Chapter 53

Chapter 53: My Son
The village head’s face darkened. “Aren’t you ashamed enough? You want to drag village business outside and let everyone laugh at our village?”

Qin Hui Yin’s eyes turned wetter. She spoke as if she’d been wronged to the bone. “I know my mother and I came from another place, but my mother married into this village. She’s the same as everyone else here. If we can’t get the same respect in this village, then we’ll make it big—so big that everyone hears about it—so everyone knows how wronged our family has been.”

“Little Brother…” Tang Lu Wu squeezed through the crowd. The moment she saw Tang Yi Xiao’s swollen face, her arms wrapped around him, trembling. “Little Brother…”

Tang Yi Xiao’s lips quivered. He’d held it in—held it in for so long—until he saw his sister. Then the tears spilled out. “Sis… Tang Bao Yu bullied me…”

Tang Yi Chen arrived last.

The wound in his chest was deep. He couldn’t move quickly without pulling at it, so he walked slowly, breathing carefully, arriving only after the worst of the chaos had already burned through.

One look was enough. He could guess the shape of it.

“Village Head,” he said, voice cool, “if we don’t get an explanation, I’ll write a petition.”

The village head flinched. “Yi Chen, you just got here. You didn’t see what your stepmother and your brother did earlier. Look at Bao Yu’s mother’s injuries, and Bao Yu’s injuries. If this goes to the County Yamen, even if your family is in the right, you won’t come out in the right.”

“That’s not how it works,” Tang Yi Chen said, expression flat. “Right is right, and wrong is wrong. If we’re right, we can sue at the County Yamen—and if needed, appeal higher.”

The village head’s frown deepened. He turned sharply on Li Er Niu. “Bao Yu’s mother. Speak. What exactly happened?”

Idiot woman. Provoking their family for no reason.

Li Tao Hua looked gentle, but she wasn’t easy to handle. Not a single village woman who’d tried to pick a fight with her had ever gained the upper hand.

And Qin Hui Yin’s mouth had gotten sharper by the day—slick enough to talk the dead into breathing again, always with a logic that left no room to grab hold.

Then there was Tang Yi Chen: the only scholar in the whole village, a well-known talent besides. With a real chance of earning an official degree, he was someone worth staying on good terms with.

Li Er Niu pointed at Tang Yi Xiao, voice high with grievance. “That bastard bullied my son! I only have this one son. When I saw him being bullied, of course I had to get revenge.”

The village head looked back at Tang Yi Xiao. “Why did you bully Tang Bao Yu?”

Half the boys in the village had names like Black Egg, Black Dog, and Black Bull. Only Li Er Niu’s son had a name like Bao Yu—Precious Jade. It told everyone how much she doted on him.

And yet it still didn’t fit. Tang Yi Xiao didn’t look like a boy who went around starting trouble.

Tang Yi Xiao’s glare stabbed straight at Tang Bao Yu. “I was just passing by. He brought a few people to block my way and wouldn’t let me through. He said I had to crawl under his crotch like before, so he could vent his anger, and only then would he let me pass.”

“Bullshit!” Tang Bao Yu yelped. “I didn’t make you crawl under my crotch today. You’re lying!”

“So you admit you made him do it before,” Tang Yi Chen said, anger flashing coldly in his eyes.

Tang Bao Yu froze, then hurried to hide behind Li Er Niu. “I didn’t… I never said that…”

He swallowed, stubbornness hardening into panic. “Anyway, he bit me. I almost died.”

Qin Hui Yin stepped forward, voice mild in a way that made it dangerous. “Little Brother said there was more than one of them. Who else was there? Little Brother, point them out. Then Elder Brother can include them in the petition, too.”

Tang Yi Xiao lifted a shaking hand and pointed into the crowd. “It was them. They always follow Tang Bao Yu and bully me.”

A woman immediately shrieked, stepping out. “What does this have to do with my Second Bull? Second Bull is honest. He’d never bully anyone!”

