Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family - Chapter 120

Chapter 120: Chapter 118: Zuo Xingyu’s Interrogation: Ye Lei’s Tenderness

Zuo Xingyu asked meticulously, “Where were you on the night of the third day of last month?”

“That evening, I went to Big Mouth Li’s house.” Di Yelei did not conceal anything.

Zuo Xingyu raised his eyebrow in surprise, apparently not expecting Di Yelei to be so straightforward, before returning to his serious demeanor and continuing with his questions.

“What did you go to his house for?”

“Some days ago, my silver was stolen. On the edge of my courtyard wall, I found traces of the thief climbing into my courtyard, with a six-fingered print on the left hand. The only person nearby with six fingers on their left hand happens to be Big Mouth Li.”

“What did the two of you talk about when you met?”

“Nothing! Big Mouth Li wasn’t home. We had no choice but to return without seeing him. Just as we were leaving the village entrance, we saw two suspicious shadows from afar. We hurried to follow them…”

“By ‘we’, you mean who and who?”

“I and Zhang Peng! We followed the two all the way to the riverside. Those two seemed to have a dispute, but their voices were very low. I only faintly heard words like ‘silver, Third Master’. After a moment, one of them left, and Big Mouth Li cursed and went back, bumping into us.”

“Go on.”

When Di Yelei stopped, Zuo Xingyu urged him to continue.

Di Yelei didn’t mind the other party’s attitude, nodded and continued.

“At that moment, I was furious, rushed forward and grabbed his collar to confront him. He refused to admit that he stole the silver, and I swung my fist and hit him a few times before he finally gave in. I forced him to return the silver, but he said the silver was at his home and took me to get it. When we got back to his house, he hesitated for a long time but couldn’t show even a single copper coin. I hit him twice more, and only then did he say that he had placed the silver at his lover’s place. We were halfway to his lover’s house, when he played dead on the ground, refusing to move.”

“So, you killed him afterward?” Zuo Xingyu frowned with a headache.

“How could that be? As I said before, I’m not the killer!” Di Yelei snorted, resentment boiling within him.

Zuo Xingyu’s eyes were dark and unfathomable, revealing nothing.

Di Yelei sorted out his thoughts: “I forcefully pulled him up, but his waistband loosened, and a silver ingot fell out. I clearly recognized that this silver ingot was the meeting gift my father gave to Sisi as a bride. It turned out to be with Big Mouth Li after all! In the end, I punched him once more, then left him and went home. By the time I returned home, it was already daylight.”

Zuo Xingyu remained silent for a moment before asking, “Were you and Zhang Peng together from beginning to end?”

“No! When Big Mouth Li took me back to his house to get the silver, Zhang Peng went back already. The rest of the journey was just me and Big Mouth Li,” Di Yelei shook his head.

Zuo Xingyu stood up: “Can anyone testify for everything you’ve said?”

“Zhang Peng!”

“He can only testify that you and Big Mouth Li went out together. What about the events afterward? Have you any other witnesses?”

Di Yelei was somewhat dumbfounded!

He thought for a moment, scratching the back of his head: “… Big Mouth Li is never in the village during the day, so I could only catch him at night. At this late hour, where could I find a witness?”

“I am a constable, and I only gather evidence!”

Zuo Xingyu’s eyebrows were furrowed meticulously, forming the shape of a character meaning ‘river’: “That will do for now. If there are any other requirements, I will come to find you again.”

Di Yelei hastened to agree, before sending the two out of the courtyard.

Watching the two leave, Di Yelei frowned, feeling that the situation was out of his control. Then he thought, ‘If one’s conscience is clear, there is no need to fear slander’, and realized that he had nothing to be afraid of.

When Liu Sisi woke up from her sleep, it was already dusk, and cooking smoke rose from every household.

She was attracted by the aroma of meat coming from the kitchen and her stomach growled with hunger, demanding to be fed.

As soon as her eyelashes moved, Di Yelei noticed she was awake and hurriedly helped her sit up gently: “Sisi, you’re awake. Come on, drink this bowl of medicine first. I’ve made a pot of chicken soup to help with your wound recovery, you should drink some quickly.”

While talking, he carefully scooped up a spoonful from the large bowl, cooled it down and then brought it to Liu Sisi’s mouth.

“I can do it myself.”

Liu Sisi opened her mouth to drink, then looked up at him: “Ye Lei, how long have I been asleep?”

“You’ve been asleep for a day. Thankfully, your fever has subsided. Here, drink more chicken soup. Your body is weak and you’ve lost a lot of blood, which is why you fainted. I’ve fed you medicine twice and you didn’t wake up.”

Indeed, Di Yelei was really frightened by this.

He asked Zhang Peng to check on Sisi and opened the medicine sack given by the doctor. Zhang Peng could naturally recognize that it was a prescription for regulating qi and blood.

“It’s nothing serious. Third Sister-in-law’s body is weak, she lost a lot of blood, and the wound was infected. Additionally, she was mentally exhausted, and her heart was overwhelmed. All this combined, she fell ill all at once. Just need to untie her mental knot, nourish her body, and she’ll naturally recover.”

Only then did Di Yelei breathe a sigh of relief. He was busy boiling medicine, making soup, helping Liu Sisi reduce her fever, and dealing with the game he brought back, running around in circles.

Having a high fever due to an infected wound is really terrifying! What if something really happened to Sisi? What would he do then?

Every time he thought about this possibility, it felt as if a piece of his heart was being forcibly torn out, causing unbearable pain.

Finally, when Liu Sisi’s fever subsided, he was able to relax.

“I can do it myself. It’s always you feeding me, and I…” Liu Sisi was a little embarrassed.

Di Yelei avoided her outstretched hand, insisting on feeding her: “You’re my wife, and it’s only natural for me to take care of you. Don’t people always say they want to grow old together? I want to hold your hand through this life, how can I bear to see you suffer?”

“Ye Lei…”

Liu Sisi felt a sourness in her heart, her eyes becoming especially dry. She blinked hard, suppressing the tears that welled up inside her.

“What’s wrong? Sisi.” He scooped up another spoonful.

She wanted to ask him – could they really walk through this life hand in hand?

Could they really grow old together?

However, she ultimately couldn’t bring herself to ask these questions, and she couldn’t utter them.

“No… I just wanted to ask, where are the two children? Why haven’t I seen them?” She changed the subject.

“They’re well-behaved. Xuan’er is reading, and YingEr is with him, also practicing holding the pen. Don’t worry, they’re having fun in the hall.”

As he spoke, he fed her another spoonful of chicken soup and carefully put down the soup bowl. He then picked up a towel to wipe away the soup that had accidentally dripped from the corner of her mouth.

He adjusted the pillow she was leaning against so that she could be more comfortable.

“I am fine, when I first saw you, I thought I was dreaming!”

Liu Sisi laughed without a care in the world, her eyes brimming with tears.