The Peasant Wife: The Prime Minister's Beloved

The morning at the Chen family begins quietly with the light footsteps of Old Mrs. Chen.

As soon as the first light of day appeared on the horizon, she had already finished packing, with a secret plan in mind.

Follow everyone up the mountain quietly.

Seeing how stubborn she was, Zheng Cuihua and Zhou Xuemei stepped forward to persuade her, worry evident on their faces, but Old Lady Chen just smiled and waved her hands. Unable to change her mind, they had to acquiesce.

Today, the villagers seemed to be accustomed to the spontaneous rhythm. Without waiting for Chen Xi's call, they spontaneously gathered at the entrance of the village, forming a lively and orderly flow of people.

Old Lady Chen took advantage of the cover of the crowd and quietly blended into the large group, cleverly avoiding the vigilant eyes of the village chief Xu Gaoping.

In the mountains, the air is fresh and moist. Everyone is immersed in the joy of collecting the gifts of nature, focusing only on the mushrooms and fungus in front of them.

Old Mrs. Chen explored around with her eyes and finally found a hidden corner where a few mushrooms were growing alone.

Gently, she began picking until the basket was half full.

Just when she was satisfied and ready to go home with a full harvest, she accidentally slipped due to negligence, and with a scream of fear, she accidentally fell into a hidden animal trap, splashing a cloud of dust.

"Oh my god, that hurts so bad!"

She moaned, and all around her was eerily quiet, with only her cries echoing through the valley.

"Is there anyone here? Come and save me, I'm here!"

The first few cries for help did not attract attention, so Mrs. Chen had to use all her strength to shout again: "Is there anyone outside? Please help me, my leg, I think it's broken, please come quickly!"

Fortunately, after calling out for help, someone was finally attracted by the urgent cries for help.

Yu Hai, the son of Aunt Zhuang in the village, heard the cry for help and ran to the source of the sound without hesitation. When he saw the person in the pit, he couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise: "Hey, isn't this Old Lady Chen? How did you fall in a place like this?"

Seeing Yu Hai appear like a savior, Mrs. Chen immediately showed a relieved smile on her face: "I saw that the mushrooms here are growing well, and I thought it would be a waste if no one picked them. Who knew that I didn't step firmly and it became like this."

After hearing this, Yu Hai comforted Old Lady Chen and explained, "Ah, we all know these mushrooms. We saw them yesterday. We avoided them because we knew that this was where hunters liked to set traps. You don't come here often, so you don't know about them."

"Okay, then don't move for now. I'll go find someone to help." Yu Hai said, already planning to take action.

"Okay, okay, go quickly and come back soon. Thank you for your hard work, Haiwazi. My legs are weak. I really hope I can be pulled out soon."

Old Mrs. Chen's voice was filled with anxiety and anticipation.

Not long after, Yu Hai hurried over with several young and strong men from the village. They worked together and after great efforts, they finally rescued Old Mrs. Chen safely from the pit.

Yu Hai also specifically instructed one of them to rush to the Chen family and inform them of the emergency so that they could provide the best care to Mrs. Chen in a timely manner.

Chen Xi hurriedly walked along the path in the village, his steps filled with anxiety and confusion, and the words that had just come from under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village seemed to still echo in his ears.

An accident occurred in the back mountain of Xianghe Village and someone was injured while picking mushrooms.

"Ouch, ouch, my leg hurts. It hurts like a knife cutting it. Could it be that it's really broken?"

As soon as Old Mrs. Chen was carefully carried out of the forest by the villagers, she cried and shouted non-stop, making the air around her seem a little heavier.

Yu Hai stood aside with a frown on his face.

"Mrs. Chen, let's not move. Wait until your relatives arrive, and then we'll discuss whether to rush to town to get a doctor, or send you home first."

After saying that, he carefully covered Old Mrs. Chen with a thick piece of clothing, fearing that the cool breeze in the mountains would make the old woman feel even colder.

"Mom! How are you? Don't scare us!" Zheng Cuihua and Zhou Xuemei arrived almost at the same time, panting and full of worry. As soon as they got close, they held Old Lady Chen's hands tightly.

The two sons of the Chen family, Chen Zhenwen and Chen Zhenwu, were still on their way back from the town.

Old Lady Chen spotted Chen Xi's figure in the noisy crowd. Her originally dull eyes suddenly sparkled, and then tears welled up in her eyes. She cried even more miserably, "My legs, just for a few mushrooms, I'm afraid I'll have regrets for the rest of my life. How am I going to live my life from now on?"

At this time, the village chief Xu Gaoping heard the news and came over, squeezing into the crowd, with a look of confusion and reproach on his face: "Mrs. Chen, I remember specifically telling you not to participate in this mushroom picking activity, why are you doing this?"

"Everyone can go, so why can't we? Doesn't our Chen family belong to Xianghe Village?"

When Zhou Xuemei faced Xu Gaoping, her tone was full of indignation and questioning, and the dissatisfaction between her brows was clearly visible.

Xu Gaoping was speechless for a moment, and his eyes turned to Chen Xi for help involuntarily.

"Village Chief, this is my decision. It's none of your business. If anyone has any objections, please tell me."

Chen Xi stood out from the crowd, speaking in a firm tone, looking like someone who was willing to take responsibility.

"I knew it was you who was behind this! You grew up in our Chen family, and now you're turning against us?"

Zhou Xuemei's accusation was like a sharp arrow, pointing directly at Chen Xi.

Chen Xi's face was calm: "Zhou Xuemei, I'm going to speak frankly today. I have my own considerations. You can criticize me if you want. Even if they are relatives or friends, you can't always rely on others to make concessions. You should put away those little tricks of yours."

"Girl, look at my legs. They are really in a bad state. Please be merciful and let me take these mushrooms. I know what I did wrong in the past, and I won't do it again. Just consider it as your magnanimity and give me a chance to correct my mistakes."

As Old Lady Chen spoke, she deliberately acted more miserable, pretending to wipe away non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeves, in an attempt to touch Chen Xi's heartstrings and win a bit of sympathy.

Around Old Lady Chen were several neighbors with whom she was on good terms. They had sympathy on their faces and began to help her with her tone.

"Chen Xi, please be merciful and forgive your grandma this time. The old lady is also feeling bad. Who doesn't want to live a harmonious and happy life at home and abroad?"

One of the aunts spoke in a gentle tone with a hint of pity in her eyes.

Then, another person spoke up, his voice a little too direct, causing others to look at him sideways.

"Hey, tell me, these days, how can a granddaughter treat her own grandmother like this? Isn't this obviously unfilial? God is watching you, aren't you afraid that a thunderbolt will come one day to teach you a lesson?"