NOVEL WEB Chapter 28: Dream
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S T E L L A R C L O U D
[Celeste S.] [Azurixa] [Robert K.]
O R A N G E S T A R
[Talia R.] [K.Rom]
Y E L L O W S T A R
[Camille] [Linds] [Esther D.]
G O L D S T A R
[Nem]
The elderly woman did come to the village ten days ago, but she was delirious in the first few days and didn't remember coming so early. Therefore, Gu Jiao and Xiao Liulang delayed the elderly woman's supposed arrival for several days, which was different from the day when the elderly woman disappeared and came to Qingquan Town.
What Gu Jiao and Xiao Liulang didn’t know was that Xue Ningxiang had heard the noise when the elderly woman collapsed in front of Gu Jiao.
At that time, she could tell that something was not normal with the elderly woman...
"Ah Xiang." The voice of her mother-in-law came from the next room.
Xue Ningxiang composed herself and went to her mother-in-law's room, asking, "Mother, you’re awake?"
"I thought I heard someone in the house just now. Did something happen to my second child?" Her mother-in-law had already lost one of her two sons, and her most worries nowadays were his younger son who went to become a soldier in the army.
Xue Ningxiang said in a soft voice, "Nothing happened to the second younger brother. It was about the patient on Leprosy Mountain who ran away. The officers came to search our house but they had already left."
"Is it a man or a woman ah!? How old is the person?"
"They didn't say." Xue Ningxiang said.
"How can a leper come to our... Cough..." Xue Ningxiang's mother-in-law coughed violently twice, mumbled a few words in her mouth, and then fell asleep in a daze.
Xue Ningxiang closed her eyes.
She didn’t consider herself a good person, but Gu Jiao had saved her life before.
The search of the officers did not stir up huge waves in Qingquan Village, and everyone’s daily life went on normally as before.
Gu Jiao occasionally felt that the elderly woman had a great background, otherwise how could her matter cause so many officers to search for her and yet they did not disclose any information about her?
However, when Gu Jiao saw the elderly woman with a jar of melon seeds, incessantly making ‘crack’ ‘crack’ sounds like a squirrel, she thought she was thinking too much.
Gu Jiao had nothing to do so she mended all Xiao Liulang's clothes at home.
She was right. If she regarded the cloth as human skin, mending clothes would be easier!
When Xiao Liulang got home, he found that his torn clothes had been mended. He didn’t have to guess to know that it was Gu Jiao who had fixed them up.
Gu Jiao had never repaired clothes before. At least, he hadn't seen her done so ever since he came to the village, but surprisingly, she mended them well. The stitches were fine, well-proportioned and neat. However, there was one thing that made people baffled. Everyone else sewed clothes with the stitches inside, so how come hers were all left on the outside?
The elderly woman's recovery was much better than that of Xiao Liulang's brother. Xiao Liulang once asked the physician how long it would take to lose the disease infectivity at the rate of his brother's recovery, and the physician said it would take a month. Although the elderly woman had been taking medicine for only less than a month, the curative effect had far exceeded that of one month, and she had been able to eat with them at the same table.
Only, Xiao Liulang didn’t expect the elderly woman to almost choke him to death the first time they ate at the same table.
"I say." The elderly woman drank a mouthful of corn keel soup and said in a neither salty nor light tone, "What's wrong with you two? I've been here for so long, but I haven't seen you two sleep together."
Xiao Liulang and Gu Jiao choke up together.
"Husband is still young." Gu Jiao said with a straight face.
The elderly woman sized up Xiao Liulang from head to toe and then nodded, "That’s right too. You’re still rather young, don’t over exhaust your body with that just yet."
Xiao Liulang, “…”
…...
Meanwhile, after Wu shi's group of three ate a loss under the elderly woman’s hand, the villagers speculated that they would find a chance to get back at her. However, they actually didn't see them come out for several days.
As a matter of fact, it wasn’t that they didn’t want to come out, but rather, Old Mister Gu forbade them to go outside.
The last incident had stirred up so much noise that it very soon reached Old Mister Gu’s ears.
Before Old Three died, he promised that he would take good care of Gu Jiao. Although he didn't say it verbally, Old Mister Gu knew that he meant keeping Gu Jiao by his side for the rest of his life, and he must find her a husband to marry into the family in the future.
The main reason why he broke the original promise was that he believed Gu Jiao was a star of disaster. He had already lost his third son and third daughter-in-law, and could no longer allow her to jinx Dashun and the rest.
