Chapter 1: Emergency Room Dispute, A Life in Peril

“The patient has internal abdominal bleeding and needs surgery immediately, or her life will be in danger. You family members need to sign the consent form right now!”

“Doctor, aren’t you blowing this out of proportion? She only seems to have a slight stomachache, and the symptoms aren’t that obvious. Is surgery really necessary right now? Let’s just keep her for observation first; maybe her condition will improve on its own.”

“I’m sorry, but this is a medical emergency! Every minute of delay puts the patient at greater risk. I urge the family to make a decision immediately and cooperate with the treatment. This is the crucial choice for the patient’s health!”

Leng Hui woke up to this scene: a doctor, worried about the patient’s safety, urging the family to sign the papers.

The family consisted of an old woman and a grown man.

The man pulled the old woman aside with a pained expression and whispered, “Mom, we should listen to the doctor. The mother of my children took a nasty fall.”

The old woman looked troubled, her face twisted in misery. “Son, it’s not that I don’t want her to have surgery, but you know how much a knife-wielding procedure costs. You know how things are at home—the whole family has huge monthly expenses, and your sister just gave birth.”

At the mention of giving birth, countless images flashed through Leng Hui’s mind, along with the final moment of plunging down a steep slope.

There were only six people in the emergency room: the old woman, the man, the emergency doctor who had just spoken, a nurse tending to the patient, and two patients. One was Tang Lin, who was frowning in pain and nearing shock; the other was Leng Hui.

From her memories, she realized that Tang Lin, who was nearing shock, was the original owner’s mother.

Because the original owner’s aunt had given birth today, the old woman—the original owner’s grandmother—had ordered Tang Lin to ride a bicycle to visit her.

But because the ground was still slippery and muddy after the rain, Tang Lin and Leng Hui, who was sitting on the back seat, had tumbled down a steep slope.

Tang Lin, riding in front, had taken the worst of the fall. Leng Hui was slightly better off, suffering only some scrapes and bruises.

Tang Lin hadn’t been so lucky.

When she fell, her abdomen hit a rock, breaking a rib and injuring her spleen, which caused internal bleeding. If the bleeding wasn’t stopped in time, it would be life-threatening.

Why did Leng Hui know Tang Lin’s injuries so clearly? Because she realized this plot was familiar. It took her a moment to remember it was a period novel she had read a few days ago.

Tang Lin was a cannon fodder character who died before the first chapter was even over, while Leng Hui was the foil to the female lead.

The Old Woman Leng before her favored her own daughter and her second son’s family; she had no sympathy for the eldest son’s family, treating them like beasts of burden for the Leng household.

Leng Yongkang looked at his suffering wife, then at his reluctant mother. After a moment of hesitation, he pleaded in a low voice, “Mom, why don’t you cover the cost first? After the surgery, I’ll go to my workplace and get an advance on next month’s salary. We can’t just let a living person die because of money.”

“Absolutely not! Do you want the whole family to starve for the next few months just for your wife?” Old Woman Leng took advantage of the moment to pinch him hard. “I’m telling you, even if I had money, I wouldn’t spend it on an outsider. If I’m going to spend it, it should be on my daughter. Who does she think she is? Besides, I don’t have any money.”

Old Woman Leng made her stance clear: she had no money, and she would rather die than part with it. Unless the sun rose in the west, she wasn’t paying a cent.

“The patient’s blood pressure is dropping! Have you family members made up your minds? She needs surgery immediately!” The doctor’s heart sank as he watched the blood pressure monitor.

Dealing with family members who valued money more than life was infuriating; no matter how anxious the medical staff were, it was useless.

The doctor wished he could crack open their skulls to see if they were filled with nothing but water.

Leng Hui knew from the original owner’s memories that Old Woman Leng had a habit: she liked to sew a pocket into her underwear and kept her money there whenever she went out.

The pocket was so deep that even pickpockets couldn’t get to it.

“Ah! You little money-wasting wretch, what are you doing?!”

Ignoring the dizziness in her head, Leng Hui lunged at Old Woman Leng and pulled down her pants without a word.

With lightning speed, she fished a wad of cash out of the underwear pocket.

“You money-wasting wretch, give that back to me!” Old Woman Leng scrambled to tie her waistband while glaring viciously at Leng Hui.

Leng Hui wiped her hands on the bedsheet in disgust; the money had an indescribable smell of urine from being hidden in that place. “My mother is waiting for this money to save her life. You have the money but won’t give it—are you waiting to take it into your coffin?”

“Xiaohui, how could you steal your grandmother’s money? Give it back to her right now!”

Leng Yongkang had been stunned by Leng Hui’s actions, but now that he had recovered, his first instinct was to help the old woman scold her.

Leng Hui didn’t even spare a glance for this useless man. She shoved the money into her pocket and ran out in her slippers, giving them no chance to snatch it back.

“I’m going to pay the fees now. Please, Doctor, arrange the surgery for my mother immediately.”

Before she left, Old Woman Leng, who was standing by the door, tried to intercept her, but Leng Hui pushed her aside without ceremony.

If Leng Yongkang hadn’t caught her from behind, the old woman might have collapsed on the floor.

Old Woman Leng and Leng Yongkang broke into a cold sweat. Once she regained her footing, the old woman began to curse, spewing a torrent of insults that made the doctors and nurses frown.

However, the patient’s surgery was more important; the doctor had no time to waste on the shrewish, overbearing Old Woman Leng.

“You useless piece of trash!”

As his wife, Tang Lin, was rushed into the operating room by the doctors and nurses, only Old Woman Leng and her son remained in the emergency room.

Thinking of the money that had been snatched away, Old Woman Leng stopped pretending to be a loving mother in front of her son.

She suddenly pinched the soft flesh on Leng Yongkang’s waist hard. “It’s all because of that money-wasting wretch you sired! She tried to take my life today!”

“That money was our living expenses for the next two months! Now that your daughter has stolen it, do you expect the whole family to starve for the next two months?”

Leng Yongkang covered the spot where he had been pinched. Seeing Old Woman Leng wailing with her eyes closed and spit flying everywhere, a look of disgust flashed in his eyes, and he involuntarily took two steps back.

“Mom, I’ll go to my workplace tomorrow to get an advance on my salary. Even if I have to starve myself, I won’t let you go hungry.”

Hearing that he would get an advance tomorrow, Old Woman Leng’s mood improved slightly.

She sat on the bed, took off her shoes, pulled her legs up, and began to sigh. “Look at how old you are. You’ve never let me have a moment’s peace since you were a child. Since your father passed away, do you think it was easy for a widow like me to raise the three of you? Now that you’ve finally started your own families, I have to dip into my coffin money just to handle an emergency!”

Leng Yongkang glanced at the door of the ward and whispered, “Mom, there was no other way. Who knew the mother of my children would fall so badly? If she isn’t treated, she’ll die.”

“Dying would be better!”

Taking her money was the same as taking her life.

Between her own life and someone else’s, Old Woman Leng chose her own without hesitation. “She’s a hen that doesn’t lay eggs; it’s better if she dies. While you’re still young, find another wife. She can give you a son. Or do you want your branch of the family to have no descendants?”

Leng Yongkang lowered his head in shame and anger. Having no heir was his deepest, most secret pain.

He wished no one would ever bring it up.

The new book is setting sail. I hope everyone likes it and gives it plenty of support~

(End of chapter)