Minr Daan hesitated. Xiuyun’s escape meant she definitely wouldn’t return, which essentially achieved his goal. However, he kept thinking about how suspicious her escape was – being so tightly bound yet still managing to escape; someone must have freed her. Without understanding this matter, he felt unsettled.
Minr Daan told Shui: “I’ll go check what’s going on, you stay home.”
Shui nodded and cautioned: “Brother Daan, be careful, and come back once you’ve found out the truth…”
At this moment, Yu Yi saw Minr Ergou approaching and called out: “Miss Shui, why are you holding Uncle Daan’s hand?”
Shui immediately let go, her face turning bright red. Minr Daan looked around nervously, seeing Minr Ergou looking towards their small courtyard from dozens of steps away, unsure if he had actually seen anything.
Minr Daan composed himself, pretending he hadn’t heard Yu Yi’s previous words, and approached Minr Ergou to ask: “Ergou, how did Xiuyun escape?”
Minr Ergou suspiciously glanced at the blushing Shui, who quickly lowered her head and returned to the west side room. Only then did Minr Ergou tell Minr Daan: “She was definitely released by someone. It must be her lover who secretly came back and rescued her. You should go to Sanye’s house at the village entrance to discuss this, and I still need to tell everyone about this.”
Yu Yi pretended to slip, letting out an “Ouch” as she fell. Min Tiancheng heard her cry out and instinctively reached to pull her up. Although Yu Yi didn’t completely fall, she still knelt on the muddy mountain path.
Min Tiancheng anxiously asked, “What happened? Did you hurt yourself?”
Yu Yi replied with a tearful voice, “I twisted my ankle.”
At this point, hearing her cry, everyone stopped and turned back to check the situation. In the firelight, they saw Min Ling crying “Woo woo”!
Min Tiancheng helped her up. Yu Yi stood on one foot, looking pained, while Min Tiancheng crouched in front of her with his back turned: “Ling’er, let me carry you down the mountain!” He looked up at another person, “Sixth Uncle, Ling’er has twisted her ankle. I need to take her down, so I can’t hold the torch. Can you light the way for us?”
His sixth uncle agreed.
Someone suggested, “Forget it. The rain is getting heavier, and the torches will soon go out. How can we chase her? If Xiu Yun hides in some mountain hollow or tree cave, who could find her? The mountain path is slippery – we might fall into a ravine before catching her.”
Chasing someone on a rainy mountain path, with no personal stake in the matter, the group had been driven by a momentary burst of energy. But with Min Ling’s fall, that energy dissipated, and everyone agreed to return down the mountain and deal with everything in the morning.
When these dozen or so people returned to the village, lights were still on at the home of Third Master Min at the village entrance.
Third Master Min saw them return without Xiu Yun. Though dissatisfied, he couldn’t say much, as everyone had made an effort, and the mud on their feet was proof enough.
Yu Yi was carried back to Min Ling’s home by Min Tiancheng and scolded by Ling’s mother: “Going up the mountain to chase someone, what are you doing joining in? Always running around outside, not behaving like a proper girl! Thank goodness Tiancheng was looking after you, or you might have rolled into a ravine…”
Min Tiancheng hastily made his excuses and went home.
—
Late at night, the rain had stopped.
Yu Yi lay on the wooden bed, listening to the snoring of Ling’s father at the other end of the room, wondering if Xiu Yun had gone far.
Remembering Xiu Yun’s expression when she heard about the plot between Min Da’an and Xiu Shui to frame her, she quietly left Min Ling’s home and made her way to the back window of Min Da’an’s house.
—
Min Da’an was very uneasy, a feeling that had grown since hearing of Xiu Yun’s escape. In the village, he was the only one who knew that Xiu Yun was framed, not actually caught in adultery. He had even kept this from Xiu Shui.
The sisters’ parents had passed away, and when Xiu Shui was not yet married, Xiu Yun had taken her into her own home. Min Da’an was good-looking and hardworking, taking good care of Xiu Shui.
When Min Da’an first saw Xiu Shui, he thought she was much prettier than Xiu Yun, but he had already proposed to Xiu Yun and had no reason to break the engagement. Though regretful, he had to give up. Unexpectedly, after being married for over a year, Xiu Shui was brought to live with them.
Xiu Yun noticed nothing unusual, but Min Da’an sensed Xiu Shui’s feelings for him and deeply regretted not proposing to her initially.
He sought opportunities to be alone with her, sweet-talking her. Eventually, he succeeded in seducing her.
After their affair began, Min Da’an started finding Xiu Yun troublesome and increasingly wanted to be with Xiu Shui as a true couple. He devised a plot to frame Xiu Yun for adultery.
Min Da’an tossed and turned, unable to sleep, when Xiu Shui asked, “Da’an, aren’t you asleep?”
Worried about Xiu Yun’s potential drowning, Xiu Shui had been sleepless. Hearing of Xiu Yun’s escape, she was secretly relieved but still felt guilty and concerned, and was now awakened by Min Da’an’s restlessness.
Thinking he was pondering the same things, she said, “I hope my sister can escape tonight.”
Min Da’an hypocritically agreed: “I also hope Xiu Yun doesn’t get caught. After all, we were husband and wife…”
Suddenly, an angry voice called from outside: “Min Da’an, you beast! How dare you harm me like this and talk about being husband and wife?” It was clearly Xiu Yun.
Min Da’an was shocked, not just because Xiu Shui was in the room, but because Xiu Yun’s words revealed she knew what he had done.
He sat up, glancing at Xiu Shui, whose face was equally pale, both frozen in uncertainty.
Xiu Yun cried and picked up a large stone near the door, furiously smashing it.
Xiu Shui quickly jumped up, “Sister, sister, I’ll open the door, please stop!” She rushed to the door, unbolted it, pulled Xiu Yun inside, and quickly closed it. Then she knelt before Xiu Yun, crying and begging, “Sister, please forgive us. I’m already Da’an’s wife.”
Xiu Yun trembled as she pointed at Xiu Shui: “Xiu Shui, how have I treated you normally? Although we are not from the same mother, I have always taken care of you like a real sister. When Dad and the second wife were gone, I brought you to live in my home. But you, not only did you have an affair with my husband, you even conspired to harm me? Tell me! Was that peddler brought in by you two to harm me?”
Xiu Shui shook her head in panic: “Sister, I absolutely did not intend to harm you, please believe me! At first, I really didn’t know about the peddler! Today I just found out, and right after that, Er Gou said you had escaped.” She turned to look at Min Da’an, “Da’an ge?”
Xiu Yun also looked up at Min Da’an, who was still in a daze on the bed. It was he who had personally led many villagers to “catch them in the act” yesterday.
At the time, Xiu Yun faced the angry Min Da’an who burst into the room, feeling both guilty and wronged. Before she could explain, she was tied up by the crowd.
She tried to tell everyone that the peddler had ill intentions, and she had desperately resisted, but he was too strong and dragged her into the room.
At that moment, Min Da’an had shouted: “Gag her mouth!”
Xiu Yun initially thought it was all a coincidence, blaming her own misfortune and feeling sorry for Min Da’an, preparing to silently accept whatever was to come. But when Min Ling told her the truth, it was like awakening from a dream, suddenly realizing how naive she had been.
