"Mm, family!" Sun's eyes instantly turned red again. She glanced at Yang Ruoqing standing to the side, then raised her hand to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes with the heel of her palm before asking Yang Huazhou, "You came over here—was there something else?"
Yang Huazhou paused for a moment and said, "I was so focused on checking on Third Brother that I almost forgot. Third Sister-in-law, I'm here to call you over to the east wing. Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, and Fourth Brother are all there. Only your third household hasn't come yet."
"But your third brother, he…"
"Mother, you go. I'll stay here and watch over Father," Yang Ruoqing, who had been quietly standing off to the side, finally spoke up.
"Qing'er, you…"
"Mother, don't hesitate, just go. Don't keep everyone waiting for you alone. If Father wakes up, I'll call you!" As she spoke, Yang Ruoqing gently pushed Sun towards the door.
Yang Ruoqing guessed that tonight the Yang family's meeting in the east wing was definitely about discussing what to do next after Yang Huazhong's broken legs. The Yang family hadn't separated into individual households yet, and all the family's food and money were controlled by Tan. Even the money spent today to get medicine for Yang Huazhong had to come from Tan's allocation.
Today's incident involved their third household directly—they definitely needed to participate in this family meeting. If she weren't so worried about her father, Yang Ruoqing would have wanted to sit in and listen as well, to hear how the Yang family planned to handle her father's injury and what arrangements they intended for their third household!
As the saying goes, mother and daughter are connected at heart. Watching Sun stride out of the room, Yang Ruoqing was sure her mother must be thinking the same thing she was. Just as she was about to straighten her father's blanket, she noticed Yang Huazhou, who had almost reached the door, suddenly turning back around.
"Fifth Uncle, is there something else?" Yang Ruoqing asked lightly.
In the original owner's memories of this dark-skinned young man with thick eyebrows, all the fragments were warm and kind.
"Qing'er, how come you're speaking so fluently now?" Yang Huazhou's eyes widened, staring at her like a searchlight sweeping over her whole body, a look of utter disbelief on his face.
Yang Ruoqing gave a faint smile. "I don't know why either. It's like my head suddenly cleared up, not as muddled as before." As she spoke, she gently tucked in the corners of Yang Huazhong's blanket, then turned back around and calmly met Yang Huazhou's gaze.
"Fifth Uncle, I used to be muddled and confused, but I still remember how good you were to me. In summer, you picked lotus pods for me, and in winter, you caught sparrows for me to play with. I want to ask you for a favor—please don't tell anyone for now that I've regained my senses, okay?"
Yang Huazhou's mouth was already halfway open, ready to burst into a smile of excitement, but when he heard the second half of Yang Ruoqing's sentence, he immediately wore a puzzled expression, like a monk unable to grasp a riddle.
"Why? This is great news! If your father wakes up and finds out, wouldn't he be overjoyed?" At the mention of his third brother, Yang Huazhou's voice grew hoarser with emotion.
Heavens did love to play tricks on people. His third brother's lifelong wish had been for this silly daughter to recover, grow up, and get married like a normal girl. Now that she'd finally regained her senses, his third brother…
"Fifth Uncle, just do as I say. When my father wakes up, I'll tell him myself."
"Alright. Fifth Uncle will do as you say."
"Mm."
"Qing'er, now that you've recovered, why don't you go to the east wing too? The third Brother is down, and the Third Sister-in-law is known to be soft-spoken and easy to push around. You go listen in and help your mother with making decisions. I'll stay here and watch over Third Brother. You hurry up and go!"
"Alright!"
This was exactly what Yang Ruoqing had intended. She took one last glance at her unconscious father on the bed, clenched her jaw, and rushed out of the room like a gust of wind.
In the east wing, in the room where Old Yangtou and Tan usually rested—
When Yang Ruoqing pushed open the door and stepped inside, she immediately saw that almost all the Yang family men were present. Aside from a few young cousins who didn't understand much, and excluding Yang Huazhou who was still in the west wing watching over Yang Huazhong, nearly everyone had gathered.
Old Yangtou and his three sons were seated around a square Eight Immortals table. Old Yangtou occupied the main seat, a long-stemmed clay pipe clenched between his lips, puffing on it with rhythmic clicks. Wisps of faint yellow smoke spiraled upward from the pipe's mouth, coiling gently as it drifted, veiling his face in a layer of uncertainty.
Starting from Old Yangtou's lower left sat Yang Hua'an, the eldest of the Yang family, followed by the second son Yang Hualin, and directly opposite the eldest sat the fourth son, Yang Huaming.
Behind the eldest brother, Yang Hua'an stood the four cousins from the eldest household—Yang Yongxian, Yang Yongjin, Yang Yongzhi, and Yang Yongqing—all standing stiffly with their hands by their sides.
Not far away on the bed, Tan wore a black headscarf, half-reclined, appearing feeble and weak. Sitting at the edge of the bed was a pregnant young woman, dark-skinned and thin, dressed in coarse homespun clothes patched in places. She held a tea bowl in her hands, carefully serving tea to Tan.
When Yang Ruoqing entered the room, her gaze swept around once before she finally spotted her mother near the corner of the wall. Sun sat huddled next to Jin, her shoulders drawn inward, her head bowed, faint sobs still escaping her lips.
The sound of Yang Ruoqing's footsteps upon entering drew the attention of the Yang family members in the room. Several pairs of eyes glanced her way, and upon seeing it was her, most of them frowned in disgust before quickly retracting their gazes, each lost in their thoughts.
"What's a fool like you doing wandering around in the dark at night? Who told you to come in here? Get out!"
Just moments ago, Tan had still been weak and listless, but now she abruptly sat up straight, gritting her teeth as she shouted furiously at the doorway.
Yang Ruoqing stood motionless, staring blankly at Tan on the bed, her mouth hanging open slightly, pretending to be frightened.
"Mother, don't scold her. I was the one who asked Qing'er to come over. It's pitch black over there, and she was scared alone!"
Sun, who had been hiding in the shadows with her head lowered, hurried over to stand protectively in front of Yang Ruoqing.
"You're determined to spoil that worthless plague star, aren't you? Our Third was ruined by you two black-hearted mother and daughter! What did our Yang family do to deserve a pair of walking disasters like you…"
The more Tan cursed, the angrier she became. She grabbed for something to throw, and when she realized it was a clay teacup, she put it down again, only to reach for a worn shoe by the bed instead and flung it directly toward the door.
Seeing that shoe flying toward them, Sun let out a cry of alarm, her face going pale in an instant.
Yang Ruoqing's eyes narrowed slightly, and just as she was about to push Sun aside, she saw her mother suddenly turn around and crouch, wrapping herself tightly around Yang Ruoqing in a protective embrace.
Thud!
The shoe hit Sun's back with a muffled thump before falling to the ground.
Yang Ruoqing felt the large, hot tears of her mother fall heavily onto her neck. Her fingers, hanging by her sides, instinctively curled into fists.
At that moment, a sharp crack rang out from the Eight Immortals table—the sound of the long pipe harshly striking its corner.
"With such a calamity befalling this family, how do you still have the energy to squabble? Had enough of making trouble yet? All of you, sit down properly for me!"
Old Yangtou's face was dark as ink, his fierce eyes gleaming like blades as they swept across Sun and Yang Ruoqing.
(End of chapter)