CHAPTER 236: CHAPTER 236: SHE TRULY LIVED IN HARDSHIP

The village of Tan Village is beautiful, surrounded by mountains and water.

It’s just not known to the outside world. If people knew about such a good place, many would want to come for a visit.

The whole village is still in a closed-off state, so the scenery is all natural.

It’s no wonder that such a nurturing place can raise such remarkable people.

Ningwan felt a bit touched, not expecting Zhan Hanjue to observe the place so closely, simply to better understand her past life here.

"Come with me."

She led Zhan Hanjue forward.

Wangyue saw them and quickly asked, "Where are you going?"

Speaking, she wanted to follow them.

However, Ningwan turned and said to her, "Don’t follow us, go play by yourself."

Wangyue had to stop and ran to find Wu Taotao.

Ningwan led Zhan Hanjue through half the village, finally arriving at a courtyard.

However, this courtyard was very rundown, with walls made of mud bricks and a thatched roof.

Such a house was fine if someone was living in it, but once empty, it would quickly fall apart.

However, she had only left for a year, so it wouldn’t collapse that quickly.

But looking at it now, it already seemed in bad shape.

Ningwan held Zhan Hanjue’s hand as she walked inside, while he felt a bit apprehensive.

Afraid that once inside, the house would collapse.

"Ningning, it won’t collapse, right?" Zhan Hanjue stopped at the door, still not daring to enter.

Ningwan said, "Don’t worry, it won’t collapse."

"What if it does collapse?"

"If it collapses, then we’ll just share the same fate." Ningwan said.

"Go inside."

Zhan Hanjue walked in without hesitation.

Ningwan smiled, unlocked the door, and the two went inside.

There were three rooms.

The middle one was a living room, a main hall, and there were two bedrooms on both sides.

Ningwan explained, "The left side was where the master stayed, and the right side was mine. Originally, the left side was for my grandmother, but after the master arrived and I grew up, we separated. Would you like to see my bedroom?"

"Yes," Zhan Hanjue nodded.

Ningwan led him in.

The bedroom door was a wooden one.

It was not painted, still the natural wood color.

But being old, when opened, it made a creaking sound, slightly jarring.

Inside, there was a strong smell of traditional Chinese medicine.

Actually, the whole house had the smell of traditional Chinese medicine.

It managed to cover up the moldy smell it should have.

But the smell in Ningwan’s room was even stronger.

Suddenly thinking of something, Ningwan quickly went to the corner and said regretfully, "When I left, I thought I would be back soon. Didn’t expect it would take a year, and the Chinese medicine I soaked couldn’t be used anymore."

Saying this, Ningwan opened the window.

Even though her room was simple, it was bright, and in the daytime, it was easy to see inside the room.

The room was very basic, with a wooden bed. It had a striped, floral bed sheet, and a neatly folded blanket of the same color.

On the right was a wardrobe.

It wasn’t built into the wall but was a standalone piece. It didn’t look large, probably couldn’t hold many clothes.

Beside the wardrobe, there were a few large wooden boxes stacked together.

On the left was a bedside table, lacking any girly dressing table facilities, only a wooden comb placed on the table.

Not far from the bedside table were numerous large and small jars, and the smell of Chinese medicine drifted from them.

"Ningning, you’ve had it hard," Zhan Hanjue suddenly said with an expression of pain.

Ningwan was surprised, looking at him in puzzlement, "Why do you say that?"

Zhan Hanjue extended his hand to hold her in his arms, "I knew before that the Ye Family sent you away and that you probably didn’t live well. But I didn’t expect it would be so hard, living in such a simple house and surely enduring a lot of hardship."

"You’re overthinking it, I was happy living here. The house was fine, its purpose was just to sleep. I was much better here than with the Ye Family. The villagers were great, very simple, without the intrigues from before, I wasn’t as hard off as you think."

"But you were supposed to be the lady of the Ye Family," Zhan Hanjue said.

You should’ve grown up in luxury, cherished and pampered.

Not living in such a simple house and leading such a hard life.

Ningwan said, "If there’s one thing I could be grateful to the Ye Family for, it’s sending me here. To live with my grandmother, who took care of me, and letting me meet my master, who healed my face and taught me so much. So Zhan Hanjue, I don’t feel it was hard, nor do I feel I have been pitiful."

"For the rest of my life, I’ll do my best to give you the best life," Zhan Hanjue solemnly promised.

"Knock, knock, knock, Ye Ningwan, are you home?"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door from outside.

Ningwan frowned, wondering who would be looking for her at this time?

"I’m here, what’s the matter?" Ningwan went out the door.

It turned out to be Dongzi from the village.

Dongzi said, "The village head said to ask you to go to his house quickly, some people come looking for you."

"Looking for me?" Ningwan frowned, "Any idea who they are?"

"It’s to seek medical treatment, a very elegantly dressed lady with a big boy, it seems the boy is sick and she wants you to treat him. They’re at the village head’s house now, brought a lot of money and many people with them, they don’t seem easy to deal with."

"Alright, I know, I’ll head over there immediately," Ningwan said.

Dongzi nodded and hurriedly ran off.

Zhan Hanjue also came out from inside and asked, "What’s going on?"

Ningwan said, "Someone’s looking for me to treat a sickness, and it’s quite a coincidence, they managed to find this place and come on the very day I arrive. If I hadn’t returned today, they might have made a fruitless trip. Since it’s meant to be, I’ll go have a look."

Zhan Hanjue said, "I’ll go with you."

Ningwan nodded.

The two went back to the village head’s house.

The village head’s house was large, with two courtyards front and back.

Previously, Zhan Hanjue and the bodyguard went to the backyard.

Generally, any important events were held in the front yard.

So guests were also received in the front yard’s hall, and Ningwan took Zhan Hanjue over there.

They saw several people in the living room, along with men who looked like bodyguards standing by.

The village head was hosting a beautiful, elegantly dressed lady, who, due to good maintenance, revealed no hint of her age.

Next to her sat a half-grown boy of around fifteen or sixteen years old.

But it was clear at a glance that he wasn’t in good health.

Pale face, frail body.

A boy of this age shouldn’t appear so weak even if he were thin.

But he was clearly lacking exercise, fragile to the point of inadequacy.

Given the paleness of his skin, his forehead even showed a bluish tint, which was a symptom of congenital weakness.

Zhan Hanjue followed Ningwan closely.

Upon seeing the man seated in the living room, he immediately froze, his fists clenched involuntarily.

When the woman raised her head and looked over, he quickly ducked to one side, avoiding her gaze.