Bride Swap Backfire: My Cousin's Rebirth Made Us a Power Couple-Chapter 30 - 27: Up the Mountain Again

Shusheng had been rescued, but it was still uncertain if he would survive.

He was now at the clinic in the county seat, with Mr. and Mrs. Qu watching over him without a moment’s rest.

Chen Song knew Shusheng’s condition best, as he was the one who had sprinted several miles to get him to the clinic. On top of that, the aftershocks of Wu Laicai’s wicked deeds had yet to fade.

As it happened, Chen Song was the closest participant and witness in both matters. What the people of the Zhao Village didn’t know was that the merchant murdered by Wu Laicai had been found thanks to a lead provided by Chen Song. If this news got out, even more people would surely flock to the main branch of the Chen family.

With the house overflowing with visitors, Chen Wanqing, seeking some peace and quiet, had no choice but to once again shoulder her basket, grab her mattock, and head out with her brother.

This was only possible because her recent delivery deadlines weren’t tight. Otherwise, she would have had to grit her teeth and stay home to make incense.

"We can’t go on like this. It’s holding everything up," Chen De’an muttered, holding his book as he followed his sister out the door.

"What do you suggest we do? We can’t just kick people out."

They’re our neighbors. Kicking them out would just make enemies.

"Kicking other people out makes enemies, but kicking Mom out won’t. We should just have Mom go out early every day to spend time at someone else’s house. That way she won’t be here getting in our way."

Chen Wanqing laughed at her brother’s terrible idea. "That’s a great idea. Why don’t you go tell Mom?"

"No way. Mom would skin me alive. You tell her, Sis. You’re the apple of her eye. She’ll agree to anything you say... Hey, Sis, look over there. Who are those two? They look shifty. They’re not from our village, are they?"

Chen Wanqing glanced toward the village entrance, not paying them much mind, but a second look made her freeze.

One of the women was short and stout, with a large mole at the end of her eyebrow. She was dressed gaudily and looked like a smooth talker.

She had seen this woman before. It was Mrs. Wang, the matchmaker the Li family had hired to propose a marriage.

Next to Mrs. Wang was a tall woman in a dark green beizi. Her attire was very sharp and her expression severe. One look was enough to tell she was a formidable character.

But she didn’t recognize this person.

Chen Wanqing opened her mouth, about to say, ’They’re nobody important, don’t worry about them.’ But then she remembered her grandmother had gone to the county seat a couple of days ago. In all likelihood, she had secretly gone to find the Li family.

Chen Wanqing became thoughtful for a moment. When she turned back, she just said nonchalantly, "They’re not being shifty. They probably don’t know the way and are trying to figure out where to go. In any case, it has nothing to do with us. Let’s hurry up the mountain."

If they dawdled any longer, they wouldn’t get any work done today.

As the siblings walked off, talking, Mrs. Wang asked Mr. Li again, "Are you sure you want to go to the Chen family’s old residence, not the main branch? It’s not my place to gossip, Mr. Li, but the Chen family’s old matriarch is a stepmother and has always been at odds with the main branch. It’s useless to consult the old woman about the marriage of the girl from the main branch."

The matchmaker gossiped on, "That eldest daughter of the Chen family—her mother is sharp, and her father is capable. With both parents alive and well, there’s no reason for grandparents to overstep their bounds and arrange a marriage for the younger generation."

"I understand," Mr. Li said. "But since we’ve come all the way to the Zhao Village, it would be rude not to pay our respects to the elders. We’ll just stop by the old woman’s home for a visit. We have plenty of time, anyway."

The matchmaker gave Mr. Li a suspicious look. The more she mulled it over, the more she felt something was off.

If the engagement were already set, such meticulous etiquette would be understandable. But they were still just in the negotiation phase. Mrs. Wang figured Mr. Li had probably become pedantic from her time as an official’s wife, with all her pointless formalities.

Unable to figure out what Mr. Li was up to, Mrs. Wang decided to just stop worrying about it and led her over. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

While those two were sneaking off to the Chen family’s third branch, Chen Wanqing and her brother were on Xiaoao Mountain, where they happened to run into Zhao Jing on his way down.

