The Villain's Counterattack Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Xu Kaicheng wanted to avoid trouble, but trouble was determined to smash right into him.

Less than half an hour after washing up, word came from the main courtyard telling him to hurry over. On the way, he ran into Yang Wanhe, who had also been summoned, and Xu Kaicheng quickly stepped forward to support her.

Yang Wanhe squeezed his hand twice. Neither mother nor son spoke. They kept their faces calm, as if they knew nothing, and followed the servant leading the way.

At an hour that should have been dim with night, the main courtyard was brightly lit. The Old Madam's courtyard had lanterns hung all along the way. The mother and son hurried along the covered corridor and arrived at the courtyard gate just in time to meet Xu Kaixuan and Song Yao, who had also been called over.

Yang Wanhe's eyes flickered quickly. She glanced at Song Yao, who was cowering behind, then looked up and happened to meet Xu Kaixuan's gaze—he stood there elegant and distinguished.

"Second Aunt." Xu Kaixuan cupped his hands politely. Behind him, Song Yao hurried forward and, supported by Zhao Cuihua, gave Yang Wanhe a curtsy.

"No need for such formality. Quickly, get up." Yang Wanhe smiled and stepped forward to help Song Yao up. When she looked at Xu Kaixuan, her smile was especially gentle. "Does Eldest Young Master know what this is about? Why has everyone been called over at this hour? Eldest Young Madam doesn't look well at all—ah, she really must be properly looked after from now on."

Song Yao raised his head timidly and exchanged a glance with Yang Wanhe, his face flushed red. He grew even shyer, lowering his eyes slightly and pressing his lips together in a gentle smile.

Small dimples appeared on his cheeks, making him seem soft and meek. Xu Kaixuan had been about to say something, but when he caught sight of Song Yao in such a bashful state, he couldn't help but stare blankly for a moment.

Yang Wanhe walked forward calmly, as if she merely meant to bring Song Yao along. As she moved, she blocked Xu Kaixuan's line of sight and brought him back to his senses.

"Ahem, I don't know either. I just got back and heard the servants say Grandfather wanted us to come." For some inexplicable reason, Xu Kaixuan turned to look at Xu Kaicheng.

Xu Kaicheng was idly tugging at his sleeve, kicking the edge of the corridor with his toe, his eyes unfocused and full of resistance. He had fallen several steps behind Yang Wanhe, widening the distance between them.

"Mm, I suppose if the Marquis is calling for people at this hour, there must be something urgent. We shouldn't delay—let's go in quickly."

"Yes!" Xu Kaixuan cupped his hands again and stepped aside for Yang Wanhe.

Yang Wanhe didn't let go of Song Yao's hand. Zhao Momo and the others tactfully stayed outside. Yang Wanhe and Song Yao entered the gate first, with Xu Kaixuan following one step behind. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his younger brother behind him still wearing that resistant expression, dawdling along. Only when Xu Kaixuan could almost no longer see outside did Xu Kaicheng finally start shuffling forward slowly.

Pulling back his gaze, Xu Kaixuan looked at the frail figure ahead. He had never noticed before—his wife was actually so beautiful.

The somewhat harmonious atmosphere turned cold the moment they stepped into the inner chamber. Xu Kaixuan stared in shock at his grandfather sitting upright in his grandmother's bed chamber, and at the servants kneeling all over the floor.

His heart lurched. He strode quickly to the bedside. The old woman he had seen just last night now had a face ashen grey, without a trace of breath left.

Xu Kaixuan's mouth opened and closed several times, still unable to believe it. He stepped closer once more, trembling as he reached out his fingers to check the Old Madam's breathing. After a long while, he finally had no choice but to believe it — his grandmother had truly passed away.

"Grandfather?" Xu Kaixuan turned back in disbelief, wanting to ask something.

His vision blurred. The man who had just been sitting there had already flown out with a furious roar. "Wretched woman!"

"Ah!" Smack — along with the sharp sound of a slap, Wei Cai'e let out a miserable shriek and was sent flying.

"Grandfather, Mother? What's going on with you two?" Xu Kaixuan rushed forward in shock, wrapping his arms around Xu Gandang's waist to stop what his grandfather was about to do next.

The slap was so powerful it sent Wei Cai'e flying. Her hair bun came loose and scattered, and within moments half her face had swollen red and puffy, her eyes full of terror. Wei Cai'e scrambled into a corner, and only after Xu Kaixuan held Xu Gandang back did she dare to wail loudly. "Father, what are you doing? Even if your daughter-in-law has done something wrong, how can you beat me like this in front of so many people? Wuu wuu wuu, my poor miserable son—is there really no place for us mother and son in this great marquis household?"

Her shrill crying made everyone's brows jump. Yang Wanhe pulled the trembling Song Yao aside, both of them looking dumbstruck. Xu Kaicheng was the unluckiest of all—he hadn't even noticed that Wei Cai'e had been sneaking along behind him, and only reacted when the woman was sent flying by the Old Marquis's slap.

The undeserved disaster had also sent him crashing into the door panel—Wei Cai'e had shoved him, and then Xu Gandang's arm had knocked him flying.

Xu Kaicheng painfully pried himself off the door panel. The two culprits didn't spare him so much as a glance. A surge of vicious anger flashed through his heart, but when he looked up again, he had returned to that obsequious, grandson-like demeanor.

