Chapter 25 She drank water with rat poison added!
Today is a day off, and Zhou Lingshan has made an appointment with his classmates to have dinner in a brothel in the evening.
After leaving the school, Zhou Lingshan's classmate suddenly pointed to the front and asked him to look, "Look, where did that little beauty come from?"
Seeing Zhou Chanyue, Zhou Lingshan frowned, thinking that something happened at home, and he lifted his robe to greet her, "Chanyue, why are you here?"
As soon as Zhou Chanyue saw Zhou Lingshan, his eyes turned red, "Brother, my mother and I are going to be bullied to death at home!"
"Tell me more carefully."
Zhou Chanyue exaggerated the story of how Su Wanwan had blamed Wu Sanniang for thirty strokes of the cane, and at the end he said, "That woman was the first bad seed. She deliberately targeted our family and prevented us from taking good care of our cousin."
Zhou Lingshan frowned and said nothing, but his classmate on the side started shouting, "Lingshan, isn't your cousin Pei Changfeng? Pei Changfeng's wife caused your mother to be beaten?"
"Yes," Zhou Chanyue wiped away her tears, "My cousin was bullied by that woman, and we spoke up for him but were..."
She didn't say the rest of the words, but her hesitant look made people think more.
The legend of Pei Changfeng is still circulating in the town's academy. After all, no one can always maintain the first place without wavering since the beginning of school.
Even Zhou Lingshan was taken care of by his classmates in the college because of his relationship with his cousin Pei Changfeng.
The classmate wanted to ask more questions, but Zhou Lingshan had already pulled Zhou Chanyue away.
Zhou Lingshan naturally knew what happened to Pei Changfeng. He asked Zhou Chanyue, "Is Pei Changfeng awake?"
Zhou Chanyue nodded, "Yes, he is awake, but I haven't gone to see him yet, so I don't know how my cousin is recovering."
"Awake?" Zhou Lingshan murmured, "How could it be?"
He had also taken a look at Pei Changfeng after he fell into a coma. He clearly looked like a dying man. How could he wake up?
"It's still that woman," Zhou Chanyue grabbed the handkerchief, "Okay, brother, come back with me."
After returning, Wu Sanniang sent Zhou Chanyue out to buy things, and left Zhou Lingshan in the house to plot.
"Son, what should I do?" Wu Sanniang was panicking. "If Master Song knew that this was a failure, wouldn't it be the end of us?"
Zhou Lingshan comforted Wu Sanniang, "Don't worry, mother. You just heard that Pei Changfeng woke up. Have you ever been to see him in person?"
"No, it was your sister who told you that," Wu Sanniang pressed on. "Have you thought of a solution?"
"Don't act rashly. Uncle Pei Changfeng's family is also suspicious. Pei Changfeng must have made sufficient preparations," Zhou Lingshan pondered. "I will go and find out first and then think of a solution."
Wu Sanniang's voice was trembling. "You said Pei Changfeng can't make any trouble, right? At worst, we can tell Master Song, and he can just find two people to deal with him."
"No," Zhou Lingshan shook his head. "Young Master Song is in the capital now, and you accepted fifty taels of silver from him and promised to kill Pei Changfeng. If I bother Young Master Song about this now, he can have me kicked out of the academy with just one word."
"Yes, yes," Wu Sanniang regretted, "If I had known, I should have hit him on the head a few more times."
With a loud bang, Zhou Lingshan immediately chased after him, "Who!"
Zhou Chanyue sat on the ground with weak legs and feet, looking at Zhou Lingshan tremblingly, "Brother, it was you and mother who killed my cousin?"
Zhou Lingshan pulled her into the house and asked, "Did you hear everything?"
Wu Sanniang was so anxious that she kept shouting, "Damn you, you damned girl! Didn't I ask you to weigh the soybeans?"
Zhou Chanyue thought Wu Sanniang was going to tell Zhou Lingshan something important, and he didn't want to be kept in the dark, so he eavesdropped outside the house. Who would have thought that he would hear this...
She started crying, "I didn't mean to do that, I-I forgot to take the money!"
"You killed someone, and you must pay with your life..."
With a "pop", Zhou Chanyue's head tilted to the other side.
Zhou Lingshan looked at her with a dark face, "Idiot!"
"Brother..." Zhou Chanyue covered her face and cried.
Zhou Lingshan squatted down and looked at her straight in the eyes, "If you dare to tell this to others, then we in the Zhou family will no longer have a daughter like you!"
