Chapter 209: The Willing Takes the Bait

Chapter 209: Chapter 209: The Willing Takes the Bait

Of course, Widow Xie didn’t believe such a ridiculous story about the betrothal cards being missing.

Ignoring their attempts to stop her, she barged into the Cao family’s home and searched everywhere, but she found nothing.

Granny Cao tried everything—pleading, cajoling, and forcing a smile the entire time. She promised to send the betrothal cards over the moment they were found, and only then did she finally manage to usher Widow Xie out.

"Widow Xie is clearly fuming! By all rights, she’s the one who’s justified, so why didn’t she make a bigger scene? It’s because we have Hu Liang’s betrothal card, which makes her hesitate. As long as we don’t hand this card over, the engagement isn’t officially broken. Even if this went to court, the Hu Family would have to accept you as their daughter-in-law."

Cao Yunyun clung to Granny Cao as if she were her last hope.

"Mother, don’t give it to her! Don’t! I refuse to break off this engagement, no matter what!"

"Don’t you worry, Mother knows what she’s doing." Granny Cao patted her back. "Stop letting your imagination run wild and just wait patiently. In a few days, once Hu Liang has cooled off, he’ll surely come looking for you. He cares for you; my old eyes aren’t mistaken about that."

But there were other things Granny Cao left unsaid.

’The Hu Family wasn’t what it used to be. With their hot and spicy soup stall, their lives would only become more prosperous. Hu Liang himself was a fine, handsome man. A match she once scorned had now become a truly excellent one.’

’And if the engagement were broken, the losses would extend far beyond that.’

’There was also Cao Yunyun’s reputation...’

’For now, all she could do was hope that Hu Liang’s affection for Cao Yunyun ran deep.’

「The Hu Residence.」

Widow Xie was absolutely fuming.

Just as Granny Cao suspected, she was dying to blow the whole situation up—to tear the Cao family’s reputation to shreds, throw it on the ground, and stomp on it until there was nothing left!

The Cao family was the one at fault, after all.

She had forced herself to swallow her anger, thinking only of getting Hu Liang’s betrothal card back first. Everything else could be dealt with after that.

But who could have guessed the Cao family would be so utterly shameless!

They stuck to their story that they’d lost the card, even claiming they’d return it the moment it was found.

’Are they taking me for a fool?’

’They’re obviously just waiting for Hu Liang to make a move.’

’Once Hu Liang’s anger fades, Cao Yunyun will just have to shed a few tears to win him back, and this whole business of breaking the engagement will be quietly forgotten.’

’In their dreams!’

And Widow Xie wasn’t the only one who tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.

The next day, no one mentioned going to town to set up the stall.

At the dinner table, Widow Xie’s expression was particularly sour.

"I returned the Cao family’s betrothal card, but they refuse to give yours back. It seems they can’t bear to part with such a fine son-in-law!"

"Mother, does that mean the engagement is broken, or not?"

Hu Dacheng piped up, but he was ignored.

"It’s a good thing we found out in time, so Ximei wasn’t ruined by the two of you. I can’t be bothered with what happens to you now, but I’ll say this: Cao Yunyun will absolutely never set foot in the Hu family’s home. If you can’t bear to part with her, then go be their live-in son-in-law. I won’t stop you."

Widow Xie didn’t even deign to look at Hu Liang as she spoke.

The swelling on Hu Liang’s face still hadn’t gone down.

He looked as if he wanted to say something but held back, his gaze shifting from Widow Xie to Hu Ximei.

Ximei lowered her gaze, slammed her bowl onto the table, and stormed out of the main room.

Hu Liang opened his mouth, then closed it again without a word.

The atmosphere was incredibly awkward. Hu Dacheng glanced from one person to the next before burying his face in his bowl.

Ji Huan soon heard about the incident.

In fact, she had a pretty good idea of what the Cao family was planning.

’The key to this whole affair really is Hu Liang.’

’If he can’t let go of his old feelings, then forget about whether Widow Xie will forgive him—I’ll have nothing more to say to him either.’

’But if he can finally see the Cao family for who they are, stand firm on breaking the engagement, and make a clean break, then it won’t matter what dirty tricks the Caos try to pull.’

’However, things are likely to get difficult for Hu Liang now.’

’A woman whose engagement is broken, even if she’s blameless, has a hard time finding another match, let alone someone like Cao Yunyun, who is far from innocent in this affair.’

