Under everyone’s gaze, Yu Xia burned with humiliation. A ger’s face was thin-skinned, he felt like his whole body was on fire.
Not daring to look at Ji Taoyu, he kept his head bowed and said tearfully,
“Tao ger, I shouldn’t have made you fall into the water and humiliated you. I was blinded by greed. The moment you fell in, I panicked too, but the crowd under the exam results was so packed, I got pushed away. By the time I ran back, someone had already pulled you out.”
“I’ve been terrified ever since, couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. The more I thought about it, the more I regretted it. That’s why I’ve come to apologize. It was my fault.”
Ji Yangzong and Huang Manjing immediately understood and were horrified.
“How could you do such a thing! Tao ger has always been frail, pushing him into the water could’ve killed him!”
Huang Manjing, furious, abandoned her usual politeness and directly berated him.
Ji Yangzong’s brows furrowed deeply. “Utterly disgraceful! The two of you went to the city together, how could you do this?”
“This child deserves a beating and scolding. As soon as I found out, I punished him harshly. But the most important thing was to apologize to Tao ger, so I brought him here. It’s also my fault for failing to discipline him properly and letting him commit such a wicked act. From now on, I’ll make sure he cultivates better character at home.”
Yu Sunshi presented a basket of eggs and two old hens they had raised. “We know we’ve wronged Tao ger. Please accept these humble gifts to help him recover. We’ll also cover all medical expenses for his illness.”
Though Ji Yangzong and Huang Manjing were angry, Yu Sunshi's thorough apology and gifts left them unable to unleash their fury.
They turned to Ji Taoyu, waiting for his response.
Ji Taoyu hadn’t told his parents earlier precisely to spare them worry and conflict. Yu Sunshi's direct approach - apologizing in front of them was clever. It settled the matter cleanly, easing his conscience.
A parent’s heart is hard to defy. It seemed Sunshi hadn’t instructed Yu Xia to act that way.
Looking at the weeping ger on the ground, he said, “I’m standing here unharmed now, but Xia ger, don’t think you’re lucky that nothing worse happened. The only reason this didn’t become a tragedy is because a Warrior saved me. You must’ve seen who it was. From now on, don’t spread word of this incident, don’t bring trouble to the kind soul who helped.”
“He won’t say a word! This was all his fault!”
Ji Taoyu glanced at Yu Sunshi, who had hastily spoken up for Yu Xia. She shrank back and fell silent.
“I-I understand. No one else knows about this.”
Yu Xia said cautiously, “And I-I won’t ever have such improper thoughts again.”
“In that case, there’s nothing more to say. Xia ger, you may rise.”
“Thank you, Tao ger, for your generosity.”
Seeing that Taoyu didn’t insist on dragging out the matter, Sunshi sighed in relief and helped Yu Xia up.
Huang Manjing, however, her heart still ached for her child. “Sun niangzi, our families have always gotten along well. From now on, keep a closer eye on Xia ger. If he nurses such malice among fellow villagers where bonds of affection exist, what if he marries into another family someday? With this temperament, he’ll surely suffer for it.”
Yu Sunshi's face burned with shame, but she could only agree. “You’re right, Huang niangzi. I’ll discipline him more strictly from now on.”
After the Yu mother and son left, Ji Yangzong closed the courtyard gate and looked at his son sitting under the awning. He was both angry and helpless. “Why didn’t you tell us earlier? You let them bully you for nothing. Had we known, we’d have gone to the Yu family ourselves, no need for their tearful performance.”
“Exactly! I thought you slipped into the water by accident, I had no idea it was that Yu family’s ger! And to think he invited you to the city that morning. Had I known, I’d never have let you go.”
Huang Manjing was shaken by the thought of what could’ve happened.
“If I’d told you earlier, and you confronted the Yu family, wouldn’t the whole village have found out I fell in and was rescued? If the Yu family denied pushing me and insisted I fell on my own, people might’ve thought you were abusing your authority as village head to bully them. We might’ve gained nothing, neither justice nor reputation.”
“At first, I was furious too. But after calming down, I realized acting rashly could’ve backfired. That’s why I first hinted to Sun niangzi, to see her reaction. If she’d pretended nothing happened, I’d have known their true nature and told you, so we’d know how to treat them in the future. But since she disciplined Yu Xia and brought him to apologize, they’re still decent people.”
Ji Yangzong and Huang Manjing thought it over and agreed. They admired Ji Taoyu’s careful reasoning, yet still felt they’d suffered a silent injustice.
“Even so, we can’t let the Yu family off so easily in the future.”
“Father, you’re the village head, how can you say such things? Yu Xia was the one at fault. Sun niangzi and Uncle Yu have always been honest and kind. There’s no need to punish their whole family.”
“The only reason Yu Xia acted so maliciously was because of You Erlang.”
Ji Yangzong suddenly understood, then sighed. “Now that you mention it, I’ve often seen Yu Xia visiting the You family. So he harbored such intentions. That settles it, we can’t delay this marriage any longer.”
😮💨Hopefully this "marriage" falls through soon so Taoyu and his warrior can get together 🤭
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update!!!