Chapter 83: Chen Ying’s Death
Lu Jiao was speechless. They were so little yet they knew to be embarra.s.sed.
“You wear that set of clothes to sleep. I’m not asking you to wear them in broad daylight.”
She then remembered Xie Yunjin and thought she should fetch him some water.
Lu Jiao said to the Fourth Born, “Go play with your brothers. I’m going to get your daddy some water.”
“Okay.”
The Fourth Born went to practice fighting with the Second Born.
Lu Jiao discovered that the Second Born was naturally more athletic than the others. Even after practicing for so long, he still didn’t get tired and appeared to be even more interested than before. Could it be that this guy was going to specialize in martial arts?
Lu Jiao got some cooled-down boiled water and headed to the east bedroom.
Inside the bedroom, Xie Yunjin was quiet. Lu Jiao sensed some sadness from him. What was wrong?
“Have some water.”
The way Xie Yunjin first looked at Lu Jiao was somewhat sharp. However, he quickly remembered that she was no longer the same person as before.
The rage in his eyes calmed down as he took over the water to drink.
Once he was done, Lu Jiao took the bowl and tried to leave.
Behind her, Xie Yunjin started to speak, “The only reason I was able to study was because of Master Chen. He told my father to not make me farm and send me to school. That was why my father sent me. Back then, I had no clothes and no food, so Master Chen took me back to his home to feed me. He even tailored his son’s old clothes a little so I could wear them.”
As Xie Yunjin spoke, he got more emotional.
“The Master wanted me to marry his youngest daughter, Chen Ying. But Chen Ying was three years older than me and at the time, I was only 15. I didn’t know what it meant to be with a woman and all I could think about was how to study better. Chen Ying also treated me as her little brother so neither of us agreed.
Master and Lady Chen were disappointed but they didn’t force me. Afterward, they married Chen Ying off to someone else. Who knew that that family would treat Chen Ying poorly because she had trouble bearing children. Her then-husband separated from her and Chen Ying became too ashamed to come home. Afraid that she would embarra.s.s her parents, she went off on her own and lived in a nunnery.
Later, to repay everything I received from Master and Lady Chen, I decided to take Chen Ying as my wife. Unexpectedly, I was drugged and with you ….”
Xie Yunjin choked here because this woman was not the original one.
Lu Jiao raised an eyebrow. She recalled this novel and remembered that Xie Yunjin’s wife wasn’t named Chen Ying.
She asked, “Then what happened to Chen Ying.”
Xie Yunjin’s eyes fogged up.
“She died. Died in the nunnery.”
Sadness arose from inside Lu Jiao. How could a life disappear just like that? As a doctor, she’s dealt so much with life and death. However, for such a young one to disappear so suddenly made her sullen.
“Did she die of illness?”
Xie Yunjin’s eyes darkened but he didn’t object.
Lu Jiao knew then that she died of illness.
No wonder Xie Yunjin’s wife from the novel didn’t end up being Chen Ying. If Chen Ying was still alive, Xie Yunjin would still marry her. How pitiful of a woman. If she was still around, she would have a bright future being the wife of the future First a.s.sistant.
Lu Jiao quickly recalled something else. From her memories, she remembered that for four years, Master and Lady Chen refused to visit Xie Yunjin. This was why she didn’t recognize them when they met just now.
“Master and Lady Chen blamed you for Chen Ying’s death?”
Xie Yunjin didn’t answer which indicated that she was right.
Because of Chen Ying’s death, Master and Lady Chen blamed Xie Yunjin and didn’t visit him for over four years. This was why she couldn’t remember them.
They only visited today because of Xie Yunjin’s injuries.
Lu Jiao looked at Xie Yunjin and comforted him, “They are visiting now because you have forgiven you. Don’t let it bother you too much.”
Lu Jiao remembered what Lady Chen had said before she left, “Lady Chen asked us to go visit with the quadruplets after your legs heal.”
Xie Yunjin’s mood lifted after he heard that. His entire aura lightened up as a result.
“Yes, once my legs heal, I will go visit them.”
Lu Jiao didn’t respond and left with the bowls.
The next day, Lu Jiao helped Xie Yunjin with breakfast and medicine, then readied herself to go into town.
Worried that Dr. Qi would delay the surgery, Xie Yunjin grabbed Lu Jiao’s hand anxiously and reminded her over and over again, “Lu Jiao, tell Dr. Qi that I have improved greatly. I am no longer nauseous and dizzy and I am ready for surgery.”
Lu Jiao calmed him down, “I got it. Don’t worry. I will tell Dr. Qi that you are ready for surgery. If we can find a time tomorrow, we’ll do it tomorrow morning.”
Might as well get this over with.
Lu Jiao understood Xie Yunjin. For a long time, he thought he could no longer walk and would have to spend the rest of his life in bed. For there to be this sliver of hope meant he had to grasp onto it.
Though hopeful, he was also worried that he still cannot walk after surgery. Therefore, he much preferred to do the surgery immediately and find out for himself whether or not he will be able to walk.
Lu Jiao understood him and decided to operate on him tomorrow morning. Once this was done, she would no longer need to worry and would only need to make sure he took his time resting.
Xie Yunjin sighed in relief. Still, he was overthinking it. With a serious expression, he stared at Lu Jiao, “If Dr. Qi is busy tomorrow, please ask him if he could move it around and do my surgery first.”
“Alright, I got it.”
Lu Jiao tried to take back her hand.
Only now did Xie Yunjin realize that he’s been holding Lu Jiao’s hand.
His face slipped into an unnatural expression and he let go of Lu Jiao’s hand at lightning speed.
Though Lu Jiao’s been taking care of him and even carried him a few times, they’ve never held hands.
Even the thought of it made his cheeks heat up. Growing up, he’s never held a woman’s hand before. Even though he shared a night with the original host and conceived their sons, the truth was that he had no recollection of what happened.
The more Xie Yunjin thought about it, the more frustrated he got. In the end, he decided to close his eyes and pretend to sleep.
Lu Jiao didn’t overthink it and decided to leave. Outside, the four little ones heard that she was going into town and crowded her.
“Mommy, come back early tonight.”
“Mommy, are you going to bring back good food for us?”
Lu Jiao smiled at the four little ones, “Remember to listen to grandma and uncle. I’ll come back with yummy snacks.”
She planned on taking out some fruits from her s.p.a.ce today and telling everyone that she got them from Baohe Tang.
Lu Jiao waved bye to Lady Tian, then placed some of the fabric and snacks she got from Xie Yunjin’s cla.s.smates into her basket.
Last time, she refused to share these goods with Xie Yunjin’s parents and told everyone that she was going to sell everything. Naturally today, she had to do as she said, or else the villagers would curse her and Xie Yunjin to death for being unfilial.