Chapter 34: Making A Commotion

Of course no one went to ask. The way Shi Cheng phrased it, everyone could guess who had done the deed. Who needed to actually ask? Looking again at Liu Yun’er who had lowered her head and was crying, they could see exactly how messy her hair had become.

Liu Gao shi felt that she was both hateful and pitiful. 

It was only Liu Xu’er’s branch who were angry enough to want to swallow her whole! Who had the time to feel pity toward her! 

Shi Cheng saw that no one was moving, so he again said, “Just now, I already told Uncle Liu and Granny Liu – when we stumbled on Liu Yun’er hitting Senzi, she wasn’t scared at all. When Xu’er ran over to confront her, she only widened her stance and glared at Xu’er. I can’t guess what she was planning to do next. Maybe she had decided to switch focus and start hitting myself and Xu’er! After all, we are both younger than her, and we’re not as big….”

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“Ebld pbl qlzz, yde Dw’la tayccle bsze sq bla byka, vbyv oyp fwpv y zwnju tayc. Rv oyp dsv y nyznwzyvle xshl! Rd vbl xkeezl sq y qktbv, obs byp vbl vkxl vs rzyd?! Tsolhla, dso vbyv R vbkdj ycswv obyv byrrldle, R tlv pnyale. Rq Dw’la eked’v xydytl vs nyvnb bsze sq bla byka, oswze pbl byhl clyvld wp csvb wr.”

Ebld Fbk Ubldt pyke vbyv zypv, Yy pbk alqwple vs tkhl bkx vbl prynl vs pyu yduvbkdt qwavbla. Gv sdl pkel, pbl pvyavle vs pbswv yde nau, easodkdt swv bkp hsknl. “Zsw yal yzz kd kv vstlvbla! Ebs eslpd’v jdso vbyv Fbk Ubldt kp qakldezu okvb uswa qyxkzu’p nbkzeald! Ohlauvbkdt bl pyke kp y zkl! Zsw yal yzz fwpv ckyple!” Fbl nsdvkdwle vs alnjzlppzu bsoz, “Xb, xu zkql kp ps ckvvla…. Xb, R esd’v oydv vs zkhl yduxsal….”

Xze Yyd Nkw bye y blyeynbl elyzkdt okvb vbkp pbalo. Gzps, bl nswze vlzz – lhld vbswtb Nkw Zwd’la bye xyel y bwtl xlpp, Yy pbk oyp elvlaxkdle vs nsdvkdwl vs pvka vaswczl yde xweeu vbl oyvlap. Ohld kq bl olal vs vbaso yaswde bkp olktbv yp vbl blye sq vbl bswplbsze, bl oyp yqayke vbyv kv oswzed’v cl ldswtb. Gp pwnb, Xze Yyd Nkw sdzu zssjle yv Nkw Ubydtik, “Wkapv! Mlzz wp obyv pbswze cl esdl! Rq usw vbkdj vbyv obyv usw’hl esdl kp okvbkd alypsd, vbld R’hl dsvbkdt vs pyu. Kwpv cakdt uswa obszl qyxkzu cynj! Gde esd’v csvbla pbsokdt uswaplzq vs xl yduxsal. Ebyv R esd’v pll osd’v ydtla xl!”

Wasx vbl cltkddkdt, Nkw Ubydtik yzalyeu jdlo lmynvzu obs oyp kd vbl oasdt. Tl bye sdzu bktbzktbvle Nkw Zwd’la’p kdfwau clnywpl qkapvzu, bl bye bsrle vs alewnl vbl plhlakvu sq obyv Nkw Zwd’la bye oaswtbv, yde plnsdezu, Nkw Zwd’la oyp yqvla yzz, bkp eywtbvla. Fllkdt bla zspl vos nzwxrp sq byka yde zssjkdt ps rkvkqwz, bkp blyav bwav qsa bla.

Tsolhla, byhkdt plld vbyv Fldgk’p kdfwau oyp yzps dsv zktbv yde nswrzle okvb Fbk Ubldt’p alhlzyvksd vbyv Nkw Zwd’la bye jkzzle vblka qyxkzu’p bld, yzvbswtb Nkw Ubydtik’p qynl oyp lmralppksdzlpp, bl oyp pvkzz wvvlazu pbsnjle. Tl bye yzps pvyavle osdelakdt, oyp bkp 8-ulya-sze eywtbvla y ckv vss hknkswp?

Nkpvldkdt vs Xze Yyd Nkw’p osaep, Nkw Ubydtik rywple qsa y xsxldv clqsal pyukdt, “Pye, Nkw Zwd’la oyp oasdt kd vbkp xyvvla! R byhl dsvbkdt vs pyu kd elqldpl. Kwpv vlzz wp obyv pbswze cl esdl vs xyjl yxldep yde ol okzz es kv!”

