The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Cudgeling Ji Mingmao

This was no different from poking a hornet’s nest.

"This is an outrage! Everyone, come and see! This little bitch has no respect for her elders! She has money to hire a carriage, buy meat and fish, and has rice and white flour stashed away at home, yet she doesn’t know how to show her elders any respect! Everyone, come and see..."

Mrs. Zhu scrambled to her feet and started wailing, her booming voice a one-woman 360-degree surround sound system.

Ji Huan watched her performance with unhurried composure, waiting until she had yelled her fill and paused to catch her breath before speaking.

"Third Aunt, you say I don’t show proper respect to my elders. Does ’elders’ refer to Grandpa and Grandma, or to you? If you mean Grandpa and Grandma, plenty of people were there when the family property was divided; they were the ones who refused my support. If you mean yourself, I don’t recall nieces having any obligation to be filial to their aunts."

In a culture that prioritized filial piety above all else, her words should have sounded defiant. Yet, they didn’t draw any criticism. Everyone present had seen with their own eyes how cruelly the Ji Family had treated an orphan and how unfairly they had divided the family’s assets.

"After how they treated her, even kicking her out naked, now they come demanding support? Have they no shame?"

"Nah, I don’t believe Old Man Ji would do something so shameless. It has to be that shrew, Mrs. Zhu. She just can’t stand to see other people have nice things..."

Seeing she was on the losing side of the argument, Mrs. Zhu slapped her thigh and started wailing, "You ungrateful wretch! The Ji Family raised you for nothing, and this is how you repay us? You have no sense of family affection at all! You’d rather squander your money on outsiders while your own cousins don’t see a single coin. At least you’re also..."

"If you have something to say, say it. I’m in a hurry." Ji Huan cut her off directly. "Making this relentless and shameless scene, blocking my way... don’t you just want to know where I got my money?"

Although Mrs. Zhu thought her words were harsh, she didn’t argue.

She’d been coveting the good things hidden in that dilapidated shack every day, but with Widow Xie and the Hu Family’s children taking turns guarding the door, all she could do was stare helplessly. She was so anxious she’d developed blisters all around her mouth.

Just now, she had seen Ji Huan returning in a carriage from a distance, which made her even more suspicious that she had hidden who knows how much silver. Otherwise, where would the money for medical fees and the carriage rental have come from?

Ji Huan’s question was exactly what everyone was curious about, and all eyes immediately focused on her.

Ji Huan took a piece of paper from her sleeve, unfolded it, and held it out in front of Mrs. Zhu.

Mrs. Zhu rolled her eyes. "What’s this!"

"Oh, I forgot. Third Aunt can’t read." A corner of Ji Huan’s mouth twitched. "This is an IOU. It says I owe the physician’s clinic twenty-three taels of silver. You rushed to the village entrance to meet me in such a tizzy, Third Aunt. Surely it wasn’t to help me pay off this debt?"

Many of the onlookers crowded around for a look. Though most couldn’t read what was written, Wuan didn’t look like she was lying.

One man, who had a couple of days of schooling, was illiterate when it came to most characters, but the school happened to have taught numbers. Even if he couldn’t read all of it, he was eager to show off his skills and nodded confidently. "That’s right, it says twenty-three taels, no doubt about it!"

The day Ji Huan took the little monster to the town for treatment, she didn’t return. When people asked Widow Xie, she naturally couldn’t say that Ji Huan had silver, so she just said the doctor at the clinic had kindly fronted the money, and it would all have to be paid back later.

Few people had believed her at the time. The injuries were so severe that treatment would cost a great deal of silver. They all knew how hard it was to get credit from the town’s clinics. Was there really a doctor so benevolent that he would not only provide treatment but also cover the bill upfront?

Now that Ji Huan had brandished the IOU, the crowd was convinced.

Mrs. Zhu’s eyes widened, and she shrieked, "Are you crazy? Spending all that on treating a bastard!"

In fact, many people had the same thought as Mrs. Zhu, feeling that this Wuan girl must have hit her head. He wasn’t even her real brother; it really wasn’t worth taking on such a heavy debt for him.

’Twenty-three taels... How many years would it take to pay that back?’

Mrs. Zhu hastily said, "You carry your own debt! Don’t even think about pinning it on me, and especially not on our Ji Family!"

’Heh. A moment ago, it was all ’respect’ and ’niece,’ and now one fake IOU has her scrambling to wash her hands of me?’

