When Xu Ran returned home, he started to get busy again. Whether at home or in the fields, no one felt anything different about him. It was not until the 15th of April that a Yamen messenger came to the village to announce the good news while beating the drums. From the entrance to the end of the village, the Yamen messenger announced all the way, "Xu Ran from the Xu Village, got the third place in the pupil test!"
Then, regardless of whether they were busy or not, the villagers followed the Yamen messenger while looking on for the fun.
Xu Ran was busy when they arrived at his house's gate. When Tangtang and Guoguo heard drums ringing outside, they dashed outside to investigate. Then they turned around and ran back "A Yamen messenger has arrived, Dad. He informed you that you came in third place in the exam!"
Xu Ran and Liu Tong exchanged glances before putting down the items in their hands and wiping them clean. Xu Ran straightened his clothes and stepped outside. He abruptly came to a halt after two measures and turned to Liu Tong, saying, "Tongtong, prepare a red envelope for me."
Liu Tong nodded and turned to the inner room.
Xu Ran went out to meet the Yamen messenger for the announcement. Since he had passed the pupil test, it meant he was a pupil now and was qulified to take the Xiucai test in the coming autumn.
When Liu Tong appeared, Xu Ran and the Yamen messenger were having a small talk. The Yamen messenger handed Xu Ran the letter that he had taken from his pocket. Xu Ran took Liu Tong's red envelope and handed it to the Yamen courier. Someone there will care, and someone else may not. The Yamen messenger, on the other hand, weighed the envelope in his hand, said a few words of congratulations, and then walked away.
Xu Ran didn't try to keep him, and it was not suitable for him to stay.
After the Yamen messenger left, Xu Ran was bombarded with questions, as many people in the village were unaware that he had gone to the test. More people began to believe that Xu Ran could pull it off. They assumed that if he hadn't been a fool during those days, he would have been a Juren (one who passed the imperial examination at the province level).
However, there was a pair of resentful eyes glaring at him angrily among the people in the crowd at the time. Xu Ran seemed to sense the near vision and attempted to locate it, but was unsuccessful. He had no choice but to stop looking. Normally, there were few people in the village, but it seemed to be very crowded today.
Xu Ran smiled and attempted to answer some of their questions, claiming that he had studied diligently for several years but had ended up being a fool when he had the opportunity to take the exam in the past. Fortunately, he healed and expressed a desire to retake the exam. And he hadn't expected to be so fortunate as to come in third this time.
All of Xu Ran's success he attributed to luck. Some people believed it, but the majority didn't because of Xu Ran's actions following his recovery. They thought he wouldn't be able to get third place if he didn't have the talent. After all, it was a large-scale test with hundreds of participants, and the prize was not easy to obtain.
However, as they were not very familiar with Xu Ran, it was not good for them to stay for long. After some excitement, they all left.
But things were far from over. Next, Xu Ran had to meet with such boisterous scenes from their good friends. Wu Mei's family was the first, followed by the other two families, especially Wu Mei's. His rage was so strong that he almost grabbed Xu Ran's ear and demanded to know why he had taken the test without telling them. After accusing Xu Ran, he criticized Liu Tong, questioning why he had not accepted them as friends and why he had even concealed such a serious matter.
Being able to read was already a great achievement in the minds of many of those who were unable to attend school, let alone passing the examination and becoming a student. If one of them turned out to be a Xiucai or Juren, he could be considered a god in their possession.
Xu Ran seemed powerless, and he was forced to remain quiet when Wu Mei and the others chastised him. After them, it was Foreman Li's turn, and then it was the village chief's turn. In any case, all of their village friends came to express their feelings to him. Xu Ran could only apologize to them and promised that he would treat them for a big dinner, which was why he was let go at last. Xu Ran couldn't help but feel his chest. He felt like he had survived after a disaster.
