Tian Mingwu took Zhao Yiming to train all night. Finally, when the curfew ended at dawn, he mounted his horse without saying a word and headed straight for the general's mansion.
Tian Mingcai knelt in the snow for several hours the day before, and had a headache when he came back in the evening. Everyone else in his group had gotten up, but he was still curled up in his quilt and sleeping.
Before everyone could be surprised as to why Tian Mingwu came to the general's residence so early in the morning, he walked straight into the room and pulled Tian Mingcai, who was still curled up in the quilt.
He grabbed the collar and dragged him to the yard, where he started beating him violently. He didn't use any sticks or other weapons, but just relied on his fists. Every punch hit the flesh, and by the time Tian Ming, who was lying on the ground, realized what was happening, his face and nose were already swollen.
Everyone finally reacted and saw that Tian Mingcai had been beaten severely. Fearing that someone might die, they were about to step forward to hold Tian Mingwu back, but Tian Mingcai raised his hand to stop them, "Don't stop him. I owe my brother this."
Tian Mingwu spat on the ground, "Bah, I don't have a brother like you. How dare you say I'm your brother? How did your family treat my wife when I was away?
That was a life! A living person! And you guys just tortured it away.
And An An, when you threw her into the back hill, did you ever think she would be scared? She has the same blood as you! Doesn't your conscience hurt? Can you sleep at night? "
Tian Mingwu's eyes welled up as he spoke. God knew how miserable he felt. He hated the Li family and resented Tian Mingcai. But he also hated himself even more. He hated himself for not making good plans for his wife and children. He hated himself for having lost his memory and abandoning his children for so many years, causing them so much suffering.
Tian Mingcai lay in the snow like a dead fish, motionless, with only crystal tears flowing from his swollen eyes.
Seeing him like this, Tian Mingwu became even more angry. "Get up right here! Who are you doing this for? Am I bullying you? You killed my wife and bullied my child. What's wrong with me hitting you? I'm telling you, I'm not going to hit you just this time. I'm going to hit you every time I see you from now on."
After saying that, he strode away. When he reached the door, he stopped again without looking back. He just said, "Go buy him a bottle of medicine. Don't let him die. He still has to suffer."
After Tian Mingwu left, several uncles and aunts shook their heads and went to carry Tian Mingcai back to the house. This was a matter between brothers, and they couldn't say anything. Besides, what Old Lady Wang and her family had done to Tian Mingwu's family was indeed excessive.
Although Tian Mingcai did nothing, he could not just sit back and do nothing because he was related to Tian Mingwu's family. Others could remain indifferent and do nothing, but Tian Mingcai could not. If he did nothing, it would be a disguised form of aiding and abetting the evil.
It was already noon when Tian An learned about this. When Chen Qiang went to the general's mansion to deliver food to the helpers, he saw Tian Mingcai, who was still working despite being covered in wounds, and thought someone had caused trouble in the general's mansion. After asking, he found out that it was the general himself who had beaten him. He didn't say anything at the time, but came back and told Tian An about it.
Tian An was puzzled. Why would her stepfather suddenly beat Tian Mingcai? Moreover, he didn't beat him last night, but beat him this morning. This was too strange.
By chance, Tian An saw Zhao Yiming, who had two dark circles under his eyelids and obviously did not sleep well, so he asked him what he did last night.
Zhao Yiming yawned and said, "Talking about life with my father-in-law."
Tian An was bewildered. "When did you two become so close that you could even talk about life together? How come I didn't know?"
Zhao Yiming barely raised his eyelids and glanced at her. "Last night."
"Hiss," Tian An squinted at him, "So Tian Ming was beaten, is it related to you?"
Zhao Yiming simply said, "It's not unfair for him to be beaten."
Tian An looked at him critically and said, "So you've wanted to beat him for a long time." Then he took a deep breath and pointed at Zhao Yiming and said, "You used my father." It was not a question but an affirmation.
Zhao Yiming's eyes were a little evasive, and he argued cunningly: "If I hadn't stopped him, my father-in-law would have wanted to beat someone up last night."
Tian An looked at him speechlessly, and sneered inwardly: "I don't believe you, you black-bellied boy!"
He sighed, turned around and asked Chen Qiang, "How badly did he get beaten?"
Chen Qiang replied, "When I went there, they had already called a doctor. He said the attacker was very measured. Aside from the few blows to the face, the other injuries on the body were very skillful, causing immense pain without damaging the underlying cause."
Tian An raised her eyebrows. It seemed that her cheap father was a bold and careful man.
He immediately ordered Chen Qiang, "He's not dead, don't worry about it." After thinking for a while, he said, "Go and give my second aunt some news!"
Then he looked at Zhao Yiming, "Are you guys still talking about life tonight? Do you want me to help prepare a midnight snack?"
Zhao Yiming looked guilty and said, "Let's not eat! It's hard to digest if we eat too much at night." He just wanted to have a good sleep.
Mrs. Du helps manage the braised meat business. Now that the weather is cold, the braised meat business is slow, so she went to the general's mansion to see Tian Mingcai in the afternoon.
Tian Mingcai saw her coming and asked anxiously, "Why are you here? Did they kick you out and stop you from helping out?"
Mrs. Du looked at Tian Mingcai, who was beaten black and blue, and tears of distress streamed down her face. "Why were you beaten like this?"
Tian Mingcai ignored his own injuries and only asked her, "Tell me quickly! Did they kick you out?" Seeing that Du was just crying, he became even more anxious and hurriedly stood up, "I'm going to ask An An for help."
Mrs. Du quickly pulled him back and said, "No, no one is chasing me away. I just came to see you and I still have to help you."
Tian Mingcai finally breathed a sigh of relief, patted Madam Du's hand, and comforted her, "I'm fine. Big Brother held back. It will only hurt, not hurt me. He didn't intend to kill me."
Mrs. Du burst into tears. "Why is your life so miserable? Why do you have to pay for the sins committed by the Li family? Their death would have been the end of everything, but you have to bear all the sins."
Tian Mingwu lowered his head in guilt. "A son should pay for his mother's debts. Besides, we are also at fault. Big brother treated me well back then. It was us who didn't do our best to protect Big Sister-in-law and An An. This is what I deserve as a brother-in-law."
Then he pushed Mrs. Du out and said, "You go back! I'm fine. You help An An with his work. When you get paid for the New Year, you can buy some things for the children."
Mrs. Du had no choice but to tell him to take good care of his injuries and hurried back to her house on East Street.
As soon as Mrs. Du entered the house, Tian An got the news. He didn't say anything and continued with his work.
When Tian Mingwu came back in the evening, Tian An personally gave him a new winter coat and deerskin boots, which touched him deeply.
As a result, he couldn't sleep again and talked about life with Zhao Yiming all night.
Fortunately, Tian An had made preparations in advance. He not only prepared midnight snacks for the two of them, but also provided them with high-quality charcoal fire, so the two of them would not feel cold even if they chatted all night long.
Tian Mingwu praised his daughter as caring, while Zhao Yiming was the only one who expressed that he was very tired.
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