At this moment, in the eastern room of the main house, Granny Zhao sat cross-legged on the heated brick bed, sewing clothes for her youngest son, Xu Huaiyu. Xu Huaiyu was the most promising one in the family—he excelled in his studies, was handsome, and had a sweet tongue, making him her favorite. He was currently studying at an academy in town, having already passed the child scholar examination, and was now waiting to take the county-level imperial examination next year to become a xiucai.
As a future xiucai, he naturally had to dress decently. While the whole family wore the cheapest coarse linen clothes, patched up when torn just to cover their bodies, only he wore soft and comfortable fine linen, gentle against the skin, tailored into a light blue scholar’s robe. Standing next to the rough, short-clothed men of the countryside, the difference was like that between clouds and mud.
Thinking of this, Granny Zhao’s thin lips curled upward. Her good mood lasted until her eldest daughter-in-law, Wang Suyun, entered. "Father, Mother…"
Xu Maoshan leaned against a stack of folded quilts, dozing off drowsily. At the sound, he merely lifted his eyelids before closing them again.
Without looking up, Granny Zhao casually asked, "What is it?"
Wang Suyun smiled ingratiatingly. "It’s nothing much. I just saw Third Uncle locking the door and heading out…"
Hearing this, Granny Zhao finally looked up, her voice sharpening. "Where did Third go?"
Wang Suyun quickly shook her head. "How would I know? Second Uncle did ask him earlier, but Third Uncle ignored him and left in a hurry…"
Granny Zhao narrowed her old eyes and fell silent for a moment.
Seeing this, Wang Suyun tentatively suggested, "Could it be that Third Uncle went out to borrow money?"
Granny Zhao sneered. "Who would lend to him? Who in our village could spare ten taels of silver for him to throw away? He should know his own worth. Besides, without my approval, who would dare lend him money? Does he expect me, old as I am, to help him repay his debts? He must be dreaming!"
Hearing this, Wang Suyun finally felt at ease. She had been worried that Xu Huaiyi’s debts would drag the whole family down. Fortunately, the old hag remained as heartless and stingy as ever.
After she left, Xu Maoshan opened his eyes and said calmly, "If it really comes to it, just give Third a little. If we can’t afford the two-tael medicine, we could at least scrape together a few doses of the cheaper ones costing a few dozen wen."
Without a second thought, Granny Zhao refused. "No way. Every bit of silver in this household is accounted for. If you spend it elsewhere, what about Huaiyu’s studies? The whole family is counting on him to bring us honor. Third is a dull blockhead, and the wife he married is useless—two years without bearing a child, and when she finally did, it was just a money-losing girl. And now she wants medicine costing two taels per dose? Does she have that kind of fortune?"
"Still, we shouldn’t make things too hard for Third. A few doses of the cheaper medicine would at least give him some peace of mind, so he doesn’t grow too disheartened. After all, there’s so much work at home, and we still rely on him…"
Xu Maoshan’s reminder fell on deaf ears. To Granny Zhao, parting with silver was as painful as cutting her own flesh. "Why fear him? That spineless thing crawled out of my belly. Even if I ate his flesh and drank his blood, he’d have to endure it—otherwise, he’d be unfilial! The whole village could drown him with their spit alone!"
Hearing her words grow increasingly unreasonable, Xu Maoshan frowned and slapped the kang table in front of him. "I think you’ve lost your mind. Have you forgotten how he managed to get married back then?"
Hearing this, Granny Zhao's expression finally shifted, but she still refused to back down. She snorted lightly and said disdainfully, "Even if they had the guts, would they really dare to move into the Gu Family? The Gu Family has no clan to rely on and no relatives to help them. They're all alone—won't they be bullied to death the moment they step outside?"
Xu Maoshan pointed at her upon hearing this, sighed, but said nothing more. He closed his eyes and relaxed, resting his mind.
Meanwhile, Xu Huaiyi, who was considered too cowardly to move out and establish his own household, was standing in front of a small courtyard, racking his brains over how to move here with his wife without resorting to violence.
This was his father-in-law's house, located at the westernmost end of the village, nestled against the foot of the mountain. It was a standalone courtyard with no neighbors nearby. Once the gate was closed, they could enjoy a blissful life for two—far better than squeezing in with those cold-blooded creatures of the Xu family, wasn't it?
