“What’s going on?” a stern voice suddenly broke in.
Old Liang had been working in the fields at the foot of the western hills.
When he heard from the villagers that his granddaughter had fallen into the river and drowned, he grabbed his hoe and ran home.
To his surprise, he found his second son and daughter-in-law both kneeling on the ground.
“Second son, your leg isn’t healed yet. Don’t kneel on the ground—get up quickly, or you’ll injure it again.”
Old Liang went over, held his son’s arms, and helped him to his feet, then guided him to sit on a stool.
Although he usually favored his grandsons, he had always cared deeply for his three sons.
Looking at Mrs. Liu still kneeling, he said, “You get up too.”
Hearing her father-in-law speak, Mrs. Liu immediately rose, making sure to hand the cane back to her husband as well.
From the moment Liang the Second saw his father, he felt reassured.
Though his father favored his grandsons, he had never been cruel to his granddaughters.
As the head of the household, his father’s judgment was generally fair.
In a life-and-death moment, Liang the Second trusted his father would not let anyone die.
He quickly explained the situation to his father.
As expected, Old Liang listened, then turned to Old Mrs. Liang and asked, “How much of the six taels of silver from selling grain is left?”
“Just five taels. I was keeping it for Wenyong’s marriage, and for Wenzhi’s studies,” Old Mrs. Liang said slyly. The money from selling the grain had barely been in her hands before some had already vanished.
“Less than a month since selling the grain, and you’ve already spent one tael?” Old Liang questioned.
“I manage the household’s expenses; money naturally goes quickly. Wenzhi occasionally needs ink, brushes, paper, and inkstones for studying—those things aren’t cheap!” Old Mrs. Liang protested loudly.
Old Liang was silent for a moment, then said firmly, “Give three taels of silver to Liang the Second’s family to buy medicine.”
“Old man, we can’t give it. What about Wenyong’s marriage? What about Wenzhi’s studies?” Old Mrs. Liang still refused.
“Some things are more urgent than others. This is a life-and-death matter. Even the most important things can wait—Qianhua’s life comes first. If you can’t even see that, how can you run this family?”
Old Liang scolded his wife loudly.
She had become increasingly muddled and couldn’t even handle something this simple.
Hearing her father-in-law speak, Mrs. Liu and Liang the Second breathed a sigh of relief, both gratefully saying, “Thank you, Father.”
Though begrudgingly, Old Mrs. Liang dared not disobey the head of the family.
She feared that if she argued, he might strip her of authority.
Grumbling, she went inside and returned with the silver, tossing the roughly wrapped three taels to Liang the Second.
Reluctantly, she said, “It’s just a girl. Keeping her at home is a waste of grain. You guard her like your own eye. In two years, she’ll be married off to another family. If you only care about your nephews, who will support you when you grow old?”
Liang the Second said nothing.
He took one tael of silver and handed it to Doctor Huang, instructing Mrs. Liu to follow him to collect the medicine.
He then called his eldest nephew Wenyong over, giving him the remaining two taels and the prescription.
“Wenyong, keep this silver and prescription safe. First, go borrow an ox cart from Old Wang in the village. Tell him we’ll pay double later. Once you have it, hurry to Renji Hall in the county to buy the medicine according to the prescription.”
Liang the Second urged his nephew, wanting to return with the medicine before nightfall.
“I understand, Second Uncle. I’ll go immediately,” Wenyong replied, carefully placing the silver and prescription in his arms.
He lifted the cloth curtain that blocked the room, left Qianhua’s small room, passed through the west room door, and headed straight for the front yard.
He knew Qianhua’s life was in danger and had to get the medicine quickly.
“Father, Second Brother’s injury has already drained the family’s funds. Now you’re spending even more on Qianhua’s medicine. What about Wenyong’s marriage? I’m not upset at the girl, but Wenyong is already eighteen, and I’m worried.”
Zhu, the eldest uncle’s wife, could not hold back her resentment.
Seeing her father-in-law give her eldest son’s marriage money to buy medicine for Qianhua, she complained.
“Once Second Brother’s leg heals, he can hunt more in the mountains and earn the silver back,” Old Liang explained. He knew Wenyong’s marriage was important, but life comes first.
“Who knows when his leg will heal? The villagers say he might be crippled for life,” Zhu retorted.
“Who told you that? Outsiders can say what they want, but you, as his sister-in-law, should not curse your Second Uncle! If I hear anyone gossiping in this house again, don’t blame me for enforcing family rules!”
Old Liang scolded Zhu, nearly slamming the table in anger.
Frightened, Zhu immediately fell silent and instinctively moved behind her eldest son.
Liang the Second felt uneasy hearing his sister-in-law, but he could not openly argue with her.
He sat silently on the stool by the bed, guarding his daughter.
Liang Cuihua, meanwhile, was in a panic.
She hoped Qianhua would die quickly, never wanting her to survive.
She had always disliked her cousin. Qianhua had been beautiful since childhood, chosen by Jiang Lin’s mother for marriage when she was only ten.
