Everyone in the courtyard was startled by what they saw.
The two bailiffs hurriedly helped Qi Mohan carefully disentangle his clothes from the stool.
Su Juan and Su Mo didn’t even dare to breathe loudly, their faces contorted as they watched Qi Mohan’s pained expression, as if they were feeling the pain themselves.
Su Ying was different. Her gaze was fixed on the stool behind Qi Mohan, her brows furrowed deeply.
That stool seemed to have been bought recently for thirty wen—the only decent stool in the house. Seeing it cracked like this pained her immensely.
“This… this looks… quite… serious. Should we… pay compensation?”
Hearing this, Qi Mohan quickly waved his hand. “No, no, no, no need for compensation!”
He hadn’t come with the intention of causing trouble. Seeing how poorly off the three siblings in the courtyard were, how could he bear to make them pay?
Truth be told, before turning around, Qi Mohan had found the stuttering girl quite endearing. But when he turned and saw her, he nearly choked with anger.
He had assumed she was concerned about his injury, only to realize she had been staring at the cracked stool the whole time. It dawned on him that her question about compensation was directed at her siblings!
How bold!
Su Juan also realized Su Ying’s words were meant for her and hesitantly replied, “We probably don’t… need to pay, right?”
Su Mo thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, “But this cost us thirty wen! How many characters would Big Sister have to write to earn that back?”
Before the stool was even removed from him, Qi Mohan nearly fainted from frustration upon hearing this.
Could these three siblings not get it straight? He was the one injured by their family’s stool! Just because he had come voluntarily today didn’t mean they could take advantage of him!
Finally, the two bailiffs managed to pry the stool apart, freeing him. Qi Mohan immediately tossed a tael of silver onto the table. “Compensation for you!”
What bad luck! This was the first time he had ever encountered such a situation.
“Ah, then let me get you another stool to sit on!”
Su Ying picked up the silver from the table and hurried back inside to fetch another stool.
Qi Mohan’s lips twitched, and he quickly waved his hands. “No, no need!”
Was she trying to scam him for money, thinking he was big enough to break stools? He truly couldn’t handle this—his backside was still aching.
“No worries, no worries! Sit down. This one won’t cost you anything if it breaks!” Su Mo grinned. Even if all their stools were broken, a tael of silver would more than cover it.
…Was this really about the money? Wasn’t it about whether he could even sit down?
He seriously suspected the three siblings were getting back at him!
“Never mind, never mind. I’ll come another day!”
Qi Mohan was truly afraid now. He quickly waved his hands and left with the two bailiffs.
“Farewell, Young Master Qi!” Su Juan said politely.
The three siblings saw Qi Mohan out, but upon noticing his somewhat awkward gait, they couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Hearing the laughter, Qi Mohan turned back to look at the three siblings.
They immediately stifled their laughter. Oh no, how rude! He hadn’t even left yet, and now he had seen them. Who knew what he must think of them!
Embarrassed, Su Juan turned her head away, only to spot Second Grandpa herding sheep not far away in the village.
She greeted him first, then quickly nudged Su Ying. “Second Sister, hurry up and greet Second Grandpa.”
Su Ying tugged at the corner of her clothes, knowing her eldest sister was trying to help her build courage. She cleared her throat and waved energetically at Second Grandpa not far away, shouting loudly,
“Where’s Grandpa? Second Sheep Sheep?”
Second Grandpa, who was hard of hearing, likely didn’t catch what she said and merely grinned at them with a nod. But Qi Mohan, who hadn’t left yet, burst into laughter, his body shaking with mirth.
“Aren’t you afraid of getting beaten up talking like that outside? Hahaha…”
His hearty laughter made Su Ying’s face flush bright red in an instant. Covering her cheeks with her hands, she hurried back into the house to hide.
She truly never expected karma to strike so quickly!
Su Juan and Su Mo were equally taken aback by Su Ying’s unexpected remark. They struggled to hold back their laughter for a moment but eventually couldn’t contain it and burst out laughing.
The sound of the small earthen kiln exploding had already aroused the neighbors’ suspicion, prompting them to come out and investigate. To their surprise, many who emerged saw a handsome, dignified young man standing in front of the Su family’s old courtyard, followed by two constables. The three of them were clutching their stomachs and laughing uproariously for some unknown reason.
As for the Su siblings, Su Juan was relatively composed, merely covering her mouth as she chuckled while looking at the courtyard. Su Mo, however, was laughing so hard he could barely stand straight.
Curious, someone called out loudly, “Su Da Mei, what’s so funny?”
Su Juan turned around and immediately waved her hands dismissively, “No, no, nothing at all!”
With that, she quickly dashed back inside, and Su Mo followed suit.
Qi Mohan finally stopped laughing and patted the two constables, signaling them to walk behind him and shield him a bit.
The onlookers had never seen such a strikingly handsome man like Qi Mohan and were instantly mesmerized. After staring for a while, they noticed something odd—the man walked somewhat strangely.
Unaware of the details, the crowd grew curious and began questioning those who had arrived earlier.
“What’s going on? Who is that man? What’s he doing at the Su family’s old courtyard?”
“I don’t know. I just came out of my house after hearing the commotion at the Su family’s old courtyard. It’s strange, though—what could be so funny that the Su siblings are laughing along?”
“I’ve been standing here for a while. I saw that man and two constables go into the Su family’s old courtyard, sit for a bit, and then come out. At first, the second sister was there too, but after she said something, she ran back inside, and these people started laughing like crazy.”
“Are the Su sisters flirting with that man? How shameless!”
Some, recalling Qi Mohan’s handsome face and noting that Su Juan was quite pretty herself, grew jealous and began spreading gossip.
“I don’t think so. It seemed like the Su siblings were just joking around with someone familiar, not that man!”
Someone corrected them, but many chose to ignore the remark.
Hmph! Acting so brazenly in front of an outsider—they must be trying to seduce him. A proper young lady would never behave like that!
Feeling resentful, some women went straight to the Su family to exaggerate the story.
The Su family’s elderly matriarch and Second Uncle’s wife, Mrs. He, were sitting in the courtyard of the Village head’s new house when several women barged in, acting as if something major had happened, and tattled,
“Old Auntie, you need to discipline your eldest branch’s children. Just now, many people saw a quite handsome young gentleman and two constables coming out of the old courtyard. Those three siblings said something to the gentleman, and they all laughed until they could barely stand! And what’s more, when the gentleman arrived, he was fine, but when he left, he was walking a bit strangely!”
“Exactly! Snakes are frequently spotted in their courtyard. Though we wanted to advise them, we didn’t dare enter. This situation is truly troublesome!”
Upon hearing this, the Su family’s expressions immediately darkened.
Mrs. He, who had been the subject of villagers’ gossip for the past two days, already harbored deep resentment toward the three siblings. Now, upon learning this news, she instinctively grew nervous and leaned closer to Old Lady Shao Shi, lowering her voice to whisper,
“Mother, didn’t you say you had… taken care of those three siblings? How could they still… That young gentleman sounds like someone from the magistrate’s office. What if he has some connection with the siblings? Then we…”
“What are you panicking about? Go summon the three siblings. I’ll question them myself!”
Old Lady Shao Shi shot a glance at the incompetent Mrs. He, her eyes flashing with a cold gleam.