latelenovela Chapter 897 The Scholar Who Abandoned His Husband and Children 7
Chapter 897 The Scholar Who Abandoned His Husband and Children 7
But he found it terrifying when his mother said these things, so he didn't dare to say anything else. Now, seeing the shocked looks on his mother and father's faces, he dared not say anything more and even took two steps back.
Zheng Zhuo reached out and, trembling, placed his hand below Zheng Yujin's nose to check her breath. The color drained from his face instantly.
Actually, there was no need to touch; you could tell just by looking that the person was gone. But she was still unwilling to accept it, so she rubbed her eyes, wanting to see if she was seeing things.
Then, he pulled open the collar of the person on the bed to take a look. There were no two moles on the neck as described in the document. Not giving up, he turned over and lifted the clothes to look at the back, but there was no birthmark the size of a palm.
His blood rushed to his head, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, falling headfirst to the ground.
"Miss!"
"mother!"
The father and his two sons shouted in panic at the same time.
Zheng Zhuo's husband also realized that it was his own daughter. He had just been teetering on the brink of collapse, but before he could even cry out, his wife suddenly vomited blood and fainted.
Forgetting his own grief, he quickly helped his wife up with his son and placed her on the couch next to him. Then he told his younger son to hurry and fetch a doctor.
"Wife! Wife, wake up!" He called out to Zheng Zhuo, trying to wake her up quickly, but she didn't respond at all. Her face was as pale as paper, and her breathing was so weak that it was almost inaudible.
He had a bad feeling, and his panic grew. He shouted louder and louder.
His eldest son panicked and rushed to the bedside, kneeling on the ground and shouting along with his father.
When the doctor came in with their youngest son, he saw this scene and quickly went to check on Zheng Zhuo's condition.
After taking his pulse, he frowned, shook his head, and said, "This is a case of sudden internal heat attacking the heart, causing unresolved emotional distress. Coupled with the previous depletion of qi and blood, I'm afraid... I'm afraid he won't make it through the night."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhuo's husband burst into tears and collapsed to the ground. His two sons also stood by, their faces filled with grief.
The old doctor also saw Zheng Yujin on the bed. He didn't even need to take her pulse; he could tell at a glance that she was already dead, her body was already somewhat stiff.
It seems that Zheng Zhuo was traumatized by his daughter's sudden death, which triggered his heart condition.
Looking at the two brothers standing there dumbfounded, and Zheng's husband who could only weep in grief, the old doctor sighed and said, "Zheng Zhuo's wife, this is not the time to cry. Quickly go and inform the clan to prepare for the mother and son's funeral..."
Zheng Zhuofu shook his head with a sorrowful expression and looked at the doctor, saying, "Third Aunt, is my husband really beyond saving? Could you please prescribe some medicine or give him acupuncture?" At least try your best.
The old doctor shook his head. "What I said earlier about her not making it through the night was an overstatement. Her heart meridian has actually broken. Right now, she's just hanging on by a thread and could die at any moment. We should change her into her burial clothes while her body is still soft. It won't be as easy to change her once she's like Yu Jin."
Zheng Zhuo's husband also remembered that his daughter was gone, and he couldn't bear it and fainted. The old doctor quickly pinched his philtrum to wake him up.
Although she was Zheng Zhuo's elder, they were already beyond the fifth degree of mourning and she couldn't make decisions for him. So she quickly woke him up and let them arrange the funeral themselves.
The people in Zhengjia Village are mostly from the same clan and surname, so they would help each other out when someone died. Zheng Zhuo's family only has the father and his two sons left, and they don't even have a woman to carry on the family line, so they can only ask the clan to make arrangements.
Zheng Zhuo's second son gritted his teeth, suppressing his grief, and decided to inform the clan. He wiped away his tears and hurriedly left the house.
The village chief of Zhengjia Village was also the clan chief of their branch. Although he was surprised to hear the news, he quickly sent people over to help with the funeral arrangements.
Amidst everyone's busy preparations, Zheng Yujin was dressed in her burial clothes and placed in the mourning hall. Zheng Zhuo, on the other hand, waited for half an hour before finally passing away. He was also dressed in his burial clothes and placed in the same spot as his daughter.
Fortunately, the ancient coffins and burial clothes were prepared in advance. Although Zheng Yujin was not yet married, they were already prepared and would be displayed at the wedding to show that everything was prepared from birth to death.
Having dealt with his enemies, Xiao Yun paid no further attention. By this time, he had reached the depths of the mountains and forests. The official road was no longer as wide as on flat ground, only wide enough for two vehicles to pass at a time, with large trees and rocks on both sides.
The two carts continued to move one after the other. Because they had been going uphill the whole time, they couldn't go fast even if they wanted to, and they hadn't stopped along the way, so the oxcart behind had no chance to overtake them.
It was already noon. Xiao Yun and Li Gui took out the dry food they had bought from Zheng's family earlier, which was just a few dark flour cakes. They had added some salt when kneading the dough, so it had some flavor and they could eat it without any side dishes.
At this time, farmers couldn't afford refined grains; they mostly ate coarse flour and unpolished rice, while the locals mainly ate wheat-based foods.
Coarse flour is made by grinding wheat directly after removing the outer husk, which means it has the bran with it. Whether it's steamed buns or baked flatbreads, it turns black, so it's also called dark flour.
What we now call whole wheat, and since it's all freshly harvested grain from that year, it actually tastes quite good.
