The morning air was exceptionally crisp, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth.
In this village, the Jiangs were the second largest clan. Opening the ancestral hall for a sacrifice required the presence of the family’s most respected elders. Early that morning, Jiang Ming carried Jiang Youshan on his back into the hall, with the other children following closely behind like a small guard of honor.
Before long, Old Man Jiang arrived, flanked by his three sons and several grandsons. As Lady Liu stepped forward to arrange the offerings on the altar, her eyes narrowed. Jiang Youshan’s family had already placed theirs: a large, overflowing plate of candied fruits. In a village like this, preserves were a luxury—certainly not cheap.
Looking down at her own offering—a plate of humble rice cakes—Lady Liu felt a sting of inadequacy. With a cold huff, she retreated to the side of the hall.
Old Man Jiang began the ceremony, chanting prayers under his breath as he kowtowed and offered incense. Next came Jiang Youshan, followed by the sons in order of age. Since the grandsons were not yet married, they weren’t required to offer incense, but they lined up to kowtow in turn.
The moment the incense sticks burned down to ash, Lady Liu lunged forward. She swept up the offerings with practiced speed, making sure to claim the plate of candied fruits for herself.
As the ceremony concluded, Old Man Jiang looked at his eldest son, a strange, unreadable expression on his face. He cleared his throat. “You… have you visited your mother’s grave yet?”
Jiang Youshan, unsure of his father’s sudden interest, answered vaguely, “I’ll go in the next day or two.”
“You haven’t gone yet?”
Jiang Youshan paused, his hands instinctively rubbing his lifeless legs. “How was I supposed to get there?”
Old Man Jiang fell silent, his gaze drifting upward toward the rafters. “Go see her today. Burn plenty of paper money… Your mother was a good woman. It was I who failed you both. From now on, make sure your family lives well.”
The weight of those few words brought tears to Jiang Youshan’s eyes.
Jiang Yue, however, wasn’t moved. “Brother, let’s go,” she said firmly. “Carry Father to our real grandmother’s grave right now. We’ll show her our filial piety properly.”
Words are cheap, she thought. If the old man cared so much, why hadn’t he been burning paper for her all these years?
Old Man Jiang looked at the children, their eyes sharp and vigilant, and said nothing more. He turned and walked away.
At the grave of Lady Xu, Jiang Youshan’s biological mother, Cai and Jiang Ming helped him down. The moment his knees hit the dirt, he collapsed forward.
“Mother! Your son misses you!” he wailed, his voice breaking. “Mother, your son is useless… I’m a broken man now…”
He sobbed uncontrollably, the bottled-up misery of the past few weeks finally finding an outlet. Beside him, Cai and the children wept silently.
Jiang Yue looked up at the sky. The blue was vast, the white clouds drifting lazily—it was a beautiful day. All she needed now was a witness; she had to get Jiang Youshan’s legs healed, and soon.
“Father, Mother, isn’t the life we’re living now good?” she asked softly. “Don’t cry anymore.”
“Yes, I won’t cry. Life will only get better from here,” Cai said, wiping her eyes as she tried to comfort her husband. “Youshan, the children are watching. Don’t cry…”
Jiang Youshan choked back his sobs. “I just… I felt overwhelmed for a moment. I’m fine now. Let’s go home. Your grandmother will surely watch over us.”
As they began to gather their things, a figure came sprinting toward them from a distance. It was their new neighbor, Li Cai, gasping for breath by the time he reached Jiang Ming.
“Uncle Youshan! Jiang Ming! Get home, quickly! Your grandfather’s family has stormed into your yard!”
“What?” Jiang Ming exclaimed.
“Old Lady Liu is there right now, screaming at the top of her lungs!”
“Let’s go,” Jiang Yue commanded.
Jiang Ming immediately hoisted his father onto his back and set off at a brisk pace.
We just split the household, Jiang Youshan thought, his head spinning. What could they possibly be making a scene about now? He glanced at his children and was baffled to see that they actually looked… excited?
Back at Jiang Youshan’s courtyard, a crowd of villagers had already gathered to watch the show. Lady Liu was sitting on the ground, slapping her thighs in a theatrical display of grief.
“May lightning strike this family of ungrateful wolves!” she shrieked. “They tried to poison us! They didn’t go to the graves—they’ve run away! They’re heartless! I demand compensation!”
The trouble had started the moment Lady Liu returned home and placed the plate of stolen candied fruits in front of her daughter, Jiang Youfang.
Lady Li, the second daughter-in-law, had watched with dissatisfaction. She didn’t dare scold her mother-in-law, so she directed her frustration at Youfang, who was already happily chewing. “Sister, leave a piece or two for your nephews and nieces, won’t you?”
