Becoming the Cannon Fodder Wife of Crazy and Powerful Official - Chapter 7

The young woman had delicate, refined features, with a medicine chest slung over her slender shoulders and a bundle in her hand. She glanced sideways at Xin Yueying, not bothering to hide the disdain in her eyes.

This was the novel’s female lead, Meng Ruxin.

Meng Ruxin was kind and helpful to others, treating patients without charging fee. The villagers at the foot of Niujia Mountain all adored her.

She also had the protagonist’s halo of luck—no matter how foolish her actions or how dire the situation, she simply wouldn’t die.

Since she was new here, it was best to keep a low profile. If she couldn’t win outright, she might as well try to blend in.

Xin Yueying stood up, wiping her hands on her skirt, and offered Meng Ruxin a friendly smile, “Have you eaten? I can make you something—”

Before she could finish, Meng Ruxin shot her a glare and turned away, heading straight into the house.

Xin Yueying gritted her teeth and reminded herself — Don’t get angry. Life is like a play—we meet by fate!

Swallowing her pride, she followed Meng Ruxin inside and watched as the latter strode into Shen Qingqi’s room.

Meng Ruxin lifted the door curtain and immediately noticed Shen Qingqi’s injured hand. Sitting on the edge of the kang, she demanded sharply, “How did you hurt your hand?”

Her tone carried a hint of frustration, as if scolding someone for their own good.

Shen Qingqi didn’t react.

“Tell me, how did you hurt your hand?” Meng Ruxin pressed, her voice firmer this time.

Shen Qingqi kept his eyes closed, clearly unwilling to answer.

Meng Ruxin sighed in resignation and set her medicine chest on a chair. She placed the bundle on the kang table, her voice softening slightly, “I brought you some clothes and a bit of money. It’s not much, but it should cover medicine for a few days.”

When she mentioned money, her gaze flicked warily to Xin Yueying, her tone turning icy, “Why are you in here?”

Xin Yueying met her eyes and walked in casually. From her sleeve, she pulled out a small cloth bundle and dropped it onto the kang table with a thud.

She unfolded it slowly, “I made a wheelchair today and sold it for a good sum. I was just thinking of settling the medical bills I owe you.”

Meng Ruxin froze, “Medical bills?”

“Exactly. You’ve been treating Second Brother all this time and even gave us money. How could we take it for free?” She counted out ten taels from the bundle and offered them to Meng Ruxin.

Meng Ruxin stared coldly at Xin Yueying, making no move to accept.

Xin Yueying pressed on, “We’ll keep the clothes you brought, but you must take the money. It’s the least we can do.”

She knew Meng Ruxin’s situation wasn’t ideal either. Her father couldn’t show his face in public, and her younger siblings were still too small to help. The family barely scraped by on what Meng Ruxin earned from treating villagers.

Unlike the Shen family, Meng Ruxin’s father had fled here with his entire household. Her birth mother had passed long ago, and her stepmother frequently criticized her for giving money to the Shens, even openly making life difficult for her.

So, Xin Yueying assumed any reasonable person would take the silver and maybe even warm up to her a little.

But to her surprise, Meng Ruxin didn’t accept. Instead, she snapped, “His treatment requires a lot of expenses. If you truly cared, you’d budget carefully instead of throwing money around to buy goodwill.”

Xin Yueying: “……”

Though she refused the money, Meng Ruxin seemed to recalibrate her approach. She no longer interrogated Shen Qingqi with the same invasive intensity.

Xin Yueying bent down and rolled up Shen Qingqi’s pant legs, “Then at least check his legs first.”

As the fabric lifted, horrifying scars came into view. Xin Yueying’s breath caught—his knees were the worst, misshapen and branded with what looked like burns.

She noticed his right leg seemed swollen, “Look here, it’s a bit inflamed.”

Meng Ruxin sucked in a sharp breath and glared at Shen Qingqi, “This is your own body. How can you not even care about yourself?”

Xin Yueying glanced at Shen Qingqi. He remained expressionless, slumped against the wall, not even bothering to open his eyes.

She shifted to block Meng Ruxin’s line of sight, asking hurriedly, “What should we watch out for in his daily care?”

Meng Ruxin looked up, perhaps finding Xin Siniang unusually cooperative today. After a pause, she answered, “Keep him warm, and avoid any pressure on his knees.”

Xin Yueying recalled Shen Qingqi hauling himself onto the kang earlier, “I’ll pad the edges with cotton later.”

“Heh.” A humourless laugh escaped Shen Qingqi, “How diligent of you both—wasting effort on a cripple.”

Meng Ruxin’s brows shot up, “You—!”

“You think wallowing in self-pity hurts just you?” Xin Yueying ruthlessly stole Meng Ruxin’s line again, “The ones who care about you suffer most!”

She had no choice—to earn Shen Qingqi’s favor and survive, she had to play the part.

Unlike Huo Qi’s earlier shock, Meng Ruxin only gave Xin Yueying a brief, puzzled look before turning back to Shen Qingqi, “Yes, and—”

“And right now, conserving your strength is what matters,” Xin Yueying cut in, adopting Meng Ruxin’s scolding tone, “Who said your legs are hopeless?”

Meng Ruxin’s mouth opened slightly as she stared blankly at Xin Yueying.

In her haste, Xin Yueying had misspoken. Panicked, she glanced at Shen Qingqi—only to find him already looking back at her with a sidelong gaze.

Xin Yueying responded with a radiant, spring-breeze smile, “If there were no hope, why would Miss Meng come to treat you every day? Clearly, she must believe you can recover.” She turned to Meng Ruxin. “Right?”

Meng Ruxin snapped out of her daze, shot Xin Yueying a glare, and met Shen Qingqi’s eyes. “Right.”

Shen Qingqi said nothing, simply closed his eyes again.

Meng Ruxin retrieved a leather-wrapped acupuncture set from her medicine chest and began the treatment.

Once finished, she stepped outside, where Huo Qi had just returned. The two retreated to the kitchen. Xin Yueying crept after them, peering through the door crack to see them whispering intently.

Likely, Huo Qi was warning Meng Ruxin about her father needing to stay hidden.

When Meng Ruxin returned, she gave Xin Yueying another icy look before removing the needles from Shen Qingqi’s legs.

As the sun dipped behind the mountains, Xin Yueying lit an oil lamp to aid Meng Ruxin’s examination, holding the light steady for her.

After the treatment, Xin Yueying tucked Shen Qingqi in and hurried after Meng Ruxin as she left the room.

“Could you come earlier tomorrow?” Xin Yueying asked.

Meng Ruxin turned, puzzled, “Why?”

“I made some money today,” Xin Yueying explained, “I plan to buy good wine and meat at the market. I’ll cook extra so you can bring some to your father.”

Meng Ruxin scrutinized her from head to toe before hesitantly saying, “Come with me. I have something to say.”

Xin Yueying followed her into the woods.

Suddenly, Meng Ruxin stopped, her back still turned, “Huo Qi told me… you had your reasons before.”

Praise the heavens—Huo Qi finally did something useful!

But before Xin Yueying could rejoice, Meng Ruxin spun around, her face stern, chin lifted imperiously, “But I trust my judgment. At your core, you’re a cruel, heartless woman. Stay in your lane—or I’ll make you regret it.”

Xin Yueying’s smile froze.