Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Time Off
“Mother, it’s not that bad yet.” Qin Hui Yin tightened her grip on Li Tao Hua’s fingers. “There’s no need to rush. I won’t let myself fall into their hands. Trust me.”

Li Tao Hua’s eyes reddened anyway. “I promised your father I’d take good care of you, let you live well. And now I’m the one making you suffer. I’ve let him down…”

Qin Hui Yin’s gaze slid to Tang Da Fu. When Li Tao Hua mentioned Qin Hui Yin’s father, there was no resentment on Tang Da Fu’s face—only shame, heavy and mute, as if he’d swallowed stones. No matter what, he was a decent stepfather: ordinary, honest, not clever enough to be cruel. He treated Li Tao Hua and Qin Hui Yin well—until his leg broke and dragged everyone down with him.

A voice came from the doorway. “I still have a bit of money. If you need it, I can lend it to you to get through this.”

Qin Hui Yin turned in surprise. “Third Master Tang? You haven’t left?”

Third Master Tang stood just outside the threshold, hands behind his back. He hadn’t stepped in earlier because Qin Hui Yin had kept the negotiation from turning into a brawl. If Chen Zhong Yi had tried to lay hands on the old and weak, Third Master Tang would’ve moved without hesitation.

He wasn’t like the villagers who crowded outside for entertainment. Even if he hadn’t made a single copper off Tang Da Fu’s family these past days, he would still step up when someone in the village was cornered.

“Someone came to cause trouble,” Third Master Tang said. “I had to make sure you were safe before I went back. Otherwise, what kind of elder would I be?”

Qin Hui Yin bowed her head slightly. “Third Master, thank you. We don’t need to trouble you yet. If we truly run out of options, we’ll come and bother you. When we do, please don’t mind us.”

“I’m an old man. I don’t spend much,” Third Master Tang said with a snort. “I’ve saved a little over the years. If your family is in trouble, I won’t stand by and watch you die. Talk it over. Come to me if you need it.”

He left the yard. The moment he stepped outside, villagers swarmed him like flies.

“Third Master, we’re all from Madam Tang’s clan—help me too!”

“Yeah, Third Master, help my family. How about I adopt my son into your household and let him be your grandson—”

“Get lost.” Third Master Tang’s face twisted with disgust. “A bunch of people trying to swallow someone else’s estate. Do you think I’m an idiot? I’ll give my things to whoever I want. Don’t even think about it.”

He flicked his whip, and his ox cart creaked away down the road.

Li Tao Hua stormed to the wattle gate and planted herself there like a barricade. “What are you staring at? Keep staring and I’ll gouge out your dog eyes!”

Her voice was naturally soft and lilting; even when she tried to make it harsh, it came out more sharp-tongued than frightening.

Someone laughed. Granny Wang, chewing sunflower seeds with a group of women, tilted her chin. “Hui Yin’s mother, I think Boss Chen’s suggestion is pretty good. Your Hui Yin has to marry someday anyway. Instead of marrying some mud-legged peasant, she might as well marry into money. Boss Chen likes her. Hand her over and you won’t have to repay 50 taels. He’s rich—your Hui Yin will eat the best, drink the best, live better than you ever have!”

“Granny Wang,” another woman chimed in, “Boss Chen’s old enough to be her father. And he already has a principal wife. If Hui Yin marries into his house, she’d be a concubine.”

“So what if she’s a concubine?” Granny Wang waved a hand. “As long as she lives well, even being a concubine is fine. Hell, even being a bedchamber maid would be worth it. We’re not noble young ladies. Why act delicate?”

Li Tao Hua grabbed the shovel leaning against the wall and hurled it toward the gossiping cluster. It thudded into the dirt at their feet, spraying dust.

The women shrieked and scrambled back. “Crazy woman!”

“If you weren’t built like some fox seductress,” someone spat, “luring men out of their minds, none of this would’ve happened!”

“Exactly! Who doesn’t know you’re bad luck? Tang Da Fu was fine for years—then the moment he married you, he got cursed. Didn’t that Chen say it himself? He came for you in the first place!”

“It was aimed at her, and now her daughter’s the one suffering. If I were her, for the sake of the whole family… I’d find a place and end it once and for all—”

Splash!

Cold water slapped across their faces and clothes. The women shrieked as if scalded.

“What are you doing?!”

“Are you out of your mind—there’s still people here!”

“You nasty girl! How dare you be so rude to elders—no upbringing at all—”

Qin Hui Yin stood with an empty basin in her hands, expression calm. “This is my home. If there’s filth at my gate, am I not allowed to wash it away?” She tilted the basin as if considering another pour. “Aunties, your mouths stink so badly. Should I work a little harder and wash them clean too?”

“Li Tao Hua, look at your wonderful daughter—”

“Did my daughter say anything wrong?” Li Tao Hua barked. “Your mouths stink like you’ve been eating nothing but shit. If you’ve got so much free time, go work your fields and make your crops grow better, so you don’t end up with nothing to eat except shit—”

“Tang Da Fu, you useless man!” someone yelled. “You married this shameless shrew—no wonder you’re unlucky! You’re cursed by her!”

“What happened?” a cool, clear voice asked.

The yard fell into a sudden hush. Heads turned as one.

Tang Yi Chen stood by the gate with a book case strapped to his back, dust on his hems from the road. His gaze swept the crowd, calm and sharp. The women lit up as if they’d finally found someone to hand their complaints to.

“Your stepmother is vicious! While you were gone, she made your younger siblings work every day, and her precious daughter doesn’t even know where the well is—”

“Just now a creditor came to collect a debt. Your stepmother did nothing but blame your father! Your poor father’s injured and still crawling on the ground—”

“Your stepsister’s no good either! She splashed filthy water on us! Brother Chen, are you really going to let this poisonous mother and daughter take over your home?”

Tang Yi Chen’s brow furrowed deeper with every word. His eyes settled on Li Tao Hua and Qin Hui Yin—steady, unreadable.

Li Tao Hua felt her scalp tighten. Every time she faced this stepson, she couldn’t shake the sense that he saw straight through her, leaving her nowhere to hide.

Qin Hui Yin tugged her mother’s sleeve. “Mother. Inside.”

Tang Yi Chen didn’t raise his voice, but the yard still quieted under it. “Aunties, I just got back. I don’t know what happened. But you’re blocking my gate and screaming insults at my father. I heard it with my own ears.”

“That’s because—”

“I’m tired.” His tone stayed flat. “Please go back. I’d like some peace.”

“Brother Chen,” Granny Wang tried again, syrupy now, “I’m telling the truth. You’re aiming for official success. A stepmother like Li Tao Hua is a stain on you. Be careful she doesn’t do something later that makes you lose face.”

Tang Yi Chen’s eyes didn’t flicker. “I know what I’m doing.”

Someone immediately changed tack, smiling. “Brother Chen, are you going to sit for the exams again?”

“Mm.”

“You’re the best student in our village. Even your teacher says you’re a good seedling. If you pass and become a licentiate, your family won’t have to pay taxes anymore.”

At the mention of his studies, the same mouths that had been spitting venom a moment ago stretched into flattering grins. They looked at Tang Yi Chen as if he’d suddenly become precious, and more than one pair of eyes began weighing him like a future son-in-law.