Wang Dayi repeatedly tried to persuade her to stay, but Wu Caiwei had other matters to attend to and insisted on descending the mountain.
In the end, she was politely escorted down, and even had bandits drive her back to town.
Chen Yan did not return that night, and Wu Caiwei couldn't be bothered to care. She had earned enough silver, counting about five hundred taels. While not an exorbitant sum, it was sufficient to buy a small courtyard in the city and settle down.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Wu Caiwei was woken by screams from outside. She initially intended to pull the covers over her head and go back to sleep, but then decided to peek through the window. Sure enough, shortly thereafter, she saw them working together to carry a man inside. Without looking, Wu Caiwei knew it was Chen Yan.
She quickly dressed and went out to join the onlookers. This time, Chen Yan was indeed badly beaten, his face bruised and swollen. He had clearly been unconscious for a long time, and she wondered if his already poor health would worsen.
Soon, a doctor arrived. The doctor had not yet opened his practice at this hour, but was so pestered by the old woman that he had no choice but to get up.
She had been feeling some resentment, but upon seeing Chen Yan's face, she finally understood why the old woman had been so insistent on him seeing a doctor. He was indeed seriously injured.
He quickly put down his medical bag and took Chen Yan's pulse. After a moment, he frowned. The man's injuries were too severe. Not to mention the external wounds, there were two internal injuries, and he showed signs of a fever.
"Doctor, how is my son?" Chen's mother asked anxiously.
"Did your son offend someone? How did he get beaten to this state? The external injuries are not serious; with some topical medicine, they will heal over time. But the internal injuries are troublesome. One injury is to the kidney, and the other to the liver. He will require good medicine and a slow recovery," the doctor said, shaking his head regretfully.
"What do you mean by 'slow recovery'? Does that mean my son will spend the rest of his life in bed?" Chen's mother broke out in a cold sweat. She thought this because her husband was already bedridden in the next room, unable to care for himself, and the room reeked. She couldn't bear the thought of her son, so young, ending up like him. Su Dan Novel Network
"That's not to say. However, he won't recover much. In the future, he might get breathless just walking, let alone working," the doctor said, quickly comforting her when he saw her misunderstanding.
While Chen's mother felt a sense of relief, she was also worried. Someone would have to care for him at home, and he wouldn't need to work, but who would manage his business outside? It truly was a case of bad luck piling on bad luck; it felt like misfortune had been surrounding the Chen family lately, refusing to leave.
She glanced at her daughter-in-law, who was watching the commotion with evident interest. Anger flared within her, and she looked at Wu Caiwei with suspicion. "If I remember correctly, you went out with Yan'er. Why are you back in good health, while he's been beaten into this state?"
"How would I know? You'll have to ask him. If you suspect I had anything to do with your son's condition, you can report me to the authorities." Wu Caiwei retorted directly. He deserved it. She had initially wanted to reveal the truth to anger Chen's mother, but she knew that no matter what she said, Chen's mother wouldn't believe her. So, she decided to play coy and make her curious.
"Don't think we can't do anything to you. We all saw you force medicine into the old man's mouth. If we testify, I doubt you'll walk away unscathed in court," Chen's mother said, provoked by Wu Caiwei's attitude and speaking without thinking.
"Oh, I'm so scared!" Wu Caiwei exclaimed dramatically, her words conveying fear, but her expression completely contradicting them.
Chen's mother, seeing her defiant demeanor, felt stifled with frustration. While she wished to see Ouyang Xue suffer, she still needed to wait for her son to wake up to learn the truth of the matter.
That night, Chen Yan developed a high fever, and Chen's mother stayed by his side, tending to him day and night.
Her efforts paid off. By dawn, his fever had broken, and he slowly began to wake.
As he opened his eyes and saw his mother asleep by his bedside, recalling the events before he was knocked unconscious, he felt an urge to cry. He was finally back, safe.
The slightest movement of Chen Yan's hand immediately woke Chen's mother. Seeing her son awake, she was overwhelmed with joy and tears.
"My son, you just went out for a bit, how did you get yourself into this state?" Chen's mother asked with concern.
Chen Yan fell silent. Could he admit that he had tried to scheme against Ouyang Xue and ended up hurting himself this badly?
Upon seeing her son's expression, Chen's mother knew there was more to it. "Did this have something to do with Ouyang Xue? Do you know how badly injured you are?"
"Wh-what's wrong? How serious is it?" Chen Yan asked nervously, swallowing with difficulty.
"The doctor said you'll get breathless just walking a few steps from now on. Your body will be so weak that my grandson will probably never be conceived. You'll never have an heir," Chen's mother said, tears streaming down her face. It was truly a time of misfortune.
Chen Yan was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected the situation to be this dire. But now, it was too late to say anything. The bandits had beaten him, and he didn't dare report it to the authorities. If the officials had caught them all, fine, but if even one escaped, they would live in fear forever.
After some thought, Chen Yan comforted his mother with a tearful smile. "It's all fate. We can only accept our misfortune. Besides, perhaps I'll just be a little weaker than normal. Mother, please don't worry."
Chen's mother nodded, wiping her tears. Looking at her sensible son, she couldn't understand why heaven was so unfair to him, denying him descendants.
After a while, Chen's mother finally remembered that her son hadn't answered her question about whether Ouyang Xue was involved.
Seeing his mother's persistent focus on the issue, Chen Yan, who had witnessed Ouyang Xue's ferocity and knew even the bandits feared her, could only smile and shake his head. "How could she have the ability? We had four strong men accompanying me when we left."
Although Chen's mother harbored doubts about her son's words, she conceded the point. If her daughter-in-law had such capability, would she have endured so much suffering in the Chen family for so many years?
Chen Yan hesitated for a moment before finally voicing the words he had pondered for a long time. "Perhaps we should let Ouyang Xue go? She has always wanted to leave, hasn't she?"
"How can that be? She knows your true condition. In the future, she will marry someone else, have children, and live a peaceful old age. You, however, will be alone. Thinking about it makes my heart ache," Chen's mother immediately rejected the idea without a second thought.
"But our family is already in troubled times. It will be difficult for me to conduct business in the future. If she's constantly causing trouble at home, there will be no peace. Moreover, she asks us for money every day. Where will we find so much money for her? It's better to let her go, to avoid mutual dislike," Chen Yan said, feeling a sense of relief as he spoke these words. Perhaps his initial direction had been wrong. If he had let her go earlier, all these troubles would not have arisen.