Xu Ran had to make some arrangements because it was a special occasion. All of the guests, including Wu Mei's and the other two families, as well as the village head, his spouse, and a group of children, were friends. Xu Ran decided that it would be best if he told everyone about the bamboo shoots market. There were many tasks that needed to be completed in this matter, and their family was unable to earn any money due to a lack of hands. He believed that it would be best if more people participated in it, so that everyone could benefit from it. After all, his own family was short of money now.
Some of the potatoes in the field could be dug up to feed the dinner guests, while the rest could be sold to Mr. Chen for money. Since it was still early and not even lunchtime, everyone returned to their homes first, with Xu Ran reminding them to come over for dinner later that evening.
They hadn't had a meal together in a long time. The other three families had accepted Xu Ran's invitation, with the exception of the village head and his spouse. The village chief and his spouse promised to attend the dinner until they had time later in the evening. Xu Ran didn't press them into it and they agreed.
Needless to say, Xu Ran was living a happy life, while the Xu Family's life was not peaceful, or to be more precise, it had never been peaceful, particularly since Xu Ran had left them. Xu Cheng had been torturing Zhang Yue mercilessly the entire time. Despite the fact that he was frail and unable to move, the Xu Family wanted to keep a close eye on him. Let alone run away, Zhang Yue couldn't even meet his dad or daddy, nor could he see his two children.
For some reason, Xu Cheng became more and more violent. As long as he got angry, he would hit Zhang Yue desperately. In this way, Zhang Yue's old injury was not healed, and new injury was added. How could he not be thin and weak?
That day, Xu Cheng went out early. Not long after, Zhang Yue heard the sound of drums from outside. Zhang Yue could hear Xu Ran's name and something about the pupil's test because the Yamen messenger's voice was quite loud. Zhang Yue assumed that Xu Ran had passed the pupil's examination, and that this Yamen messenger had come to announce the good news.
Unfortunately, he couldn't see this scene, and it should be said that he was not qualified to watch it, from the moment he agreed to marry Xu Cheng.
At the moment, Zhang Yue was crouching on the ground with his head in his arms, feeling sad and a little bewildered.
He knew he had nothing to do with the man, no matter how good he was now, and he had never given him a second glance. The door was abruptly kicked open as Zhang Yue was lost in thought. Zhang Yue jumped to his feet, shaking, and took two steps backward.
Xu Cheng's angry face was flashed into Zhang Yue's eyes, "You, you, what are you doing?" Even Zhang Yue's voice was trembling.
Xu Cheng approached him step by step. The anger on his face was obvious and he even wanted to tear him apart, "What am I doing? You are my person, so what do you say I want to do? Or are you worried about others so much that you have forgotten who you are? Is it Xu Ran that you are thinking of? You b*tch, see if I won't kill you?!
"Ah! No! It hurts! Stop, stop! It hurts, ouch! "Zhang Yue was screaming.
Xu Cheng had gone totally insane. Even if Zhang Yue remained silent, he would still blame Xu Ran for everything. His hands slammed into Zhang Yue's body incessantly. Zhang Yue screamed at first, but he became used to it, just as he had before. He simply sat quietly in the spot and left Xu Cheng to do what he want. He realized that as soon as Xu Cheng was exhausted, he would avoid beating him.
But this time, it seemed a little longer than usual.
This was Zhang Yue's last thought before passing out. It wasn't until the person underneath him didn't respond at all, and his breathing began to weaken, that Xu Cheng came to his senses and panicked.
"You b*tch, what are you pretending to be? Get up quickly. Don't you want to see Xu Ran? He is in the third place of the test. You b*tch, get up! Zhang Yue, wake up, Zhang Yue!"
Xu Cheng kept calling. The more he called, the more agitated he became, and no matter how hard he tried, Zhang Yue would not wake up. Xu Cheng slid his fingertips under Zhang Yue's nose with caution. When he felt a weak breath there, he let out a sigh of relief. He felt a little frightened when he looked at the fainting male. He was clear that his family couldn't afford to hire a physician now. What if Zhang Yue died in their home then?
