Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Taking the Loss
When Tang Ji Zu returned to the village with bundles hanging from his shoulder pole, he didn’t even make it home before he ran into a crowd blocking the road.

He frowned. “What happened?”

“Ji Zu,” someone called, “you’re back just in time. Something happened to your wife and your son.”

The men recognized him and parted, letting him through.

The moment Li Er Niu saw Tang Ji Zu, she wailed like she’d found her backbone. “Bao Yu’s father! You have to stand up for us!”

Tang Ji Zu’s eyes swept over her swollen face, then over Tang Bao Yu’s injuries. Then his gaze landed on the unconscious Tang Yi Xiao being held upright.

Tang Yi Chen’s voice came out calm, but the threat was real. “My brother’s old illness has flared. He has to go to the clinic right away. If something happens because you delayed us, it’ll be life for life. Are you sure you still want to keep stalling?”

Li Er Niu’s lips trembled. “Bao Yu’s father, they’re trying to extort us…”

Tang Ji Zu didn’t argue with anyone. He looked at Tang Yi Xiao once more and said, “Go to the clinic first. We’ll talk about the rest later.”

It was already late. The county-town gates were closed, so the town clinic was out of the question. Their only choice was the village doctor in Shi Jia Village.

Someone went to borrow an ox cart from Third Master Tang. The old man had been running all day and had fallen asleep the moment he got home. When they woke him, he finally learned what had happened. He offered to drive them himself, but Tang Yi Chen wouldn’t let him. Night roads were hard, and Third Master Tang was too old for it.

So they rented the cart and let Tang Ji Zu drive.

Tang Yi Chen told Li Tao Hua to take Qin Hui Yin and Tang Lu Wu back to eat while he took Tang Yi Xiao for treatment. Qin Hui Yin refused to stay behind.

“I’m going,” she said, voice tight. “I need to hear what the physician says.”

Tang Ji Zu drove the ox cart, Tang Bao Yu sitting stiffly beside him. Li Er Niu had no choice but to ride in the back with the Tang brothers and Qin Hui Yin.

Tang Yi Xiao sagged against Qin Hui Yin’s shoulder, breath shallow.

Li Er Niu sat opposite them, furious and wronged. With chunks of hair torn out, she looked like a shrew who’d been dragged through a bramble patch. Her swollen face made her pitiful and ugly all at once.

At the village doctor’s yard in Shi Jia Village, lantern light spilled across packed earth.

The doctor took one look at Tang Yi Xiao and his expression soured. “This child was born weak. If you won’t even raise him properly, how could you beat him like this?”

He stroked his beard, disgust and irritation mixing on his face. “Who did it? How could anyone hit a child so young?”

“Physician,” Qin Hui Yin asked, forcing steadiness into her voice, “is my brother all right?”

“What do you think?” the doctor snapped. He leaned in, pressing fingers to Tang Yi Xiao’s wrist, then checking his bruised face again. “His cheeks are swollen like this, and he vomited blood. Whoever did it went too far. Forget weak—an ordinary person couldn’t take this kind of beating.”

He straightened and began pulling paper toward him. “I’ll write a prescription. If you trust me, take the medicine home and boil a few doses. When he finishes them, bring him back for a checkup. If he improves, he’ll be fine.”

His voice dropped, grim. “If he doesn’t… prepare a coffin.”

Li Er Niu’s outrage burst like a bubble. “Physician, isn’t that exaggerated? What’s his little injury compared to mine? Look at my face—mine’s a bloody mess. He didn’t even break the skin!”

Her eyes narrowed. “You aren’t in on this with them, are you?”

The doctor’s face went cold. “If you don’t believe me, why come here at all? ‘In on it’?” He scoffed. “I’ve never seen you before. I don’t know what happened between you. If you think my diagnosis is wrong, leave at once. I need rest too. I don’t waste time on nonsense.”

