Chapter 45: One Wave After Another

"How can you hit people!"

Aunt Ma pulled the grandmother and squeezed in as well, arriving just in time to witness the scene.

Seeing her two sons beaten and knocked to the ground, Lady Wang burst into weeping and wailing, "Beating people in broad daylight! Is there no law left?"

The burly man ignored her, his grip on Liang Yunqing's arm tightening even further. He even gave a slight upward heave; since Liang Yunqing was petite, her feet were practically lifted off the ground.

"Qing'er!"

Lady Chu rushed forward, grabbing the man's arm in an attempt to pull Liang Yunqing back from his grasp. Liang Mingxue, on the ground, also crawled over to help.

"All of you, get lost!"

The man shouted loudly, swinging his arm to shove the two of them away.

Aunt Ma was beside herself with anxiety, and the surrounding villagers, finding the spectacle hard to watch, began shouting for him to let Liang Yunqing go.

"Repaying debts is only natural, justified by heaven and earth!"

The man roared, glaring fiercely at the crowd before pointing a finger at Liang Yunqing lying on the ground.

"Didn't you say you'd have her pay the debt?"

Liang Yunqing—no, Liang Ziyan was trembling with fright, yet still nodded, casting a pleading look at the utterly calm Liang Yunqing.

"Help me out! Yunqing, you can't just stand by and watch me die! Don't you have so much money? Take it out!"

"You wretched dog! You're still eyeing the family's money!"

The retort came from Li Pinghua.

At that moment, Li Pinghua's eyes were bloodshot, her face a mix of bitter grief and sorrow. Quickly, she shifted her gaze to the woman standing behind them.

"You vixen! This is all your fault!"

With that, she lunged forward, and the two women began to brawl. However, Li Pinghua quickly pinned her down and began beating her.

Li Liangyan, finding courage from goodness knows where, also lunged forward, trying to pull the crazed Li Pinghua away. The situation spiraled into complete chaos.

It was not that Liang Yunqing refused to fight back.

She was simply contemplating how this plotline mirrored certain events in the original novel.

In the original story, the female protagonist of this era would empty her family coffers to save her second uncle, Liang Ziyan. Her intelligence and trustworthiness would ultimately conquer the debt-collector, who would then secretly work for the protagonist until meeting his end.

Yet now...

Liang Yunqing glanced sideways at the fierce and ruthless-looking man.

The plot was truly falling apart. And worst of all, she had arrived in a season that offered no spring.

"Enough, cut out the noise!"

Liang Yunqing's head ached from the clamor of the three-way brawl. Using her free hand to grip the man's arm, she leveraged herself into the air and kicked free with a sudden, lithe motion.

The man took a few steps back, looking with utter astonishment at the woman who had slipped away as nimbly as a fish.

"You know martial arts?"

"My foot. This is all the skill I've got, so you'd better not pick a fight with me."

Liang Yunqing helped her parents up from the ground, then stepped forward to deliver a crisp slap to each of the three who had been locked in a brawl.

The slaps landed on their faces, gradually quieting their frantic expressions. Li Pinghua transitioned from sudden rage into deep sorrow.

"What on earth is going on here? Explain it to me clearly!"

"I... It's nothing. I just wanted to ask you to lend Second Uncle some money, that's all. I'll pay you back later."

Liang Ziyan bit his lip stubbornly, refusing to reveal the truth.

The woman behind him swayed as she struggled to her feet. Her expression was mournful, and meeting Liang Yunqing's scrutinizing gaze, she merely lowered her head slightly.

"Everything that happened today was brought about by me. I will find a way to repay the money."

Hearing her say this, the burly man let out a scornful laugh.

"A slave girl like you dares talk about paying debts? Don't you forget, escaping in private is punishable by having your feet cut off!"

"No, no! I'll pay! I'll pay the debt, just don't take Xiaotuo!"

Enduring Li Pinghua's murderous glare, Liang Ziyan stepped forward, which somewhat surprised Liang Yunqing.

"Well, well. Second Uncle is showing a sense of responsibility now?"

"I was the one who took Xiaotuo away, and the gambling debts are mine; I own up to all of it. But you can't break your word and come pressing for the debt right now."

