I Am A Husband Curser, And You Are A Wife Curser. - Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Auntie’s Logic

I’ve always had a question, and I hope Mr. Dong can answer it.” Yang Tongchuan blocked Dong Xingsheng’s path.

Constable Yang, what is the meaning of this? My brother’s case is closed, that madwoman Lin Yujun is behind bars—what else is there to understand? Dong Xingsheng didn’t want to waste his breath.

Lin Yujun was new to the borderlands. She knew no medicinal herb merchants and understood nothing of pharmacology. How did she manage to concoct such a specific supplement’? Yang Tongchuan asked his final question.

Dong Xingsheng froze for a second before immediately regaining his composure.

“How should I know what goes on in my brother and sister-in-law’s bed? His eyes flickered, instinctively avoiding contact.

I’m not talking about the bedroom. I’m talking about the supplement. Who gave Lin Yujun the formula? Who had someone teach her that she needed to ‘capture a man’s heart in bed’?” Yang Tongchuan’s gaze turned razor-sharp.

I don’t know what you’re talking about. Farewell. Dong Xingsheng lowered his head and pulled the donkey cart carrying the remains away.

Yang Tongchuan watched his retreating figure, wishing he could plunge a blade into the beast. This man had played everyone like a fiddle, yet plucked himself out of the mess perfectly clean. The Dong family only had two sons; with the eldest dead, the business naturally fell to the second. Even if the parents suspected something was off, what could they do? He was the only son they had left.

A Strange Visitor

With the case concluded, the atmosphere at the yamen lightened significantly. However, Yang Tongchuan’s mood remained heavy, and he left work early. On his way back, he passed a general store and bought a hand warmer about the size of a fragrant melon for Xiang Xi. The one at home was too bulky; this small, delicate one would be easy for Xiang Xi to carry wherever he went as the weather grew colder.

Deep into autumn, the streets were sparse. Seeking to clear his head, Yang Tongchuan took the long way home and ended up at Xiang Qiang’s stall.

“Tongchuan, you’re here. Sit and rest. What do you want to eat?” Xiang Qiang found him a clean spot.

“No need to trouble yourself, Brother. I just bought something for Xiang Xi and stopped by to check in. The yamen has been busy lately, so it’s been a while. Is business going well?”

“Very well, don’t you worry. Oh, right, there’s something I should tell you,” Xiang Qiang leaned in and whispered. “The house we’re living in is too old, so I was thinking of selling it and adding some savings to buy a newer place nearby. When I went to the middleman, Head Constable Wang’s wife was there too. It sounded like they’re looking to sell their house.”

“Constable Wang is selling his house?”

“Aye, that’s what the woman said herself. She was bragging that since her husband is the Head Constable, the agent wouldn’t dare cheat them, or her man would throw them in jail.”

Yang Tongchuan frowned. Why would Constable Wang suddenly want to sell his house?

“Xiang Xi? Why are you here?” Xiang Qiang looked up and saw Xiang Xi walking toward them with Yanzi.

Hearing his spouse’s name, Yang Tongchuan stopped worrying about Constable Wang and immediately turned around.

“Brother? Why is Husband here too?” Xiang Xi approached, supporting his growing belly.

“Sit here. Why are you out at this hour?” Yang Tongchuan gave up his warm seat and helped Xiang Xi sit.

“A relative came over—Mother’s younger sister, the one we’re supposed to call Little Auntie. She started wailing the moment she stepped through the door. She won’t say a word, just sits in the room crying.” Xiang Xi took a sip of water to catch his breath. “Sister-in-law saw things weren’t right, so she went to find Big Brother. She brought me out too, telling me to sit with you so I wouldn’t have to listen to that mess and get upset.”

“Little Auntie is here? By herself?” Yang Tongchuan went to the stove, picked out a suitable piece of charcoal, and placed it inside the new hand warmer before handing it to Xiang Xi.

“Yes, alone.” Xiang Xi recounted the scene: he had been resting when he heard a sudden howl at the gate, followed by loud sobbing. It had startled him so much his stomach tightened. He rushed out to see a well-dressed old woman sitting on the ground crying. Yanzi clearly recognized her but couldn’t pull her up. She refused to move until Mother Yang finally came out and invited her in.

His eldest sister-in-law told him this was Mother’s biological sister who had long ago severed ties with the family. She suspected the woman’s family had run into trouble and only came back because she needed something.

Family History

“How’s the temperature of the hand warmer?” Yang Tongchuan asked.

“Did you buy this for me?” Xiang Xi beamed, admiring the small device.

“Who else? I’m a grown man; I can’t exactly walk around the yamen carrying a trinket like this.” Seeing Xiang Xi wasn’t wearing enough layers, Yang Tongchuan decided to head home. “Let’s go back and see what kind of performance Little Auntie is putting on today.”

On the way, Yang Tongchuan explained why the families had stopped speaking.

Little Auntie had a pair of fraternal twins: a daughter named Tong Shanshan and a son named Tong Shenghu. Her husband was the head chef at a famous old restaurant in town, known as “Chef Tong.”

In Yang Tongchuan’s memory, Little Auntie’s family had always been the most comfortable among their relatives. While Yang’s father had started as a mere clerk in a grain shop, Chef Tong was already a high-earning master. But Little Auntie had a flaw: she was obsessively competitive with her siblings. If any relative lived better than she did, she would feel physically ill, as if a foul breath were trapped in her chest.

Years ago, she had approached Mother Yang, wanting Yang Tongshan to find a “lucrative and dignified” job for her son at the pawnshop. She claimed that “tossing a wok” in a kitchen was too dirty and exhausting for her son.

However, Tongshan knew that the boy, Shenghu, had a habit of petty thievery. Instead of disciplining him, Little Auntie thought her son was clever. Such a habit was a taboo in a pawnshop, so Tongshan had politely declined.

When the pawnshop didn’t work, she tried the yamen, as Yang Tongchuan had just started working there. But the yamen wasn’t a family business. Mother Yang told her that if she was willing to pay a bit of money, Tongchuan could help pull some strings.

“Why is it that your son didn’t have to pay, but mine does?” Little Auntie had screamed. “Is my son inferior to yours? Who do you think you’re looking down on!”

She believed her sister was black-hearted, only looking out for her own and ignoring family ties. To her, Mother Yang was trying to profit off her own sister. She thought they were simply “poor and crazy.