"His father, his father."

Mrs. Jia knew Gu Youtian’s temper and was afraid he might seriously hurt Gu Ruinian.

"Ruinian didn’t want to fail the exam either; he’s feeling worse than anyone right now. As parents, we shouldn’t blame him."

Gu Youtian said angrily, "Didn’t he have a clear idea of how he performed? He came home and assured us that he did well, said he could become a scholar and even win the top spot. If he hadn’t bragged about his success beforehand, would I have lost so much face? I’ve become the laughingstock of the entire Yan Guan Town, all thanks to your wonderful son. When I go out tomorrow, just watch how many people mock me, say I’m boasting, say I’m delusional."

"And now, has it backfired? What’s more infuriating is how did Jingzhe manage to pass the exam? Without the comparison to Jingzhe, it wouldn’t be so bad, but now with Jingzhe as a contrast, who knows what they’re saying about us behind our backs."

Gu Youtian took a stick and headed to Gu Ruinian’s door, starting to kick it.

The old Mr. Gu didn’t stop him. He thought that it wasn’t right for Gu Ruinian to become so despondent after just one exam, and maybe Gu Youtian’s beating would wake him up.

Of course, he would be there to prevent any real harm.

Mrs. Jia desperately held back Gu Youtian, crying, "Even if Ruinian did well, if his writing didn’t catch the examiners’ eyes, it wouldn’t matter. Ruinian just had bad luck; it’s not his fault. His father, calm down, next year... next year Ruinian will surely get the top spot..."

Ignoring Mrs. Jia’s attempts to stop him, Gu Youtian kept kicking the door.

The door of the old house was already not very sturdy and nearly broke under Gu Youtian’s violent kicks.

Mrs. Jia hugged the firewood stick and cried bitterly.

With a strong pull, she managed to get the stick into her hands.

Such a heavy stick, combined with Gu Youtian’s fury, would seriously hurt Gu Ruinian with just one blow.

"You spoiled him."

With nowhere to vent his anger, Gu Youtian kicked Mrs. Jia’s chest.

Mrs. Jia fell to the ground, vomiting blood with a howl, and fainted as her eyes rolled back.

The old lady Gu and Xiao Xue were so frightened they rushed forward to pinch her philtrum.

The commotion at the old house was so loud it attracted the neighbors to come and watch.

Originally, they came to laugh at Gu Ruinian, but seeing Mrs. Jia kicked down by Gu Youtian, they forgot about the spectacle and hurried over to help pinch Mrs. Jia along with the old lady Gu and Gu Xiaoxue.

"Fengnian’s mother. Wake up."

"What should we do now?"

"We need to call the doctor."

Voices rose one over another, and the old lady Gu sat on the ground, terrified. If Mrs. Jia died, those wolf-like brothers and nephews from the Jia family wouldn’t spare Gu Youtian.

"Mother, mother," Gu Xiaoxue cried.

Mrs. Wei was in her room. Gu Yaojia, after eating at Gu Jingzhe’s banquet, had brought cakes given by Man Er and kept them for later. He hid the meat in a big white bun and gave it to Mrs. Wei after pulling her into the room.

Mrs. Wei was comforted by her son’s thoughtfulness and ate the bun, planning to save the meat as an extra meal for her son in the evening.

Initially ignoring the noise outside, she heard that her mother-in-law was kicked down by her father-in-law and could no longer keep silent.

So, she came out.

Gu Fengnian also came out.

The couple hurriedly looked at Mrs. Jia.

Seeing Mrs. Jia vomiting blood, the couple turned pale with fright.

"Go call the doctor," Mrs. Wei said to Gu Fengnian.

Gu Fengnian ran as fast as he could.

Suddenly realizing he had no money, he turned back to ask Mr. Gu for it.

All the family’s money had been used for Ruinian’s exams at the capital, and Mr. Gu had no money either.

"Don’t worry about the money for now. Just get the doctor here first," Aunt Qin shouted to Gu Fengnian over the noise.

Only then did Gu Fengnian start running again.

Everyone helped carry Mrs. Jia into the house.

Mrs. Wei asked Gu Xiaoxue to watch over her and got up to head towards the west of the village.

She was furious with her brother-in-law.

Failing the exam was one matter, but hiding in the house like a coward was unacceptable.

Her mother-in-law’s disaster today was all caused by her brother-in-law.

