She stood dazed in the glow of the setting sun, backlit, watching Madam Yu hobble toward her step by step.
She was clearly a mess, yet she still forced a fake smile on her face, pretending as if nothing had happened.
"You're back! How did the doctor's visit for your father go? You must be hungry—I'll go make you something to eat right away." Madam Yu let out a dry laugh, her gaze darting about, never daring to meet Jiang Wan's eyes. "You two go rest, hurry inside. Mother will have the meal ready in no time."
With that, she turned and tried to slip into the kitchen.
Just then, sounds came from outside the courtyard gate as Xiao He helped Zhou Xianggui walk in.
Xiao He's sharp eyes immediately caught Madam Yu's disheveled state, and tears rolled down her face in an instant. "Mother! What happened to you? Who bullied you…"
Zhou Xianggui's hand gripping the doorframe tightened abruptly. His chest heaved violently as he shouted sternly at Xiao He, "Xiao He, go! Go fetch the town magistrate! In broad daylight, I want to see which damned bastard has no regard for the law!"
"Cough, cough, cough…"
In his agitation, Zhou Xianggui's old ailment flared up again.
The heart-wrenching coughs doubled him over.
"I'll go." Jiang Wan's heart tightened, and she took the task upon herself. She turned and had just lifted her foot toward the town office when—
"Don't! This matter cannot go to the town office!"
Madam Yu's panicked cry rang out from behind.
Jiang Wan halted mid-step, her face instantly darkening. "Why not? They've bullied us right to our doorstep, and Mother still swallows this grievance?!"
Madam Yu panicked. Ignoring the pain in her body, she hobbled over and lunged at Jiang Wan.
She grabbed Jiang Wan's arm tightly, shaking her head desperately.
"Xiao Wan… this truly cannot be known by the town office." Madam Yu's voice carried a hint of choking sobs. She lowered her voice and cast a cautious glance at the neighboring courtyard wall. "Otherwise, if anything goes wrong in those mountains in the future, they'll all come looking for you to settle the score…"
Under Madam Yu's account, the sequence of events slowly came to light.
At noon today, the sun was at its harshest.
Five barefoot, cloth-wrapped children appeared at the door of the general store. They were bare-chested, all squatting in a neat row on the stone steps at the entrance.
After a brief inquiry, Madam Yu learned they were from Old Python Forest, and they had come to town specifically to find a Goods Agent.
Hearing they were looking for Jiang Wan, Madam Yu dared not treat them lightly and quickly welcomed the children into the courtyard.
These children from Old Python Forest were tight-lipped. Aside from saying they were there to find someone, they wouldn't say anything else.
Madam Yu had no choice but to let them wait in the yard.
They were well-behaved too, sitting and waiting obediently.
But the occasional sound of them getting up and moving about disturbed the peace of Widow Su next door.
Having been put in her place by Jiang Wan last night and having hit a dead end with Xu Lutou this morning, she was itching for somewhere to vent her anger. Seizing the moment when the whole family was away, she came to pick a fight with Madam Yu.
Her words were dripping with sarcasm, grating on the ears.
Madam Yu, mindful of their years as neighbors and not wanting trouble, repeatedly bowed her head and apologized.
But this retreat only riled up those little wolf cubs.
No one knew who started it, but they swarmed forward in a rush and shoved Widow Su out the door.
Widow Su, unable to swallow her anger and relying on the fact that she had eaten rice for decades longer than them and was their elder, grabbed a little girl by the hair and brought her palm down "smack, smack, smack" across the child's face.
That beating thoroughly enraged the group of boys.
Their eyes turned red as they grabbed stools and picked up stones, charging at Widow Su like maddened little beasts.
Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Madam Yu desperately tried to pry the little girl from Widow Su's grip while also trying to calm the children down…
The scene descended into utter chaos, ending in a complete mess where no one came out ahead.
"…Madam Su cared about her reputation and couldn't very well admit to beating a little girl, nor that she'd been ganged up on by a bunch of children—too shameful to air out in public. So she had no choice but to swallow her grievance."
Madam Yu rubbed her sore arm, her gaze dimming. "Those people from Old Python Forest were never well-regarded by the community to begin with. Even the town magistrate and the patrol inspector wouldn't give them a kind look. So I gave them a few eggs and told them to come back in a couple of days."
She let out a long, weary sigh. "To be honest, this was just a dispute between us and the neighbors. If we reported it to the authorities, it might drag them into trouble. Those children only acted because they saw me being bullied—they had no choice…"
Kind-hearted as she was, even after being tormented like this, she still worried about Old Python Forest, about Jiang Wan, and about their agreement.
Xiao He's eyes were red as she brought out the family's medicinal wine for bruises. "A few years ago, when Father was still healthy, our family helped her out so much, and she never once gave us a kind look. Now, after everything, she still comes to our door looking for trouble…"
Jiang Wan stood in the courtyard, her fingers unconsciously twisting the fabric of her sleeve.
She truly hadn't expected that Old Python Forest's reputation outside had become so thoroughly "rotten."
The officials looked down on them.
The common folk scorned them.
Jiang Wan assumed it was her own carelessness that had brought this trouble upon them. Filled with guilt, she hurriedly apologized to her family.
"When I went to Li Family Hollow to collect goods before, I did run into them. I also promised them they could bring any mountain goods to Zhou's General Store to trade. But I never in a thousand calculations imagined things would escalate to this point."
Knowing that Madam Yu had suffered because of her, she felt deeply troubled.
But who could have predicted that Widow Su would come knocking to pick a fight over such a minor friction?
