He Yunsheng furrowed his brows and asked, "What did you say?"
He Yan didn't move and repeated seriously, "I said, you can't chop the firewood like this."
The youth became impatient, "He Yan, if you're sick then go back to your room. Don't look for trouble here."
"If you chop like this, you won't be able to finish even when the sky turns dark." He Yan didn't move an inch.
He Yunsheng seemed to suddenly become angry. The axe slipped out of his hand and heavily hit the bluestone floor, making a loud noise. He took a step forward and angrily said, "If you didn't spend money because of your illness, father wouldn't have sent the manservant away. You still know that you have to chop until the sky turns dark. If you haven't chopped firewood before, then don't point fingers. If you're so good at chopping, then do it! "
He Yan's heart slightly moved. So there was a manservant at home. It was just that the family was poor and in order to see a doctor, they sent the manservant away. This youth took over the manservant's job. Looking at his appearance, he seemed to have accumulated resentment towards this elder sister for a long time. He sneered and ridiculed her without any mercy.
Being poor also had its advantages. For example, there was no one in the courtyard, so the embarrassing scene between this pair of siblings would not be seen by others. If it was in the He Family and Xu Family in the past, the maidservants who came to watch the show would probably form a troop of soldiers and horses.
After He Yunsheng finished speaking, he waited for He Yan to jump up and scold him. However, to his surprise, He Yan didn't scold him this time. Instead, she bent down and picked up the axe that he threw on the ground.
She was dropped by the heavy axe. Her slender wrist seemed to be unable to withstand the destruction. It was a frightening sight.
He Yan looked at her hand and frowned slightly. She couldn't even lift the axe. Compared to her past self, she was far worse.
He Yunsheng was stunned and suspiciously asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'll chop it for you to see." He Yan replied.
When He Yunsheng heard this, he became even angrier and angrily said, "Don't pester endlessly, you …"
Before he could finish his words, a "bang" sound interrupted his voice.
He Yan had already raised the axe and cleanly chopped the firewood in front of him into two.
"Look." She said, "It's very simple. You can't hold the front end of the axe. You have to hold the end of the handle and chop along the lines of the wood. It'll save a lot of energy."
He Yunsheng stared at her blankly. After a while, the young man's face turned red and his tone was almost angry. He pointed at He Yan and said, "You, you, you, you really have ulterior motives! Your hand … Father will definitely scold me when he comes back! He Yan, you're really scheming, crafty and treacherous! "
"Huh?" He Yan didn't understand. The next moment, a panicked female voice sounded, "Miss, you're bleeding!"
He Yan subconsciously lowered his head and looked at his palm. She didn't know when the skin on her palm had been scraped. Blood was reflected in her palm. It was so fresh that it was even a little moving.
She had only used the axe to chop a piece of firewood, and she had already scraped her hand? Just how delicate was this body? Since she was young, had Lady He ever carried anything that was slightly heavier? Was she made of cotton and tofu?
He Yan fell into deep thought. The maidservant, Qing Mei, had already rushed over and pulled her into the room. She hurriedly said, "You have to rub it with ointment first. I don't know if it will leave a scar …"
He Yunsheng glared at her hatefully and said, "He Yan, you're going to court death sooner or later." Then he turned around and ran away.
He Yan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In her previous life, she had lived from her marriage to her death. Until now, this was the first time someone had said that she was "courting".
This feeling was very novel. In the hearts of soldiers, "courting" was probably a very distant word.
Qing Mei placed He Yan's hand on her knee and used her fingertips to gently rub the ointment onto He Yan's palm. After that, she cried again. "What if it leaves a scar? We have to find a way to get some scar removal ointment."
"It's okay." He Yan couldn't bear to see a girl cry, especially a beautiful girl who was 15 or 16 years old. She was younger than her maid in previous life. She comforted her. "If it leaves a scar, it'll leave a scar. It's fine as long as it's healed."
Qing Mei widened her eyes and forgot to wipe her tears. She stared at He Yan speechlessly.
"What's wrong?" He Yan asked.
"No, nothing." Qing Mei wiped her tears and stood up. "As long as you're not angry, it's fine."
The tone of her words … He Yan looked at the cosmetics and jewelry placed in front of the dressing table. He roughly understood what was going on. In her previous life, Lady He was very particular about her appearance. Her delicate skin must have been pampered. It would be a big deal if she accidentally broke it.
Did the heavens see that her previous life was too rough and had never experienced the feeling of being a daughter? In this life, they gave her such a delicate body that couldn't even withstand the wind and rain.
Qing Mei asked, "Young Lady, let this servant pour you a cup of hot tea. It was raining outside just now and you've caught a cold."
"Wait." He Yan stopped her. "I remembered something. When I woke up earlier, there were some things that I couldn't remember clearly …" She looked at Qing Mei. "How did I get sick?"
Originally, there was a manservant in this house. Later, the manservant who came to treat He Yan's illness was sent away. It could be seen that this illness wasn't present at birth. But if it was a sudden illness, she didn't feel any discomfort these past few days. Everyone in the house looked at her carefully, as if they were afraid of any accidents. He Yan felt strange.
Qing Mei heard this and turned pale with fright. She grabbed He Yan's hand and almost cried again. "Young Lady, you've already been sad for Master Fan. You can't go through this again. Even if it's not for yourself, you have to think about Master and Young Master! "
Master Fan? Man?
He Yan asked, "Which Master Fan?"
"Young Lady, what do you mean by that … Yes, Master Fan is so heartless. He's not a good match. Young Lady, you're right to forget him. This servant won't mention Master Fan again. I just want Young Lady to be well. "Qing Mei finished speaking and wiped her eyes again.
This little maid really loved to cry too much. Even the new recruits under her tent didn't cry so much on their first time on the battlefield. She hadn't asked much, but her lapel was already wet. If this continued, in less than the time it took to burn a stick of incense, the water would flood Jinshan Mountain.
"Fine," He Yan said helplessly. "Then let's not talk about it. Go and change your clothes. Your clothes are wet."
Qing Mei stared at He Yan with wide eyes. She saw that He Yan was calm and didn't look like she was about to collapse. She hesitated for a moment and said, "Then this servant will go and change … Young Lady, please wait for this servant. This servant will be right back." Then she walked away, looking back every few steps.
The house became quiet again.
He Yan stretched out his hand and opened his palm.
Qing Mei's ointment was still in her hand. She looked at her delicate hand, lost in thought. Women were naturally weaker than men. In order to practice hand strength, He Yan used to sneak out of the manor's back door every day before dawn and climb up Donghuang Mountain in the capital to help the monks carry water and chop firewood. In the beginning, the skin on her hands was also worn out like this. Gradually, calluses grew on her hands, and she was able to carry two buckets of water with ease. She could even practice martial arts with Shi Tou hanging from her wrists.
She wasn't smart, so she could only use stupid methods. Over time, she also gained the qualifications to compete with men.
But now, everything was back to square one. Not to mention taking away what originally belonged to her, her weak body couldn't bear the brunt of the thorny road she had to walk in the future.
"Then let's practice," He Yan said to herself. "Just like before." Perhaps this was a test given to her by Heaven as the price for her rebirth. But there was nothing to be afraid of.
She was just starting all over again.