Hearing this, Liang Yunqing furrowed her brow in helpless frustration.

"How much do you owe?"

Liang Ziyan trembled as he raised his hand and gestured the number eight.

"Eight taels?"

"Eig... eighty taels."

"Farewell. I don't know this man."

Supporting her parents, Liang Yunqing turned with breezy grace and prepared to leave.

Eighty taels! That was enough to cost her her life! If it were eight taels, she might have let it slide, or at worst forced Liang Ziyan to work off the debt for her as a laborer.

But eighty taels? The total amount she had earned over the past two months barely exceeded sixty taels!

"Don't go, don't go! Save me, save me!"

Terrified, Liang Ziyan crawled forward on the ground in desperate pursuit. Grandmother, supported by Aunt Ma, also strode up.

She grabbed Liang Yunqing's hands, pleading with anxious desperation, "My eldest granddaughter, my eldest granddaughter, please save your second uncle! They'll beat him to death, you can't just stand by and watch him die!"

Liang Yunqing shook her hands off and said coldly, "When he borrowed eighty taels to gamble, why didn't he think this day would come?"

"No! I only borrowed one tael of silver, they framed me!"

With a face covered in blood, Liang Ziyan reached out and pointed at the burly man standing to the side.

"It's him! He's a usurer! I only borrowed one tael, and he's forcing me to repay eighty!"

A cold light flashed across Liang Yunqing's eyes. She suddenly spun around and kicked Liang Ziyan on the ground, sending him flying a meter away.

"You even dare to borrow usury? If you can't pay it back, use your life to settle it!"

Seeing Liang Yunqing's cold indifference, Grandmother had no choice but to place her hopes on Liang Mingxue. She made a motion as if to drop to her knees.

Liang Mingxue hurriedly reached out to support her. "Mother, Mother, what are you doing?"

"My son, he is your own younger brother! I'm begging you, save him!"

"Mother, get up quickly! How can you kneel to your son?"

Liang Mingxue felt utterly powerless inside. Eighty taels of silver—even if his daughter were willing to pay, she simply didn't have it.

Grandmother Wang wept bitter tears, opening her mouth in a piercing wail. "I'm begging you, my son! Can you really bear to watch your own younger brother beaten to death?"

"Yunqing, I'm begging you, please save your second uncle!"

Li Pinghua had also recovered her wits. No matter how deep her grief, she couldn't simply watch the father of her children beaten to death.

Weeping echoed one after another, and the woman standing in place began to shed tears as well.

Liang Yunqing had no intention of saving him. She refused to believe Liang Ziyan didn't know the consequences of borrowing high-interest loans; he had merely assumed someone would step in to clean up his mess.

Lady Wang's entreaties finally touched Liang Mingxue. He looked toward his daughter with deep hesitation.

"Qing, Yunqing... your second uncle, he..."

"What? Does Father expect me to plug this bottomless pit for him?"

Liang Mingxue's lips moved, but he could never quite force the words out. Meanwhile, Grandmother, who was still kneeling on the ground, suddenly scrambled back up.

With a look of absolute determination, she stared at the wooden post by the village entrance.

"Since none of you will save my son, this old woman won't live either!"

With that, she strode forward with long strides toward the wooden post, holding her neck stiffly as if intent on bashing her brains out.

Liang Mingxue hurried after her, wrapping his arms around her to block her path right before the post.

"Mother! If you die, how am I supposed to go on living?"

"My son... I can't go on living anymore!"

Watching the mother and son put on a performance of shared life and death, Liang Yunqing remained completely serene. She walked with firm steps right up to the wooden post, heaved it out of the ground with sheer physical strength, and hoisted it onto her shoulder.

Carrying the heavy post, she strode back to stand before Grandmother Wang.

Lady Wang was still sobbing in Liang Mingxue's embrace. Catching sight of Liang Yunqing approaching, she assumed her granddaughter had softened her heart and agreed to help pay the debt.

Never did she expect that the moment she raised her head, she would be greeted by the sight of that thick, heavy wooden post.

Summoning all her strength, Liang Yunqing swung the wooden post directly toward Lady Wang.