“Old Madam Ye, hurry and send someone to fetch the doctor! The girl has lost too much blood. If she isn’t treated soon, she’ll die!” Granny Wang walked over and sighed heavily.
“If she dies, then she dies. That little curse who killed her parents still expects me to spend silver to save her? Dream on!” Old Madam Ye spat through gritted teeth.
At that moment, Village Chief Li arrived.
“Old Madam Ye, stop being ridiculous! Move aside and let that boy from the Lu family carry the girl inside. Doctor Sun will be here soon.”
Old Madam Ye muttered something with Feng Yan before reluctantly stepping aside. Lu Qingshan carried Ye Mengyi into the house and gently laid her down.
Not long after, Doctor Sun arrived. The moment he entered, Village Chief Li hurried over.
“Doctor Sun, please take a look at her. Is the injury serious? She’s lost so much blood!”
Doctor Sun carefully examined her before taking out a hemostatic medicine from his medical box and applying it to the wound.
The moment Old Madam Ye saw the medicine, she rushed over.
“Doctor Sun, is that medicine expensive? Our family can’t afford costly medicine. First tell me whether she can even survive. If she can’t be cured, there’s no point wasting money.”
Doctor Sun paused and looked coldly at her.
“This is your own granddaughter, yet you hate her so much you’d rather see her die? Hmph.”
Still, his hands never stopped treating the wound.
“What’s it to you? Just tell me if she can be saved and how much it’ll cost.”
Ye Mengyi weakly tugged at Doctor Sun’s sleeve. Half-opening her eyes, she subtly raised one hand with five fingers spread.
Doctor Sun understood immediately.
Hearing Old Madam Ye’s words, he replied in an unfriendly tone,
“She injured her head. The wound is deep. To properly treat it will cost at least five taels of silver.”
“What?! Five taels? We don’t have that much! Then don’t treat her!” Old Madam Ye shouted immediately.
“Old Madam Ye! That’s your granddaughter! What’s wrong with spending five taels to save a life? You really are…” Village Chief Li said angrily.
The villagers gathered in the courtyard began whispering among themselves.
“Five taels really is expensive… that’s nearly two years of harvest income.”
“But it’s still a human life, and her own granddaughter at that. Expensive or not, it could save her.”
“That Old Madam Ye is truly stingy. If she won’t even save her own granddaughter, who’d dare marry into their family in the future?”
“I heard ever since Scholar Ye died, the whole family beats and scolds Ye Mengyi constantly. They make her work before dawn every day. Absolutely heartless.”
Hearing the gossip, Yang Yun quickly walked to the doorway and whispered something into Feng Yan’s ear.
Feng Yan glanced toward Lu Qingshan after listening.
Then she entered the room and said to Old Madam Ye,
“Mother, come outside for a moment. I need to discuss something with you.”
Old Madam Ye gave her a suspicious glance but followed her out into the main hall.
Yang Yun lowered her voice.
“Mother, the villagers outside are saying our family is vicious. They say no one will dare associate or arrange marriages with us anymore.”
“Mother, treating her will cost five taels. Qing’an is already seven and should start schooling soon. Tuition costs money.”
Feng Yan immediately added,
“Exactly, Mother. Qingyan is already seventeen. Soon we’ll need to marry An’er into the family. Qingfeng is already fifteen and should marry soon too.”
Feng An’er was Feng Yan’s niece from her maiden family. Two years ago, fourteen-year-old Feng An’er had become engaged to fifteen-year-old Ye Qingyan. Old Madam Ye had even hired a fortune teller, who claimed that if Ye Qingyan married her at seventeen, the family would prosper.
Old Madam Ye narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“So why exactly did you drag me out here?”
Seeing her mother-in-law getting angry, Yang Yun hurriedly explained,
“Mother, that dead girl was carried back by Lu Qingshan. The entire village saw it. A girl’s reputation is everything. We may be able to afford five taels now, but then the boys won’t be able to study or marry for the time being, right?”
Feng Yan quickly continued,
“Exactly, Mother. The boy from the Lu family isn’t married either. Since he carried that dead girl in his arms, why not let him take her directly home? We won’t ask for any bride price, and we won’t provide a dowry either. He can pay for her treatment himself.”
Yang Yun chimed in again,
“Mother, think about it. That girl brings misfortune. Look at how badly our family has suffered these past years because of her. Since there’s already a ready-made solution, marry her off to Lu Qingshan. Then we can finally send this cursed girl away. Once she’s gone, our family’s luck will surely improve.”
Old Madam Ye lowered her head in thought for a moment before nodding.
“Fine. I’ll go say it now.”
As soon as she stepped out of the hall, she nearly bumped into Ye Qingfeng, who had clearly been eavesdropping.
Feng Yan immediately grabbed his ear.
“You little brat! How old are you already, sneaking around listening at walls? Every day you either climb roofs or catch fish in the river. Never doing anything useful!”
“Ow! Ow! Mom, let go! It hurts! Grandma! Grandma!”
“That’s enough,” Old Madam Ye said. “Let him go. His ear’s all red already. Good grandson, go back inside. You’re still young and don’t understand these things.”
“I’m already fifteen,” Ye Qingfeng muttered quietly. “Isn’t this just about driving that jinx away? I’m not a child.”
“What did you say?”
“Ah, nothing! I’m going back inside to play. Grandma, don’t be angry. You carry on.”
With that, he ran off in a flash.
Old Madam Ye quickly returned to Ye Mengyi’s room.
She glanced around before fixing her eyes on Lu Qingshan.
“Boy from the Lu family, you carried this dead girl back here and ruined her reputation. So how about this—you pay for the medicine and take her home with you. Once she recovers, she can become your wife.”
The moment Old Madam Ye finished speaking, everyone froze.
For a long while, nobody reacted.
Lu Qingshan was so startled he stammered,
“Grandma Ye, th-this…”
“Old Madam Ye, what nonsense are you saying?!”
But soon some villagers began murmuring.
“I think Old Madam Ye makes sense. Lu Qingshan carried Ye Mengyi, so he should take responsibility.”
“That’s true. Even if he was saving her, everyone saw him carrying her back. They’ve already had physical contact.”
“If the Lu boy doesn’t marry her, who else would?”
“Exactly. After being held by another man, no other family would want her.”
“Practically the whole village saw it. She can only marry into the Lu family now.”
“But the Lu family is so poor. Can they even afford five taels to treat her? Old Madam Ye really planned this carefully.”
“Exactly. Everyone knows what kind of scheme they’re playing.”
“The Lu family is dirt poor. Why would they agree? Bringing her home means spending money and effort, and she might not even survive.”
“What’s that saying again? Using gratitude to force repayment? Yes, that’s it.”
The crowd talked over one another noisily.
Village Chief Li looked from one person to another before turning to Lu Qingshan.
“Qingshan, what they’re saying does make some sense. You carried the girl, so you should take some responsibility. But the burden can’t all fall on you.”
Then he turned toward Old Madam Ye.
“Qingshan can marry the girl, but only after she recovers. Your family still has to pay for her treatment first.”
Old Madam Ye immediately waved her hand.
“We don’t want any bride price! Just let that Lu boy carry this dead girl away right now. Our family won’t provide any dowry either.”