The Villagers' Gossip

She decided to go out and check her surroundings.

On her way up the mountain, Yu Li met several villagers.

These villagers were busy working; some were going into the mountains to gather firewood, while others were heading to the bamboo forest to dig up and gather bamboo shoots.

Upon seeing Yu Li, they greeted her and looked at her with curious but friendly eyes, bearing no ill intent.

Yesterday, when Yu Li returned to the village, because Old Master Yu wanted to save face, he didn't speak of what had happened at the Yu family home. Therefore, the villagers still did not know about the major things she had done.

Currently, they were even more curious about this "lucky star," wondering if she would truly bring good fortune as rumored.

"Is that Li-niang? Where are you going?" a square-faced aunt asked.

Qingshi Village had over a hundred households, and everyone knew one another. Although the Second Branch of the Yu family rarely went out, any who met her remembered her name.

The Second Branch of the Yu family had four sisters, all of whom were extremely thin. It was rare to see anyone like them in the village, making them very easy to recognize.

Yu Li recognized the person before her as Da Zhuang's mother from the Fu family. Her husband's family was surnamed Chu, and she was said to be a relative of Madame Chu. Everyone in the village usually called her Aunt Chu. Beside her was a young woman, who was Da Zhuang's newlywed wife from earlier this year.

Yu Li said softly, "Aunt, I want to go up the mountain."

Aunt Chu saw that she wasn't carrying anything, her hands completely empty, and couldn't help but wonder.

"What is Li-niang going up the mountain for?" she asked casually. "Ah, I heard Brother Xiao has woken up. How is his body?"

Because Fu Wenxiao had always been in poor health, the villagers rarely visited to avoid disturbing him. Although they knew he had woken up, they were still unclear about his exact condition.

Yu Li recalled seeing Fu Wenxiao last night and replied, "He is fine. He can already open his eyes and speak."

But when he slept, his breath was still very faint, as if he could stop breathing at any moment. This made Yu Li worry that the next morning, he might not open his eyes again.

Hearing this, Aunt Chu was slightly dazed. "What do you mean he can open his eyes and speak?"

Seeing that she didn't ask further, Yu Li politely bid her farewell and continued up the mountain.

Looking at Yu Li's departing figure, Aunt Chu was still puzzled, not knowing what she was going up the mountain for.

Who goes up a mountain without carrying anything? No basket, no wood-cutting knife, not even a drop of water. If she got thirsty on the mountain, it wouldn't be easy to find water to drink.

Aunt Chu's daughter-in-law watched her and asked in a low voice, "Mother, is that the person the village rumors to be a lucky star? Why is she so thin and weak?"

What kind of lucky star was skin and bones like this? One look and you could tell she didn't live well.

Does a lucky star live like this? People said a lucky star should be treated well, right?

"What lucky star?" Aunt Chu chuckled.

"It's all nonsense rumors. If Li-niang were truly a lucky star, the Yu family wouldn't have treated her so poorly. This is just a story the Yu family made up because they wanted to get twenty taels of gold from the Fu family."

Although Madame Chu firmly believed that Yu Li was a lucky star, and many in the village believed her, most people understood the truth. They knew the rumor was false.

Remembering that Yu Li had suffered greatly since childhood, even though the villagers knew the truth, no one stepped forward to refute it or tell Madame Chu that it was all a lie.

After all, Fu Wenxiao had indeed woken up.

Aunt Chu's daughter-in-law was slightly disappointed, thinking to herself, "So she's not a real lucky star."

Thinking about it, if she were truly a lucky star, the Yu family wouldn't have had the heart to marry her off to a dying man.

She felt pity and said, "She is truly pitiable!"

"Indeed," Aunt Chu agreed. "The Yu family is famous in the village for favoring boys over girls... no, actually, they only look down on the four daughters of the Second Branch. Yu Qin of the First Branch isn't treated poorly at all."

"That's not surprising. Qin-niang's parents and brothers are all capable. Her mother is the daughter of a scholar, so her status in the Yu family is not low. Even Old Madame Yu doesn't dare touch her. Under her mother's protection, Qin-niang naturally lives a much better life than the daughters of the Second Branch."