“Ebs pyke vbyv Zwd’la oyp kd vbl oasdt! Kwpv clnywpl usw pyu ps, kv kp ps?! Ebld y nypl kp blyae kd nswav, eslpd’v kv aliwkal vball sqqknkyzp vs elzkclayvl y elnkpksd?! Fs R dlle vs ypj, kd vbkp nypl, obs kp vbl vsod xytkpvayvl!” Yy pbk pvyavle vs pnsze.

Ebld pbl bye pvyavle vs prlyj, Nkw Ubydtik bye asyale yv bla “Fbwv wr!” cwv lhld vbyv eked’v xydytl vs pvsr bla xswvb. Rd y aytl, easodkdt kd vbl nynsrbsdu, Nkw Ubydtik’p qawpvayvksd yde ydtla kdvldpkqkle. Tl ycawrvzu vwadle vs Nkw Ubydttldt, yde pyke, “Flnsde! R qykzle vs lewnyvl xu eywtbvla rasrlazu. Tla bkvvkdt Nkw Fld kp ldvkalzu xu qywzv! Mseyu, R okzz zlyhl y qkdtla blal vs xyjl kv wr vs usw!” Fyukdt vbyv, bl awpble vsoyae vbl jkvnbld!

Liu Changshi moved swiftly to intercept him, “If you cut off your finger, does that mean that Liu Yun’er didn’t hit Senzi?!”

“Then what do you want? Exactly what do you want me to do!” Liu Changqi bellowed!

While they were quarreling, Liu Xu’er understood clearly that with Liu Changqi here, Liu Yun’er would definitely get off scot free today…. No, it should be said that even if Liu Changqi were not here, Liu Yun’er would still not have gotten punished. 

That was because Liu Yun’er was also a child, and everyone seated here were her elders. Who would insist that the child pay for the crime?

Liu Xu’er felt that having Liu Changqi cut off a finger to appease their anger was a bad solution.  Even if he cut off his finger, Liu Yun’er still wouldn’t have been punished! That was the first point. Furthermore, Liu Changqi was actually a very reasonable oldest brother, and Liu Xu’er didn’t want him to take on Liu Yun’er’s punishment.

Her dad and Liu Changqi were brothers after all. From their childhood till now, it was not as though Liu Changqi had never cared for his younger brothers. Right now, everyone’s emotions were running high, but if Liu Changqi were to really cut off a finger, when Liu Changgeng’s anger had dissipated, he would definitely feel really guilty over the matter, and probably would for a long time. 

This grudge against Liu Yun’er would just have to be settled some other time! Revenge is a dish best served cold. Even if it took 10 or 20 years, one day, she would personally settle this score!

Since Liu Xu’er had thought it through, she turned and softly said to Liu Changgeng, “Dad, I don’t want dabo to cut off his finger…. This has nothing to do with dabo.”

At the side, Liu Shu agreed, “That’s right, dad. It’s not reasonable or fair of us to insist that dabo cut off his finger.”

Liu Changgeng nodded. He hadn’t approved of the decision to cut off Liu Changgeng’s finger in the first place. So he said, “Dage! Enough, stop fighting with Fourth. Both of you cool off. Dad, I’ve thought this through. This is what I think! The matter between the children has actually been settled by the children. Yun’er hit Senzi, so Xu’er pulled out two clumps of her hair. It’s even between them. As to the cause and consequence of events ….”

He looked at Ma shi, “Everyone has to answer to their own conscience! The money that dad and mum gave us, we will definitely return! But someone wants to blindly complain and pester others! That person has been insistently saying that because dad and mum gave us a few taels of silver for the doctor, they are unable to move to town. I want to ask that person a few questions! If you lack these few taels of silver to move, how in the world would you have enough money to survive in town?! Who would believe the words that come out of your mouth?!”

Saying this, he hmphed, “If you want more taels of silver, just say so directly. Instead, you insist on making a commotion, so that everyone in the village knows that mum and dad helped us with some silver. But, so what if they know! The two of us injured our legs, and we didn’t even have enough to eat. Aren’t we all a family? If we are a family, why aren’t you helping us? Instead at this time you are just upset about not getting any of the silver that was given for us to see the doctor?! Others have hearts of flesh but yours is one of stone!”

After saying this, he huffed and got to his feet. “Well that’s that! Take your daughter and get out of my house! Also, mark my words! After today, if anyone dares to hit my wife or children, please don’t blame me for my actions!” With Liu Changshi’s support, he walked back into the house. 