In Yunfeng Village, there were only three scholars—her brother Liang Wenzhi, Hu Zhixiong (the local official’s grandson), and Jiang Lin.
The three had taken the Tongsheng examination in February.
Wenzhi and Hu Zhixiong didn’t even pass the first county-level test, while Jiang Lin passed both the county and the April prefectural exams.
Now Jiang Lin had become the youngest scholar in the village.
Cuihua was almost fifteen, but no matchmaker had approached her yet.
Meanwhile, Qianhua, two years younger, already had a highly accomplished fiancé.
She was furious with jealousy.
Her grandmother favored males, and her mother, Zhu, followed suit, giving priority to her sons for food and attention. Qianhua, like Cuihua, was a girl, but her second uncle and aunt doted on her like their own eye, saving the best food for her.
Cuihua felt it was unfair.
Why should Qianhua have such a good life while she had nothing? Every time she saw Qianhua’s enticing face, she felt uncontrollable hatred.
When her second uncle broke his leg, leaving him bedridden, no one protected Mrs. Liu and Qianhua.
Her grandmother made their lives even harder.
Qianhua was sent daily to gather wild vegetables and feed the animals, gradually becoming tanned and emaciated.
She looked yellow, blackened, and thin.
Though her features were still beautiful, she had lost her previous radiance.
Villagers even said Liang Qianhua was becoming uglier as she grew.
Cuihua was secretly delighted, even wishing her second uncle’s leg never healed, leaving Qianhua unprotected, suffering more.
When Qianhua’s family suffered misfortune, Cuihua felt slightly vindicated. But when Qianhua stole her heart’s desire, she could not forgive her.
She hated Qianhua so much that she had once pushed her into a deep river.
Luckily, Liu Tiedan and a group of villagers saved Qianhua in time.
Now, Mrs. Liu returned with Doctor Huang and the medicine.
By the time eldest nephew Wenyong bought the remaining herbs from Renji Hall, dusk had begun to fall. Mrs. Liu quickly prepared the medicine and fed it to her daughter.
Qianhua felt her mother help lift her, holding the bowl to her lips.
Although she could not speak or move, she could still swallow.
To wake up faster, she forced down the bitter medicine, despite feeling nauseated.
Normally, Mrs. Liu cooked the meals, but today, she had no appetite. Zhu and Chen, Liang’s third son’s wife, had prepared the dinner instead.
Mrs. Liu worried about her daughter and did not eat, staying by her bedside and changing cooling cloths on her forehead.
Liang the Second, worried about both wife and daughter, ate only a few bites of food.
He entered the room with his left hand on a cane and his right hand carrying a bowl of food left for his wife. “Chunxiang, eat this first. I’ll watch the girl. Don’t collapse again while she wakes.”
Mrs. Liu wiped her tears with her sleeve. “Her father, she hasn’t woken yet. I don’t have an appetite.”
“Eat a little, at least, so you don’t exhaust yourself,” Liang the Second urged.
Mrs. Liu, knowing her husband cared, reluctantly picked up the utensils and ate, though the food tasted like sawdust to her.
After taking a few bites and finding she couldn’t eat any more, Liang Lao’er stopped trying to urge her.
The young couple stayed by their daughter’s bedside, tending to her together.
In the east room, Mrs. Zhu complained to Liang Lao-da, “I don’t even know if Qianhua can be saved. That money was meant for Wenyong to get married. If she can’t be saved, we might as well not have wasted the silver in the first place.”
Liang Lao-da immediately frowned at her words and scolded, “What are you saying? Lao’er only has this one daughter, Qianhua. As long as there’s still hope, we have to do everything we can to save her. How can you speak so coldly?”
Mrs. Zhu, already annoyed, felt even angrier at her husband’s rebuke.
Grabbing his ear, she scolded him, “You, Liang Shifu! How dare you scold me? Are you out of your mind? Our Wenyong is already this old and still unmarried, and you, as his father, aren’t worried at all, and instead you side with some outsider! Do you even have a conscience?”
Liang Lao-da, normally obedient to Mrs. Zhu, immediately tried to soothe her, “Ah, wife, easy now… I’m only saying this for your own good. If our father heard you say such things, he’d scold you badly.”
Mrs. Zhu knew very well that her words must not reach her father-in-law. Even mentioning that Lao’er might end up crippled would make him furious.
In truth, Liang Lao-da was worried for his own son as well.
In previous years, Liang Lao’er had given all the money he earned from hunting to his mother, most of which went to support Wenzhi’s studies.
A few years back, harvests had been poor, leaving no surplus grain to sell.
This year, after Lao’er broke his leg, the hunting income vanished, and the father-in-law had to provide for the three of them.
Finally, they had a good harvest and sold some grain for silver—but now Lao’er’s family faced this crisis.
And Wenyong still couldn’t get married.
As a father, Liang Lao-da felt deeply worried.
Sighing, he realized that from now on, he would have to work even harder in the fields. Beyond farming, there was nothing else he could do.