A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

Chapter 23 Who knows if you're real or just pretending?

Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting soft shadows on the two people sitting opposite each other.

Gu Xixi sneered, "You woke up but didn't say a word, watching me outside trying to stall for time, living in fear. Is it fun to play with me like this?"

"Or are you watching this show with a cold eye, using it to test my loyalty in this time of crisis?"

Gu Xixi was truly angry this time, and Mu Nanzhao's silence only fueled her anger.

"Let me tell you, I am not your subordinate, and I have no obligation to be loyal to you!"

"If I had handed you over to save myself, would you have killed me, and everyone else in this courtyard?"

Mu Nanzhao coughed a few times, a bitter smile appearing on his lips, "Right now... I'm afraid I don't have the strength."

Gu Xixi was still angry and retorted, "How could you be weak? You were perfectly fine just now, even the constables praised you for your strength!"

"If I had known, I should have left you two acres to cultivate, so you wouldn't..."

Before I could finish speaking, I suddenly felt a weight on my shoulder.

Gu Xixi looked on in shock.

Mu Nanzhao leaned weakly against her, his voice barely audible: "You don't believe me. When I was unconscious, my life was in your hands. How could I not believe you..."

His eyes were closed, and his hands slipped limply to the ground.

Gu Xixi sat there blankly for a moment, then asked, "Hey, why aren't you saying anything?"

She suddenly stood up, and Mu Nanzhao slid onto the bed, lying there motionless.

Gu Xixi reached out and pushed him twice, but he didn't move. She then checked his breathing.

Once she realized he was just unconscious and not dead, she had no choice but to use her strength to turn him over and lay him on his back.

Upon further examination of the bandage on the chest, there were no signs of bleeding, suggesting that the body may simply not have fully recovered yet.

Gu Xixi stood by the bed and murmured, "You say I don't believe you, but have you ever truly believed me?"

Sometimes real, sometimes fake; sometimes ruthless and bloodthirsty, sometimes sickly and pitiful.

Who knows which of his faces is real and which is an act?

Gu Xixi would not be fooled by a moment of soft-heartedness.

Meanwhile, Old Qian, along with Master Ma and other constables, had already traversed the entire Huachidu Village.

The families they visited were either relatives who had recently come from elsewhere, or families where they had previously bought a man.

No abnormalities were found.

Old Qian escorted the constables all the way to the village entrance before he could finally catch his breath.

Walking along the road, Officer A asked, "We've been ordered to investigate the recent influx of migrants into each village."

“Especially young men, those who are seriously ill or have suffered external injuries, need to be paid extra attention to, but I don’t know why?”

Master Ma whispered rebuke, "Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask!"

"Since there are arrangements from above, we should just do our jobs and think less and talk less."

He had once suspected Chen Fang at Gu Xixi's house.

So he deliberately offered Chen Fang a bowl to test him, but found that Chen Fang's strength was just like that of an ordinary man. In addition, the way he walked and exerted force indicated that he was not seriously injured or ill.

Having put aside his doubts, Master Ma immediately put Chen Fang out of his mind, and couldn't even remember his name clearly.

Another half month passed, and with the internal and external wound medicine left by the old doctor, Mu Nanzhao was able to leave his room on his own.

But he noticed that Gu Xixi was always busy coming and going, and he often couldn't see her at home. When they occasionally met, she would just give a brief greeting, polite and distant, just right.

So much so that he couldn't find an opportunity to speak to her.

Gu Qingye arrived at lunchtime that day.

Gu Xixi was somewhat surprised to see her, having assumed that after such a falling out between the two families, they would never speak to each other again.

Thinking of her plan to bring the male and female leads together, she forced a smile at Gu Qingye.

"You're here? Come in and have a seat."

Gu Qingye was taken aback. "Sister Xixi, you're not blaming me?"

Gu Xixi laughed and said, "Why would I blame you? Others are others, and you are you."

Gu Qingye lowered her head. "My brother is sick. He has a fever and his legs hurt a lot. Sister Xixi, could you go see him and clear up the misunderstanding between you two?"

Ever since Gu Tiezhu was carried home that day, he has become a "hooligan" in everyone's eyes.

Even Gu Qingye couldn't hold her head up when she went out.

So she came up with a plan: if Gu Xixi would forgive her, she would openly visit his home.

Others will then know that it was indeed just a misunderstanding.

Gu Xixi knew exactly what she was thinking, and said with a half-smile, "If he's sick, quickly call a doctor. If a folk doctor won't do, then carry him to a clinic in the city."

"What's the point of having a layman like me take a look?"

Gu Qingye choked, looking down and clutching the hem of her clothes.

Gu Xixi couldn't bear to see her looking so pitiful and unable to express her grievances, so she turned her gaze away and said, "I'm going to call Chen Fang for dinner. Do you want to stay and join us?"

Gu Qingye had intended to take her leave, but upon hearing Chen Fang's name, she seemed unable to leave her seat.

"...Yeah, it's been a long time since I had dinner with Sister Xixi."

Hearing the noise from inside the house, Mu Nanzhao held the note in his hand to the lamp and burned it, then turned around with a smile.

"You've come back early today."

"Yes," Gu Xixi said with a smile, "It's time to eat, let's go."

Mu Nanzhao hadn't seen her smile like that in a long time, and the words "overwhelmed with gratitude" inexplicably rose in his heart.

But he quickly came to dislike his own idea.

It's just a laugh, nothing special.

He stood up calmly. "Next time, Aunt Zhang can just call out from outside. You don't need to come here yourself."

Upon entering the main room, Gu Qingye stood up, her expression a mixture of nervousness and shyness.

"Brother Chen, it's been a long time since I've seen you. Sister Xixi said you're busy at home preparing medicine for her."

"Thanks to you, those people finally let our family go."

"I should have thanked them in person a long time ago, but my parents... just wouldn't come."

Mu Nanzhao looked at Gu Xixi questioningly.

Gu Xixi calmly replied, "This is what he should do."

“We can’t just leave those scorched fields unattended.”

She stood up with a smile, "I'll go check on the kitchen, you two chat."

After saying that, she ignored Mu Nanzhao's changing gaze and went out on her own.

Only Gu Qingye and Mu Nanzhao remained in the room.

Mu Nanzhao drank his water with a cold face, as if someone owed him a lot of money.

Gu Qingye stole glances at him several times, then lowered her head shyly and asked softly, "Brother Chen, why haven't you married Sister Xixi yet?"

Mu Nanzhao said calmly, "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

Gu Qingye felt a little nervous, but smiled and said, "It's just that there's been a lot of talk in the village lately, saying... saying... that you two have been together for so long, but you're still not a real couple."

"I wonder... who looks down on whom?"

Mu Nanzhao's eyes sent chills down one's spine. "Does Gu Xixi know about these things?"

Gu Qingye nodded.

This time, she didn't dare to lie.

Recently, when Gu Xixi was working outside, people would ask her, either out of curiosity or kindness, why she hadn't married Chen Fangcheng yet.

Gu Xixi always just laughed it off, saying there was no rush.

As a result, rumors circulated that Gu Xixi looked down on Chen Fang.

Otherwise, how many women wouldn't be tempted by such a stunning beauty every day at home?