Chapter 9

Thinking of the damp quilt, Yang Ruoqing really wished she could take it out to air and disinfect it, but she was a fool, and if she did that, it would give her away!

So, she suddenly opened her mouth and made a few "ah ah..." sounds in the direction of the kitchen.

Sure enough, the curtain of the kitchen was lifted, and Sun Shi, wiping the water from her hands, hurriedly ran out to Yang Ruoqing's side, "Qing'er, what's wrong?"

Yang Ruoqing opened her mouth, about to whisper to Sun Shi to help her take the quilt out, when the small wooden door leading to the front room was suddenly slammed open from the outside. A young man, wearing straw shoes and with mud-stained pants rolled up to his knees, rushed in.

The young man was probably in his early twenties, with a square face, dark skin, thick eyebrows, big eyes, a high nose, and somewhat full lips. Yang Ruoqing immediately recognized this young man as her fifth uncle, Yang Huazhou.

Sun Shi was startled by the sudden noise, looked up to see who it was, and let out a sigh of relief, but also a hint of surprise.

"Fifth brother, didn't you say you went to Old Zhao's house in the eastern village to help build a stove today? Why are you back now?" Sun Shi asked.

"No, what's wrong?"

"Was your third brother wearing a gray top and blue pants, and wearing straw shoes when he left this morning?" Yang Huazhou asked again.

Sun Shi thought for a moment, nodded, and suddenly remembered something. She had been squatting next to Yang Ruoqing, but now she stood up, somewhat anxiously, and asked Yang Huazhou, "Fifth brother, why are you asking these questions? What's going on?"

"Oh no! This is bad!" Yang Huazhou slapped his thigh, gritted his teeth, and his face twisted in distress.

When Sun Shi heard this, her face turned pale. Thinking about how long Qing'er's father had been gone, she suddenly had a bad feeling.

Her lips trembled as she was about to ask again, but at that moment, the door of the eastern room creaked open.

A tall, thin old man, wearing a coat, came out, with a bit of gray in his temples, but still looking quite robust.

The old man held the collar of his coat with one hand and a tobacco pipe in the other. Behind him, Tan Shi looked anxious.

Yang Ruoqing knew that this old man was the grandfather of this body, Old Yang, and the head of the Yang family.

Old Yang had a stern face from the moment he came out of the room, not even glancing at Sun Shi and her daughter, but only staring at the flustered Yang Huazhou and shouting, "I hate your half-hearted, womanly way of speaking. What happened to your third brother? Speak up!"

"Father, it's bad! I heard from Second Dog's wife, who came back from town, that there's a person lying on the riverbank five miles out of town, covered in blood, with a overturned cart nearby. Second Dog's wife is timid and didn't dare to go closer, but she saw the person's clothes, which are exactly the same as your third brother's!"

"What?" Old Yang's body shook violently, and the tobacco pipe in his hand fell to the ground with a "clunk!"

Tan Shi took a few steps forward, grabbed Yang Huazhou's arm, and shouted, "What did you say? How did your third brother's ox cart end up in the river?"

"That's what Second Dog's wife said, but I don't know the details. I'm so worried, I came back to ask Father for advice!"

"Qing'er's father..." Sun Shi suddenly cried out, ran out, but after a few steps, she suddenly staggered and fell backward onto the hard ground.

Yang Ruoqing, standing in the yard, was about to jump up to catch her, but Yang Huazhou, who was quick to react, caught Sun Shi first.

"Third sister-in-law..."

Sun Shi shook her head to regain her senses.

"I have to find Qing'er's father!" Sun Shi, with unfocused eyes, pushed Yang Huazhou away and ran to the front room.

"Father, what do we do now? Please give us some advice!"

Old Yang, seeing Sun Shi run away, stomped his feet in frustration.

"What are you standing around for? Go to the front yard and wake up your older brother. We won't go to the fields this afternoon; we'll all go look for your third brother!"

Before Old Yang finished speaking, Yang Huazhou rushed out like the wind, and the sound of him pounding on the door of the eldest brother, Yang Huian, could be heard from the front room. Old Yang buttoned up his shirt and hurriedly followed.

In the backyard, only Tan Shi, who was pacing anxiously in the middle of the yard, and Yang Ruoqing, standing by the wall, remained.

Although she had not yet met her father in person, the vague and scattered memories in her mind were of a middle-aged man with a simple and honest face.

He, like Sun Shi, had been devoted to this foolish daughter for over a decade without complaint.

He had not slept all night, and had gone to town early in the morning to get medicine. He must have been exhausted, which led to the accident with the ox cart!

Yang Ruoqing's heart was in turmoil, and she wanted to go and see how her father was, but her body, which had suffered from drowning and a high fever, made her feel dizzy and weak. She couldn't keep up with Sun Shi and the others, and would only slow them down!

She could only stand by the wall of the western room, on tiptoe, looking in the direction of the front room, and listening for any news. She prayed repeatedly, hoping that nothing serious had happened to her father!

On the other side, Tan Shi looked around, muttered something, and turned to pick up the tobacco pipe that Old Yang had dropped. Just as she was about to return to the eastern room, she saw Yang Ruoqing standing by the wall, and her anger flared up. She started to scold Yang Ruoqing.

"What are you looking at? It's all your fault! A fat and strong fool, why are you so stubborn? If anything happens to the third brother, you and your mother won't be able to stay in the Yang family. You'll be kicked out, you curse-bringer! You omen of doom!"

At any other time, Yang Ruoqing would not have let this go. But now, with her father on her mind, she had no energy to argue with Tan Shi.

Moreover, although Tan Shi's words were harsh, they were true.

If the original owner of this body hadn't thrown herself into the pond for a man, none of this would have happened. The fault was not hers, but she couldn't speak up, sigh!

To avoid being a target for Tan Shi's anger, Yang Ruoqing turned and entered the western room, leaving Tan Shi to curse alone in the yard.

"A fool, and she's giving me attitude? Pah!"

Tan Shi cursed a few more times, then turned and went back to the eastern room, slamming the door.