Lu Qingqing laughed.

So it seemed her father had never known that her mother had liked him.

What a pity—her mother had passed too early.

“Lu Qingqing! Come out!”

Outside came the familiar shrill cry—like a hen squawking.

Ding Xiang had powerful lungs and a strong voice that pierced right through the walls. Just hearing her was enough to make someone irritated.

Lu Qingqing stood up.

Old Lu, hearing the commotion, came out of the room again.

“Why is that girl always picking on you?”

Though he didn’t get along with the Ding family, it was tough to meddle in kids’ business—especially when it came to girls. A man like him couldn’t just step in.

“Dad, don’t worry about it. I’ll go see what’s going on.”

How could Old Lu not worry? He followed closely behind Lu Qingqing as she stepped outside.

The moment the door opened, Ding Xiang craned her neck and started questioning, “Lu Qingqing, was it your brother who beat up Ning Xiuwen?!”

“Ning Xiuwen got beat up? Who did it? They deserve a drumstick as a reward.”

“Lu Qingqing!”

Lu Qingqing’s mouth could infuriate a person with just a sentence.

“What? Scholar’s wife, feeling heartache for your man?”

“Who’s my man?! Stop spouting nonsense!” Ding Xiang still had enough sense to blush and nervously glanced around to see if anyone overheard.

“Oh, so I can’t call you ‘scholar’s wife’? Then how about Clucky, Stinky Ding, or any of those three—take your pick!”

Ding Xiang was so angry her chest hurt. She knew she couldn’t out-argue Lu Qingqing—and she couldn’t beat her in a fight either.

“Lu Qingqing, I know it was your family! You even had Chen Cuihua go ask for money—just to mess up Xiuwen’s study time so he won’t pass the exam!

Don’t even dream about it! His tutor said he’s definitely going to pass this time! Your family offended a scholar, and now mine too—just wait, you’ll all regret it!”

Chen had indeed asked for the money back, but strangely, there hadn’t been any drama—something wasn’t right.

Lu Qingqing raised her eyebrows and asked, “Don’t tell me… you repaid his debt again?”

“Yes! Now you know! His family already owes us twenty taels. Once he becomes a scholar, he’ll have to marry me! If you dare hit him again, I won’t be polite!”

“Oh, let me give you a kind warning: that mother and son are greedy and vicious. Twenty taels is nothing—believe me, they’ll soon be asking for thirty, even fifty taels…”

Just like what they did to her—starting from food, then a single tael of silver, and finally manipulating her into taking out high-interest loans.

Lu Qingqing gave the warning out of genuine concern. Ding Xiang was around her age, and this might save her from ruin. After all, Ding Hongshi only had this one daughter—and that mother and son might just bleed her dry.

Ding Xiang’s eyes flickered with discomfort.

Earlier that morning, Ning’s mother had indeed brought up borrowing more money.

And over the past few days, she claimed her stomach illness had returned—she felt sick if hungry—and even asked for a bowl of rice.

It was really annoying.

But thinking about how Ning Xiuwen would soon take the imperial exam—if he passed and became a scholar, it would all be worth it.

“Stop trying to turn me against them, Lu Qingqing! Anyway, you better not try anything! Or else, don’t come begging my father to treat you when your whole family is sick!”

What a joke.

That half-baked doctor?

Who needs him?

“They’re fighting! They’re fighting!”

With the tapping sound of a wooden cane, Granny Liu’s hunched figure appeared.

Face glowing, tiny feet racing, she scampered off toward the east.

“They’re fighting—heard it’s over a piece of pork!”

????

“Pork?” Old Lu was startled. “Your big brother and second brother are over there!”

Ding Xiang seemed to realize something, and her eyes lit up with glee. She looked at Lu Qingqing with smug satisfaction.

“I bet it’s Lu Yun! Fighting again! Must be because of you. He used to fight all the time. Tsk tsk, Lu Qingqing, now the whole village is calling you a used-up woman. He must’ve heard—”

Smack!

