TGDW – Chapter 39 Delivering message into the city

The General's Delicious Wife Chapter 039: Delivering message into the city

Madam Huang waits until the fetus has flowed out completely, then she washes her hands clean and comments to Madam Sheng. "The time length of the baby is too short and it is an unstable pregnancy in the first place. The miscarriage may not be an entirely bad thing, take extra care in consoling Da Ping, she is still young now, there will be more opportunities in the future, so don't let her body get hurt from this. The one month confinement period cannot be neglectful, it must be completed with excellent care, replenishing more nourishment for the body to avoid leaving a root for illness."

Madam Sheng nods her head repeatedly, grabbing money and sending Madam Huang out the door. She turns around and sees the three of them, father and sons, squatting in line and smoking. She sighs. "Da Ping's child couldn't be kept, we need to inform Son-in-law sooner or later, you see who should loop the cart and make the trip into town?"

When the three of them hear the task they shrink back with their heads, how could they open their mouths* to this kind of topic.

"Mother, I'll go back to the room to see Chun Fang, she is frightened from just now." Xue Yong notices Madam Sheng's sight landing on himself, so he quickly finds an excuse, after saying so he runs away as if his feet has been lubricated with oil.

He uses Madam Zhou as a cover, so naturally Madam Sheng couldn't rebuke. They have just lost one, they cannot allow any mishap happening to the other one.

She then moves her attention onto Xue Liang Ping and Xue Li.

Xue Li scolds his younger brother in his heart for how fast he has evaded, he on the other hand cannot even find any excuses for himself.

He then moves his focus onto Xue Liang Ping, seeing that his head is still buried down with his tobacco, he hesitantly opens his mouth. "Mother, why not…"

Xue liang Ping suddenly beats his tobacco pouch against the door frame. "Da Li, you quickly go loop up the cart and go to your brother-in-law's house to send the message, bring Doctor Tang back to take a look at your sister on your way back, to write a prescription for her nourishment."

When the instruction is said, Xue Li does not need to find his excuse anymore, his face instantly droops down.

In Madam Sheng' heart, she too does not want Xue Liang Ping to delivery this message, afterall the daughter has an accident at her parent's home, and under such circumstances, the son-in-law's family surely will not be happy about it.

Sending one from the younger generation to deliver the message, so that even if the other party grumbles and scolds, it will not damage their pride overly much.

Hence, she follows the flow and nods her head. "Da Li ah, you just go and make this trip. This incident is our family's fault, when you reach there tell this to your brother-in-law well, make sure you don't muddle up. There is some money here, you keep it carefully, buy some red sugar and big dates from town, also buy two tails of carps and one strip of meat, for Da Ping to replenish her nutrition."

Xue Li receives the money, goes back to the room to change his clothes and adds a thick cotton jacket. Then he loops up the cart, head towards town under the bright moon light.

The Xue family is filled with a cloud of sorrow, Xue Li who is rushing the ox is also bloated with suppressed temper.

If there is anything good that is happening in the family, it will definitely not befall upon him. Only this kind of tedious task which does not benefit him will always become his duty without fail.

Everyone in the family have witnessed on how Feng Yong Yuan treats Xue Ping. Now that Xue Ping has met with misfortune at home, what kind of good thing could possibly befall upon him who is delivering that message?

As the sky is just about to brighten up, Xue Li rushes the cart into the town. He parks the ox cart outside the town gates and carries the money which Madam Sheng has given to him, he goes to order a bowl of fermented maize thick noodles and two side dishes.

Devouring the dishes with the bowl of piping hot fermented maize thick noodles into his stomach, Xue Li then wipes the corners of his mouth and goes to the Feng house.

The daylight is still dim at this time and the gates of the Feng house is shut tight.

After a long time of knocking the door, Xue Li finally hears a light rustling of footsteps coming from the inside.

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"So early in the morning, who is this?" A dainty voice of a young woman can be heard from behind the door.

Xue Li frowns as he hears that voice and speaks rudely. "Open the door, I am looking for my brother-in-law for some matters."

The person behind the door falls silence, only replying after a moment. "Oh, is it the Xue family's elder brother who is here?"

Xue Li feels that there is something wrong with this situation, so he slams at the door a couple more times and raises his voice. "Open the door quickly, I have something urgent!"

