Chapter 21: Back Again – The Daily Gossip Life of the Sickly Sister-in-law in the Courtyard

Chapter 21: Back Again - The Daily Gossip Life of the Sickly Sister-in-law in the Courtyard

"Why are you back here again?" Nurse Liu frowned at the somewhat familiar group gathered at the hospital entrance and asked.

What Nurse Liu didn’t ask was, why did you all come back looking like this?

Mother Gu and Mother Zhang were lying on a wooden cart, groaning. A crowd had gathered around the cart. Both women had scratches on their faces and bald patches where their hair had been pulled out. Their clothes were disheveled, as if they had been in a fight. Well, they had been in a fight...

Nurse Liu had a sudden realization of what had happened.

Mother Gu and Mother Jiang, recognizing the familiar voice, fell silent, their faces tense, as they looked speechless at Nurse Liu.

Mother Li, feeling a headache coming on as she watched the scene unfold, knew she couldn’t just ignore it. She stepped forward to talk to Nurse Liu.

"Here's what happened..."

Nurse Liu’s expression shifted from indifference to shock as she took in the sight of Mother Gu and Mother Jiang. These two were really something!

They had only left the hospital less than an hour ago. At first, Nurse Liu had told them to leave and take their quarrel elsewhere. She hadn’t expected them to actually go and start fighting. And the worst part was how viciously they had fought. Just look at their swollen faces, the bald patches in their hair, and the bruises. Though the hidden injuries weren’t visible yet, the current sight was already terrifying enough.

"Let's get them inside. I'll call a doctor to check them," she said, heading into the hospital to find a nurse. She specifically chose a ward without Lin Qing.

Mother Li, feeling a headache from all the running around she had done because of these two, watched as they started groaning again as soon as Nurse Liu left.

"Enough, you're already at the hospital. Weren’t you two saying you wanted to visit Lin Qing? Go ahead and do that!" Mother Li said to the crowd that was eager to watch the drama.

Initially, Mother Li hadn’t wanted so many people to come along. It would have been enough for the Gu and Jiang families to go. But these crafty folks used the excuse of visiting Lin Qing to tag along.

Mother Li didn’t want to question whether their intentions were true or not, but since they had said it, they had to follow through.

"Okay, we’ll go now," they reluctantly agreed.

But they really wanted to stay and watch more. However, with medical fees involved and money matters at stake, they felt that Mother Gu and Mother Jiang wouldn’t let this end peacefully.

Reluctantly, they left the ward of Mother Gu and Mother Jiang, heading to another room on the same floor.

Cen Xi and Lin Qing had just finished eating and were about to wash their lunch boxes when they bumped into the group of people.

Even though Cen Xi and Lin Qing had only moved in less than a week ago, they recognized these neighbors.

"What's going on?" Cen Xi inquired.

Yu Liang from the backyard said, "We heard that Lin Qing was hospitalized, so we came to visit. Yes, to visit."

His wife, Zhang Yuanyuan, added, "That's right, we're here to see the patient."

The others behind him also agreed, "Yes, yes."

They all wore sincere smiles, looking at Cen Xi as if to reassure him they were telling the truth.

Cen Xi was so frightened by their expressions that he took a step back. Something’s not right, definitely not right!

Just as he was about to ask more, he suddenly heard loud groans coming from a ward a few doors down.

Upon hearing the groans, Yu Liang, Zhang Yuanyuan, and the rest of the group immediately turned and rushed towards that ward.

At this point, Cen Xi didn’t need to ask—he knew something was off with these people!

Lin Qing, who had been paying attention to the activities outside, also noticed the change. She too had heard the loud groans and, driven by curiosity, got out of bed and walked out.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. As soon as we came out, we saw them saying they wanted to visit someone, but they hadn't even entered yet. As soon as they heard the noise from over there, they immediately ran in that direction.

But I don't think they're sincere about visiting the patient. It seems... they're here to watch the drama." Cen Xi guessed, looking at the group of people who were desperately trying to squeeze into the ward.

"Should we go take a look?" Lin Qing couldn't control her curiosity.

"Forget it. Even if we go now, we won't be able to squeeze in." Cen Xi didn't want his wife to get caught in the crowd.

"Then let's go see it from the outside, without getting close, okay?" Lin Qing hugged his arm and whined playfully.

Hearing her whine, Cen Xi's heart softened. "Alright, alright. We'll stay on the outside! Don't let those people push you!"

"Okay!" Lin Qing let go and headed towards the ward, with Cen Xi closely following her.

When they got there, Lin Qing stood on her tiptoes to try and see what was happening inside, but she still couldn't see clearly. She looked enviously at the man next to her.

It's great not having to stand on my toes to see what's happening inside!

"What's happening?"

Then Lin Qing saw Cen Xi looking at her with a meaningful expression.

"What's inside?"

"Inside... it's Mother Gu and... Mother Jiang." Cen Xi was quite shocked himself.

It was the same kind of shock that Nurse Liu felt when she saw Mother Gu and Mother Jiang in such a state at the hospital entrance.

"Wait, how did they get involved?" Lin Qing still didn't understand. These aunties could be really fierce sometimes.

"Didn't they go back already?"

"Yes, but it seems they've come back as patients?"

Lin Qing, who couldn't see inside, was even more shocked. So what exactly happened? Could someone explain it to her?

"Ow! It's killing me! Mother Gu, you—"

"I f—your—"

From inside, the two of them were shouting insults at each other, dragging their ancestors into it, and trying to out-yell one another.

Lin Qing listened curiously from outside. She had never heard so many curse words before. Cen Xi, looking at her with wide eyes full of curiosity, felt a black line appear on his forehead.

Not wanting her to hear any more—he didn’t want her picking up bad habits—Cen Xi decided to distract her. He pulled aside a neighbor who was standing on the outskirts and hadn't pushed his way in. "What exactly happened?"

The person he pulled happened to be Da Qiang, who lived in the neighboring yard and had chatted with Cen Xi a few times before. He initially thought someone had just bumped into him, but when he turned around, he saw the very people who had been used as an excuse to come to the hospital this time.

Realizing they were the reason he was there, he kindly explained the situation.

"These two aunties..."

Cen Xi and Lin Qing stared in disbelief, completely stunned. They hadn't anticipated that trying to scare off these shameless, pushy ladies would cause such a scene. They didn't know what to say about it.