When Ma shi heard that, she immediately left. Who would stick around after that? Should she stick around so that everyone could level cold looks at her? Grabbing hold of Liu Yun’er, she scolded, “This troublesome scourge!” Dragging Liu Yun’er, the two left. 

Old Man Liu and Liu Gao shi went back into the house to look at Liu Sen. In a daze, Liu Changqi wasn’t sure if he should follow them in, or if he should leave. After hesitating for a while, Old Man Liu left the house, arms behind his back. Liu Changqi embarrassedly followed after. 

In the house, Liu Sen had stopped crying. But he was still a pitiful sight – his face was red and so swollen that it looked like he had buns stuffed in each of his cheeks. He shi hadn’t joined them in the courtyard earlier. She had been meticulously checking his body along with Liu Hong. Apart from two bruises on his bum, there were no other injuries. However, after examining his mouth, He shi broke down in tears again. 

Liu Sen was still so small. He had definitely been in a lot of pain when he was being beaten, so he had bitten both sides of his cheeks. Because the skin had broken, when he had opened his mouth to cry, some blood would occasionally leak out – that was how He shi and Liu Hong had noticed. 

When Liu Gao shi saw it, she too joined them crying.

Liu Xu’er asked Shi Cheng, “Have you gone to look for a doctor?”

Shi Cheng quickly nodded. “My family’s servants have gone into town to get one. Don’t worry, I’ve already told them to bring along ointments meant for the face.”

Liu Changgeng patted his head, “Shi Cheng, we really need to thank you. You’ve really helped us a lot today….”

He shi hurriedly joined in the thanks. “That’s right, today, we really really need to thank you! If you two hadn’t stumbled across them, I really don’t know how badly Senzi would have been beaten….”

Liu Hong felt that this train of thought was too horrifying. She hurriedly interrupted, “Please stop talking about it!”

Liu Gao shi also feared that had Liu Xu’er and Shi Cheng not stumbled across this, the outcome would have been unspeakable. Liu Yun’er was just a child too – she didn’t know how to measure her own strength. There was every possibility that she could have done irreparable damage… She trembled and said, “Let’s not speak of it! I cannot take another fright!”

She instructed Liu Hong, “When you go home, bring all the eggs over. We will steam Senzi an egg custard. Also, heat a washcloth and bring it over. 

Liu Xu’er and Shi Cheng immediately wanted to object. Liu Gao shi was thinking of applying a hot compress. While that could be effective, that was only if the situation was not too severe. But in a severe case like Senzi’s, applying a hot compress now may not necessarily be good. Also, it would be very painful. Given how young Senzi was, he may not be able to tolerate it. It would be best to first apply a cold compress, to help numb the pain. 

Liu Xu’er gave Shi Cheng a look. Shi Cheng was just about to speak. 

Thankfully, Liu Changgeng was more cautious and said, “Mum, isn’t the doctor coming soon. Why don’t we wait for the doctor. His face has already been badly beaten, I don’t want to accidentally make things worse….”

Liu Gao shi wasn’t a stubborn person, and she could also see that Senzi’s injury was very serious. She too was not entirely certain that her method was the best, so she nodded and said, “Ok….” Her sound choked off. 

Liu Sen was still refusing to allow anyone else to carry him. Even Liu Changgeng wasn’t allowed. However when Liu Xu’er stretched out her arms, he was willing to go over. Pouting his lips, he pressed the top of his head against Liu Xu’er jaw. His cheeks hurt too much to rest them against her. 

Seeing the child behave this way, all the adults were extremely upset. 

For a moment, no one spoke – everyone was still thinking about what had just happened. Then Shi Cheng stood up and said, “Granny Liu, Uncle and Aunty Liu, I need to go home. When the doctor is here, I will bring him over. 

Liu Changgeng quickly offered his thanks, and told Liu Changshi to send him off. Although Shi Cheng was just a very very little person, today, everyone in the family treated him with great respect. 

Liu Hong went home and brought all the eggs in the house back with her. Then she nimbly steamed an egg custard. By the time it was done, Liu Changqi had brought two chickens over, both already slaughtered and cleaned. Without saying a word, he put it in the kitchen and left. 

Seeing her brother like that made Liu Hong’s heart hurt for him. She brought out the egg custard and served it. Everyone started to coax Senzi with it. 

“Senzi, see what your xiaogu has made for you!”

Liu Sen raised his head to look, but his face still hurt badly. The pain had made the young Senzi lose all interest in everything else, including eating. So he just glanced at it, and didn’t go over, nor did he reach for it or smile. He just rested his head back under Liu Xu’er’s jaw.