Xu Cheng suddenly thought of an idea. What if Zhang Yue didn't die at their house? What if he was found dead somewhere else, say at Xu Ran's home?
As for the idea of finding a doctor for Zhang Yue, it had never occurred to him.
Xu Cheng achieved his goal. He gave the person lying on the ground, who was already a mess like a corpse, a disgusted look. He then went in search of a sack, picked up Zhang Yue, and stuffed him inside. Then he took a quick peek outside the house. No one was passing by at this time because everyone was busy. (hayup naman ni xu cheng pota HAHAHA)
After the careful observation, Xu Cheng was sure that no one was around. He immediately carried the sack of Zhang Yue out of the house. After quickly closing the door, he went up the hill from the path behind his house.
He was on the same path he had taken when he injured Xu Ran at this very moment. He didn't want to drive Zhang Yue down the mountain today, though. Instead, he decided to sneak around the back of their house, around the mountain, to Xu Ran's house, and leave the person's sack there.
Xu Cheng, on the other hand, seemed to have forgotten about the Xu Ran family's four dogs, who were not well-liked by outsiders. Xu Cheng descended from the mountain to Xu Ran's back yard. The workers were preoccupied with their own tasks, and Xu Ran and his family were also present. There was no one in the yard except the four dogs who were sunbathing.
The yard's door was locked, and Xu Cheng didn't dare to enter. He became aware of the pigsty's location. Even when he saw the big black horse leisurely eating grass, the envy in his eyes could not be hidden. He couldn't help but think that since he had already planted it, it would be nothing for him to ride another horse! Not to mention, the horse was worth at least tens of taels of silver!
The four dogs had found Xu Cheng when he just sneaked into the pigsty.
They all rose to their feet. Two of them dashed inside, while the other two rushed towards Xu Ran. They were all very intelligent and did not bark at all. The two dogs bit Xu Ran and Liu Tong on the trousers while they were cleaning the house. They were being dragged out by the dogs. Xu Ran and Liu Tong exchanged looks, both suspecting that something had happened outside. (mabuti pa ung aso matalino pero ako...uhhh wag na natin pag-usapan HAHAHA)
Outside, the dogs' barks were heard at this precise moment. Xu Ran quickly pulled his trousers from a dog's mouth and fled. There, he saw Xu Cheng, who was holding a bag with something inside on his shoulder. He was bitten on the leg by a dog as the other dog barked wildly at him.
When the dogs' barking was heard on the construction site, everybody hurried over. The dogs didn't make any noise when nothing was going on. And if anyone walked by in the middle of the night without entering the yard, the dogs would not send any kind of threatening signal. As a result, as soon as the dogs were heard, everyone realized something was wrong.
There they saw that Xu Ran was also present, opposite whom, was standing another person with something on his shoulder.
Thus, everyone present knew that something was indeed happening.
Everyone was staring at Xu Cheng, who couldn't speak for himself because he had forgotten that Xu Ran's house had four dogs. He'd been apprehended on the spot before he could put Zhang Yue down, and the dog had bitten his pant leg as he tried to run. Besides, he realized that running was pointless now that so many people had seen him.
Xu Cheng was exhausted after carrying Zhang Yue on his shoulder for such a long time, but he didn't dare to put Zhang Yue down, so he could just anxiously watch more and more people surrounded him.
Xu Ran seemed to notice something as he was thinking about TV plots. He told Liu Tong, who was standing beside him, "Tongtong, go out and ask the villagers to come; the more the merrier. Otherwise, if Xu Cheng accuses us of framing him, it would be difficult to defend ourselves. After all, the construction team's employees work for our families, and everyone would undoubtedly believe that they are on our side."
Liu Tong nodded and ran away, taking two kids with him.
As Peach barked at Xu Cheng, Plum bit on his pant leg. Xu Ran patted both of them and ordered all of the dogs to follow him to Xu Cheng. He was not concerned that Xu Cheng would flee because he was surrounded by four dogs. Some team members began to wonder what was on Xu Cheng's shoulder, how he got in, and why he frequented another family's pigpen.