Zhou Chanyue nodded with red eyes, "I remember it all."
She tugged at Zhou Lingshan's sleeve and said, "Brother, did Mr. Song really give our family fifty taels of silver?"
"As long as you keep your mouth shut, when you get married," Zhou Lingshan held up two fingers, "I'll give you twenty taels for your dowry."
Zhou Chanyue immediately burst into laughter and said, "I will never tell anyone a word."
Wu Sanniang felt distressed, "It's only fifty taels in total, why are you giving so much to this damn girl?"
Zhou Lingshan shook Wu Sanniang's shoulder and said, "Sister, we are one family. We should not have different opinions."
Zhou Chanyue nodded with emotion, while Wu Sanniang curled her lips and said nothing.
In the afternoon, Chen Liang finally arrived.
Su Wanwan entertained him warmly, "Mr. Chen, my husband has been waiting for you for a long time, please go in and talk to him!"
Chen Liang was holding a bookcase in one hand. When he saw Su Wanwan coming to take it, he quickly said, "It's okay, it's okay. This bookcase is heavy and you can't lift it."
"Hmm?" Su Wanwan walked in front, carrying a bookcase. "Mr. Chen, do you want me to help you carry the other one?"
She looked slender, but she had so much strength. Chen Liang was a man, so he naturally couldn't stand being compared to her. He shook his head and smiled, "No need, no need."
Pei Changfeng was practicing in the house to move in a faster way. His lame leg had a lot of influence on him. He couldn't use force, otherwise it would hurt excruciatingly. When it rained, he would feel both pain and itchiness, which was very uncomfortable.
“Changfeng,” Chen Liang’s eyes soured again when he saw him, “You’ve suffered, your legs… ah!”
Su Wanwan didn't interrupt their conversation. After putting down the book box, she went to the vegetable garden at the back. Ever since she knew that Aunt Pei was not buried here, she no longer had any psychological burden.
Pei Changfeng opened the bookcase, which contained the things he was most familiar with. He took good care of books, so they all looked very new.
"Changfeng, are you really going to sell all these books?" Chen Liang sighed, "What a pity, what a pity."
Pei Changfeng had read these books countless times and could recite them by heart. Even if he sold them, he could still write them down from memory.
"We can't let Wanwan make a living alone," Pei Changfeng spread out a book and stroked the words on it, "I just don't know how much it is worth."
Chen Liang thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you sell it to me? I have several younger brothers at home. They have all heard of your knowledge. The comments and annotations in your book will be extremely useful to them."
Pei Changfeng looked up at him. Chen Liang said, "My family is relatively wealthy. I can afford your books at the market price. You don't have to worry about anything else. To be honest, you are doing me a favor by selling them to me. There are so many people who want your books but can't get them."
Pei Changfeng knew that he was helping him, "Thank you."
"I should be the one thanking you. Otherwise, do you know how much it would cost if I went to a bookstore to buy it?" Chen Liang laughed. "Ordinary books cost three taels of silver per copy in a bookstore, and your annotations are even more rare. How about giving me a friendly price of six taels of silver per copy?"
Pei Changfeng did not have many books, and some of them were copied by himself. "Spring and Autumn Annals" and "Six Dynasties Literary Collection" might be worth six taels, but some supplementary books he copied were not worth much.
Pei Changfeng knew that Chen Liang was helping him, but he had no way to refuse such kindness at this moment. He needed money, whether for household expenses or to leave it to Su Wanwan if something unexpected happened to him in the future.
After the final calculation, except for a few books that Pei Changfeng kept for himself, all the remaining books were sold to Chen Liang for 72 taels.
Chen Liang sighed, his private money was now clean.
"Brother Chen," Pei Changfeng said, "I will definitely report to you if there is a future."
"Don't worry about whether to report it or not. The most important thing is to take care of your health first."
Chen Liang left, and Su Wanwan and Pei Changfeng saw him off. After Chen Liang got on the carriage, he waved to the two of them and said, "Go back."
Pei Changfeng let go of his crutches and bowed to him.
Chen Liang suddenly felt his eyes sore. Alas...it's really hard to explain.
Su Wanwan didn’t know what the two of them were talking about, but when Pei Changfeng bowed, she followed suit.
After she stood up, she saw Pei Changfeng looking at her, and she touched her face, "What's wrong, is there something on my face?"
Pei Changfeng smiled and said, "Go in."
