Yang Ruoqing sat back down on that damp, hard wooden bed, hugging her knees with both arms, her chin resting on top of them, quietly lost in thought. But her ears were perked up, fully alert, not missing the slightest movement from outside.
She didn't know how much time had passed when suddenly, there was a commotion in the courtyard, mixed faintly with the sound of a woman's wailing.
Yang Ruoqing's heart tightened. She could tell that it was Sun Shi's voice. She hurriedly got off the bed, and as soon as she pulled open the door to the west wing, she saw a crowd of people rushing in through the main gate—men and women, each with an awful expression on their face.
Leading the group was Old Yang, followed by Yang Huazhou and several villagers carrying a stretcher together, heading straight toward their side.
"My third son… My darling… My flesh and blood… What sin have you committed to deserve such suffering…"
From the east wing, a thin figure suddenly darted out, throwing herself onto the stretcher, clutching its edges tightly, crying so hard that she almost couldn't breathe.
Yang Ruoqing focused her gaze—it was Tan Shi.
Tan Shi's hair was disheveled, tears and snot covering her face, her entire body trembling violently as she sobbed.
Immediately, two older village women rushed up, trying to pull Tan Shi away from the stretcher, comforting her softly: "Elder sister, don't panic! Uncle Fu went to fetch his medicine box—he'll be here soon…"
Even with their efforts, Tan Shi kept crying and wailing, staggering after the stretcher with the two women supporting her on either side.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! This is the room—get him inside quickly!"
Old Yang had already pushed open the door of the room next to Yang Ruoqing's, standing at the entrance shouting commands.
Yang Huazhou and the others practically sprinted past Yang Ruoqing's door carrying the stretcher, dashing inside in the blink of an eye.
From the gaps between the people, Yang Ruoqing caught a glance: lying stiffly on that stretcher was a man, covered with a patched quilt. His head, face, and feet were exposed, all stained with blood. Yang Ruoqing's sharp eyes spotted that the thumbnails and toenails of his thumbs and big toes were completely torn off, with fresh blood soaking through his shoes!
Yang Ruoqing sucked in a sharp breath. With so much blood lost—could his life be in danger?
"Qing'er's father…"
Behind her, Sun Shi stumbled in, hair disheveled, eyes swollen, voice hoarse, covered in dirt, with two large holes torn in the knees of her trousers, oozing blood. She'd fallen hard during her frantic rush home. One of her feet was still wearing a shoe, the other was bare. Her whole expression looked dazed and lost.
Yang Ruoqing suspected that if not for the two young wives supporting her from either side, Sun Shi would have collapsed right there on the ground.
Everyone crowded into the neighboring wing, blocking both the doorway and the windows so tightly that not even a crack could be seen. Tan Shi's drawn-out wailing and cursing, mixed with Sun Shi's hoarse sobbing, combined with the crowd's loud arguing and muttering, made the small backyard of the Yang family as noisy as a pot of boiling porridge.
Suddenly, someone shouted, "Uncle Fu's here!"
The crowd parted, opening a path for an old man carrying a medicine box to enter the room.
On this side, Yang Ruoqing was worried sick about her father's injuries. Seeing that the village doctor had arrived, she quickly lifted her foot, wanting to squeeze into the crowd to get a look inside.
In her previous life, Yang Ruoqing had been a special agent. When she wasn't on assignments, her other identity was that of a doctor, specializing in traditional Chinese medicine.
Now that her father was injured so badly, she couldn't afford to care about anything else. She just hoped she could squeeze in to see if there was anything she could do to help! After all, this was an ancient rural village, and as for this village doctor named Uncle Fu, she wasn't entirely convinced of his skills.
Suddenly, someone grabbed a handful of her messy, nest-like hair from behind and yanked her out of the crowd, shoving her hard to the ground.
Looking up, Yang Ruoqing saw that the one who had pulled her was a plump, sharp-faced middle-aged woman. Judging by her clothes, she was probably the best-dressed among everyone here—no patches on her garments, and embroidered camellias on the black fabric of her shoes.
But her features weren't pleasant. Though her face was powdered pale white, her eyes were narrow and long, her lips thin, and there was even a black mole at the corner of her mouth. At first glance, she looked sharp-tongued and difficult to get along with.
A fierce, wicked-looking face flashed through her mind, and Yang Ruoqing instinctively felt a wave of fear. Her body involuntarily shrank back.
She froze slightly, then suddenly realized that this fear wasn't hers—it was a lingering imprint from the soul of this body's original owner. The object of that fear was this sharp-faced woman in front of her—her second aunt by marriage, Yang Shi, the second daughter-in-law of the Yang family!
"You stupid fool! Always poking your nose in everywhere! Haven't you caused enough harm to your father already? You reek like a dead rat and still want to squeeze in with people? Get the hell out of my way! If you dare move forward again, I'll beat you to death!" Yang Shi glared viciously at Yang Ruoqing sprawled out on the ground, spat at her, and turned back to shove her way into the crowd.
Everyone else was too focused on what was happening inside the side room to notice what had just occurred behind them. Even the few villagers who did see Yang Shi bully Yang Ruoqing simply watched with indifferent expressions.
After all, this was the Yang family's private business; as outsiders, it wasn't their place to interfere. Besides, in the villagers' eyes, Yang Ruoqing—this foolish girl—was nothing but a walking disaster. If it hadn't been for this fool constantly causing trouble, would Yang Laosan be lying half-dead in that room right now? That fool deserved to be beaten. Serves her right!
Struggling, Yang Ruoqing slowly got up from the ground, watching as Yang Shi continued elbowing aside the other onlookers, trying to push her way into the room to watch the show.
Yang Ruoqing sneered coldly in her heart. This second aunt still thought she was that same foolish, fat girl who used to let herself be beaten and scolded at will. Too bad—she had miscalculated!
Silently, Yang Ruoqing moved closer, still putting on the same foolish, clueless expression as everyone else, looking like she was still trying to worm her way into the crowd. But out of everyone's line of sight, she subtly shifted her ankle, hooking it around a fist-sized rock on the ground and gently tugging it toward her.
Yang Shi, having thrown Yang Ruoqing aside, hadn't intended to pay the fool any more attention.
She had just come back from the town today, originally planning to visit her family home at the east end of the village for dinner. Her mother had killed a chicken today and made a big pot of soup. But just as she entered the village, she heard about the accident involving Old Yang's third son. Her eyes had lit up—she loved sticking her nose into others' business—and she'd rushed here without even catching her breath.
But she hadn't expected to be late—the crowd of nosy villagers had already filled up the space, leaving her no place to squeeze in. Narrowing her voice, she screeched at the others to make way, stretching out her hands to shove aside those blocking her view, determined to squeeze in for a look.
What she didn't expect was that something suddenly rolled underfoot. That burly, hefty body of hers immediately lost balance, tipping backward with a crash.
(End of chapter)