Volume One, Chapter Seven: He Will Die Because of You.

Seeing Madam Liu displeased, the village head awkwardly changed the subject with a forced smile. "I heard from Dayong that Miss Yuan twisted her leg. How is it? Feeling any better?"

Yuan Shen replied calmly, "It should be getting better soon."

"That's good," he said with a smile. "By the way, the medicine I had you prepare last time is almost finished. Please make a few more prescriptions according to the formula I gave you. And make sure to prepare extra for heat clearing, summer relief, and cold wind ailments!"

The village head bought up all the herbal ingredients Yuan Shen had in stock.

Yuan Shen calculated the cost on her abacus, then handed it to him, breaking into the first smile since he arrived. "Uncle, the total is fifteen hundred wen."

Hearing this sum, the village head winced in pain but gritted his teeth and handed over the money.

Having bought all the herbs, he would have to venture into the mountains to gather more.

Yuan Shen weighed the silver in her hand and glanced at the now-empty shelves, sighing softly, "All the herbs are gone. I really hope my leg heals quickly so I can go gather herbs in the mountains soon."

Satisfied, the village head left the Shen household.

As soon as he was gone, Yuan Shen’s leg moved smoothly again.

Nanny Liu looked puzzled. "Yuan Yuan, what’s going on with your leg? It’s good one moment, bad the next. Shouldn’t you see a doctor in town?"

"I’m fine. Maybe by tomorrow it’ll be better," Yuan Shen said, pulling Nanny Liu inside.

After dinner, Yuan Shen quietly slipped into the backyard of the village head’s house.

That afternoon, while preparing medicine for him, she had secretly slipped two potent ingredients into his herbs. Since he wanted to boost his virility, she’d given him something to make his yang energy surge uncontrollably—he wouldn’t be able to hold it in!

Yuan Shen hadn’t been in the backyard long when she heard noises from inside.

Zhao came out of her room, glanced around, and seeing no one nearby, quickly slipped into the village head’s courtyard.

As soon as she entered, the village head caught her by the waist at the gate.

Startled, Zhao then laughed and scolded him, "Look at you, like you’ve never seen a woman before. How long has your wife been back at her parents' house?"

"Juxiang, you really do smell sweet!" he murmured, burying his face in her neck and inhaling deeply.

He didn’t know what was wrong, but after taking that medicine tonight, he felt as if his entire body was aflame, and his lower abdomen roared like a wild beast. Could it be that the young girl’s medical skills had improved enough to cure his hidden ailment?

Zhao bashfully swatted him away. "You’re so eager you called me over—aren’t you afraid someone might see us?"

"Are Chunhua and Qiuyue asleep?"

"If they weren’t, would I dare come over?"

"Good. Don’t worry, my stinky wife is away at her parents’—no one will know."

The village head hurriedly pulled Zhao into his room. Half resisting, half yielding, she allowed herself to be embraced. Clearly, this wasn’t their first time.

Yuan Shen, half-hidden behind the courtyard wall, ducked down quietly. She crouched on a pile of straw and soon heard indecipherable sounds from inside.

Having spent a night kneeling at Chu Yuning’s bridal bed, Yuan Shen naturally knew what those sounds meant.

Judging the timing, she climbed over the wall and entered the courtyard.

Village courtyards weren’t very high, and for someone like Yuan Shen, accustomed to climbing mountains and crossing rivers, scaling the wall was effortless.

Landing silently, she dusted herself off and headed to the west room, calling out, "Uncle! Uncle! Are you there? I have urgent business!"

Hearing her voice, the two inside suddenly stopped what they were doing.

The village head lifted his sweat-drenched head, scowling. "That damn girl—why is she here now?"

Zhao panicked. "You—get up quickly! You can’t let that damn girl see you like this!"

He tried to move but suddenly his face flushed red. He lifted his upper body, staring down in disbelief. Zhao, seeing no movement, urgently pushed him.

"Hurry up, put your clothes on!"

"I... I can’t get up. It’s so painful!"

At that moment, Zhao herself noticed something was wrong. She looked at the man on top of her, then at herself, lips trembling in shock. "What... what is going on?"

"Uncle, why aren’t you answering? The light’s on inside; you’re not asleep, right? I’m opening the door!"

Outside, Yuan Shen’s hand was already on the doorframe.

Hearing the voice so close, the village head turned pale. In his haste earlier, he had forgotten to lock the door. He had assumed no one would come this late—how unlucky tonight was!

"Don’t come in!" he shouted, still pressed against Zhao.

But Yuan Shen ignored him and pushed open the door.

"Uncle... oh my! How can you... I’m still a child!" she screamed, stepping inside and covering her eyes.

Although Zhao had grabbed a blanket just before the door opened to cover herself and the village head, their upper bodies were still exposed enough that anyone not blind could see the village head lying on top of Zhao, both completely unclothed.

She had not only seen her son but also her son's mother in a living tableau of passion—yet, being decades older, it was even more distressing to behold.

Yuan Shen stood just outside the door and did not enter.

Zhao was terrified. "Stop yelling! You can’t attract others!"

Yuan Shen leaned casually against the doorframe. "You want me to stop? My price for silence is one hundred taels!"

"You..." Zhao was about to curse but dared not anger Yuan Shen. After all, the Chu and village head families lived close to other villagers; if Yuan Shen shouted, the whole village would come running.

If their affair were exposed, there would be no way out for her!

Gripping the village head’s collar tightly, Zhao pleaded, "Just give her the money. Consider the hundred taels a loan from me to you. I’ll pay you back later. If we give her the money, this will all be over!"

"I don’t have that much money."

"Didn’t you pocket a good deal of the village’s land tax? And the money from selling wasteland! Hurry and give it to her—get her to shut up! Otherwise, how can we live in this village?"

Tears streamed down Zhao’s face—she was frantic and scared and just wanted to get Yuan Shen to leave.

The village head glared darkly at Yuan Shen. A mere girl—how hard could it be to silence her?

But he hated that he couldn’t move. If he could, he wouldn’t let Yuan Shen leave his courtyard alive tonight, nor utter a word.

His only frustration was his immobility!

Pain surged through every nerve. He felt a blood vessel pounding in his head, as if it would burst at any moment. What was happening? How had he become so entangled with Zhao?

Yuan Shen seemed to guess his thoughts, a mocking smile curling her lips. "Uncle, Aunt Liu, I’ve read some medical texts and saw this condition called ‘instant wind.’ If not treated promptly, it can cause sudden death."

She paused, then added, "Aunt, you can get up, but if you move, Uncle’s yang energy will leak out and he’ll instantly die on you. He will... die on you."