Re-embroidering life

Chapter 149 Rumors

Yu Hui covered his face and looked at Shen Xin viciously.

Shen Xin clenched her fists tightly, trembling all over, her face as pale as paper, as if a gust of wind could blow her down. Seeing this, Shui Qinghua hurried forward to support her. With her eyes wide open, she scolded Yu Hui: "Do you know that Sister Shen's body can't stand getting angry!"

Yu Hui looked at Shen Xin's frail appearance and felt a little scared. Then he plucked up his courage, straightened his chest and said loudly: "If you hit me, I won't bother with you. You have gained fame and fortune in Jiangnan, and I am struggling to make ends meet at home with my child. How can a family live like this? Give me the reward issued by the court, and I will return to Beijing immediately."

Shen Xin no longer had the energy to be surprised by his shameless words and actions. She said coldly: "The court's reward is not just for me, but also for Sister Shui and the two children."

"You can at least get half. I don't want more. Just give me three thousand taels and I'll leave."

Shen Xin sneered, her words full of determination: "I have decided to use all my money to open an embroidery school. I won't give you a penny."

Yu Hui's face suddenly turned extremely ugly, and he cursed: "Why are you pretending to be noble? If you don't take out the money today, I will let the world know that the so-called Jiangnan Needle God is nothing but a fickle woman!"

He stretched out his hand, trying to grab Shen Xin, but Shui Qinghua stood in front of Shen Xin and pushed him away. He rushed forward again, but his wrist was tightly grasped by another big hand, causing him to break out in cold sweats and hiss in pain.

Minister Ying's face was livid, and he stood there steadily, secretly increasing the strength of his hand that was holding Yu Hui. He had been working on construction sites for many years, and his physique and strength were far beyond the reach of a weak scholar like Yu Hui.

Yu Hui looked at him with fear in her eyes: "Who are you? Are you her rapist..."

Before he could finish his words, he was punched hard in the face. Blood immediately gushed out of his nose and mouth, and the unfinished sentence was stuck in his throat.

Yu Hui spat out a large mouthful of blood foam, looking at Minister Ying with hatred and fear: "Don't think that I dare not do anything to you just because you are an official appointed by the court. I also have the title of Juren. I will go to the Inspectorate to sue you for improper behavior, for forcibly occupying someone's wife, and for ruining someone's marriage!"

Minister Ying remained calm, his dark eyes flashing with hatred and disdain: "Go ahead and sue me, I'll be waiting for you."

Yuhui got up from the ground, shook off the mud all over his body, glanced at the people present, and walked away cursing.

Minister Ying glanced at Shen Xin, who was standing unsteadily, and said to Shui Qinghua, "Please accompany Shen to her room to rest. I will go get a doctor."

Shui Qinghua nodded and helped Shen Xin back to the room.

Shen Xin leaned weakly against the head of the bed, a bitter smile on her lips: "I'm sorry to make you laugh again."

Shui Qinghua patted her hands: "Don't worry about it, just think of it as being bitten by a dog."

Shen Xin burst out laughing: "That's a good analogy! If a dog bites me, I can't bite it back. But he will come back to bite me next time."

Shui Qinghua thought about it, and then his eyes lit up. He gave her an idea: "Your cousin Shen Yi has been made an earl by His Majesty. Write to him and ask him to find a way to detain Yu Hui in the capital and not allow him to bother you."

Shen Xin smiled, genuinely happy for her brother: "Really? Yi'er is an uncle? I didn't know. But I feel embarrassed to trouble him."

Shui Qinghua thought to himself, that's because you haven't seen how he was as the commander-in-chief of the Guard Bureau. He was very majestic!

Not long after, the doctor invited by Minister Ying arrived. He concentrated on feeling Shen Xin's pulse for a long time, then pondered for a moment and said to her, "Madam, be careful not to hurt your liver or get angry. Your condition is getting worse. Have you felt a slight bulge in your abdomen recently, or is it painful?"

Shen Xin nervously reached out and touched her right abdomen: "Exactly."

The doctor sighed, said nothing, and lowered his head to write a prescription.

"Doctor, if you have anything to say, just tell me. I can bear it." Shen Xin looked calm.

The doctor had no choice but to reveal the truth: "You have developed ascites. You must take good care of yourself from now on. Don't get angry or overwork. Otherwise... you will only live a few years."

Shui Qinghua's face changed drastically when she heard this, but Shen Xin remained calm and composed, as if she was not surprised at all.

"It will take a few years to finish writing the embroidery manual and open an embroidery school." Shen Xin said.

Minister Ying never showed up again. He was a rough but thoughtful person. In order not to damage Shen Xin's reputation, he would not even meet her face to face. Even if he tried to avoid suspicion, he could not escape Yu Hui's slander.

A few days later, there were rumors in Linhai County that Shen Xin, the needle goddess of Jiangnan, had abandoned her husband and children and lived alone in Jiangnan. Why do you think so? It turned out that she had fallen in love with Minister Ying of the Ministry of Works in the capital. When Minister Ying went to Jiangnan to supervise the construction of coastal defense, she actually followed him all the way and even lived in Minister Ying's yard.

The most hurtful rumors in the world are those that are 30% true and 70% false. As long as people see the 30% truth, they are too lazy to distinguish the 70% false.

Minister Ying managed his own courtyard very well, and Shui Qinghua naturally would not spread these rumors. Therefore, Shen Xin recuperated at home and knew nothing about what was happening outside.

Ji Zimo told Shui Qinghua that the imperial censors in the capital had already begun to impeach Minister Ying for his misconduct. The emperor was very angry after hearing this. He had personally ordered Shen Xin to be commended, and the emperor felt ashamed of such a scandal. Minister Ying was ready to submit a memorial to defend himself, but it was impossible to defend himself against such a scandal, and in many cases, the more he explained, the worse it would be.

Shui Qinghua felt very depressed. A woman's reputation is the most important thing. Yu Hui would rather wear a green hat on her own head than tarnish Sister Shen's reputation. It can be said that both sides are desperate.

Shui Qinghua said: "For this kind of thing, Minister Ying had better not stand up. Neither you nor any other man can do it."

The lazy aunts on the street who like to gossip and gossip about others, once they see someone of the opposite sex speaking up for Shen Xin, they don't know what they will say. These people are basically illiterate and can't understand what she writes. She can't go to the street and pull people one by one to clarify. How can she clear Sister Shen's name?

"Even if you can't read, you can recognize pictures. Let's draw!" said Ji Zimo.

He sat down and picked up the charcoal pencil. Recently, Wei'er always asked him to accompany her to draw some "sketches", and he became more and more adept at using the charcoal pencil.

With a few quick strokes, a man and a woman appeared, and Shen and Yu fell in love at first sight; in another painting, Shen and Yu got married; in the third painting, the woman was pregnant and caressing her belly happily; in the fourth painting, the man asked the woman to do embroidery; in the fifth painting, the woman had a miscarriage and lay on the bed crying in pain; in the sixth painting, the man was having a life of debauchery and having girls on all sides; in the seventh painting, the man returned home with two beautiful brides; in the eighth painting, the beautiful bride was pregnant and bossed the woman around, and the woman was so angry that she cried silently; in the ninth painting, the woman stood sadly at the bow of the ship, looking towards the direction of the capital; in the tenth painting, the man stood ferociously in front of the woman's door, with his hands on his hips and his hands stretched out, his fingers almost poking the woman's nose.

Bind the ten paintings into a thin book. "Justice is in the hearts of the people," said Ji Zimo.