Chapter 40: Bewitchment

He poured all the events that had taken place in the village while she was away into her ears, attempting to manipulate her.

He told her that everything was caused by that damned girl, Jiang Lihua.

If she wanted revenge, she should go find Jiang Lihua.

Yang Xiuhua stared blankly at the gray, overcast sky, her eyes empty and vacant. It was impossible to tell whether she had actually processed a single word Yang Wenbin said.

Words were wasted on her.

Without another word, Yang Wenbin left her where she was and turned toward the village head’s house.

After much persuasion at the village head’s residence, he was finally allowed to see Huang Yingrong.

Looking at Huang Yingrong, who stood before him like a raving madwoman, he felt not a single shred of sympathy.

Looking straight into her eyes, he said coldly, "If you carry on like this, your grandfather will never let you out."

A flicker of lucidity passed through Huang Yingrong's cloudy eyes.

Realizing that his words had hit their mark, Yang Wenbin continued to guide her.

After he left, Huang Yingrong got up, washed up, and dressed herself properly. She stopped screaming like a maniac.

When the village head came to check on her later, she greeted him sweetly just as she used to, calling out, "Grandfather."

The village head stared at her in utter astonishment. "Rong'er, have you come to your senses?"

Huang Yingrong nodded.

She had indeed come to her senses!

She refused to be locked away in this room while that damned girl enjoyed herself freely outside.

That wretched girl had reduced her to such a state, and she would definitely have her revenge.

The village head remained entirely unaware of her inner thoughts, overjoyed simply to see that his granddaughter had finally snapped out of it.

Ever since Madam Sun’s silver was stolen by Zhao Fusheng, she had stood at her doorway cursing at the top of her lungs day in and day out, occasionally going over to make trouble for Widow Zhang.

The scandal had set the entire village abuzz, becoming common knowledge among the residents.

It was now the mandatory topic of conversation for everyone during their leisure time.

By now, both the Yang family and Widow Zhang had become a laughingstock in the village. Widow Zhang, past her prime and no longer youthful, was still carrying on with Zhao Fusheng—she had utterly abandoned all shame.

Ni Wenyu recounted all of this to Jiang Lihua.

Upon hearing it, Jiang Lihua merely remarked, "Evil is rewarded with evil."

Seeing that her emotions remained completely undisturbed, Ni Wenyu knew she no longer cared about the affairs of the Yang family.

He was genuinely glad that Lihua had let it go.

He had previously worried that she still held feelings for Yang Wenbin in her heart.

Now, it appeared he had been worrying needlessly.

With Scholar Zhang helping out at the village school over the past few days, Ni Wenyu had found himself with much more breathing room.

His teacher, Li Wenyao, had suggested that he enroll in a formal academy to study, which would greatly increase his chances of passing the imperial examinations for the provincial degree.

He had indeed hit a bottleneck in his studies recently. Since his teacher raised the idea, he felt a strong desire to go—to study in a proper academy and exchange insights with other scholars.

Yet, he could not bear to leave Jiang Lihua behind.

Noticing Ni Wenyu’s furrowed brows and troubled expression, Jiang Lihua wondered if something was weighing on his mind.

She spoke up and asked, "Is something the matter?"

After a brief hesitation, Ni Wenyu shared his teacher's suggestion with Lihua.

He wanted to hear her thoughts on the matter.

With a gaze full of expectation, he waited for her reply.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lihua immediately beamed and said, "Going to study at an academy is a wonderful idea! If you're short on silver, just let me know and use whatever you need. Once you pass the imperial examinations and become the top scholar, you can simply pay me back tenfold."

She genuinely hoped to see him succeed and have a bright future ahead of him.

After all, he was the first person who had ever treated her kindly upon arriving in this unfamiliar world.

Seeing her respond with such cheerful readiness, Ni Wenyu felt a deep sense of loss settle into his chest.

So Lihua didn't rely on him in the slightest.

On second thought, Lihua was so capable at running her own business and making money; he hadn't been able to help her with any of it. Instead, it was always Lihua taking care of him.

The realization only deepened the hollow ache in his heart.

He hated himself for being unable to help her.

Yet, looking at it from another perspective, Lihua had never treated anyone else as well as she treated him. This surely meant that he still held a special place in Lihua's heart.

With this comforting thought, his spirits were instantly revived.

