TIPS – Chapter 63

At this moment, in the main house of the Shen family, Yang Shi hurriedly returned to her daughter-in-law’s room and told everyone that she had already asked someone to call for a doctor, so they should wait a little longer. She then approached Song Jingwei, touching and checking on him, and said, “What exactly happened? Let me help you up. Why don’t we move to the bed first?”

Song Jingwei replied, “Don’t worry, let’s wait until the doctor arrives.”

Yang Shi said anxiously, “How can I not worry? Your health has never been that strong…” She feared that if the fall was serious and something was broken, it would be a big problem.

Shen Junxi gestured to his mother, “Mother, let’s wait for the doctor together. My wife is not in pain.” He knew that Song Jingwei was fine, but his mother didn’t.

“Not in pain?” Yang Shi was doubtful and turned to confirm with Song Jingwei, “Daughter-in-law, does it really not hurt?” But if it didn’t hurt, why couldn’t he get up?

“Hmm, it doesn’t hurt,” Song Jingwei said. “Please sit down and wait a little longer.” It would be better to talk when Hu Chengchun arrived.

Although Yang Shi was full of doubts, since both her son and daughter-in-law said so, she had no choice but to keep quiet for now. She had always been naturally gentle—listening to her mother at home, her husband after marriage, and when her husband was not around, she listened to her son. Now that her daughter-in-law had entered the family, she had another person to listen to.

Seeing this, Yang Shuangjiao tugged at Yang Shi’s sleeve and softly pleaded, “Sister, no matter what, let your daughter-in-law move aside first so Niuniu can come out, alright?” Her daughter, Wang Chunxing, had been looking at her pitifully, making her feel distressed.

After witnessing a lot just now, Yang Shuangjiao strongly suspected that Song Jingwei had done this on purpose. Maybe her daughter hadn’t been lying earlier?

“Elder Sister, I can’t make that decision,” Yang Shi replied in a low voice. She wasn’t just brushing off Yang Shuangjiao; she truly didn’t dare to make a decision on behalf of her daughter-in-law. She then asked her elder sister, “What exactly happened? Why is Niuniu in Jingwei’s room? And how did Jingwei fall?”

At this question, Yang Shuangjiao hesitated. After a long pause, she replied, “I don’t know either…” Facing Yang Shi’s suspicious gaze, she reacted defensively, “I arrived just before you did, and I haven’t figured it out yet! As soon as Niuniu saw me, she started crying. I also want to know what happened!”

“Really?” Yang Shi said in a low voice. She knew her elder sister too well—whenever she was guilty, she would yell the loudest. This made Yang Shi have an uneasy thought. She hoped it wasn’t what she was thinking, but the facts were right in front of her.

After a moment of hesitation, she turned to Wang Chunxing and asked, “Niuniu, can you tell Auntie? Why are you here? How did your cousin-in-law fall? And why are you crying?”

The string of questions made Wang Chunxing flustered. She stammered, “I… I just… I was just looking around, I didn’t mean to do anything.” She then pointed at Song Jingwei and said, “As soon as I entered, he accused me of stealing! I never stole anything! He’s falsely accusing me of being a thief!”

Yang Shi and the others frowned, while Yang Shuangjiao looked at her daughter expectantly and encouraged her, “And? You didn’t touch your cousin-in-law, right? Then how did he fall?”

“Yes! I didn’t touch him at all! He just sat on the ground by himself—it has nothing to do with me!” Wang Chunxing declared loudly, patting her chest as if to swear by it.

“Sister, see? Niuniu didn’t do anything…” Yang Shuangjiao looked at her younger sister helplessly. Since her daughter was innocent, the one at fault must be Yang Shi’s daughter-in-law. In this case, she and her daughter were the real victims.

Yang Shi opened her mouth but hesitated, glancing at her daughter-in-law, waiting for him to speak.

“I remember that when I went out, the courtyard gate was locked. But when I returned, it had been pried open,” Song Jingwei said, giving Yang Shi a reassuring look before turning to Wang Chunxing and asking, “So tell me, how did you get in?”

Everyone turned to Wang Chunxing. Yes, how did she get in?

Only Wang Chunxing and her mother Yang Shuangjiao knew the answer to this question. Wang Chunxing’s first reaction was guilt—her face turned pale, and she remained silent. Then, she widened her eyes and looked at her mother, hoping she would save her.

“Can’t answer?” Song Jingwei asked.

“Well…” Yang Shuangjiao racked her brain, but she couldn’t come up with a reasonable answer that would convince everyone.

“When I came in, I saw you holding my jade pendant. Do you dare to deny this?” Song Jingwei asked again.

“…” Wang Chunxing bit her lip hard and said, “I was holding your jade pendant, but I was only looking at it! I didn’t plan to steal it! You falsely accused me of theft and then used it as an excuse to threaten us to pack up and leave!”

Everyone looked shocked. Was this true? Would Song Jingwei really do such a thing?

