The Lucky Heiress

Chapter 150 - 150 Marrying a Dying Man Later_l

“Thank you, miss! Thank you, miss!” Chen Aqing once again bowed to express her gratitude.

The cook was also extremely pleased: “Aqing has found a benefactor!

“Take her down for now, and have her look for Xiumei tomorrow,” Wei Ruo

instructed.

“Yes, yes!” The cook echoed in agreement.

After speaking, the cook led Chen Aqing away, saying as they walked: ‘Til take you to change your clothes; you’re going to be working in Miss Wei’s friend’s shop, so you need to be presentable. You’ll stay with me for now, don’t go home yet lest your mother takes the new clothes I give you and alters them for your younger brother.”

The cook did not know that the shop was actually owned by Wei Ruo, who claimed it was a friend’s, and that she and Xiumei were just helping out, hiring people.

Watching the two of them walk away, Xiumei was caught in memories she had long locked away.

“Miss, I remember I was sold to the He family because my mother had another son and couldn’t afford to raise me,” she said.

Xiumei was quite young when she was sold, so her memory of her biological family was vague.

It was a sale that precipitated a total break; she had no contact with her past

after that.

When Wei Ruo was brought to the Wei family, Xiumei, as Wei Ruo’s only personal maid, had her contract transferred as well.

Despite just being a maid, the He family did not dare not hand her over. If they had returned their daughter without a single maid, the Wei family might have found out about the mistreatment their legitimate daughter received there.

Even now, the Wei family had no idea what kind of life Wei Ruo led at the He family. The He family’s explanation was that Wei Ruo was frail and was sent to live in the countryside to improve her health.

Wei Ruo gave Xiumei a pat on the shoulder: “Let’s not mind them. If they don’t want my Meimei, it’s their loss.”

Xiumei nodded emphatically: “That’s right! I don’t need them. I’m happy living with you, Miss, and nanny, and Uncle Xu!”

“just wait a little longer. When I’m old enough to get married, I will find someone who is nearing death. I will then be able to set up my own household.

We’ll all be living together then,” Wei Ruo said to Xiumei.

“Miss, isn’t there any other way? I don’t want you to compromise by marrying someone who’s about to die,” Xiumei mumbled reluctantly.

“in this society, a woman takes her father’s behest at home and her husband’s command after marriage. Given my current status, this is the simplest and most straightforward way for me to set up my own home. After all, what’s wrong with marrying a dying man? If he could leave me a stepson, I would be even happier,” Wei Ruo said with a smile.

Wei Ruo really didn’t see any problem with that.

For someone who had lived two lives, she valued her independence and carefree life more than romantic love.

The biggest issue might be finding such a man. It would be challenging to find a dying man who met all requirements and would be accepted by everyone. Xiumei grumbled, “That might indeed be worse than being like Aqing. At least she can work for herself.”

“Everybody has their own difficulties. We can’t choose our fate. We can only painstakingly choose the path we walk upon,” said Wei Ruo.

###

Wei Ruo kept herself busy for almost half a month.

One day, Madam Yuan came to Tianqin Garden to find Wei Ruo, bringing her good news.

“Ruoruo, great joy! Your father has once again led his troops to a great victory against the Japanese pirates!” said Madam Yuan excitedly.

“Really?” Wei Ruo broke into a surprised smile.

“Absolutely! The victory report was just delivered to the magistrate s government office. My husband sent me the news as soon as he heard.

The news from Madam Yuan would certainly be accurate.

“Then… were there any casualties?” Wei Ruo wanted to know how Xu

Zhengyong was doing.

“Casualties are inevitable in a battle. Rest assured, your father is fine with only minor injuries,” Madam Yuan answered.

“Did any other officers get injured?” Wei Ruo asked further.

■■I’m not sure about that,” Madam Yuan answered. The news she had received wasn’t that detailed.

Wei Ruo felt somewhat disappointed, thinking of finding someone later to go

to Xingshan County to find out more.

Madam Yuan then told Wei Ruo, “I’ve heard that a military officer surnamed Xu performed exceptionally well. He led a small troop over Wangyue Mountain and ambushed the enemy. He even captured the leader of the Japanese pirates who attacked us this time, making a significant contribution.” The military officer with the surname Xu… could that be Brother Xiaoyong?

“Was he injured?” Wei Ruo hurriedly asked.

-I don’t think so. I only heard about his commendation, not about him being seriously injured. Even if he was injured, it should be a minor one,” Madam Yuan replied.

Wei Ruo was overjoyed, “That’s good. That s really good.

-Besides bringing you this good news, I came to ask if you want to send someone to bring you back to Xingshan County for a good celebration with your father,” Madam Yuan asked.

“No need for that. Knowing we won is enough; there’s no need for a celebration. Not to mention, weren’t there a lot of casualties? I don’t think my father will want to celebrate lavishly,” Wei Ruo explained.

■■That makes sense,” Madam Yuan agreed. “Still, a victory is worth celebrating. Although fighting Japanese pirates has become the norm, people are always living with fear and worry. My husband has also been worrying about this for a long time. With a victory, we can all celebrate the New Year in peace.” Then Madam Yuan chatted with Wei Ruo for quite a while, during which time she tasted the fruit preserves, dried fruits, and braised meat that Wei Ruo prepared.

It wasn’t until someone from the prefecture’s office came to inform her that her son, Sheng, had woken up from his nap and was looking everywhere for his mother that Madam Yuan left.

Afterward, Wei Ruo quickly wrote a letter and sent someone to rush to Xingshan County to figure out Brother Xiaoyong’s situation.

Even though Madam Yuan had said that that person could be Brother Xiaoyong, Wei Ruo still wanted to ensure everything was okay.

The reply came the very next day, but it wasn’t a letter. It was Xu Zhengyong himself who came.

“Brother Xiaoyong!” An excited Xiumei rushed over and checked Xu Zhengyong’s condition.

She then noticed that one of Xu Zhengyong’s hands was wrapped in white cloth and quickly asked, “What happened? Did your hand get cut off? Let Miss check it quickly!”

-It wasn’t cut off, it’s just a minor cut,” Xu Zhengyong hastily replied.

“What minor cut! Even minor cuts can become deadly if left untreated. Let Miss examine it, please!” Xiumei, holding onto the uninjured arm of Xu Zhengyong, started dragging him towards Wei Ruo.

“I’m really fine, and I’ve already applied medicine to it,” Xu Zhengyong hurriedly assured her.

Seeing how anxious Xiumei was about him, Xu Zhengyong grinned and said, “Junior sister, seeing how concerned you are about me, are you planning to start calling me senior brother?”

Upon hearing this, Xiumei immediately let go of Xu Zhengyong and glared at him grumpily, “In your dreams! It’s enough that I didn’t hit you, and now you want me to call you senior brother?

“Why would you hit me? After all, I did make military contributions,” Xu Zhengyong replied innocently.

“You’re still saying it! Why didn’t you tell us in advance that you were going on a risky ambush mission? That was very dangerous! If the coordination with the main force had gone wrong, you could’ve lost your life!” Xiumei continued to berate him..