“Shut up,” Tang Ji Zu snapped, voice sharp enough to silence her. “You’re built like an ox. If Brother Xiao had a body like yours, would anyone still call him sickly?”

“Bao Yu’s father,” Li Er Niu hissed, “Tang Yi Xiao was always sickly. Even without this, his body is like a cracked jar—one little knock and it’ll shatter. They’re doing this on purpose to extort us. Don’t fall for it!”

Qin Hui Yin’s eyes hardened. “Bao Yu’s mother, you still don’t understand. This isn’t about whether you want to end it. It’s about whether we want to.”

She kept her hand on Tang Yi Xiao’s shoulder, steadying him. “So what if he’s sickly? He’s never gotten in your way. What gives you the right to hurt him on purpose? Since you hurt him, you pay the price.”

Tang Yi Chen stepped forward, voice even. “Uncle Ji Zu, what do you say we should do? Your son deliberately harmed my brother—and it wasn’t just once. Your wife bullied the weak and pinned my brother down to beat him until there isn’t a single spot of good flesh on him.”

His gaze didn’t waver. “If you don’t know how to handle it, then I can only ask the County Magistrate for a ruling.”

Tang Ji Zu didn’t argue. He turned to the doctor, his tone respectful. “Physician, sorry to trouble you, but please prescribe better medicine. You must get this child well.”

The doctor gave a curt nod. “Fine. I’ll write it.”

As he listened to the details, his eyes flicked again to Li Er Niu and Tang Bao Yu. Disgust lingered there.

A healer’s heart was like a parent’s. As a healer, he couldn’t pick and choose patients. As a man, he could still dislike rotten character.

Qin Hui Yin reached into her sleeve and held out a paper. “Physician, can you look at this prescription?”

It was Tang Yi Xiao’s previous prescription from the town clinic.

The doctor scanned it and grunted. “This was written at the town clinic. It’s for conditioning his body. Good for regular use.”

He tapped the page with a finger. “But his external injuries are serious right now. A few doses need to be adjusted. Otherwise, some of the tonic herbs won’t help the wounds heal. If the herbs clash, his injuries can worsen.”

He wrote a new prescription with swift strokes, then went to his shelves and grabbed herbs directly from his own supply.

When he returned, he set the bundle down. “Five taels of silver.”

Tang Yi Chen’s mouth opened—then closed again.

Tang Ji Zu had already reached for his money. He paid without hesitation.

Li Er Niu’s eyes reddened as she watched.

Normally, when Tang Ji Zu came home, he gave her silver—one tael each time, never more. This time it was five taels, and he’d handed it to someone outside their household without blinking.

Regret clawed up her throat. If she’d known a few slaps would cost so dearly, she’d rather have slapped herself than touch Tang Yi Xiao with a single finger.

Tang Bao Yu had gone silent the moment his father arrived, shrinking into himself. But the sight of five taels broke him open.

“Why give it to him?” he whined, voice rising into a wail. “That silver is ours! Mom, grab it back! I want to eat meat—that money was for buying meat for me!”

He jabbed a finger toward Tang Yi Xiao, resentment spilling out. “Didn’t you say he’s a bastard with a mother but no one to raise him? His father doesn’t care about him, and his father’s stepmother won’t like him either! I only slapped him a few times—why should he get so much silver?”

“Shut up,” Tang Ji Zu said, and slapped Tang Bao Yu across the face.

The sound cracked through the room.

Tang Bao Yu screamed.

Li Er Niu lunged, snatching her son into her arms, eyes wide with fury as she glared at Tang Ji Zu. “Why are you hitting our son? Are you even a man? Your wife and son got bullied by outsiders and you don’t help us get even—instead you help outsiders beat your own son!”

Tang Ji Zu stared at her, cold and unmoved. “You two apologize to Brother Chen and Brother Xiao right now. If you don’t, I won’t bring silver back anymore.”

His voice didn’t rise. That made it worse. “Consider it a lesson. So you don’t get too full and do nothing but cause trouble.”