Seeing their reactions, Wang Chunxing became even more determined to push her story forward. “And when he couldn’t threaten me, he sat on the ground and pretended to fall, blaming it on me!” Tears welled up in her eyes as she turned to Yang Shi and cried, “Auntie, he hates me and my mother and just wants to drive us away! Please don’t believe him…”

Song Jingwei never expected Wang Chunxing to go all out, even daring to say such a thing, without considering what she herself had done. “You say you went through all the trouble of prying open a locked door just to ‘take a look.’ Don’t you find that ridiculous? Now, after your own shady actions, you’re trying to shift the blame onto someone else.”

After saying this, he glanced at Yang Shi and noticed that she wasn’t feeling any sympathy for Wang Chunxing. Instead, she asked, “Niuniu, can you tell Auntie how exactly you got into your cousin-in-law’s room?”

Yang Shi was very familiar with her daughter-in-law’s courtyard gate—it was always locked when he wasn’t inside. He had specifically instructed this because there were many valuable things in the courtyard, and with so many people around, he was worried about attracting thieves.

But no matter how much she had anticipated, she never imagined that while it was easy to guard against outsiders, it was the ones inside who were harder to prevent. The first person to pry open the lock and steal was actually her own niece. At this moment, she felt immense guilt. She felt sorry for her daughter-in-law, especially since all this time, Song Jingwei had treated Yang Shuangjiao and Wang Chunxing generously—providing them with food, shelter, and even giving them things to use. And yet, this was how they repaid him.

“…” Wang Chunxing still couldn’t answer the question. She just looked at Yang Shi and kept crying.

“Sigh…” Yang Shi let out a disappointed sigh and then said, feeling dejected, “Elder Sister, take Niuniu and leave.” Their family could no longer afford to keep these two around.

“Sister, are you… really kicking me out?” Yang Shuangjiao exclaimed in shock, feeling both hurt and angry. They were blood-related sisters, yet just because her niece made a small mistake, Yang Shi was now driving them away in front of everyone? She couldn’t believe it. “What exactly did we do wrong? Niuniu is still young and doesn’t understand things. Can’t you forgive her for making a mistake?”

Yang Shi, feeling exhausted, looked away and said, “Elder Sister, let’s not talk about this anymore. You’ve been staying here for quite some time, and I have never treated you or Niuniu unfairly. You have nothing to complain about.”

“But at the end of the day, you’re still kicking us out,” Yang Shuangjiao protested.

“…” Yang Shi was at a loss for words. She had made things this clear already, yet her elder sister still had the audacity to blame others with such confidence. She said, “Niuniu did something wrong—it’s not that we can’t forgive her…” Besides, they still didn’t know the full truth yet. She sighed and continued, “Regardless of how this ends, Elder Sister, you and Niuniu shouldn’t stay here any longer.”

After all, people need dignity. After something like this, how could they just pretend nothing had happened?

“Anyway—” Yang Shuangjiao still wanted to argue, but Song Jingwei interrupted her, saying, “Don’t let them leave just yet. I haven’t even been diagnosed. If my injuries turn out to be serious, I will have to hold someone accountable.”

This one casual remark was enough to completely silence Yang Shuangjiao and Wang Chunxing. The mother and daughter both thought, There’s no way he actually got seriously hurt! But at the same time, a sliver of worry crept into their minds—What if he really did get hurt? What if he insists on blaming us? What do we do then?

Yang Shuangjiao thought about it for a moment and then gritted her teeth. If Song Jingwei really tried to pin this on them, she’d just throw a fit and refuse to take responsibility. If things came to that, so be it—she wasn’t going to take the blame!

As everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts, Yang Shi stood up and said, “Doctor Hu should be arriving soon. I’ll go wait for him outside.”

Sure enough, not long after, Doctor Hu arrived. Yang Shi greeted him from a distance, and the two quickly walked into the courtyard as they talked.

“How did your daughter-in-law fall? Was there any bleeding?” Hu Chengchun asked urgently.

“No, no bleeding. He just fell inside the room,” Yang Shi quickly responded. She had observed carefully and saw no signs of bleeding.

“That’s good, that’s good,” Hu Chengchun said, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Carrying his medicine box, he hurried into the room.

Following behind him, Yang Shi called out, “Doctor Hu is here,” as she stepped inside.

“Why is he still on the floor? Quickly, help him up!” Hu Chengchun exclaimed the moment he stepped in and saw Song Jingwei still sitting on the ground. What was going on?

Seeing the doctor arrive, Song Jingwei let out a long breath—sitting on the ground was getting tiring. He reached out to Shen Junxi and said, “You can help me up now.”

Shen Junxi immediately stood up first and carefully helped his wife up, supporting him as he moved to the bed.

As they moved away, Wang Chunxing seized the opportunity to hurriedly slip toward Yang Shuangjiao, but at this moment, no one paid her any attention—everyone was gathered around the bed.

Doctor Hu said, “Lie down quickly, let me check your pulse.”

Song Jingwei lay down and extended his wrist for him to take his pulse, saying, “I don’t feel well. My stomach is uncomfortable.” However, his expression was the same as usual, showing no sign of discomfort at all.

Doctor Hu furrowed his brows. “…” From what he could tell, his pulse was steady and strong. How could he be feeling unwell? He asked, “Did you eat something bad?”

Song Jingwei shook his head and replied, “It was from the fall.”