Xiuyun sat alone in an empty room, staring blankly into space. Suddenly, someone outside her door called her “Aunt Xiuyun.”
In the village, houses were never closed if someone was home. Yu Yi saw the door open but heard no response from Xiuyun, so she walked in and peeked inside. Seeing Xiuyun sitting in the room, she stepped in, raising a small cloth bag, “Aunt Xiuyun, I found the bag you dropped and brought it to you.”
This was the bag with money that Xiuyun had taken up the mountain, which Min Da’an had snatched and dropped. After Min Da’an’s incident, everyone was still in shock and had forgotten about the small bag. Yu Yi came to find the bag partly because Xiuyun would need the money to live, and partly to have a chance to see Xiuyun.
Yu Yi placed the bag beside her and sat quietly, keeping her company.
Xiuyun suddenly asked, “Ling’er, do you think I should go save Xiushuang?”
” In fact, Min Ling was just a little girl, but after recent events, Xiuyun felt she was quite sensible and unconsciously asked her about her difficult dilemma.
Yu Yi said, “I can’t say for sure. Aunt Xiushuang did make a mistake, but being drowned alive is too pitiful.” Objectively, Xiushuang had indeed done wrong, but her crime did not deserve death; Min Da’an was the truly vicious one. However, in these mountain villages, women caught in adultery were typically punished by drowning in a pig cage.
Xiuyun nodded and said nothing, then stood up to leave. Yu Yi followed her out, whispering, “Aunt Xiuyun, are you going to save Aunt Xiushuang? I’ll help you.”
Xiuyun turned to face Yu Yi, bent down to support her thin shoulders, and smiled, “Ling’er, you helped me escape yesterday, and you also helped me on the mountain! Aunt Xiuyun will remember your kindness forever. Fortunately, my injustice was cleared, which saved you from being punished by Third Uncle, and the mountain slope was so dangerous last night! This time, Aunt Xiuyun won’t let you take risks again. Xiushuang is my sister, and I’ll save her. If Third Uncle wants to punish someone, let him punish me.”
Yu Yi nodded, “Okay, Aunt Xiuyun, but can I at least come and see?”
