“Shouyi, it’s not that I don’t believe you, but look at me, I get beaten by them every day. My body is even more tattered than the clothes a beggar wears. How can I withstand being poisoned again? If I can’t catch my breath, your uncle will have to go to the underworld to see the King of Hell!”
Hearing Liu Dashan's words, Liu Shouyi turned his head and looked Liu Shouyi up and down, his eyes immediately filled with disdain.
His face was covered in bruises, his hands were bleeding, and his face was ashen. He really didn't dare to lay a hand on Liu Dashan.
If someone dies, the villagers and the government will absolutely not let him off the hook!
If he doesn't turn to Liu Dashan, who else can he turn to?
Because of the wild boars, most of the other villagers now side with Mo Qianshang. Even those few who have minor conflicts with Mo Qianshang probably wouldn't be willing to help him implement this plan.
When faced with self-interest, they would never choose to help him vent his anger.
The solution he had finally come up with had reached a dead end. Frustrated, Liu Shouyi grabbed his hair and accidentally bumped his head, causing him to cry out in pain.
At that moment, Liu Dashan put his arm around his shoulder and whispered something to him.
"If I remember correctly, Zhu has always been very obedient to you. If she only thinks that the plan will make you happy, she will definitely be willing to help you."
No sooner had Liu Dashan finished speaking than Liu Shouyi spat to the side, his eyes filled with resentment.
"That old hag, if she hadn't been so sickly and refused to cook wild boar meat for me today, would I have eaten it myself until I was vomiting and had diarrhea, and then gone to cause trouble for Mo Qianshang?"
"And that old hag is always soft-hearted. If she knew I was plotting to kill Mo Qianshang, she definitely wouldn't agree! If she secretly complains about me, I'm afraid I'll get beaten to a pulp again!"
Liu Dashan hadn't had much contact with Zhu before, only knowing that she doted on Liu Shouyi. He never expected that Zhu would have her own bottom line.
Seeing that this path was blocked, Liu Dashan frantically urged his thoughts and finally came up with another way. He quickly shook his head and denied what Liu Shouyi had just said.
"What are you saying? No matter what, Zhu is still your grandmother. How could she bear to see you suffer?"
After saying this, Liu Dashan pretended to be unyielding to persuasion, but also appeared to be thinking of Liu Shouyi's best interests, and said aggressively.
"If she really doesn't care about you, then she doesn't deserve to be your grandmother, and you don't need to think she's important! It's a shame that everyone in the village said how good Zhu Shi was to you back then; it seems it was all an act!"
Liu Shouyi had always enjoyed Zhu's kindness to him. Although he took it for granted, he never felt that Zhu was just putting on a show.
But lately I've had too many worries, so I'll think about what Liu Dashan said.
He was surprised to find that Liu Dashan's words made sense; otherwise, why didn't Zhu Shi come to his aid after he suffered such a huge setback today? She wouldn't even cook him a piece of meat!
Just then, Liu Dashan, who had been observing his reaction, spoke up again in a low voice.
"Since that old woman treats you badly, and the road to escape famine is still long, you might as well cut ties with her and stop caring about her. She'll realize how good you are in time!"
"No, no way..." Liu Shouyi refused almost without thinking. The old woman was just useless lately; she still had to take care of her meals and laundry on a daily basis.
"You're still too young!" Liu Dashan said, feigning regret and shaking his head vigorously. "You should know that people who are too soft-hearted will not be rewarded."
"But then again, she is still your grandmother, so I can't keep advising you to abandon her. Or you could try to teach her a lesson so she won't dare to treat you like this again."
This time, Liu Shouyi did not refuse. He lowered his head and pondered for a while, then slapped Liu Dashan's leg hard, his eyes full of gratitude.
"Uncle Dashan, you're so quick-witted! I know what to do now."
"It's good that you know, it's good that you know..." Liu Dashan nodded and forced a smile, while frowning and silently moving away from Liu Shouyi.
That heartless brat slapped him right where it hurt; if he hadn't been beaten so badly lately, he really wouldn't have been able to bear the pain.
Ultimately, Liu Shouyi was determined to poison his own grandmother; he wasn't foolish enough to let Liu Dashan watch. He thought he had perfectly used an excuse to send Liu Dashan away, then rushed forward and picked a large bunch of poisonous herbs…
At the same time, as someone who was also raising a child alone, Xiao Yao couldn't bear to see Zhu suffering from illness and having no one to take care of her, so she offered to go and treat Zhu.
Unexpectedly, Mo Qianshang stopped him, saying, "I know you mean well, but with your abilities, if you were to face that scoundrel Liu Shouyi, you would definitely suffer a loss."
"I... I'll be careful," said Xiao Yao, her eyes lowered and her voice sounding somewhat timid.
Seeing her determination, Mo Qianshang sighed, put down the bowl with her hands still wet, and went to the sink to wash her hands.
"Then I'll go with you. I hope your kindness won't be in vain."
"Thank you, Madam."
Mo Qianshang wiped her hands clean, shook her head at Xiao Yao to indicate that there was no need for thanks, and then turned around to instruct her eldest brother, Qin Heming.
"Heming, I'm going out for a bit. You stay home and keep an eye on your younger siblings. If any of them come looking for trouble, you must stay calm and write down their names. We'll deal with them when I get back. Got it?"
Although she had gained some prestige in the village these past few days, she must have offended some people as well. She had to teach the children to be more careful, because it was hard to guarantee that those with dirty hearts wouldn't take advantage of the children when she wasn't around.
Qin Heming nodded solemnly in agreement, hoping that one day he could be as mature and steady as his mother.
Ever since he witnessed his mother's methods of dealing with Liu Dashan, he realized that he was indeed not steady enough, so he consciously tried to learn to control his emotions.
After settling the little ones in, Mo Qianshang and Xiao Yao quickly went to find Zhu Shi.
Considering that Zhu Shi was still a woman even though she was old, Mo Qianshang was worried that Zhu Shi would not be able to accept it, so she did not invite Qin Qingyu this time.
When they arrived at the courtyard gate, they heard that the house was quiet and there was no sound at all, so they knew that Liu Shouyi must not have returned yet.
Knowing that Madam Zhu was in pain and might be lacking in energy, Mo Qianshang deliberately banged on the door loudly. After three bangs without any response, she and Madam Yao exchanged a glance and kicked the door open.
"Aunt Zhu, are you inside?"
Mo Qianshang's voice was quite loud, but they still didn't hear any echo. The two panicked and, disregarding etiquette, pushed open the door and went into the inner room.
Zhu lay dying in a patched quilt, her hands hanging limply at the edge of the bed. Her wrinkled, aged face was devoid of color, giving the impression that she was on her last legs.
After taking a peek from afar, Xiao Yao hurriedly ran forward and grabbed Zhu's wrist to take her pulse.
After a while, she finally breathed a long sigh of relief and explained to Mo Qianshang while rummaging through her bundle for medicinal herbs.
"Aunt Zhu must have been frightened by what she encountered earlier, and then she hadn't eaten anything and starved herself to death!"
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