The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 673 - 672

Chapter 673: 672

Wang Yongzhu busily made a gesture to Old Granny Zhang to keep silent, signaling her to stay seated without moving.

She quietly slid off the kang, crouched down, and on the way, grabbed a round stool, scurrying over to the door.

Wang Yongzhu didn’t dare to stand up; with the lamp lit inside, should she rise, her shadow would likely be visible on the window from outside.

Pressing her ear against the door, she listened to the noises outside. Approximately four or five people were approaching, each with steady footsteps, not ordinary folks.

Wang Yongzhu’s heart tightened, and she involuntarily gripped the leg of the stool more firmly.

The footsteps stopped at the entrance of the yard, then something heavy seemed to land on the ground.

Then a peculiar stepping sound slowly arose, coming closer and closer, already reaching the front of the room.

The door creaked open, and as soon as a foot stepped in, a faint smell of blood rushed in as well.

The round stool in Wang Yongzhu’s hand went straight for the newcomer’s face.

She didn’t hold back, and with such force, regardless of where it struck on the person’s body, it would likely cause serious injury if not death.

"Wife——"

"Spare them with the stool——" someone exclaimed in shock!

"Yongzhu——" It was Old Granny Zhang’s voice.

As Wang Yongzhu swung the stool halfway, she sensed something amiss; behind the faint smell of blood was a scent she recognized.

It was Song Chongjin!

It was too late to pull back the force in her hands, and Wang Yongzhu panicked. If the blow landed solidly on Song Chongjin, she feared it might cost him half his life!

Song Chongjin had finally returned home, and seeing the light still on in his room, his heart brimmed with warmth. His wife must be worried about him, which is why she hadn’t gone to sleep at this hour, right?

Rushing to open the door, he expected to be embraced by the warm and fragrant arms of his petite wife, to warm him on this snowy night as a late returnee.

What he didn’t expect was that instead of his petite wife’s fragrant embrace, her life-threatening stool came flying straight at his face, bringing with it a chill breeze.

Song Chongjin understood the terrifying force behind her blow even better than Wang Yongzhu herself did; if it landed squarely, his petite wife would soon become a young widow!

His mind swiftly recalled what Yongzhu had once said, that if he ever entertained any fanciful thoughts, there was nothing else to say! Just one thing, Wang Yongzhu’s future didn’t have a divorce, only widowhood! Once he died, Yongzhu would certainly find another man to sleep with his wife, live in his house, spend his earned Silver, and beat his child!

Song Chongjin was even worse off, not even having a child! Naturally, he refused to just sit and wait for death!

He made the smartest move of his life, quickly lying down on the ground and then rolling down the steps.

As he rolled, he could feel the stool brush over the top of his head, bringing a series of chilly gusts.

"Crack——" The stool hit the doorframe with a clang, and the frame collapsed to the ground...

Song Chongjin wiped away a cold sweat, grateful that he’d rolled into the yard. Though in a sorry state, he had dodged his wife’s stool attack and avoided being crushed by the falling doorframe, most fortunate!

Seeing Song Chongjin roll down the steps, Wang Yongzhu finally exhaled a sigh of relief. As the doorframe collapsed, she immediately ran to him: "Brother Song, are you all right?"

Old Granny Zhang also rushed out from the house, not even bothering to put on her shoes, her face pale with fright, "Chongjin, are you alright? You weren’t hit anywhere, were you?"

Looking again at Song Chongjin, who had rolled a few times on the ground and ended up revealing the leg with a splint under his robe.

Wang Yongzhu immediately pressed down on Song Chongjin, "What happened to your leg?"

Trying to sit up, Song Chongjin was held by Wang Yongzhu pressing on his abdomen, struggling hard for a while, then he gave up dejectedly, "It’s nothing, just a minor injury, Yongzhu, can you let me get up first? The ground is cold—"

Feeling very wronged.

Wang Yongzhu was startled, looking down at her own hands, she quickly withdrew them and scrambled to help Song Chongjin up, while persistently asking, "What exactly happened? You suddenly come back late at night without sending a message, I even thought there was a thief in the house—"

How could Song Chongjin admit that as soon as his business was finished, he was so eager to see his wife that he didn’t wait for anyone to accompany him, insisting on rushing back through the night? Little did he expect to be mistaken for a thief by his wife—almost losing his life at her hands.

He wiped away a cold sweat!

The people who had been standing at the entrance of the yard finally found the opportunity to speak, "Um... Young Master Song, now that you’re safely home, we can rest assured. We should return to report to our superior!"

Only then did Wang Yongzhu spare a glance towards the entrance, where four or five burly men stood, their bodies well-muscled, armed with swords, dressed in red official robes, each looking at Wang Yongzhu with an indescribable expression in their eyes.

Song Chongjin offered, "It’s getting late, why don’t you stay in our humble home for the night? You can return to report in the early morning. At this hour, the superior is probably resting, and the main event is tomorrow. Gentlemen, you might as well rest up so you can handle matters well tomorrow."

The leader of the men thought for a moment, then nodded, "Then we’ll accept Young Master Song and Lady Song’s kind offer."

And with that, he even politely bowed to Wang Yongzhu.

The commotion had been so loud that Wang Yongfu and his brothers had long been woken up. They hurried over, dressed only in their clothes, and heard Old Granny Zhang ordering them to make room for the sword-carrying officials to rest.

She went to the kitchen herself, lit the fire, and cooked a large pot of Egg noodles, which she had Wang Yongping take to the room where the officials were resting.

After all that hustle, she hurried to the back courtyard to see how her son-in-law’s injury was faring.

Wang Yongzhu had already brought hot water for Song Chongjin to freshen up and had him take off his outer robe, and was now examining his injury.

Song Chongjin knew Wang Yongzhu wouldn’t rest until she saw it for herself, so he leaned against the pillow, watching her intently without looking away.

Old Granny Zhang, old and shrewd, knew that the young couple hadn’t seen each other for many days and needed to have some private conversation, so she smiled and went back to her room to rest.

With her son-in-law back, the old granny could rest easy.

In the room, Wang Yongzhu used scissors to cut open Song Chongjin’s trouser leg, only to find his leg both blue and swollen, looking fiercely hideous, "What happened here?"

Wang Yongzhu was both distressed and anxious. Given Song Chongjin’s usual agility, to be injured like this, how dangerous his journey must have been?

She couldn’t help it, and her eyes began to moisten.

Seeing Wang Yongzhu’s eyes tear up, Song Chongjin’s heart immediately melted, and he hurriedly stroked her hair, "It’s nothing serious, really just a minor injury, just looks frightening, that’s all."

Wang Yongzhu didn’t dare to touch the splint, feeling helpless. It took her a while to remember the Muscle and Bone Strengthening Water she had previously given to Wang Yongfu—wasn’t there still a bottle left?

Should be effective, right? But she was unsure and thought about asking Xiao Tiantian after Song Chongjin had gone to sleep.

Song Chongjin finally managed to reassure Wang Yongzhu, and then he recounted his experiences and encounters of the past few days.