Chapter 18

"What, what should we do?" Li was extremely anxious. If her sister-in-law woke up and told Chen Biao about this, all their plans would be for nothing.

Wang Ying glared at the two children who were secretly laughing beside her, then turned to comfort Li Shi and said, "Mother, you go and stay by Aunt's side. If she wakes up and asks, insist that she must have seen it wrong."

"Yes!" Madam Li quickly nodded in agreement.

"If she wants to come back for another check, be sure to stop her. Tell her that the child left uneasy and vomited a lot of blood, and that you suspect someone poisoned him."

"Sister-in-law, where are we?" Qingyun asked excitedly, pulling her younger brother along.

"You two burn paper money for me in a peaceful manner, and cry more earnestly."

"Alright, alright!" The two children ran to the front of the mourning hall to continue burning paper money. Just then, Chen Biao came in from outside. "I heard that the third brother is back?"

Li stammered, "I'm back. I was so excited when I saw Qingyan that I fainted from crying. I'm putting her to rest in the west wing."

Chen Biao pursed his lips and turned away. He had no affection for his sister. A few years ago, after his elder brother passed away, he returned home intending to borrow some money from her, but instead of getting a single penny, she berated him. She thought she was all that now that she was married into the county, and with only two sons, she wouldn't have any support from her husband's family. He wondered how she would manage in the future!

The old man had barely left when the young man arrived.

Chen Qingfeng has been coming over very frequently these past few days, visiting whenever he has free time during the day, making Chen Qingyan hesitant to go to the toilet.

"Wang Ying, you're here! I've been looking for you for ages."

"Did my cousin need something?"

"I noticed you didn't eat much at noon, and I happened to have bought a box of snacks on my way out of an errand. Here, have some."

"Thank you, cousin, I'm not hungry." The reason he ate so little at noon was because he had secretly brought his food to the mourning hall to eat with Chen Qingyan, and his stomach was still full.

Chen Qingfeng thought he was shy, so he forced the snacks into his hands, saying, "How can you not be hungry? Take these and have some to tide you over."

Wang Ying's lips twitched. There's no smoke without fire when it comes to being nice. What exactly does this kid want?

Chen Qingfeng leered at Wang Ying, and when he saw her ample buttocks under her clothes, he swallowed hard without making a sound.

"What are your plans after Qingyan leaves?"

"I'll help my mother raise my younger brother and sister first; I haven't thought about anything else."

"You're only eighteen, a prime age. Are you going to spend your whole life as a widow for Chen Qingyan?"

"It's not impossible." Wang Ying had no intention of finding another man to marry, after all, he was a straight man at heart.

Chen Qingfeng said meaningfully, "You're still young and don't understand anything. You'll regret it when you get older."

Wang Ying thought to herself: What does it matter to you whether I regret it or not?

"Your cousin feels sorry for you. Come find me when you've made up your mind." With that, he turned and walked away, leaving behind what he thought was a very cool and confident back view.

Chen Qingyan, who was in the coffin, could no longer lie still. As soon as the others left, he immediately got up and shouted, "You scoundrel, how dare you!"

"Lie back down quickly, so no one can see you." Wang Ying hurriedly pushed the person back into the coffin.

Chen Qingyan was so angry that his nose almost twisted: "This is outrageous! Chen Qingfeng is a wicked man with a gambling addiction. You must not believe his words."

"I'm not stupid, why would I listen to him?"

Chen Qingyan grew angrier the more she thought about it. Her body was barely cold when Chen Qingfeng started lusting after her husband. He was worse than a dog!

"Stay away from him if you see him again; he's up to no good."

"It's alright, it's alright. He only has seven fingers left. He might not be able to beat me in a real fight."

"You..." Chen Qingyan was speechless, baffled by his bizarre thought process, and angrily closed her eyes, pretending to be dead.

*

The third aunt woke up in the evening and, seeing Li sitting next to her embroidering, sat up abruptly from the bed.

"Third Sister, you're awake."

"Sister-in-law Yan'er isn't dead! He's not dead!"

"Third sister is confused with grief. Yan'er is already gone."

"But in the afternoon, it was clearly..."

Madam Li put down her embroidery and sighed, "I'm afraid he left in unease..."

"What makes you say that?"

"This is a long story, and it all started with Qingyan's marriage."

Since the child fell ill last year, his health has gradually deteriorated. After the New Year, he was unable to get out of bed. I was very worried about him and, in desperation, I sought help from an old Taoist priest.

The Taoist priest said that Yan'er lacked the element of water in his five elements, but his metal and fire elements were too strong and were about to burn away his essence and blood. He needed to find a woman or man with the element of water to marry in order to resolve the problem.

There was no other way, so I spent ten strings of cash to find a young man in the village to bring good luck to Yan'er. The wedding was arranged in such a hurry that I didn't send you any news.

Chen Rong asked, "Is that the boy who was wearing mourning clothes in the mourning hall just now?"

"Yes, his name is Wang Ying. He's a good kid. It's strange, but ever since he came into the family, Qingyan's health has really improved day by day. He was even able to get out of bed a while ago."

"How could that happen so suddenly..."

Li took out her handkerchief and burst into tears, "I suspect Qingyan was murdered!"

Chen Rong was stunned. Who would harm someone who had just recovered from a serious illness? Especially in her own home. After thinking it over, she suddenly widened her eyes.

"No, no way... Second Brother would never do that."

