Chapter 37: Very Good
Matriarch Wang kept trying to push close to Madam Zhao, but she was continually stopped by Bailian and the rest. She slowly became more sure of her guess in her heart.
As a result, Matriarch Wang fought back even fiercer, and not before long, the Third Master was covered in multiple crimson scratches from her fingernails.
“Smelly and shameless trash, quickly return this old lady’s silver, or this old lady will sell off all of your family!” Matriarch Wang screeched, viciously threatening the Third Branch.
“Old Madam, do you want to sell off Grandfather and Uncle too? We are all a family. Uncle is a scholar too, you can’t sell him!” When Bailian responded, she directed her words at Patriarch Li, making sure to emphasize the word “scholar”.
Sure enough, when the Patriarch heard the words “scholar” come out of Bailian’s mouth, he was stunned, his scholarly facade momentarily shattering as he lost his dignified air.
“Shut up!” Patriarch Li glared ferociously at Matriarch Wang, fearing that her words would harm his Eldest Son’s future.
Patriarch Li’s words had been very effective. After Matriarch Wang heard his loud shout, she stopped trying to get to Madam Zhao, huffing and puffing.
Although she was no longer scratching and kicking at the Third Master, the Third Branch was right under her nose anyway and wouldn’t be able to run away. She stared fixedly at the silent and unconscious Madam Zhao.
“Village Head, we really didn’t steal any money from them. I’m begging Village Head to bring the truth to the light!” Bailian bit her lip, her knees crashing heavily into the ground, a resolute expression on her pale face.
Bailian had never kneeled to anyone, but this Village Head was getting on in his age, so she might as well just consider it as kneeling to her elders just this once!
Just look!
The Li’s Old Madam was really outrageous!
Actually torturing a weak girl like me!
Take a look!
Living in this residence is worse off than a beggar living in the streets!
The only thing that is better than a beggar is that they lived in a relatively clean room. Except for this, they really were living a life no better than a beggar!
Take a look!
Madam Zhao was lugging around her heavily pregnant body, still doing chores. Now, it was uncertain whether she would live after being kicked by this Matriarch Wang!
Take a look!
Is this fair?
Seeing Bailian fall to her knees, Yuhang and Yuyang imitated her. Soon, the siblings were silently kneeling side by side in front of the Village Head, their heads touching the floor.
“Village Head, we really don’t know what silver they’re talking about!” The Third Master caught a glimpse of Madam Zhao’s poor complexion and then similarly knelt in front of the Village Head.
He really was at his wit’s end dealing with Matriarch Wang.
Even if he yearned for his Father’s love, he knew, deep down in his heart, that the old man would never be on his side.
Therefore, out of everyone in Wuming Village, only the Village Head had the authority and power to save the Third Branch from their dire straits.
“Village Head, we…we really don’t know who stole the silver!” Grandmother Ciying made a move to kneel.
The Village Head hurriedly waved his hand and quickly turned his body sideways, avoiding Grandmother Ciying’s motions “Sister Ciying, no need!”
Patriarch Li and the Village Head belonged to the same generation, but Patriarch Li was slightly older, making him the elder brother of the two.
Therefore, it felt a little uncomfortable for this older sister of his to kneel to him.
More importantly, Grandmother Ciying was still that majestic and genteel Young Miss in his eyes. If he let her kneel, he would feel really uncomfortable.
Patriarch Li’s face turned dark, obviously furious at the current situation.
Firstly, he had suffered a loss in terms of money and the second was because Grandmother Ciying had moved to kneel down before the Village Head.
Although the Village Head was a person of high authority and influence, even in the ancient times where hierarchy was strictly followed, villagers seldom kneeled down to the Village Head. According to generation, this was even more true for the elder brother of the Village Head.
The Village Head and Patriarch Li weren’t related by blood, and they had once been study mates back in the day. One had given up on studying and the other one had become an academy teacher.
Patriarch LI felt like he had seriously lost a lot of face this time.
The villagers silently observed. They felt that the Third Branch was really too pitiful, having been pushed to the point of kneeling for help. It was so silent, that one could hear a pin drop.
“The doctor is here!”
In this tense and delicate atmosphere, a voice shouted from outside, bringing everyone’s wandering minds back to the present.
