Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Jiang He walked out of the storeroom and, seeing that his daughter had tidied up the dining table, slowly went to open the door.

As soon as the door bolt was pulled back, Li Shi strode past Jiang He, marching into the courtyard with the air of someone determined to see what good food they were having.

What greeted her was an empty dining table and a sickly son-in-law sitting in front of it.

Her old face immediately fell, and she shouted, "On such a festive day, you eat so quickly, are you trying to prevent me, this old woman, from joining your meal?"

Song Shian lowered his eyes.

Indeed, to prevent her from joining their meal, his father-in-law had set the table before dusk, much earlier than usual for dinner.

Seeing the sickly son-in-law remain silent, Li Shi glared at him fiercely and scolded, "An elder is asking you a question, are you mute?"

The stool Song Shian sat on was specially made for him by Jiang He, with a backrest like a small chair.

He leaned against the backrest, closed his eyes to rest, and pretended not to hear Li Shi's words.

This attitude instantly enraged Li Shi, who raised her foot to kick the stool under him.

"Granny, don't you dare! If you kick him, it'll cost no less than three or five taels of silver to settle the matter."

Hiding at the kitchen door, watching the situation outside, Jiang Chun saw the old woman about to do something nasty and immediately shouted loudly.

Hearing this, Jiang He ran over and said in a gruff voice, "My son-in-law is frail; he can't withstand your beating. If anything happens to him, I will only demand compensation from my second brother."

"You..." Li Shi, rebuked by Jiang He and his daughter, was almost knocked backward with anger but didn't dare to touch the precious sickly son-in-law, fearing being extorted.

Li Shi, shameless as she was, quickly adjusted her expression and changed the subject: "Cunniang was there that day, right? You must know about the midwife Wang's miscarriage?"

Jiang Chun, still hiding behind the kitchen door, pretended not to hear.

Jiang He stood in front of Li Shi but remained silent.

Without a partner to play off, this did not stop Li Shi from performing a solo act.

She took out a handkerchief and feigned crying, "That black-hearted prostitute actually extorted fifty taels of silver from us, threatening to file a complaint at the county office if we didn't pay. We're just farmers, where can we find fifty taels of silver to compensate her?"

Jiang Chun and Jiang He continued to pretend they didn't understand her hints and didn't respond.

Song Shian suddenly opened his eyes and said coolly, "Since the midwife is suing Ma Shi, why don't you divorce her to clear your responsibility?"

Jiang Chun: "..."

"Ha..." She almost burst out laughing and quickly covered her mouth.

What a wicked idea! If Li Shi weren't still outside, she would have run over to give him a thumbs-up.

Li Shi was stunned at first.

Then, realizing what had happened, she jumped up and pointed at Song Shian, shouting insults, "You damned invalid, how dare you suggest such a wicked idea? Your second aunt has given birth to a son and a daughter for your second uncle, making her a great contributor to our family. How could we possibly divorce her for fifty taels of silver? That would be heartless!"

Song Shian snorted lightly, "If you have a conscience and won't divorce Ma Shi, then you should sell land, sell people, and quickly raise the money to compensate the midwife."

Pausing, he added, "Selling grandchildren is heartless, and you surely wouldn't do it. Why not consider selling yourself?

Though you're older, you might still be useful for some dirty and tiring work in a wealthy household, like cleaning chamber pots."

"Ha..." This time, Jiang Chun couldn't hold back and laughed out loud.

Song Shian, seemingly provoked by Li Shi's attempt to hit him, spoke more than usual, each word sharp, determined to infuriate Li Shi until she exploded.

Li Shi's face turned blue and purple with rage, her chest heaving violently as she panted heavily.

But her eyes darted around nervously.

Jiang Chun, sensing something was wrong, immediately stepped out of the kitchen, looked at Song Shian, and mouthed frantically, "Pretend to faint! Pretend to faint! Pretend to faint!"

Song Shian pursed his lips, then raised his hand to his chest, exclaiming, "Ouch," and slowly leaned to one side.

Jiang Chun immediately "collapsed" in distress, shouting, "Husband, husband, what's wrong with you? Did my grandmother upset you? The doctor said you can't get angry, or it will cause heart fire, endangering your life. What shall we do?"

