At the county, Luo Ning asked Huo Rui to go to a mall to buy a set of clothes to change into.
Dressed more in the style of the county, they did not stand out as much as before.
However, with the men being handsome and the women beautiful, their presence, even subdued, caught the villagers’ attention as soon as they entered the village.
Young men and women stole glances at Luo Ning and her companions, filled with curiosity.
Luo Ning approached a group of young people.
She smiled and asked, "Excuse me, do you know where Xi Shu’s house is?"
Most of the young people blushed at the sight of Luo Ning.
It was the first time they had seen such a beautiful girl.
One of the twenty-something men, with dark skin, countered, "Who are you? Looking for Xi Shu’s house for a reason?"
Luo Ning replied, "I’m Xi Shu’s friend and colleague. We heard her father was seriously ill, so we planned to visit."
She added, "She gave us her address, but after we arrived here, her phone was unreachable, so we’re asking you."
The dark-skinned man nodded, "I see."
"I know where her house is, I’ll take you there."
He paused then said, "But it seems like she’s not at home, her mother said a few days ago that she went to her aunt’s house."
As Luo Ning walked with the man, she asked, "She went to her aunt’s house, and her mother mentioned it specifically in the village?"
Huo Rui and Huo Ye also followed.
The dark-skinned man said, "That’s what her mother says when someone comes looking for Xi Shu."
Luo Ning asked, "Is her father’s illness any better?"
The man replied, "I heard that after taking the medicine Xi Shu brought, he improved a lot."
"He hasn’t been hospitalized?" Luo Ning frowned slightly.
The man shook his head, "Haven’t heard about him being hospitalized, but her cousin got sick, and he was in the hospital for a while."
Luo Ning noted this, "Do you know what illness he had?"
Before, when Xi Shu was called back home, it was said that her father was seriously ill in the hospital.
The man shook his head, "Their family didn’t say."
"But I heard that her cousin got a strange illness, the hospital couldn’t cure it, and a few days ago, he was carried back home."
Luo Ning asked, "Did Xi Shu go to her aunt’s house before or after her cousin was carried back?"
The man found the pretty girl’s questions odd but still answered, "After he was carried back."
Luo Ning continued to inquire about Xi Shu’s family with the dark-skinned man.
The man then sighed, "Xi Shu’s sisters are pitiful too, her eldest sister had an accident last month."
"Her father fell ill, and her cousin also got sick—it’s been one trouble after another for her family in the past two months."
Luo Ning curiously asked, "What kind of troubles, can you tell me more?"
The man said, "There’s nothing inconvenient about it, it’s no secret in the village."
"Xi Shu has three older sisters and a younger sister, you know that, right?"
Luo Ning nodded, "I know, and I also know that her eldest and second sisters are already married."
The man confirmed, "That’s right, her two sisters married a while ago, the eldest was married off to a relative of her aunt’s husband, she has two daughters and life is tough."
"This time Xi Shu came back, her second sister just got divorced and returned to her parents’ home, and she was disfigured."
"Her third sister was engaged, but before she could get married, her fiancé died suddenly last month after falling into a ravine."
"The family said that Xi Shu’s third sister is responsible for the death of their son and wouldn’t let it go. Now they insist on marrying her off to their eldest son, who is nearly forty years old,"
"Their eldest son likes to drink alcohol. He had two wives before, one of whom he beat so badly she became disabled and later died shortly after returning to her parent’s home, and another one he beat until she miscarried and secretly ran away with someone else."
"Now he’s a lone man without any siblings, his brother is dead, and his parents only have him as a son, so they want to find him a wife to carry on the family line."
"His family has some money, but no one is willing to marry into it, which is why they’re so persistent about exchanging brides."
"Since Xi Shu came back, she threatened them, and they haven’t bothered her lately, but I fear they’ll start again once Xi Shu leaves."
They were all from the same village, and they all felt sympathy for Xi Shu and her sisters.
Luo Ning furrowed her brows again, "Don’t Xi Shu’s parents care?"
The dark-skinned man replied, "Care about what? After Xi Shu’s father became lame, he seldom goes out, and her mother is so weak, everything is controlled by Xi Shu’s grandparents."
"I heard that Xi Shu’s grandparents agree to the marriage exchange, so they wouldn’t have to return the dowry given for the younger son’s previous engagement."
"Xi Shu caused a scene when she came back, and as a result, her third sister has not been married off immediately."
Luo Ning then asked, "Doesn’t her third sister fight back?"
The dark-skinned man sighed, "Her third sister had a severe fever as a child, and after she was saved, she became deaf and mute. How could she fight back?"
This made Huo Rui and his brothers frown involuntarily, feeling sorry for Xi Shu’s sister’s plight.
Luo Ning asked again, "What about her younger sister?"
The dark-skinned man looked around, saw no one from the Xi family nearby, and then said in a low voice, "Her younger sister was taken away by her aunt half a month ago, claiming to find her a good marriage."
"Everyone in the village knows her aunt doesn’t have a good temper, and it’s hard to tell if it’s truly a good marriage."
"So, we all suspect that Xi Shu might have gone to her aunt’s to bring her sister back."
Luo Ning heard from Xi Shu that there were many top-grade characters in her family, but she didn’t expect it to be so extreme.
And she didn’t know the extent of the sisters’ tragic lives.
According to Xi Shu’s character, she isn’t the kind to be easily bullied, and she cares for her sisters, so why didn’t she take them to the Imperial Capital?
Just as Luo Ning finished pondering, the dark-skinned man pointed to a courtyard not far away, "That’s Xi Shu’s house."
Luo Ning thanked him, "Thank you for bringing us here."
The dark-skinned man smiled, "You’re welcome."
He could tell these three were not ordinary in their dress or demeanor, which was why he willingly guided them and shared so much information.
He just hoped he could help Xi Shu and her sisters, as Xi Shu was once the object of his secret affection.
Luo Ning could feel the man’s kindness; he wasn’t lying.
After bidding him farewell, Luo Ning and the Huo brothers went to the Xi house.
The front gate of the courtyard was open, but they still stood at the entrance and knocked.
Hearing the knocking, a middle-aged man doing carpentry work inside lifted his head.
"Who are you looking for?"
Luo Ning spoke up, "We are Xi Shu’s colleagues, and we’re looking for her."
The middle-aged man appeared surprised.
Then he stood up with an honest smile, "Please come in."
He then promptly led the three into the house.
Luo Ning saw that he walked with a limp; it didn’t take much to guess that he was Xi Shu’s father.
They followed him into the main room, where the man invited them to sit and went to pour three cups of water.
Just as he placed the water on the table, an elderly woman walked in hurriedly.