22
Ever since He Tian, who should have died, didn’t die and instead was running around lively, going up the mountain to hunt, He Erlang and Mrs. Li had been keeping a close eye on He Tian and Liu Erniang.
At first, they thought He Tian was simply tough and didn’t take the widow and orphan seriously. That was why they had openly tried to steal her prey on the mountain last time. After He Tian gave them a severe beating, they realized this girl was different from before. The wounds hadn’t even healed yet, so naturally, they hadn’t forgotten the pain. In the following days, they only watched and observed quietly, not daring to approach again on their own.
They had originally planned to observe a bit longer, and if nothing else worked, they would figure out another way to deal with them. But then, two days ago, they heard the villagers saying that Liu Erniang and her daughter had taken in a troubled young man to stay with them. It seemed like they were considering adopting him as a son or taking him as a son-in-law. The villagers also said this wasn’t a bad idea, since the men in the family had died, leaving a widow and orphan without anyone to rely on. Finding a son-in-law for the daughter was one way forward.
The villagers didn’t know the real thoughts of Liu Erniang and He Tian. They were just chatting casually, whether it was taking a son-in-law, adopting a son, or simply saving a person, it didn’t really concern them. But when He Erlang and Mrs. Li heard this, it was a different story.
The couple was very anxious.
Even if He Tian was different from before and they could no longer take advantage and reclaim the house as they had originally planned, He Tian would eventually grow up and marry. At that time, the house would still be theirs. It would just take some time and patience. Moreover, since her father was no longer around, He Erlang, as her uncle, would have significant authority over her marriage. When the time came, he could directly decide who she married and how much betrothal money to demand, there would be plenty of benefits.
Mrs. Li certainly didn’t dare tell He Erlang that she had already promised He Tian to the Liu family in Dongyan Village for a ghost marriage. But if she could marry He Tian off for a sum of betrothal money, wouldn’t that repay the two taels of deposit? That was her plan. Either way, she wouldn’t lose out.
But now, if they were to take in a live-in son-in-law or an adopted son, things would be completely different.
This absolutely could not happen. They had to nip it in the bud before it even sprouted. Otherwise, once things were settled, it would be difficult for them to come knocking.
He Erlang and his wife discussed it all night and finally made up their minds. They came early in the morning to confront Liu Erniang and He Tian, to extinguish the spark before it could ignite. They absolutely could not let the duck that was about to fly into their mouths get away.
Unexpectedly, He Tian had gone into the mountains early that day. Only Liu Erniang and the disabled foundling were home.
This was perfect.
He Erlang and Mrs. Li first shouted a few times to draw the villagers over to watch the commotion. Then, in righteous tones, they accused Liu Erniang of being a foolish woman who casually brought an unidentified person into her home—not only being irresponsible to her own family but also risking bringing trouble to the entire village.
He Tian was just a child who didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, but Liu Erniang was a grown woman, didn’t she know better?
Since she didn’t know, her brother-in-law would have to step in and discipline her properly, lest she bring harm to everyone.
Moreover, with only two women in the household—one weak and sick, the other young—bringing a man into the home, what kind of example was that? What kind of mother was she? She was practically pushing her daughter into a fire pit!
Liu Erniang initially wanted to explain that people who fell into the river at the head of the village were often rescued, and most of them were decent people. Saving a life was an act of kindness—how could it bring trouble? Besides, the young man they had taken in had clear, bright eyes, clearly not a bad person. He also had a broken leg. If they didn’t save him, he would surely die. Were they supposed to just let him die?
But when she heard He Erlang and Mrs. Li openly and secretly slinging mud at her and her daughter, Liu Erniang understood everything. The two of them were doing this on purpose—deliberately picking a fight, deliberately trying to stop them from taking in this young man.
This was too much. Even if they didn’t agree with them doing a good deed and saving someone, they shouldn’t destroy their reputation like this. Her daughter was only thirteen and would need to marry in the future!
Ever since He Tian had told her they would go together to the border to bring her son home, Liu Erniang had regained her will to live. Her mind was finally working clearly again. Thinking deeper, she realized exactly what He Erlang and Mrs. Li were plotting. There was no doubt about it—they wanted to bully the two of them to death and take everything from the family of the deceased!
