The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

Ling Silang's face was grim. "You're blocking our way just because you want money. We'll give you money and let you leave."

"That won't do. We're here for this woman. You'd better get out of the way. We heard you're not in good health. If something happens during the scuffle, you might not see the sun rise tomorrow." The man with the knife was very arrogant and clearly had his eye on them.

Du Mingxian had an indescribable feeling in her heart. No one had ever stood in front of her to protect her before. Now, this man was thin and frail, yet he still protected her when he saw danger. He seemed fragile yet calm, and for some reason, she felt a sense of security.

"Do you know us?" she asked.

The other party replied, "Of course, if we didn't know you, why would we be waiting here? Haha, it's such a hassle to make us wait an extra half an hour. Even the homecoming is so long."

Seeing their hostile attitude, Du Mingxian didn't intend to say anything more. She jumped off the oxcart and started walking forward, but her wrist was grabbed by Ling Silang.

His already pale face turned bluish with anxiety. "Don't go, I'll talk to them."

Du Mingxian could see the anxiety and worry in his eyes. She reached out and gently placed her hand on the one she was holding. "It's okay, don't worry."

She pried his hand away and walked forward. Ling Silang hurriedly jumped out of the car to help.

Du Mingxian moved quickly, taking two or three steps forward. When the other party lowered his guard, she kicked the man in the ribs, in the lower body, while at the same time she had already grabbed the hilt of the knife in the man's hand.

The man cried out in pain, then bent over and fell to the ground, his body curled up like a shrimp, and the knife fell into Du Mingxian's hand.

Without uttering a word, Du Mingxian slashed the leg of the man holding the stick to her right, then held the knife to the neck of another man.

In just one encounter, the three of them were rendered helpless.

By the time Ling Silang reached Du Mingxian's side, it was all over, very quickly.

"Tell me, who asked you to come?"

The injured man could only wail in pain, blood gushing from the wound on his leg. He was sweating profusely from the pain after being kicked in the groin, unable to utter a single word. That was a man's most vulnerable spot, the place that hurt the most.

Only the man with a knife to his neck, seeing the state of his brothers, was terrified and immediately confessed everything like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.

"Yes, it's Cheng the scholar from town. He gave us the money to come and rob you. Ideally, we'd let our brothers have their way with you right in front of your man." The man's voice trailed off as he spoke, and in the end, he seemed too afraid to say more.

As soon as Du Mingxian heard Cheng Shusheng's name, she knew that this matter was aimed at Ling Silang, and she turned around to look.

Upon hearing the name, Ling Silang realized who it was. Seeing Du Mingxian looking at him, he explained in a hoarse voice, "It's one of my classmates."

Du Mingxian didn't ask any further questions, "Hand over how much silver he gave you, all the silver you have on you."

"Ten...ten taels of silver, some of which we...we spent, leaving more than six taels, which are with the boss."

Seeing the man lying on the ground, still clutching the spot where she had kicked him, showing no intention of taking the money, Du Mingxian stepped on his stomach. "How long are you going to keep pretending? If you can't figure it out, I don't mind helping you clear your head."

"I'll give it to you. I'll give it to you."

The man immediately took out all the silver he had on him. Du Mingxian took it and glanced at it. It was only about seven taels, which was quite little.

After thinking for a moment, she used the knife to cut each of the other two men once, in the same spot and at the same depth.

Ignoring their pain, the men knelt on the ground and began begging for mercy, "Grandma, spare us! Spare us! We're just local thugs, spare us!"

Du Mingxian looked at their cowardly appearance with disgust and said, "Cheng Shusheng is blind to have come to you. Just tell me his address."

Several people gave the address.

Du Mingxian thought for a moment and said, "I need you to do something for me now." Then she turned to Ling Silang and asked, "Is your classmate married?"

"Never."

"Oh, what a pity," Du Mingxian said. "I want that scholar Cheng to be bedridden for six months. If you go too far, I'll make sure you're bedridden for a year."

"By the way, don't think I can't find you. You're all from around here. I can tell you're all up to no good. It'll be easy for me to find out about you. Don't get your hopes up."

"Yes, yes, yes, don't worry, Grandma, we will definitely handle this matter well." Several people knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly to indicate their agreement.

Du Mingxian was satisfied. "Alright, you can get out now."

The group got up and left without lingering. As for the leg injury, Du Mingxian was careful with her actions; it would bleed and hurt a lot, but it wouldn't kill them immediately.

After the person left, Du Mingxian glanced at the blood on the knife with disgust, walked to the side, picked up some leaves, wiped the knife clean, and then placed it under the cart for easy access.

After she had done all that, she saw Ling Silang looking at her with a complicated expression. Her heart tightened; she wondered how she would explain herself.

"I……"

"Thank you," he said.

Seeing that he didn't intend to delve deeper, Du Mingxian shut up.

The two continued their journey, and this time Ling Silang took the initiative to speak, "After the Imperial Academy's Grand Scholar Fang returned to his hometown two years ago, he took charge of the county academy. Many people wanted to become his students. Perhaps I was lucky, but I unintentionally caught his eye and eventually became his last disciple."

“Cheng Bing has always been very concerned about this matter. He is also very knowledgeable. If it weren’t for my appearance, he might have been the last disciple of Master Fang.”

Du Mingxian looked down on him, saying, "Academic ability doesn't mean anything; character is the key. Even if someone like that becomes an official, he will definitely be a corrupt, incompetent, and foolish one."

"Since he's dissatisfied with you, he should resolve it like a man would, by competing with you fair and square, or by trying to win you over. Using such underhanded tactics shows he's no good."

Ling Silang looked at the woman beside him in surprise. The oxcart moved slowly, the sun was high in the sky, and she was wearing a straw hat, but her whole body seemed to be glowing, with a layer of hazy light.

Is this what Mother always said: never underestimate anyone?

Du Mingxian felt that Ling Silang had been staring at her for a while, so she turned around and met his probing gaze. "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

"No, no, it's just that I feel my wife is right."

Du Mingxian didn't say anything.

Ling Silang added, "Mother doesn't want us to live in the same room because the doctor predicted I wouldn't live past twenty. I still have two years left, so it's better for you if we don't live together."

"And another thing is... the sisters-in-law were all sixteen when they entered the family, and they all got pregnant at seventeen after entering the family."

"Because of my health, I wanted your cousin to marry into the family sooner so that she could bring me good luck. That's why I was in such a hurry to get married. You just turned fifteen this year."