Chapter 30 2/2

Ji Yangzong widened his eyes, his mouth slightly agape, unable to close it.

After a while, he finally managed to ask, “What’s happening now?”

“I don’t know, we just saw them being carried back.”

The farmer, seeing that Yu Lingxiao had almost lost his life and now suddenly encountering such chaos, felt very unsettled.

Having lived in the same prefecture for decades, it was the first time he had seen such turmoil so close by. Although there had been some talk of bandits entering the city before, people had thought it was just a rumor and had never expected it to happen for real.

Now, everyone was panicking and feeling insecure.

“Magistrate, what should we do with all this chaos outside?”

“Yeah, will they come to the village?”

Ji Yangzong reassured the villagers, “Don’t worry, the yamen has already sent soldiers to pursue them, and everyone should try to avoid leaving the village for now.”

“The more chaotic it is, the less we should panic. I’ll go to the Yu family first. You all go back and tell your children not to wander outside.”

“Yes, yes.”

Ji Yangzong hurried to the Yu family, still somewhat uncertain about the truth of the matter.

When he arrived at the Yu family’s door, he saw several anxious Yu family members standing in the courtyard, confirming that something had indeed happened to Yu Lingxiao.

He stepped into the courtyard, expecting the Yu family to be upset, but to his surprise, they greeted him warmly. “Magistrate, you’re here!”

“How is he? Is he badly injured?”

As soon as Ji Yangzong finished speaking, he saw his daughter-in-law walking out of the house.

“You’re here too?”

He walked towards the house, asking as he went.

When he reached the doorway, he saw Taoyu sitting by the bedside.

Ji Yangzong’s brows furrowed. “Taoyu, what are you doing here?”

“Lingxiao is badly injured, and we couldn’t find another doctor at the moment, so I thought since Taoge had learned some medical skills from Doctor Huang, we should ask him to take a look first.”

The main wife of the Yu family explained hurriedly.

Huang Manjing had followed Taoyu because she was worried about him being alone.

Everyone in the room was waiting for the initial diagnosis. Taoyu’s hands were covered in blood. After glancing at his father, he then turned to Madam Sun, whose face was already swollen from crying, and said:

“He probably has external injuries, but the most important thing is that his hand is broken. We need to hurry and find a doctor.”

Madam Sun was terrified by this news, and everyone in the room exclaimed, “Will he still be able to write in the future?”

Madam Sun grabbed Taoyu in panic:

“Quickly set Lingxiao’s bones! Even if you resent him, you can’t ignore him at a time like this! This is a matter of life, how can a doctor be so indifferent!”

Huang Manjing saw Madam Sun losing control and quickly pulled Taoyu behind her, shielding him. “What are you doing!”

“As a healer, one should treat all patients equally. He’s severely injured, and my medical skills are limited. If I hastily set his bones, it would harm him even more.”

“The priority now is to quickly find a skilled doctor.”

Madam Sun, finally regaining some rationality, quickly turned to the elders in the room. “Brother, have you sent for the doctor?”

The Yu family members hesitated for a moment, but no one spoke up.

Someone muttered, “With such chaos outside, who dares to enter the city to summon a doctor…”

“Your nephew is like this, yet you’re afraid to go to the city to find a doctor! Instead, you’ve brought in a quack doctor from the village. Are you trying to harm Lingxiao?”

Madam Sun was furious to see that the Yu family only cared about their own safety at such a critical moment and didn’t even bother to summon a doctor. She was so angry that she almost spat out blood.

“Lingxiao is your Yu family’s child! If anything happens to him, don’t expect to gain any benefits.”

The Yu family members were already displeased with Madam Sun’s request for them to collectively contribute to buying a house for Yu Lingxiao in the city. Now, seeing her shouting like this in front of outsiders, they retorted:

“I’m telling you, Lingxiao’s mother, you accuse us of being afraid of death, but we also have families to take care of. How can we live if we create trouble for ourselves? You and your son already squeezed us dry of money, and now you want us to risk our lives for your son. Isn’t that too greedy?”

“Me greedy? You Yu family mistreated us, a widow and an orphan, in every possible way, yet when Lingxiao got better, he shamelessly came to us. Which one of you Yu family members isn’t greedy?”

