Becoming the Cannon Fodder Wife of Crazy and Powerful Official - Chapter 41

Xin Yueying swallowed hard, looking at Shen Qingqi. Her face wore an ingratiating, awkward smile, “Of course not. I’ve been reflecting on things these days, but I’ve thought for a long time and still haven’t figured out what the result is. That’s why I’m asking you.”

Shen Qingqi didn’t answer.

She had accidentally made him depressed, but to this day, she didn’t understand where his depression came from.

Xin Yueying asked apprehensively, “Don’t be like this. Seriously, I’m quite scared. I think if there’s anything to say, we can just say it out loud.”

Shen Qingqi lowered his eyes and remained silent.

She steeled herself and urged him, “Go on, say it. Speaking it out detoxifies; this is the detox stage.”

Shen Qingqi was still silent.

He didn’t seem prepared to detox.

Having no other options, Xin Yueying decided to leave him be. Using the silver Shen Qingqi earned from making the folding chair, she had bought a lot of meat and vegetables. As summer was approaching, she also bought several bolts of fabric and several jugs of good wine, saying she would deliver them to Lame Ma and Aunt Song.

Shen Qingqi said, “There’s a tailor shop ahead. Don’t you want to go look at clothes?”

Xin Yueying didn’t speak. Actually, she was a bit reluctant to spend the money. He had worked so hard for so long on that folding chair. Sometimes at night, she pretended to be asleep and saw him several times using a bamboo splinter under the oil lamp to pick out the fine splinters from his fingertips.

His formerly fair and clean fingertips were often red and swollen from weaving too much.

She had plenty of clothes, but he always rotated through the same few sets of coarse clothes, long since faded from washing.

The clothes, shoes, and even hairpins she bought for him, he had never used. He just bundled them up and placed them in a corner of the cupboard.

She looked at Shen Qingqi but didn’t say that she had enough clothes to wear. She knew the clever Shen Qingqi would definitely realize she was reluctant to spend the money.

So, she smiled and pointed at the fish behind her, “No rush. Let’s go deliver these things to Lame Ma first. I’m afraid if we delay too long, the fish won’t be fresh anymore.”

Shen Qingqi looked at her but said nothing.

The two of them drove the donkey cart to Lame Ma’s house first.

Lame Ma’s shop had been driven out of business by Meng Ruxin. Re-establishing it would require a significant investment, so for now, he could only make do by seeing patients at home.

From afar, they could see several listless people sitting in the yard in front of his house, probably waiting to see the doctor.

Xin Yueying said to Shen Qingqi, “Wait for me a moment.” She then grabbed the wine jug, took two fish, and went into Lame Ma’s yard.

Lame Ma’s room also had many people waiting to see the doctor. A woman holding a child was in front of his desk. Lame Ma was bent over writing a prescription. He lifted his eyelids and saw Xin Yueying had arrived.

Lame Ma’s brush paused. He narrowed his eyes and looked at her.

“You came at the right time,” he stared at Xin Yueying, gradually revealing a sly smile, “Wait for me first. I have something to discuss with you later.”

Xin Yueying looked speechlessly at Lame Ma’s sly smile. She went out to the kitchen, set down the wine, and put the fish in the water tank.

She walked back to Shen Qingqi and said, “Lame Ma said to wait for him. He said he has something to say.”

Shen Qingqi looked gloomily at Xin Yueying, “You go wait for him inside by yourself.”

Without waiting for Xin Yueying to reply, Shen Qingqi turned the donkey cart around.

“Hey! Where are you going!?” she called after him loudly.

“Hey!”

“I’m asking you! Where are you going?”

Even the donkey turned its head, but Shen Qingqi didn’t turn back.

Xin Yueying watched, her face contorted, as Shen Qingqi drove the donkey cart out of her sight. She turned back and looked towards the house. Inside, Lame Ma curled his lips, continuing to give her a sly smile.

Oh heavens, what exactly did she do wrong?!

Why did she have to deal with these mentally unstable lunatics every day?

Speechless, Xin Yueying entered the house and sat on a chair nearby to watch Lame Ma diagnose patients.

Without Meng Ruxin’s free consultations, Lame Ma’s business had indeed picked up. A steady stream of patients kept coming. Xin Yueying felt she had been waiting for a long time, but more people kept arriving for treatment.

A noise came from outside. Following the sound, she saw Shen Qingqi driving the donkey cart into the yard.

Huh? He came back? Xin Yueying stood up and walked over to him. “I thought you went home by yourself.”

Shen Qingqi didn’t speak, so she assumed he was urging her because he was tired of waiting. “Old Ma said it’ll still be a while. There are quite a few patients; we’ll have to wait a bit longer. Why don’t you go home first?”

“It’s fine, no rush.” He turned around, picked up a bundle, and handed it to Xin Yueying. “See if you like them. If there’s anything you don’t like, I can take it back and exchange it.”

Xin Yueying was stunned. What?! He actually went to buy clothes for her!

She poked the bundle with her finger and said quietly, “Actually, I have plenty of clothes.”

Shen Qingqi, “These are all lightweight ones for summer.”

Xin Yueying opened it. Inside were embroidered shoes and various beautiful dresses in different colors.

She looked up at Shen Qingqi, feeling that he was actually quite thoughtful.

“Why are you looking at me? I told you to look at the clothes.” He looked at her expressionlessly.

Okay, she took back her previous thought.

She looked down, rummaged through the clothes, examined them carefully, and held each one up against herself. She liked every single one.

She grinned, showing a row of neat white teeth. “They’re all very nice.”

Shen Qingqi looked at her pink lips and her little white teeth, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly in a shallow smile.

The two waited a while longer until Lame Ma finally finished his work. He came out, saw that Shen Qingqi was also there, went back inside to get a chair.

He helped Shen Qingqi sit in the Eight Immortals chair, and together with Xin Yueying, they carried the chair into the room, placing it in front of the screen.

Lame Ma said, “Wait a moment,” and slipped out sneakily. He flipped the “In Consultation” sign hanging on the main door over to show “Out on a Visit” on the back.

Lame Ma returned to the room, closed the door, bolted it shut, and closed both windows.

With no sunlight, the room instantly became dark.

In the dim little room, Lame Ma looked at Xin Yueying with a sinister, wild smile.

“……” Xin Yueying looked speechlessly at the evil Lame Ma. “What exactly are you trying to do?”

“I want to show you something good.” A sinister look flashed in Lame Ma’s eyes. He stroked his beard, shook his head, and walked with his limping gait to move the screen aside.

A person covered with a white cloth lay on a single bed.

Xin Yueying’s face turned pale with fright, and she staggered back two steps.

She looked at Lame Ma in shock. “Is that a dead body?!”

Xin Yueying suddenly remembered the stream of people who had been in this little room earlier. The shock in her eyes intensified. “You just left this corpse out in the open like this? Weren’t you afraid someone would see it?”

Lame Ma waved his hand, revealing a cunning smile. “No, no one looks over here.”

Xin Yueying stared at Lame Ma in astonishment.

A smile played on Lame Ma’s lips. He pointed at the white cloth, narrowed his eyes, and looked at Xin Yueying. “Guess who this is?”

Xin Yueying’s eye twitched.

“It’s not Meng Ruxin, is it?” she asked in a low voice.