Lu Qingqing slapped her across the face, hard.

“Hey, not the face…” Old Lu quietly reminded from behind.

“Lu Qingqing… you hit me again!”

“Who told you to shove your big face in front of me?”

Lu Qingqing raised her hand again, and Ding Xiang scurried off in fear.

“It’s Lu Yun, I know it is! I hope they break his ribs, smash his head! Waaaah! If your whole family dies of illness, don’t come begging my dad!”

“Pfft! I say your dad probably killed someone with his medicine and got beat up! Don’t worry—we wouldn’t go to him even if we were rotting with disease!”

Lu Qingqing spat back and, not reassured at all, quickly ran east with Old Lu.

“Murder!”

“Murder!”

“Someone’s been stabbed!”

—

Shrill cries echoed from the distance.

Lu Qingqing and Old Lu were terrified.

Their hearts pounded like they were going to jump out of their chests.

“Dad… it can’t be Big Brother or Second Brother, right?” Lu Qingqing tried to comfort him.

“Right, it can’t be. Even if Second’s fighting, he knows his limits.”

But they walked even faster.

Because when anger flares, people lose their heads. And if there’s a knife… especially during pig slaughter…

Lu Qingqing had never felt so panicked before.

Then she heard a heart-wrenching, desperate voice.

“Doctor Ding, please, I beg you, save my brother! I’m sorry! I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrong…”

In the crowd, a girl was kowtowing repeatedly, banging her head against the ground without holding back.

Pig blood had soaked her whole forehead, and with those dark bruises, she looked like a ghost crawling out of a swamp.

A young man knelt nearby in a daze, clearly terrified out of his mind.

And on the ground lay a man, drenched in blood.

It was Lin Zhuang.

Lin Zhuang wasn’t “zhuang” (strong) at all—he was dark, thin, slightly hunched despite being young, worn down by years of hardship.

Just days ago, he had gotten into a fight with Lu Yun in a rage.

Now, he lay there half-dead.

Misfortune had come again—mocking him cruelly.

He was like an ant—utterly helpless.

“The bleeding won’t stop. He won’t last half an hour!”

Seeing that he was clearly beyond saving, even Ding Hongshi’s conscience stirred—he stopped trying to scam the poor siblings.

“It’s not that I don’t want to treat him—I just don’t have the skills. Even going to town won’t help. If you went to Master Tian in the county’s Shanshengtang Clinic, maybe… maybe there’s hope. But there’s not enough time!

A bumpy donkey cart ride would make him bleed out before you’re halfway there!”

The acupuncture and herbs Ding applied didn’t work—the stab was too deep.

No hope.

“Brother—” Lin Ye wailed and threw herself over Lin Zhuang’s body.

He could no longer speak.

His face was pale-blue, and he looked at his sister with trembling lips as big tears rolled down his cheeks.

What he couldn’t bear to leave behind—was her.

If he died, how could she survive alone?

Many villagers were already wiping their eyes.

A few began kicking and punching the kneeling young man.

“Big mouth! This is what you get for running your mouth!”

“Now you’ve killed someone. Just wait to get beheaded!”

The young man suddenly snapped out of his daze and started struggling wildly.

He didn’t want to go to prison, didn’t want to be executed—he wanted to run!

But the villagers held him down tight.

There was no escape.

“I was wrong! I was wrong! Lin Zhuang, I didn’t mean to stab you—it’s just you hit me so hard, my ribs were killing me…”

It all started when this guy started mouthing off, saying filthy things about Lin Ye.

Lin Zhuang got furious, and they fought. It escalated quickly.

And now, tragedy.

Neither ended well—one lay dying, the other would face execution.

“Move aside, make way!”

Lu Feng and Lu Yun rushed in, carrying a wooden door plank.

Behind them were the village head and over a dozen strong young men.

“Put him on the door, we’ll take turns carrying him to the county!”

The village head shouted.

“No! It won’t work!”