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After Su Qingqing left earlier that morning, Old Madam Su woke up from hunger. She called out to Li Shi from bed for ages, her throat going hoarse, but no one responded. Finally, she had to get up and slowly, shakily, walk toward Li Shi’s room.
Just as she reached the doorway, she saw someone collapsed on the floor next to the bed—looking like a pig’s head. Uh, no, it was her eldest daughter-in-law, Li Shi. If it weren’t for the matching clothes and body shape, Old Madam Su might have taken the stick to her again.
Seeing Li Shi’s miserable state and the blood on the ground—plus a few pieces of silver next to her—Old Madam Su’s mind exploded with a buzz. She thought someone had broken into the house to rob and murder!
But when she thought of the silver, she couldn’t care less about her possibly “murdered” daughter-in-law. She bolted back to her room like the wind and dug out the clay pot under the bed where she hid her savings.
Empty.
All her silver—nearly a lifetime’s worth of savings—was gone.
Old Madam Su collapsed onto the floor, shrieking,
“Which heartless beast stole this old woman’s silver… may you die a thousand deaths!”
At that moment, Su Tingting and her father, Su Wenbo, had just returned from the county town and were about to knock on the door when they heard her screeching like a slaughtered pig.
Su Wenbo’s hand froze midair. It was the first time he’d ever heard his mother scream like that.
Sensing something was wrong, he began banging on the wooden door, shouting anxiously,
“Mother! What happened? Are you alright? Don’t scare your son!”
“Where the hell is that useless Li Shi? Can’t she hear me knocking? Get your lazy ass out here and open the door!”
Su Tingting stood beside him in silence, frowning. She glanced through the gap in the door and then backed away slightly with a look of disgust.
After Su Wenbo had nearly shouted himself hoarse, someone finally opened the door, and the two of them entered.
Seeing Old Madam Su with red-rimmed eyes, Su Wenbo asked,
“Mother, what’s going on?”
Old Madam Su wailed,
“Some damned thief broke into the house and stole all my silver! Oh, my precious savings! Wenbo, go report this to the authorities right now—have the yamen arrest that thief and get my money back!”
Su Wenbo froze. A thief? Stealing from their home? That had never happened before.
He didn’t even know how much silver his mother had hidden away. As far as he knew, it couldn’t be more than a few hundred copper coins. Reporting to the yamen seemed like making a big deal out of nothing.
As for the stolen silver, Su Tingting wasn’t overly concerned. Whether her grandmother had money or not, she knew she’d never get a single coin of it. Still, she played the part and rushed to hold the old woman’s arm.
Looking around the room, she asked,
“Grandmother, where’s my mother?”
Usually, Li Shi would be right behind the old woman.
Old Madam Su turned her head away.
“Your mother… she was attacked.”
Earlier, she’d been too focused on her missing silver to care, but now she felt a twinge of guilt.
Su Tingting was struck like lightning. She rushed toward her mother’s room, with Su Wenbo following behind. Old Madam Su trailed after them at a much slower pace.
When Su Tingting saw her mother lying there, she collapsed onto her, sobbing uncontrollably. Only Li Shi had ever truly cared for her.
Su Wenbo also shouted his wife’s name anxiously.
Just then, Su Qingqing arrived at the Su family gate. Hearing all the wailing, she was puzzled—Did someone die in the Su household? Everything seemed fine this morning…
The courtyard gate was open. She stepped inside and followed the sound. She saw a young woman crying over Li Shi’s body. The woman was wearing a pale cyan fine cotton dress, almost brand new.
So this must be the original host’s cousin, Su Tingting, Su Qingqing thought.
Tch tch… fine cotton clothing? In Jixiang Village? No one wears such expensive fabric here. Even the cheapest costs at least one tael of silver—that’s enough for a poor villager to live on for a year.
The Su family only owned a single mu of barren farmland, and her uncle’s family was lazy and didn’t tend it properly. They never had good harvests and barely scraped together enough to pay taxes. How could they afford something like that?
Looks like Su Wenbo’s family leeched quite a lot from Su Wenyuan’s household…
Su Qingqing stepped into the room. The three inside didn’t even notice her. She looked down—Li Shi’s chest was still rising and falling slightly. Then she turned to the old woman standing off to the side.
Everyone’s still alive, aren’t they?
She spoke in a cool voice:
“Cousin, Aunt Li isn’t dead yet. Why are you mourning her like she is? That’s really unlucky, you know. Keep it up, and she might actually die from it.”
At the sound of her voice, all three turned toward her.
Su Wenbo recognized her but didn’t react much. He just turned back and carried Li Shi to the bed. Seeing her body was still warm, he figured she hadn’t been unconscious for long.
He didn’t take Su Qingqing’s words seriously.
But Su Tingting did. She quickly held her hand under her mother’s nose—sure enough, she was still breathing. She’d just been so shocked by the sight that she’d believed her grandmother’s words without thinking.
Only Old Madam Su stared at Su Qingqing with venom in her eyes, as if she wanted to devour her whole.
“Father, Mother’s still alive—I’m going to fetch Doctor Tie.”
With that, Su Tingting rushed off.
Doctor Tie was a barefoot doctor who’d fled to Jixiang Village a few years ago. He knew some basic medicine and was now the go-to person whenever villagers fell ill.
Su Qingqing didn’t care what happened to the Su family. She had only come to borrow a shovel—nothing else concerned her.
As long as they didn’t get in her way, she didn’t want to waste her breath. She was just here to reclaim what the Su family owed.
She had no ties to them. She was only here to get justice for the original host—and retrieve what rightfully belonged to her. Whether they lived or died had nothing to do with her.
Old Madam Su was still grieving her lost silver and didn’t even feel hungry anymore. If it weren’t for the valuable jade pendant still tucked inside her clothes, she might have hanged herself already.
Before her husband died, he had entrusted her to keep the jade safe and pass it to Su Wenyuan when he came of age.
No way.
She’d die before handing it over to that little brat.
Su Wenbo, despite his laziness and gluttony, did have some feelings for his wife. Knowing Li Shi was only unconscious, he stayed by her side to take care of her. No one paid any attention to Su Qingqing.
Which worked out perfectly.
She made her way to the utility shed and stuffed a shovel, sickle, hoe, and anything else usable into her burlap sack.
Consider it repayment for all that the Su family had stolen—now they were even.
Su Qingqing returned to her little home on the east side of the village. The sun was high overhead. On the table sat a rough ceramic bowl with six wild duck eggs—her brother must’ve brought them back from the river.
But he wasn’t around.