Looking at the man's appearance, Yan Shu was stunned!
The man was around eighteen or nineteen years old, with a long scar running from his temple to the corner of his mouth on one side of his face; the other half was rather handsome.
Most importantly, his complexion was too strange, too abnormal.
She raised her hand and took his pulse—sure enough, this man was poisoned, and with a very potent poison.
No wonder he had been unconscious all this time!
Wasn't he just a minor centurion? Who would go to the trouble of poisoning him with something so severe?
Weren't they afraid of wasting it?
Or was poison just cheap in ancient times?
And yet this man hadn't died—the medical skills of this era were quite impressive too!
However, if the poison wasn't removed quickly, this man might not be saved!
But she didn't have any silver needles—how could she help him detoxify?
It seemed she could only temporarily alleviate his poison for now. As long as she kept him alive, she could properly detoxify him once she had silver needles.
Yan Shu pressed on the acupoints for detoxification, and she noticed that as she pressed, a faint fluorescent light would pass through her hands and enter the man's body.
This fluorescent light could not only save herself, but could also be channeled through her to heal others—truly miraculous!
Yan Shu was pressing the last acupoint when she heard a somewhat authoritative voice from outside call out: "Fourth Brother, Fourth Sister-in-law, are you home?"
"Village Chief, you've come at last! I want to split off the eldest branch—write up the separation document now!"
"Fourth Sister-in-law, splitting off the eldest branch right now—is that really appropriate?"
The shrill voice said with righteous indignation: "What's inappropriate about it? This Mrs. Han brings death to her kin—she's already killed her own husband and daughter-in-law, and her son won't live much longer either. Who knows, maybe I and the old man, or someone else in the family, will be next! I won't keep this jinx in my house. Village Chief, this family must be split!"
Sure enough, she was an old hag—her words were nothing but venom!
Hearing this, Mrs. Han came out of the kitchen and knelt before Old Madame Qi, weeping: "Mother, I beg you, don't split us off! Please!"
Seeing this, the Village Chief frowned and asked: "Where's Fourth Brother? Does he feel the same way?"
Old Madame Qi kicked Mrs. Han aside and said irritably: "Why ask him? I'm the head of this household—if I say we split, we split! If you can't make that decision, I'll go to the village headman!"
Hearing that she would go to his superior, the Village Chief's beard twitched in displeasure. Thinking about how Qi Dalang's wife and children had been tormented by their stepmother into such a sorry state after his death, he said: "Very well then, let's split it!"
Hearing this, Mrs. Han felt as though her last lifeline had been cut, and she collapsed limply to the ground.
Old Madame Qi shot Mrs. Han a smug look and said: "I'll go fetch a stool for the Village Chief!"
Hearing Mrs. Han's pitiful sobbing, the Village Chief wanted to say a few words of comfort, but then Mrs. Han's second son, Qi Zhishan, spoke up: "Mother, stop crying! Splitting the family isn't so bad. Once we're separated, we can borrow money to get a doctor for Eldest Brother—I'm sure we can save him!"
Hearing her second son say this, Mrs. Han wept even more bitterly. Her mother-in-law had never thought well of their branch anyway, and wouldn't give them any money or grain in the separation. They wouldn't even have food or drink—who would be willing to lend them silver for medical treatment?
Even survival would be a problem in the future!
Shan'er was thinking far too simply!
Yan Shu walked out and saw a gaunt woman in her thirties sobbing on the ground—that was her mother-in-law, Mrs. Han.
Beside her stood a boy of thirteen or fourteen, lips pressed tightly together, his eyes full of anger and helplessness—that was her younger brother-in-law, Qi Zhishan.
Compared to the others in the courtyard, Mrs. Han and her son were dressed in rags, patches upon patches, sallow and thin—not much better off than refugees.
It was clear they had been bullied by Old Madame Qi all along!
Seeing the Village Chief sit down with brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to write the separation document, Yan Shu stepped forward and said: "Grandpa Village Chief, wait a moment!"
The sudden clear voice drew everyone's attention. They saw a delicate and lovely young woman walking in from the doorway—fair-skinned and beautiful, though so thin she looked like a gust of wind could knock her over. Yet her light, graceful steps and bright eyes gave her an air of commanding presence.
Mrs. Han froze for a moment, then wiped her tears and ran over joyfully, saying with excited tenderness: "Shu'er, you're alive? That's wonderful!"
Yan Shu had a natural soft spot for gentle people, so she couldn't help but soften her voice: "Mother, I'm fine now!"
Mrs. Han felt Yan Shu's warm hands and instantly relaxed, then her eyes lit up as if she had seen hope. She turned and said:
"Mother, Shu'er is fine, so Xiao'er will surely be fine too. I'm not a jinx—please don't split us off, alright?"
Old Madame Qi was shocked. Wasn't Yan Shu supposed to be dead?
Hadn't Xiao Wu taken her up the mountain?
How was she here?
But no matter what had happened, this family had to be split today.
She said coldly: "Dream on! You wretched woman—Yan Shu is clearly alive and kicking, yet you claimed she was done for! Mrs. Han, I see you're just trying to swindle my silver.
A slick-tongued shrew like you committed the seven grounds for divorce long ago. It's mercy enough that I haven't cast you out—how could I possibly keep living with you? Village Chief, write the separation document. This family must be split."
This old woman really knew how to twist things around—one casual remark and she was already spouting nonsense!
Sure enough, whenever she wanted to split up the family, she could come up with any excuse under the sun.
Seeing Mrs. Han looking like a flower battered by wind and rain, fragile and about to collapse, Yan Shu stepped forward and said, "The family will be divided, that's certain. But before we write the separation agreement, we need to make clear how this household is to be divided."
Old Madame Qi heard this and shot Yan Shu a vicious glare, her triangular eyes narrowing as she cursed, "You little slut, who are you to speak in this household?"
Yan Shu smiled and replied, "Grandmother, I am, after all, the wife your grandson married—that makes me a member of this family. What's more, my husband is the eldest son of our branch.
He's lying unconscious right now, so since we're dividing the family, it's only natural that I take charge. And since Village Chief Grandpa and everyone else are here, and Grandmother has always been fair, I trust the division won't give the neighbors any reason to laugh at us!"
Old Madame Qi looked around and saw the villagers filing into the courtyard, pointing and whispering. Some even taunted, "That's right—Fourth Sister-in-law may be a stepmother, but she's always been the most impartial. Whatever division she decides should be just that."
"Everyone knows this blue-brick tiled house was built by Dalang through hunting and hard labor! And the Qi family's land—the most in Qingshan Village—that's Dalang's doing too. Now that you're splitting off the eldest branch, you can't shortchange them!"
"If you ask me, half the family property should go to the eldest branch!"
Old Madame Qi's face soured at that. She said coldly, "Bullshit! This house was built by the men and sons of this family through their own labor. What does Qi Dalang have to do with it?
And when Qi Zhixiao came back unconscious, this old woman hired a physician from the county seat—each dose of medicine cost several taels of silver! I even married him a wife for good luck. My savings have been drained dry by him. Why should I give them anything more after the division?"
"Ha, Fourth Sister-in-law, I saw it with my own eyes—Zhixiao brought back medicine when he returned! And he also received a pension! At least thirty taels, right?"
"That medicine only lasted a few days! And the pension was all spent on him anyway!" Old Madame Qi blustered loudly, then shifted the subject, pointing at Mrs. Han with a vicious expression. "Mrs. Han, let me tell you—this family is divided, that's final. But as for the household's belongings, don't you even think about it!"