Chapter 333: Second Reincarnation

Chapter 333: Chapter 333: Second Reincarnation

Whether Ji Huan and Guan Shan managed to sleep was anyone’s guess, but the Ji family was certainly doomed to a sleepless night.

He was Ji Xiu’e’s precious son, her only one. With him injured so badly, how could anyone rest? ℴ

Ji Lianhuai and Ji Liantang were both dragged from their warm beds. Ji Xiu’e ordered them to take Huang Juncai to the clinic in town, but in the dead of night, what clinic would even be open?

Neither man was willing to go, but knowing Ji Xiu’e’s temper, they didn’t dare refuse.

In the end, it was Ji Qingshan who calmed her down, telling the two men to first fetch the traveling doctor from the neighboring village to take a look.

If it turned out to be nothing, that would be for the best. But if the injuries were serious, it would be safer to have them treated before making the trip to town.

After the two men reluctantly shuffled out the door, Ji Xiu’e entered the west room of the main hall, her face grim.

The room had already been claimed by Mrs. Zhu for Ji Mingmao, but since Ji Xiu’e was visiting with her son and nephew, it had been temporarily cleared out for them.

Before long, a disheveled doctor was dragged into the house.

He went into the room, examined the boy, and declared that the injuries weren’t life-threatening.

It looked frightening at first glance, but most were just flesh wounds. The only serious injury was on his left thigh, where a chunk of flesh had been ripped away, nearly exposing the bone.

What they didn’t know was that this was only because Ji Huan had constantly drilled it into Dahuang’s head not to bite people unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, the dog could have snapped the bone in his leg.

The doctor cleaned and bandaged the wound, then took out some herbs he’d brought with him and instructed them to brew a decoction and force it down the boy’s throat. As he left, he responsibly added a warning: if his condition didn’t improve by morning, they should take him to town.

Ji Xiu’e went into the courtyard to pay the doctor. When she lifted the door curtain and returned to the west room, Huang Juncai had just finished his medicine and was now lying on the kang, moaning in a daze.

Huang Junping walked over with an uneasy expression. "Aunt..."

Before the word was even fully out of his mouth, a heavy slap landed on his face.

Ji Xiu’e jabbed a finger at his nose, her voice shrill with fury. "Don’t you fancy that little wretch? I gave you a perfect plan! I told you to go over there tonight and take her by force. Then, in the morning, I would show up with a group of people and catch you. No matter how much she resisted, she’d have no choice but to agree to marry you! But you’re a worthless coward, you absolutely refused! If you had just done it, would Juncai be in this state now?"

Huang Junping clutched his stinging cheek, silent.

He had indeed taken a fancy to Ji Huan after their brief meeting the last time he was in Dafeng Village.

But marriage was supposed to be a joyous union, not the start of a feud. If he truly did something so monstrous, how could he ever face her as her husband?

Besides... He glanced sideways at Huang Juncai’s pathetic state and felt a profound sense of relief that he hadn’t been bewitched into going along with the plan.

’Otherwise, I’d be the one lying on that kang right now.’

The more Ji Xiu’e thought about it, the more furious she became. She’d never imagined that Juncai would overhear the things she’d said to Huang Junping in the backyard.

If Huang Junping hadn’t been a light sleeper and noticed Juncai was missing, if he hadn’t rushed to Granny Kang’s room to wake her, and if she hadn’t immediately led people to give chase... who knows how much worse Juncai would have been tormented!

"That little wretch! She’s just like her black-hearted parents, born venomous. She was trying to kill my Juncai!"

Granny Kang stood at the door to the west room, her face sagging. "If you ask me, we should’ve tied up that jinx on the spot and gone to the village chief. And if he wouldn’t handle it, we’d go to the government office! He was bitten this badly—we’re in the right no matter how you spin it. What are you so afraid of!"

Ji Xiu’e snapped impatiently, "Mother! Stop talking! If we could have done that, I’d have done it already!"

’Juncai climbed over her wall in the middle of the night. The story wouldn’t stand up to questioning. What if we went to the government office, failed to get justice, and ended up being charged with a crime instead? With Ji Huan’s glib tongue, it’s not impossible.’

’And then there was that incident on Chicken Crown Mountain... It seems she knows about that, too.’

’How did she find out? What else does she know?’

Ji Xiu’e paced restlessly, growing more agitated with every thought. Her face grim, she stalked out of the west room.

Almost everyone was in the main hall, except for the children and Du Caizhu, who hadn’t made an appearance.

"Father, we should never, ever have let Ji Huan split from the family!"

Ji Xiu’e had said this more than once. In the past, it was just a grumble she didn’t really mean, but this time, the resentment was real and deeply felt.

Who could have imagined that today’s Ji Huan would be so difficult to handle?

People say adversity forges character, but could her past suffering really transform a person so completely in such a short time?

Ji Xiu’e refused to believe it.

