Chapter 3: The Beautiful Woman in Red

Zhuang Hui was taken aback, having borrowed a corpse to return to life, becoming an ancient person from an unknown dynasty. He was stunned by this fact and, whether due to this or the severe injuries of the person he had possessed, he felt somewhat dizzy and closed his eyes

He couldn't help but shiver, looking around left and right. He bent down, took his hoe, brushed the hair off the top, buried it in the soil, then spat some saliva onto the bloodstains on the hoe and vigorously wiped it with his sleeve

Zhuang Hui did not drink; he lowered his head and looked at the half ladle of water. The water was light yellow, with some sediment at the bottom, making it quite murky. However, it was enough for him to see his general appearance. This was a delicate face, with a hint of youthfulness, appearing to be just over twenty. This face was definitely not his original face

The village head You Shu stood up, looked around, and said: "We are all fellow villagers, seeing each other often. Yet here you are, fighting over fetching water! Mr. Gu came over with good intentions to mediate, and you actually smashed his head! Speak up! Who did it? If you don't confess, I will find out and hang you at the locust tree at the village entrance for a day and a night before sending you to the county office for punishment"

"Hurry up! Scoop some water and bring it here!" A young woman standing by Zhuang Hui's feet urgently said to the man beside her, "Lan Cao, hurry up!"

The woman standing at Zhuang Hui's feet is known as Sister Mo, named Mo Huaixiang, and she is the daughter of Mo Lizheng. The man who just secretly wiped the blood off the hoe is her husband, Wu Yougen, who is the son-in-law of the Mo family

Mo Huaixiang stood with her hands on her hips and angrily said: "How is it that I was the one to strike first? I was working in the fields when I heard from Tu Shu that you all had started fighting over here. I ran over and saw you several people pressing down on a root from my family in the ground, hitting and kicking it. I rushed over, and when I took the hoe, it was merely to scare you off. But then San Zhuzi and the others took the hoe to hit me, so of course I had to fight back!"

Upon hearing this word, Zhuang Hui felt even more anxious and struggled to get up, but Ning Sanmei immediately pressed him down, saying, "Sir, do not move. The wound on the back of your head is still bleeding. Wait until Doctor Gong has seen you before we discuss anything further"

Everyone nodded in agreement

The two men agreed and quickly turned to run towards the village

Gong Langzhong asked Zhuang Hui: "Sir, what do you think?"

"Who is the emperor?" Zhuang Hui asked again. He could not find the name of the dynasty "Da Qi" in his limited historical knowledge, and he did not know which dynasty it belonged to, so he asked about the emperor once more

"Mirror?" Ning Sanmei was taken aback for a moment, "Who carries a mirror around with them for no reason? It's big and heavy."

"It was you who charged at us first with a hoe, and only then did we retaliate. How did it become that we attacked you?"

The man who had just gone to fetch water quietly slipped away while Dr. Gong was attending to Zhuang Hui, as everyone's attention was focused on that. He looked around, bent down to pick up his hoe, and carefully examined the back of the hoe, where there was a small pool of blood and a few strands of hair stained with blood.

His gaze slowly shifted away from the water ladle and fell upon his own arm. He raised his hand to push aside the water ladle in front of him, and then he saw his own body and lower limbs

The man quickly turned the hoe upside down and thrust it into the sandy soil, tamping it down. Then he let go of the hoe, turned around, and noticed that no one in the crowd was paying attention to him. Just as he was about to let out a long sigh and stand up, he suddenly sensed that something was amiss. Turning his head again, he caught sight of a pair of cold eyes—Zhuang Hui's eyes!

Zhuang Hui saw several buckets of water on the ground outside the crowd through the gaps in the onlookers and immediately shouted: "Water! I want to drink water...!"

At that moment, the onlookers outside shouted: "Doctor Gong is coming, make way, make way! Hurry, make way!"

Mori was quite puzzled and said, "The first year of Zhonghe, September 23! Sir, what is wrong with you? How could you forget even the date?"

The crowd dispersed, and an old man walked in, who was none other than the village's only doctor, Dr. Gong. He carried a medicine box on his shoulder and squatted down beside Zhuang Hui, asking, "Where are you hurt?"

Your family has someone who, relying on your father's official title, insists on drawing water first. Are we supposed to just let him do that? Moreover, he even pushed my wife aside, drew water first, and then rushed to draw water again. Isn't that bullying? My wife went to call us, and he was still being aggressive, using foul language. That's when we finally took action.

A young man whispered: "It's Sister Mo... she was the first to take up the hoe!"

At that moment, Dr. Gong in the crowd said, "It's done, let's send him back to rest! Wait a moment for the herbs to be brought over."

I do not know the name of the emperor, and moreover, it is unclear who the emperor is at present; it has become quite chaotic

Ning Sanmei quickly replied: "The back of the head! A shovel hit right on the back of the head! I don't even know which scoundrel did it. Uncle Mo, you must find out which wicked person attacked the gentleman!" After saying this, Ning Sanmei cast a furious glance at everyone present. The onlookers couldn't help but take a couple of steps back, especially those who had participated in the earlier fight.