The original owner ate the worst, worked the hardest, and was the least favored, belonging to the lowest tier of the Xu family, where anyone could push him around. The more Xu Huaiyi thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt, lamenting the original owner's misfortune and fuming at his lack of resolve.
He held a good hand of cards but played them terribly, ending up dead in the end—truly pitiful and lamentable.
Since his own mother had sold him for fifty taels of silver to become a live-in son-in-law for the Gu Family, and the contract had been signed, wouldn't it have been the perfect opportunity to break free from those Xu family beasts who fed on his flesh and drank his blood?
But he didn't. Instead, he dragged his wife along, continuing to toil like an ox for the Xu family. Did they appreciate it? Not only did they not appreciate it, but they also looked down on the couple even more. Such foolish filial piety and weakness were beyond saving!
Now that he had taken over, he was determined not to drag his wife through such a wretched life.
Having made up his mind, he turned and headed diagonally across, about fifty meters from the Gu Family house, where there was another small courtyard with three brick-tiled rooms—the home of Doctor Jiao.
Pushing the door open, Xu Huaiyi saw the courtyard filled with round bamboo trays, spread with various medicinal herbs he couldn't name, their pungent scent overwhelming.
Doctor Jiao was sorting through the herbs when he heard the noise. Looking up and seeing Xu Huaiyi, he was taken aback. "Huaiyi? What brings you here? Is it your wife…"
"Doctor Jiao, sorry to disturb you…" Xu Huaiyi greeted him politely before stating his purpose. "Could you trouble you to prepare a few doses of medicine for my wife?"
Doctor Jiao instinctively replied, "It has to be the two-tael silver dose to be effective. Does… does your mother agree to give you the silver?"
Xu Huaiyi immediately put on a pained and helpless expression, shaking his head. He pulled out the silver bracelet from his pocket, wearing a reluctant and guilty look. After caressing it repeatedly for a moment, he handed it over as if making a desperate, all-or-nothing move.
Doctor Jiao hesitated before taking it, examining it carefully. He asked in surprise, "Is this your wife's dowry?"
Xu Huaiyi nodded solemnly. "It's the last piece. I originally wanted to keep it as a memento, but now… if her life is at stake, what's the use of holding onto it?"
Doctor Jiao had lived in the village for several years and knew quite a bit about the Xu family. Granny Zhao was biased; she had five sons and two daughters, but she disliked her third son, Xu Huaiyi, the most. It was easy to understand why. The eldest son worked as an accountant at a tavern in town, bringing home silver every month. The second son was lively and knew how to please people. The fourth son had hunting skills, occasionally adding meat to the family’s meals. The fifth son, who could read, was the treasure of the family. Only this third son had no decent skills and wasn’t good with words. In the Xu family, he had little presence. Such a child was the easiest for parents to overlook.
However, neglecting him to the point of disregarding his life was going too far.
Doctor Jiao sighed inwardly but comforted him aloud, "You don’t need to worry too much. With this bracelet, five doses of medicine should be enough. If you stretch it a bit, even seven doses are possible. Based on my earlier pulse reading, after finishing these seven doses, he’ll recover about seventy to eighty percent. The rest will require gradual recuperation, which can’t be rushed…"
Upon hearing this, Xu Huaiyi immediately expressed his gratitude joyfully and even gave a proper bow.
Doctor Jiao accepted it with a smile but felt that the person before him was slightly different from before. The face was the same, but his temperament had clearly become livelier, and his words no longer came out clumsily or sparingly, which used to make others anxious just watching him. Glancing at the wound on his forehead, Doctor Jiao thought his change was understandable. After enduring such repeated blows, if he still hadn’t woken up, he would truly be a blockhead.
After preparing the medicine and carefully explaining how to take it, Doctor Jiao helped him treat the wound on his forehead. It had long stopped bleeding but remained red and swollen, surrounded by bruises, looking pitiful.
Once everything was done, Xu Huaiyi, concerned about his wife, quickly stood up to take his leave. Clutching the medicine, he hurried back to the Xu family home.