Chapter 6 Everyone Come and Find Faults

  In the newly spacious mansion of Old Yang's family, Old Man Yang and Mrs. Li were chatting in the courtyard after dinner, while their daughter-in-law, Guo, was washing dishes in the kitchen.

  Yang old man took a sip of his dry smoke, then lowered his voice to Li, who was sitting next to him and rubbing the hemp rope: "Old lady, did you hear about that thing during the day?"

  Li stopped what he was doing and looked at Old Man Yang with a puzzled expression, asking: "What's going on during the day?"

  "Hey, it's about that old house over there." Old Man Yang thought of the villagers' gossip from earlier in the day and couldn't help but feel annoyed. He forcefully knocked his pipe on the stool leg and said: "That Dongyang kid is so useless! With a leg injury, he didn't stay at home to rest properly, instead he went out and ended up falling down in the fields, making a laughing stock of himself for the whole village."

  "What's going on?" Li's eyes widened in surprise, and she immediately puckered her lips, asking: "Did he die from the fall?"

  At first, when taking two taels of silver to buy a daughter-in-law for Chu Dongyang, Li Shi was not very willing. Although the money was given by the official mansion as a reward for Chu Dongyang's military achievements, after all, he was not her own son. The old Yang family had raised him so big, and it was only natural that they should give them some money to show their respect. Since the silver had already entered Li Shi's pocket, where was the reason to take it out again?

  Jiuniang had just bought it for a month, if Chudongyang fell to death now, these two taels of silver cannot be wasted in vain. At that time, she would send Jiuniang back to the Fang family and let them return the silver.

  "Huh, it's that easy to die?" Old Man Yang was stunned for a moment, and a hint of shock flashed across his face. He didn't expect his wife to have such an idea. However, he still had a grudge in his heart from being ridiculed by the villagers during the day, so he said: "Later on, I even got into a fight with his daughter-in-law in the fields! This useless thing was ridden on top of by his daughter-in-law, and everyone in the village saw it! On my way back from the fields, I ran into Second Dogzi, and he even made fun of me about this. Our Yang family's reputation has been completely ruined!"

  After returning from the old house at noon, Old Yang felt more and more that something was off.

  Chu Dongyang had an honest and sincere appearance, which almost made him believe it was true. However, the villagers' gossip never stopped, and several people he met in the afternoon teased him about this matter, only then did he realize that he had been deceived by Chu Dongyang.

  Li heard this and her anger suddenly surged up, she threw the unfinished hemp rope to the ground, stood up and said: "What a useless waste! Actually let our old Yang family's face be trampled on like this! And that little cheap thing from the Feng family, bought with two taels of silver, what is she? She dares to ride on a man's body? I'm going over there right now, and I must deal with them so they can't get out the door!"

  Old Yang just wanted this! His wife was notorious for her sharp tongue, scolding everyone in Apricot Flower Village with impunity, and she would surely be able to vent his anger.

  "Old lady, you'd better not go! That Dongyang kid isn't a softie either. He's always been disobedient and has been outside for so many years, with an aura of murder around him like a malevolent star. Let's just not get involved in this matter!" Old Man Yang was secretly hoping that Li would immediately take up her knife and go kill him, but he still pretended to advise against it.

  These words were undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire. When Li heard them, the flames in his heart burned even more fiercely and shot upwards.

  She gritted her teeth and sneered, "He's just a cripple who got hurt in the leg, am I afraid of him? Besides, he grew up eating food from my husband Yang's household, no matter what, I'm still his foster mother. Do you think he dares to lay hands on me? I'll go discipline him so he doesn't bring shame to our Yang family. If he dares touch me, heaven will strike him with lightning first! Hmph, a good-for-nothing thing!"

  Old Yang nodded in agreement: "What the old lady said is reasonable. We worked hard to raise him, not to let him bring shame to our family, now he's making a laughing stock of us for the whole village to see, I feel embarrassed every time I go out!"

  Yang Lao Tou watched Li Shi walk away, his hand holding the pipe behind his back. He turned around and walked towards the house, thinking to himself what a great show was about to unfold at the old mansion, wondering if he should go take a look.

  "Dad, it's already dark outside, where is mom going?" Li had spoken loudly just now, Guo had been washing dishes in the kitchen and had overheard most of it. Now seeing Yang Lao Tou walking back into the house with his hands behind him looking quite pleased, she casually asked.

  Old Yang waved his hand at the young daughter-in-law and said, "She's going to take a look around the old house over there, she'll be back soon. Have you cooked the nourishing soup for Xiao Xian yet? If it's done, send it to the study room, don't eat it secretly! Xiao Xian is working hard studying, in half a year he will participate in the exam, he is the hope of our old Yang family, nutrition must keep up!"

  "Look what you're saying, I'd rather starve than secretly eat the nourishing soup for my husband! Besides, I'm not that kind of shallow woman, I understand these principles. Father, rest assured!" Yang Xiaoxian, her husband, was the treasured darling of these two old folks, and she knew it well; moreover, she still hoped that her own husband would pass the imperial examination with high honors and return home as a top scholar, after which she would become an official's wife.

  "What's going on is that Mother went to the old house and Big Brother and his new wife had a fight?"

  Women are always sensitive to gossip! Guo is no exception.

  "Don't mind about these things, just take good care of Xiao Xian." Old Man Yang said, and walked back to the inner room with his hands behind his back.

  Guo's mouth was slightly ajar as he went to the kitchen to deliver the supplementary soup to Yang Xiaoxian, and then quietly slipped out of the courtyard towards the old house.

  ……

  Jiuniang served a bowl of braised bamboo rat meat for Yunniang and then sent her out of the courtyard, only returning to wash dishes and eat.

  She ladled herself a bowl of soup and was just about to pick it up to drink when a large hand reached out and snatched the bowl away from in front of her.

  Jiuniang looked up at Chudongyang in surprise, only to see him holding his bowl and drinking a mouthful with great ease, his face expressionless as if it was the most natural thing to do.

  "That bowl you're drinking from is mine." Jiuniang said with some discontent.

  "You can have another bowl then." Chu Dongyang replied calmly, and then picked up a piece of braised hamster meat with his chopsticks and sent it into his mouth. Until he swallowed it, there was no other expression on his face.

  "Really delicious, right?"

  Waiting for him to nod and give her an affirmative answer?

  Chu Dongyang took another big sip of the soup, then picked up his chopsticks and clamped down on an even bigger piece of braised pork. After finishing it off, he gave a lukewarm verdict: "Passable."

  He wasn't oblivious to her expectant gaze, but instead, a thought had risen in his heart that he wanted to tease her.

  Just as the two were eating, Li's sharp voice came from outside.