Chapter 154

Chapter 154: The Ugliness of the Human Heart (1)

Yin Yong did not discover what his second brother, Yin Chuan, had done. He believed that as long as he threw the bronze mirror back where it had come from, the tragedy would stop.

After Yin Hua Er finished her parents’ seventh-day rites, she returned to town. After that, she rarely came back to Peach Source Village. She seemed to be deliberately avoiding Yin Yong.

Just when Yin Yong was close to forgetting about the bronze mirror, Yin Chuan came back from town and said he had saved an important person’s life. The important person had rewarded him with a lot of silver in return, and his family would leave the village to live in town.

Yin Yong was only happy for his second brother. He wasn’t jealous. Yin Chuan was already married, with a wife and children. If he could live better, Yin Yong was glad for him.

But not long after Yin Chuan’s family moved to town, Yin Hua Er and Scholar Xin died on the road to take the exams. They died without a sound. If the innkeeper hadn’t noticed the two of them hadn’t come out for three days, no one might have discovered they were already dead.

The two of them also died in their sleep. There was no sign of outside force, and no evidence of poison. The case was ruled as natural death, and the local yamen notified the Xin family to collect the bodies.

When Yin Yong received the news, he was badly shaken. He had clearly already thrown away the mirror, and his sister had only made one wish. So why were she and her husband still dying quietly like their parents? It terrified him even more.

He went with his eldest brother, Yin Shan, to see their second brother, Yin Chuan, in town. The three brothers planned to discuss who would go with the Xin family to collect the bodies of their sister and brother-in-law.

But when the two brothers arrived in town, they discovered that Yin Chuan hadn’t only moved into a big house. He was living like a master, ordering servants around. Everything he ate, wore, and used was refined.

Yin Yong’s brows knit into a deep frown. He felt his second brother had lied to them. Even Yin Shan, who was always honest, could see it too.

“What does Yin Chuan mean by this? One face in front of us, another behind our backs. Is he afraid we poor brothers will cling to him?” Yin Shan said.

“Eldest Brother, with the way Second Brother is living, it doesn’t look like something you could get just from a bit of silver rewarded by an important person. Maybe that important person gave Second Brother all his family property!” Yin Yong said.

Yin Shan was angry too. When Yin Chuan, dressed in fine silks, hurried into the hall, Yin Shan spoke straight out. “Yin Chuan, Hua Er and her husband died by accident on the road to take the exams. The Xin family sent someone to Peach Source Village to notify us. They want one of us brothers to go with them to transport our sister’s body back…”

Before Yin Shan could finish speaking, Yin Chuan’s face turned deathly pale, as if he had been badly frightened. Yin Yong, who had stayed silent, seemed to realize something. He cut in, “According to the person the Xin family sent to report it, my sister and brother-in-law both died in their sleep, just like our parents.”

“What? That… how… could that be!” Yin Chuan fell back into a chair, his expression changing again and again.

Yin Yong suddenly had a bold guess. He lunged forward, grabbed Yin Chuan by the collar, and shouted, “Did you make a wish to that bronze mirror? Was it you?!”

Yin Chuan was yanked back to his senses by his younger brother’s accusation. He denied it with all his strength. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“Stop pretending. That bronze mirror isn’t anything good. It fulfills your wishes, but it needs a price. My sister begged the mirror so she could marry the man she loved, and the price was Father and Mother’s lives! That thing is?. That’s why I threw it away. Did you hear my sister say something, then go and fish the mirror back up?”

Faced with Yin Yong’s questions, Yin Chuan bit down and refused to admit it. He shoved Yin Yong away and said with an unhappy face, “What nonsense are you spouting? What bronze mirror? What wishes? I don’t know anything.”

Yin Yong was certain Yin Chuan had made a wish. His wish was to live a rich life in gold and silver. He had gotten it, so his sister and brother-in-law had lost their lives.

A chill rose in Yin Yong’s heart. If his sister hadn’t understood how strange the bronze mirror was at the time, and that was why she made such a terrible mistake, then that could at least be excused. But his second brother clearly knew and still chose to trade his family’s lives for his own rich life. He was selfish and greedy.

Yin Yong wanted to rush into the back courtyard and find the bronze mirror causing all this, but his second brother’s servants beat him out the door.

“Yin Yong, don’t say I’m being rude as your older brother. Is the back courtyard a place you can barge into? You’re a grown man. What if you scare the womenfolk?” Yin Chuan said.

“Bah! Back when I ate at the same table as Sister-in-law and the nieces, why didn’t you say I was?? them? You don’t need excuses. I advise you to throw that evil bronze mirror away. Otherwise, you definitely won’t have a good end,” Yin Yong said.

“Get out! Stop trying to lecture me. You’re just jealous because I’m living rich now,” Yin Chuan snapped.

“Jealous? You know better than anyone how you got this rich life. You got it by stepping on my sister and brother-in-law’s corpses. It won’t last! I’ve warned you. If you refuse to repent, then the bond between us brothers is finished!”

Yin Chuan said carelessly after hearing that, “Finished is finished. It’s not like I’m clinging to you. From now on, don’t step into my house again.”

After speaking, he pulled Yin Shan, who didn’t know how to persuade either side, inside the door.

Yin Yong stared at the red-lacquered gate closing in front of him, feeling a heavy block in his chest. He turned and went to the Xin family, deciding to help them transport his sister and brother-in-law’s bodies back for burial.

When Yin Yong saw his loved ones’ bodies with the Xin family, he learned that his sister had been three months pregnant. He cried out loud in grief, but he did not dare tell the Xin family that the disaster had been caused by their Yin family.

When the Xin family learned Yin Hua Er had been pregnant, they were even more devastated than Yin Yong. In that case, they had not only lost their son, but also their unborn grandson. It was a double blow.

After Yin Yong and the Xin family transported the young couple’s bodies back, he received another piece of bad news. Because Yin Chuan’s family had been too flashy after suddenly getting rich, thieves targeted them. In the middle of the night, bandits broke in and wiped out his whole family. Even the servants were not spared.

Yin Yong instantly felt exhausted in body and mind. After he hurried to bury his sister and brother-in-law, he went to find his eldest brother, Yin Shan. His second brother’s funeral arrangements had to be handled by the eldest brother.

When Yin Yong returned to Peach Source Village and went to his eldest brother’s home, he found everyone in the house smiling and full of joy. There was not the slightest grief over their younger brother’s death, and Yin Yong’s heart sank.

When Yin Shan’s wife saw Yin Yong, she immediately reined in the joy on her face. She put on a show of wiping the corner of her eye and invited him inside.

After Yin Yong entered the courtyard, several nephews and nieces were busy moving boxes. The redwood chests were clearly fine goods, and they were heavy.

His sister-in-law, Madam Tang, stepped forward to block Yin Yong’s view and ushered him into the main room.

After Yin Yong sat down, he asked, “Where’s Eldest Brother?”

“Your eldest brother went to look at grave plots for your second brother’s family.”

“Have they caught the people who did it? Why are you burying them so quickly?” Yin Yong asked unhappily.

Sister-in-law Madam Tang’s expression changed. “The coroner from the yamen already examined them and told us to take the bodies back for burial. It’s hot these days. If we don’t bury them soon, the bodies will stink. Your nephew is getting married next month. How can we keep bodies in our courtyard? And it’s not one body, it’s five. Our small courtyard can’t fit them.”