The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Chapter 729 A strange combination of circumstances

The eldest and second brothers Wang also understood the situation and asked the others to go outside the yard to repair farm tools, leaving only the youngest one, Baldy, at home.

Doctor Xu hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "Young lady, I heard from Brother Wang that you're a relative of his. I wonder how you ended up in the mountains? You don't look like you've experienced hardship. Life in the mountains isn't as easy as you think. If you have family outside the mountains, it would be best to go and stay with them."

Wu Ya could tell that this man really cared about her, and her impression of him improved. After a moment's silence, she replied, "Maybe I can't go back. Even if I do, I'll only cause trouble for my family."

"Why do you say that?" Doctor Xu was stunned. "As long as you haven't committed any serious crime, murder or arson that warrants a prison sentence, and your family background is clean, there's nothing you can't get through. Family members are family members after all, and I believe they won't ignore you."

Wu Ya shook her head, not knowing how to start. Thinking of these bad things, she felt very sad and couldn't help shedding tears. Thinking of the man outside, she quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped her tears.

Doctor Xu sighed when he saw this. He knew that everyone had their own difficulties. As he was a respectable man, he did not ask any more questions.

After a while, Xu Erniang set the table and asked everyone to sit down. She took the lead in passing two chicken legs to Doctor Xu and Wu Ya. "Hurry up and eat! This old hen has been stewed all afternoon. It's very fragrant and nutritious!"

When Wu Ya and Doctor Xu saw this, they quickly refused. It was not easy to raise chickens in the mountains. They were often taken away by weasels, snakes and the like. Raising chickens was like raising puppies. There was no way they could eat two chicken legs at once.

"Okay, stop pushing it around. Two chicken legs are nothing. Doctor Xu, you saved our family's lives before. If you two really get together, you have to treat me to a thank-you dinner. Then I will not only want to eat two chicken legs, but also two chicken wings. Haha, eat quickly!" Xu Er Niang waved her hand and joked, stopping the two from pushing each other.

The others at the table all smiled in good faith, and a few children even tried to stir up trouble. The bald-headed boy said in a crisp voice, "I want to eat wedding candy and wedding eggs when the time comes!"

"You are indispensable. Come and eat, you little brat," Xu Erniang smiled.

The meal was very pleasant. Xu Erniang thought that the matter was settled and was very happy.

Little did they know that this was not actually the case.

Neither Wu Ya nor Doctor Xu meant that.

After a sumptuous dinner, it was not too late yet, and the sky in the distance was filled with dazzling rosy clouds.

The adults were slumped in their chairs drinking tea, not wanting to move, while a few children were playing outside in the yard.

Doctor Xu was just about to say goodbye and leave when he suddenly saw the old bachelor Old Li from the nearby hillside pushing the door open and coming in, followed by some neighbors and clansmen.

There weren't many people, only five or six, but they looked aggressive and had no good intentions.

Doctor Xu stopped as he was about to leave.

He frowned at the newcomer and asked, "Old Li, what are you doing? You're holding a hoe and a shovel, and you want to do something? Put them down!"

When Wu Ya saw the leader of the group coming, she couldn't help but take a few steps back.

The old man called Lao Li was the old bachelor who bought her a few days ago.

I thought everything would be fine since no one came to look for me these days, but just when things were looking up, this person suddenly appeared again.

I was confused and shocked for a moment!

Old Li also knew Doctor Xu, but he was not familiar with him.

In the mountains, one often encounters snakes, insects, rats, ants, poisonous weeds and poisons, so doctors are particularly important. In addition, there is only one serious doctor around here, Doctor Xu.

Most mountain folk wouldn't offend him easily, so Old Li also gave Doctor Xu some face and explained the whole story. Finally, he said, "If this person really died, I'd just consider it bad luck. But since she's been saved, there's no reason for me to just leave her alone. Naturally, I have to find her and bring her back to be my wife. I've spent real money on this!"

The more he spoke, the more confident Old Li became. With the support of someone behind him, he shouted at the people from Wang Fugui's family, "Old Wang's, I'm not looking for trouble with you. If you know what's good for you, just hand over the person and we'll forget about this. This matter has nothing to do with you anyway."

Wang Fugui had managed to survive the cannibalistic underworld and was certainly no pushover. Upon hearing this, he cursed with a cold face, "Get lost! Whose door are you causing trouble? Do you think the Wang family are pushovers? You didn't come to take her back when she was dying a few days ago. We've spent so much effort these past few days, feeding her medicine and stewing chicken, and now you're reaping the benefits. How could such a good thing happen? Besides, she's already been promised to Doctor Xu. Even if you want to take her away, you have to ask Doctor Xu first."