Jiang Youfang gave a sharp, cold huff. She had a small army of nephews and nieces; if she gave each of them a taste, what would be left for her? Usually, the brats wouldn’t even help her wash a single tunic, so why should she share now?
Not a chance, she thought, and proceeded to devour the entire plate of candied fruits with lightning speed.
Lady Liu, meanwhile, brought out the rice cakes and handed one to each of her grandsons. The few that remained she brought to her son, Jiang Youguang, who was inside studying for his exams.
She hadn’t even stepped out of the fourth room before a series of pained wails erupted from the yard. “Aiyo! Ooh… my stomach!” “Daughter? What’s wrong?” Lady Liu cried, rushing back.
“Mother… my stomach… it hurts—!” Lady Liu barked at the second daughter-in-law, Lady Li, to boil some water. But before the kettle could even whistle, Jiang Youfang was clutching her midsection and sprinting for the latrine.
By the time she emerged, she looked pale and shaky. But the moment a cup of warm water hit her stomach, a fresh wave of cramping—like hot iron being twisted in her gut—struck again. Grunting and groaning, she scrambled back to the latrines.
Wave after wave followed, leaving her barely enough time to breathe between sprints.
Slowly, the realization dawned on Lady Liu. It had to be that plate of candied fruit! No wonder those ungrateful wolves hadn’t said a single word when she swiped the plate at the altar.
“Pah! Those wicked, murderous wretches!” she spat.
The Village Head arrived at the front gate at the exact same moment as Jiang Youshan’s family returned.
“Youtian’s Mother, what is all this commotion about?” the Village Head demanded.
“Village Head, you’ve come at the right time! You must demand justice for me!” Lady Liu wailed, pointing a trembling finger at Jiang Youshan’s group. “This family has lost their souls! They poisoned the ancestral offerings to try and kill their elders!”
Little Jiang Xue jumped up in indignation. “You’re lying!”
Lady Liu gnashed her teeth. “If it wasn’t you, then who? Youfang is being tormented to death by your hand!”
“Youtian’s Mother,” the Village Head interjected, his brow furrowed. “Explain yourself clearly. What exactly happened?”
He was thoroughly confused, but he knew how serious an accusation of poisoning was.
Lady Liu paused, trying to frame the story so the moral high ground remained hers. **”I only realized after I got home that I’d accidentally picked up an extra plate of sweets from the altar. Who could have known that the moment my daughter ate them, her stomach would turn? Now she’s bedridden, unable to even keep down a drop of water!
The doctor already looked at her and said she clearly ate something ‘unclean.’ Everyone else in the house ate the same meals today, and we’re all fine. Only Youfang is sick, and only Youfang ate those sweets. Doesn’t that prove their plate was poisoned?”**
The crowd of onlookers began to buzz with whispers.
“Poisoning? That’s a hanging offense.”
“Surely not… Jiang Youshan has always been known as an honest man.”
The Village Head gestured to a nearby villager. “Go and fetch Doctor Cui immediately.”
Jiang Youshan sat in his lounging chair in the yard, his heart hammering against his ribs. How could this be?
Jiang Yue stepped forward then, her voice calm and cutting. “Grandmother, if you knew you’d taken the wrong offerings, why didn’t you return them? You stole my family’s food, and now you’re using it to accuse us? Did I ask you to eat them?”
She turned to the Village Head. “Sir, I bought those sweets only yesterday. My entire family ate from that same batch last night, and as you can see, we are perfectly fine. If Grandmother says the sweets are the problem, why doesn’t she produce them for the doctor to see?”
Lady Liu’s face darkened to a bruised purple. “She ate them all! How am I supposed to ‘produce’ them now?”
Jiang Yue wasn’t about to let her off the hook. “Who ate them? Was it truly just my aunt? That was a massive plate—are you saying she polished off the whole thing by herself?”
Lady Liu choked on her words. It was true that Youfang had hogged the lot, but saying that out loud would ruin the girl’s reputation for modesty and grace. She shot a sharp, threatening look at her daughters-in-law, Lady Li and Lady Qian.
“Of course not,” Lady Liu lied, her eyes darting. “Youtian’s wife and Youcai’s wife naturally had some as well. It’s just that the sisters-in-law were generous, so Youfang ended up eating a bit more than the rest…”
Lady Li’s temper flared. I didn’t get a single crumb, and now I have to cover for that spoiled girl? But the look in her mother-in-law’s eyes was terrifying. She lowered her gaze and muttered vaguely, “I… I had one piece.”
Seeing Lady Li cave, Lady Qian followed suit with a hurried nod. “Yes, I had one as well.”