Uncle Li from the village had hurriedly called Su Yu down from the mountain. Before she even reached home, she could already see a crowd gathered outside her courtyard from a distance. Heart pounding, she rushed into the house. There she found Wu Xiu sitting in the main hall, slapping her thigh and wailing dramatically, while several neighboring women surrounded her, trying to comfort her all at once.
Her face turning pale, Su Yu hurried into the inner room.
Su Erlang was there, along with the village’s barefoot physician. The physician was bent over the bedside, holding a long silver needle between his fingers as he inserted it into the head of her grandmother, who lay with her eyes tightly shut and traces of blood at the corners of her lips.
“Grandmother…” Su Yu’s voice trembled, and she could barely stay standing. “Second Uncle… what’s happened to Grandmother…?”
Su Erlang frowned and sighed. He glanced at her before saying only, “Ask your aunt.”
Then he turned his back and said nothing more.
Ask her aunt? Su Yu turned around. The inner room’s curtain had been rolled high, giving a clear view of everyone in the main hall.
Wu Xiu was surrounded by several village women, crying so hard she seemed on the verge of fainting.
“After what happened to you yesterday, I was worried about your reputation. That’s why I came today especially to discuss a marriage between you and Yansong.”
“Who could have known that you hadn’t told your grandmother about yesterday’s incident? When she suddenly heard such a thing, she became so distressed that she collapsed.”
A loud buzzing filled Su Yu’s ears. She turned her head toward her grandmother’s ashen face on the bed. Bit by bit, the blood drained from her own body, leaving her cold. She had guarded against the neighbors’ gossip, yet forgotten to guard against Wu Xiu.
Judging by how eager Aunt Wu seemed to broadcast the matter to the entire world the night before, she must have deliberately exaggerated the story and driven her grandmother to this state. Her grandmother was the only person in the world who had ever truly cared for her. If her grandmother could not survive today, then she would have no family left at all.
Wu Xiu was still crying dramatically in the main hall while the others continued to console her.
“Don’t blame yourself too much. No one expected the old madam would react like this…”
“Auntie…” Su Yu suddenly turned and fixed her gaze on Wu Xiu as she called out softly. “Did you come today to arrange a marriage for me, or to send my grandmother to her grave?”
Wu Xiu opened her mouth, but someone beside her spoke first. “Yu-jie’er, your aunt meant well…”
“Meant well?” Su Yu turned to look at the speaker. Her face was deathly pale, drained of all color. Tears pooled in her eyes, on the verge of falling, yet the look she gave them made the rest of the woman’s words die in her throat.
“My grandmother has been ill for more than half a year. Doesn’t Aunt Wu know exactly what condition she’s in?”
“Yesterday, Aunt Wu blocked my way at the village entrance. Under the guise of concern, she gathered everyone to come watch me make a spectacle of myself. And today, while I was away, she deliberately came to my grandmother and told her all of this.”
“My grandmother has been driven to this state from anger and shock, and you call that kindness? If that’s your idea of kindness, would you like some directed at you?”
“Yu’er, you…!” Wu Xiu was so choked by the accusation that she could barely save face. Just as she was about to put on the airs of an elder and scold her, the physician hurried out, carrying his medicine box, sweat beading on his brow.
“This old man is incapable of doing more. The old madam’s condition was brought on by a sudden surge of anger and distress. Stagnant blood has obstructed the vessels around her heart. My acupuncture and massage techniques are no longer enough. If your family can raise the money, send her to Renxin Hall in the county immediately. There’s a doctor there who specializes in treating this sort of illness, and his acupuncture skills are far superior to mine.”
“If you get her there quickly enough, she may still be saved. Delay any longer, and I’m afraid even the immortals won’t be able to help her.”
Su Yu’s knees gave way, and she nearly collapsed to the floor. Only by bracing herself against the wall did she remain standing. Taking a deep breath, she swept her gaze past the stunned women in the room and settled on Aunt Wang, standing toward the back. Staggering forward, she threw herself at the woman’s feet and dropped to her knees with a thud.
“Aunt Wang, please! Please lend me your ox cart. I have to take my grandmother to the county! I’ll pay you double the cart fare. Please save my grandmother. Please!”
Aunt Wang was taken aback. Looking down at the trembling girl kneeling before her, her heart softened immediately, and she hurried to pull Su Yu to her feet. “Child, get up, get up. You can borrow the cart. Forget about the money, saving a life comes first!”
Heat flooded Su Yu’s eyes. She kowtowed twice in gratitude, then scrambled to her feet and turned toward the inner room to carry her grandmother out. But after only two steps, she saw Su Erlang still standing at the inner room doorway, unmoving.
“Second Uncle?” Su Yu stared at him blankly. “Please help me carry Grandmother…”
Su Erlang still did not move. He frowned at Su Yu and spoke quietly. “Yu-jie’er… it’s not that your second uncle doesn’t want to help. But according to what the physician just said, the medical expenses won’t be a small sum.”
“Your cousin Yansong and Yanbai are both still studying. I truly don’t have any money to spare.” Su Erlang turned his face away, avoiding her gaze.
