The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 794 - 168: Death Is Not Far Away_4

Chapter 794: Chapter 168: Death Is Not Far Away_4

Pei Qian sneered, "I certainly don’t have the ability to accuse others on your behalf, and I have no intention of saving you! Silencing by murder is someone else’s business. You’ve come to the wrong person by seeking me out!"

Lady Chen was filled with hateful annoyance, but she was genuinely afraid that Qian Wanxiu really wanted to kill her. She gritted her teeth, knelt down, and with a hoarse voice fraught with sobs, she pleaded as she looked up at her.

Pei Qian shook off her sleeves and stepped back, watching coldly, "You were the one who abused my brother and me the most, humiliated my mother the most. Now someone wants to mute you by poison, to silence you, and you expect me to save you? I have been waiting for your vicious self to meet a bad end!"

The gates of Old Pei’s House swung open, and Lady Zhu ran out looking for Lady Chen.

Upon hearing her voice, Lady Chen wanted to flee.

Several people stepped aside to make way.

"You crazy wretch, what do you think you’re doing!? Get back home!" Lady Zhu yelled, chasing after her.

Lady Chen, with her blurred vision, ran straight for the village outskirts but stumbled and fell into a ditch.

Fortunately, the ditch wasn’t deep, and there wasn’t much water. She broke through the ice and fell in, but the water didn’t cover her. Without anyone’s help, she splashed and struggled while shouting, swallowed a couple of mouthfuls of muddy water, and then climbed out by herself.

Lady Zhu cursed, "... Useless wretch! Get back home quickly! Otherwise, I swear I’ll be rid of you for good!"

Lady Chen wanted to run again, but in her current state, without anyone’s help or rescue, she couldn’t get far, let alone make it to Capital Jingcheng.

Looking again for Pei Qian, she saw that Pei had already returned with her maids and guards.

Lady Chen screamed and shouted, only to be grabbed by the collar by Lady Zhu, who dragged her back home and locked her in, preventing her from going out again.

However, it didn’t take long for Lady Chen’s family to receive the news and come to see her.

Seeing her own family, Lady Chen cried incessantly as if she had seen her saviors.

Grandma Chen immediately demanded to know, "... My daughter was fine all along, how did she suddenly become mute?"

With Pei Wenlee married off to Capital Jingcheng and Pei Wenli also in Capital Jingcheng, reportedly assisting the Crown Prince’s Chancellery, Lady Zhu was somewhat courteous when facing the Chen family. She explained that Lady Chen had been scared, was acting a bit crazy, and wasn’t thinking clearly.

Grandma Chen was furious and wanted to take her daughter away.

But Lady Zhu disagreed with taking Lady Chen away, and Old Pei was also firmly against it.

So Grandma Chen asked to stay and take care of Lady Chen, and she simply refused to leave.

Lady Zhu couldn’t drive her out and had no choice but to watch her forcefully settle in.

Lady Chen breathed a sigh of relief; with her mother there, she assumed they wouldn’t dare to kill her to silence her that easily.

Before long, Pei Wenli returned.

Old Pei and Lady Zhu had never expected that Pei Wenli would actually return.

Lady Chen was also completely taken aback, and couldn’t stop crying as she clung to her eldest son.

Pei Wenli’s face turned extremely unsightly as soon as he saw her look; the news had already spread everywhere during his journey back. Pei Wensheng had smothered his half-brother to death and his mother had witnessed it. She covered up for Pei Wensheng, even helping Qian Wanxiu and others to frame Pei Qin, but instead, Pei Wensheng was hunted down by the vengeful spirit and died, his mother also beset by the vengeful spirit, her hair falling out, her vision blurring, and inexplicably becoming mute overnight.

Old Pei offered a simple explanation.

