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

Everyone understood what Chief Ling meant: as long as Ling Silang was alright, Zhang Er might be released; but if something really happened to Ling Silang, not only the Ling family, but even Dahe Village would not let Zhang Er off the hook.

Aunt Ling said, "Don't you think about it? My nephew is a scholar. There's only one like him in all these years. If people from your Zhangjia Village dare to lay a hand on him and make him suffer, do you think we people from Dahe Village will let you get away with it?"

Du Mingxian stood behind and listened. The more she listened, the more she felt that Aunt Ling was a real go-getter when something was up.

The people of Zhangjia Village were speechless after being confronted by the people of Dahe Village; Ling Silang's status alone was enough to intimidate them.

Zhang's mother cried uncontrollably, kneeling on the ground and begging for help. Everyone remained silent, but Zhang's mother simply dared not save Du Mingxian.

Time passed slowly, and the sun set in the west.

Some of the onlookers had already gone home, and the people of Zhangjia Village had all returned home as well.

As soon as Village Chief Zhang left, Zhang's father left immediately, completely disregarding Zhang Er's life or death.

Zhang's mother was furious, but Zhang Er was still her own flesh and blood, and she couldn't just ignore him.

In an attempt to force Du Mingxian to release the person, she simply knelt down in front of Du Mingxian and even said, "I will only get up when you release the person."

Du Mingxian ignored her completely.

Aunt Ling stepped forward and said, "Pah, shameless! You think you can get us to compromise with this? You might as well pray that my nephew is alright." After saying that, she pulled Du Mingxian's arm and said, "Mingxian, let's go into the yard. Don't stay here."

Du Mingxian followed her into the courtyard.

Several of Ling's father's brothers were present, as were some of Ling Silang's cousins.

Of Ling's mother and sisters-in-law, only Ling's third aunt was present; the others didn't come. However, at mealtimes, they all had their children bring food over. Each family's meal was different, but the portions were generous.

The people standing in the courtyard had no appetite whatsoever.

No one brought anything from Aunt Ling's house, but Aunt Ling stayed in the yard the whole time. When she saw the other people bringing food, she, who usually loved to take advantage of others, didn't go up to eat.

At this moment, Du Mingxian saw the unity of the Ling family and the affection between Ling's father and his brothers.

It got dark very quickly.

Fortunately, it was summer, so everyone simply sat, stood, or lay down in the yard.

There were many people in the courtyard, but it was very quiet, with a hint of silence in the atmosphere.

As the sun was setting, Liu entered Ling Silang's room, lit many candles, and brought in some food, but Doctor Lin and the others inside didn't eat a single bite.

Du Mingxian couldn't help but wonder what methods Doctor Lin would use to save his life under such conditions in ancient times.

In summer, the days are long and the nights are short.

An hour after nightfall, the door to Ling Shilang's room was finally opened from the inside.

The sound of the door opening was particularly loud and clear in the quiet night, as if striking everyone's hearts.

The first to come out was Dr. Lin's apprentice. He was clearly taken aback when he opened the door and saw the people in the courtyard, but he quickly recovered and asked, "Excuse me, where is the outhouse?"

"Here, I'll take you there." Ling Sanlang reacted the fastest, immediately leading his little apprentice away.

At this moment, Dr. Lin also came out. He was much calmer than the little boy and did not show any abnormality even though so many people were guarding him.

Ling's father asked, "Dr. Lin, how is my son... how is my son?"

"Sigh..." Doctor Lin sighed deeply, "Si Lang's condition has stabilized for the time being."

Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Aunt Ling had the loudest voice, "That's great, that's great! As long as the person is alright, they can recover slowly later."

Seeing that there were many people in the courtyard, Dr. Lin didn't say anything.

Judging from his expression, Ling's father guessed something. "Did Madam Lin not finish what she was saying?"

"Hmm." Doctor Lin's throat bobbed, unable to speak, but whether he faced it or not, he was doomed. "Si Lang's condition is very bad. You... should start preparing for his funeral."

Prepare for the worst.

These words were like sharp knives, piercing directly into Du Mingxian's heart.

She rushed forward, "Didn't you say the situation was temporarily stabilized? Why are you still preparing for the worst?"

“His condition wasn’t good to begin with. You’ve taken such good care of him in the past, and his health was still poor. Now, he hasn’t even had enough to eat or drink. If it weren’t for his extremely strong will to live, he probably… would have already…”

Du Mingxian still couldn't believe that she had tried so hard to keep him alive, cooking different dishes for him every day, all just so that he could survive.

But it's still her fault.

It's her fault for not keeping a close eye on him; bad guys took advantage of the situation, causing him to suffer, and now he's about to lose his life.

Another silence fell over the courtyard.

The moon is very bright tonight, and people who get close can clearly see each other's facial expressions, but even so, it still makes people uneasy.

Ling's father was the first to react, "Big brother, you should all go back, it's very late."

Uncle Ling opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything. He felt nothing but heartache. "The situation isn't the worst yet. Let's think of something tomorrow. Silang has always been blessed by the heavens. I believe he will be blessed this time too."

"Hmm." Ling's father nodded perfunctorily.

The others looked at each other, and one by one, they left the courtyard in silence.

But when they saw the long shadows cast by the moon at the gate of the courtyard, the person hanging from the tree, and the person kneeling on the ground, they all pretended not to see them and went home.

Du Mingxian stood stiffly in place, and it took her a long time to calm down. "Dr. Lin, could you please examine another person? I'd like him to wake up and say a few words."

"it is good."

Du Mingxian led Doctor Lin outside and pointed to Zhang Er, who was hanging up, saying, "I want him to wake up."

Dr. Lin was taken aback for a moment, but as a doctor, he was quick to learn. "It's too dark. I need to check his condition first. It would be best to put him down first."

“Okay.” Du Mingxian turned her head and saw Xiao Zhou standing at the door. “Second sister-in-law, could you please bring out a couple more candles?”

"I'll go get a torch," said Xiao Zhou as she entered the courtyard.

Du Mingxian put the person down, and Xiao Zhoushi took out a torch. When the torch shone on him, she saw that Zhang Er's face was very bad, turning blue and purple.

Mrs. Zhou was terrified; her lips were trembling. "Is Doctor Lin... alright?"

He was first slashed several times, and then he was tied to a tree. I don't know if he will survive.

After examining him, Dr. Lin said, "It's nothing serious. I'll apply some medicine and give him a few acupuncture needles, and he'll wake up." He added, "Compared to Si Lang's injuries, this is nothing."