Chen Song said, "I was still worried about Third Brother, so I had a word with the Lord County Magistrate and went to fetch a doctor. I won’t get out of the carriage; I’m heading straight to the old family home to have the doctor examine him again."

"That’s your Chen Song for you—so kind and righteous."

"As an older brother, there’s no one more dependable than Chen Song."

"If the old family home tries to cause you trouble again, I’ll be the first to stand against them."

Chen Song drove the carriage, with the old doctor inside, toward the old family home. Hearing the commotion, some neighbors hurried out and followed along to watch the drama unfold.

Xu Su Ying couldn’t be bothered to go, so she headed home first.

But when she saw Mr. Zhao heading over as well, she asked, "Mr. Zhao, you’re going too? Come back and have some fritters. They won’t be as tasty once they get cold."

Mr. Zhao, taking a drag from his pipe, smiled and replied, "I’m just going to take a look. We’re all fellow villagers here. No matter how great our conflicts, nothing is more important than a human life."

Xu Su Ying returned home and repeated Mr. Zhao’s words to her daughter, who was busy in the kitchen. "The Zhao Family are principled people; they never waver on important matters of right and wrong. Qing’er, you won’t go wrong marrying into their family."

Chen Wanqing nodded. "I trust your and Father’s judgment, and I also trust Jing’s character. I’m sure my life ahead will be a good one."

"Our lives are good, so it’s useless for the old family home to be envious. We’ve scared them good this time. Let’s see if they still dare to act up in the future."

"I’m just afraid they’ll figure out Father was behind this, hold a grudge, and retaliate."

"Them? It’s not that I look down on them, it’s that they’re all talk. They may look tough on the outside, but they’re hollow inside, just like paper tigers—one poke and they fall over. Besides, your third uncle’s ’recovery’ is entirely thanks to your father. If they aren’t grateful and dare to pull more of their dirty tricks, we’ll just disown them. The villagers will still take our side. And another thing: this time it was a fake-out. If your third uncle doesn’t behave, who’s to say it won’t be the real thing next time?"

And Chen Wanqing’s guess was spot on. The moment the old doctor announced that Chen Lin didn’t have syphilis, but rather ordinary blisters from prolonged exposure to cold, Chen Lin’s mind immediately leaped to conspiracy theories.

In front of everyone, he wanted to accuse his older brother of intentionally trying to destroy him.

But before he could open his mouth, he saw his older brother’s menacing grin. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

In that instant, Chen Lin’s heart sank lower than ever, and he was even more terrified than he had been at the moment he learned he had syphilis.

’So what if I know my older brother was doing this on purpose?’

’This is his warning to me!’

’If they behave from now on, my brother will probably leave them alone. But if they pull more stunts to ruin the main branch’s reputation, or let our mother cause trouble for them, I’m afraid he wouldn’t mind if I actually got syphilis and died.’

He recalled what he’d heard in the gambling dens: not a single one of the constables at the government office was a good man; they were all competing to see who could be more ruthless. ’If they want you dead by the third watch, they’ll never let you live to see the fifth. They have plenty of perfectly justifiable ways to take care of you, to make you die without a sound, and people will still call them good men.’

At that moment, Chen Lin was truly terrified. He shrank back, and the ferocious look on his face vanished instantly.

Seeing this, Chen Song asked Chen Lin, "Third Brother, it’s not syphilis. Are you relieved now?"

Chen Lin trembled and looked up at his older brother with a fawning smile. "Relieved. I’m relieved. Thank you for your concern, Big Brother. I won’t trouble you anymore."

"And Father and Mother?"

"They’re relieved too. Father and Mother will have me to serve them from now on, so you don’t have to worry, Big Brother. Ah, this whole affair has really taught me a lesson. Nothing is more precious than one’s life. I’ll be sure to live properly from now on and stop pulling dirty tricks that make you angry."

Chen Song’s hand, as large as a cattail fan, clapped down on Chen Lin’s shoulder. PAT. PAT. PAT. "It’s good that you’ve come to understand this. You’re only thirty. You’ve still got half your life to live. From now on, live it properly, and don’t make Father and Mother worry about you."

"I will, I will. I give you my word."

As the crowd began to file out, Chen Song paused before leaving Chen Lin’s room and glanced back at him, his eyes filled with meaning.

That one look was enough to nearly scare the soul out of Chen Lin’s body.

The moment Chen Song was out the door, the old woman rushed to her son. "It was your older brother! He intentionally harmed you, my son!"

Chen Lin clapped a hand over the old woman’s mouth, using so much force he looked as if he wanted to suffocate her.

"Mother, you’re my dear mother, I’m begging you, keep your voice down! If you could figure it out, how could I not? And if I could figure it out, why do you think I’m playing dumb? It’s because I’ve seriously provoked my older brother this time, and he’s giving me a warning! He went easy on me this time, but what about next time? I could end up dead for some unknown reason, and then you wouldn’t even have a place to weep!"

"How dare he! I’m going to confront him."

"Mother, if you still want me as your son, you need to quiet down. If you cause another scene and anger my older brother, he’ll definitely hold me responsible. When that happens, I won’t even need him to come for my life. I’ll just untie my sash, throw it over a roof beam, and hang myself!"