Gong Langzhong asked Zhuang Hui again, "Sir, do you not feel any headache or nausea?"

Zhuang Hui shook his head in confusion, then nodded slightly; this time he did not speak again

The wealthy man beside him, seeing his foolish question, appeared quite pleased, thinking that he would not die. He then smiled and eagerly answered, "Sir, you are the most knowledgeable person in our village; if you do not know the name of the emperor, how could we possibly know it?"

Doctor Gong said: "I will apply medicine to him, you all quickly send someone to find a door plank, carry him back, let him rest in bed, he absolutely cannot get out of bed, nor should he be moved"

Mori cast a stern glance at everyone and said: "As the head of this village, it is absolutely unacceptable that a near-murder incident occurred here. I will ensure that the truth comes to light and find out who injured Mr. Gu. They must be handed over to the authorities for severe punishment! No one present is allowed to leave; first, let Dr. Gong treat Mr. Gu, and after that, I will investigate further!"

Everyone lowered their heads, and no one spoke

Zhuang Hui was even more confused; when had he ever acted as a mediator for others? This young girl kept calling him 'sir'; could it be that he had already...? Had he already had his soul attached to another, returning to life as someone else?

Having said that, Doctor Gong took out a pair of scissors and cut all the hair around the wound on Zhuang Hui's occiput. He then took a porcelain bottle from the medicine box, poured some red ointment into his palm, and applied it to the wound on Zhuang Hui's occiput. Finally, he bandaged it properly.

Zhuang Hui, injured and lying on the ground, looked over with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes, causing the man to freeze completely as he gazed through the pairs of legs in the crowd

Speak up! Why are you silent now? Weren't you just shouting that you would kill me? Why have you turned into a mute? Who struck first? Speak!

The villagers who were watching burst into laughter

What is the name of the country

He turned his face to the left and right, and the shadow of the person in the water scoop also mirrored his profile. This confirmed that the face indeed belonged to him. However, it was a completely unfamiliar face

Zhuang Hui raised his head again, glanced around, the scorching sun was baking his scalp, making his head feel dizzy, and he bitterly asked, "What year is it now?"

The girl in the ruqun dress seemed a bit flustered: "You don't even know who I am? I am Ning Sanmei, the one who serves you! My family are tenants of yours. The five acres of land you own are rented and cultivated by my family. This is in our village. They got into a fight over fetching water, and you came to mediate, but accidentally got hurt. Do you remember now?"

At this moment, Mori stood up and said loudly: "Da Gui, Er Gui, I trouble you two brothers to go back and bring a door panel to carry Mr. Gu back home"

Although Ning Sanmei is petite, she possesses great strength. Zhuang Hui struggles but is unable to rise. However, he is eager to know whether he has truly returned from the dead, and he shouts out recklessly.

If you do not hit me, will I hit you

Wearing a long robe, a patched but very clean cyan robe. Such a robe can only be seen in historical costume dramas.

A short and stocky young man standing beside him quickly agreed, turned around to squeeze through the crowd, and hurried to a few buckets. He scooped a ladle of water from the outer bucket and brought it to him. Ning Sanmei was busy helping him up, allowing him to lean against her chest. She held a ladle of water and brought it to his face.

Not bad! Zhuang Hui did not say much; he had not yet recovered from the shock.

Mirror! Who has a mirror?

Zhonghe? Which emperor's era name is this? He searched his mind but had no impression at all. There are too many era names of ancient emperors; apart from the famous ones like Zhenguan and Kangxi, there are really not many that can be remembered.

The worry on Mori's face deepened: "The national title... what was it? Sigh, I can't figure it out now, it should be 'Great Qi', right? Mr. , these are all things you assigned to your students, how come you don't know them yourself?"

Ning Sanmei, who was beside Zhuang Hui, quickly said: "Uncle Feng, you must not say that. The gentleman was hit on the head with a hoe and is a bit dazed, so he was confused for a moment. He will recover soon!"

Doctor Gong held Zhuang Hui's head and examined the back of his skull. He couldn't help but gasp in shock, for he discovered that the occipital bone at the back of Zhuang Hui's head had already fractured. Such a severe injury would normally result in immediate death; even if one did not die instantly, it would be impossible to speak while awake. How could Zhuang Hui still clearly open his eyes and talk to him?

Zhuang Hui glanced over and saw that Mo Huaixiang was wearing a deep red short shirt, paired with matching deep red lantern pants, and on her legs were a pair of deerskin boots. Looking at her face, she had a smooth and delicate oval face, radiant and charming. The eyebrows near the center of her forehead were slightly lighter, but they became thick and dark towards the ends, giving her a robust and formidable appearance reminiscent of a strong woman. Her nose, smooth as jade, was quite prominent, and her slightly thin, rosy lips suggested that she was a quick-tongued person.