Volume One, Chapter 31: Instant Karma Has Arrived!

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Jiang Xian curled her lips into a mischievous smile at Little Wang and Madam Zhao. “To be honest, I was not particularly eager to marry Scholar Qiao. But after hearing what you two sisters-in-law had to say, you have only piqued my curiosity. You probably do not know this, but I have been lucky since I was little. Whenever I go hunting in the mountains, I always come back with more game than anyone else. Every hunter on Great Southern Mountain knows how good my luck is.

“Tell me, if someone as lucky as me were to stay with that unlucky wretch, Scholar Qiao, do you think I could suppress his bad luck?”

Her words left Little Wang and Madam Zhao even more rigid-faced.

“Girl, you are not joking, are you?” Little Wang’s lips twitched uncontrollably. Had she really wasted all that breath for nothing?

Madam Zhao studied Jiang Xian with a complicated look. How could this girl fail to appreciate their good intentions? Had she been bewitched by Qiao Xun’s scholarly title and handsome appearance?

If she and her elder sister-in-law had gone to all this trouble for nothing, how were they supposed to face Jiang Xian in the future once she married into the Qiao family and became their third sister-in-law?

Jiang Xian chuckled. “No, I am not. I have liked challenging difficult things since I was a child. If something is too easy, I lose interest. Otherwise, what fun would life be? Wouldn’t you two agree?”

Little Wang and Madam Zhao both twisted their mouths in irritation.

“Hey, you girl, how can you be so ungrateful…” Little Wang spoke without thinking.

Jiang Xian’s expression immediately darkened, and a piercing chill seemed to spread from her entire body.

Little Wang suddenly shivered.

Why had it become so inexplicably cold?

Madam Zhao noticed that something was wrong with Jiang Xian’s gaze. She hurriedly tugged Little Wang backward while speaking to Jiang Xian.

“Well, Jiang Xian, since you refuse to listen to our advice, just pretend we never came. We will be going now!” Madam Zhao dragged Little Wang away.

Jiang Xian gave a soft snort. “At least you know when to stop. Even my parents cannot control me, yet the two of you think you can? Hmph!”

She withdrew the icy aura radiating from her body and prepared to return home.

As Madam Zhao pulled Little Wang away by the arm, Little Wang tried to wrench herself free and angrily snapped, “Why are you dragging me? We have not finished what we came to do!”

Madam Zhao’s forehead instantly creased with exasperation. Lowering her voice, she glanced at Little Wang and reminded her, “Elder sister-in-law, did you not see her eyes? She is a hunter. What if we anger her and she beats us up?”

I am three months pregnant, after all!

In any case, she had already made their warning clear enough. If Jiang Xian insisted on marrying Qiao Xun despite refusing to listen, there was nothing more they could do.

Only then did Little Wang notice how completely dark Jiang Xian’s face had become. It was rather frightening.

Still, she thought herself considerably older than Jiang Xian. And after Jiang Xian’s mocking remarks had left her stewing with resentment, she forcefully pulled her arm free, lifted her chin, and stubbornly met Jiang Xian’s gaze.

“We were only kindly warning you. Besides, I refuse to believe you could beat me up in broad daylight. Go on, try killing me if you dare!”

During the shove and scuffle, Madam Zhao failed to notice a small stone beneath her foot. Her foot slipped, and she crashed heavily to the ground.

“Ah!”

She landed flat on her back. Her expression changed at once, all color draining from her face as a stabbing pain seized her lower abdomen.

“Elder sister-in-law, call a physician! My stomach hurts so much…” Madam Zhao clutched her belly and lay on the ground, enduring the pain as she pleaded with Little Wang.

At her words, Little Wang’s gaze dropped to Madam Zhao’s lower body. Bright red blood had already soaked through the undergarment beneath her trousers.

“Oh, heavens! Somebody help! Call a physician—quickly!” Little Wang rushed forward to support Madam Zhao. Seeing the blood spread faster and faster, she turned and shouted toward Jiang Xian, who stood by the courtyard gate.

