Chapter 13: Fifth Uncle

“Mhm, a family!” Sun's eyes instantly reddened again. Glancing at Yang Ruoqing standing to the side, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with the base of her palm and asked Yang Huazhou, “Did you come to this room for anything else?”

Yang Huazhou froze for a moment before saying, “I was so focused on looking at my third brother that I almost forgot. Sister-in-law, I came to call you to the east wing. Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Fourth Brother—they’ve all arrived. Only your branch is missing.”

“But your third brother is...”

“Mother, go. I’ll watch over Father,” Yang Ruoqing, who had been standing obediently to the side, finally interjected.

“Qing'er, you...”

“Mother, don't dawdle. Go quickly, don't make everyone wait for just you. If Father wakes up later, I'll call you!” As Yang Ruoqing spoke, she pushed Sun toward the door.

Yang Ruoqing guessed that the Old Yang family was meeting in the east wing tonight to discuss the aftermath of Yang Huazhong's broken leg. The Old Yang family had not split the household; Lady Tan controlled the food and money for the entire clan. Even the money for Yang Huazhong's medicine today had been allocated from her.

As the parties directly involved in today's incident, the third branch would certainly have to attend this family meeting. If it weren't for her concern for her father, Yang Ruoqing would have wanted to go and eavesdrop to hear how the family intended to handle Yang Huazhong's injury and how they would settle the members of the third branch!

As the saying goes, mothers and daughters are connected by heart. Seeing Sun bolt out of the room, Yang Ruoqing assumed her mother was thinking exactly what she was. Just as she was about to go and tuck her father's quilt closer, she suddenly noticed Yang Huazhou, who was nearly at the wing door, turning back.

“Fifth Uncle, is there something else?” Yang Ruoqing asked calmly.

In the memories left in the original host's body, the fragments regarding this dark-skinned young man with thick eyebrows and large eyes were warm.

“Qing'er, how is your speech so smooth now?” Yang Huazhou's eyes widened, his gaze sweeping over Yang Ruoqing like a searchlight, his face full of disbelief.

Yang Ruoqing gave a faint smile. “I don't know why I can speak again; it's as if my head isn't as clouded as before.” As she spoke, she gently tucked the corner of Yang Huazhong's quilt, then turned around to look calmly at Yang Huazhou.

“Fifth Uncle, Qing'er used to be muddled, but I still remember how good you were to me—picking lotus seed pods for me in the summer and catching birds for me to play with in the winter. I want to ask for a favor, Uncle. Please do not tell anyone that I have regained my senses for the time being, alright?”

Yang Huazhou's mouth had been halfway open in an excited smile when he heard the second half of her sentence, leaving him looking completely bewildered.

“Why? This is a good thing! If your father wakes up and finds out, how happy would he be?” Mentioning his third brother, Yang Huazhou's voice grew a bit coarser.

Heaven was truly playing tricks. His third brother's lifelong wish was for this daughter to recover and eventually marry like a normal girl. Now, the girl was lucid, but his brother himself was...

“Fifth Uncle, just do as I say. When my father wakes up, I will tell him myself.”

“Fine, I will follow your wish.”

“Mhm!”

“Qing'er, since you are lucid, you should go to the east wing and listen in. Your third brother has collapsed, and your sister-in-law is famously honest. Go listen in and help your mother make decisions. I'll watch over your brother here. Go, quickly!”

“Alright!”

Yang Ruoqing had intended to do exactly that. She glanced at the sleeping Yang Huazhong, steeled her resolve, and turned to dash out of the room like a gust of wind.

***

In the east wing, in the room where Old Man Yang and Lady Tan rested.

When Yang Ruoqing pushed the door open, she immediately saw the men of the Old Yang family. Aside from a few immature younger cousins and Yang Huazhou, who remained in the west wing to look after Yang Huazhong, almost everyone was present.

Old Man Yang and his three sons sat at the four sides of the Eight Immortals table. Old Man Yang sat in the seat of honor, a tobacco pipe clenched in his mouth. He was puffing away, and pale yellow smoke curled out of the holes in the pipe, rising in wisps that obscured his inscrutable old face.

Starting from the lower left of Old Man Yang, the order was the eldest son Yang Hua'an, the second son Yang Hualin, and the fourth son Yang Huaming, who sat opposite the eldest brother, Yang Hua'an.

The four eldest cousins from the first branch—Yang Yongxian, Yang Yongjin, Yang Yongzhi, and Yang Yongqing—stood with their hands at their sides behind the eldest uncle, Yang Hua'an.

On a bed not far away, Lady Tan sat half-reclined, a black kerchief wrapped around her head, looking listless and weak. Sitting by the edge of the bed was a thin, dark-skinned young woman in a patched coarse linen dress, holding a tea bowl and serving Lady Tan.

After entering, Yang Ruoqing's gaze swept the room, finally spotting her mother in the corner. Sun sat on a long bench with her head lowered, huddled next to the shrinking Jin, still sobbing faintly.

The sound of Yang Ruoqing's footsteps startled the family. Several gazes swept toward her. Seeing it was Yang Ruoqing, most of them frowned with disgust before indifferently withdrawing their eyes to return to their own thoughts.

“You fool, why aren't you sleeping at night? What are you wandering around for in the dark? This is your room? Get out!”

Lady Tan, who had been listless just a moment ago, suddenly sat upright and cursed toward the door through gritted teeth.

Yang Ruoqing stood there, staring blankly at Lady Tan on the bed, her mouth agape as if she were terrified.

“Mother, don't scold her. I called Qing'er over. It's dark out there, she was afraid being alone!”

Sun, who had been hiding in the shadows of the corner with her head down, hurriedly stood up and rushed over to shield Yang Ruoqing behind her.

“Just keep spoiling that brainless plague! My third son was practically killed by you two black-hearted mother and daughter! What sin did the Old Yang family commit to be stuck with such calamities...” The more Lady Tan cursed, the angrier she became. She grabbed a random object, intending to hurl it toward the door.

Seeing that what she had grabbed was a pottery tea bowl, she put it back, leaned down to grab a shoe from the floor by the bed, and threw it toward them.

Seeing the flying shoe, Sun let out a cry of alarm, her face turning pale instantly.

Yang Ruoqing's eyes narrowed slightly. Just as she was about to push Sun aside, Sun suddenly turned around and pulled her into a tight embrace.

*Thud!*

The shoe struck Sun's back with a dull sound and then fell to the floor.

Yang Ruoqing felt Sun's large tears falling onto her neck. Her fingers, hanging at her sides, instinctively clenched into fists. At that moment, the sharp sound of a tobacco pipe striking the corner of the table rang out from the Eight Immortals table.

“Such a massive thing has happened in this house, and you still have the heart to make a scene? Have you made enough noise? All of you, come over here and sit down properly!”

Old Man Yang's face was dark, and two sharp glares shot from his tiger-like eyes as he stared at Sun and Yang Ruoqing.