Chapter 150 Marry Someone on the Verge of Death in the Future

"Thank you, Miss! Thank you, Miss!" Chen Aqing kowtowed in gratitude once again.

The cook was also immensely delighted. "Aqing, you've truly met a noble person!"

"Take her away for now, and have her look for Xiumei tomorrow," Wei Ruo instructed.

"Right, right!" the cook replied repeatedly.

With that, the cook pulled Chen Aqing along, speaking as they walked, "I'll take you to change into a new set of clothes. You're going to work in Miss Wei's friend's shop now, so this outfit isn't presentable. You'll stay with me here for the time being and not go home just yet, lest your mother takes the new clothes I get you and alters them for your younger brother again."

The cook did not know that the shop actually belonged to Wei Ruo herself; Wei Ruo had claimed to the outside world that it belonged to a friend, and that she and Xiumei were merely helping make braised dishes and hiring people.

Watching the two figures recede into the distance, some dust-covered memories stirred in Xiumei's mind.

"Miss, I remember now. Back then, I was sold to the He family seemingly because my mother gave birth to a younger brother and couldn't afford to raise us."

Xiumei was very young when she was sold, so her memories of her original family members were not deep.

Moreover, it was a permanent sale contract, and there had been no contact afterward.

When Wei Ruo was brought to the Wei family, Xiumei, as Wei Ruo's only personal maid, had her contract transferred to the Wei family as well.

Although she was merely a maid, the He family did not dare withhold her. If they had returned Wei Ruo to the Wei family without a single maid by her side, they would have feared the Wei family discovering that their own flesh-and-blood daughter had suffered grievances under their roof.

Even now, the Wei family had no idea what kind of life Wei Ruo had lived in the He family; the explanation the He family gave to the Wei family was that Wei Ruo was in poor health and had been sent to the countryside to recuperate.

Wei Ruo patted Xiumei's shoulder. "Pay them no mind. It's their loss for not wanting my Meimei."

Xiumei nodded heavily. "That's right! I don't need them at all. Miss, you, Nanny, and Uncle Xu—the life we live together is wonderful!"

"Wait a little longer. Once I reach the age where I can marry, I'll find someone on the verge of death to marry, and then I can establish my own household. By then, we'll all live together," Wei Ruo said to Xiumei.

"Miss, is there really no other way? I don't want you to wrong yourself by marrying someone on the verge of death," Xiumei mumbled somewhat reluctantly.

"At home, one obeys the father; upon marriage, one obeys the husband. Given my current identity, this is the simplest and most direct way to establish my independent household. Besides, what's wrong with someone on the verge of death? I'd be even happier if he could leave me an adopted heir," Wei Ruo said with a smile.

Wei Ruo genuinely did not see any problem with this.

As someone who had lived through two lifetimes, compared to romance and affection, she much preferred living a carefree life of her own.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle would be how to find such a person; finding a dying person who met the criteria wasn't easy, and one also had to make everyone agree to it.

Xiumei muttered, "Then that's really not as good as Aqing's situation. At least she can go out and do work herself."

"Every path has its own hardships. Since we cannot choose our fate, we can only carefully choose the path beneath our feet."

***

Wei Ruo was kept busy for some ten days.

On this day, Madam Yuan came to Tianqin Garden to find Wei Ruo, bringing her good news.

"Young Sister Ruoer, wonderful news! Your father has once again led his troops to utterly defeat the Japanese pirates!"

"Really?" Wei Ruo's face revealed a look of pleasant surprise.

"Really! The victory report has already arrived at the prefectural yamen, and my husband sent someone to notify me the moment he heard."

The information Madam Yuan received was bound to be accurate.

"Then... was anyone injured?" Wei Ruo wanted to know how Xu Zhengyong was doing.

"Casualties are inevitable in a battle between two armies, but rest assured, your father is fine; he only sustained some minor injuries," Madam Yuan replied.

"Were any other generals injured?" Wei Ruo pressed further.

"That I'm not clear on," Madam Yuan replied, as the information she received was not that detailed.

Wei Ruo felt a trace of disappointment and thought about sending someone back to Xingshan County later to make inquiries.

Madam Yuan added, "I heard that a centurion surnamed Xu performed exceptionally well this time. He led a small squad across Wangyue Mountain, ambushed the enemy forces, and ultimately captured the leader of the invading pirates, performing a great service."

A centurion surnamed Xu—was that not Brother Xiaoyong?

"Was he injured?" Wei Ruo hurriedly asked.

"He shouldn't be. I only heard that he earned a military merit, and nothing about him being severely injured. Even if he was hurt, it would likely be a minor injury," Madam Yuan answered.

Wei Ruo was overjoyed. "That's good, that's good."

"Aside from telling you this good news, I came to ask if you'd like to send someone to escort you back to Xingshan County so you can properly celebrate with your father," Madam Yuan asked.

"No need. Knowing they won is enough; celebration isn't necessary. Besides, weren't there quite a few casualties? My father probably wouldn't want to celebrate on a large scale," Wei Ruo explained.

"That's true," Madam Yuan agreed. "Still, a victory is a victory, and it's certainly worth rejoicing over. Although fighting the Japanese pirates has almost become routine, and the common people simply live their lives day by day, the constant fighting always brings underlying worries. My husband has also been troubled by this for a long time. Only with a victory can everyone spend a good New Year."

Afterward, Madam Yuan lingered with Wei Ruo for quite a while, during which she tasted Wei Ruo's preserved fruits, honeyed sweetmeats, dried fruits, and braised meat.

It wasn't until someone came from the prefectural estate to inform Madam Yuan that Master Sheng had woken from his afternoon nap and was searching everywhere for his mother that Madam Yuan finally took her leave.

Afterward, Wei Ruo hurriedly wrote a letter and dispatched it via express courier to Xingshan County to confirm Brother Xiaoyong's condition.

Although, judging by what Madam Yuan had just said, Wei Ruo believed that person was Brother Xiaoyong, she still needed to verify it to set her mind completely at ease.

As it turned out, the reply arrived the very next day. However, it was not a letter, but Nanny Xu and Xu Zhengyong himself in person.

"Brother Xiaoyong!" Xiumei ran up to him excitedly, inspecting Xu Zhengyong's condition from top to bottom, front and back.

Then, seeing one of his arms wrapped in white cloth, she asked anxiously, "What happened? Is your arm broken? Quickly let the Miss take a look!"

"It's not broken, just some superficial wounds," Xu Zhengyong hastily said.

"What do you mean superficial wounds! Superficial wounds can be fatal if they don't heal properly! Let the Miss have a look at you!" Xiumei grabbed Xu Zhengyong's uninjured arm and pulled him toward Wei Ruo.

"I'm really fine, and I've already applied medicine," Xu Zhengyong explained hurriedly.

Seeing how anxious Xiumei was about him, Xu Zhengyong smiled and said, "Junior Sister, seeing how much you care about me, are you planning to call me Senior Brother now?"

Upon hearing this, Xiumei immediately let go, glared irritably at Xu Zhengyong twice, and snapped, "In your dreams! It's a wonder I didn't beat you up! You still expect me to call you Senior Brother?"

"Why would you beat me up? I earned military merits, you know," Xu Zhengyong protested innocently.

"Don't even get me started. Why didn't you tell us beforehand that you were going to lead a troop on a surprise attack? How dangerous was that? If you hadn't coordinated properly with the main force, you would have lost your life!"