Chapter 288: Chapter 288: Oh Right, Xiao Shi Was There Too!
Yin Cheng is gravely ill.
In the middle of the night, Yi Meng and the others sat in the carriage, anxiously rushing all the way until they finally returned to Yongping Village.
Just as they entered the village, they heard this kind of news.
"He’s really fallen ill at the right time! Almost got our kids killed. If he wasn’t sick, now that the kids are safe, we could get him to pay for it. But now he’s gravely ill, who is he trying to fool?"
"Normally, he acts like everyone owes him eight hundred taels of silver. When something goes wrong, he pretends to be sick; who’s he doing this dying act for? Bah! Shameless, I’ll beat him to death later!"
When Qu Laodi heard this, she immediately started cursing.
Yi Meng didn’t say anything but simply reminded Qi Ercai to hurry home.
The carriage barely stopped at the gate of the Qi Family; Yi Meng couldn’t wait to jump out, lifting her skirt she dashed towards the old lady’s room.
Since she’d been sitting too long in the carriage, Yi Meng’s legs were a bit sore, and she nearly fell when she jumped down.
If it weren’t for Qi Sanlang, who was waiting by the door and quickly reached out to help, she might have fallen flat on the ground.
She ran all the way without pause to the old lady’s room.
Yi Meng supported herself against the door frame, looking at her daughter held in her mother-in-law’s arms, and tears she had held back all the way finally burst forth uncontrollably.
"Shh!"
Mrs. Qi heard a noise from outside, looked up and saw her fourth son’s wife, and hurriedly made a gesture for silence.
Yi Meng wiped away her tears, nodded, and walked lightly towards the edge of the kang.
"It’s fine, the medicine’s already worked, once she wakes up and eats something, she’ll be alright."
Mrs. Qi’s eyes were swollen and red, and even though she was speaking quietly, she clearly was hoarse.
Yi Meng nodded, trying to stop crying, but the tears wouldn’t listen, spilling out uncontrollably.
The little girl sleeping in Mrs. Qi’s arms had a rosy face, showing no signs of abnormality at all, and though her forehead had been wiped clean of sweat, her hair stuck damply to it.
Yi Meng gently pushed aside the strands of hair from her daughter’s forehead and said, "Mother, I’ll trouble you to watch the child for a bit longer."
Mrs. Qi was startled, apparently surprised that Yi Meng, upon returning, wouldn’t stay with the child.
Yi Meng explained to herself, "I need to handle the matters of today."
As it concerned her daughter, Yi Meng would not let anyone else handle it.
She wouldn’t let any potential, or actual harm to her daughter go unpunished.
Mrs. Qi understood her meaning, nodded, but still advised, "Mr. Yin, he might not have done it on purpose, you..."
"Mother, I know what to do, don’t worry!"
Yi Meng lightly patted the old lady’s arm: "I’ll be back later, tonight, the three of us will sleep together."
"Alright, go on!"
Mrs. Qi did not refuse.
As for the old man, where he would sleep, she couldn’t care less.
Just after coming out of the old lady’s room, Yi Meng saw Qi Quanjin running hurriedly towards her in the courtyard.
At the moment she saw him, Yi Meng rushed forward, directly into his embrace.
"Brother Jin..."
Yi Meng whispered softly; her voice was small but trembling, making one’s heartache.
Qi Quanjin’s eyes were red and swollen; his voice hadn’t recovered, raspily he called "Meng Niang", gently patting her back, letting her tears soak the front of his clothing.
After a long time, Yi Meng regained her composure, chokingly she asked, "Brother Jin, what exactly happened today?"
The one who went to the city with the news had accompanied Liu Qinghe to send Chen Xiaomei with the Qi Family members.
As for Qi Quanjin, being Qi Manman’s father and Yongping Village’s head, he couldn’t leave.
Although others had already recounted the event’s details, Yi Meng still wanted to hear how Qi Quanjin would say it, even if the accounts were essentially identical.
Qi Quanjin brought her to the front hall.
Wang Daya hurriedly brought over a cup of water and a bowl of porridge.
The water was for Qi Quanjin, and the porridge was prepared specially for Yi Meng.
One could guess she had no appetite to eat.
Even Wang Daya didn’t have an appetite, let alone Yi Meng.
Making some porridge, it was just as good as drinking water.
Despite Qi Quanjin coaxing Yi Meng into drinking half a bowl, she refused to take another sip.
"Brother Jin, let’s talk business! What exactly happened today? Why did Chen Xiaomei kidnap Manbao? And what’s the deal with Yin Cheng?"
Yi Meng didn’t let anger cloud her judgment.
Perhaps it had clouded before, but the journey back was enough time to calm her down.
Qi Quanjin’s expression wasn’t good, yet he tried his best to reconstruct the events objectively.
After hearing, Yi Meng found that it wasn’t completely consistent with what she had heard on the way.
For instance, what Qi Quanjin said about Yin Cheng’s actions seemed more in line with his usual conduct.
Moreover, given Yin Cheng’s attitude toward Manbao, Yi Meng couldn’t believe he would harm her.
"What do you think?"
Yi Meng took the wet cloth handed by the sister-in-law, thanked her, and looked at Qi Quanjin.
Qi Quanjin sighed: "Mr. Yin saved our lives, but we also took care of him in many ways. If we weighed who gave more, it would be impossible to determine."
"When I first heard the news, I was so furious I wanted to rip him apart. But calming down, it seemed unlikely—Mr. Yin toward Manbao..."
Pausing, Qi Quanjin shook his head with a bitter smile: "Without ever saying it, but in his daily actions, he treats none of the other kids like he does our Manbao."
"Indeed, Manbao often says Mr. Yin is especially nice."
Yi Meng also smiled bitterly.
Though the couple were discussing ordinary days, they understood each other’s decision.
The daughter meeting this disaster today doesn’t mean Yin Cheng was entirely blameless, but the real fault didn’t lie with him.
In truth, among those causing today’s events, their whole family had responsibilities.
It was from overly pampering the little girl daily, making her unable to bear the slightest grievance.
If only she understood to respect her teacher, could it have avoided such things today?
Yi Meng closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and upon opening them again, she surveyed the hall, finding only the two of them, and the sister-in-law Wang Daya had already left at some unknown time.
Yi Meng held Qi Quanjin’s hand, leaned over, and whispered, "I heard there was a surprising thunderbolt that almost struck Chen Xiaomei. Is there any rumor about that in the village?"
Qi Quanjin frowned: "What rumors could there be, just saying Chen Xiaomei brought it on herself, even Heaven couldn’t stand it."
"Nothing else?"
"Nothing else, there’s nothing more it could be."
Qi Quanjin, seeing his wife’s anxious expression, suddenly realized and reassured, "Rest assured, it didn’t get connected to our Manbao. Besides, Xiao Shi was there then."
Mentioning Xiao Shi, Yi Meng suddenly realized.
Right, there was Xiao Shi there!
