Mrs. Tang pulled Tang Yiren aside and said to Tang Linglong with a sarcastic tone, “Our Yiren isn’t in a hurry. If you’re eager, you can marry first—no need to wait for her.”
“Aunt, are you blaming me?” Tang Linglong looked aggrieved. “I didn’t want things to turn out this way either. It’s all fate playing tricks.”
“I wouldn’t dare. You managed to fall into the water without us doing anything. If we said something, wouldn’t you end up falling into a great river?”
Mrs. Tang scoffed and led Tang Yiren out of the main hall.
“Grandfather, Grandmother, Mother, you see? Aunt really holds a grudge against me. I didn’t do it on purpose. How can she be so petty?”
“Although the Song family’s conditions are good, that Wen family boy became a Xiucai at such a young age—his future is limitless. Of course she’s reluctant to let go. In the coming days, focus on preparing for your wedding and don’t provoke the eldest branch. Otherwise, with your aunt’s temperament, it won’t be easy for you to marry smoothly,” Tang Fugui reminded.
Hearing this, Tang Linglong dared not say anything more to provoke the eldest branch.
Uncle Tang Dahe was an honest man, always tightly controlled by his stepmother, Mrs. Yang, until he later married the fierce-tempered Mrs. Tang, finally breaking free from Mrs. Yang’s grip.
However, the eldest branch of the Tang family lived the most frugally, constantly suppressed by the second, third, and fourth branches, all born to Mrs. Yang.
Although the eldest branch had two sons and a daughter, seemingly blessed with heirs, over the years, whenever their lives improved slightly, misfortune struck. Thus, everyone in the village said Tang Dahe lacked good fortune, unlike Mrs. Yang’s three sons, which was why they suffered so.
Tang Fugui felt the same way, usually indifferent toward the two sons and one daughter of Tang Dahe.
After Mrs. Tang pulled Tang Yiren back to their room, the woman who had been putting on a strong front finally couldn’t hold back any longer. She hugged Tang Yiren and cried.
“They’re truly bullying us too much. My poor daughter, it’s all because your father and I are incapable that someone else could snatch your marriage arrangement.”
“Mother, don’t be sad. I think this is for the best,” Tang Yiren patted Mrs. Tang’s back.
“For the best? Wen Shuyu is very talented. Everyone says he’s sure to become a high official. This was originally your marriage arrangement, and now someone else has taken it.”
Thinking of what Wen Shuyu had done in her past life, a mocking glint flashed in Tang Yiren’s eyes.
Wen Shuyu did have some talent, but there were many talented people in this world, and he wasn’t the one most favored by heaven. Since heaven had given her a chance to start over, she naturally didn’t want to jump into that pit of fire again.
Noisy voices came from outside, faintly calling for Mrs. Tang. Mrs. Tang quickly wiped her tears and hurried out.
“Who’s calling me?” Mrs. Tang shouted as she walked toward the fence gate.
Tang Yiren had just returned, her mind in turmoil. She looked around the room before her—it had been ten years since she left, and everything felt both familiar and strange.
Wait…
Didn’t something happen at this time in her past life?
“In my past life, at this time, my father went with his employer to collect debts and was stabbed in the abdomen by a debtor who had lost his mind. Afterward, we had no money for treatment, and he just died like that. Father…” Tang Yiren anxiously ran out the door, shouting loudly, “Father…”
At this moment, the Tang brothers Tang Chunsheng and Tang Qiusheng, along with two childhood friends, carried the severely injured Tang Dahe inside on a stretcher.
When Mrs. Tang saw Tang Dahe’s condition, she was struck as if by lightning. The usually fierce woman now stood there dazed and vacant, as if she had lost her soul.
“Husband, what happened to you? Who did this to you? Husband…”
“Oh heavens…” Mrs. Zhang covered her mouth.
A glint of schadenfreude flashed in Tang Linglong’s eyes.
She had already remembered yesterday that her uncle would meet with misfortune today, but she hadn’t warned them.
She simply didn’t like Tang Yiren and wanted to see her in despair.
In her previous life, her uncle had been severely injured in this incident and hadn’t survived half a month. Wanting to see his daughter married before he died, he had rushed Tang Yiren into marrying Wen Shuyu. Tang Linglong, wanting to steal Tang Yiren’s spotlight, had arranged her own wedding for the same day. Indeed, the Song family’s banquet was far better than the Wen family’s, and almost everyone in the village went to their feast, with only a handful attending the Wen family’s.
Of course, this time she was the one marrying into the Wen family, so such a thing would absolutely not happen. In her previous life, the Wen family couldn’t afford to host a proper banquet, but this time she would have her own family provide the silver to help them put on a grand show, making the Wen family realize that marrying her was the wisest choice.
“Chunsheng, Qiusheng, what happened to your father?” Mrs. Tang wailed.
“Mother, Father went with the boss to collect a debt. The debtor, driven to desperation, stabbed a knife into Father’s belly. The boss was so frightened he ran off immediately, not caring at all about Father’s life. Luckily, we happened to be working in that village, otherwise Father would have died there,” Tang Chunsheng said bitterly.
“Quick, fetch a doctor, fetch a doctor…” Mrs. Tang trembled as she clutched Tang Dahe’s hand. “Husband, don’t scare me, you must hold on…”
“Aunt, we’ve already sent Tang Jun to fetch a doctor. For now, we need to press on Uncle’s wound to stop him from losing too much blood.”
Tang Fugui and Mrs. Yang came in. Hearing what was said, both wore expressions of anger.
“What kind of boss is that? My son got injured for him, and he just ran off like that? We absolutely cannot let this matter rest.”
Mrs. Yang pulled Tang Fugui back, soothing him, “Right now, the most important thing is to treat our eldest. Keeping him alive is more important than anything else. Don’t rush into this now.”
If he died, they could certainly demand a much larger sum from that boss. But with just an injury, even if they went to demand compensation, they wouldn’t get much.
Mrs. Zhang and Tang Linglong watched from the doorway. Mother and daughter both wore expressions of enjoying the spectacle. Mrs. Zhang now believed Tang Linglong’s words even more firmly.
Tang Jun, a childhood friend of Tang Qiusheng, rushed in with an old doctor.
The old doctor was exhausted. He shook off Tang Jun’s arm and stopped to catch his breath, panting heavily.
“This old man can’t take it anymore. Let me catch my breath.”
“Doctor, my uncle is badly injured, you must go see him quickly!” Tang Jun urged anxiously. “He’s right inside. You can rest while examining his wound.”
Tang Jun hoisted the old doctor onto his back and jogged into the room.
Tang Linglong watched Tang Jun and curled her lip in disdain.
All these childhood friends of Tang Chunsheng and Tang Qiusheng were unlucky wretches, each meeting a miserable end. It just showed that the eldest branch of the family was a jinx—anyone who got close to them would be dragged down into misfortune.
After being set down, the doctor took in the scent of blood in the air and looked at the location of the wounded man on the bed, exclaiming, “Heavens, he’s injured so severely. Why are you even trying to treat him? With wounds like these, if there’s no ginseng to sustain his life, how could he possibly be saved?”