Chapter 197 - Xiao Baozhu Was Alive (2/2)

He knew it must be Ye Xiaoxian’s idea. Although she didn’t care about these relatives normally, she was the most reliable person in such critical times.

Xiao Baoshan then went to the Wong family to see whether Xiao Baozhu had come back. The residence was dilapidated, and had lost its one-time glory. The door was broken, the lanterns were gone and there was only one stone lion left.

As he walked in, he found the garden in a mess. The ornamental trees were crooked and twisted, the rockery collapsed and the rare flowers had all withered. No servants could be seen.

There was a dead silence.

Just when he was thinking that no one lived here anymore, he found a lady drawing water from a well in the backyard. As he walked over, the lady also turned around.

“Baozhu!” he cried out in surprise.

As soon as she looked up, the bucket of water suddenly fell to the ground from her hand.

“Brother Baoshan!” After experiencing so much pain and suffering, she threw herself into his arms and began crying.

Xiao Baoshan remained silent until his sister stopped weeping. “I heard that Squire Wong and Qin Qingqing have died. Is it true? Is it only you and Scholar Wong in this house?”

Xiao Baozhu sniffed as she nodded. “Yes. Just him and me. Brother, I…”

Tears ran down her face again. Xiao Baoshan’s intuition was telling him that something bad had happened to his sister. She may have confronted the enemy.

“Baozhu, there’s no hurry. Just take your time. As long as I’m here, I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he said as he helped her to the flowerbed and let her sit on the edge.

After a moment of sobbing, she finally told him what she had gone through. She that said she could have escaped with the Xiao family, but she chose to stay because the Wong family needed her help. After the enemy troops broke into the county, Squire Wong was killed, Qin Qingqing died in childbirth and Scholar Wong immersed himself in endless sorrow. She loved Scholar Wong so dearly that she decided to accompany him from then on. However, he wasn’t grateful to her at all.

After the enemy had occupied the residence, she took him to hide in a shabby house. While he was in a state of shock, she risked her life to fetch rice or noodles every day. She begrudged the precious food and gave most of it to him. But one day, she was found by two enemy soldiers who pounced on her and began ripping off her clothes. She was so frightened that she yelled out loud, begging Scholar Wong to save her.

He indeed came out of his room, but he left immediately after an indifferent glance. Her heart had frozen at that moment. She had watched him turn around in disbelief. How could he be so indifferent? Even a stranger would try to do something to save her.

The moment of despair gave the enemy a chance to a.s.sault her. Just then, she came to reason and smashed a man’s head with a brick she picked up from the ground. Fortunately or pitifully, she was saved by herself.

“What happened then?” Xiao Baoshan asked.

She replied with quivering lips, “I was afraid they would come again, so I took Scholar Wong to another hiding place. By then, I didn’t know where to go and I didn’t have the heart to leave him in danger, even though he was so cold-hearted himself. When the county regained its peace, I brought him back here.”

Xiao Baoshan asked, “Do you still want to take care of him?”

To be honest, he didn’t entertain any hope that she would go with him. She was such a stubborn girl who might stay with Scholar Wong for her whole life. But to his surprise, she gave him a negative answer.

“No, I don’t want to stay here anymore. It wasn’t me who caused the Wong family’s tragedy or his. I’ve done everything possible to help him and I won’t hold onto any illusions about him anymore. Love can’t be forced. However much I’ve tried, he still doesn’t like me. Sister Ye and Qianqian used to say I was deceiving myself, but I didn’t listen to them. Only that day did I realize I’d been living in a delusion. Now I understand that only you, my mom, Sister Ye, and Baofeng are sincere to me. Brother Baoshan, I miss them so much! I want to see them again!”

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