“Jiang Xian, please help us call the man who drove the donkey cart earlier and ask him to take us to a physician! My younger sister-in-law is more than three months pregnant, and she has started bleeding after the fall. It looks as though she may lose the baby…”

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Jiang Xian: “…”

What a ridiculous mess!

Ridiculous or not, she still had to help. Jiang Xian quickly called for Jiang Shunde to bring out their wheelbarrow. They spread an old quilt over it, then, together with Little Wang, helped lift Madam Zhao onto the cart. They pushed it toward Physician Chen’s home.

Jiang Shunde hurried after them with Tangtang in his arms. Tangtang was supposed to begin learning medicine from Physician Chen that very day.

Skipping class on the very first day as an apprentice was hardly the behavior of a good student.

Sitting on the wheelbarrow, Madam Zhao grew paler and paler as the uneven village road jolted her. Before long, her clothes were stained crimson, and even the quilt from Jiang Xian’s home was soaked through.

“Save my child! Please, save my child…” Madam Zhao cried out in agony, filled with bitter regret.

She had been married into the Qiao family for three years without showing the slightest sign of pregnancy. The neighbors had gossiped endlessly, and even during one visit to her parents’ home, her family had brought up the matter. Some had even said that she was incapable of bearing children and was nothing but a useless woman.

A woman who could not bear children was merely wasting her family’s rice and grain by remaining alive, and so on.

Madam Zhao had heard such words too many times. She had become almost obsessed with having a child. During her three years of marriage, whenever she had the chance, she pestered her husband to try for one. Now that she had finally conceived and was living happily with her husband after the family had separated, she had spent the past three months lying down whenever possible, barely moving, and carefully hiding the pregnancy from everyone.

Only after the pregnancy had stabilized at three months had she announced the news.

She had never imagined that something would go wrong here in Peach Blossom Village.

If she lost this child…

Madam Zhao did not dare imagine whether Erlang’s attitude toward her would return to what it had been before, nor could she bear to think about the gossip from the neighbors and her own family.

She suddenly came to herself and shook her head frantically.

“No! No, don’t take my child away, Heaven…”

But the cramping pain in her abdomen and the warm blood flowing from her body gave her constant warning.

The child was gone.

…

The Qiao family.

After Qiao Dashan and his three sons finished turning over the fields and returned home, they found the house dark and empty. Only a faint glow from the kitchen fire flickered in the distance.

They were just about to investigate when a voice called from outside the gate.

“Is anyone there?”

Qiao Dashan opened the courtyard gate. Seeing a strange face, he asked curiously, “Who are you? Whom are you looking for?”

“I am from Peach Blossom Village. Your second daughter-in-law has miscarried. She is at Physician Chen’s home, and the bill has not been paid. Hurry and bring money to collect her!”

Chen Daniu tossed out those words from his donkey cart and drove away.

Qiao Dashan wondered if he had misheard.

Qiao Xi rushed over and asked, “Father, did that man just say my second sister-in-law miscarried? That means my wife, doesn’t it?”

Qiao Dashan shook his head blankly. “I have no idea. Isn’t your wife at home? How could she possibly have gone all the way to Peach Blossom Village?”

“She is not at home!” Qiao Xi had gone straight to their room as soon as he entered the house, only to find no one there. Usually, by this time, Madam Zhao would already have prepared dinner and be lying on the brick bed waiting for him.

Qiao Fu came over with a bewildered expression. “My wife is not home either!”

Hearing the commotion, Madam Wang emerged from the kitchen, puzzled. “Was that man talking about our family?”

Qiao Xi’s eyelids began twitching violently. He called out, “He said it was our second daughter-in-law, so it must be true. Whether it is real or not, we should go and see for ourselves!”

Afraid it might be a scam or some strange trap, the family took Qiao Xun with them before leaving. Qiao Xun had read many books, understood reason better than they did, and naturally knew far more than a group of dirt-covered farmhands.

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When the family hurried to Physician Chen’s home in Peach Blossom Village, they heard Madam Zhao’s earth-shaking cries from inside, howling about her child.

“Wife!”