Seeing Mrs. Zhu about to just walk away, Ji Huan was not about to let her off that easily.

"Don’t be in such a hurry to leave, Third Aunt." Ji Huan jumped down from the carriage, blocking Mrs. Zhu’s path. She spoke in a slow, deliberate tone, "How could this debt have nothing to do with you? I paid these medical fees on your behalf, Third Aunt. Luckily, he was saved. If he had died, your Mingmao..."

"What does this have to do with my Mingmao!" Mrs. Zhu reacted as if she’d been stung by a wasp, stopping just short of jumping into the air. "Don’t you dare try to drag him into this! Trying to pin this on my Mingmao? In your dreams!"

"Yeah! In your dreams!" a childish voice chimed in from the crowd.

Ji Huan scanned the crowd, and sure enough, it was Ji Mingmao.

’Perfect timing.’

Her eyes narrowed. Without a word, she strode past Mrs. Zhu toward Ji Mingmao. On the way, she bent down and picked up a stick. Before anyone could react, she had yanked Ji Mingmao out from the crowd and began to beat him viciously!

She didn’t hold back. At first, Ji Mingmao was just stunned, but when the stick landed squarely on his body, he started screaming like a pig being slaughtered.

"Mom! Mom! Help me, the little bitch is trying to kill me! Mom..."

He couldn’t dodge, couldn’t run, and could only roll on the ground in agony.

The bloodcurdling screams sent a jolt through Mrs. Zhu. Only then did she realize this was really happening—that wretched girl actually dared to hit her precious son!

"You little bitch! I’ll tear you to shreds!"

Mrs. Zhu shrieked and lunged at Ji Huan, her hands flailing.

Ji Huan dodged in a flash, and Mrs. Zhu’s vicious, flailing hand scratched Ji Mingmao across the neck, instantly leaving several bloody welts.

Ji Mingmao’s little face twisted in pain, and Mrs. Zhu’s heart clenched. She lunged at Ji Huan even more frantically.

But how could her unwieldy, overweight body compare to Ji Huan’s nimble agility? The onlookers saw a chaotic scene of three people spinning in circles: Ji Huan landing strike after strike on Ji Mingmao, while Mrs. Zhu failed to even lay a finger on her.

As for Ji Mingmao, his cries for his mom and dad and his ghost-like wails were a truly pathetic sound.

Only when the stick broke in two did Ji Huan toss him aside.

Mrs. Zhu rushed to embrace Ji Mingmao. Seeing him covered in purple bruises, clutching his right leg and crying in pain, she wished she could scramble to her feet and fight Ji Huan to the death.

But aside from wheezing and gasping for breath, she was too exhausted to move.

Ji Huan threw the broken half of the stick on the ground. Ji Mingmao flinched in fear and burrowed deeper into Mrs. Zhu’s arms.

"What’s this? You actually know what it feels like to be scared?"

Ignoring Mrs. Zhu’s blazing eyes, Ji Huan crouched down and sneered at the mother and son.

"Third Aunt, they say an untaught son is no better than a pig. If you really don’t know how to teach your son, I don’t mind doing it for you. I’ll teach him how to be a decent human being."

’She knew the Ji Family’s nature all too well. Getting them to pay compensation would be like getting blood from a stone. That being the case, she might as well give them a taste of their own medicine. At least this way was more satisfying.’

Mrs. Zhu was so furious she felt like her lungs would burst. "You... you’re not human! To beat your own cousin black and blue for a bastard! Aren’t you afraid your grandparents will come and hold you accountable?"

"You really are..." Ji Huan swallowed the word ’stupid’ that was on the tip of her tongue. "Here, let me give you a little lesson on the law."

"What? Are you trying to jinx me?"

Ji Huan couldn’t be bothered to argue semantics with her and simply continued, "The Great Zhou Law stipulates that children under the age of seven are not punished, even for capital offenses. Youths between ten and fifteen are held criminally responsible for all offenses, but their sentences can be reduced, and the punishment can be substituted with a fine."

Mrs. Zhu didn’t understand any of the gibberish she was spouting. "What does that have to do with Mingmao? My Mingmao didn’t break any law!"

"Patience," Ji Huan said, signaling for her to calm down. "There’s also a supplement to that law. For anyone who commits treason, theft, or malicious murder, they must bear criminal responsibility regardless of their age. And—the punishment cannot be substituted with a fine."

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