Chen Dalong and Chen Dasheng came over, and each gave him a slap across the face. Chen Lin then tearfully told them everything.

"With the New Year approaching, my father started thinking about our ancestors who died while fleeing disaster, and he couldn’t sleep night after night. My mother’s heart ached for him, so she suggested we invite our ancestors over to receive some incense offerings. She thought that once they saw how capable their descendants were and how well we were living, they could finally rest easy. Then my father would feel better, too."

As soon as Chen Lin said this, the crowd in the courtyard showed a mix of expressions. It was impossible to tell how much they believed, but no one spoke up to stop him. Their silence was an invitation for him to go on.

"My mother said that in the acacia grove near Sang Village, there’s a Yin God who can open a path between the underworld and the human realm. If we burned some paper money and ingots for the Yin God, he might just grant us a favor and allow our ancestors to visit the world of the living to see their descendants."

"But who could have imagined that when we got there in the middle of the night, we’d hear a horse-drawn carriage fall into a pit? My parents are kind-hearted, so of course, they immediately led us over to help. But then, who would have thought that a few more people would show up in pursuit, wanting to kill the person in the pit? We got caught in the middle of it all. I was kicked, and the leg that had just healed broke again. My mother was shoved into the pit, and when my father tried to save her, she ended up pulling him down with her."

"The pit was full of sludge, which had frozen solid in the dead of night. As my mother tumbled down, she must have hit the back of her head. We didn’t think much of it at the time, just assuming her head was caked in mud. It wasn’t until we managed to escape and get back home that we discovered she was in this state."

The courtyard of the old family home fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Even though the courtyard was full of people, not a single person made a sound.

After a moment, Mr. Zhao got straight to the point. "If something like that happened, why didn’t you report it to the authorities?"

Chen Lin flinched. "We didn’t dare. We were afraid those thugs were still in the county town and would come for revenge. We’re just common folk with no power or influence. How could we possibly afford to offend such vicious criminals?"

As Chen Lin spoke, his head hung low, and he kept sniffling, looking utterly pitiful.

But only he knew what he was truly feeling.

He was a roiling mix of hatred, annoyance, resentment, and fear.

’The hatred, of course, was for the three meddling siblings from the Li family, who had ruined all his plans.’

’The annoyance was for the nosy villagers from the Zhao Village, who all came running to gawk at the slightest commotion. If they hadn’t all shown up, would he need to be racking his brains right now, trying to figure out how to handle them?’

’He resented his mother for being more of a hindrance than a help. Why did she have to go and hit her head? If she were fine, then even though they’d taken some losses on this trip, their cover would never have been blown, and he wouldn’t be on pins and needles like this.’

’As for the fear... he was afraid his mother would die. Without her status as one divinely favored, he’d lose his chance to ever strike it rich. He was also afraid his pathetic excuse wouldn’t fool the crowd, that someone would poke holes in his story, and that the whole business about his mother’s supposed connection to gods and ghosts would be dragged out into the open, implicating him in the process.’

After this jumble of thoughts ran through his mind, Chen Lin’s attention inevitably turned back to Mrs. Li.

’They say the most venomous thing is not a wasp’s stinger, but a woman’s heart. Mrs. Li’s heart was truly the most poisonous he had ever encountered.’

’This woman was trying to sever his path to becoming a man of status, and for that, she was his mortal enemy.’

’But for the moment, there was nothing he could do to Mrs. Li.’

’He would wait. Let Mrs. Li get her big reward. When the time came, he had his own ways of making sure everything she got ended up in his own pockets.’

’After all, his mention of "thugs" earlier hadn’t been for nothing.’

’If Mrs. Li and her siblings were smart, they would play along. If not, he wouldn’t hesitate to make them suffer the hardship of a prison cell.’

’As for whether the merchant would clear the Li siblings’ names after he’d framed them as the bandits—Chen Lin couldn’t care less.’

’In the end, either he got the reward, or no one would walk away happy.’

"How is she? Is she okay? Is she still alive?"

"Make way, make way! My brother brought a doctor!"

The voices of the brothers Chen Song and Chen Bai suddenly rang out from outside. Chen Song was in the lead, drenched in sweat from running. He was carrying an old doctor with white hair and a white beard on his back.

And although Chen Bai’s voice had carried into the yard moments before, he only appeared after Chen Song had already entered. He jumped frantically from the ox-cart and rushed into the courtyard.

Seeing him gasping for breath, Chen Dasheng asked, "Weren’t you driving the ox-cart? How did you get so worn out? Your clothes are soaked through."

Chen Bai was so exhausted his eyes were rolling into the back of his head. "I... I had no choice. My brother thought the ox was moving too slowly, so he threw the doctor on his back and just started running. I had to chase after him *and* hurry the ox-cart along to keep up!"

Who could possibly understand his suffering?