Chapter 2: I Want to Marry Him

Lingzhi? There was lingzhi nearby?

Xu Ning was slightly surprised, but more than that, excited. If she had lingzhi, she would no longer have to worry about startup funds—and once money started making money, she could surely lift them out of their current predicament.

Who would have thought one trip up the mountain would bring her such a huge surprise!

As for the lingzhi—even if the man hadn’t said anything, she already knew where it was.

After all, the mountain was probably very dangerous, and under normal circumstances not many people came up here. So she was the only lifeline he could grab at the moment. He couldn’t possibly send her deep into the mountain to pick lingzhi and get herself killed—the lingzhi was most likely right near where he had collapsed.

She ignored the man. After breaking free of his grip, she looked around, and sure enough, beneath a large tree she spotted a lingzhi—and one of excellent quality at that!

She hurried over, first checking the area to make sure there were no poisonous snakes or the like, then carefully dug out the lingzhi and placed it properly in her backpack.

That done, she went back, politely thanked the man lying on the ground, and then walked back without so much as a glance behind her.

Huo Xiangli scraped together the last shred of strength in his body, gritting his teeth and glaring fixedly at Xu Ning’s retreating figure. He had assumed that with such a huge benefit on offer, the woman would surely save him. He never expected her to be so sharp—to figure out the lingzhi’s location from a single sentence. It was his own carelessness!

He now hated himself for being so useless.

First he had fallen for a trap and been gravely wounded, and then, when someone finally came up the mountain, he had still somehow missed his last chance at survival. Was this really where Huo Xiangli was going to die?

He thought, barely breathing.

Dying was not a pleasant feeling. He thought about many things—he was still young, he had not yet helped his Crown Prince brother ascend the throne, he had not yet said goodbye to his mother, and there were still so many, many things he had not done.

“Hey, are you dead yet?” A familiar yet unfamiliar female voice reached his ears.

He slowly opened his eyes and once again gripped that person’s ankle. Oh—warm. Not a hallucination. Then he would stop thinking about those unfinished things for now.

Xu Ning inhaled sharply. Originally only one of her foot wrappings had been ruined; now both foot wrappings bore bloody handprints. Couldn’t he have just ruined one? Now look—two foot wrappings that would be hard to wash. She would have to wash both.

If she hadn’t thought he might still be useful, she would have left him there long ago.

She found a few branches and bound them together, secured him to them, tied the rope from her backpack around the branches, and dragged him down the mountain.

By the time she reached the foot of the mountain, the sun had already set. Few people remained in the fields, and the scattered few on the road who saw her dragging a bloody person along avoided her as far as they could.

No one wanted trouble.

The journey was unobstructed. By the time they were almost home, not a trace of daylight remained. Darkness shrouded the sky, and the whole village grew quiet.

“Elder Sister!” Before she even reached the door, a small, tender voice sounded by her ear.

Xu Ning wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve and smiled at the small figure running toward her.

“Ranran, did you take good care of Mother at home?”

“I did.” Perhaps because of Grandmother’s passing, Xu Ran was not as talkative as before. In the darkness, she did not notice the person Xu Ning was dragging behind her. After seeing her sister, she quickly ran back into the house to tell Li Xiufang.

When Li Xiufang heard, she walked out with somewhat hurried steps. Seeing the person Xu Ning was dragging behind her, she stopped short and asked in confusion: “Ning’er, what is this?”

“Mother.” Xu Ning first acknowledged Li Xiufang, then caught her breath before continuing: “I’ll tell you when we get inside.”

Li Xiufang could only take Xu Ning’s backpack first, and the three of them walked together into the crowded room.

Xu Shu and Feng Xiwen were startled at the sight of a bloody person.

“Shu’er, take a look at his injuries first. Mother, Second Aunt, I have something to tell you.” Xu Ning sat down and rested for a moment before speaking.

Xu Shu nodded without hesitation. When Xu Ning was young, she had always looked after her, the frail one, and ever since she was little she had obeyed Xu Ning in everything. Whatever idea Xu Ning came up with, she was always the first to agree.

Because of her frail health, she could not always play with her brothers and sisters. From the time she could remember, Xu Ning had often collected all kinds of books for her, but she had always been most interested in medical texts, so she had been skilled in medicine from a young age.

Before the family fell, whenever she had free time she would provide free medical consultations. Her skills were not necessarily outstanding, but at least treating minor wounds and illnesses was no problem.

So the fact that they had survived this long was also thanks to Xu Shu’s medical knowledge.

Li Xiufang and Feng Xiwen exchanged a glance and sat down on the dilapidated chairs.

“Ning’er, we’re all family. If there’s something on your mind, just say it.” Feng Xiwen said gently.

