Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 108 - 107: My Frail and Helpless Husband

Chapter 108: Chapter 107: My Frail and Helpless Husband
On the journey to the county town.
Several times Qin Yao entertained the thought of selling this man beside her, who was like a peacock spreading its feathers and charming everyone, to see how much Silver he would fetch.
Liu Ji, who was eagerly conversing with the village women in the same cart, suddenly shivered, sat up straight, and stopped responding to their queries.
As the ox cart reached the crossroads of Jinshi Town, Qin Yao paid four cents for the ride. The couple alighted and headed towards the house of Landlord Ding outside the town.
The sun was already high in the sky, still some time before Noon, but the temperature was already high.
Liu Ji quickly put on the straw hat he carried on his back, grateful for being well-prepared.
Qin Yao gestured for him to wait by the roadside, took the nine packaged books, and knocked on the back door of the Ding Mansion.
Zhang Ba opened the door, and upon seeing her, asked excitedly, "Miss Qin, it’s been a long time!"
Qin Yao nodded and asked with a smile, "Could you please inform Miss Ding that I’m here to return a few things to her?"
Only then did Zhang Ba notice that she was carrying many items in her hands.
Apart from a tightly wrapped cloth bundle with unknown contents, there were also two salted fish and a bag of seasonal vegetables.
"Miss Qin, come into the side room for a rest, I will notify Miss Ding for you." Zhang Ba glanced at the blazing sun outside, opened the side room for Qin Yao to cool off, closed the door again, and went inside to announce her arrival.
Very soon, Dou’er and Zhang Ba came running over quickly to take Qin Yao in.
A month or so later, Miss Ding seemed to have changed, her skin not as fair and translucent as before, somewhat darker, but with a healthy complexion, her eyes bright and sparkling.
She excitedly brought Qin Yao into the study. Qin Yao handed the fish and vegetables to Cao’er to take to the kitchen and returned the books in the study to Miss Ding.
Miss Ding didn’t check much. With just a little flipping, she knew they were well-preserved.
She was eager to show off her training achievements over the month to Qin Yao, pulling out her new bow, pointing to the small saddle on the stool, and gesturing towards the backyard, saying that she now owned a little horse.
"Qin Yao, since you left, I haven’t slacked for a single day. I wake up early and practice the horse stance for half an hour, then practice archery for another half an hour, run ten laps on horseback in front of the gate. When my brother is free, I take my little bow and arrow, ride my little horse, and go hunting in the woods..."
Qin Yao listened with a faint smile until the young lady wanted to pull her into the backyard to ride horses:
"I’m afraid I can’t see your horse today, Miss. I must go to the county academy to register my hopeless husband so he can resume his studies."
"Oh? Who? Are you talking about your god-like old husband?" Miss Ding asked in surprise.
Qin Yao was caught between laughter and tears. What strange adjectives these were.
Miss Ding didn’t find her adjectives strange at all; she thought they were most precise.
Qin Yao was only nineteen this year; her husband was already twenty-four. In comparison, isn’t he old?
"Can he really return to study?" Miss Ding asked curiously, "So you borrowed these books from me for his enrollment?"
Qin Yao nodded, glanced at the sky, "Miss, I have to go now, or it’ll be too late."
"Alright." Miss Ding was quite disappointed but still wished them success in resuming studies that day.
Mr. Ding had gone to the Capital, with only her brother occasionally going out for autumn outings with classmates. Miss Ding was home alone today, bold enough to ride her little horse and accompany Qin Yao and her husband a distance before heading back.
Watching her increasingly skilled riding, Qin Yao couldn’t help but smile with pride for this self-disciplined and diligent young girl.
Future her will thank her current self.
Leaving Jinshi Town, as they set foot on the official road towards the county town, the sun was nearing its peak in the sky.
About two hours left, they should make it in time for the afternoon lessons at the academy.
However, the journey forward wasn’t as smooth as the previous section.
Liu Ji followed closely behind Qin Yao’s steps; as she walked, he jogged, soon losing the elegant demeanor of a scholar, with his straw hat askew.
He hoped for a passing carriage, be it horse-drawn, oxen, or donkey, as long as it could carry people and conveniently had two empty seats for them, that would be ideal.
As he was thinking, the neighing of a horse came from ahead. Liu Ji’s heart raced with excitement, "Darling, it seems there’s a carriage up ahead!"
Suddenly filled with energy, he rushed forward in a few swift steps, then screamed and quickly retreated at lightning speed, grabbing her shoulders, hiding his tall frame behind her.
"There’s... there’s blood; it looks like there are dead bodies..."
Qin Yao rolled her eyes, stomped her heel backward, precisely stepping on his foot, causing him to yelp in pain and bounce away from her.
The commotion between the couple successfully caught the attention of the caravan ahead.
Fifteen minutes earlier, their caravan of five horse-drawn carriages, eighteen people, and twenty boxes of goods had their path blocked by stones piled in the road’s center.
Soon, bandits hidden around came charging out. To protect the carriages and goods, both sides fought bloodily for over ten minutes until the bandits found their resistance too strong, robbed a crate of goods, and left.
However, the caravan also lost three guards, with five carriages overturned by the roadside, horses trapped under the heavy frames and goods, barely clinging to life.
"I didn’t expect those bandits weren’t completely wiped out." Qin Yao frowned, muttered softly, handed all the luggage to Liu Ji, told him to stay by the roadside, and walked towards the caravan ahead.
The opposite party, seeing she was just a woman, wasn’t guarded, only reminding them in a heavy tone to move quickly in case the bandits returned.
Without a word, Qin Yao rolled up her sleeves and lifted the heavy overturned carriage frame by the roadside.
The frame that five or six men found strenuous, she lifted effortlessly, rescuing the trapped neighing horses underneath.
The caravan members were stunned for a moment, then realizing they’d encountered a master, rejuvenated, nodded gratefully at Qin Yao, and together with her, rescued all five horses, reassembled the carriage frames, and repacked the cargo crates.
By then, the stones blocking the road had mostly been cleared by the caravan. With Qin Yao’s help, easily tossing aside few-hundred-pound boulders, the path was soon cleared, and the caravan was ready to set off again.
The leader instructed the guards to load the bodies of their companions onto the carriage, then approached Qin Yao, bowing three times deeply, "Thank you, young lady, for your assistance. May I know your name and where you reside? After delivering this cargo, I’ll bring gifts to your door to thank you!"
"My surname is Qin, I live in Liu Family Village under Jinshi Town. No need for next time, let’s just have it this time."
Seeing their blank astonishment, Qin Yao called Liu Ji over, "My husband here is weak and can’t take care of himself, would it be possible for us to hitch a ride into the county town?"
Liu Ji: ???
He can’t take care of himself?