"Since you've already guessed it, you know there's nothing he wouldn't do! You don't know about his family situation. Ever since your older brother passed away, he's been coming to our house every month to freeload."

A while ago, Qingfeng lost money gambling again and was detained by the gambling den. They demanded 500 taels of silver to ransom him, or they would chop off his hands and feet.

He came to me demanding money, but where was I supposed to find so much? When he refused, he caused a scene at my house. My son-in-law tried to defend him, but he wouldn't listen and tried to hit him. I had no choice but to report him to the authorities. The Chen family has held a grudge against me ever since, saying they'll get what's coming to us one day…”

"Impossible! Even if Second Brother is confused, he couldn't do something so heinous!" Chen Rong still didn't believe it. After all, she had been away from home for a long time, and her understanding of Second Brother was limited to before their marriage. Although Chen Biao was not well-liked, he would never do such a thing.

Li choked up and said, "I know you don't believe me, but this is just my guess. What can we, a widow and her child, do right now without any evidence? We will have to rely on him to survive in the future."

Chen Rong grasped Li's hand, and the two sisters-in-law looked at each other speechlessly, tears streaming down their faces.

*

The two children didn't have to stay up all night; they went back to their rooms to sleep, leaving only Wang Ying sitting in front of the ever-burning lamp, reading a book.

"Be careful, don't set my book on fire," Chen Qingyan said casually.

"Don't worry, I'm not blind, I won't get that close."

Chen Qingyan rolled over in the coffin. "I'm hungry."

"Didn't we just finish eating?"

"I'm not full, get me a snack."

Wang Ying put down her book. "Where did you get snacks in the middle of the night?"

"Didn't Chen Qingfeng give you a box? You're reluctant to let me eat it?"

"You dare eat what he gave you? He made me empty the garbage can! If you want to eat it, go get it yourself!"

Chen Qingyan's anger vanished instantly. "Good riddance. Of course, you can't eat what he gave you."

"You're crazy." Wang Ying picked up her book and continued reading.

"Knock knock knock." Suddenly someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it? Coming over so late?" Wang Ying got up and opened the door, and there stood Chen Qingfeng.

In the past few days, Chen Biao's family has moved in under the pretext of holding a funeral, and they live in the courtyard where they lived before they separated their households.

"Cousin, what brings you here?"

"I came to see you."

"This...isn't that inconvenient..."

Chen Qingfeng pushed his way in without saying a word, picked up an incense stick, lit it, and placed it in the incense burner. He then said leisurely, "Have you thought carefully about what I said this afternoon?"

"Huh?" Wang Ying was completely bewildered, not knowing what she should be considering.

Chen Qingfeng suddenly grabbed his hand and said, "I don't mind that you are a widow. Come with me from now on! Although I can't give you a formal title, I can at least guarantee that you will have enough to eat and drink. If you can have a son in the future, I will adopt him into the name of my legal wife. I will definitely not mistreat you and your son."

Holy crap...

Wang Ying was stunned.

Is he alright? Did his head get chopped off along with his finger? He didn't say a word, yet he's already made up a whole TV series out of his own imagination!

"Wait a minute, I don't think I ever agreed to that, did I?"

“I know you’re shy and embarrassed to say it, so I’ll take the initiative to say it.”

At this moment, Chen Qingyan, who was lying in the coffin, was so angry that he couldn't help but cough. Coincidentally, a gust of wind blew in from outside the door, extinguishing the ever-burning lamp in the hall, and the room was instantly plunged into darkness.

"What, what was that sound?!" Chen Qingfeng trembled with fear.

Wang Ying simply knelt down on the ground and pretended to cry, "Qingyan, is that you back...?"

The crying mingled with the sound of the wind, and there was also a faint sound of a man coughing. Terrified, Chen Qingfeng jumped up and ran outside, shouting, "It's haunted! It's haunted!!!"

This fright terrified Chen Qingfeng, and he never dared to make a move on Wang Ying again after that day.

*

Time flew by and it was the seventh day, the day Chen Qingyan was to be buried.

Early in the morning, Wang Ying quietly went out and went to a food stall in town. A little while later, a familiar face came in from outside. It was none other than Huang San, a constable.

"I have found out what you asked me to inquire about. Your fourth master arrived in Changmen Town yesterday and should be home this afternoon."

"Thank you for your trouble, Master Huang!" Wang Ying quickly took out a tael of silver from her bosom and handed it to him.

Huang San smiled and accepted the money, saying, "Young master, you're too kind. Please don't hesitate to ask if there's anything else I can help you with!"

"I do have a favor to ask of you, Third Master. The house has been in chaos these past few days, and we haven't been able to take care of anything. As a result, a thief has appeared in the house. A servant named Tian Xiaoliu has stolen some money from the house and we don't know where he is. I would be grateful if you could help me find him."

"Alright, leave this to me!" Huang San readily agreed. Chen Jia's young master was straightforward and generous, and he loved helping people like him.

After finishing her business, Wang Ying hurriedly returned home. Chen Qingyan's coffin had already been carried to the yard, and a mourning tent had been set up on it. In another fifteen minutes, the coffin would be nailed shut.

Li was anxiously clutching her handkerchief when she saw Wang Ying return. She rushed over and asked, "What should we do now?"

Wang Ying whispered a few words to her, and Li felt relieved.

"The stage is all set up, and we're just waiting for the show to begin!"

A note from the author: