The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 630 - 628: Blind Despite Having Eyes

Chapter 630: Chapter 628: Blind Despite Having Eyes

Old Granny Zhang saw Wang Laozhu’s eyes redden and refrained from being stubborn with her insistence on saying that Wang Yongan was fine; she seemed utterly disheartened and gave a cold snort, finally saying no more to provoke Wang Laozhu.

Wang Laozhu took quite a while to compose himself before he managed to ask weakly, "So, where are we now?"

Wang Yonggui and Wang Yongping exchanged glances but said nothing.

Wang Yongzhu stood by the door, also silent.

It was Old Granny Zhang who scoffed, "Where do you think? We would never have the audacity to stay at that beast’s house, your second son’s place. If he could lay hands on you, he would likely see us enter upright and carried out horizontally!"

Wang Laozhu was stunned, "What do you mean by that? What has my second son done to me?"

Old Granny Zhang hesitated a bit, considering Wang Laozhu’s condition; what if he couldn’t bear the truth if told?

Wang Yongzhu, on the other hand, was considering more. Currently residing in an inn, they had no idea what other means Wang Yongan might resort to, and with Gao Jin being the County Magistrate and having been rejected by her, she was unsure if he would fly into a rage out of humiliation.

Given the family’s perilous situation, if they did not inform Wang Laozhu of the truth, should he soften his heart and divulge unfortunate information, or do something else untoward, then the entire family could pay the ultimate price.

So after only a brief moment of contemplation, Wang Yongzhu stepped forward and said, "We are currently at an inn in Qi City and have summoned the most famous doctor from Qi City to examine you. He said you have been bedridden, vomiting, having diarrhea, and falling in and out of consciousness because you have been poisoned and had to have a good deal of black blood let out."

"Father, if we’re not mistaken, it’s likely that something Wang Yongan gave you to eat caused your severe illness. Had we not arrived in time, I fear you might have died a stranger in a foreign land."

"Don’t take offense at my blunt words, but you need to understand the situation so you don’t, out of misguided loyalty, trust Wang Yongan again after all our efforts to save you."

"You... Yongzhu, could you be mistaken? Why would the second son want to harm me? To poison me? I’m his own father!" Wang Laozhu found it hard to believe.

"You’re forgetting the pain after a wound heals. When he stole the family land deeds, he didn’t think twice about you being his father, did he?" Old Granny Zhang mocked from the side.

"But didn’t he regret it? Didn’t he return two hundred Silver to make amends?" Wang Laozhu was getting agitated.

"You’re unaware, aren’t you? That so-called ’money’ your dear son brought back was a worthless, cancelled silver note, not worth a single coin!" Old Granny Zhang couldn’t help but provoke Wang Laozhu as she saw him still trying to defend his son.

Wang Laozhu turned pale, "Then why would he want to harm me? Why?" he questioned, unable to comprehend.

Even if the second son coveted silver and wealth, it wasn’t as though he, as a father, had thwarted him; why would he want to harm his own father?

"That’s because the so-called adviser he worked for couldn’t make it any longer, struggling to get by in Qi City, he started to entertain devious thoughts, planning to send me as a concubine to the County Magistrate. Yet he knew I wouldn’t come to Qi City, so he cajoled you into coming here, then poisoned you to make you bedridden, as a chance to lure me to Qi City. If I had not come this time, I reckon the next step would be sending a message home, claiming that you had fallen ill and passed away," Wang Yongzhu explained, having pieced things together after hearing about the poisoning from the doctor.

Wang Yongan was someone who would sacrifice anything to achieve his goals, what was a father compared to that?

Wang Laozhu muttered disbelief, but deep down he knew the likelihood that his daughter was speaking the truth.

Thinking back, there had been signs; he had simply chosen not to heed them.

Starting with the New Year, the second son kept insisting on finding an official’s home for Yongzhu to marry into, inquiring constantly about his daughter’s whereabouts along the way.

Especially after they arrived in Yongcheng, the night of the so-called famous Qi City roast duck stands out. That night, he was the only one who ate from that platter of duck.

The second son served him several pieces, saying they were specially bought for him to taste.

Even Jinchai and the relatives of the Qian Family weren’t allowed a single piece.

But Wang Laozhu still felt triumphant, seeing that the second son really doted on him—hadn’t he left an entire plate of duck just for him?

At that moment, he had even modestly suggested that he couldn’t finish it alone, and that they should all eat it together, but what did the second son say?

He said it was bought exclusively for him, that after all these years he hadn’t paid enough respect to his father, and except for him, no one else was worthy of this duck! If it couldn’t be finished today, it could be kept and reheated for tomorrow’s drinks.

Wang Laozhu reveled in his satisfaction at that time, touched by Wang Yongan’s deep filial piety.

Now that he thought about it, where was the filial piety? It was clear that there was something wrong with this duck, prepared only for him, which was why Jinchai and the others weren’t allowed a single bite.

At this realization, Wang Laozhu wished he could slap himself—how could he have become so foolish? He was truly blind!

※※※

As for Wang Yongan, after Wang Yongzhu and the others had vented their anger, they brought along Wang Laozhu and the entire family left in a horse-drawn carriage.

In the courtyard, where Lady Qian and her husband had been scuffling, they immediately stopped. They helped Lady Qian up first, with Mother Qian unable to restrain herself from hugging her daughter and crying, "My dear girl, are you in pain? Damn it, that vile wretch who has suffered the plague, to deal such a wicked hand—"

Father Qian glanced around, seeing that his wife was looking after their daughter and hearing no noise from the room for a while, he rushed inside.

Their family’s reliance and hope now rested on their son-in-law—what would they do if anything happened to Wang Yongan?

With a hanging heart, he entered the room only to see Wang Yongan, who usually carried himself with such dignity in their presence, now lying in disarray on the ground, his face pale and large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

His right hand hung at an odd angle, while his left hand barely managed to support his wrist. Despite the cold weather, his robes were soaked through, and his body trembled...

Father Qian didn’t dare to stare, but quickly approached and asked cautiously, "Son-in-law? Are you alright? Shall we call for a doctor to come over?"

As he spoke, he carefully helped Wang Yongan up.

Accidentally touching Wang Yongan’s right hand, he let out a pained yell and forcefully shoved Father Qian away with his left hand, "Can’t you see my hand is broken? What are you standing there for? Go get a doctor now!"

Father Qian froze for a moment, then snapped to his senses and nodded, "Alright, I’ll go for a doctor right away—" He turned and was about to leave.

But he was pulled back by Wang Yongan, "Wait a moment first, help me change out of these wet clothes."

Father Qian hurried back and started to change Wang Yongan’s clothes.

He had never dressed another person before, and the clothes, being soaked through and clinging to the body, were particularly difficult to remove.

Awkwardly fumbling, he touched Wang Yongan’s wounds and his broken wrist several times, causing Wang Yongan to break out in a cold sweat from the pain and again muttered a few complaints.