Chapter 9: Jinx

Thinking of the damp quilt, Yang Ruoqing really wanted to take the bedding out to sun it properly and kill the germs. But she was a "fool," and if she did that, her cover would be blown!

So, she suddenly grinned and made a few "ah-ah" sounds toward the kitchen.

Sure enough, the kitchen curtain was lifted. Sun-shi came running out in a hurry, wiping water from her hands, and rushed to Yang Ruoqing’s side. "Qing'er, what is it?"

Yang Ruoqing opened her mouth, preparing to lean against Sun-shi’s ear to ask her to help bring the bedding out. Just then, the small wooden door leading to the front house was slammed open from the outside with a "bang." A young man wearing straw sandals, his mud-stained pant legs rolled up above his knees, rushed in like a whirlwind.

The young man looked to be in his early twenties, with a square face, dark skin, thick eyebrows, large eyes, a high nose, and somewhat full lips. Yang Ruoqing recognized at a glance that this young man was her fifth uncle, Yang Huazhou.

Sun-shi was startled by the sudden noise. When she looked up and saw who it was, she felt a sense of relief, but also showed some surprise.

"Fifth brother, didn't you say you were going to help build a stove at Old Zhao's place on the east side of the village today? Why are you back already?" Sun-shi asked.

Yang Huazhou raised his hand to wipe the hot sweat from his forehead. He glanced at Yang Ruoqing, who was hiding behind Sun-shi, and said loudly to Sun-shi, "Third sister-in-law, did my third brother go to town today?"

"No, why?"

"Then, before my third brother left, was he wearing a gray jacket, blue-green pants, and a pair of straw sandals?" Yang Huazhou asked immediately.

Sun-shi thought for a moment and nodded. Suddenly realizing something, she stood up from her half-crouched position beside Yang Ruoqing and asked Yang Huazhou anxiously, "Fifth brother, why are you asking this? What exactly happened?"

"Oh! Then it’s really bad!" Yang Huazhou slapped his thigh, gritted his teeth, and his whole face twisted in distress.

Upon hearing this, Sun-shi’s face turned pale instantly. Thinking of how long Qing'er’s father had been gone, a bad premonition suddenly arose in her heart.

Her lips trembled as she was about to ask again, when the door of the east wing room opposite creaked open.

A tall, thin old man walked out, draped in an outer garment. His temples were slightly gray, but his frame still looked quite sturdy.

The old man held the collar of his garment with one hand and a long-stemmed pipe in the other. Behind him followed Tan-shi, who wore an anxious expression.

Yang Ruoqing knew that the old man before her was the grandfather of this body, Old Yang-tou, and the head of the Yang family.

Ever since he stepped out of the room, Old Yang-tou had a gloomy face. He didn't even glance at Sun-shi and her daughter, but instead glared at the frantic Yang Huazhou and shouted, "I hate your indecisive nature, saying half and leaving half, just like a woman. What exactly happened to your third brother? Speak!"

"Father, it's bad! I heard from Er Gouzi's wife, who just returned from town, that there's a person lying by the riverbank five miles outside of town, covered in blood, with an overturned cart nearby. Er Gouzi's wife was too scared to go over and look closely, but she saw that the person's clothes were exactly the same as my third brother's!"

"What?" Old Yang-tou’s body swayed violently, and the pipe in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter!"

Tan-shi stepped forward, grabbed Yang Huazhou’s arm, and said sharply, "What did you say? How did the ox cart your third brother was driving end up in the river?"

"That’s what Er Gouzi's wife said. I don't know the specifics! I was so worried that I came back to ask for your advice, Father!"

"Qing'er’s father..." Sun-shi suddenly let out a wail and bolted toward the exit. She hadn't even taken two steps when her figure suddenly faltered, and she fell straight backward onto the hard dirt ground.

Yang Ruoqing’s expression shifted, and she was just about to jump up from the ground to catch her, but Yang Huazhou was quick-witted and caught Sun-shi.

"Third sister-in-law..."

After shaking a bit, Sun-shi regained her senses.

"I want to go find Qing'er’s father!" Sun-shi stared with eyes that were losing focus, yet she pushed Yang Huazhou away with all her might and rushed toward the front house.

"Father, what do we do now? Please, give us an idea!" Yang Huazhou looked in the direction Sun-shi had run off to, stomping his feet in anxiety.

"What are you still standing there for? Go to the front courtyard and wake up your eldest brother! No one is going to the fields this afternoon; everyone is going to look for your third brother!"

Before Old Yang-tou had even finished speaking, Yang Huazhou rushed out like a gust of wind. Then, the sound of him pounding on the door of the eldest brother, Yang Hua'an, echoed from the front house. Old Yang-tou buttoned his jacket and chased after him in a hurry.

Back in the courtyard, only Tan-shi was left, pacing back and forth in anxiety, and Yang Ruoqing, who stood by the wall looking dazed.

Although she hadn't officially met that "cheap" father yet, the vague, fragmented memories in her mind were all of that middle-aged man’s simple and honest face.

Like Sun-shi, he had spent over a decade doting on this foolish daughter without a single complaint.

He hadn't slept all night, and he had gone to town at the crack of dawn to get medicine. He must have been exhausted or something, which led to the ox cart overturning!

Yang Ruoqing felt uneasy. She wanted to go and see what condition her father was in, but this body had suffered the trauma of drowning and a high fever all night. Even a slight movement made her feel dizzy; she couldn't keep up with Sun-shi and the others, and would only be a burden!

She could only stand blankly by the wall of the west wing, standing on tiptoe to look toward the front entrance, ears pricked to listen for any news! In her heart, she prayed over and over again, hoping that nothing serious had happened to her father!

Over there, Tan-shi looked around, muttered something to herself, and turned to pick up the pipe Old Yang-tou had dropped. Just as she was about to return to the east wing, she turned her head and saw Yang Ruoqing standing by the west wall. Tan-shi’s anger flared up, and she began to scold Yang Ruoqing relentlessly.

"What are you looking at? Isn't this all because of you? You fat, foolish thing, how can your life be so tough? If anything happens to the third son, don't think you and your mother will be allowed to stay in the Yang family. Sooner or later, you'll be swept out! You jinx! You plague!"

At any other time, Yang Ruoqing wouldn't have let it slide. But right now, she was worried about her father and had no heart to argue with Tan-shi.

Furthermore, as harsh as Tan-shi’s words were, they were the truth.

If the original owner of this body hadn't jumped into the pond for a man, none of this would have happened. The fault wasn't hers, but she had no way to explain it. Sigh!

Not wanting to be Tan-shi’s punching bag, Yang Ruoqing turned and went into the west wing, leaving Tan-shi alone in the courtyard, cursing and swearing.

"A fool, and she's giving me attitude? Bah!"

Tan-shi cursed a few more times, then turned and went back to the east wing, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.