“What is there to worry about?” Although Liu Erniang was still sick, her face deathly pale, and her breathing rapid with anger, she said, “I will take responsibility for it. You didn’t care whether we lived or died before, and now you come out calling yourselves uncle and aunt? Stop being so disgusting! You didn’t care about our family’s affairs before, and now it’s none of your business either!”
Liu Erniang rarely spoke such firm and resolute words. Especially after He Da died, she completely fell apart. The news of her eldest son’s death took away whatever will to live she had left. She had been barely clinging to life, just passing the days.
He Erlang and Mrs. Li had originally thought that only He Tian had changed, after all, she was young and her temperament hadn’t yet settled. They never expected that Liu Erniang, who had been as soft as dough, would also have changed.
Being rebuffed by Liu Erniang so mercilessly and having the facade torn down, He Erlang and Mrs. Li’s faces turned sour.
Mrs. Li, in particular, had noticed the dozen or so wolf pelts hanging in the yard of the eldest son’s house.
That damned girl was so lucky—she had already accumulated ten wolf pelts! She didn’t have a single one herself!
And then there was that litter of wild boar piglets…
Not to mention the tiger cub.
Once those were grown, they’d all be worth money!
“What do you mean, ‘your family’s affairs’?” Mrs. Li said, both humiliated and enraged, her voice dripping with jealousy. “Taking in someone of unknown origin brings hidden dangers to the entire village. You’re disregarding everyone’s safety—”
With that, she tried to rally the villagers. “Neighbors, don’t you agree?”
But He Erlang and Mrs. Li were both poor at handling daily matters and even worse as people. No one responded to Mrs. Li’s call.
Mrs. Li wasn’t completely shameless. Her face burned with embarrassment, but she quickly recovered. “Everyone is too polite to say anything, but we can’t just stand by and watch you bring disaster to the whole village. How will we ever hold our heads up in Crescent Village again?”
“Then chop your heads off and stomp them under your feet, you won’t need to look up for the rest of your lives.” He Tian’s face was cold as she pushed past the villagers crowding the doorway to gawk.
Seeing Liu Erniang’s flushed face from anger, He Tian’s expression grew even colder.
Then she saw Rong Yan, pale-faced, sitting quietly with his head down, dragging his broken leg, not saying a word. When he saw her return, he looked up at her with apologetic eyes. He Tian’s face turned colder still.
He Erlang and Mrs. Li were absolutely disgusting!
At He Tian’s words, the look on He Erlang and Mrs. Li’s faces was truly unsightly.
Dahuang, seeing He Tian return, immediately got up from beside Liu Erniang and ran toward her. Once at her side, he stood in front of her, glaring fiercely at He Erlang and Mrs. Li.
“You insolent brat! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?” He Erlang’s face reddened as he pointed at He Tian and shouted. “What kind of example has your mother set for you? Teaching you to be like this! You’re ruining the He family’s reputation!”
Without hesitation, He Tian pulled the bone-cleaver from her waist. “Point at me again, and I’ll chop your hand off!”
Dahuang: “Oww!”
He Erlang and Mrs. Li: “…”
The watching villagers: “…”
Being publicly threatened by a younger generation, He Erlang felt deeply humiliated. But faced with He Tian’s icy glare and remembering her words and actions on the mountain last time, he truly didn’t dare confront her directly. He was stuck, unable to advance or retreat…
Then Mrs. Li suddenly slapped her thigh and wailed, “Heavens have mercy! The two of us were worried about the widow and orphan being taken advantage of, so we came especially to warn them. And this niece of ours repays kindness with enmity and wants to turn a blade on us! Neighbors, everyone, please judge who’s right and who’s wrong!”
Seizing the opportunity, He Erlang withdrew his hand. Not daring to look at He Tian again, he addressed the surrounding villagers instead. “The risk is just too great. If something really happens and harms the villagers, how can we make amends?”
As the source of the conflict, Rong Yan understood perfectly well what He Erlang and his wife meant. His slightly lowered eyes darkened.
“Apart from you two with your black hearts,” He Tian said, completely unfazed by Mrs. Li’s tantrum, “has anyone else in the village bullied me and my mother?”
She then explained to the villagers as well. “People in this village have been doing good deeds for years, saving people from that river. It’s been like that for a long time. I thought, since we came across someone, we should save a life. That’s a good thing. How does that bring harm to the village? And even if something did happen, my mother just said—we will take full responsibility. It has nothing to do with anyone else. Please rest assured, uncles, aunts, and neighbors.”