While hating her brother-in-law, she also resented her father-in-law, who did nothing but take his anger out on women all day.

As a daughter-in-law, even though she had her own conflicts with Mrs. Jia, she couldn’t just watch her mother-in-law die.

There was no money at home, and once the doctor came, medicine would be needed, and they couldn’t be without money.

Mrs. Wei thought of Tong Huaqiong’s family and decided to set aside her pride to borrow money.

"Is Auntie home?"

Mrs. Wei called out as she entered Tong Huaqiong’s yard.

"Oh, sister-in-law, what brings you to my house?"

Liu Yueer came out and discovered it was Mrs. Wei, and her tone was not welcoming.

Mrs. Wei had married into the Gu family around the same time as her, and when she went with Gu Fengnian to Qinghe Bay for ancestor worship, old lady Gu had given Mrs. Wei a bracelet but not Liu Yueer, openly saying in front of Mrs. Wei that Liu Yueer didn’t deserve her things because she eloped.

Liu Yueer resented Mrs. Wei as well.

Moreover, Mrs. Wei rarely came to Qinghe Bay and looked down on its people, never giving them much thought.

Thus, Liu Yueer didn’t welcome Mrs. Wei.

"Sister-in-law, I’m looking for Auntie for something urgent," Mrs. Wei said.

Tong Huaqiong and Gu Jingzhe were inside discussing a marriage proposal for the Lu family when they heard the conversation outside and came out.

Liu Yueer wanted to continue mocking Mrs. Wei but stopped when she saw her mother-in-law.

"Auntie," Mrs. Wei called with a sob in her voice.

"What happened?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

To Tong Huaqiong, Mrs. Wei was just an ordinary villager with no significant affinity or animosity.

Except for greeting Tong Huaqiong as Auntie when they saw each other, Mrs. Wei and she had no other interactions, so Tong Huaqiong didn’t know why Mrs. Wei was seeking her out now.

"Auntie," Mrs. Wei bit her lip and said, "Can you lend me two taels of silver? I know I shouldn’t ask, but I have no choice now. My mother-in-law was kicked by my father-in-law, and she’s vomiting blood and fainted on the bed. Fengnian went to get the doctor, and we’ll need money for medicine..."

Without saying a word, Tong Huaqiong went inside to get the two taels of silver and handed them to Mrs. Wei.

It wasn’t out of a Holy Mother instinct but because she couldn’t just watch someone die.

Besides, Mrs. Jia hadn’t done anything evil.

Mrs. Wei, taking the silver, cried and said, "Auntie, I’ll repay this money."

Tong Huaqiong waved her hand and said, "Saving a life is most important. You should hurry."

Gu Jingzhe said, "I’ll go with sister-in-law to see what’s happening."

Liu Yueer also followed to the old house, but she wasn’t concerned about Mrs. Jia—she was there for the gossip.

"Mom, there’s a big commotion at the old house. Ruinian didn’t pass the scholar exam, and Second Uncle felt humiliated and wanted to beat him. Second Aunt tried to stop him, and Second Uncle kicked Second Aunt in the chest..."

Liu Yueer strolled around the old house and then brought back the gossip to share with Tong Huaqiong.

"How’s your Second Aunt doing now?"

Tong Huaqiong could understand Gu Youtian’s fury over his son’s exam failure.

If the failure had happened quietly, it might’ve been fine, but it happened just when they were prepared to celebrate. Gu Youtian had lost face greatly.

What’s more important is that she had heard of Gu Youtian leveraging Gu Ruinian’s potential scholar status to borrow money for business. Now, who would dare lend him anything?

However, Tong Huaqiong disapproved of Gu Youtian’s domestic violence against his wife.

Liu Yueer said, "The doctor gave her a couple of acupuncture points to wake her up, but when she saw Third Brother she fainted again, and now they’re still giving her acupuncture."

Tong Huaqiong: "..."

Liu Yueer said, "Second Aunt can’t see Third Brother now; seeing him just makes things worse."

Tong Huaqiong found it both laughable and understandable for Mrs. Jia.

For an ancient woman who places her entire hopes on her son, putting all her faith in Gu Ruinian.

Gu Ruinian constantly brainwashed Mrs. Jia into believing he could become a scholar, but when the list was announced, her expectations were shattered, and Gu Jingzhe, whom Mrs. Jia saw as Gu Ruinian’s rival, succeeded. It’s no wonder she had a fit of anger.