Madam Sun seemed not satisfied with just cursing, and suddenly stood up. “I’ll fight you to the end!”

The room descended into chaos and argument. In the midst of the noise, Yu Lingxiao opened his eyes and saw Taoyu standing by the bedside, thinking for a moment that he was already dead.

He tentatively called out, “Yuyu?”

But no one seemed to hear him. It was Taoyu who turned his head and quickly said, “Stop making noise, he’s awake!”

The room fell silent. Madam Sun hurried to the bedside. “Son, you’re finally awake. You scared me to death!”

As she spoke, she burst into tears. “Those uncles and aunts of yours are all heartless. They wouldn’t even call for a doctor for you.”

The Yu family members were somewhat ashamed, but the main wife of the Yu family hesitated and said, “Alright, I’ll go.”

“Brother, take our mule and go quickly.”

After the two left, Madam Sun wiped her eyes and asked, “Lingxiao, what really happened? Did you really encounter bandits?”

Yu Lingxiao’s breath was weak, but seeing himself lying at home brought some peace of mind. However, the mention of bandits made him feel a sudden fear.

“I… I don’t know. I went to pay the remaining house money today, and on the way, I heard a commotion. Suddenly, everything went black, and I passed out.”

At this point, Yu Lingxiao tried to reach for his money pouch, but his right hand couldn’t move. Instead, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. “My hand.”

“Lingxiao, don’t move. Wait for your uncle to bring the doctor to examine you.”

Yu Lingxiao tried to move his hand again, but there was no response, only a piercing pain.

The more this happened, the more terrified he became. “Mother, my hand!”

“Lingxiao, don’t panic. The doctor will come, and everything will be fine.”

“It’s my right hand! How can I write anymore?”

Seeing Yu Lingxiao becoming agitated, the people in the room were afraid he would fall off the bed and quickly went to comfort and restrain him.

Seeing this, after exchanging a glance with Huang Manjing, Ji Yangzong stepped forward and said, “Now that he’s awake, and with this incident causing unrest in the village, I need to stabilize the situation and gather the villagers to come up with a plan. I’ll leave first.”

Unexpectedly, Ji Yangzong’s words calmed Yu Lingxiao down.

“Yuyu…”

Suddenly, Yu Lingxiao weakly called out, “Don’t leave, I’m in so much pain.”

Taoyu turned to look at the person lying on the bed with a pale face. Although the bloodstains had been wiped away, there were still many injuries on that handsome face, which looked pitiful.

Seeing this, Ji Yangzong frowned. He was afraid his brother’s son was too softhearted.

“I’ve prepared some pain-relieving medicine made by our ancestor. It’s very effective. Let Madam Sun apply it for you.”

“Sorry, my medical skills are limited. I can’t heal your hand.”

After Ji Yangzong and his wife finished speaking, they didn’t pay attention to Yu Lingxiao’s cries and left together.

“I went to the city today and didn’t see any bandits.”

Ji Yangzong couldn’t understand how Yu Lingxiao encountered bandits and got beaten up.

“Did you not hear that he went to pay for the house? I heard he was carrying a large sum of money, so the bandits must have targeted him.”

Huang Manjing spoke, her voice filled with fear. “Bandits are ruthless. Killing and looting without mercy. His survival is truly a blessing.”

Ji Yangzong couldn’t shake the feeling that things were not as simple as they seemed, but he couldn’t come to a conclusion.

Seeing Yu Lingxiao like this, he didn’t have much sympathy. He believed that one reaps what they sow.

After some thought, he looked at Taoyu, who had been silent since leaving the Yu family’s house, and asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you scared, or do you pity Yu Lingxiao?”

Taoyu shook her head, denying her father’s suggestion that she pitied Yu Lingxiao.

“He, a scholar, knew better than most the importance of reputation, yet it was used against him to frame him.

By the time he learned the truth, he had already given up hope. As for emotions, all that remained was disgust.

However, hearing about the banditry outside, he was indeed afraid: ‘Yj Lingxiao’s brutality is severe, even if Azu were to come, it might be too late.’

He could mend bones, but he couldn’t handle bones shattered like this. Asking nearby doctors was just to give them some hope.

The couple from the Ji family showed shock upon hearing this, about to speak, when suddenly a figure leaned against a tree ahead, seemingly waiting for them.”