Another woman chimed in. “My Black Stone wouldn’t bully anyone either! Maybe Tang Bao Yu did it and my Black Stone just happened to be nearby. You misunderstood!”

Qin Hui Yin didn’t raise her voice, but it carried. “Aunties, if you don’t want anything to happen to your children, make them tell the truth. Why did they bully Little Brother before, and why did they bully him again today? If they confess honestly—and since they didn’t lay hands on him—we’ll deal with their past wrongdoing more lightly.”

The women stiffened. A “more lightly” from Qin Hui Yin sounded a lot like “or else.”

One by one, they grabbed their boys and hissed in their ears, urging them to confess. The boys flinched. They were scared of Li Er Niu and Tang Bao Yu—but they were more scared of their parents’ sticks.

Under that pressure, the truth spilled out.

Li Er Niu’s and Tang Bao Yu’s glares were sharp enough to cut, but they couldn’t stop it.

When the village head heard the full story, his beard seemed to bristle even whiter with rage.

Tang Bao Yu didn’t want to go up the mountain to cut firewood, but Li Er Niu insisted he bring wood back. As long as he brought firewood, she’d give him money to spend. Tang Bao Yu wanted the money but didn’t want the work, so he stole the bundles Tang Yi Xiao cut. Tang Yi Xiao had been too weak to resist. He lost his wood—and got humiliated for it.

Today, Tang Bao Yu was already angry because he couldn’t get money from his mother. When he saw Tang Yi Xiao, that anger flared, and the old cruelty came rushing back.

Tang Yi Chen’s voice cut through the murmurs. “Village Head, this isn’t the first time. My brother has been bullied by Tang Bao Yu for a long time. He’s been hurt in body and mind.”

He lifted a finger, enumerating like someone stating terms in a contract. “First, they must apologize to my brother. Whether my brother forgives them is his right. Second, they must cover the medical costs. As for how much, the physician will decide. Third, if it happens again, we report it to the officials directly.”

His gaze shifted to Li Er Niu. “And my mother was harmed, too. Tang Bao Yu’s mother must apologize to my mother and promise it won’t happen again.”

Li Er Niu’s eyes bulged. She moved too fast, pulling at her injuries and shrieking when pain tore through her. “Ow—what did you say? I have to apologize to her? Look at my face!”

Li Tao Hua smoothed her hair back with exaggerated elegance, chin high despite the mess. “Your son bullied my son. Of course I had to vent for my son—that’s only right. If you can’t beat me, that’s because you’re useless. From start to finish, we did nothing wrong. The ones in the wrong are you two—mother and son as stupid as pigs.”

“Bitch!” Li Er Niu screamed, lunging forward.

Tang Yi Chen didn’t flinch. “Village Head, it seems Madam Li doesn’t want to reconcile. Then there’s only one choice—report it to the officials.”

“Enough!” the village head roared, voice cracking like a whip. “Bao Yu’s mother, look at yourself! Acting like a mad shrew in front of the whole village—aren’t you embarrassed enough?”

Li Er Niu’s eyes blazed. “Village Head, my son and I are hurt, too! There’s no way we’re paying their medical fees. Look at my face, look at my body, and look at my son’s neck. Their family should be paying us!”

“Who started it?” the village head snapped. “Who told your son to stir trouble? Who taught him to make someone crawl under his crotch? Who does he think he is?”

Qin Hui Yin suddenly sucked in a breath. “Little Brother—Little Brother, what’s wrong?”

Tang Yi Xiao’s face had gone slack, his eyes unfocusing as if the world were drifting away from him.

“Mom—he doesn’t look well!” Qin Hui Yin’s voice cracked. “Hurry—take him to the clinic!”

Tang Yi Xiao’s eyes closed.

His body toppled backward.

Tang Lu Wu lunged and caught him, arms shaking. “Little Brother… Big Brother… Little Brother fainted!”