The last time, she had used Mrs. Zhu as her pawn in a carefully orchestrated plot. But in the end, that little mongrel had somehow managed to find her way back.

Afraid Ji Huan would grow suspicious, she had laid low all this time. She finally came up with a new plan to subdue her by forcing her into a marriage, only to have it foiled yet again.

How could one person be so damned vexing!

With the corner of his mouth downturned, Ji Qingshan sucked noisily on his long-stemmed pipe.

"At the time, she looked... she didn’t look well. Your mother and the others said burying her on the property would ruin the family’s feng shui, so we... had her carried out..."

That night had been the turning point. Every time he thought back on it, he felt only a single emotion: regret.

If they hadn’t thrown her out, if they hadn’t split the family when she showed up at their door, things would be completely different today.

Granny Kang’s chest also felt tight with frustration.

"Thinking back now, I wonder if we fell for that jinx’s trick. Who gets injured that badly and is suddenly up and about in the blink of an eye? I’m telling you, she did it on purpose!"

If she had said this before, Ji Xiu’e would never have believed her.

But after their recent clashes, she was now certain that splitting from the family had been Ji Huan’s premeditated plan all along.

Ji Qingshan clearly thought so too, but admitting he’d been outsmarted by his own granddaughter was a bitter pill to swallow.

Only Mrs. Zhu’s focus was on something else entirely.

"Mother, when you went to that wretched girl’s place the other day to propose the match, you saw it with your own eyes, didn’t you? I wasn’t exaggerating, was I? Such a fine house! If we hadn’t split the family, it would belong to us, the Ji family! Our whole family could live there. Imagine how comfortable, how spacious it would be! Not like now, all crammed together. Others get four rooms, and we only get two..."

Granny Kang was too embarrassed to admit she hadn’t even made it through the gate that day.

But even without going in, she could tell from the exterior alone that the inside couldn’t be shabby. The courtyard was even paved with bricks!

Her heart seethed with envy, and she slapped her thigh and began to curse again.

"That plague-ridden girl! She’s really gotten full of herself! Living the high life behind her elders’ backs, in a place like that! Isn’t she afraid it’ll shorten her own life!"

Such a big house, with a front yard and a backyard and so many rooms. She’d heard the furnishings inside were exquisite, too. How could Granny Kang not be so hateful she could spit blood?

If Ji Huan hadn’t deceived them, she never would have agreed to the split, and that house would belong to the Ji family now!

And she refused to believe Ji Huan didn’t have money saved up. For the Ji family in their current state, even ten taels of silver was a huge sum.

Du Caizhu had brought a sizable dowry, but she kept the room where it was stored under lock and key. No one else could get near it.

As thick-skinned as Granny Kang was, she couldn’t bring herself to openly demand the key. After all, the new bride had only been in the family for a few days. If she made a fuss and word got out, they’d be the laughingstock of the village.

The roomful of people listened to her relentless, venomous curses, each lost in their own thoughts.

Ji Xiu’e grew impatient. "What’s the use of cursing? I already tried testing her about her filial duty to support you two, and she flat-out refused. It’s not like you don’t know that."

Granny Kang’s face flushed. She retorted resentfully, "Who’s counting on her for support? I’d be afraid she’d jinx me to death! Besides, we have our fourth son. Who needs a harbinger of misfortune like her to care for us!"

Mrs. Zhu muttered, "You’re not counting on our fourth son, you’re counting on his little cash cow..."

Seeing Granny Kang was about to turn on her, Mrs. Zhu quickly changed the subject.

"Actually, there’s no need for us to be angry. She turned down a fine young man like our Junping, and instead, she’s dead set on marrying that vagrant. You all saw his face just now..."

Remembering the horrifying sight, Mrs. Zhu couldn’t help but shudder.

"That face full of scars... you can tell just by looking at him that he’s no decent man. He was probably a mountain bandit or a highway robber! And he’s built like a brute, all muscle and brawn. With that wretched girl’s small frame... just you wait. Her good days are over."

Granny Kang’s mood brightened at the thought. ’That’s right! It takes a villain to tame a villain.’

"I thought she’d find someone impressive, someone at least as good as Song Jing. But after all this, it turns out she picked a monster who’s neither human nor ghost. She must have lost her mind! If she wants to jump into a pit of fire, no one can stop her!"

Prompted by Mrs. Zhu, Ji Xiu’e also recalled the man’s appearance. The dark cloud of fury on her face began to dissipate.

’That’s right. For a woman, marriage is a second birth.’

’And if this rebirth goes poorly... isn’t that just a long, slow suicide?’

She would just wait. She’d wait for that scar-faced brute to beat Ji Huan into submission. She’d wait for King Yan to come and claim her wretched life. It would save her the trouble of dirtying her own hands.

In the courtyard, a rooster, long since woken by the commotion, suddenly craned its neck and crowed—a new day had finally arrived.