Su Wanwan still has twenty taels of silver in her hand. Her plan is to use it to buy medicine for Pei Changfeng first. After all, they are villagers and the food is all grown in the fields. They basically don't have any big expenses in their daily lives. If it really doesn't work, she can just go home and ask for some more.
When Su Wanwan saw the silver note that Pei Changfeng handed over, she felt like she was dreaming. It was the first time she had seen such a large sum of money, a silver note of fifty taels!
Pei Changfeng handed her the other two ten-liang silver notes and six liang of silver change. Seeing her dazed, he couldn't help but smile, "What's wrong?"
"Husband," Su Wanwan grabbed Pei Changfeng's sleeve, "Hit me quickly, am I dreaming? How can there be so much money?"
Pei Changfeng told her about the book selling business, and Su Wanwan suddenly became unhappy.
Although she had never bought any books, she could roughly guess what these books meant to Pei Changfeng. He had studied hard for so many years, and now these books were sold just like that. How could he feel good about it?
"Husband, why don't we buy the book back?" Su Wanwan reluctantly turned her eyes away from the banknote. "I still have money in my hand, and I can buy you two more months of medicine. What's more, your health has improved a lot now. Maybe you can finish the medicine this month and you will be fine."
Pei Changfeng took up the pen and dipped it in ink, then wrote a word on the paper. Su Wanwan looked over and asked, "What is this word?"
"Wan."
"Is it the "Wan" in my name?" Su Wanwan leaned in to take a closer look. "It really is. My husband, your handwriting is really beautiful. Are all the books you sold written by you?"
Pei Changfeng took a book from the bookcase and handed it to her. It was the "Six Dynasties Literary Records" that he left behind.
When Su Wanwan opened the book, her eyes were dazzled. She saw that the book was full of notes written by Pei Changfeng. Although there were many notes, they were arranged neatly without any extra ink stains. It was obvious that the owner of the book took great care of it.
Su Wanwan turned the pages of the book very gently, for fear of wrinkling Pei Changfeng's book. She also took care of the things that Pei Changfeng took care of.
"Husband," Su Wanwan leaned her head gently on his arm, "If it doesn't work, you can open a school. We charge tuition fees, but not much. I see other teachers charge half a tael of silver a month, and we only charge four cents. As long as we have three or four students, at least we won't have to worry about food and clothing."
Pei Changfeng pulled his arm out, "Wanwan is right. After the summer heat is over, I will go to teach."
"Then this money..." Su Wanwan calculated, "You have enough money for medicine this year, but we still can't spend it recklessly. We have to keep it well."
She looked around the room and finally came to a conclusion, "I can sew a small pocket on my clothes and hide it inside them. Hmm... No."
She thought for a moment and said, "Husband, why don't we hide in the chicken coop?"
Pei Changfeng laughed, "It's up to you."
Su Wanwan did what she said and thoughtfully hid the three silver bills in several places in the chicken coop. She didn't believe that anyone would come to rob the chicken coop!
After finishing these things, Su Wanwan lay on the bed and asked Pei Changfeng, "Husband, Caidie came to see me this morning. Do you know what she said to me?"
"What?" Pei Changfeng already knew that the previous incident between Su Wanwan and Wang Laizi was caused by Liang Caidie's attempt to vent her anger.
"When Caidie's mother saw that Wang Laizi was no longer able to do so, she wanted to marry her off to another family with a higher betrothal gift. Caidie wanted to run away, but there was nothing I could do to help her. At most, I could prepare some dry food for her while she ran away."
Su Wanwan sighed and hugged Pei Changfeng, "My husband, you said that men and women are born from the same womb, why are some people so biased? If I had a daughter, I would definitely treat her like an eyeball, it's not easy to be pregnant for ten months, and besides, a daughter is no worse than a son, my father loves me."
Pei Changfeng seemed to be used to her little movements from time to time. He took Su Wanwan's arm off his waist and said, "It's the same for men and women."
Hearing this, Su Wanwan's eyes lit up and she put her arm around him again, "Yes, it doesn't matter whether you have a boy or a girl. It's best to have both. What do you think, husband?"
Pei Changfeng didn't really want to discuss this kind of thing at night. He turned his back and Su Wanwan came over to him, "My dear, you feel a little hot. It's okay. It will be fine in winter."
Pei Changfeng wanted to sleep, but Su Wanwan was not sleepy at all. She began to rub his shoulders again, "Husband, what do you want to eat tomorrow? I will kill the duck and stew it for you tomorrow."
