Chapter 539 - 281: Initial Recovery of Her Face
At the mention of the topic, Zhang Huai’s brow furrowed, and the tenderness in his expression vanished. He unconsciously plucked at blades of grass as he said worriedly, "Changyu had someone deliver a message. He said he’s afraid this new County Magistrate Li will be difficult to handle—up north, he was known for extortion and imposing arbitrary levies, and it seems he has a powerful backer in the imperial court."
Juhua’s heart sank when she heard this.
’Ordinarily, the villagers of Xiatang Market wouldn’t be worth the attention of someone like him—it would be a matter of some extra taxes at worst. But Qingnan Village wasn’t an ordinary village anymore. If they were targeted, the next three years would be hard to endure, and there was no telling what might happen.’
The twilight had deepened, and Huai Zi couldn’t see the look in Juhua’s eyes. Seeing her fall silent after he spoke, he assumed she was just as worried as he was. He comforted her in a soft voice, "Don’t you worry. Your brother and I will handle these matters. Changyu said he’ll be back in May, and we can all discuss it then to be better prepared. Tomorrow, your brother and I will go visit Manager Song at the Fang family’s farm tool workshop first. A family like theirs knows more about official dealings and has more experience. If he’s willing to give us some guidance, we’ll have a better idea of what we’re facing."
Juhua nodded. ’We’ll just have to wait and see for now.’ ’Honestly, for common folk like them, their ability to resist those in power was negligible. Even if you had a family member serving as an official in the court, there was no guarantee they could protect their kin—the struggles and rivalries at that level were far more brutal than the exploitation the common people faced.’
It was as if a faint haze had suddenly veiled a clear, boundless sky. Just moments ago, she had been thinking this pastoral life was a bit too placid, like the waters of the Little Qing River, which always flowed so quietly. A part of her had wished for a high tide, to witness the magnificent spectacle of a vast, surging, and relentless river. But now that a real spring flood was threatening to sweep across the land and drown the colors of spring, she found herself missing the comfort of gentle breezes and light rain.
She stood up and called out toward the river, "Here, ducky, ducky... Here, ducky, ducky..." The ducks waddled ashore and split into three groups. One group went toward Meizi’s house, another toward Zhang Huai’s house, and the rest went PATTER-PATTER toward Juhua’s house.
Huai Zi and Juhua then walked home slowly, side by side.
Even with worries, one couldn’t dwell on them constantly. Besides, the joyful moments in life make it easy to forget such troubles.
After dinner, once Juhua and Liu Yunlan had finished cleaning up, the two of them mixed some honey and egg whites. They then settled into her brother and sister-in-law’s room for Qingmu to apply face masks for them. Since she wasn’t sure when Huai Zi might come over, Juhua stayed in the room while she had her mask on.
Holding the bowl, Qingmu looked at the two faces under the lamplight with a smile, clearly relishing the moment. He truly enjoyed helping his wife and sister with their face masks, finding these moments especially warm and enchanting.
Liu Yunlan lay delightedly on the wooden lounge chair, waiting for Qingmu to apply her mask. After waiting for a while with no movement, she looked up and saw Qingmu scrutinizing Juhua’s face. Surprised, she asked, "What are you staring at? Why aren’t you putting it on yet?"
Qingmu said to Liu Yunlan with some uncertainty, "Lanlan, look at the scar on Juhua’s face. It looks like it’s almost gone. You can barely see it like this. During the day, it’s just a bit of a red mark, and a very faint one at that."
Hearing this, Liu Yunlan got up and moved closer to Juhua, and Qingmu quickly helped steady her. She peered at the scar for a long moment, then asked the brother and sister, perplexed, "Hasn’t it always looked like this? I thought it was faint from the first moment I saw it. I could never understand why you were so afraid to be seen."
Upon hearing this, Juhua glanced at her brother, then thought for a moment before turning to her sister-in-law. "Yunlan, are you saying that the very first time you saw me, you thought this scar wasn’t noticeable?" She decided to press the matter, figuring a first impression would be more accurate. People like Qingmu and her parents had grown so used to seeing it that they wouldn’t notice any changes.
Liu Yunlan nodded. "That’s right. There’s only a faint mark left. I think it’ll be completely gone in a little while. Juhua, you should take that veil off. You have such a pretty face, it’s a shame to hide it."
Juhua was suddenly overjoyed. She laughed and said to Qingmu, "Brother, honestly! You’re so unobservant. You help me with this mask every day. Even if you can’t see the day-to-day changes, you should at least think about what it looked like right after the scab fell off and compare it to how it is now. Then you’d see if it’s changed, wouldn’t you? You had me thinking it was never going to heal!"
Qingmu smiled apologetically. "I see it every day, so I never thought to compare. Now that you put it that way, the scar really has faded quite a bit. It’s worlds better than when the scab first came off. Your sister-in-law is right. In a little while, the mark that’s left shouldn’t be visible at all. Come to think of it, Mother has been saying it looks much better all along, but we’ve gotten so used to hearing it that none of us really paid attention."