Xu Cheng was speechless and anxious.
But Liu Tong had already returned, accompanied by a large number of people who lived nearby, before he could think of a way out. Xu Ran could now do something with the help of other witnesses. He told them to catch Xu Cheng and the sack he was carrying. Xu Cheng struggled to resist, so naturally he couldn't spare any time holding the sack which was soon snatched away, and Xu Cheng himself was also caught by the crowd.
"There's a person inside. Come on, he is still alive." The one who had taken the sack suddenly shouted.
Xu Ran had guessed it correctly, but he didn't know who was inside.
The villagers immediately recognized Zhang Yue when the sack was opened. Zhang Yue was bruised all over, with a bloody nose and swollen face, and despite this, he remained completely unresponsive. When he felt the breath, the man standing next to him reached out his hand under his nose, relieved "He is still alive and well. Go get a doctor!"
There was only one doctor, Doctor Liu, in the village, so some of the villagers rushed to find him.
Zhang Yue looked like he was in shock. Xu Ran stepped forward and shouted, "Pinch the acupoint of philtrum and press on his chest!"
People were aware of pinching the philtrum acupoint, but they were unsure whether pushing on the chest would help, but they couldn't care less at the time. Since Zhang Yue was a Ge'er, some Ge'ers who knew him came forward and followed Xu Ran's instructions. Tangtang and Guoguo brought the village chief, who was out of breath from running and being pursued by a large crowd.
Seeing Zhang Yue lying on the ground and Xu Cheng who was caught, the village head walked to Xu Ran in the crowd and asked him, "What happened? Who is lying on the ground? Why do you take Xu Cheng?"
Xu Ran greeted the village head and said, "The one lying on the ground is Zhang Yue, who was carried by Xu Cheng in a sack and taken to my pigpen. We don't know why. It was our dogs who found him, so we came out. You can take a look at Zhang Yue's injuries."
Zhang Yue couldn't see the village head clearly because he was a little far away and was also obscured by others. After hearing Xu Ran's words, the village chief approached Zhang Yue, whose face was so badly injured that even those who knew him wouldn't remember him. He was also too skinny to maintain a regular body.
At the same time, the village head heard a few Ge'ers around Zhang Yue said, "I haven't seen him for a long time. How come he looks like this? I wonder who did it."
"Who else could it be but the bastard Xu Cheng?" another one echoed, "I've heard Zhang Yue screaming for many times when passing by his house. I wanted to have a check but Xu Cheng didn't allow me."
One of the Ge'ers raised Zhang Yue's hand and said. "Really? Then the injuries on his body must be caused by Xu Cheng. Look at his hand, this bruise should have been there for a long time! "
The rest of the Ge'ers joined in with nods and echoes. The village head was then asked to punish Xu Cheng. The village head listened for a moment, and one thing came to mind: Zhang Yue had mentioned a peaceful divorce with Xu Cheng, which gave him the impression that Xu Cheng was the one who had beaten Zhang Yue.
The village chief turned to Xu Cheng, who was surrounded by people as well, but no one could defeat him. Even the fact that they were only standing next to him scared Xu Cheng so much that he didn't dare to talk. "Xu Cheng, why did you put Zhang Yue in the sack and take him to Xu Ran's house? What do you want?" the village head inquired.
"I, I didn't, I didn't, village head. Zhang Yue has been gone for a few days. I came out to search for him. Yes, I just came to find him." Xu Cheng thought of an excuse for himself in a hurry, and repeated this sentence to increase his credibility, which, on the contrary, increased his suspicion.
Everyone in the village was familiar with the Xu Cheng family. Zhang Yue's father would have cursed him for days if he had really been missing for a few days; however, they hadn't learned anything lately. As a result, nobody believed Xu Cheng's story.