Qiao Xi panicked and rushed into the room, with Madam Wang close behind him.

Qiao Dashan and his three sons stood in the courtyard, at a loss for what to do. Their expressions were all grave.

If Madam Zhao had truly lost the child, it would be anything but good news for the Qiao family.

Jiang Xian and Jiang Shunde were accompanying Tangtang in the courtyard, examining the shapes and scents of various dried medicinal herbs. This was part of the homework Physician Chen had assigned Tangtang.

Tangtang turned her head and spotted Qiao Xun. She immediately covered her little nose and muttered to Jiang Shunde and Jiang Xian, “Grandpa, Mama, it is that stinky uncle!”

“What stinky uncle?” Jiang Shunde asked curiously, turning to look.

Following Tangtang’s indication, Jiang Xian looked over as well.

Under the moonlight, Qiao Xun seemed entirely shrouded in darkness. During the day, he had already appeared gloomy beneath the shadow of misfortune. Now, standing there, he looked as though he were trapped in the heart of a dark abyss, liable to be swallowed by the thick black mist at any moment.

Jiang Shunde’s eyes lit up instead. Stroking his chin, he examined the three men.

“This family of three is rather good-looking. They are much better than the crooked and misshapen lot in our village.”

Nearly everyone in the Qiao family had inherited their appearance from Qiao Dashan. Though middle-aged, Qiao Dashan possessed deep-set features, a firm and angular face, thick brows, long phoenix-shaped eyes, a high nose, and thin, tightly pressed lips.

The father and sons looked as though they had been carved from the same mold. But Qiao Dashan and Qiao Fu had labored in the fields for years, giving them tall, broad, powerful builds and dark skin that added a rugged handsomeness to their features.

Qiao Xun resembled them in appearance, yet his temperament was entirely different from that of his farmer father and elder brother. Perhaps it was because learning filled his heart and refined his bearing. The moment he stood among a crowd, he naturally became its center of attention. Every gesture, every frown, and every smile seemed capable of ensnaring the heart.

Jiang Xian suddenly discovered another advantage Qiao Xun possessed. His looks matched her taste in men perfectly. If only he were a little more muscular and had eight-pack abs, he would be even better.

Sensing the scrutinizing gaze, Qiao Xun turned his head and met Jiang Xian’s eyes. His cheeks suddenly grew warm, and he instinctively looked away.

The corners of Jiang Xian’s lips curved upward in a faint smile. She raised her elbow and lightly nudged Jiang Shunde.

“Father, do you know who those three are?”

Jiang Shunde had only ever met Madam Wang, so naturally he did not recognize Qiao Xun and the other two men. He looked at Jiang Xian curiously.

“Who are they? Do you know them?”

Jiang Xian narrowed her eyes with a mischievous smile.

“The one wearing the scholar’s robe is Qiao Xun, the third son of the Qiao family. He is the scholar I am supposed to meet on the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month. The other two are his father and elder brother. The one who had trouble inside is his second sister-in-law!”

Jiang Shunde was somewhat astonished. Why was his daughter so familiar with the Qiao family?

Could it be that she had secretly taken an interest in her future husband?

“How do you know all that?” he asked.

Jiang Xian gave a sheepish grin. “Since I am going to meet him, of course I had to find out everything I could!”

Jiang Shunde smiled without saying anything and pointed at her.

Tangtang lifted her little head, her limpid eyes filled with curiosity.

“Mama, what does it mean to meet him?”

“It simply means getting to know each other. You do not need to worry about it.” Jiang Xian stroked Tangtang’s little head and told her to continue examining the herbs. Soon, she would have to answer Physician Chen’s questions about at least five kinds of medicinal plants.

Tangtang obediently began feeling the herbs on the rack again, carefully examining their forms and memorizing their scents.

At that moment, Qiao Dashan and his sons followed Qiao Xun’s gaze toward the three people in the corner of the courtyard. Seeing the youngest son’s face gradually flush red, Qiao Dashan asked curiously, “Third son, do you know them? Why do they keep staring at us? Their eyes are rather frightening!”