Chapter 127
127 Karma Came Too Quickly?
Zhang Guisheng looked at his father’s disappointed gaze and roared angrily, “Who should I ask?” With that, he turned around and ran.
Zhang Guisheng kept running, trying to escape Zhang Defa’s disappointed gaze. Just as he ran out of the Teacher Temple alley, he turned around with a blank expression and watched blankly as a mule cart drove over quickly. Zhang Guisheng was knocked to the ground and the wheels rolled over his legs. He heard a crack and fainted after a scream.
Zhang Defa caught up from behind. When he saw Zhang Guisheng on the ground, he was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He rushed up in a daze and hugged Zhang Guisheng as he cried, “Guisheng, Guisheng, my son! What’s wrong?”
Zhang Guisheng was still unconscious. The coachman also reacted and hurriedly got out of the cart to carry Zhang Guisheng to the cart. He pulled the father and son to the medical center. “Doctor, quickly take a look at my son.” Zhang Defa cried as he carried Zhang Guisheng into the medical center with the coachman.
The physician shouted to them, “Carry them into the inner hall and put them on the bed.”
“Doctor, please take a look at why my son is unconscious,” Zhang Defa said with a crying face.
The two of them carried Zhang Guisheng into the inner hall and placed him on the bed. The doctor touched Zhang Guisheng’s head. “His head isn’t injured.” He began to carefully examine the other parts.
Seeing that Zhang Defa was focused on watching the doctor examine Zhang Guisheng, the coachman quietly slipped away.
Zhang Defa watched nervously as the doctor examined Zhang Guisheng’s injuries on the bed. He kept regretting in his heart. Why didn’t I wait until I got home before questioning him? What should I do now? Why are there so many unlucky things?
After the doctor took a look at Zhang Guisheng, he said to Zhang Defa, “Your son’s other injuries are not serious. It’s just that the bones in his left calf are shattered. It will be difficult for him to walk after treatment.”
Zhang Defa pulled the doctor. “Doctor, what do you mean by inconvenient to walk? My son is a scholar. He still has to take the imperial examination.”
The doctor looked at Zhang Defa’s slightly deranged expression and sighed. “After your son recovers, his leg will be crippled. Don’t even think about taking the imperial examination!”
“What should I do? What should I do?” Zhang Defa muttered as he sat on the ground and looked at Zhang Guisheng, who was unconscious on the bed.
The doctor shook his head and went to prescribe the medicine. He handed it to Zhang Defa. “Old man, go to the front hall and pay for the medicine first so that I can apply it on your son.”
“Ask the coachman to pay. He was the one who injured my son. My son is a scholar who is going to become an official. I want him to compensate me.” Zhang Defa roared as he got up from the ground and looked around for the coachman. “Where is he? Damn it, compensate my son.”
The doctor watched as he kept shaking his head. Zhang Defa searched everywhere in the medical hall and finally found the front hall. The shopkeeper stopped him and said, “Brother, the coachman who came with you has long left. He said that he saw that your son was injured and kindly sent you and your son here. You should pay for the medicine first so that we can drug your son.”
When Zhang Defa heard this, he shouted, “Damn bastard, he was the one who injured my son. Why didn’t you stop him? Where can I find money to pay for the medicine now?”
When the shopkeeper heard Zhang Defa say that he had no money to pay for the medicine, he looked at Zhang Defa with a dark expression and said, “If you don’t have money, then I’m sorry. Men, bring out his son.”
When the shop assistant heard this, he walked towards the inner hall. Zhang Defa hurriedly pulled the shop assistant back and begged the shopkeeper, “Shopkeeper, please do me a favor and let me go home to gather the money.”
The shopkeeper sighed when he heard that. “Go back and gather the money! If you don’t hand over the money for the medicine before dark, I’ll have to carry him outside.”
Zhang Defa kept nodding. “Okay, okay. I’ll go back and gather the money.” With that, he stumbled home.