A gap cracks between the seam of the gates, revealing a pretty face of a young girl around sixteen to seventeen of age.

The young lady smiles on the surface but wariness is evidenced in her eyes. Not opening the door completely to let Xue Li enter.

Xue Li sees that the young lady has just woken up from her sleep, wearing a flower pattered fresh green unlined garment and she has cotton jacket outercoat which she is not wearing properly, draping loosely over her shoulders, appearing to have just crawled out from her blankets.

"Who are you?" A fire sparked immediately in Xue Li's heart. Da Ping is only staying at home for a few days to nututre the fetus and Feng Yong Yuan has actually brought another woman back?

"Good for you, this pair of cheating couple, the heavens has open its eyes today to let your mister here encounter this!" Xue Li does not wait for the young woman to respond, kicking the gates open.

When the young woman hears that accusation, her face reddens with anger. "Don't accuse others without evidence!"

"I have accused others?" Xue Li gets even more agitated, pointing at the nose of the girl and saying. "Then you say for yourself, the two of you being a single man and a single woman alone at home, what good things can come out of it!"

"I…" The young lady is so insulted that tears are gathering in her eyes. "I am here as a cook, you, you better not say any nonsense!"

"Ha, a single unmarried big young lady, staying in a man's house as a cook, is it really so innocent!" Xue Li comments as he pleases and continues making noise. "Where is Feng Yong Yuan? Is he scared and dares not come out?"

Feng Yong Yuan has been studying through the previous night under an oil lamp, until the roosters outside are crowing then he goes to rest, he is deep in his slumber right at this moment. Vaguely hearing that there is someone making a ruckus outside, he thinks that it might be the neighbours so he does not put it to heart, flipping himself over and continues to sleep.

Now that he hears someone shouting his name out in a loud voice, he crawls up from his bed drowsily. Drapes his clothes over himself and lifts the curtain to go out and ask. "Chun Tao, so early in the morning what is there to shout so noisily!"

Xue Li sees that Feng Yong Yuan who has just crawled out from his bed and hears him immediately calling that young woman's name as he appears, his anger multiplies over the same matter. Rushing up towards Feng Yong Yuan and punches him in the face.

"The one named Feng, you have grown some capabilities! Now you dare to commit adultery behind my younger sister's back!" The more Xue Li says the angrier he gets, swinging another punch in the opposite direction. "If not for me coming over here today, we would still believe that you are someone good!"

Feng Yong Yuan is someone who studies, how is he an opponent for Xue Li. He does not even have the ability to fight back, two punches are enough to beat him into a dazed.

"Elder brother, why have you come, Da Ping…"

Before he can finish what he is saying, Xue Li lands another punch on his nose. His nose is tingling in pain, two warm flows drip down from his nose.

"Ah—blood!" Chun Tao sees the blood and screams in her fright.

"Scream for what!" Xue Li glares at Chun Tao. "Shut your mouth, if not this mister here will beat you up as well!"

Chun Tao covers her mouth with her hands in fright, with tears streaming down her face messily.

.

Xue Li only remembers his motive for coming here after venting his anger with his punches, but seeing Feng Yong Yuan's bruised and swollen face because of his beating, how can he say what he has originally come to say.

He too knows that he has messed up his errand and he does not know how to compensate for this situation, so he decides to just turn around and run away.

Chun Tao is afraid that he will come back again so she quickly fixes the bolt up for the yard gates and then helps Feng Yong Yuan to stand up.

"Feng big brother are you alright?"

Feng Yong Yuan is dizzy and has lost his sense of direction after the beating. Being supported by Chun Tao into his room, he can only begin to think logically after taking a breather. Slapping his own tight in exclamation. "Aiya, this is bad, there must be a misunderstanding!"

.

Translator Notes:

*By this point you should have noticed, that in the Chinese literature, the human body parts are significantly used in context to describe the character and the situation, instead of directly referring to the character in person.

For example, their face is the symbol of their reputation and pride, and the hearts are used in context to signify their inner thoughts and hidden motives, or that describing someone having a sweet mouth means that he/she is really good with his/her words. There is also a lot of attention on details to where the characters are looking because the eyes are important indicators to what the character is perceiving and is capable of understanding.

Opening one mouths refers to what they are going to say. So if the phrase is "hard to open one's mouth", it means the person finds it hard to speak about something.

Translated by Yellow. Oct 2022.