However, never did Old Mister Gu connive at Wu shi’s action of asking Gu Jiao and Xiao Liulang for family expenses. At that time, Wu shi told him that it was Xiao Liulang himself who wanted to show his filial piety to him, saying that the money could also be used to support Dashun’s studies.
Old Mister Gu believed it.
Now that he knew the truth, Old Mister Gu really felt humiliated. He told her, "Liulang himself is also attending the academy, so don't ask him for money again in the future!"
Wu shi wanted to cough up blood.
Wu shi said, "What can a cripple like him possibly accomplish by studying? It's just a waste of money. I heard that he flunked the exam again this time! Might as well give the money to Dashun. When Dashun becomes successful in the future, he will definitely look after him a bit!"
Her Dashun would be a Lord Juren[1] in the future, and Lords with a Juren title could enjoy a meal whenever they wished, which was enough to make that cripple’s family live their life without troubles.
But Old Mister Gu wanted to save face as well. The villagers were already secretly jabbing at his spine[2]. Asking him to keep allowing her to get money from his granddaughter and grandson-in-law, he couldn't do it.
Old Mister Gu warned Wu shi not to bring his two daughters-in-law to make trouble at Gu Jiao’s house again.
The group of mother-in-law and daughters-in-law were not the only ones who were having bad times these days. Gu Dashun had also suffered the first blow in his life.
He finally knew who the Dean's preferred student was. It was actually Xiao Liulang, someone he would never expect even if you beat him to death.
That guy Xiao Liulang wasn’t just physically disabled, but he also had a poor knowledge. Aside from his face that was worth a look, his whole person was practically useless.
He couldn’t understand. How did this underachiever scum get into the Dean's eyes?
Gu Dashun began to recall the change of the Dean's attitude towards him. At first, the Dean spoke highly of him more than once and also met with him, but after Xiao Liulang went to see the Dean, the Dean never spoke to him again.
He thought hard but in terms of talent and knowledge, there was nothing about him that should make the Dean dissatisfied.
Did Xiao Liulang cook up something in front of the Dean, making the Dean think he was lacking in moral character so now he was disgusted with him?
That must be it!
Why else would the Dean throw him aside and instead go for Xiao Liulang who was always at the bottom of the list?
He appeared to be someone decorous, didn't expect him to be this malicious behind people’s back!
Thinking that Xiao Liulang had taken something that belonged to him, Gu Dashun thought Xiao Liulang was really despicable.
"Xiao Liulang, you wait and see!"
……
That night, Gu Jiao dreamed again.
Not surprisingly, she dreamed of Xiao Liulang again.
Xiao Liulang happened to finish copying the book at hand, so he went to a study hall[3] to deliver it at noon. Unexpectedly, a theft had occurred in that study hall, and suspicion fell on Xiao Liulang’s head.
In fact, there was a witness at that time, which was Gu Dashun. Gu Dashun personally saw Xiao Liulang leave before the owner of the stolen stuff entered the study hall. He also knew that Xiao Liulang had never entered the victim’s drawing room from beginning to end.
But Gu Dashun refused to tell the truth, and insisted that only Xiao Liulang went to the second floor. Although this did not directly prove that Xiao Liulang was the thief, it ruled out other people as suspects.
However, Xiao Liulang was not to be trifled with either. He immediately solved the case based on several footprints in the backyard.
The event was supposed to be over here, but due to this one investigation, a lot of his work had been delayed. When Xiao Liulang was finally on his way back to the village, he was caught in a heavy snowfall.
Along the way, the mule cart skidded into the ditch, disfiguring Xiao Liulang's face.
The hideous scar accompanied Xiao Liulang all his life, leaving him an indelible shadow for a lifetime.
1. ↑ — 举人| jǔrén: Successful examinees in the provincial-level imperial exam; a rank/degree obtained after passing the provincial-level imperial exam. 2. ↑ — Saying negative things about someone behind their backs. 3. ↑ — I think this is more like a library and a bookstore than just a normal study room at home.
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Also, please also have a look at our other translations!
Everyone But Me Is Reborn
Her father is a coward and senselessly filial. Her mother is weak and gullible. Her elder brother is a wastrel.
When she married into the Wangfu, she suffered and was coldly treated. And by the time she was in labour, she was fated to die with the unborn child in her belly.
This was supposed to be Ning Nuan's life.
However this time, everyone but her is reborn.
Ning Nuan is at a loss. She felt that her dad has suddenly become the pillar of the family, her mother’s temper became fierce, and even her elder brother, who would only walk the dogs and play with birds all day, has begun picking up books and reading them carefully.
There is also that juvenile that shows up at the wall of her courtyard everyday, calling her “Ah Nuan, Ah Nuan” with an honest face.