“I…” Xu Ning paused, organized her thoughts, and then continued: “Today I went up the mountain and found quite a few things. There’s a lingzhi—it should be worth sixty or seventy taels of silver.”

Everyone in the room couldn’t help but smile. This really was the best news in months. Faint smiles dispelled some of the sorrow in the room.

After they had taken a moment to react, Xu Ning continued: “I want to go to town tomorrow first and pawn the lingzhi to exchange for a coffin for Grandmother, then find someone who handles funerals to bury Grandmother properly. Besides that, I also found sweet potatoes. I read about sweet potatoes in a travelogue—they can fill the stomach and can also be made into many dishes. So tomorrow, after pawning the lingzhi, I plan to buy some things we need to do business. We can’t just sit and eat our way through our savings—we need a way to make a living for the long term.”

At these words, everyone in the room fell into a tacit silence. In this world, it was truly not easy for women to do business, and besides, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—merchants had always been placed at the very bottom of society. But what else could they do if they disagreed? They still had to live, still had to keep surviving.

So after thinking for a moment, both Li Xiufang and Feng Xiwen agreed. Xu Shu and Xu Ran naturally supported their sister with both hands and feet.

When it came to Huo Xiangli, Xu Ning weighed her words again before hesitantly speaking: “If not for this man, I would not have found the lingzhi, so we owe him thanks.”

Up to this point there was nothing unusual—until Xu Ning said her final sentence: “I want to marry him.”

“What?!”

Several different voices cried out in unison.

“No, I won’t agree!” Li Xiufang was truly shocked that her daughter would say something so outrageous.

Even Feng Xiwen was stunned. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly before finally managing: “Ning’er, you… why would you go this far?”

“Exactly. How could he possibly deserve you, Elder Sister?” Xu Shu said disapprovingly as she treated the wounds.

Li Xiufang recovered herself. “Setting everything else aside, even if you want him to marry into the family, would he agree? How did you even come up with such an idea?!”

“Listen to me first.” Xu Ning spoke again. “Only today, on my way up the mountain, did I learn that quite a few people are already talking about our family. There are all kinds of people here. If someone with ill intentions learns that there isn’t a single man in our household, they will inevitably harbor bad intentions. Whether for daily life or for business, there must be a man in the house to hold things down. Otherwise, I’m afraid more and more people will come here and give us no peace.”

“Besides, from what I saw, most of his injuries are abrasions. He’s very likely a hunter from nearby who ran into danger while hunting on the mountain. As for how to make him agree, I have my own arrangements—there’s no need to worry. Whether or not to marry him will have to wait until he wakes up and I’ve asked him a few things before I can decide.”

“No. I will absolutely not agree to your lifelong matter being handled so rashly.” Li Xiufang’s attitude remained firm.

She was the daughter Li Xiufang had carried for ten months and birthed. Even now that they had fallen on hard times, she would not hastily decide her daughter’s lifelong matter. If their circumstances remained like this forever, then she would rather her daughter never marry at all.

Xu Ning knew this would not be settled overnight. She did not expect to convince her family today—this would have to be done slowly.

She needed to wait for an opportunity, never expecting that the opportunity would soon arrive.

For now, the matter was left unsettled. After Xu Shu finished treating the wounds and applied a hemostatic herbal poultice, she settled Huo Xiangli in the storage room.

Afterward, the family ate a tasteless meal of coarse rice and went to bed early. The next day, Xu Ning rose at the hour of Mao. She woke Xu Shu beside her, and once they were ready, they set out for the village entrance to take the ox cart.

When they reached the village entrance, an ox cart was already waiting. It was still early and there were not many people. The two of them each paid one copper coin and got on. They waited until the hour of Chen, when the ox cart was full, before setting off for town.

From the moment the two got on the ox cart, people had been curiously sizing them up—some with neutral gazes, some kind, and some with malicious looks.

“You two must be the young ladies newly arrived in the village?”

Xu Ning turned to look at the speaker. She was familiar—it was Auntie Huang from the fields yesterday when she went up the mountain.

Xu Ning saw no malice in her eyes, so she nodded.

She thought for a moment, then asked: “Auntie, our family elder is unwell and we want to get some medicine. I’d like to ask you—which medical hall in town has fair prices?”

“Oh, you’ve asked the right person! My granddaughter is frail, and I often go to the Xinglin Medical Hall in town. Their medicine works quickly and the prices are fair. Doctor Wang at the hall sometimes even provides free consultations. It’s not just me—most people in the village like to go to him.”

After hearing this, Xu Ning thanked her and then unobtrusively inquired about some other news.

