Chapter 376: Chapter 376: Actively Eating Melon
The moment the carriage entered the village, they saw many people running toward the west side with excited expressions. Clearly, there was some new commotion to watch.
The family members of the hired hands stopped when they saw Ji Huan. After greeting her, they couldn’t help but chat for a moment.
Ji Huan stepped down from the carriage and asked what was going on. "What’s everyone rushing to see?"
"What else? A good show!"
"Whose show? The Ji family’s!"
"You have no idea! I heard your fourth... that Ji the Fourth was beaten by his wife!"
"My daughter-in-law saw it with her own eyes! She came back and told me the beating was so bad, he stopped breathing..."
’Stopped breathing?’ Ji Huan was genuinely shocked. ’Is Du Baozhu that ferocious?’
A passerby overheard and chimed in, "What do you mean, stopped breathing? Stop spouting nonsense. They called for a doctor, and he was revived."
The smile that had just begun to form on Ji Huan’s lips immediately faded.
The others chimed in that even if he was revived, they still had to go have a look. A child student getting beaten up was something you might not see even once in eight hundred years.
Watching the villagers scatter and run off into the distance, Ji Huan suddenly understood their passion for gossip.
She could even understand why they enjoyed gossiping about her.
Just like now—if it had been anyone else, she might not have even been interested in hearing about it. But since the one getting beaten was Ji Liantang, she was itching with curiosity... She really wanted to go witness it in person.
Guan Shan glanced at her, noting her restless eagerness, a look of speechlessness on his face.
After a moment, he asked, "Want to go see?"
Ji Huan thought he wanted to go too and felt as if she’d found a kindred spirit. She nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling.
"But I should probably find something to cover my face, right? If I just go openly to gloat, that family will be absolutely livid."
Ji Huan leaned into the carriage and rummaged around. She found a rectangular piece of cloth, unfolded it, and wrapped it around her head a few times like a scarf, leaving only her eyes visible as she looked at Guan Shan.
"Can you recognize me?"
Guan Shan frowned and stared at her for a moment before tilting his chin toward the carriage, signaling for her to get on.
Ji Huan took his arm and climbed into the carriage. After sitting down and thinking for a moment, she decided this wouldn’t do.
’Riding over in a carriage to gloat is far too conspicuous. What would be the point of covering my face?’
’And Guan Shan is too recognizable. Maybe I should have him go back first...’
Ji Huan lifted the curtain, but she froze before she could speak.
’This isn’t the way to the west side of the village. This is the road home.’
Ji Huan called out his name in a long, drawn-out cry, but Guan Shan, his back to her, pretended not to hear and kept driving.
Ji Huan then raised her voice and called for Jifeng. The horse twitched his ears and broke into an even faster run. Moments later, they arrived at their front gate.
Ji Huan was speechless.
Just as she was glaring daggers at Guan Shan’s back, she heard the PITTER-PATTER of footsteps, and the courtyard gate slid open.
She hadn’t taken Dabao with her on the last two trips to the city, as punishment for his running off in Yeyang the other day.
It wasn’t as if she’d left him home all alone, however; Ji Mingfang was there to keep him company.
Ji Mingfang had been keeping up with the procurement team for the past few days, but it was becoming too much for his leg. After Hu Liang noticed, he told him to take a rest.
The Ji Mingfang of the past might have brooded over such words, but he was no longer so sensitive, nor did he get bogged down in overthinking things.
Admitting one’s own shortcomings was not nearly as difficult as he had imagined.
Besides, the vegetable harvest was nearing its end. In addition to the few villagers of the same age that Hu Liang had recruited, Ji Liansong and Shi Yong were also helping out. Being one person short truly didn’t make much of a difference.
So, Ji Mingfang had returned to continue his character-learning lessons with Dabao.
Although Dabao always put on the same face for outsiders, Ji Mingfang, having spent so much time with him, could clearly sense his unhappiness.
But no matter how unhappy he was, he didn’t skip their "lessons," likely for fear that Ji Huan would discipline him upon her return or extend his punishment.
