Shen Yu'an jumped off the carriage and hurriedly grabbed one of the people in the crowd, asking, "Aunt Zhang, what are you all doing gathered around my house?"
When Aunt Zhang saw that it was Shen Yu'an who had returned, she hurriedly said, "An'er is back. Child, go home and see your father. He's not doing well."
Shen Yu'an was completely bewildered. How could this be? His father had always been in good health.
Without thinking twice, he ran into the courtyard.
Shen Danru also heard Aunt Zhang's words and was startled. Thinking that she might need the carriage later, she asked Master Niu to wait a little longer.
Master Niu was a kind-hearted person. Besides, these two kids not only gave him a lot of money for the trip to Ningzhou, but also provided him with plenty of food along the way. Seeing that this family needed help, he agreed.
Shen Danru entered the courtyard and saw Shen Cheng lying motionless on the mat in the courtyard.
Zhou sat on the ground crying, Shen Yuyan also cried beside her, and Chen cursed, saying that it was too unlucky for someone to die in the family.
Several members of the Shen family tried to persuade her not to be too cruel, after all, it was her own child.
"Yu Yan, what's wrong with Father?"
When Shen Yuyan saw that Shen Danru had returned, it was as if he had found his pillar of support. The eleven-year-old boy hugged Shen Danru and burst into tears.
Through Shen Yuyan's intermittent narration, Shen Danru finally understood.
Shen Cheng was working too hard in the fields and tore open his wound, causing blood to flow from his back. In springtime, when snakes awaken, they smelled the blood, were extremely hungry, and climbed onto Shen Cheng and bit him.
Although Shen Cheng killed the snake, he also developed a fever and fell into a coma. When Zhou Shi found him, Shen Cheng was already barely breathing.
She found two villagers who were also working in the fields, and they carried Shen Cheng home. Zhou suggested going to town to see a doctor for Shen Cheng.
Upon hearing this, Chen immediately jumped up in anger. Not only did she disagree, but she also wanted to kick them out of the house, saying that it was too unlucky for someone to die in the house and would affect the fortune of her great-grandson.
That's when things started to get messy.
Shen Yu'an ran out of the house, holding an oil lamp and a small knife. He heated the knife over the oil lamp, then plunged it into Shen Cheng's wound, forcefully squeezing out the foul blood. When he realized he hadn't squeezed it all out, he lay down on Shen Cheng's wound and sucked on it, spitting out several mouthfuls of foul blood. He then wrapped Shen Cheng's wound with a white cloth.
"Brother, quickly carry Father onto the carriage. Master Niu is still waiting outside. We're going to town to find a doctor."
Shen Yu'an nodded, and several villagers lent a hand, helping Shen Cheng onto Shen Yu'an's back and onto the carriage.
Seeing Zhou Shi crying incessantly, Shen Danru comforted her, telling her to stay home and wait patiently, and that her father would be alright.
Knowing that her crying would only cause trouble for the children, Zhou wiped away her tears and nodded vigorously.
He instructed Shen Yuyan to take good care of his mother at home, and then set off.
After finding a clinic, the doctor examined Shen Cheng and said that his fever was caused by a wound on his back. The snake was not venomous, and he was fine. He would get better after taking a few doses of medicine.
The horse-drawn carriage sped along the road back to Shangqing Village.
"Brother, what are your plans for the future?"
Shen Yu'an hesitated for a moment, then said with a sneer, "Second sister, before your household registration is transferred to the Shen family, go as far as you can."
Shen Danru frowned, a plan forming in her mind.
"Brother, now that I'm back, there's no point in running away. Why don't we put on a show when we get back..."
Shen Yu'an listened intently, and the more seriously Shen Danru spoke, the more seriously he listened. A glimmer slowly appeared in his dim eyes, and suddenly he clenched his fist, as if he had made up his mind.
When Shen Yu'an carried Shen Cheng back into the Shen family home, the villagers were still there.
Some were close to Shen Cheng, while others were just looking for a spectacle.
Seeing the glimmer of hope in Zhou's eyes, Shen Danru hardened his heart and said, "Mother, the doctor said Father is dying. Let's prepare for the funeral."
Upon hearing this, Zhou felt a chill run down her spine and was about to collapse to the ground when Shen Danru caught her.
"Mother, mother."
At this moment, Zhou was overwhelmed by the blow and seemed to have gone mad, unable to utter a single word.
Shen Yu'an looked worried. Shen Danru gave him a look, telling him to follow the plan. If he missed this opportunity, he didn't know if he would have another chance.
Shen Danru helped Zhou Shi into the room and onto the kang (heated brick bed), whispering, "Mother, Father is alright."
Zhou grabbed her hand tightly: "Really?"
Shen Danru nodded, making sure she hadn't misheard: "It's true."
"Mother, my elder brother and I just wanted to take this opportunity to separate the family property. You should stay in the house and rest peacefully, don't go out."
Zhou was afraid of being exposed, so she agreed.
When Shen Danru went out again, Shen Yuyan invited the head of the Shen clan.
Next to the clan chief sat three elderly men. Two of them, with gray hair, were Shen's two uncles, and the other, who was a little younger, was Shen's elder brother.
Old Shen sat at the lower end of the table, his head bowed, looking somewhat dejected.
When they saw Shen Danru come out of the second house's mud-brick house, they all looked in her direction.
“Child, come here, come to Grandpa.”
Seeing that the old man looked very prestigious and must be an important person in the village, Shen Danru did not dare to be negligent and obediently called him "Grandpa".
The clan chief had some presbyopia. When Shen Danru approached, she was shocked when she saw Shen Danru's face clearly. The second daughter of the second branch was prettier than the eldest daughter. Shen Cheng was supposed to be a lucky man, but... what a pity.
"Hey~, I heard from Ange'er that you only returned home yesterday. Just stay here and rest assured, Grandpa Chief will take care of you."
The clan chief continued, "Is your mother alright? You should try to persuade her. Alas, they are all unfortunate children."
Shen Danru was also clever; upon hearing that he was the clan leader, she immediately wiped away her tears:
"Grandpa Chief, my mother is alright. Actually, my father was..."
When Chen saw that Shen Danru actually wanted to complain to the clan leader, she panicked immediately. Her face flushed red as she said:
"It's all your fault, you jinx! Everyone was fine when you weren't back, but as soon as you came back, you brought bad luck to your father and he died. And you still have the nerve to cry."
Shen Dan was like a frightened bird, his eyes filled with terror:
"Grandma, weren't the injuries on Daddy's body caused by you? Grandma beat Daddy's back until it was lacerated and bleeding, which is why the snake came. Grandma, how can you blame it on me?"
"I just got back, and you already hate me that much? You're trying to ruin my reputation and drive me to the brink of despair."
Shen Danru cried even harder.
At this moment, the clan leader's face turned extremely ugly.
"Xiao Quanzi, you tell us."
Shen Quan is the name of Old Man Shen.
The clan chief and Shen Quan were about the same age, but Shen Quan was of a lower generation, so he had to respectfully call the clan chief "uncle" when he saw him.
Old Man Shen knew in his heart that Chen had done something wrong. He kept his head down, intending to remain invisible and let the clan leader decide to separate the second branch of the family. He never expected that his wife would smear the child and expose the matter.
Something that does more harm than good.
He remained silent for a long time, his face flushed, whether from anger or embarrassment, it was hard to tell.
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