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Early in the morning, they were dragged out of bed. Sixth North, surprisingly calm, patiently comforted, "Second Aunt, please stop crying. What exactly happened? You know."
Sixth Second Aunt continued to cry uncontrollably, her words jumbled and incoherent.
Sixth Second Uncle pushed her aside and grabbed Sixth North, pulling him toward their room. "Sixth North, come quickly! Your brother is in big trouble!"
Seeing their panicked expressions, which were a stark contrast to their usual ease, Sixth Yang followed closely behind.
Upon entering Sixth Brother's room, the brothers gasped in shock. Sixth Brother lay on the bed, his face a strange shade of blue and purple, looking utterly bizarre. If one didn't know better, they might think they were witnessing a supernatural occurrence.
Even more alarming was the swelling in his arms, from his fingertips all the way up to his elbows, making his sleeves bulge out grotesquely.
Stepping closer, Sixth North noticed that Sixth Brother's eyes were closed and his breathing was slow. He reached out tentatively and realized that Sixth Brother's entire body was in a rigid state; he looked abnormal.
"What happened to him?" Sixth Yang exclaimed in shock. "He seemed fine just last night. How could he change so drastically overnight?"
Sixth Second Aunt clutched her son and cried, "My poor child! What am I supposed to do?"
"All you do is cry! You're making things worse!" Sixth Second Uncle snapped at her in frustration before turning to Sixth North. "Look at your brother like this; do you know why?"
As he examined the situation, Sixth North slowly shook his head. "His condition seems very unusual; I've never seen anything like it."
Suddenly, Sixth Second Aunt jumped up from beside the bed and pointed an accusing finger at Sixth North, screaming, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and call a doctor! You heartless one! Are you just going to watch him die? Is that what you want? You've always disliked him; you must be hoping something would happen to him!"
Sixth Yang swatted away Sixth Second Aunt's finger that was nearly poking Sixth North's face and shouted back, "Do you think everyone is as naive as you? Instead of wailing here, you should go find a doctor! If something really happens to your son, you'll regret crying for as long as you want!"
He glared at the barely breathing Sixth Brother on the bed without an ounce of sympathy.
Last night, Ye Xiaohan had shared her findings and suspicions with him: the money had been lost at home, and there were no signs of outsiders having entered. The amount of silver missing suggested it was likely an inside job.
In this family, only Sixth Second Uncle's household could be capable of such deeds; it was just unclear which one of them was responsible or if they had all conspired together.
Now the truth has come to light; it is clear that the silver was stolen by Sixth Brother. He came into contact with the poison smeared on the money and did not apply the antidote beforehand. After a night of the toxin spreading, he ended up in this state by morning.
Thinking back to how this person had deliberately shifted the blame onto him, using the key as evidence and spreading rumors that he was the thief, Sixth Yang wished he could pour another vial of poison over him.
Sixth Bei was unaware of their plan. Seeing Sixth Brother's miserable condition made him anxious.
He was willing to seek out a doctor, but doctors charged for their services, and who would work hard only to pay for medicine out of their own pocket?
Moreover, Sixth Bei did not have a single copper coin to his name. The family's main source of income came from Ye Xiaohan's Peach Blossom Studio. Sixth Bei did not want to take advantage of others, but he had no other skills besides his physical strength.
However, hunting in the mountains was unpredictable; luck varied, and it was all about survival. Dealing with wild beasts was extremely dangerous. Ever since life at home had stabilized somewhat, Ye Xiaohan had asked Sixth Bei to go to the mountains less often.
Not wanting her to worry, Sixth Bei took on household chores. Occasionally, he would hunt some game, mostly cooking it to add variety to their meals or trading it for a few copper coins, which he eagerly handed over to Ye Xiaohan.
Additionally, Sixth Bei rarely spent money; aside from what Ye Xiaohan insisted he take when going out for snacks, he had no savings.
Sixth Aunt cried until her head hurt, while Sixth Uncle kept urging him on. Just as Sixth Bei thought about borrowing some money from Ye Xiaohan to bring a doctor over, he suddenly remembered that Ye Xiaohan herself knew medicine and seemed quite skilled at it. He recalled seeing her in action before; her methods were somewhat unconventional but very effective.
With this thought in mind, Sixth Bei quickly instructed Sixth Yang: "You hurry and call Xiao Han over. Let her take a look. The doctor is too far away; back and forth will take time, and we can't afford to waste any more."
Sixth Yang hesitated for a moment but ultimately couldn't bear to watch his brother die and reluctantly went to find Ye Xiaohan.
Sixth Uncle questioned suspiciously: "Sixth Bei, are you just trying to placate us? Your wife knows medicine?"
"Uncle," Sixth Bei reassured him, "Xiao Han is quite skilled in medicine. Just look at her shop; it's not something an ordinary person could manage. Even the county's apothecary can't produce what she does. The doctors praise her creativity and ability to think outside the box."
