Zhu Xingfang was notorious for her bad behavior, and now that she had fallen on hard times, quite a few people were delighting in her misfortune and came to see the commotion.
Zhu Xingfang’s face turned red from both shame and anger, and when she caught sight of a timid and submissive young boy in the crowd, she suddenly flew into a rage. "You lowlife, why don’t you come over and help me?" she demanded.
That boy was none other than Zhu Xingfang’s own young husband. He hesitated on the spot for a moment before swallowing hard and approaching Zhu Xingfang.
After the ropes were untied, Zhu Xingfang fell to the ground with a thud. She got up, dirty and disheveled, and immediately slapped the boy across the face with the back of her hand.
The boy was terrified, curling up and holding his head, letting Zhu Xingfang beat and berate him. But from within his half-covered eyes, in addition to disgust, there appeared to be a hint of mysterious pleasure?
Zhu Xingfang beat the boy to within an inch of his life, spat on him vehemently, and then, alternating between wailing and screaming, hurriedly asked him to find a "doctor" for her.
"Bones and tendons take a hundred days to heal, Lady Zhu, you’re quite seriously hurt, aren’t you?" The village doctor was a woman who usually couldn’t stand Zhu Xingfang’s wickedness, and now, seeing Zhu Xingfang in distress, felt secretly delighted.
Zhu Xingfang glared at the female doctor, thinking to herself that she had suffered enough at Dong Dabao’s hands and couldn’t just let it slide.
Dong Huiying and Liang Yixuan walked home side by side, moving slowly, mainly because of Yixuan’s difficulty with walking. Even if he wanted to walk faster, he couldn’t.
Seeing that Dong Huiying’s wounds kept seeping blood, he urged, "Don’t worry about me. Yixuan’s legs are slow, which could delay the journey. You should go back by yourself first."
But Dong Huiying shook her head and said, "That won’t do."
She glanced at Yixuan, and after what had happened with Zhu Xingfang today, recalled that this was ancient times, where women were supreme and men were inferior. According to the worldview from her original world, if a woman had encountered this situation? Well, she would definitely be frightened.
Besides, she had a good sense of her own injury. While it looked scary, all it needed was some stitches, and with some time to heal, she would recover.
She decided to stay with Yixuan.
Zhu Xingfang’s misdeeds served as a warning bell: if she left and he encountered some female predator, wouldn’t her efforts today have been in vain?
In any case, no matter how much Yixuan tried to persuade her, she resolutely took his hand, matched his pace, and continued their slow walk home.
Yixuan smiled wryly, not having realized before how stubborn this person could be.
On the road ahead, a figure stumbled forward, covered in dirt, looking as though he had been dragged out of a mire.
He carried an axe and staggered, his body swaying and causing concern for his well-being.
Yixuan rushed towards the figure, stumbling in his haste, but thankfully Dong Huiying caught him quickly.
Seeing that Yixuan was unharmed, Yue Ning let out a long sigh of relief. "Yixuan, are you alright?" he asked, his voice trembling and eyes reddening.
Before falling unconscious, he had seen Zhu Xingfang drag away his younger brother despite the boy’s struggles. Remembering the rumors about Zhu Xingfang that circulated through the nearby villages, he had been extremely worried, fearing his brother might be defiled by Zhu Xingfang. After getting struck in the back of his head, he felt severely dazed and had fallen several times on the way, but each time he forced himself to get up.
He had to rescue his brother; he couldn’t allow his brother to be tainted by Zhu Xingfang. This belief was what kept him going.