Chapter Six: The Viper's Poisonous Scheme

Su Jinyu and her younger brother were allotted a total of three taels of silver, four mu of farmland, one tattered cotton quilt, two sets of patched clothes each, a broken pottery jar, a chipped iron pot, several chipped bowls and basins, and a small amount of coarse grain. It was obvious that Zhao and Sun had deliberately picked out these pieces of junk for them.

However, Su Jinyu could not be bothered to argue with them. She planned to take her brother into town tomorrow to purchase supplies and replace all these broken items with new ones.

After the original owner of this house at the foot of the back mountain passed away, the villagers all considered the location too remote and were unwilling to live there, so it gradually fell into disrepair.

The house consisted of four rooms. Upon entering, there was a small kitchen to the left and a latrine to the right, with two bedrooms in the middle. The house had been neglected for years and was covered in cobwebs.

After she and her brother rolled up their sleeves and spent a long time cleaning, they finally organized the items they had brought from the family division. As the two sat down to rest, Su Jinyu quietly mixed some nutrient water into their drinking water to help her younger brother regain his strength.

...

Meanwhile, in the courtyard of the Su family residence.

"Zhao Xiulan, you useless woman, what are you dawdling for?" Sun, lying on the bed, clutched her neck tightly and roared with rage.

"Mother, I just went to the latrine. I'm getting the gauze for you right now!" Zhao replied, her voice trembling.

"You lazy donkey, always full of excuses! Are you trying to let me bleed to death? Are you hoping I'll kick the bucket soon?"

Usually, with her sister-in-law Wu Cuihua taking the brunt of the abuse, Zhao could avoid some of the torment. Now that Wu Cuihua was nowhere to be found, Sun was taking all her frustration out on her.

Zhao cursed inwardly. She certainly wished the vicious Sun would go to hell, but she dared not show it on her face. She hurriedly found the gauze and bandaged Sun's neck. Sun shrieked in pain, and the neighbors on both sides could hear her agonizing cries.

"Mother, Eldest Sister-in-law ran off with the silver all by herself! This won't do! If we don't catch her, those eight taels of silver will go down the drain!"

The Su family still believed that Su Jinyu and her brother had escaped on their own and that Wu Cuihua had made off with the money. Every time Sun thought about the five taels of silver she had lost during the division—handed over to those two little wretches—she felt a pang of heartache.

"That bitch Wu Cuihua can hide for a day, but she can't hide forever! She stole my silver; even if she runs to the ends of the earth, I will have her dragged back to be punished!"

Currently, apart from Zhao and a few children who could still move, the rest of the Su family members—Eldest Brother Su and Second Brother Su—were lying in bed half-dead. Old Man Su had also thrown out his back after falling into a ditch and could not get up either.

"Zhao Xiulan, you're the only one who can still move. Go to town and ask the matchmaker!" Sun commanded.

Zhao had always played the part of a meek and obedient daughter-in-law, so she dared not refuse.

However, the only transportation to town was an ox cart. There were only two families in the village with ox carts: Village Head Yang’s and Old Man Zhao’s. Villagers heading to town usually waited at the village entrance in the morning and paid two copper coins for the ride.

Since it was well past noon, Zhao had no choice but to walk. Standing outside the house, she hesitated for a long while. Suddenly, she saw a figure approaching from a distance. Squinting, she realized it was none other than her sister-in-law, Wu Cuihua!

"You wretch, Wu Cuihua! You have the nerve to come back? Hand over the silver the matchmaker gave you!" Zhao shouted, grabbing at her sister-in-law in a fit of rage.

But when she looked closer, her eyes widened in shock.

Wu Cuihua’s hair was a mess, her clothes were filthy, and she was black and blue all over, as if someone had beaten her up.

"What silver from the matchmaker? I never got a single cent!"

Wu Cuihua had struggled back to the village covered in injuries, wanting only to rest, but was now being blocked at the door by Zhao.

"Don't play dumb, Wu Cuihua! You were the only one in the woodshed, and you were the only one dealing with the matchmaker. If you didn't take the silver, who did?"

"If I took a single cent, may I be cursed!"

Seeing her reaction, Zhao looked skeptical but began to believe her slightly.

Wu Cuihua recalled the details of what happened and her expression darkened.

"Where are those two little wretches, Su Jinyu and Su Jinxiao? I had already struck a deal with the matchmaker to drug them. I don't know what kind of sorcery that little bitch Su Jinyu used, but I couldn't speak or move."

"When I woke up, I was already in the matchmaker's sack. Those slave traders thought I was trying to swindle them and gave me a beating. Now that I think about it, it must have been that little bitch’s doing! The silver the matchmaker gave must have been snatched by her!"

The rest of the Su family in the room heard this and finally understood. It was all a scheme by Su Jinyu!

"That godforsaken little wretch! I won't let her get away with this!" Sun, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, shrieked.

Including the three taels from the family division, Su Jinyu had made off with a total of nine taels of her money!

"Mother, that girl is wicked. We need to find a way to deal with her!" Eldest Brother Su’s body was covered in self-inflicted scratch marks; the itching and pain felt like thousands of ants gnawing at his skin.

"Eldest, what good ideas do you have?" Old Man Su asked.

Wu Cuihua and Eldest Brother Su were both reckless and brainless. "Let’s just take hatchets and axes and go find her. I don't believe we can't handle those two little wretches with so many people!"

"You idiots! If we could beat that little wretch, we wouldn't be in this state! You useless fools, shut your mouths!" Sun cursed.

Knowing that the eldest couple was dim-witted, neither Sun nor Old Man Su pinned any hopes on them. They turned to Second Brother Su, who had been silent all along.

"Second Brother, what plan have you come up with?"

A ruthless glint flashed in Second Brother Su’s eyes. "Mother, since we can't beat her in a head-on confrontation, we'll do it in the shadows. We'll wait until nightfall, catch a basket of poisonous snakes and scorpions, and sneak them into their room. By the next morning, all we'll have to do is go in and collect their corpses!"

There was a cave behind the back mountain known to all the villagers as a place filled with deadly creatures; people usually avoided it when going up the mountain.

"The plan the second one suggested is feasible. Let’s do it," Su Pinggui decided.

Zhao’s eyes darted around. "Father, Mother, Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law are strong and healthy, so let them go catch the snakes and scorpions! I’ll stay home and take care of you and the children."

Wu Cuihua was unwilling to let her husband take the risk. "Why doesn't the Second Brother go? He’s not as badly injured as my husband!"

"Sister-in-law, at this point, you are the one to blame. If you hadn't messed things up, our family wouldn't have suffered such heavy losses. Let Eldest Brother go; it's his chance to make amends!" Second Brother Su, always sharp-tongued, retorted immediately.

"Mother, I’m injured too and can’t climb the mountain. Look, I can’t even lift my arms or legs. Can you give me some silver? I want to see the village doctor about my injuries."

"What are you arguing about? Shut your mouths! All you ever talk about is money. Are you obsessed with it? You and the eldest will go catch the snakes and scorpions. If you mess this up again, I won't spare you, you idiots!"

With Sun’s final word, Wu Cuihua knew she was in the wrong and dared not say another word, though she harbored deep resentment toward Su Jinyu.

It was all that little wretch’s fault that she had ended up covered in injuries! She would not rest until she had destroyed her tonight!