"What?" Old Li is usually a coward, otherwise the old man and his son would not have dared to sell the dying Wu Ya to him.

He was dumbfounded when he heard that, and looked at the people behind him who had found support, hoping they would give him some advice.

The remaining people naturally didn't want to offend Doctor Xu, but for the sake of face, since they were already here, they had to help Old Li. So they confirmed with Doctor Xu, "Doctor Xu, have you really decided on this girl?"

Xu Erniang, Wang Fugui and other members of the Wang family also looked at Doctor Xu, waiting for an answer.

Wu Ya was terrified. She tugged at Xu Er Niang's sleeve tightly and begged in a low voice, "I don't want to go with him!"

"Don't worry, don't be afraid," Xu Erniang soothed. "She's the wife chosen by Doctor Xu, what does that have to do with Old Li? Humph, we're not pushovers. My relatives live on the next hillside, and there are more than ten men in their family. If they really dare to make a move, we'll call for help and see who wins!"

This is also the confidence that Xu Erniang has to keep the person.

In fact, she had already guessed that Wu Ya was most likely a daughter-in-law who was bought and then ran away, and she was just pretending to be confused.

In addition, she really felt that Wu Ya was attractive to her, and she was also thinking about helping Doctor Xu find his lifelong happiness, so she arranged a match for the two of them, and thus she kept Wu Ya.

It would be fine if Doctor Xu didn't like Wu Ya, but since she was the one Doctor Xu had finally taken a liking to, she had to wade into this mess.

Doctor Xu saw that everyone was looking at him, waiting for an answer, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly. He then looked at the Wang family's confident expressions and Wu Ya's face full of despair and sadness.

After a moment, he made up his mind and replied, "Yes, I have decided on this person."

Old Li was very angry, "But I spent money to buy this!"

Doctor Xu raised his hand and said gently, "Listen to me. I know you spent money to buy this person, and it's not easy for us mountain people to save money. But this person was covered in wounds when we rescued her. From what you said just now, not only did you not care about her and didn't save her, but you even wanted to sell her again. Ask yourself, do you think your conscience is right? If it weren't for Sister Wang's kindness in saving this person, a life would have been ruined.

So, what I'm thinking is, I'll give you half of the money back, and I'll just consider it as buying this girl. From now on, this girl has nothing to do with you, and you're not allowed to cause trouble anymore. Is that okay with you?"

Old Li was still a little dissatisfied and wanted to say something, but the others who had come with him didn't want to offend Doctor Xu anymore and advised him, "Forget it, Old Li. You didn't pay much when you bought him here anyway. Returning half of your money now is not bad. So let's leave it at that!"

"I……"

"If you don't agree, we brothers don't have enough free time to accompany you. You can talk about it yourself later," someone said.

After being told this, Old Li instantly became dispirited and reluctantly agreed to this plan.

After everyone left, Xu Erniang clapped her hands happily and said, "Alright, now we don't have any worries. Let me tell you, we don't have so many rules in the mountains. Now that we have a clear path in front of them, Doctor Xu, you can just take the people back. In a couple of days, choose an auspicious day to hold a banquet for two people!"

"But..." Doctor Xu wanted to refuse. What he said just now was just a temporary measure.

But Xu Erniang didn't care. She interrupted him and said bluntly, "I don't care what your reasons are. Anyway, this girl is the one you like. Although today's incident is unlucky, it also shows that you are destined to be together. Doctor Xu, if you don't take her back, Old Li might think we've tricked him. If things get out of hand, it will be difficult to resolve. It will be very troublesome, don't you think?"

After saying that, he asked his eldest daughter-in-law to pack a few clothes for Wu Ya as a token of appreciation. He then pushed Wu Ya towards Doctor Xu and said with a smile, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Go back with Doctor Xu. He's a good man, and you two will definitely have a good life!"

Wu Ya looked back in confusion, holding the small bundle, and saw Xu Er Niang waving at her with a smile.

Doctor Xu sighed again. Now that things had come to this, he could only take the person back first.

So when Tan Yaoqi followed the clues and found the place, Wu Ya had already returned home with Doctor Xu.

"This is really tortuous!" Tan Yaoqi didn't expect things to develop like this.