Chapter 7: Turning Hostile
Uncle Wang advised from the side: “Yaoguang girl, let your Second Uncle Su go bandage the wound first.”
Su Yaoguang glanced at Second Uncle Su’s injured spot and said coldly: “This little injury won’t kill him.”
“You stinky girl, I’m your Second Uncle Su, this is you committing insubordination and disrespecting your elders.” Second Uncle Su clutched his injured spot, crying out in pain “ow ow ow.”
Su Yaoguang glanced toward the inside, thinking that Zhou Wangshu’s wound needed rebandaging.
“Second Uncle Su is injured, so wait here. I’ll go invite Doctor Lin over.”
Second Uncle Su thought about it; he was stabbed by Su Yaoguang’s wild man, so she should take responsibility.
He found a spot to sit and roared: “Hurry up already?”
Su Yaoguang said to Uncle Wang: “Uncle Wang, thanks for the trouble today. You go ahead with your business; I can handle it myself.”
“Your mother seems not to be home; can you manage alone?” Uncle Wang was a bit worried.
“I’m fine.” Su Yaoguang went out to find Doctor Lin.
She had just stepped out the door when she saw Su Xiaohua from next door peeking around, and asked: “Sister Xiaohua, my mother isn’t home; do you know where she went?”
Su Xiaohua was wearing ill-fitting clothes, skinny with hardly any meat on her bones; when others spoke to her, she dodged and shrank back timidly, cowardly and weak.
“Someone from the neighboring village asked her to do midwifery; she might not come back tonight.”
After saying that, she ran off, not even hearing Su Yaoguang’s thanks.
Su Yaoguang walked through the village paths to Doctor Lin’s home. When she saw Xiao Yanci coming down the mountain carrying firewood, her steps paused.
She sized up the elegant man before her.
The aloof expression from her memory was still there; even carrying firewood, his back was held straight. His gaze was cold and clear, completely different from the village women and farmers.
So he knew how to compromise too.
In her previous life, how could she have been so stupid, treating him like the bright moon in the sky, unwilling to pluck him down. Look, someone else had plucked him just fine!
Xiao Yanci noticed Su Yaoguang and naturally recognized her as that village girl who despised him.
Seeing this village girl, disgust flashed in his eyes. Such a crude and unbearable foolish woman; luckily he hadn’t been bought by her, or it would have been so troublesome.
Su Yaoguang walked past Xiao Yanci.
Xiao Yanci pursed his lips.
When Su Yaoguang brought Doctor Lin home, two crying voices had joined the courtyard, one from Grandma Su, the other from Second Aunt Su.
“Where the hell has that damned money-losing thing died off to? Why hasn’t she brought Doctor Lin yet? If anything happens to my son, I’ll slaughter her.”
“Where’s Eldest Sister-in-law? We’re not done with today’s matter. My man came out of kindness to check on their orphan and widow, and she laid such a vicious hand on him.”
Many people had already gathered at the doorway to watch the excitement.
Seeing Su Yaoguang bring Doctor Lin back, they shouted to the people inside: “Yaoguang girl has brought Doctor Lin.”
Grandma Su and Second Aunt Su both turned around at the same time, both pairs of eyes glaring over like fierce beasts.
“Dead girl, the person’s here; why aren’t you coming in quick? Are you waiting for your Second Uncle Su’s blood to run dry?”
Doctor Lin carried the medicine box and followed Su Yaoguang in. He was about to set down the medicine box to bandage Second Uncle Su when Su Yaoguang stopped him.
“Yaoguang girl, didn’t you invite me to bandage your Second Uncle Su?”
“Bandaging will happen, but not urgently.” Su Yaoguang said, “Uncle Lin, wait a moment.”
“Waiting for what?” Grandma Su stood up and reached out her withered claw toward Su Yaoguang’s arm.
Su Yaoguang was no longer the silly type to take it; she dodged her grabbing hands.
“No rush; I’m waiting for someone. Once the person arrives, we’ll bandage.”
“Waiting for who? Doctor Lin is here; who else are you waiting for?” Second Aunt Su cursed, “I think you’re just malicious, deliberately letting your Second Uncle Su suffer here.”
“What happened?” The Village Head walked in.
“The Village Head is here.” The villagers outside were shocked.
The Su family members hadn’t expected the person Su Yaoguang was waiting for was the Village Head.
Su Yaoguang dropped to her knees smoothly. She lifted her stubborn little face, eyes red, as if enduring great grievance with all her might.
“Uncle Village Head, please uphold justice for me.”
The Village Head frowned: “What matter?”
“Uncle Village Head should have heard about our family affairs. The year my father and mother were newlyweds, the Imperial Court conscripted soldiers. By rights, newlyweds are exempt, but my grandma was unwilling for my Second Uncle Su to suffer hardship and insisted on forcing my father to go in his place. He never came back. I’m my father’s only bloodline; by rights, they should take good care of us orphan and widow in place of my father. But these years, first they stole our land, then our vegetables, and even forced my mother to hand over filial money.”
“Never mind those; I didn’t invite Uncle Village Head today for those old rotten sesame seeds. My grandma said I’m at marriageable age and wanted to betroth me to the idiot son in my aunt’s family. That idiot can’t even handle his own bowel movements. Of course my mother couldn’t bear it, so she wanted to arrange a marriage for me and scraped together some silver to buy a son-in-law who lives with the wife’s family. Today we mother and daughter both went out one after another, leaving only that weak husband at home, yet my Second Uncle Su wanted to sell him to a male brothel. Uncle Village Head, please uphold justice for us.”
“Is what she said true?” The Village Head looked sharply at Grandma Su and the others.
“Village Head, it’s not like that. I was worried about this girl and wanted to see what kind of man she bought, so I came to test it out, but that boy tried to kill!”
Second Uncle Su pointed at his injured spot and loudly cried his grievance.
“Look, that’s the evidence.”
Grandma Su slapped her thigh and cried: “What karma have I created? I was thinking of her wholeheartedly, yet she slanders this old lady like this!”
Second Aunt Su wiped tears: “With Elder Brother not home, we pity this orphan and widow too; it was out of concern that we came to see what kind of son-in-law who lives with the wife’s family they bought. If he had no problem, why would he attack someone? This person looks like no good thing at first glance; maybe he’s some criminal from who knows where. Village Head, think about it: our village is all honest folk; if suddenly there’s a killer among us, how terrifying would that be!”
Bang! A loud noise came from the wood shed direction.
Everyone looked toward the sound and saw a boy covered in wounds, the originally bandaged cloth strips soaked with blood again, swaying unsteadily there. He weakly fell to the ground, his pale face full of fragility.
“It’s not like that… He wanted to sell me to a male brothel; I got scared and pushed him once. He fell to the ground, and the iron piece stabbed in. I didn’t injure him.”
Su Yaoguang hurried over to help Zhou Wangshu up.
Zhou Wangshu lifted his delicate and pitiful handsome face. As his eye sockets reddened, the red mole at the corner of his eye looked like a teardrop of blood telling of grievance.