The doctor the villagers had invited was from the next villager over, because the Wuming Village did not have a doctor. As such, it had taken him a while to arrive.
“You…what is going on?” Doctor Zhu was taken aback when he saw a row of people kneeling down in a row in the small cramped room.
Have I come too late?
“Quick, take a look at my daughter-in-law!” Grandmother Ciying haggardly got up and led the doctor towards the bed.
She was extremely worried about Madam Zhao as her daughter-in-law was currently at a critical stage in her pregnancy, and nothing could happen to her.
For her precious daughter-in-law, she felt very distressed and anxious.
After marrying her son, Madam Zhao had not lived in peace, working like a dog, suffering the same fate as Grandmother Ciying.
Madam Zhao was also just about to give birth, but she was still expected to work.
When women got pregnant, only women could understand the pain and hardship it takes to carry a child to full term.
“What are you doing on your knees, quickly take a look!” The Village Head saw that the people from the Third Branch were twisting back to look at Madam Zhao’s direction, but their knees were still glued to the ground. He went to help the Third Master up on his feet.
Bailain and her two brothers quickly brushed off their knees and gently rushed over to check up on Matriarch Wang.
‘What are you even looking at, doctor?! Check to see if there is any silver!” Matriarch Wang, seeing Patriarch Li and the Village Head glaring at her, suddenly dropped in volume, muttering, “Anyway, the money they stole can’t be used to pay you, it’s for the Eldest Master…”.
Everyone’s lips curled into a snarl and inside each person’s hearts, their impression of Matriarch Wang became even worse.
What time was it? Madam Zhao with her heavy belly was almost dead, and she was still wailing about her money?
One could tell that Matriarch Wang didn’t treat the child in Madam Zhao’s belly as her own grandchild ah!
But…the crowd secretly peeked at Patriarch Li, finding that he had an indifferent expression, no trace of anxiety or nervousness. Instead, he was standing very elegantly, his robes made of a deep blue satin. When compared with the shabby, downtrodden clothes of the Third Branch, they didn’t even look like they were from the same family.
“How is my Mother?” Bailian asked, feeling a little guilty
She was the only one who currently knew that Madam Zhao was pretending.
“The Li Family really must not take human life seriously ah!” Doctor Zhu sighed, “Your Mother suffers from severe physical weakness, long-term fatigue and she is extremely malnourished. In addition, she didn’t pay attention to keeping warm in the winter. She has a very weak constitution right now. It’s already physically demanding for pregnant women to walk around, but coupled with constant fatigue and a lack of food, her body has become very weak and then she even got frightened, so that’s why…” The doctor trailed off, his head shaking in sympathy.
Anyone with a brain could understand his diagnosis and the summary was: Madam Zhao had been pushed to work when she was pregnant, not eating good food, not having the chance to rest, and didn’t even have warm clothes to wear.
In short, it was truly pitiful.
“From now on, don’t let her be so tired in the future and replenish her constitution with some nourishing ingredients” As Doctor Zhu advised the Third Branch, he secretly thought in his heart, So it was true that a scholarly family in the village over abused one of their branches!
Sure enough, they really live up to their name, just look at how they tossed a pregnant woman around like nothing!
After Doctor Zhu had finished giving his full diagnosis, he took a piece of paper from his medical box and wrote out a prescription for the frail Madam Zhao.
Bailian reached out to accept the prescription, eagerly looking at Patriarch Li, “Grandpa..”
It was time to pay the doctor’s consultation fee!
“No!” Matriarch Wang was the first to speak out, “You stole the silver, just where is it?!”
“I’m afraid we can’t…” Bailian sadly hung her head down, her expression weak.
Look!
With one glance, the doctor could tell that this was the Third Branch’s house, a cramped and bare room not suitable even for beggars.
A few of the family members had bloody scratches and gashes on their faces, looking truly to be a miserable and destitute sight.
“Forget it!” Doctor Zhu sympathetically waved his hand, “I don’t want payment!”
With a flourish, Doctor Zhu left.
Let’s just consider this as doing good as a doctor who cares for his patients, I might as well accumulate some good karma and virtue!
Announcement: I have translated up to Chapter 40 for this novel, but do not plan on translating the rest of the work unless there is a lot of people who want it. I am having trouble getting the raws and am losing interest in the work. Just wanted to let you guys know!
Twin Dragons Translations 