While shouting, she rushed to Song Shian's side, catching his slumping body and cradling his head in her arms.

Then she yelled to her father, "Father, father, quickly bring a cloth! My husband is spitting blood!"

She even winked at him to ensure he understood.

"Spitting blood? How could he be spitting blood? Didn't we just spend three taels of silver on medicine for him?" Jiang He asked a series of questions, then hurriedly ran to the kitchen.

Li Shi, who was planning to pretend to faint to extort some money, was bewildered.

The old woman being mocked hadn't fainted yet, but he had fainted first?

But considering the sickly son-in-law's emaciated body, it wasn't impossible.

Seeing her granddaughter and eldest son looking genuinely worried, she couldn't help but feel uneasy.

She came to borrow money, not to end up paying for medicine.

Seeing this, Li Shi tiptoed away, taking advantage of the distraction, and quietly slipped out the door, running home as fast as she could.

Jiang Chun, seeing Li Shi disappear, finally let go of Song Shian.

She playfully helped him smooth out his tousled hair, laughing, "My dear, not only do you have a sharp tongue, but your reflexes are also top-notch. Thanks to your quick action, that old woman was scared away."

Otherwise, she would have had to waste her breath.

Song Shian leaned back, avoiding her touch, and said coolly, "I can manage on my own."

He didn't know what was wrong with him today; the sight of Lady Li, this uninvited guest, had put him in a foul mood. And since she dared to provoke him, he wouldn't be blamed for being rude.

Given Lady Li's temperament, she would surely report everything to Jiang Hu once she returned home, recounting every word he said.

As Aunt Ma's maternal aunt, she naturally wouldn't want to see her niece divorced.

But how would Jiang Hu, who was infatuated with the matchmaker Wang, choose?

At this thought, a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

Anyone who dared to provoke him should be prepared for the worst!

Jiang He emerged from the kitchen, smiling, and asked Jiang Chun, "Your grandmother is gone?"

Jiang Chun nodded, got up quickly, and walked to the front door to bolt it.

After returning, he cut each mooncake into four pieces, added two other packs of pastries, and arranged them on four plates.

He then boiled a pot of water and brewed a pot of tea.

Carrying the pastries and tea to the table in the courtyard, he smiled warmly, "Let's enjoy some tea, mooncakes, and the moonlight."

Jiang He was set to go to Qingyan Town to buy pigs the next day, an arrangement made days ago. After eating one mooncake, two pastries, and drinking three cups of tea, he went to wash up and sleep.

Only Jiang Chun and Song Shian were left.

Worried about Song Shian feeling cold, Jiang Chun got up and fetched an outer robe from the west room, draping it over his shoulders.

The bright moon hung in the eastern sky, making the stars seem dim. The shadows of the trees in the courtyard swayed gently, and the lanterns hanging under the eaves swayed in the breeze, casting flickering light.

On such a full moon night, she found herself missing her family from the modern world.

Thinking of this, she looked at Song Shian and asked earnestly, "Do you miss your family, my dear?"

Song Shian picked up his teacup and took a sip. It contained warm water, as Jiang Chun had said his spleen and stomach were weak and forbade him from drinking tea.

Putting the cup back on the table, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, saying coolly, "No, I don't."

Because thinking about it was pointless.

He wished he could go early to redeem his cousin who had been sold to a brothel, but first, his health wasn't fully recovered, and he couldn't even leave Hongye Town.

Second, redeeming someone from a brothel would cost no less than a thousand taels of silver. How to earn that much money without drawing the attention of Empress Liu's faction was a difficult problem.

He could only take things slowly and not rush.

Jiang Chun felt he was lying, but she didn't call him out on it. Instead, she sighed sadly to the moon, "I miss my family."

Although her parents had died young, her grandparents and great-grandparents were still alive. To make them bury their children before themselves was truly unfilial.

Fortunately, neither of her parents was an only child, so there were other relatives to take care of the elderly on both sides. She had divided her inheritance among them, providing them with additional security.

Song Shian thought she was missing her deceased mother, Zheng Shi. After hesitating for a moment, he consoled her, "The dead cannot be brought back to life. It does no good to dwell on it. Focus on the present instead."

Jiang Chun: "???"