’But Hu Ximei never actually married into the village chief’s family, so Cao Yunyun hasn’t technically committed a crime. Even if this blows up, outsiders will just shake their heads and gossip a little.’

’To protect her daughter’s reputation, Granny Cao will undoubtedly push Mrs. Wang forward as the mastermind to take all the blame.’

’People always sympathize with the underdog. If Hu Liang breaks off the engagement over this, and Cao Yunyun responds by crying, throwing tantrums, and threatening suicide, you don’t even have to guess whose side public opinion will be on.’

’Under those circumstances, will Hu Liang still be able to stand his ground?’

’If Cao Yunyun really does throw a fit like that, will he truly not have a change of heart?’

Ji Huan had her concerns, but for now, she had other matters to attend to—Xin Ziqi had taken the bait.

"Here is the gypsum you asked for. Just as you instructed, I had it calcined and ground into a fine powder."

The method for calcining gypsum was, in fact, quite simple.

The raw gypsum was first crushed into a powder or broken into small pieces. Then, a charcoal stove and a heat-resistant container, such as an iron pot, were prepared.

The clean gypsum pieces or coarse powder were placed in the iron pot and heated over a strong flame until they glowed red all the way through. While still brittle, they were removed immediately.

Once cooled, it was shattered with a hammer or another tool, then ground into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle.

"Is there something else, Doctor Xin?"

Ji Huan thanked him, then feigned surprise when she noticed Xin Ziqi was still standing there.

"Don’t tell me Doctor Xin has finally decided to grace my humble home with his presence and stay for lunch?"

They had just eaten breakfast; it was far too early for lunch.

Besides, even as a doctor, he needed to avoid gossip. Making a house call to treat a patient or deliver medicine was one thing, but there was no propriety in staying for a meal.

Conflict was written all over Xin Ziqi’s face.

Ji Huan saw right through him but said nothing, waiting patiently with a leisurely air.

He didn’t keep her waiting long. With a deep sigh, he cupped his hands in a salute. "As you wished."

Ji Huan smiled. She dropped the pretense, though she couldn’t resist a bit of teasing. "I hope this won’t be too difficult for you, Doctor Xin?"

Xin Ziqi shook his head and explained his reasons.

"After my father passed away, Jishi Hall, acting on the Bai Family’s instructions, repeatedly made trouble for us. They tarnished my father’s name, branding him a quack who harmed his patients and spreading these rumors everywhere, until no one dared come to Yide Hall for treatment. Eventually, Yide Hall could no longer survive in Yeyang..."

"Then why did you insist on toughing it out? Why not just listen to your father from the start, close Yide Hall, and wash your hands of medicine for good?"

Xin Ziqi shot her a look. "You already know why."

Ji Huan simply smiled, saying nothing.

"That’s right. I refuse to accept it. And I could see that my father felt the same. If he had truly wanted me to close the clinic and give up medicine, he would never have told me where he hid the Xin family’s heirloom, the *Clinical Medical Cases*."

Xin Ziqi’s expression remained as placid as ever, yet deep in his eyes, something harder than a razor’s edge was beginning to surface.

"I grew up at my grandfather’s knee; everything I know, I learned from him. Yide Hall was his and my father’s life’s work—the culmination of generations of the Xin family’s efforts. As long as I am alive, Yide Hall will never close."

"Young Master..."

After tying up the horse carriage, Ping’an had gone to the backyard to play with the puppy. He had only just returned to the front courtyard when he overheard their conversation.

Yide Hall had been forced out of the bustling city of Yeyang and into this poor, remote village. Through it all, Xin Ziqi had always maintained an air of indifference, leading Ping’an to believe his young master had long since lost all hope.

He never imagined his master was harboring such a powerful ambition.

Ping’an didn’t know this, but Ji Huan did.

’Xin Ziqi had a resilience deep in his bones. His previous detached inaction was just a front; he was simply waiting for an opportunity.’

’As for whether his ultimate goal was to revitalize Yide Hall or something else entirely—that was none of her concern.’

"So..." She tilted her head. "You’ve agreed to treat the homeless man."

"We are treating him together," Xin Ziqi corrected, pointing to the calcined gypsum. His probing gaze fell on Ji Huan once more.

"But before that, perhaps we should have a talk."

Ji Huan raised an eyebrow. "For instance?"

"For instance... whether you actually understand medicine or not."