After hesitating in place for a long while, Jiang Wan decided that the most pressing thing to do now was to go out and find a physician for Madam Yu.
At that moment, Zhou Xianggui finally caught his breath.
He shuffled over to Jiang Wan's side and spoke in a gentle, comforting tone: "This was an accident—no one could have foreseen it…"
He waved his hand, his voice weak but carrying a note of understanding. "I've had quite a bit of contact with the people of Old Python Forest. They're not bad at heart—they just don't know how to be tactful and cling stubbornly to their own reasoning."
As he spoke, he looked up toward the sky.
In the fiery sunset clouds, a few dark storm clouds were pressing down heavily.
The air grew still, thick with that peculiar heaviness and mugginess that precedes a great downpour.
Countless long-winged moths circled low in the air, drawing dragonflies that darted through them like blades, stirring up an irritable restlessness…
"Looking at this sky, I reckon we're in for a heavy rain tonight. Let's all tidy up and rest for a day or two."
With that, he took the medicinal wine from Xiao He's hands, warmed his palms, and began rubbing the bruises on Madam Yu's skin.
Xiao He stood by with her hands clasped, her eyes filled with nothing but heartache.
Jiang Wan pressed her lips together, turned on her heel, and headed for her room.
The anger burning inside her hadn't been extinguished by her family's understanding and concession—if anything, it blazed even hotter, shooting straight to the crown of her head!
She wasn't afraid of Widow Su coming to their door to provoke a fight.
But she had no right—absolutely no right!
No right to barge into the Zhou household and cause a scene while all three of them were away from home!
Bang!
The bamboo basket was slammed down hard beside the bed.
Jiang Wan clenched her fists, the fury in her eyes erupting fully as she spun around and charged out without hesitation.
"Xiao Wan, where are you going?"
"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, wait for me…"
Jiang Wan moved like the wind beneath her feet.
Out the shop door, she stormed straight through Widow Su's front gate.
Widow Su was eating supper with a little girl around Xiao He's age. Seeing Jiang Wan charge in looking like a vengeful demon, her brow twitched. She scrambled to her feet and shouted, "Wife of the Zhou family! What do you want at this hour? Trying to start a rebellion?!"
Jiang Wan didn't stop because of her questioning.
She rushed several steps into the main hall, dropped her center of gravity, and with one powerful motion, flipped the central square table clean over.
Clatter!
Pots, bowls, ladles, and plates shattered across the floor. Food splattered everywhere—only the rice bowl in Widow Su's hands survived intact, protected by her instinctive clutch to her chest.
"You're the one who hit my mother today, aren't you!" Jiang Wan wasn't satisfied after flipping the table. Her gaze swept rapidly across the Su household.
The table was too sturdy—couldn't break it apart.
The benches were too hard—couldn't smash them.
The bamboo baskets and winnowing trays—not damaging enough…
Her eyes shifted, and Jiang Wan fixed on the sacks of feed for the mule by the doorway.
She strode over, kicked the burlap sack hard, then bent down, grabbed the bottom of the sack, and gave it a vigorous shake up and down.
Whoosh…
A huge load of coarse feed—a mix of wheat bran, soybean cake, and rice husks—scattered across the entire courtyard. Choking dust billowed through the air.
Widow Su looked on, struck as if by lightning.
She snapped back to reality, her heart aching so much her liver trembled.
She shoved her rice bowl into Su Ermei's arms, rolled up her sleeves, and lunged at Jiang Wan with murderous intent.
"Put that down! You damned girl, you heaven-cursed little wastrel…"
Jiang Wan said nothing, just dragged the sack and ran wild around the yard.
If you're going to cause trouble, you might as well inflict maximum damage on the other side—that's the only way it's worth it.
Widow Su wanted to cry but had no tears, chasing behind and cursing relentlessly.
But she was getting on in years, her legs not nearly as nimble as Jiang Wan's. And through the chase, she watched helplessly as Jiang Wan knocked over countless jars and pots along the way—the panic in her heart was immense!
After barely two steps of pursuit, Widow Su's focus wavered, and her footing stumbled.
She plopped down on the ground, slapping her thighs and wailing, "Everyone come look! The Zhou family is bullying us poor orphans and widows! Everyone come judge for yourselves…"
Jiang Wan finished shaking out the sack in her hands, tossed the empty bag aside, and moved on to the second sack, then the third…
Her movements were fluid and practiced—even more efficient now without Widow Su's interference.
She didn't stop until every last sack of feed beneath the eaves of the main hall had been emptied out. Only then did she pause to catch her breath.
Brushing the dust off her hands, Jiang Wan raised her chin and watched coldly as Widow Su threw a fit in the pile of mule feed.
Xiao He seized the opportunity to step forward and help Jiang Wan pick the bits of straw from her hair bun.
"Sister-in-law… there are a lot of people outside… are we going to be in trouble…"
At that, Jiang Wan turned her head.
Only then did she realize that the Su family courtyard had somehow filled with quite a few people.
Most of them were idle onlookers drawn by the commotion.
Several neighbors clutching rice bowls were whispering and making faces as they gossiped about Jiang Wan's "heroic deed."
Seeing Jiang Wan look over, a woman who fancied herself a paragon of fairness stepped forward with a frown and scolded, "Wife of the Zhou family, you've barely been through the door a few days and already you're stirring up trouble! And you claim to come from a scholar's household—must you insist on making the Zhou family's life a living hell?"
Jiang Wan shot her a cold glance and rolled her eyes dramatically.
"None of your damn business! Mind your own plate and stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong!"