It wasn't as fluffy as the leavened dough of later generations; it was more like semi-leavened dough. It was fine when it first came out of the pot, but it hardened after cooling down, making it a bit tough to eat.
If it were the original owner, she would have had to tough it out, but Xiao Yun definitely wouldn't suffer that. She had the robot grill it in the air fryer, and then added a slice of beef inside, making it crispy and fragrant.
Anyway, they weren't eating together; one was inside the carriage, and the other was outside, so Li Gui couldn't see what she was eating.
After finishing his meal, Xiao Yun took out a hot drink from his spatial storage and drank it with a straw. This way, the taste wouldn't be too strong and it wouldn't spill, especially since the journey had been somewhat bumpy.
After she finished eating, she subconsciously glanced at the car behind her and saw that although the other person was also eating dark-colored flatbread, they had a small stove in their car and were heating it up before eating.
That little red clay stove was really useful; it burned charcoal inside, and the flatbread baked on it became crispy and crunchy.
Moreover, the three of them were a family, so the cotton curtain was lifted when they ate, and their aunt, who was driving the cart, also sat inside. The three of them ate around the stove, and there was also hot water to drink.
This shows the advantage of walking behind; the ox will follow the carriage in front on its own and won't stray off course without being herded.
And it was fortunate that the oxcart's carriage was added later, unlike the specially designed horse-drawn carriages, which were much more secure. Otherwise, burning charcoal inside would have easily led to carbon monoxide poisoning.
There were no metal chimneys at the moment, so even if it were convenient, Xiao Yun didn't plan to build a stove.
Besides, it was a bit cold inside the carriage earlier, so she took out a pendant made of a low-grade fire spirit stone and wore it. Now she was so warm that she didn't need to light a stove at all.
Now that the original owner's revenge has been taken, it's time to think about the road ahead, Xiao Yun thought to himself as he picked his teeth.
The original owner had three wishes: to kill her enemies, to break away from her clan, and to protect her husband and children.
It's easy to treat my husband and son well; I'll just bring them out and take care of them when the time comes.
The real challenge is how to break away from the clan without letting them take advantage of you. It's easy to sever ties with the clan members; you could use the method Zheng Yujin used in her previous life. But that would mean giving up your family's land and property to the clan, which would be too easy for them. That's definitely not an option.
Xiao Yun lifted the window curtain and spat out the toothpick. She felt a gust of cold wind rush in. Her hand, which was about to close the curtain, paused. She had an idea!
Since we don't want to benefit our tribesmen and break ties with them again, we can't participate in the scientific expedition, at least not this time.
Xiao Yun thought that the method Zheng Yujin and her mother had mentioned before, which involved getting injured and missing out, was quite good and could definitely be used.
If she misses the imperial examination due to her injury, she will need to find a famous doctor and borrow money from her clan to treat her injury. She should ask for a large sum of money, because if the clan refuses to lend her money, it will be considered disregard for kinship. She will then have her husband sell his property and go to the capital to take care of her. Of course, she will have to take the children with her since they are still young.
When she later learned how ruthless her people were, it was perfectly normal for her to cut ties with them and never be on good terms with them again.
Of course, if her clansmen lent her money, that would be fine; she could just delay her injury for a few more years. But if they continued to lend her money, she didn't believe they would agree. Sooner or later, things would fall apart.
As for delaying the imperial examinations, the original owner's wishes did not include achieving fame and fortune or gaining official rank.
Of course, it can still be seen from the original owner's memories that she felt she could pass the exam. The original owner thought Zheng Yujin had completely stolen her life and never considered that the other person had real talent. Just the fact that her political views were aligned with the female lead's was something the original owner definitely couldn't do.
Because she was born into a conservative and traditional scholarly family, she lacked Zheng Yujin's ruthlessness and decisiveness in achieving her goals, as well as her flexibility and adaptability. Therefore, she could not be like-minded with the female protagonist from later generations.
Besides, the original owner only subconsciously felt that she could also become a first-rank official, and she did not explicitly tell Xiao Yun to fulfill this wish, so her not doing so would not affect her mission progress.
Although she also wanted to see what it was like to be in the imperial court, after all, it would be a different experience. Having lived through so many worlds, she had never actually held an official position, so she was thinking of giving it a try.
However, this will not be an obstacle for her to complete the mission. She will fulfill the original owner's wish first, since there is no time limit and it is fine to do it later.
Besides, that's absolutely impossible. She's already a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination), and Juren can become officials. It's just that their official positions can't be too high; at most, they can become prefects, and that's it.
This was equivalent to restricting officials with low educational backgrounds, much like how in later generations, one needed to take postgraduate entrance exams to advance in their careers. However, this was not the case in ancient times, as there was no option for working professionals to take postgraduate entrance exams.
However, considering the current communication conditions, we still need to make preparations in advance. We can't wait until we get to the capital to make the trip, otherwise it will take several months to make the round trip.
It just so happens that Li Gui will be going back after delivering this to her, so she can take the letter back directly.
It's definitely not an option for her to catch a cold and pretend to be sick. First of all, she's new to the capital and doesn't know anyone. Not only will there be no one to take care of her, but food and lodging will also be a problem. Besides, more than a month will have passed since she arrived. It would be unreasonable for her to survive being sick for so long.
The fastest and best way is to get injured. It won't affect her life in Beijing, but it will affect her scientific research. It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, so it's normal for it to take longer.
As for how he got injured? Xiao Yun glanced at the mountains and forests outside the car window. Since tigers had already been spotted, there was no harm in further enhancing his reputation, right?