Zhao Jing was not alone; the hale and hearty Mr. Zhao was walking beside him.

Mr. Zhao had been thinking about the trap that injured Shusheng yesterday. He hadn’t slept all night and had gotten up at the crack of dawn to go fill in the dangerous thing.

The problem was, he didn’t know exactly where the trap was, so he’d planned to find one of the young lads who had followed Chen Song yesterday to go with him.

As luck would have it, Zhao Jing had been reciting his lessons in the courtyard when he saw Mr. Zhao and decided to tag along.

Chen Wanqing had heard from her father yesterday that the trap was quite large. It was filled with more than ten densely packed jujube-wood spikes, obviously intended for catching wild boars and bears.

It was only because the trap was old and the dead branches and leaves covering it had rotted away. Otherwise, if Shusheng had fallen into the center of it, he would have been covered in countless bloody holes and likely would have died on the spot.

The trap was large, and it took Mr. Zhao and Zhao Jing a long time to fill it in.

It was now late autumn, and the morning frost and fog were thick. Both of their hair was damp, and their clothes were disheveled. They looked a bit of a mess.

Mr. Zhao had to go to the county seat later.

The county magistrate had secured a batch of improved crop seeds from the Prefecture and intended to run trials in the villages and towns under his jurisdiction.

Chen Song had said they were good, and a few days ago he had tipped off Mr. Zhao, telling him to head straight to the county government office as soon as the seeds arrived today.

Chen Song would then put in a good word for him, to try and secure more seeds.

Mr. Zhao left the young people to talk and strolled down the mountain with his hands clasped behind his back.

"You’re not leaving? What are you staying for?" De’an asked Zhao Jing.

Zhao Jing glanced at the book in De’an’s hands, then at the basket on Chen Wanqing’s back and the mattock inside it. He ignored De’an, turning to Chen Wanqing instead. "Are you digging for huangqi again today, Sis? I brought tools, so I can help you for a bit."

Chen Wanqing quickly refused. "Your clothes are all damp. You should hurry home and change. That’s more important. It would be terrible if you caught a cold and it interfered with your studies."

Zhao Jing smiled. "Don’t underestimate me, Sis. I’m not that fragile. It’s just a coincidence that I brought a shovel today, so let me help you work for a little while."

Chen Wanqing was about to refuse again, but De’an cut in. "Let him help. He’s not a stranger. If I were fully recovered, I’d be helping Sis myself. Jing, you can consider this doing my share of the work. I’ll treat you to some fruit later."

Zhao Jing flashed a smile as bright and clear as a moonlit night. "Not interested."

And so, Zhao Jing went with Chen Wanqing to dig for huangqi, while Chen De’an sat and read under the old locust tree.

He was supposedly reading, but his mind wasn’t on the book at all.

After a little while, he put down his book and tried to grab the mattock from Chen Wanqing’s hands to help.

Of course, Chen Wanqing wouldn’t let him.

’If he doesn’t want to read, he doesn’t have to,’ she thought. ’His body hasn’t fully recovered anyway, and reading for too long is mentally draining. But he’s still weak right now. What’s the point of letting him get tired out?’

"Sis, let’s dig up the huangqi near the locust tree first," Zhao Jing suggested. "The tree is already starting to shed its leaves. In a few days, the ground will be covered, and it’ll be much harder to dig."

"Jing has a point. Sis, start with the ones near the old locust tree. You two dig, and I’ll help clear away the debris. If the three of us work together, we can go faster. Let’s try to get all the huangqi dug up today."

Zhao Jing laughed. "You plan on ordering me around all day? You really don’t hold back, do you?"

"You’re my brother from another mother! Being polite with you would just be weird."

Chen Wanqing listened to the two of them bicker as she bent over, carefully digging for huangqi.

There was a huge patch of huangqi, and digging it up was exhausting work.

The roots ran deep and the mountain soil was hard, so whenever Chen Wanqing dug for huangqi, her hands would end up covered in blisters.