Xie Nanjia didn't know whose voice it was. She was in so much pain that she was losing consciousness. After hearing the voice, she felt abdominal cramps, vomited blood and died.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in this unknown village.
The chief steward Hu Sanmu was directing people to carry his bloody son onto the door panel, while his wife Li was sitting in the mud crying her heart out.
Upon hearing that Xiu'er was pregnant with Hu An's child, Li rushed over like a gust of wind and without saying a word, she pulled Xie Nanjia, saying that the child in her belly was the only offspring of the Hu family and that she must go back with her to give birth to the child.
Xiu'er's mother naturally refused, and the two of them had a long argument.
Li was furious and pushed Xiu'er Niang to the ground with brute force. She bent down and grabbed Xie Nanjia's hand: "Get up and come home with me!"
"presumptuous!"
Xie Nanjia's thoughts were interrupted. He turned his head and uttered angrily. His originally dull eyes suddenly became cold.
Li couldn't help but shudder, and subconsciously let go of her hand and took two steps back.
The girl was thin and weak, with a pale face, chapped lips, and a hoarse voice, but her tone was full of inviolable majesty.
All those watching the excitement were stunned and stopped making noise.
Xiu'er's mother took the opportunity to rush over and protect her daughter like a hen protecting her chicks.
Li came to her senses and couldn't believe that she had been frightened by a little girl. She said angrily, "You foxy girl, stop pretending to be nice to me. You must come home with me today, mourn for my son, and give birth to my grandson safely, otherwise I will kick you and your son out of the farm!"
"Don't even think about it!" Xiu'er's mother shouted, "My Xiu'er has nothing to do with Juan, and she is not pregnant with Juan's child. It was Juan who wanted to do something bad to Xiu'er and broke into her house in the middle of the night. Fortunately, God saw through him and saved him. You are bullying me and ruining my daughter's reputation. I will go to the capital and sue you in front of my master!"
"Ha, this is hilarious!" Li put one hand on her waist, pointed at Xiu'er Niang's nose and sneered, "Why don't you take a look in the mirror? Who do you think you are? Can you see the master whenever you want?"
"That's right. Marquis Dingyuan is busy with all kinds of affairs. How can he have the time to meet a poor guy like you? If he wants to meet someone, he should meet the steward. The steward is a relative of the marquis' wife!" said the onlookers.
When Xie Nanjia heard the words "Marquis Dingyuan", he suddenly sat up from the mud, ignoring the pain all over his body, and looked at the person who spoke with burning eyes: "What did you say, this manor belongs to the Marquis Dingyuan family?"
The crowd burst into laughter, saying that Xiu'er had been hit by the wall and had gone crazy, so she didn't even know who her master was.
Xie Nanjia looked down at the tattered clothes covered in mud and the skinny body that clearly did not belong to him, his head buzzing.
Li was still jumping up and down and yelling, which made her upset and unable to think normally. She had to suppress the shock in her heart temporarily and solve the trouble at hand first.
She looked around and saw an old man standing in the crowd with a medicine box on his back. She reached out and pulled the corner of Xiuer Niang's clothes: "Madam, please give me a hand."
Xiu'er's mother was stunned by her shouting. She didn't understand why her daughter was suddenly so polite to her. But she didn't have the time to think about it at the moment. She bent down and carefully helped Xie Nanjia up.
Xie Nanjia stood up straight despite the pain, cleared her hoarse throat, and said to Li: "You keep saying that I'm pregnant. Apart from these people's random speculations, do you have any other evidence?"
Li was stunned and didn't know how to answer for a moment. The chief steward Hu Sanmu stepped forward and said, "What evidence do you need? As soon as you woke up, you touched your belly and asked about the child. My son Hu An died in your room. Isn't this ironclad evidence?"
"Yes, that's the truth. Don't try to deny it." Li agreed.
Xie Nanjia was neither embarrassed nor annoyed, and said calmly: "I am a girl, I don't know what it's like to be pregnant. Since you and your wife are so sure, how about we make a bet?"
"Bet, what bet?" Hu Sanmu asked puzzledly.
Xiu'er followed her mother here seven years ago. At that time, the naughty second son of the Marquis's Mansion happened to come to the manor to escape the summer heat. Seeing that Xiu'er looked like a little kitten, he ordered the mother and daughter to stay in the manor and played with Xiu'er every day.
Xiu'er was eight years old that year. Although she looked cute, she was timid and cowardly, and would shrink back when she met everyone. The second young master teased her for a few days, but felt bored with her, so he left Xiu'er alone and went back home. He never came to the farm again after that.
Xiu'er's timid character had never changed in the past seven years. She kept her head down all day and never dared to raise it in front of others. But today, for some reason, she suddenly seemed like a different person. Not only did she dare to speak, she even wanted to make a bet with him.
Could it be that he was really hit silly
Xie Nanjia ignored Hu Sanmu's scrutinizing gaze and pointed at the old doctor and said, "It's very simple. Let the doctor feel my pulse. If I am pregnant, I will go to your house to mourn for your son and continue the family line. If I am not pregnant, you must compensate me ten taels of silver."
When she said this, everyone remembered that there was a doctor present. Hu Sanmu looked at her calm and composed and couldn't help but hesitate. He looked at his wife, not knowing whether he should agree or not.
Everyone was whispering, saying that Xiu'er must have been really stunned. It was ridiculous that she gambled with her own chastity.
Xie Nanjia didn't think it was ridiculous at all, she knew what she was doing.
Hu Sanmu's hesitation was seen by her. She sneered and said, "If you don't dare, forget it. Take your son away quickly and leave my house. Whether I am pregnant or not, and whose child it is, has nothing to do with your Hu family. If you come to bother me again, I will report you to the police!"
Such ambiguous words gave Hu Sanmu hope, and he blurted out: "Who said I dare not? Let's bet!"
Xie Nanjia nodded calmly: "In that case, I'll trouble the old doctor to feel my pulse, and I'll trouble the villagers to bear witness for me."
Everyone stretched their necks, waiting to see the show.
(End of this chapter)