It took about a quarter of an hour to reach town. After saying goodbye to Auntie Huang, the two headed for the Xinglin Medical Hall she had mentioned.

They found the Xinglin Medical Hall before long. When they went in, there were not many people inside. Xu Ning walked straight to the counter, took out the carefully wrapped lingzhi, and placed it gently on the table.

“Shopkeeper, please take a look and tell me how much silver it’s worth?”

The shopkeeper first glanced at her, then perfunctorily opened the black cloth. The moment he did, he immediately dropped his casual manner and put on a serious expression. He picked up the lingzhi and examined it several times over, his eyes full of admiration.

“Young lady, you’re in luck. This lingzhi is at least of upper-middle grade. I won’t beat around the bush with you.” He made a gesture. “Eighty taels of silver. If you have no objections, I can give you the silver right now.”

This shopkeeper was an honest man—he truly hadn’t lowballed her. Xu Ning readily agreed, then added: “Shopkeeper, don’t be in a hurry to give me the silver just yet. I’d like to buy some medicinal herbs from you.”

Xu Shu stepped forward and discussed with the shopkeeper, listing the herbs they needed. Only after both sides confirmed did they exchange money and goods.

After leaving the medical hall, Xu Ning went straight to the funeral parlor the shopkeeper had mentioned. Only after all the arrangements were made did she take Xu Shu to buy the things the family lacked.

Xu Ning had been walking in front, then turned back to see Xu Shu staring at candied hawthorns several times. She understood. Xu Shu was only fifteen now, barely past her coming-of-age ceremony. In Xu Ning’s time, she would still be a child in middle school, still at the age of loving snacks.

Xu Ning went back and took Xu Shu’s hand. “If there’s anything you want to eat, just tell me. Don’t worry about silver—I’ll earn it.”

With that, she walked over to the vendor and said: “Three sticks of candied hawthorns, please.”

The vendor quickly handed her the candied hawthorns, and Xu Ning paid him.

Eating the candied hawthorns that were sweet to the heart, Xu Shu gave Xu Ning a sweet smile. “Thank you, Elder Sister.”

Xu Ning smiled faintly, patted her head, and said: “Let’s go. We’ll buy some pastries to bring back for Mother and Second Aunt.”

“Mm!”

Afterward, the two not only bought seasonings and a small piece of pork, but also took a general look at the food sold in town.

At noon, the two got on the returning ox cart and arrived home.

“Ranran, look what good food we brought you.” As soon as Xu Ning reached the door, she teased Xu Ran, who was squatting on the threshold.

“Candied hawthorns!” Xu Ran cried in delight.

Xu Ning handed the candied hawthorns to Xu Ran and walked into the house, taking everything out of the backpack. Just then, Li Xiufang came over.

“The man you brought back is awake.”

Xu Ning’s hands paused. She finished organizing the things, then slowly said: “I’ll go see him.”

Li Xiufang said nothing, only waved her hand to indicate she should go.

Almost the instant she stepped into the storage room, Huo Xiangli turned his eyes toward her. Perhaps because his external wounds had only been hastily treated, and compounded by serious internal injuries, he could not even move a finger.

“Thank you, young lady.” Huo Xiangli said weakly. “Once I have recovered, I will surely repay you.”

Xu Ning sat down on the only chair in the storage room and did not answer him. Instead, she asked: “Are you a hunter from nearby? I noticed most of your injuries are abrasions—did you get hurt while hunting?”

Huo Xiangli did not want to reveal his identity here. He did not know this family. If word leaked out carelessly, it would cause great trouble.

So he nodded. “That is indeed the case. I heard that the birds and beasts and rare herbs on the mountain here are more plentiful than where we come from, so I came over.” He smiled bitterly. “But I overestimated myself.”

That was not wrong. If he had not overestimated himself and underestimated his opponent, how would he have ended up in such a sorry state?

“Are you the only one in your family?” Xu Ning asked. She feigned an apologetic tone and continued: “Forgive me for being abrupt, sir. I thought that if you had relatives, they might come looking for you. It’s just that… I haven’t heard anyone in the village mention anyone nearby looking for a missing person.”

“It’s fine. You guessed correctly, young lady—there is indeed only me in my family.”

Far away in the capital, the Crown Prince and the Empress sneezed for no apparent reason.

Xu Ning nodded. “Good. Then I won’t beat around the bush with you, sir. I’ll speak plainly.”

At this point, Huo Xiangli suddenly had a bad premonition. Although he had not spent much time with Xu Ning, he had come to somewhat understand what kind of person she was.

He opened his mouth, about to say something more.

“I want to marry you,” Xu Ning dropped a thunderbolt.

Author’s Note: