Chapter 11: A Crippled Wretch Is Better Off Dead

The crowd leaned in to peer inside, whispering among themselves. Some urged the Jiang woman to stop the beating, but no one dared step across the threshold, fearing the bad luck associated with a corpse.

Exhausted from her pursuit, the Jiang woman paused, wheezing heavily. "Get out, all of you, get out! Even if I did beat them to death, it’s none of your business. You’re all just busybodies meddling in other people's affairs. Get out of my sight!"

She didn’t truly believe her eldest daughter-in-law was dead. The woman was usually as sturdy as an ox, eating as much as a pig at every meal; how could she die so easily? She shoved the second daughter-in-law, whose face was deathly pale with fright. "Why are you standing there like a fool? Go check. I didn't even use that much force—how could she be dead?"

The second daughter-in-law was terrified, her legs trembling. Qin Hanxiao’s earlier words had planted the conviction in her mind that the eldest daughter-in-law was already gone. Having watched the eldest daughter-in-law remain motionless while the Jiang woman chased after Qin Hanxiao, her belief only deepened. Under the Jiang woman’s urging, she shuffled forward, inch by inch, and poked the eldest daughter-in-law’s shoulder.

"Sister-in-law?"

There was no response. With trembling hands, she reached out to check for breath. "She’s still breathing! She’s not dead!"

The moment she felt the breath, she collapsed onto the ground, gasping in relief. The Jiang woman let out a long, heavy sigh of her own. However, the eldest daughter-in-law was inwardly terrified and seething with hatred. She couldn’t move or speak; had she been crippled? Before she could dwell on it, the Jiang woman began berating her again.

"Since you aren't dead, get up! You lazy wretch, daring to feign death to swindle me? See if I don't beat you for real!"

The Jiang woman didn't just talk; she brought her cane down heavily on the eldest daughter-in-law’s shoulder, venting both her lingering rage and her earlier fear. The blow landed with a dull, heavy thud that sounded painful to everyone listening. Yet, the eldest daughter-in-law remained silent and motionless. In her heart, she was cursing the Jiang woman with every foul word she knew. *You damned old hag, just wait until I’m recovered—I’ll see you poisoned to death.*

Thinking her daughter-in-law was still faking it, the Jiang woman raised her cane again. Qin Hanxiao acted as though she wanted to intervene but lacked the courage, weeping and begging for mercy. Where no one could see, she pricked herself with a needle, and tears began to stream down her face, uncontrollable and heavy.

"I beg you, stop hitting my sister-in-law! If you keep going, she’ll really die! She only spoke up for us because she felt pity; how can you beat her to death for that? We truly have no money left. Once we gather the funds, we will pay you double the support money, won’t we? Please, leave us a way to survive!"

Hearing that the eldest daughter-in-law had spoken up for them, the Jiang woman’s hatred intensified, and she struck again. "You traitorous wretch! I'll beat you to death!"

The eldest daughter-in-law was burning with fury, wishing she could tear both the Jiang woman and Qin Hanxiao to pieces. *When did I ever speak up for them?*

Seeing her second sister-in-law crying so bitterly, Pei Jinghui tried to comfort her but was held back. Qin Hanxiao winked at her, shaking her head slightly, and whispered, "Let the dogs bite each other so they leave us alone. Just keep crying poverty."

Pei Jinghui, quick-witted and sensitive, immediately understood. Just then, she felt a sharp prick, and suddenly her eyes grew wet, tears spilling forth uncontrollably. Seeing her sister-in-law’s nod, she realized what was happening. The two began to harmonize their pleas of poverty.

"Grandmother, if you must kill someone, kill me! I am not a Pei by blood, but I beg you, leave my husband a path to live. Er-lang is your own grandson; you cannot cut off his medicine!"

"You are our elder, and we should provide for you, even if we have to go hungry to save the coins. But my mother and my second brother cannot stop their medicine—it would cost them their lives! Are you forcing our entire family to die?"

When villagers tried to speak up for the third household, the Jiang woman lashed out at them. "None of your business! The affairs of the Pei family are not for outsiders to meddle in. The third son crawled out of my own womb; his wife and children should be serving me. If they really die because they chose to spend their medicine money on my support, then that would finally be true filial piety!"

*Death is filial piety.* Qin Hanxiao hadn't seen anyone this shameless since her stepfather.

Pei Jinghui was trembling with rage, her eyes red. As she moved to argue, Qin Hanxiao grabbed her, having spotted the village head approaching.

"Jiang woman, hold your tongue!"

The Jiang woman, blinded by rage, couldn't hear a word. She swung her cane wildly without even looking at who she was hitting. The village head didn't have time to dodge, but his son reacted quickly, stepping in to take the blow. The strike hit the son, but it was a slap in the face to the village head. His expression turned ice-cold, though his position prevented him from retaliating. The Jiang woman only paused for a moment; she feared the village head, but she had only struck a younger man—what could they do to her?

After hearing the villagers' account of the situation, the village head’s face darkened further. He looked past the crowd at the hiding Pei eldest and second sons, his anger mounting. "Are you two not going to take your mother and wives home? Is this not shameful enough?"

The two men were indeed embarrassed, but not because of their mother’s behavior—they were ashamed because they hadn't gotten the money and had lost face in front of the village. They approached reluctantly, but the Jiang woman had not achieved her goal and refused to leave.

"If I don't get my money today, I’m not going anywhere!"

Hearing her insist on money, the village head couldn't help but curse. "How much can an old woman eat and drink? You have three sons; a monthly allowance of one tael of silver from each is more than enough for you. Do you not know the state of the third son’s house? No elder acts like this! Leave at once, and do not dare ask the third son's family for another copper!"

Mentioning this made the Jiang woman even more agitated. "That little harlot came back in a carriage! How could she have no money? It’s better to give it to me than waste it on her—so she doesn't use our Pei family’s money to entertain wild men!"

Pei Jinghui would not let her slander her sister-in-law. "My sister-in-law went to treat someone’s illness! You cannot slander her!"

The village head had also heard that Qin Hanxiao had been sent back by carriage after treating a noble in the city. He turned to look at Qin Hanxiao, who was still weeping, appearing thoroughly bullied. Amidst her tears, she took out the set of silver needles gifted to her by the Seventh Young Master Huang.

"I did treat the elderly Madam Huang, the mother of the salt merchant in the provincial capital. But there was no money—only this set of silver needles. Yesterday, Dr. Chen examined my mother-in-law and my husband and said that acupuncture might help my husband’s legs, perhaps even giving him a chance to stand again. But we had no money to buy needles, so I begged Seventh Young Master Huang for this set. I wanted to bring them back to try, even if there was only a sliver of hope."

Qin Hanxiao’s words were filled with such genuine emotion that the crowd was moved, praising her for her loyalty and devotion. Yet, amidst the praise, a discordant voice cut through. "Paralyzed is paralyzed; dreaming of standing is just that—a dream! A cripple like him is a waste of food while alive; he’d be better off dead."