As soon as Shen Yongtian heard his mother mention the third son, he felt annoyed and irritable. His mother seemed to favor him at times, but in reality, her true favoritism went to the third son, Shen Yongcai.
Everything good went to the third son first—he was always left behind.
He wasn’t happy but didn’t dare speak up. After all, if the third son eventually became a government official, he could benefit from it too. He roughly understood what his mother meant and whispered, “Mother, you mean…” He pointed eastward, “You want me to go get the silver?”
Shen Liu gave a poisonous smile and nodded. “Yes. These past few days, that little brat keeps running to town. If we don’t act soon, those ten taels of silver will be gone. Those white-eyed wolves can only work—they’re no match for us. Just be careful.”
She turned to a cabinet and handed Shen Yongtian a small package.
“This is a kind of ‘bewildering incense’ I secretly bought from a medicine man for a hundred wen a few days ago. I had planned to use it when dealing with that little brat, but that damned eldest son interfered.”
Shen Yongtian took the incense, feeling uneasy. “Mother, what if the eldest brother and sister-in-law are home? If they find out…”
“You coward! They’ll be knocked out by the incense. Who will notice? Don’t worry and just do as I say. I’ll keep watch outside.”
Knowing his mother would accompany him, Shen Yongtian reluctantly braced himself. His reluctance wasn’t about being unwilling to act—it was fear of being caught and beaten. In his mind, Shen Yong’an’s family were merely his family’s servants; hardship was their lot. Now that the servants had rebelled, he resented them even more, wishing they would just die.
Under the black, moonless sky, Shen Liu and Shen Yongtian crept into Shen Yong’an’s yard. Seeing the newly repaired and tidy house, Shen Liu’s hatred flared. Those little brats should be sleeping in the open, kneeling outside her house begging for shelter. How dare they have such a nice home!
“Bah!” Shen Liu spat toward the house and urged Shen Yongtian to act quickly.
Inside, Shen Yu, awakened by sounds outside, quietly got up and peeked through the window. She saw Shen Liu exit the yard and Shen Yongtian approaching the window with a thin tube.
Excited, Shen Yu rubbed her hands. “They’ve been busy the past two days, so they haven’t had a chance to settle accounts with me. And now they’ve come straight to me—how polite of them!”
She first covered Lin Shuyuan’s mouth and gently woke her mother. Lin Shuyuan was about to scream but stopped when she saw her daughter, eyes wide with questioning. Shen Yu gestured for silence and pointed toward the window, where the paper had been punctured and a thin tube emitting white smoke extended inside, scaring Lin Shuyuan upright.
Shen Yu fetched simple gas masks from her space for herself and Lin Shuyuan, then woke the others similarly, instructing everyone to lie still and feign unconsciousness.
Shen Yongtian waited outside for the incense to take effect, a full incense stick’s time, and hearing no sound from inside, he slowly picked the lock and entered.
Inside, the dark made it difficult to see. Something tripped him near the stove—it was a rice sack. He grabbed a handful and sniffed; it smelled of rice. Anger flared. His family’s silver had been spent on rice—good rice, the kind even his mother wouldn’t waste! Damn it! Shen Yongtian fumed and continued feeling his way inside.
Reaching the east corner, near Shen Yu’s sleeping straw pile, Shen Yongtian’s hand hadn’t even touched her before she kicked him to the ground.
Before a scream could escape him, Shen Yu quickly stuffed straw into his mouth, then retrieved a large hemp sack from her space and covered his head. Shen Yong’an charged in, and together they pummeled Shen Yongtian with fists and feet. He rolled on the ground, making muffled sounds, until finally going silent.
Shen Yu fetched another hemp sack, quietly opened the door, and ran outside. Shen Liu, outside the yard, sensed movement and tried to enter, but suddenly everything went dark and excruciating pain coursed through her body.
Shen Yu had held back just enough—not enough to kill her outright.
Once Shen Liu collapsed, Shen Yu dragged her inside. Turning to Shen Yong’an, she said, “Father, watch them. I’ll go to the village and bring people over. Let’s see how they try to deny this.”
After coordinating the plan, Shen Yu ran to the village.
At the village head’s house, she pounded the gate and shouted, “Second Grandfather! Second Grandfather! Thieves broke into our house! Please come quickly!”
The old village head leapt up in shock, hastily dressing. His wife followed, lighting a lamp and murmuring, “That sounds like Yu’er’s voice. What trouble is this now?”
Shen Yong, the second son, heard the commotion and hurriedly threw on clothes. Seeing Shen Yu, he asked anxiously, “Yu’er, what happened?”
“Second Uncle! Thieves broke into our house—two of them. My father caught them. Please come see what to do.”
The old village head, now outside, exclaimed, “Thieves broke into your house? Let’s go, Yu’er. Let’s see who dares to be so bold—enough is enough!”
The neighbors, awakened by the noise, came out to see what was happening. Hearing that the thieves had been caught, they followed the old village head to Shen Yu’s house.
Shen Yong lit a torch, and along the way, more villagers, awakened by the commotion, joined the crowd.
When the old village head and the villagers arrived, Shen Liu and Shen Yongtian, still bound and gagged in hemp sacks, were trembling on the ground.
Shen Yong’an stepped forward to the old village head. “Second Uncle, these two intruders entered our house with knives, intending to kill us. Luckily, Yu’er discovered them during her night watch. We captured them in sacks.”
The village head looked at the struggling sacks. “Do you know who they are?”
“It was too dark to tell. We were just waiting for you, Second Uncle,” Shen Yong’an replied.
The two in the sacks twisted even more violently, muffled cries escaping.
The old village head waved his hand. “Open the sacks.”
Villagers holding torches stepped forward. Shen Yong’an opened one sack, revealing Shen Yongtian’s pig-like face. The other sack was opened, exposing Shen Liu, her face smeared with snot and tears.