Yang Wanhe dug her fingernails into her palm to hold back the urge to rush over. Pain shot through her hand, and she looked up to see Song Yao staring at Wei Cai'e and Xu Gandang with a crazed look, as if ready to fight to the death.

Her heart skipped a beat. Yang Wanhe gave Song Yao a hard pull, and the two of them simultaneously lowered their heads and retreated further into the corner, all but clinging to each other and screaming in terror.

Wei Cai'e's shrieking set Xu Gandang's fury ablaze again. Xu Kaixuan nearly couldn't hold the man back and could only grip Xu Gandang tighter while shouting at Wei Cai'e. "Mother, stop talking!"

"Second Brother, don't just stand there watching—come help me get Grandfather to sit down!"

"..." The three innocent bystanders cursed in their hearts in perfect unison. Xu Kaicheng, trembling, inched forward shakily. He looked less like he was going to help someone up and more like he was about to be the first to kneel.

"Father, whatever the matter is, let's talk it over properly. Don't frighten Kaixuan." Yang Wanhe had no choice but to step in and smooth things over, hurrying forward ahead of Xu Kaicheng to support Xu Gandang.

Faced with this daughter-in-law to whom he owed a debt, Xu Gandang's old face flushed red, and he indeed stopped. Anxious, Yang Wanhe and Xu Kaixuan together helped Xu Gandang sit down.

Song Yao also seemed to snap back to his senses and ran over to Wei Cai'e. "Mother, please get up first."

"Get lost, don't touch me!"

"Ah!"

Wei Cai'e swung her hand, and Song Yao was sent sprawling to the ground. His palm scraped hard against the floor, and blood welled up.

"Wei Cai'e!"

"Mother!"

Xu Gandang and Xu Kaixuan shouted simultaneously, but this time Xu Kaixuan still couldn't stop Xu Gandang—a teacup flew at Wei Cai'e's face.

Wei Cai'e screamed and dodged. The cup struck her shoulder and then fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.

Like a monkey, Xu Kaicheng spread his hands and shuffled forward two steps toward Xu Gandang with an "ah," then turned to help Song Yao — taking one step before stopping short out of propriety. Hearing Wei Cai'e's screams, he turned to help her instead.

But at Xu Gandang's furious roar, he shrank back and leapt two steps backward, covering more ground retreating than he had in a dozen steps forward.

The veins on Xu Kaixuan's forehead throbbed. Looking at his worthless mother, his injured wife, his grandfather who was so enraged he wanted to kill someone, and that second brother of his clowning around like a monkey—

"Everyone calm down!" Xu Kaixuan roared, his chest churning with blood and qi.

The room fell terrifyingly silent. Only Xu Gandang's rough panting remained, along with the meaningless "ah, oh, ah" sounds Xu Kaicheng unconsciously kept making.

At this point, how could anyone not understand what had happened? Yang Wanhe pretended to know nothing; Song Yao truly knew nothing. Xu Kaicheng shrank his neck and edged closer to his mother, head down, not daring to look around.

In the end, it was Yang Wanhe who helplessly went over and helped Song Yao up. She pressed a handkerchief against the broken skin on Song Yao's palm to stop the bleeding first. As for Wei Cai'e on the floor, she didn't dare help her up.

"Father, I recall Mother seems to be three years older than you?" The abrupt question gave Xu Gandang a way to step down. Though he didn't understand why, he still nodded.

"Mother is already sixty-two. In her early years she followed you to Liexi Pass, enduring hardship and exposure to the elements, and left behind many chronic ailments. For her to pass now can be considered a 'joyous funeral.'"

That one sentence silenced everyone in the room once more.

Xu Kaicheng hid behind the others and did the math. In the twenty-first century, eighty was considered a joyous funeral, because people in the twenty-first century could live to be a hundred. But in this ancient era, where medical conditions were extraordinarily harsh, the average human lifespan wasn't even sixty.

Even among wealthy families who were well cared for, few lived to sixty. The Old Madam passing at sixty-two could indeed be called a joyous funeral.

The original tragedy became less tragic because of the "joyous funeral," and outsiders naturally couldn't gossip about the Marquis of Jing'an household anymore. For a moment, the Marquis of Jing'an looked at Yang Wanhe with a gaze that held a thousand words.

Then he looked at the one on the floor, and nearly failed to restrain the killing intent in his heart. He squeezed his eyes shut and only after a long while let out a turbid breath.

"Mm, then your mother's funeral affairs—I'll leave them to you."

"Father, how can this be! I am the first madam of this Marquis of Jing'an household, I am Kaixuan's mother—this kind of thing can only be handled by me!" Wei Cai'e stood up clutching her shoulder, not even having time to cry out in pain before she hurriedly spoke upon hearing Xu Gandang's words.

No matter how lacking she was in manners, she knew that the funeral affairs of an elder in the family could only be handled by the one who held authority in the household.

Xu Gandang didn't shout again. He merely looked at Wei Cai'e as if she were already dead. Although Xu Kaixuan was also displeased with this decision, it wasn't the time to say anything more. And yet, his mother just had to push herself forward at a moment like this.

For a moment, Xu Kaixuan's head throbbed as if it would split, and he even wanted to just lock his mother up.

Yang Wanhe wore an awkward expression, unable to refuse but also unable to not refuse. With her back to Xu Gandang and Xu Kaixuan, only when facing Wei Cai'e did a hint of delight show on her face. "Sister, you see..."

"Shut up, who's your sister!"