I Crossed Over with My Enemy, Only to Find Him Running the Empire - Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Suxiao Jiuxin Wan (Instant Heart-Saving Pill)

Inside the door, Zhang Jinhua wailed and cried, her voice intermittent and filled with despair: “That thief… they must have used some low-life trick last night. Incense! Yes! It must have been a knockout drug! Otherwise, how could I have slept so soundly? The keys were hanging right on my waistband! That thief deserves a thousand cuts! May he be struck by lightning! May he die a miserable death…”

In the courtyard, Li Qiaoqiao and Mrs. Liu stood together, both seeing the shock in each other’s eyes. The sky over the Wu family was truly about to change.

Zhang Jinhua’s scream had been incredibly piercing, alerting not only the Wu family members but also drawing in the neighbors. Several old women and daughters-in-law poked their heads into the Wu family gate, chattering and asking:

“Duofu’s wife, what’s going on?” “What happened? That scream was terrifying!” “Sister Jinhua, are you alright?”

Seeing that they were about to be surrounded by onlookers, Wu Ya and Li Qiaoqiao exchanged a look and acted simultaneously with perfect tacit understanding.

Wu Ya strode to the gate, his tall frame blocking most of the view. He cupped his hands toward the neighbors: “Thank you for your concern, uncles and aunts. It’s nothing major. My mother’s old heart condition flared up suddenly and the pain is quite severe. We’ve disturbed everyone; I’m sorry, so sorry.”

Li Qiaoqiao chimed in from the side: “Yes, yes, Mother’s illness came on suddenly. She needs to rest immediately—no noise, no commotion. Please go home for now, aunts and sisters-in-law. Thank you, everyone.”

The two played off each other and managed to persuade the curious neighbors to disperse. They quickly shut the courtyard gate and slid the bolt home. This loss of money concerned the entire family’s dignity; it absolutely could not be leaked to the outside.

…

Inside the main hall, the atmosphere was suffocatingly heavy. Wu Duofu, Wu Tiezhu, and Wu Ya the three men—were huddled in the inner room with the door shut to discuss matters, while the female members were kept outside.

Li Qiaoqiao, Mrs. Liu, Mrs. Wei, and several frightened children could only stay in the main hall anxiously, listening to the muffled sounds coming from the inner room.

Zhang Jinhua’s irrepressible wailing and cursing drifted out in snatches: “Report to the officials? What’s the use of reporting! Those black-hearted officers would love nothing more than to bleed our family dry again… My money…”

Occasionally, Wu Tiezhu’s muffled voice could be heard: “We have to try…”

Wu Duofu was sighing deeply, occasionally interjecting with tooth-gritting curses against the thief.

The eldest sister-in-law, Mrs. Wei, had been sweating in the kitchen earlier and had barely managed to cobble together a burnt breakfast. The children had only taken a few bites before complaining it tasted bad, and she herself was bursting with suppressed anger. Hearing her mother-in-law wailing inside now, her resentment could no longer be contained.

She curled her lip, her voice just loud enough for those in the inner room to hear, yet sounding like she was merely complaining to herself: “Hmph, all day and night she only knew how to clutch those few copper coins tight, hiding them away like she was guarding against thieves among her own family. It’s fine for us adults to suffer a bit, but it’s harder than climbing to heaven for the children to learn a few characters or read a book! It’s as if that money could give birth to cubs! Now look what happened? Saving and pinching for a lifetime, only to save it all for a thief outside! If you ask me, this is a lack of virtue! Only thinking about stuffing her own pockets and refusing to pull out a single hair for her children and grandchildren—even the Heavens couldn’t stand it, so retribution has come!”

Zhang Jinhua, who was already in excruciating pain from losing her life savings and wished she could just die, felt as if a ladle of cold water had been splashed into a vat of boiling oil upon hearing this. She exploded instantly.