Once he had taught the required material and Ji Mingfang had started practicing, Dabao would sit by the door to the main hall and sulk alone.
Sometimes, he’d throw wads of paper for Dahuang to fetch. Dahuang would bring them back, and he’d throw them again. The dog’s tireless enthusiasm only worsened his mood.
When he finally heard the sound of the carriage, some life returned to his little face.
Ji Mingfang came out of the west room just in time to see Dabao standing on a small stool, sliding the bolt on the gate open.
Dabao looked at Ji Huan, blinking, his face a perfect picture of "I’m upset, but I’m not going to say why."
Little did he know that Ji Huan felt even more aggrieved than he did. She scooped him up, marched him to the door of the main hall, and began to scold him.
"Look at you, getting so capable. You can even open the gate by yourself now. Think you’re so special just because you’ve gotten taller?"
Dabao: ’But you did praise me before for getting taller and said it was amazing...’
"What did I tell you before? You don’t open the gate for anyone until you know who it is. Did my words go in one ear and out the other?"
Dabao: ’I only opened it because I could tell it was you...’
"And that other time at Yide Hall! When you realized I was gone, why didn’t you stay put and wait for me to find you? You just had to run off. The streets are so chaotic! What if you’d been snatched by human traffickers..."
Dabao: ’Why are you bringing up the past...?’
Though he hung his head in silence, his entire posture radiated defiance.
Ji Huan stated flatly, "Your confinement is extended."
At that, Dabao finally lifted his head. "...I was very good today."
Ji Huan put on a fake smile. "It’s just your bad luck to catch your big sister when she’s in a foul mood."
She patted his forehead and walked straight into the courtyard.
Ji Mingfang gave Dabao a sympathetic look, while Dabao glared daggers at Guan Shan. ’It’s all his fault.’
Guan Shan paid him no mind, unhitching the horse after unloading the carriage and leading it to the back courtyard.
A short while later, Ji Huan emerged from the east room.
She first went to the door of the west room and peeked inside. Seeing Dabao and Ji Mingfang both hunched over the table practicing their writing, she tiptoed out of the main hall.
She ran right into Guan Shan, who was coming out of the kitchen with a basin of water after washing his hands.
Ji Huan cleared her throat and announced that she had to go discuss something with Widow Xie. If she returned late, they should just have pickled vegetable congee for dinner.
Guan Shan gave her a look that saw right through her and simply grunted in acknowledgment.
Satisfied, Ji Huan strolled out the gate.
When she arrived at the Hu family’s home, the workers were, as expected, all discussing the incident.
Ji Huan sidled over to listen for a while but couldn’t glean any new details. It was just the same information repeated: Ji Liantang had been beaten, he’d been beaten by Du Baozhu, and Du Baozhu had beaten him unconscious.
But as for why the two had been fighting, no one seemed to have a clue.
There’s nothing worse for a gossipmonger than an unfinished story.
However, the answer to that question didn’t remain a secret for long.
「The Ji Residence」
Granny Kang had been wailing and cursing at the closed door of the east wing for half the day. Once she’d exhausted herself, she finally lifted the door curtain and went into the east room.
Ji Liantang was already awake, but he was sprawled out on Ji Qingshan and Granny Kang’s kang bed, stubbornly refusing to return to his own room.
Looking at her son’s face, so swollen it was unrecognizable, Granny Kang slapped her thigh and began to wail again.
"What sins did we commit! To think we married such a termagant into the family! She’s trying to beat you to death so she can become a widow..."
Ji Qingshan’s health had actually been improving lately, but today’s uproar had caused his hands to start trembling again.
He sat cross-legged on the kang bed and knocked his pipe against the low table. Before he spoke, the corner of his mouth twitched.
"Your wife... wh-why did she hit you?"
Granny Kang shrieked, "It doesn’t matter why! A woman has no right to strike her own husband! This is outrageous!"
Ji Qingshan waved a hand, silencing her. He pointed at Ji Liantang. "You. Speak."
A guilty expression flickered across Ji Liantang’s face.