Zhang Guisheng woke up and realized that he was lying on the bed. Just as he was about to get up, he was pressed down by the medicine boy. “You can’t move. If you move again, you won’t be able to leave.”
Zhang Guisheng looked at the medicine boy in confusion. “What happened to me? Why am I lying here? Where am I?”
The medicine boy looked at Zhang Guisheng and said expressionlessly, “Your father sent you here. Your calf bone was shattered by the mule cart, and the coachman who injured you ran away. Your father went back to gather the money for the medicine.”
“Broken calf bone?” Zhang fell onto the bed and looked at the medicine boy. “Is it serious? Can it be cured?”
“Yes, you can walk with a cane in the future.”
When Zhang Guisheng heard this, he roared, “No, I’m a scholar. If my leg is crippled, what’s the use of studying?”
The medicine boy shook his head and turned away.
Zhang Defa ran home with a pale face. Chen Zhaodi and Zhang Guixiang looked at him excitedly. “Did he pass? What’s his ranking?”
Zhang Defa squatted down, hugged his head, and cried, “Guisheng’s leg was broken by a mule cart. He’s unconscious and waiting for treatment at the medical center.”
“Ah! What did you say? What’s wrong with my Guisheng?” Chen Zhaodi shook Zhang Defa. “I don’t believe you. You’re lying to me.”
Zhang Guixiang stood there in a daze. Zhu Qiaoyu stood at the door and looked at Zhang Defa and his mother-in-law. She felt relieved and subconsciously laughed out loud. “Ha, ha, he’s lame! It’s good that he’s lame! It’s good that he’s lame!”
Zhang Guixiang looked at Zhu Qiaoyu and cursed at her, “Bitch, how can you still laugh? What’s in it for you if my brother is crippled?”
Zhu Qiaoyu looked at Zhang Guixiang with a sneer. “It’s not good for me that he’s not crippled. It’s good that he’s crippled. The heavens have eyes. Your family’s retribution has arrived.”
Chen Zhaodi looked at Zhu Qiaoyu and rushed over with a crazy howl. She grabbed Zhu Qiaoyu’s hair and started fighting. “It’s all your fault. I’ll beat you to death. You’re just a jinx. Ever since you entered my house, my house has never been peaceful.”
Zhu Qiaoyu screamed, “Is it my fault? It was clearly your Zhang family who cheated me into marriage and harmed me. Now, you’re even blaming me. You don’t know how to repay kindness and still want to harm the Li family. Retribution is here!
After Zhu Qiaoyu was grabbed and beaten a few times, her scalp hurt so much that cold sweat broke out. Evil rose from her guts. She reached out and grabbed Chen Zhaodi’s hair, slamming her head back hard. Chen Zhaodi was in so much pain that she saw stars. Seeing this, Zhang Guixiang hurriedly rushed over to help. The three of them fought.
Zhang Defa watched the few of them fight and did not persuade them to stop. He staggered into the house and opened Zhu Qiaoyu’s box. He found two pieces of jewelry in the bottom compartment of the box and picked out two sets of clothes. He carried them to the pawnshop and pawned them for four taels of silver before going to the medical center.
Seeing that Zhang De had arrived, the shopkeeper said to him coldly, “If you didn’t come, I would have gotten someone to carry your son out.”
Zhang De trembled and paid for the medicine. “Shopkeeper, how’s my son? Is he awake?”
The shopkeeper fiddled with his abacus and looked up at him. “He’s awake. He’s lying there motionless. Try to coax him!”
Zhang Defa took the remaining three taels of silver and went to the inner hall. He stood in front of the bed and looked at Zhang Guisheng, who was staring blankly at the roof. He sat in front of the bed with tears in his eyes and comforted him. “Son! Rest well. After you recover, we can open a private school and carry on with life.”
Zhang Guisheng looked at the roof. Two streams of tears flowed down his face.
Zhang Defa looked at the disheartened Zhang Guisheng and for some reason, he recalled Zhu Qiaoyu’s words. Were the heavens really looking down on the people below? Was there really retribution? If there was, why did it come so quickly?