He would study harder than ever, win the title of top scholar, marry her in grand style, and provide her with a secure and peaceful life.

Jiang Lihua was left somewhat bewildered, watching the young scholar before her shift from gloom to soaring ambition in the span of a moment, completely failing to grasp what had just gone through his mind.

Having sorted out his thoughts, Ni Wenyu decided to leave for the academy in town.

As for the tuition fees, he had enough saved, but once paid, he would have nothing left for living expenses.

Since Lihua had offered to lend him the silver, he decided not to put on airs or act overly modest.

Besides, whatever money he earned in the future would belong to Lihua anyway.

The following day, Ni Wenyu packed his tuition and set off for Lenan Academy in the town to enroll.

At only thirteen years of age, having already passed the district examination as a certified scholar, he clearly possessed immense potential to place high in the imperial examinations. The academy was more than willing to accept such a student.

Thus, his admission was effortless.

Once the paperwork was completed, Ni Wenyu bought some of Lihua's favorite pastries in town and headed back to the village.

He wanted to return as quickly as possible to share the good news with Lihua.

From a distance, he saw a crowd of people gathered around the entrance of Lihua's courtyard.

He quickly quickened his pace and broke into a run.

Only then did he notice a woman lying flat on the ground.

The villagers were buzzing with speculation.

"Has this Yang Xiuhua completely lost her mind?"

"I'd say she's at least eighty percent crazy. Why else would she come and lie down right in front of someone else's doorway for no good reason?"

"I heard she was cast aside by her husband, and on top of that, he stole all the money from the Yang family. How pitiful."

Yang Xiuhua?

That was Yang Wenbin's older sister.

What was she doing lying at the entrance of Lihua's courtyard?

Circumventing the crowd, Ni Wenyu entered the courtyard and found Lihua sitting calmly inside the house, reading a book.

This was precisely the trait in Lihua that Ni Wenyu admired most.

No matter what happened, she remained utterly composed.

Take right now, for instance—people were causing a scene right outside her doorstep, yet she could still maintain her peace of mind and read.

Sighing lightly, he stepped forward to ask her what was going on.

Jiang Lihua spread her hands in a gesture of helplessness. "I have no idea what's going on either."

After a brief moment of thought, Ni Wenyu said, "Let me go fetch Jiang Feixiang to chase her away. He's your older brother, so it's only fitting that he handles this."

He was not yet closely related enough to Lihua.

If he were to step in and manage this, those gossiping women in the village would inevitably start wagging their tongues and spreading rumors about him and Lihua.

Jiang Lihua nodded.

That was indeed the only proper course of action.

She could tell that Yang Xiuhua had simply been hurt too deeply, leaving her with nothing to live for, and wanted to drag someone down with her. Well, Lihua had no intention of playing along.

Since Jiang Feixiang had a sturdy, robust build, it would be best if he could drive her away.

That way, Yang Xiuhua wouldn't end up creating a tragedy at her doorstep and burdening her with unnecessary trouble.

Arriving at the entrance of Lihua's courtyard, Jiang Feixiang stared down at Yang Xiuhua lying on the ground.

Having listened to the village women gossip endlessly about her affairs at the workshop every day, he was well aware of her situation.

She truly was a pitiful woman.

Seeing her lying there now, her expressionless face deathly pale and drained of all color, he felt an unexpected pang of sympathy stir within him.

Yang Xiuhua noticed him approaching as well.

No doubt he was a thug sent by Jiang Lihua!

She had no fear of death; she had nothing left in this world to hold onto.

Slowly closing her eyes, she awaited the arrival of whatever fate awaited her.

Without paying any heed to the murmurs and discussions of the onlookers, Jiang Feixiang squatted down, scooped her up horizontally into his arms, and strode toward the Yang family's courtyard.

"Isn't that Jiang Lihua's older brother?"

"Who would've thought that someone built like an ox could be so gentle with a woman? When he first walked over, I genuinely thought Yang Xiuhua was done for."

"Could it be that he's taken a fancy to Yang Xiuhua?"
...

It wasn't until Jiang Feixiang had carried her quite a few steps that Yang Xiuhua snapped back to reality. She opened her eyes and turned her stiff neck to stare at him.

He was Jiang Lihua's brother?

Why was he treating her with such gentleness?