Pei Wenli didn’t ask for more details, just saying, "I’ve come back this time to take my mother to Capital Jingcheng to see a doctor." If something truly happened to his mother, he would have to observe mourning for three years, which meant he wouldn’t even be able to take the imperial examinations next term, let alone achieve any scholarly honor.

Upon hearing this, Lady Zhu’s face darkened, "You’re just taking your mother to enjoy luxuries?"

"Grandmother! With my mother in her current state, we can’t expect Grandmother to take care of her, nor can we just watch her condition worsen. If anything unexpected happens, neither my siblings nor I would be able to bear the burden. The doctors in Yuanyang County and Fu City have already seen her and found no cure, so I thought of taking her to the Jingcheng to see what can be done," Pei Wenli said, his expression unchanging.

Lady Zhu wanted to go too; she had long wished to have her teeth fixed, to get her missing teeth replaced, but there were no decent doctors in Yuanyang County who could do it. Walking around without front teeth was laughable. Besides, if the whole family went to Jingcheng, wouldn’t they all be off enjoying themselves, leaving the two old folks behind? This thought upset Lady Zhu, and she began to cry and complain, "... You’re all leaving, abandoning us two old folks! How can we live miserably alone? If you all go off to enjoy wealth and honor, you’re just dumping us!"

"Grandma! We aren’t going off to enjoy wealth and honor! Even in Jingcheng right now, we only rent a few cheap rooms, living cramped in a large shared courtyard. The noodle shop, hyped by Fang Liuming and Fang Fuxuan, isn’t doing well; we barely make any money. If it weren’t for my mother suddenly turning into what she is now at home, I wouldn’t have come back to take her. No matter what, we have to cure my mother first. With Grandpa and Grandma here at home, you can live in a spacious yard, eat rice, noodles, meat, and vegetables, and have Uncle and Auntie to take care of you. If you went to Jingcheng, you wouldn’t be able to stand it," said Pei Wenli. After speaking, he mentioned that they barely brought any money when they left and had hardly any at hand, unable to afford even decent rice, and expressed a desire for some silver to take with them.

Lady Zhu’s face turned black with anger.

Old Pei, however, had no desire to go. "It’s better to stay at home for a thousand days than to have a hard day out. If you can fend for yourselves and work towards a future, that’s good enough! As long as you have filial piety, you don’t need to be present to execute it; filial duty can be done from anywhere."

Grandma Chen was extremely happy; if her daughter’s household was well-off, she wouldn’t be oppressed by the second branch anymore. Her daughter became like this all because of the second branch! She urged Pei Wenli to pack up quickly and take Lady Chen to Jingcheng for treatment.

Lady Chen hurriedly took all her valuable dowry items that could be taken, as well as the silver that Pei Houli had hidden away.

During the years Pei Zongli worked as a lecturer, he had managed to accumulate quite a sum, and Pei Houli had profited not insignificantly as well. Pei Houli didn’t let Lady Chen save any, but she found the secret place where he had been squirreling away savings.

After packing up all the valuables, Lady Chen, fearing that Qian Wanxiu would find out about their departure and send someone after her, urged Pei Wenli to leave quickly.

Pei Wenli got his things ready, bade farewell to his family, and left for Jingcheng with Lady Chen.

Lady Zhu cursed loudly at home for a good while.

Pei Qian also cursed a few times, "Now that Lady Chen has run off, will that witch Lady Qian make her move?" She was just waiting for Lady Chen to die to take care of Qian Wanxiu too! Regardless of who was responsible, she was determined to see Qian Wanxiu, that vile and despicable wretch, dead!

"What do you think?" Pei Qin said, looking at her.

Pei Qian really wished to kill Lady Chen and directly pin the blame on Qian Wanxiu, letting them taste the bitterness of being wrongfully accused.

With Lady Chen going to Jingcheng, she would only spread the news there. While the murder of half-brothers was not uncommon in the inner courts of Jingcheng, it was certainly enough to cause them a lot of trouble.

Lady Chen... her days were numbered!

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