“Aow!” With a shriek, the inner door was yanked open from the inside. Zhang Jinhua appeared with disheveled hair, a livid face, and trembling lips. She pointed a shaky finger at Mrs. Wei, shaking with rage: “You black-hearted, rotten-lunged, gossiping lazy woman! What did you say? You dare say that again? Has the Wu family short-changed you on food or drink? Eh?! I worked hard to save up a bit of family property, and it turned into a sin? It’s your turn, you family-stirring hag, to criticize me? Retribution? I see the biggest retribution was marrying a jinx like you! Lazy, gluttonous, and always sowing discord…”

She cursed rapidly and fiercely, her chest heaving violently. Her face turned from pale to white, then flushed with an unnatural crimson.

Mrs. Wei felt guilty being scolded, but she still wouldn’t fully back down, muttering in a low voice: “It’s true though. If you had been willing to fund our Canghai to study at the county school, maybe he would have passed the imperial exams by now, and this wouldn’t have happened…”

“You… you…” Zhang Jinhua took a sharp breath, but the air got stuck in her throat and wouldn’t come up. Her finger froze mid-air, and her entire body toppled straight backward!

“Mother!” “Old woman!”

Wu Duofu and Wu Tiezhu cried out from inside, rushing out to catch her. Zhang Jinhua’s eyes were tightly shut and her face was ashen; she had literally fainted from pure rage!

“Mother! Mother, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me!” Wu Tiezhu panicked, shaking Zhang Jinhua vigorously.

Wu Duofu was also white-faced and helpless: “Quick! Pinch her philtrum! Go get the doctor!”

Mrs. Wei was completely stunned. She hadn’t expected a few complaints to cause such a disaster. Seeing her father-in-law and husband’s eyes cutting into her like knives, she was terrified out of her wits and instinctively tried to shrink behind the others to slip back to the kitchen.

“Sister-in-law! You think you’re leaving?” The third sister-in-law, Mrs. Liu, was quick and agile. She grabbed Mrs. Wei’s arm with surprising strength. Normally gentle, Mrs. Liu now had a stern face as she dragged the struggling Mrs. Wei and forced her to kneel before the kang where Zhang Jinhua lay, saying: “You made Mother like this, and you want to run? Kneel here!”

Wu Duofu shook with anger, pointing at Mrs. Wei: “You… you stupid woman! Get out!”

Wu Tiezhu was even more incensed. He stood up abruptly and delivered a hard slap to Mrs. Wei’s face, sending her screaming to the ground. “If anything happens to Mother, I’m divorcing you!” Leaving behind this harsh threat, Wu Tiezhu rushed out frantically to fetch the doctor.

The room was instantly a mess of crying, shouting, and people trying to revive her.

Li Qiaoqiao had been watching Zhang Jinhua’s condition closely. Seeing her sudden collapse and weak breathing, her heart sank! These symptoms looked like a sudden myocardial infarction or severe angina! In an ancient village, this was a fatal emergency! By the time a slow-moving doctor arrived, it would be too late.

She looked sharply at Wu Ya. Their eyes met, and they understood each other instantly. They couldn’t wait any longer!

“Father, Brother went for the doctor, let’s not all crowd here. I’ll get some cold water to wipe Mother’s face!” Li Qiaoqiao said, thinking quickly. She grabbed Wu Ya and headed out.

Wu Ya cooperated immediately: “I’ll go see if the doctor is coming!”

The two rushed out of the main hall one after the other, but they weren’t going for water or the doctor. Instead, they ran as fast as they could to their small room in the fourth branch.

Once inside, Li Qiaoqiao immediately bolted the door. Wu Ya, with perfect coordination, pulled out his half of the Concentric Lock from his inner pocket. Li Qiaoqiao quickly pulled out hers. Without even having time to look at each other, they pressed the two halves together.

A flash of light appeared, and the small shack vanished instantly.

The next second, they were standing in the bright living room of their modern home! Time seemed to move extremely slowly here; outside the window, it was still sunny.

“First-aid kit! Emergency medicine!” Li Qiaoqiao didn’t even think, rushing toward the storage cabinet. She yanked open the drawer, took out the family first-aid kit, and fumbled out a small brown bottle.

Suxiao Jiuxin Wan (Instant Heart-Saving Pill)!