Hesitantly, she opened her mouth and asked, "What... are you trying to do?"

Looking straight ahead without glancing down at her, Jiang Feixiang replied in a calm, flat tone, "Lihua was sent to your family as a child bride and endured endless torment since she was little, yet she is still living a good life today."

Yang Xiuhua offered no reply, simply letting him carry her in silence.

Reaching the entrance of the Yang household, Jiang Feixiang set her down on her feet and turned to leave without a backward glance.

Yang Xiuhua stood frozen, watching his retreating figure.

Upon seeing her return, Madam Sun immediately broke into a fresh round of curses, "Yang Xiuhua, you money-drainer, you still have the nerve to show your face back here? Did you get the silver?"

Ignoring her entirely, Yang Xiuhua walked straight back to her room with a vacant, wooden expression, laid down on the bed, and reflected upon her entire life.

Jiang Lihua soon learned of what Jiang Feixiang had done.

Her curiosity about him only deepened.

Could it be that Jiang Feixiang had actually been crushed to death by that pear log the other day, and like her, had been replaced by a soul from another world?

Otherwise, there was truly no way to explain his sudden and drastic change in temperament!

Ni Wenyu waved a hand back and forth right in front of her eyes. "Lihua, what are you daydreaming about?"

Recovering her wits, Jiang Lihua shook her head and asked him about how things had gone at the academy today.

At the mention of this, Ni Wenyu launched into an enthusiastic account of the events.

In short, the academy was thoroughly delighted to accept him as a student.

Seeing the small, proud look of triumph on his face, Jiang Lihua smiled and teased him, "Elder Brother Ni, you are truly amazing."

It was the first time she had ever addressed him in such a manner.

His face flushed slightly, and too shy to meet Jiang Lihua's eyes, he stammered, "Lihua, you... you can call me that all the time from now on."

She had merely been joking, but he had taken her words completely to heart.

Changing the subject, Jiang Lihua began asking when he would formally move into the academy and whether he would need to live on the premises.

She still found it difficult to call him Elder Brother Ni.

Oh well.

Calling him husband later on would be the exact same thing anyway.

Ceasing his hesitation, Ni Wenyu answered her questions regarding the academy.

Indeed, studying at the academy required boarding there, meaning he would only be able to return home once every five days.

He felt deeply reluctant to leave Jiang Lihua behind.

Repeatedly, he instructed her to make sure she always had someone accompany her wherever she went.
His nagging caused Jiang Lihua to remark repeatedly that he sounded just like an overbearing mother.

In the end, she shooed him away.

With Ni Wenyu gone to study at the academy, every time Jiang Lihua sat down for a meal and noticed his empty seat at the table, a faint wave of longing would wash over her.

Unbeknownst to her, she had long since carved out a place for him in her heart.

"Jiang Lihua, would you let me come in?" a strange female voice called out.

Stepping toward the doorway, Jiang Lihua saw Yang Xiuhua standing outside. What was she doing here?

Refusing to let her cross the threshold, Jiang Lihua asked, "What brings you here?"

Staring at her, Yang Xiuhua suddenly dropped to her knees on the ground. "Lihua, would you allow me to work at your processing workshop?"

What kind of game was she playing now?

Did she not realize that they were practically enemies?

Looking at her in utter bewilderment, Jiang Lihua said, "Given our history, what makes you think I would let you come work here?"

She certainly wasn't idle enough to go looking for trouble for herself.

Kneeling on the ground with slightly reddened eyes, Yang Xiuhua pleaded, "I'm begging you, Lihua. I promise I will never do anything to harm you again; I simply want to be able to support myself."

She knew that given their past grievances, Jiang Lihua would find it hard to grant her request.

Yet, after pondering over it for days and making up her mind with fierce determination, she had come to beg Jiang Lihua.

Regardless of whether Jiang Lihua accepted or rejected her, she would hold no resentment.

Jiang Lihua felt half-skeptical about her declarations.

She had already heard about what had happened to Yang Xiuhua.

Yet she regarded all of it as merely bringing misfortune upon oneself.

Strictly speaking, Yang Xiuhua and the original owner of her body had never been close.

Not long after the original owner arrived at the Yang family household, a fifteen-year-old Yang Xiuhua had married out, and the number of times she returned home afterwards could be counted on one's fingers.