“And if we take her there only to find we can’t pay, we’ll just have to bring her back again. That would only make the old lady suffer.”
“Your grandmother spent her whole life caring about dignity and propriety. It would be better to let her leave this world with some dignity.”
Su Yu stared at him in disbelief, her voice trembling. “Grandmother is your own mother.”
Su Erlang did not respond.
After a moment of silence, he turned toward the outer room and called, “Xiuniang, bring a basin of hot water and wash Mother up.”
Wash her up.
Su Yu felt a jolt run through her entire body. Her grandmother was still alive, yet her own son was already asking someone to wash and prepare her body. He intended to leave her lying there and wait for death.
Su Yu did not know where the strength came from. She suddenly shoved Su Erlang aside with all her might. Caught off guard, he stumbled backward two steps and slammed his lower back against the doorframe, staring at her in shock.
Bending down, she gritted her teeth and hoisted the elderly woman onto her back. As she passed Su Erlang, she said coldly, “I only hope, Second Uncle, that you never grow old.”
“And if you do, may your own son treat you exactly as you’ve treated your mother today…”
“…by washing you up.”
With that, ignoring everyone’s astonished looks, she carried her grandmother out of the house.
It was Aunt Wang’s son and daughter-in-law who helped drive the ox cart.
Wang Youkang guided the cart from the front, while Zhao Ni rode in the back to help look after the patient.
Su Yu sat silently at the rear of the cart, cradling her grandmother and weeping soundlessly.
As Wang Youkang drove the ox, he shot his wife a look. Zhao Ni immediately understood what her husband meant.
Their mother had lent out the cart out of neighborly obligation, but everyone in the village knew Su Yu’s family was destitute.
Once they reached the county, she might not be able to afford the consultation fees and would simply be shown the door. Not only would the trip be wasted, but they would have gone through all this trouble for nothing. It was better to persuade her to give up the idea before they got too far from home.
So Zhao Ni cautiously began, “Sister Su Yu, you said you’re planning to go to Renxin Hall? It truly is one of the best clinics in the county, but…” She tried to phrase it tactfully. “I’ve heard that just registering for a consultation costs one tael of silver. You left in such a hurry. Have you prepared enough money?”
Snapping out of her grief, Su Yu reached into her clothing and took out a piece of black jade.
Young Master Ji had given it to her before leaving the previous night. She had never expected it would prove useful so quickly. She planned to take her grandmother to Renxin Hall first, then ask around to find which county businesses belonged to the Ji family and seek help there.
“Thank you for your concern, Sister. I have a way.”
Zhao Ni looked at the black jade in Su Yu’s hand. She couldn’t recognize the character carved on it, but even at a glance, she could tell the jade was no ordinary piece. Tugging on her husband’s sleeve, she nodded toward the pendant in Su Yu’s hand.
Wang Youkang turned around and fixed his gaze on the black jade. His brow immediately furrowed. He had once worked for two years as a porter at a grain shop owned by the Ji family’s trading company in the county. He recognized that character. It was Ji.
Wang Youkang suddenly yanked on the reins. The old ox let out a low moo, and the cart slowed.
“Youkang, what’s wrong?” Zhao Ni was startled by his reaction.
Instead of answering his wife, Wang Youkang turned and stared fixedly at the piece of black jade in Su Yu’s hand.
“Sister Su Yu, where did you get that jade token?”
Su Yu lifted her eyes. Since she would likely need his help carrying her grandmother down from the cart once they reached the county, she decided not to hide the truth.
“A few days ago, I saved a young master surnamed Ji who had been bitten by a venomous snake in the mountains. In gratitude, he gave me this jade token and told me that, should I ever face an urgent situation, I could seek help at any business owned by the Ji family in the county.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Wang Youkang sucked in a breath. He had worked in the county for years and knew better than most how influential the Ji Family Trading Company was. In the entire county, only one person was addressed as “Young Master Ji.”
“Ji… Young Master Ji?” Wang Youkang stammered.
Afraid he might be getting excited for nothing, he hurried to clarify: “Sister, you’re not talking about the young master of the Ji family’s main branch, are you?”
Su Yu knew little about the Ji family’s status. Seeing his expression, she lowered her eyelashes.
“I’m not sure. But you’ve probably heard the rumors spreading through the village yesterday. The reason I was able to escape the Zhao family unharmed was because that Young Master Ji intervened on my behalf.”
At those words, a light immediately flashed in Wang Youkang’s eyes. If someone could force the Zhao family to back down and rescue someone from their hands, then this was very likely the Ji family master. He had never imagined that his mother, soft-hearted enough to lend an ox cart on a whim, would stumble into such extraordinary luck. By helping Su Yu today, they would essentially earn a favor in Young Master Ji’s eyes. In the future, not to mention receiving a little extra care from the Ji family’s businesses, they might even get recommendations and opportunities for advancement. His thoughts raced. Then he snapped the whip through the air.
The old ox broke into a run.
“Hold on tight, Sister Su Yu!”
“Don’t worry. No matter what happens today, we’ll make sure the old madam reaches Renxin Hall safely and properly!”