xin Yueying said, but when she glanced at Shen Qingqi from afar and met his eyes, she quickly looked away, flustered.

This girl, why was she still so afraid of him?

Shen Qingqi shook his head with a helpless smile.

When Huo Qi and Xin Yueying reached Shen Qingqi, Huo Qi held up the old woman’s outer garment and asked, “Second Master, why did you want to keep this?”

Shen Qingqi said, “That old woman must have family. To prevent the constables from tracing her to us, take this to the foot of the mountain and make some animal tracks to make it look like she was taken by a wild beast.”

Huo Qi glared at Xin Yueying. “This is all your fault! Now I have to clean up your mess!” He turned and left.

Xin Yueying pressed her lips together, silent, pretending to look pitiful. On the surface, she seemed remorseful, but inwardly, she was already plotting how to get back at Meng Ruxin.

Fortunately, Shen Qingqi didn’t question why she had killed without reason. Instead, he asked if she had eaten. When she said no, he wheeled himself over to the cart and looked at the large and small packages she had bought but noticed she hadn’t brought back any groceries. Shen Qingqi looked up at her. “Why didn’t you buy any vegetables?”

“I forgot. I’ll go this afternoon,” she said.

Shen Qingqi glanced at her but didn’t press further, wheeling himself over to the stove to light the fire.

Xin Yueying eagerly followed.

“Let me do it, let me help you,” she said with an awkward smile, crouching to strike the flint.

Shen Qingqi looked at her and asked, “Nothing you want to tell me?”

Xin Yueying looked up blankly. “No.”

Shen Qingqi didn’t ask anymore.

She didn’t want to tell Shen Qingqi that people outside were calling her Xin Jinlian, or that they said she dressed provocatively even though her husband was paralyzed. She certainly couldn’t tell him that the village was buzzing with rumors about her having an affair with Carpenter Yang.

She cooked, and Shen Qingqi assisted her. The two worked in silence. After lunch, she changed into plain clothes, removed the hairpins and ribbons from her hair, and excused herself to go buy groceries.

Shen Qingqi just watched her, saying nothing.

Huo Qi was squatting on the ground, measuring the distance between the wooden beams, when he glanced back casually. “Dressed so plainly? Feeling guilty and want to mourn that wretched old woman? It’s no use. She won’t let you off even as a ghost—she died too unjustly. Right now, she’s probably filing a complaint against you with the King of Hell.”

“Shut your nonsense,” Xin Yueying snapped, shooting him a glare before heading off to fetch the donkey.

Before leaving, she sneakily went to the Song family first. Meng Ruxin wouldn’t be there at this time, and she wasn’t looking for her anyway. Instead, she sought out Madame Song and borrowed a wide-brimmed hat to wear.

She arrived under the old locust tree and saw a group of about ten people, both men and women, gathered around Meng Ruxin’s table, gossiping.

“She’s just too wicked! Today, we finally helped Miss Xin vent some anger!”

Meng Ruxin, “You really shouldn’t speak of her like that. After all, there’s no proof. I think it’s better to let it go.”

Hah, let it go?

Xin Yueying walked past them, fists clenched, radiating a fierce aura.

You’ve ruined my reputation? I’ll make sure you can’t stay in Niujiagou anymore.

She turned and headed toward Lame Ma’s house.

Pushing the door open, she found Lame Ma lying on the bed, his eyes fixed blankly on the ceiling. The white powder on the table was gone, and two constables were sitting in the room drinking water and chatting.

When they saw Xin Yueying, they stood up and smiled. “Here to see your godfather?”

“Ah, yes,” Xin Yueying replied, closing the door and removing her hat.

The two constables exchanged a glance and tactfully stood up. “We just came here for a drink of water. We’ll leave you to talk.”

“It’s fine. The sun is blazing outside—please stay. I’m just here to check on my godfather,” she said insincerely.

The constable waved his hand. “Your godfather isn’t doing too well,” he said quietly, shaking his head. “He keeps hiccupping nonstop. No idea what he ate wrong.”

Xin Yueying thought for a moment, then took out a few pieces of scattered silver from her purse. “You’ve worked hard, officers. If you’re not too busy, could you please pass a message to Officer Guan? To thank him for sending people to help take care of my godfather, we’d like to invite him for a meal tonight after his shift.”

“Sure, sure,” the two constables said, taking the silver and leaving cheerfully.

Xin Yueying closed the doors and windows tightly.

Lame Ma had lost a lot of weight, his eyes filled with a despairing light. He opened his mouth and let out a long, drawn-out hiccup before turning his gaze to Xin Yueying, grinning strangely.

“Well, if it isn’t Xin Jinlian.”

As he spoke, he hiccupped again, continuing with that eerie grin. “Wouldn’t let me poison her? Now look what happened—she’s even ruined your reputation! Hmph, serves you right.”

Xin Yueying walked over. “Enough nonsense. Come with me somewhere.”