Hearing Sixth Bei's assurance eased some of Sixth Uncle's worries.
However, Sixth Aunt was unconvinced: "That's just cleverness and quick wit; how can she compare with a real doctor? Besides, she usually doesn't even glance our way; how could she sincerely treat my son?"
Sixth Bei usually had a good temper and did not engage in disputes with others; he rarely took anything personally. His only sore spot was family matters.
Once there were six Yangs and six Qis, and now there's an additional Ye Xiaohan.
Hearing Second Aunt incessantly badmouthing Ye Xiaohan, if it were anyone else, 6 Bei would have gone up to argue with them. However, due to Second Aunt's status, he pretended not to hear.
On the other side, Ye Xiaohan had already woken up at the sound of commotion in the courtyard. When 6 Yang knocked on the door, she opened it and stepped out.
"Did it succeed?" Although Ye Xiaohan was asking a question, her tone was calm; she already knew what had happened.
6 Yang looked quite excited, his eyes sparkling: "It worked! Sister-in-law, how did you know he would go steal money again last night?"
Ye Xiaohan scoffed, "Your intelligence is so inconsistent. I just praised you for being smart, and now you're acting foolish again. With his nature, once he tastes success, how could he possibly stop? He would only become greedier—stealing more and faster."
6 Yang thought about it and realized it was true. Initially, he stole once every ten days or so, but gradually it became more frequent.
Ye Xiaohan sneered, "As long as he doesn't stop, he'll eventually slip up. Whether it's today or tomorrow, or the day after that, he can't escape."
6 Yang leisurely walked with Ye Xiaohan, while inside the house, 6 Second Uncle's family was anxiously waiting.
"6 Bei's wife, why are you so slow? This is a matter of life and death; can you take responsibility if something goes wrong?" 6 Second Uncle scolded loudly.
Ye Xiaohan replied slowly, "I won't take responsibility. Whether it gets treated well or not is up to fate. If you're not satisfied, I can leave right now and you can find someone else."
6 Bei quickly stepped in as a peacemaker, trying to calm both sides: "Second Uncle, don't worry; we're all family. Xiao Han will definitely be more attentive than any outside doctor. Xiao Han, don't be angry; Second Uncle and Second Aunt are just anxious; they're not targeting you. Come over and check the situation first."
With their son's life in someone else's hands, 6 Second Uncle couldn't afford to be too reckless; he swallowed his anger and turned away from her.
6 Second Aunt quickly cleared a space by the bedside for Ye Xiaohan to examine.
Taking a seat, Ye Xiaohan casually glanced over and confirmed her expectations: "The poison hasn't yet entered the lungs; he won't die immediately. However, his hands are ruined."
The first part relieved 6 Second Uncle and the others momentarily, but before they could celebrate, the latter part brought them crashing back down.
"Second Uncle" asked in disbelief, "What did you say?"
"Ye Xiaohan" repeated loudly, "His hand is useless; it must be amputated soon." "You mean, he can't save his hand?" "Six Bei" didn't expect it to be this serious. At such a young age, losing both hands would bring a lot of trouble in the future. "Xiao Han, can't we think of a way?"
"Ye Xiaohan" replied coldly, "He has been poisoned. The poison spread throughout his body through contact with his hands. There is still time; if we amputate his hands now, we can stop the poison from spreading and save his life. If we delay and let the poison reach his heart, even the Great Immortal won't be able to save him."
"This..." "Six Bei" was at a loss. No matter how important hands were, they couldn't compare to life.
"Second Aunt" couldn't accept it. Her perfectly healthy son would wake up to become a cripple; it felt like the sky was falling down for her. "I knew it all along! How could this vixen treat my son with good intentions? You just want to kill him! Do you think we would believe your nonsense? Stop dreaming."
She scolded "Six Bei," "You useless thing! You can't even manage a woman, letting her harm my son like this! My perfectly fine son has turned into a cripple because of her. This heartless vixen is out to harm others; it's not enough that she harmed you; now she wants to harm my son too! This is outrageous!"
"Ye Xiaohan" had long since developed an indifference to her curses and said, "Believe it or not, if you don't trust me, I'll go find a doctor myself. If there's someone who can cure him, I'll admit defeat."
Without caring about the chaotic scene behind her, she walked away.
The elders of the "Six" family couldn't handle "Ye Xiaohan," so they had no choice but to return to "Six Bei." Seeing their son's breath growing weaker, they dared not act high and mighty towards "Six Bei" anymore and could only plead desperately.
"Six Bei" believed that "Ye Xiaohan" wouldn't joke about someone's life at such a critical moment. Since his younger brother's situation was urgent, she wouldn't exaggerate.
Now that "Ye Xiaohan" had stormed off in anger, the elders of the "Six" family completely disbelieved her words. It seemed they still needed to find a doctor after all.
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