The commotion seemed to be from Liu Cuirong.
Yun Erman frowned, "What's wrong with her now? Chased by wolves?"
Gu Shi shook her head helplessly and looked at Yun Erman, "Erman, go take a look..."
Liu Cuirong was pregnant, and regardless of her own character, the child in her womb was innocent.
Yun Erman nodded and stomped out angrily.
In the kitchen, Liu Cuirong clutched her neck and squatted on the ground, wailing.
The lid of the pot steaming fish and shrimp had fallen to the ground, splashing hot steam all over Liu Cuirong...
"What's wrong?" Yun Erman's face paled, and he hurried over, "Here, let me see!~"
Yun Erman pulled her up and looked at Liu Cuirong's neck.
"It's red from the burn, but no blisters. It's fine!" Yun Erman said.
He really couldn't understand what that troublesome woman was doing lunging at the pot lid.
Was she crazy?
"Wuwuwu, I just wanted to eat two shrimps, but I lost my grip on the lid and got scalded..."
Liu Cuirong cried, her face streaked with tears, being overly dramatic.
Yun Erman: "..."
The shrimp had just been placed on the steamer rack and weren't even cooked yet, but this glutton couldn't wait.
"You deserve to be scalded!~" Yun Erman snapped at her and went back into the house.
This woman, useless at everything except eating.
Liu Cuirong rolled her eyes and snorted, "Hmph, I bought these fish and shrimp myself. If you make me angry, I won't let anyone eat them!"
Inside the house, Zhao Guihua had taken her prenatal medicine, and her abdominal pain gradually subsided...
"Thank you, Sweet Baby. Big sister is much better now!~" Zhao Guihua hugged Xiao Xitian, her eyes filled with doting and gratitude.
The whole family was accustomed to Little Sweet Baby producing medicine.
They all tacitly accepted this fact.
"Guihua, you don't need to do anything for the time being. Just stay home and rest to ensure your pregnancy!"
Gu Shi pushed the kang table closer and sat beside Zhao Guihua, "I've asked Huaihua and Xi'er to do the housework. If you strain yourself and get tired, it will be too late to regret it..."
Chopping wood, lighting fires, cooking, washing dishes, washing clothes, feeding chickens and pigs, cleaning the hearth, etc.
There was always endless work in the household.
Sometimes, the work of a housewife was no less strenuous than that of the men.
Zhao Guihua nodded, "I understand, Mother!~"
In a few more days, Jinhe would have his exam. She had planned to pickle some preserved vegetables for Daman to send to him...
Now that her body was getting heavier, she definitely couldn't pickle the vegetables.
Gu Shi looked around and asked curiously, "Where did Xi'er go?"
She hadn't seen Hu Xi'er since she entered the courtyard.
Could that girl have snuck out again to seduce men?
Zhao Guihua said, "Mother, I sent Xi'er to the fields. Father said there were quite a few artemisia weeds growing in the fields, and Xi'er had nothing to do at home, so I asked her to weed..."
After saying that, Zhao Guihua also felt something was amiss, "Logically, she should be back by now!~"
She was still waiting to stew the pumpkin.
Gu Shi narrowed her eyes and looked at Jin Huaihua, "You go to the fields to look for her and call Xi'er back!"
"Ah ah!~"
Jin Huaihua nodded and turned to leave...
Old Man Yun worked for a while longer. Seeing that the sun had already set, he patted the dust off his clothes and walked home, holding his tobacco pouch.
Suddenly, more than a dozen tall horses galloped from the village entrance. The riders on the horses were all majestic and spirited, as if they were celestial soldiers descended from heaven, attracting the attention of the villagers...
Old Man Yun seemed to recognize the man leading them.
He appeared to be related to the young master Xiao from next door.
They galloped into the courtyard of Du Laosan's house, completely blocking the entrance.
"Wow, so imposing!~" Old Man Yun exhaled a smoke ring.
Back in the day, he too had worn armor and galloped across battlefields.
"Alas, time spares no one..."
Old Man Yun sighed.
A young lad had turned into a decrepit old man.
Jin Huaihua searched the fields but couldn't find Hu Xi'er at all.
The hoe and basket were still on the ground, but the person was nowhere to be seen.
Where had she gone?
A bad premonition arose in Jin Huaihua's heart...
In these troubled times, Xi'er must not cause any more trouble.
If she were truly driven out by the Yun family, how would they, aunt and niece, survive?
Jin Huaihua returned dejectedly to Fu Daqiang's house.
"You didn't find her?" Gu Shi frowned, "She didn't go to the fields?"
Zhao Guihua was also bewildered.
Hu Xi'er had been out all afternoon. Even if she had gone to the county town, she should have returned by now...
Alas, if she had known this would happen, she shouldn't have let Hu Xi'er go out alone.
Jin Huaihua lowered her head, her heart pounding.
It's over, it's definitely over. Something must have happened.
"Mother, why don't Big Brother and I go look for her?" Yun Erman said.
Hu Xi'er was, after all, a member of their Yun family. If something happened to her, their family would be held responsible...
Gu Shi sighed, "That's fine. If she's not in the fields, go look in the woods. Xi'er shouldn't have gone far!~"
"Okay!"
Daman and Erman didn't even eat dinner, grabbed lanterns, and walked out...
Unexpectedly, before the two could leave the courtyard, they saw Hu Xi'er run back in a state of panic...
"No, where did you go, girl?" Yun Daman's face darkened, and he scolded her.
Hu Xi'er's clothes and hair were covered in grass stems, her face was slightly flushed, she was panting from running, and she had lost an earring.
Yun Erman was also quite annoyed, "Weren't you supposed to be weeding in the fields? How did you end up like this?"
She looked as if she had been rolling in the grass...
"I... I went to get bird eggs, look!"
Hu Xi'er tremblingly took out a few bird eggs, "Sister-in-law Guihua is pregnant, I wanted to get some bird eggs to nourish her body!~"
She nervously darted her eyes around, not daring to meet Daman and Erman's gaze.
"It's fine that you're back, come inside and eat!~" Yun Daman blew out the lantern and turned to go into the house.
Yun Erman stared at Hu Xi'er for a moment, then frowned slightly, "Xi'er, if you behave yourself and are proper, Mother will find you a good husband to marry!"
"If you're always thinking about frivolous things, Father and Mother will definitely kick you out..."
Hu Xi'er's cheeks turned bright red after hearing this.
She stammered, "I, I didn't do anything wrong!~"
Was it wrong to get a few bird eggs?
It was as if she had gone to steal a man.
Yun Erman curled his lips, "You know in your heart whether you did or not. Don't blame me for not reminding you. There are many things going on in the family recently, and Father and Mother are not in a good mood. If you run into trouble, no one can help you!~"
His words were sonorous and sharp, piercing Hu Xi'er's chest like knives...
At the dinner table, Gu Shi watched Hu Xi'er eat silently, saying nothing.
Liu Cuirong held Yun Xiaobao, peeling shrimp while observing Hu Xi'er's expression.
"Xi'er, did you go into the cornfield with some wild man?" Liu Cuirong asked.
Upon hearing this, Hu Xi'er spat out a mouthful of rice.
"I... I didn't!~"
"If you didn't, why are you panicking? Guilty conscience?" Liu Cuirong retorted mercilessly.
Hu Xi'er bit her lip tightly, not daring to speak.