Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 25: Chapter 025 Calculations Among Brothers_1 Chapter 25: Chapter 025 Calculations Among Brothers_1 Erliang picked up all the hawthorns from the ground, looking somewhat sulky, “Am I really so bad at everything? Even picking hawthorns turned into a mess.”

Muniang said gravely, “That’s right, so from now on you should obediently follow Dahei.”

Dahei: Woof woof woof!

Erliang felt wronged, “I was clearly looking for comfort, okay? And I don’t want to follow Dahei!”

Muniang curled her lips, as if she couldn’t hear Erliang’s inner plea, said goodbye to Li Cheng and his sister, and then pulled Erliang away.

Seeing that Muniang was in a good mood, Erliang asked, “What if the Qiao family doesn’t let things go? I heard that Old Madam Qiao is notoriously difficult to deal with.”

Muniang, holding Erliang’s arm, laughed, “I have my husband to protect me, what’s there to fear?”

Erliang immediately straightened his back, “Exactly, exactly! I will protect my wife!”

Muniang smiled, not wanting Erliang to wallow in self-blame; it was this vibrant Erliang who was truly adorable.

Muniang had hurried over upon hearing that Erliang had an accident, and had even left her clothes basin by the river. Now, she went to retrieve it on her way back and then headed home.

Mrs. Lin was living remotely and was still unaware of the incident at the foot of the mountain, leisurely sitting on the kang and sewing clothes.

Muniang didn’t feel like telling her all the troublesome news, knowing it would only make Mrs. Lin worry for a long time.

After the three Qiao brothers returned home, Old Mr. Qiao Dazhi saw how badly injured his precious son Qiao Yuanzhen was and flew into a rage, almost flipping out on Qiao Yuanshan and Qiao Yuanming, “What happened! How did you end up like this just by going out? How could you two older brothers let your younger brother get so seriously injured!”

Mrs. Ji felt unhappy inside. Her father’s favoritism was too blatant; supposedly, it would be more acceptable if her two sons were the ones injured! She thought this, but her expression didn’t show dissent; she just lowered her head and stayed silent.

Qiao Yuanzhen was still irritated by Mrs. Ji’s earlier matter, with the flush on his face not subsided, he said in a deep voice, “I want to go inside to rest, Dad, please save it.”

This tone clearly indicated that he was very angry. Qiao Dazhi was taken aback, hastily asking Qiao Yuanshan to carry him to his room to rest. Seeing Qiao Yuanzhen’s complexion, Qiao Dazhi knew he must be extremely upset and grew even more furious himself, his gaze towards the Qiao Yuanshan and Qiao Yuanming brothers was sharp as a knife.

Qiao Yuanshan felt extremely distressed; with his father furious, he would definitely not escape punishment. His mind wasn’t as sharp as Mrs. Ji’s, and he couldn’t think of a way to deal with the situation. After all, he was the instigator, so all he could do was brace himself to endure Qiao Dazhi’s anger.

Right after Qiao Yuanzhen was carried into his room, Old Madam Qiao, who was about to take a nap, got alarmed by the noise. When she heard that her most precious son was injured, she rushed over in a panic. Seeing the bandage on Qiao Yuanzhen’s arm, her heart ached tremendously.

“Ah, my child, how did you end up with such injuries? Who’s the damned scoundrel responsible for this? I swear, I’ll have his life!”

Qiao Yuanzhen was tremendously irritated, unable to tolerate Old Madam Qiao’s wailing and screaming, her voice so loud it seemed she wanted the whole world to know!

Qiao Yuanzhen waved his hand impatiently: “I’m fine, Mom, please leave! I don’t want to talk right now!”

In his heart, all women were the same: mindless, worthless, and useless, only capable of weeping and wailing over the smallest matters, and the likes of Mrs. Ji always made things worse!

Old Madam Qiao was stunned, then her eyes suddenly reddened: “Child, how can you talk to me like this? I am your own mother, how can you reject me like this?”

Qiao Yuanzhen felt so stifled inside, yet adhering to the scholar’s decorum, he forcefully suppressed his anger, his teeth nearly cracking: “Mom, I’m fine.” He just wanted to be alone; the last thing he needed was for others to ask him what had happened. Could he really tell them that the villagers thought he had an affair with his sister-in-law? Mrs. Ji, however, was stubborn and insisted on getting to the bottom of it, which drove Qiao Yuanzhen so crazy he felt his lungs might explode.

Old Madam Qiao seemed to have seen the fierceness in her son’s eyes and suddenly felt a chill throughout her body. For once, she smartened up, silently withdrew, and turned to head towards the main hall. She was determined to see what was really going on!

As soon as Old Madam Qiao entered the room, she heard Qiao Dazhi bellowing: “You brainless fools! Fighting with that idiot over hawthorn! Now, a basket of hawthorn is the least of our concerns—what if the injury to Qiao Yuanzhen’s arm affects his civil service career? I’ll flay you alive!”

Qiao Yuanshan just nodded in agreement, not daring to raise his head. Mrs. Ji, not as foolish as Qiao Yuanshan, immediately spoke up: “At the end of the day, it’s the fault of Qiao Muniang’s family’s fool. If he hadn’t insisted on competing for the hawthorn, none of this would have happened. It was he who deliberately bumped into fourth brother!”

Qiao Yuanming, always honest, couldn’t stand Mrs. Ji’s blatant lying, especially since the villagers already knew the truth. If his father were misled any further and the matter became public, it would bring great shame to the Qiao family. Concerned for the family’s reputation, he decided to tell the truth.

“Those hawthorn originally belonged to Li Cheng, and big brother thought that the fool would be easy to push around, so he went to grab them. Fourth brother was actually trying to stop him, but who knew he would be accidentally knocked down by Li Cheng and roll down the hill. The villagers all understand what happened by now.”

Qiao Yuanming spoke methodically, without exaggeration. Above all, he did not want his father to be deceived, for filial piety was of utmost importance to him.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Dazhi hopped in anger, pointing at Mrs. Ji’s nose and cursing: “You shameless thing, now you’ve come to deceive me? Everyone in the village knows the truth, and yet you still try to deceive me?”

Mrs. Ji glared furiously at Qiao Yuanming, her face turning deathly pale, probably from the fright of Qiao Dazhi’s words. Stepping back several paces in a panic, she said hastily: “Third brother, your big brother and I have never been harsh to you, how can you spread such slanderous claims? It was clearly you who went to grab the hawthorn, so how has it turned into being your big brother’s doing now?”

Qiao Yuanming looked at Mrs. Ji incredulously, at a loss for words. He could never have imagined that his sister-in-law would attempt to pin the blame on him: “I, I, I didn’t…”

But Mrs. Ji, ignoring him, suddenly knelt on the floor, crying out to Qiao Dazhi: “Dad, third brother must be blinded by greed, all brothers are kin, how can he resort to such schemes? Dad, you must see the truth clear as day.”

Qiao Yuanshan, catching the signal from Mrs. Ji, also knelt down immediately, “Dad, I really wouldn’t dare do such a thing, it was third brother who wanted to grab them!”