Xu Cheng, on the other hand, began to delve into the details. "I went to the mountain and saw nothing, but when I returned, there was a sack on the ground. I crept in because it seemed that someone was in the sack. I was going to carry the sack out and then go after Xu Ran, but his dogs caught me first. Please trust me, village chief. What I said was true." (luh gago nga HAHAHA)
Xu Cheng made a pitiful face in the hopes of eliciting sympathy from the village chief and persuading him to believe. The village chief, on the other hand, had his own thoughts, and what Xu Cheng did only irritated him more. They were all aware that only proofs could reveal the facts. Zhang Yue was carried out by Xu Cheng, but no evidence that Zhang Yue was carried out from Xu Ran's house could be found. Who would believe it? Besides, what about Zhang Yue's injuries?
The village head didn't respond to Xu Cheng's words but asked, "Xu Cheng, what do you say about Zhang Yue's injuries?"
"O... Of course, obviously Xu Ran made the injuries!" Xu Cheng stuttered.
"This injury had been present for several days. Zhang Yue has only been missing for a few days, didn't you say? How did he acquire the previous injuries? Is it possible that Xu Ran beat him up at your house? "the village chief inquired sternly.
Before Xu Cheng could answer, someone from the crowd had shouted, "Doctor Liu is here. Come on and make a way!"
Doctor Liu was being guarded by the man, who walked through the crowd to Zhang Yue. After they pinched his philtrum acupoint, Zhang Yue was not awakened. They couldn't tell whether he was shocked or asleep because it had been a while. Doctor Liu knelt down. Zhang Yue's breath was tested first, then he pinched his mouth and felt his pulse. Finally, he said that Zhang Yue was asleep. However, his injuries were too serious and had even hurt the inner organs. Without proper treatments, he would definitely die.
In the past, injuries to the inner organs were particularly dangerous due to a lack of medical knowledge. He would be like a sick person if he could not afford good doctors and expensive drugs. And why would the Xu Family be able to spend so much money on Zhang Yue's treatment? Don't even consider it.
The fact that Xu Houcai and Elder Daddy Xu did not appear at that time was enough to tell. They would have come and made a scene in normal days, and everyone in the village would have known about it. Xu Ran frowned as he stared at Xu Cheng, who continued to deny, Zhang Yue, who was lying on the ground, and then the people around him, who were simply enjoying themselves.
He was irritated a bit. On the one hand, he despised the Xu Family, particularly after being bullied by them not long after he transmigrated to this body, but on the other, he felt sorry for Zhang Yue, who was lying on the ground. After all, he was the Ge'er who was once engaged to the body's original owner, even though their relationship didn't work out.
Xu Ran didn't know if the original owner had feelings for Zhang Yue. He didn't feel it, but he still wanted to help Zhang Yue. After all, this person had something to do with him.
He wanted to ask Liu Tong next to him for his opinion, but Liu Tong spoke first. ", he explained "Why don't you bring Zhang Yue into the house and go look for a doctor in town? Likewise, send Zhang Yue to town; otherwise, he will die."
They had no idea how to deal with Xu Cheng because they were focused on saving Zhang Yue first. Xu Ran nodded and moved on to speak with the village chief "Let's send Zhang Yue to the town first, village chief! You have Xu Cheng under your control. Allow Zhang Yue to testify when he wakes up."
"No, he is my spouse. You can't touch him!" Before the village head could say anything, Xu Cheng had interrupted.
Then someone immediately slapped Xu Cheng's head and cursed him.
Xu Ran refused to speak with Xu Cheng. The Ge'ers of this world were similar to modern-day women. Men who beat women could not be forgiven in Xu Ran's eyes. Xu Ran dreaded looking at Xu Cheng right now. He fixed his gaze on the village chief and awaited his answer.
"Xu Ran, go! It is always the priority to save people," the village head said, looking at Xu Cheng and then at Zhang Yue, who was lying on the ground. "Leave Xu Cheng to me, and I will have someone take him to the Xu Family's ancestral hall."
"Okay," Xu Ran nodded and didn't say anything else. He headed towards the pigpen for Big Black.
04.30.21