Rong Yan, whose hand had been about to tighten on his knee, paused: “?”
The villagers, who had long disliked He Erlang and his wife, heard He Tian out. Looking at the quiet, disabled young man sitting in the yard, they ultimately gave a positive response, saying that Liu Erniang and He Tian were kind-hearted.
Mrs. Li was absolutely seething with hatred.
What was there to save about a cripple?
She was doing this for their own good, and they were so ungrateful.
“Now that you’ve saved him,” Mrs. Li pointed at Rong Yan, “why haven’t you sent him away yet? What are you trying to do by keeping him in your home? Raising a few animal cubs is one thing, but now you want to keep a strange man in the house too? Do you really think this family is yours and your mother’s to decide?”
When the argument about village safety didn’t work, she switched to criticizing their upbringing.
With He Da dead, the He family should now be under He Erlang’s authority.
The more Mrs. Li thought about it, the more justified she felt. She pointed at the yard arrogantly. “This land belongs to the He family. This house belongs to the He family. Who stays or leaves is not for you to decide! The head of the household now is my Erlang! You must send this person away today. The He family doesn’t keep cripples, let alone a cripple of unknown origin!”
From a conventional standpoint, although Mrs. Li’s words were deliberately contentious, they did hold some ground.
Setting aside grand principles and only talking about family matters, no matter how much the villagers disapproved, they couldn’t interfere in the He family’s internal affairs. If the head of the household didn’t agree to take someone in, no matter how wrong it might be, others couldn’t say much.
The others understood this reasoning, and Rong Yan, who had been called a “strange man,” understood it even better. His lowered eyes had turned cold as ice.
But He Tian didn’t play by the rules.
She looked at Mrs. Li and said coldly, “If you’re tired of living, I’ll help you on your way. Stop pointing and jabbering in my house. Who do you think you are?”
Rong Yan, who had lived two lives and knew better than anyone that family matters are hard to reason through, had thought he would inevitably be kicked out today. “???”
He couldn’t help but lift his head.
He Tian was still carrying the grass she had cut for the rabbit on the mountain. The fine hairs on her forehead were wet with sweat, plastered to her temples. Thin and small as she was, she raised her chin slightly, looking at He Erlang and Mrs. Li—both much stronger and taller than her, with disdain.
The sunlight fell on her, making her look even more frail and gaunt.
But her eyes were exceptionally bright, like gemstones washed by rain.
Crystalline and resolute.
Rong Yan was momentarily dazed.
This outburst was even more direct and merciless than when she had scolded He Erlang. Mrs. Li’s face flushed red as if it might bleed. Though she still remembered the pain from last time, she was absolutely furious.
“Neighbors, listen to this! Listen to what she’s saying! She’s talking about killing! Heaven above, how did our He family end up with such a lawless, unfilial daughter?” Mrs. Li rushed to the crowd and wailed loudly, trying to use public opinion to force He Tian to back down.
He Tian was thoroughly annoyed. She shoved Mrs. Li outward. “Stop wailing in my house! Go back to your own home if you want to cry! Do you think me and my mother are still the same pushovers you used to bully? You think others can’t see what you’re really up to? Only you two are clever, is that it?”
Mrs. Li was pushed off balance. Her hair disheveled, she lunged at He Tian to fight—with so many people watching, He Tian surely wouldn’t dare actually fight back. And even if she did, with so many people around, they couldn’t just stand by and not help.
Taking Mrs. Li’s cue, He Erlang also stepped forward to grab He Tian.
He had been holding in his anger ever since that damned girl got the better of him on the mountain last time when he wasn’t prepared. Just now, she had made him lose face so badly. He was going to teach this disrespectful, ill-mannered brat a proper lesson in front of everyone!
Just as He Erlang, solid and tall, was about to grab He Tian by the shoulder—
Smack!
Before anyone could react, He Tian dodged Mrs. Li, spun around, and kicked He Erlang square in the shin.
The crisp sound of a bone snapping and a miserable wail rang out in the yard, one after the other.
Rong Yan, who had been quickly curling his fingers around a stone to defend, ready to send it flying at He Erlang’s wrist: “…………….”
**
Little Rong, steadfastly protected: My wife is so cool [sparkly eyes]