Pei Changfeng said nothing and just pretended that he had fallen asleep.
Su Wanwan felt bored after a while, yawned and fell asleep.
After she fell asleep, Pei Changfeng skillfully sat up and moved her to the inside of the bed. They slept on each side. In two days, he would ask someone to make a bed for them, otherwise it would not be a good idea to keep going like this.
Zhou Lingshan came in the dark. Since Wu Sanniang was unable to move, he brought Zhou Chanyue with him.
He asked Zhou Chanyue to step on his shoulders and climb in to open the door. Zhou Chanyue shook his head violently and whispered, "Brother, you climb in by stepping on the stones. I'll cover you from outside."
Zhou Lingshan cursed her inwardly as a waste, "Where can I go to carry stones?"
Zhou Chanyue looked around, and Zhou Lingshan became impatient, "Lie down, I'll step on your back and climb in."
Zhou Chanyue gritted her teeth and knelt on the ground. Zhou Lingshan stepped on her back, and she fell down as soon as her hands touched the wall.
Zhou Chanyue only felt that her back was broken by his feet. She asked in pain, "Brother, what are you doing!"
Zhou Lingshan covered his hands and rolled over, "Hand...my hand!"
There was a big cut on his hand, and the flesh on the entire palm was exposed.
Seeing that today's task could not be accomplished, Zhou Chanyue hurriedly helped him back to town.
When the two men returned to the town, Zhou Lingshan's entire palm had lost all feeling. The flesh in his palm was full of bamboo thorns, all of which were deeply embedded in the flesh.
The doctor who was called in in the middle of the night took a closer look under the lamp and was in a dilemma. "It's all thorns, it's hard to pick them out. I almost broke the meridians in my palm."
Wu Sanniang lay on the bed and cried, "My son, what a sin you have committed!"
She wanted to hit Zhou Chanyue, "You bastard, why did you let your brother get hurt? How can your brother take the exam with an injured hand?"
Zhou Chanyue said nothing, but she was thinking that it was a good thing that the person who climbed up just now was not her.
The doctor looked at the family and found them more and more strange. "What have you been doing? Your hand is injured like this in the middle of the night."
Zhou Chanyue replied, "My brother was trying to catch fireflies for me and he accidentally fell."
"Oh," the doctor said without further questioning, "Be more careful next time."
The doctor picked out the flaws for nearly half an hour. Zhou Lingshan's face turned pale with pain and his hand was almost crippled. He blamed Pei Changfeng for this.
It’s all Pei Changfeng’s fault, Pei Changfeng deserves to die!
After recuperating at home for a day, Zhou Lingshan had to go to Peijia Village again the next night. Wu Sanniang was so distressed. If she hadn't been so injured that she couldn't even walk, how could she have been willing to let Zhou Lingshan go?
Zhou Chanyue stood aside without saying anything. She was not very willing in her heart because she said that her face and body were covered with mosquito bites last night. But in order to avoid being scolded, she still went along.
Zhou Lingshan made full preparations today. He used a knife to pry open the courtyard door of Pei Changfeng's house, and then went straight to the kitchen. He would not rush in to kill Pei Changfeng directly. He wanted to poison Pei Changfeng to death.
"Brother, is this really okay?" Zhou Chanyue was trembling all over.
Zhou Lingshan spread the rat poison evenly in the pot and poured some into the water. Hearing this, he glared at Zhou Chanyue and said, "Shut up."
The two came stealthily and left stealthily.
The next day, Su Wanwan got up early and fetched water as usual to prepare medicine for Pei Changfeng.
She saw that there was only a little water left in the vat and was about to fetch a bucket when Liang Caidie's voice suddenly came from outside the house.
"Wanwan, open the door."
Su Wanwan took a sip of water and went to open the door.
Liang Caidie started crying as soon as she entered the room, "Wanwan, I can't live anymore!"
"What's wrong?" Su Wanwan brought her in. "Why can't you survive?"
"My mother has already received the betrothal gift. She wants to marry me to that idiot. That idiot has already beaten two wives to death!"
Liang Xiaodie cried and noticed that Su Wanwan's face looked a little strange, "Wanwan, why is your face so pale?"
Su Wanwan covered her stomach and touched her face when she heard the words, "Is it white?"
After she finished speaking, she suddenly turned pale and squatted on the ground, holding her stomach.
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