The Exiled Life of the Noble Girl

Chapter 23

Copying books was mostly a matter of practice makes perfect, and Li Mingwei did not need much guidance, but she also did not reject Liu Yizhu sharing some experiences with her.

Liu Yizhu also showed her his calligraphy and discussed the issue of style and form with her for a while.

As winter approached, the days grew darker earlier. Liu Yizhu was keeping an eye on the gradually darkening sky outside and interrupted their conversation, "Mr. Jin, Miss Li, I'm afraid I have to head back now. My mother is probably waiting for me to have dinner."

Jin and Li Mingwei looked out the window in unison and both nodded, saying in chorus, "It's gotten quite late."

At this time, her sister Chunhua was probably also waiting for her to have dinner. Li Mingwei stood up, "I should go back too."

Liu Yizhu extended an invitation, "Shall we go together?"

"No need. Go ahead if you're in a hurry. I still have some packing up to do."

Li Mingwei politely declined. After all, there were differences between men and women. With just Mr. Jin here, it was fine, but if they went out together, who knows what kind of idle gossip would spread around town tomorrow.

One was a promising young scholar, the other a married woman living separately from her husband. No matter how the gossip went, she would be the one losing face. She had finally regained some reputation and did not want it ruined again in one stroke.

Liu Yizhu did not consider this level of implications. Seeing the paper and writing brushes Li Mingwei had used on her desk, he assumed she wanted to wash her brushes before heading back. So he went ahead and left first.

Indeed, Li Mingwei washed her brushes and put back all the books they had used before thinking about leaving. But before she could take a step, snow began fluttering down heavily.

Jin stopped her, "The snow is heavy. Wait for me, I'll go find an umbrella for you."

"Alright."

Jin could not find an umbrella in his room and went to the storage room in the backyard to look around. Finally he found an umbrella that had not been used for years and was covered in dust. He used a handkerchief to wipe off the dust before handing it to Li Mingwei, "Make do with this for now."

"Thank you, Sir."

Li Mingwei walked briskly towards home holding the umbrella. Because of the delay from Jin, the sky had already darkened completely.

The snow fell heavily and the ground was completely covered in white. There was no one else on the road. Li Mingwei stepped on the soft snow, sinking deeper with each step. She had not expected it to snow today and wore a pair of shoes with poor traction.

She nearly slipped and fell once. Not daring to walk too quickly anymore, she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps stepping on snow behind her. When she looked back however, there was no one. But the shoeprints left on the ground were clearly real.

Sensing a threat, judging by the length and width of the prints, they belonged to a man. There was a man following her. No longer caring about anything else, she broke into a run. The sound of running footsteps soon rang out behind her as well.

Now even more terrified, she did not dare stop. But her slippery shoes made her steps so slow. Soon, she was caught up.

The man suddenly covered her mouth from behind and dragged her towards a small alley nearby. Li Mingwei clung onto his hand and struggled constantly, but her strength was no match. No matter how she struggled, it was futile.

"Still wanna run? Think you can get away?"

The sinister voice came from behind. It was Wu Dong!

Li Mingwei immediately recognized his voice and her heart sank further. Now clearly realizing his intentions, she struggled even more fiercely, prying open the hand Wu Dong used to cover her mouth, and bit down hard.

Wu Dong yelped in pain and threw her onto the ground. He pressed down on her with one hand clutched around her neck and the other pinning her body. "You dare bite me? Do you know how much effort I spent for you?"

If there was still light now, Li Mingwei would definitely have seen the injuries left on Wu Dong's beaten face.

After failing to snatch Li Mingwei's gold hairpin last time, he had been frustrated. Always wanting to get his hands on that hairpin, and enticed by Li Mingwei's cleaned up appearance, he lusted after her even more.

With Dong Shan away and the fierce tigress Wang Chunhua around, he did not dare get close to the Dong house. So he tried the proper route, sending matchmaker Chen to bring up marriage. As long as Li Mingwei married him, the gold hairpin would be his anyway.

The first time he went to Chen's place, he was rejected. His good friend reminded him, "That old matchmaker woman, she's just greedy for money. Up your offer and she'll definitely help you propose it."

But where could he get that much money?

After racking his brains for several days without coming up with another solution, he finally borrowed money from loan sharks, thinking that once Li Mingwei married him, he could pawn the hairpin to pay it back. With Li Mingwei's money-making abilities, he would never lack money in the future.

With the borrowed money in hand, he went back to Chen the matchmaker. Chen had wanted to chase him away initially, but unable to peel her eyes from the cash, she readily agreed to help him secure the marriage.

Who knew Li Mingwei and Wang Chunhua would be so fierce, directly beating Chen out. Right on time, Dong Shan also returned. Chen no longer dared to continue this business. When Wu Dong showed up at her door, at the very least she got the money back to return to him before going to repay the loan.

The principal was returned, but there were still days of sky-high interest. With no way to pay it back, the group gave him a beating, even sending people to turn his house inside out. Finding nothing, they got him to work to pay off the debt.

Wu Dong blamed all these days of suffering on Li Mingwei. Lurking around waiting for a chance ever since he came back, he was determined to violate then defame her. Even if she could not marry for the rest of her life, he would not let her off.

The gold hairpin must be his!

His face revealed resentful rage as he pounced forward to rip Li Mingwei's clothes. Li Mingwei cried loudly for help. Wu Dong instantly covered her mouth, laughing sinisterly, "Go ahead and yell! I hope you scream louder to draw more people over to see you in this state. Who would want you in the future!"

He removed his hand covering her mouth after he finished. Single-mindedly focused on tearing her clothes.

"Help!"

How could Li Mingwei possibly let him succeed? Even if she remained unmarried for life, she would not allow him to humiliate her. Resisting with all her might, she continued shouting loudly for help.

Wu Dong hesitated briefly, wondering if he should muffle her again, when an enraged roar came from behind. "Who's there!"

It was Liu Yizhu!

Like grasping onto a life-saving straw, Li Mingwei screamed at the top of her lungs, "Save me!"

Recognizing her voice, Liu Yizhu threw down his umbrella and charged over, forcefully dragging Wu Dong off of her. Seeing the man clearly, he berated angrily, "Wu Dong! What are you doing!"

Wu Dong cowered instantly. Of all people, it had to be him. This brat was classmates with the county official's son! Mentally cursing his bad luck, he crawled up and turned to run away.

Liu Yizhu had no time to chase him. He pulled Li Mingwei up from the snow covered ground and hastily averted his eyes when he saw her disheveled clothing. Taking off his outer robe, he wrapped it around her.

Gently asking, "Are you alright?"

Having just endured an ordeal, Li Mingwei's body trembled slightly. Feeling his strong, sturdy arm, she could not help but sob softly.

The nearby residents who came out to investigate after hearing the commotion arrived at this scene. Seeing it, they widened their mouths in shock.

In this small town, everyone knew everyone. But because it was Liu Yizhu, they cautiously asked, "What happened here?"

Hearing the voices, Liu Yizhu wrapped Li Mingwei more tightly to prevent them from seeing her messy garb. In a low voice, he explained, "Miss Li slipped and twisted her ankle. She probably can't walk. Please help inform her family."