Lady Ding was completely perplexed, her eyes wide with shock: "Wha-what do you mean?"
Jin Bao grew impatient with Lady Ding’s confusion: "What do I mean? I’ve already told you that Dongzi has been injured and is in the town clinic. Wouldn’t you hurry and go see him rather than asking me here what I meant?!"
Jin Bao didn’t know Lady Ding’s thoughts, but Ji Xinhe did. Ji Xinhe hurriedly asked with "worry": "How was my brother injured? Is it severe? I disagreed from the start with him working in the mines, but he insisted on going, all for Sister Xiulan’s sake. I didn’t expect such a big thing to happen. How could he stay in such a dangerous place!"
The fact that Ji Dong was working at the mines had already spread throughout Yangluo Bay. After deciding to allow her own son to go to such a dangerous place, Lady Ding and the Ji family seemed shameless. Listening to it all was definitely disheartening.
Jin Bao knew the ins and outs of the matter. Looking at Lady Ding, he felt even more disgusted and continued: "It seems he got into a dispute with someone and ended up seriously injured. But it’s an external injury, at least he didn’t fall into the mine. Otherwise, he would have lost his life."
The last sentence was obviously a sarcasm towards Lady Ding.
"Then Jin Bao, quickly take me to the town clinic!" Ji Xinhe hurriedly said.
When Lady Ding finally understood, Jin Bao had already taken Ji Xinhe and left.
Ji Xiulan ran out of the house, her face excited with curiosity: "How is it? Is Ji Dong dead? Is he dead?!"
Lady Ding stood there, stunned. Suddenly she remembered from Jin Bao’s words that this matter had become significant, her brother...
Lady Ding’s heart sank, and she quickly began to run.
Ji Dashan also quickly followed along, leaving Ji Xiulan alone at home, wanting to go but not daring to.
Because Ji Xinhe left earlier, she was the first to see Ji Dong. He lay there looking a little weak, his head wrapped thickly in gauze, with hints of blood trickling out.
Seeing that, Ji Xinhe’s heart tightened. "Brother, how are you?" she asked.
On hearing her voice, Ji Dong slowly opened his eyes and sat up with a smile: "It’s okay, it’s just for show, to frighten people. We had planned all of this, you don’t have to be nervous. The bloody gauze around my head is just a trick of the doctor’s."
Only then did Ji Xinhe feel relieved. "That’s good."
Just as they spoke, the old doctor came in to change the dressing. He wasn’t a stranger to Ji Xinhe, evidently they had met before.
"Doctor, we discussed it before. You are helping us trick everyone this time, and in turn, we’ll help you get a handsome reward without any trouble. Please remember this matter and don’t let the cat out of the bag too soon," Ji Xinhe didn’t forget to remind.
The doctor smiled knowingly: "Don’t worry, leave it to me!"
Only then did Ji Xinhe become relieved. She had specifically chosen this clinic because it was willing to go along with their scam. After Ji Dong was "injured", they directly brought him here.
Only now did Ji Xinhe have time to ask: "Brother, how did you manage to trick that scoundrel, Ding Hui?"
"Starting a fight with Ding Hui is easy. He has a bad temper. I simply ’accidentally’ stepped on his foot, and he started swearing and cursing. We argued back and forth; he got so irritated that he started to hit me, lots of people gathered and tried to break us up, there was confusion all around, no one clearly saw what was happening, and in all this chaos, I was ’seriously injured.’" Ji Dong spoke with a smug look on his face. It was the first time that he was conning other people rather than being conned by others.
As they talked, they heard a commotion from outside. Ji Xinhe hurriedly said, "It’s probably Lady Ding and Ji Dashan. Brother, you should close your eyes."
As soon as Ji Dong’s eyes closed, Ji Xinhe began to cry out dramatically: "My big brother, how did you like this happened? Just one day’s time and you’re bedridden! How am I supposed to live? I’ve already lost my mother, and now I’ve lost my brother. Why am I so unlucky?"
The doctor was dumbstruck by the sight. Had he not known in advance that this was all a set-up, he probably would have been moved by this girl’s "genuine" grief.
The door burst open and Lady Ding barged in. As soon as she entered, she yelled, "What’s happening? What’s going on? Where is my brother, Ding Hui?!"
Li Zheng also arrived. With such a major event occurring in the village, it was natural he needed to be involved.
Ji Xinhe with teary eyes said, "What about him? I don’t care about him. I only know that he seriously injured my brother, who is now in a coma. I won’t let him get away so easily. Let’s inform the authorities and have the scoundrel arrested!"
Upon hearing this, Lady Ding’s face turned pale. After all, that was her own brother — how could she let him go to jail?
"You little brat, you don’t know anything yet you’re spouting nonsense. Dongzi just fell and hit his head, it’s not a big deal. Is it worth it for you to cry your eyes out? He’ll recover in a few days," Lady Ding retorted.
But the doctor shook his head and said: "That’s not the case. His head injury is severe, not minor. When he arrived, his body was burning hot, he was on the brink of death. It took me quite an effort to pull him back from the Ghost Gate Pass. Right now, the external wounds have stopped bleeding, but there’s serious internal damage that’s difficult to repair. We don’t know if he’ll wake up. If he doesn’t, he’ll be bedridden his whole life since the injury is at a very crucial part."
Lady Ding’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, while Ji Xinhe, cried and threw herself onto Li Zheng, "Li Zheng, you must help me. My brother has suffered such a fate, he might end up being bedridden all his life. I can’t let Ding Hui go so easily who has done this to my brother. Please help me report this to the authorities and have that scoundrel arrested!"
The doctor stepped forward in persuasion, "Girl, don’t be so hasty. Reporting this to the authorities is not a small matter, think twice."
Lady Ding looked at the doctor who agreed with her and she quickly nodded her head, "You tell her! What’s this nonsense about going to the authorities? Can we afford to offend them?!"
To everyone’s surprise, the doctor clearly suggested that instead of letting Ding Hui rot in jail, use his money to pay for Ji Dong’s medical treatment, "The primary focus should be your brother’s condition. His treatment will cost a lot of silver just to save his life. As for me, the medical expenses this time will cost ten pieces of silver, a sum you can’t possibly afford."\nAnd with that, he looked meaningfully at Lady Ding, as if hinting at an unfortunate benefactor.
Lady Ding’s face turned white, and she almost jumped up, "What nonsense are you talking about? Ten pieces of silver, why don’t you just rob instead?!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
