Sitting beside Liu Dujuan on the edge of the bed, Jin Yao said in a low voice, “First, let me tell you a piece of news that will make you happy.”
Liu Dujuan blinked as she looked at him. Could good news actually be brought back from that household?
“Did the old woman die? Didn’t you say at noon that she was pushed by her grandson and struck her head against a stone?” Suddenly remembering this, she asked with a pleasant surprise.
Jin Yao gave a helpless smile and shook his head.
“No, both the old woman and Mrs. Xu have been unconscious the entire time, and feeding them medicine hasn’t helped at all.”
“Oh? Mrs. Xu is unconscious too? How did she faint? She didn’t get beaten by the old man after shattering Jinjin’s bowl, did she?” Liu Dujuan asked softly with a hint of excitement.
Jin Yao shook his head, “Not at all. The old woman suddenly collapsed, so the old man called Jin Shi out. When Jin Shi went out the door, he pushed Mrs. Xu, who was blocking the doorway. Who would have guessed that by pure coincidence, she struck her head right against the handle on the chest—right on her temple—and collapsed into a faint on the spot.”
When saying this, Jin Yao’s tone was light and breezy. When he went back tonight, he had originally expected another argument, but who knew that once he arrived, the old man and Jin Shi stopped him in the courtyard to talk.
It was through their explanation that he learned what had transpired over there after he left with Jinjin at noon.
“Haha! Evil reaps evil, and bad people will always be dealt with by other bad people! Just thinking about how they bullied me and Jinjin over these past few years, retribution has finally caught up with them!” Liu Dujuan let out a couple of joyful laughs.
Feeling her voice had grown too loud, she quickly lowered it again, fearing she might wake Jinjin.
It was truly a relief just thinking about it.
Jin Yao took her hand and said softly, “Mm, retribution has indeed found them. And then there’s the grudge over my mother—just going by the words Mrs. Wang usually cursed me with, I can well imagine how she bullied my mother back then.”
Liu Dujuan nodded, “Ah, right! What else did the old man say to you? Have ties been broken completely? Did he tell you where Mother is buried?”
“Also, did Mother leave nothing behind at the Jin family home back then? What on earth was the deal with that bowl?” Seeing that he had returned empty-handed, Liu Dujuan asked anxiously.
“The old man said my mother is buried right under the tree on the northern mountain slope where those red fruits grow—he buried her himself.”
“As for belongings, he said there were only a few pieces of clothing, some jewelry, and that broken bowl. Among those clothes was a piece of men’s clothing. After my mother passed away, he burned all the clothes in her grave pit. As for the silver jewelry, Mrs. Wang had it recast into hairpins and gave them to Mrs. Xu when Jin Shi married her.”
“As for that broken bowl, he originally intended to keep it for me as a keepsake and give it to me in the future, but later he forgot all about it. The bowl had also developed many cracks over time, so he failed to recognize it at first.”
Hearing this, Liu Dujuan was deeply incensed. “That old hag! Since she hated Mother so much, how did she have the face to take Mother’s things?”
Jin Yao sniffled, “Mm, I scolded him the same way at the time. The old man said the old woman and Mrs. Xu have already received their retribution, and he kept muttering that my mother had come back to seek revenge on them.”
“That’s not right, Husband. Since the old man claimed he wanted to give you this bowl, why did he shout that you couldn’t be given the bowl when you asked for it this morning? He definitely didn’t tell the truth,” Liu Dujuan quickly pulled on Jin Yao’s arm and said.
“Mm, I know. I only believed a portion of his words. I also went along with his narrative, telling him that since the jewelry was recast, we don’t want it anymore—we can consider it repayment for his grace in bringing me back from the mountain and raising me all those years ago!”
“However, from this day forth, we will never interact with them again, nor will I ever regard myself as a member of the Jin family.”
After Jin Yao finished speaking, he let out a sigh and fell silent.
“Then did you ask what happened with Mother back then? Who your biological father was, and whether he knows?” Liu Dujuan asked softly.
Jin Yao shook his head and narrowed his eyes: “He might know, but he only gave a cold ‘I don’t know’!”
“Then let it be. Don’t bother asking them anymore. If you want to find your biological father, we can slowly make inquiries on our own,” Liu Dujuan comforted him.
Jin Yao shook his head, “There’s no need. I don’t wish to find the man who touched my mother without taking responsibility. Tomorrow, we will go dig up my mother’s remains beneath that tree and find a place with good feng shui to build a proper grave for her!”
“All right!” Liu Dujuan agreed.
Seeing that he was in a foul mood, she refrained from asking anything else, and the two settled down to rest.
However, Jin Yao didn’t shut his eyes the entire night. Listening to the breathing of his wife and child, he simply could not fall asleep.
Too much information had come in today, leaving a painful tightness in his chest.
In his mind, he constantly pieced together his birth mother’s appearance and figure, thinking of how she had tried so hard to give birth to him despite being verbally abused by her elder brother and sister-in-law. How difficult must it have been for her back then, and how much pain must she have carried in her heart?
Who was the man who had brought such misfortune upon her? Did he even know of his existence? Did he know how much suffering his mother had endured to give birth to him before passing away?
Troubled thoughts swirled through his mind all night long.
The next morning, as the daylight barely began to break, Jin Yao finally closed his eyes and dozed off for a brief moment.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Jinjin sitting beside him, studying him carefully.
“Good morning, Daddy!” Jinjin greeted Jin Yao with a beaming smile.
“Good morning, my precious girl!” Seeing his obedient and sensible daughter the instant he opened his eyes brightened his mood tremendously.
“Daddy, let me tell you something, but don’t be scared!” Jinjin leaned in a bit closer and whispered softly.
“Okay, go ahead!” Jin Yao nodded, motioning for Jinjin to continue.
“Last night, before Daddy came back, footfalls came from outside our gate.”
“They walked back and forth in the yard several times and stopped repeatedly. Mommy and I were terrified.”
“Mommy said that unless Daddy spoke, we couldn’t open the door. Later, the footsteps left. A little while after that, Daddy came back!”
Hearing this, Jin Yao sat up straight with a *zheng*, looking at Jinjin with a serious expression: “Precious girl, is what you’re saying true?”
“Mm, it’s true! Mommy can testify!” Jinjin said with equal gravity.
“All right, Daddy knows. Remember, precious girl, whenever Daddy and Mommy aren’t home in the future, bolt the door securely. If someone knocks, unless it’s me or Mommy calling out, never open the door, understood?” Jin Yao instructed his daughter in a deep voice.
“Mm, Jinjin understands!” Jinjin nodded obediently.
Jin Yao quickly went outside to find Liu Dujuan, who was making breakfast. “Dujuan, were there footsteps in the yard before I returned last night?”
“Mm, yes. I was worried you might want to go out and check again last night, so I didn’t tell you then, planning to mention it today instead. In a moment, go check the footprints to see where they went. It happened about a quarter-hour before you returned.”
“All right, I’ll go check!” Frowning, Jin Yao paced around the yard to inspect it.
However, most of the yard was covered in grass, and most of the footprints belonged to him and Liu Dujuan.
Searching high and low, he couldn’t find any unfamiliar footprints. It seemed the intruder had intentionally walked on the grass.
Who could it be?
What was their purpose in coming here?
And why did it happen right during the time he had gone back to the village?