After being exiled, she married a rough man, and the sickly beauty was spoiled

After dinner, He Zhan cleaned up the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash them.

A faint whistling sound came from outside the courtyard, and Zhou stood up: "It must be your uncle and his family who are back."

Song Huiling also stood up and went to the yard with Zhou.

Xu Xianzhang had difficulty walking, so he moved to the couch and looked out through the small hole in the window.

Song Huiling stood in the yard and saw through the low fence a young man leading a pony towards the gate of the yard.

Behind Xiao Ma followed a middle-aged couple wearing gray cloth clothes.

When it was almost at the gate of the yard, the pony suddenly stretched its neck toward the sky and shouted, then pawed the ground with its hooves, stuck its butt back, and stopped where it was, refusing to move forward.

The young man was pulling the reins in front, and the middle-aged man was pushing the horse's butt from behind.

The skinny pony, only half a person's height, did not move at all. It even raised its tail high and kicked back towards the middle-aged man.

"Be careful!" When the ponytail was lifted up, the middle-aged woman quickly moved away and warned loudly.

But the middle-aged man was still kicked hard by the horse's hoof and fell to the ground on his butt.

Zhou hurried to the gate of the courtyard and asked as she walked, "Why did you bring the pony back from the stable?"

When the three heard the question, they all looked towards the courtyard.

The middle-aged man suddenly widened his eyes, rubbed his butt and stood up from the ground: "Hui Ling, you are here?"

Song Huiling had already walked to the gate of the courtyard and called everyone one by one: "Uncle, aunt, cousin."

He Zhan heard the noise and came out of the kitchen. He behaved more at ease than Song Huiling.

After greeting Xu Duanyang's family one by one, he walked directly to Xu Yanqing and took the reins from him: "Brother Yanqing, is there something wrong with this horse?"

Xu Yanqing greeted Song Huiling first, then sighed and replied to He Zhan: "I don't know what strange disease it has contracted. It hasn't eaten or drunk for several days. The horse doctor has come to see it, but he can't find the root cause. It looks like the little beast is about to starve to death. The manager asked me to find a place to bury it, but it's a life after all, I couldn't do it, so I discussed with my parents to take it home to see if it can be saved, but when we were almost at the doorstep, the little beast refused to leave."

The pony then whinnied and kicked up its heels again. Xu Duanyang quickly pulled his wife Ding away.

Xu Yanqing was also frightened and quickly stepped aside.

He Zhan tightened the reins with brute force, subdued the pony, and calmed it down temporarily.

But when he pulled the reins, the pony started to stick its butt out again, and no matter how hard He Zhan pulled the rope, it refused to move.

"Husband, I think this horse really doesn't want to move. You'd better stop pulling it. It looks pitiful as it struggles." Song Huiling called out to He Zhan.

The horse was so thin that its ribs stood out from the skin like dead branches, as if a gust of wind could blow it down.

The eyes that should have been bright and lively were now deeply sunken, like two dried-up springs, revealing endless fatigue and sadness.

Even without Song Huiling's advice, He Zhan had no intention of pulling the horse by force. Horses are intelligent, and if he pulled it against its will, it would only make it more violent.

He Zhan loosened the reins, but the horse didn't run away. It just lay on the ground with its legs stretched out.

"There's really nothing we can do with this little beast. We've walked all the way from the horse farm to here, but it's unwilling to move another step forward. It doesn't want to die here, does it?" Xu Yanqing sighed softly and spread his hands helplessly.

"Cousin." Song Huiling looked at Xu Yanqing and couldn't help but interrupt, "Maybe it's because you keep calling it a little beast that it doesn't want to pay attention to you."

Xu Yanqing refused to believe it: "Cousin, you are exaggerating. I admit that horses have spirituality, but they are not so magical that they can understand what I say, right?"

"That's not necessarily true." Song Huiling said as he walked closer to the pony and squatted down beside it.

He Zhan was worried that the horse would suddenly kick and hurt Song Huiling, so he quickly reached out to pull her back: "Madam, stay away from it."

Song Huiling pulled his hand back from He Zhan's palm: "It's okay, I'm just taking a look."

Zhou was also a little worried: "Xiu'er, the horse just kicked your uncle, you'd better be careful."

Xu Xianzhang felt uncomfortable looking through the window, so he simply walked out of the yard, staggering with his walking stick.

Song Huiling squatted on the ground, not daring to take action to comfort her.

The pony closed its eyes, stretched its limbs straight, and breathed weakly, almost as if it were dead.

"Little guy, can you stand up and walk a few steps by yourself? We'll be home soon." Song Huiling coaxed him patiently, just like comforting a child.

The horse twitched its ears but still did not open its eyes.

The other onlookers also stood closer.

Ding followed Xu Duanyang and Xu Yanqing to bring the pony back. She knew how difficult the journey was and didn't hold much hope.

He said to Song Huiling, "Huiling, this horse is probably dead. Why don't we go into the house first and leave it here. When it really dies, you can have your uncle and cousin carry it and bury it."

As he was speaking, Xu Xianzhang had already walked to the gate of the courtyard with his crutches.

"Let me take a look first. I have ridden many war horses in my life, so maybe I can see something." Xu Xianzhang squeezed in with a crutch. He Zhan was quick to reach out and support him.

With the help of He Zhan, Xu Xianzhang slowly squatted down.

His actions were much bolder than Song Huiling's, and he directly touched Xiao Ma's head.

Song Huiling was worried for Xu Xianzhang. Her grandfather, with his old arms and legs, couldn't withstand a blow from Xiao Ma.

When she opened her mouth to remind him, Xu Xianzhang raised his index finger and made a hushing gesture, then lowered his head and whispered something in Xiao Ma's ear.

No one could understand what Xu Xianzhang was saying, but after he finished speaking, the pony that was originally dying actually opened its eyes.

Song Huiling's eyes also widened slightly for a moment, and she turned her head to look at Xu Xianzhang with joy: "Grandfather, is this little horse willing to get up and walk on its own?"

Xu Xianzhang shook his head, revealing a regretful look: "I'm afraid it won't work. This pony is not sick. It just simply doesn't want to live anymore and wants to die."

"Ah?" Song Huiling opened his mouth slightly in surprise. Could it be that this horse is depressed?

Others thought Xu Xianzhang's words were strange and mysterious, so Zhou scolded him, "Old man, you are not talking nonsense, are you? Can I tell you whether this horse wants to die or not?"

Xu Xianzhang frowned unhappily: "Old woman, what you said is wrong. This horse is originally a war horse. I have been dealing with war horses all my life. What's wrong with knowing a little horse language?"