When Madam Chen saw her determined gaze, she was so frightened that she immediately sank weakly to the ground.
When Lin Jinyun saw that her mother was being bullied, she pulled her sister-in-law, Qin Xianglian, and rushed forward. She pointed at Chu Nanzhi and scolded her.
"You evil woman, I really didn't expect you to be so ruthless. This is your mother-in-law. You have no sense of filial piety. You're really a useless woman."
"If she really behaved like an elder, I would naturally cherish and respect her. But she always takes advantage of her seniority. I'm not made of clay."
Chu Nanzhi glared at Lin Jinyun.
"On the other hand, one of you wears plenty of jewelry all the time. You can't do needlework and don't do housework. The other is idle, eating and lazing around. You squandered the money you got from selling your brother. What right do you have to lecture me about filial piety?"
No wonder Madam Chen had to go to the fields to cut vegetables while pretending to be sick yesterday. It was clear that her children were very worrisome.
After some thought, she added,
"Of course, I was also muddle-headed once, but after experiencing this past calamity, I've gained some insights. Everyone makes mistakes. I don't expect everyone to understand my past. I just hope that I can live every day in the future with a clear conscience. These words are also meant for you siblings."
She could also sense everyone's doubts about her over the past few days. With this opportunity to explain things a little, many things that she did in future would not seem so odd.
When Lin Jinyun heard her words, she spat on the ground.
"Pfft, you evil woman. Do you really think you're a saint just because you helped the county magistrate solve a case by accident?"
"Wrong, wrong. She was the one who found out that your second brother stole our money just now. She accidentally solved two cases."
Little Ruijia, pouted in dissatisfaction from afar and earnestly reminded her.
"You little b*stard."
Lin Jinyun was so angry that she wanted to scratch the girl's ears and cheeks, but Qin Xianglian pulled her back.
This woman knew how to gauge which way the wind was blowing. She knew that if she wanted to beg someone, she would have to look sincere.
She glanced at Chu Nanzhi and knew that it was hopeless to beg her, so she turned to Lin Jinxiao, and pleaded sincerely,
"Big Brother, Jinhong knows that he was in the wrong. Please let him off. I'll definitely make him change in the future."
Lin Jinxiao bit his lip and closed his eyes tightly.
Although he hated this branch of the family, he was not so ruthless as to consider sending Lin Jinhong to the magistrate. But that evil woman's words made sense.
It was not the first or second time Lin Jinhong had committed a crime. He was becoming more and more arrogant.
He could not continue to indulge and protect this younger brother. If he really became a vicious person, it would not only be his father's heroic spirit that would be slandered, but also the entire Lin family.
He looked at Chu Nanzhi meaningfully and finally hardened his heart and said, "Listen to her. If Jinhong really intends to change, I'll go to the county and beg the county magistrate to give him a light sentence, but definitely not now."
With that, his heart and legs hurt so much that he fainted.
"Brother, you musn't listen to this evil woman."
Lin Jinhong gritted his teeth and cried, wanting to continue begging for mercy, but Liu Qingbo had already called for someone to drag him out of the courtyard.
Madam Chen, her daughter and daughter-in-law left Lin Jinxiao, who had fainted, and chased after Liu Qingbo. The group of people scolded and cursed as they ran out.
Chu Nanzhi hurried to examine Lin Jinxiao, only to see him lying on the ground with a pale face. His lips were dry and bloody.
The four children immediately gathered around and supported Lin Jinxiao as they cried out heart-wrenchingly, "Father, Father."
The children were scared to death. They knelt in front of Chu Nanzhi, crying and wiping their tears. "Please, please save my father. We'll be obedient in the future."
Chu Nanzhi placed her hand in front of Lin Jinxiao's nose to check if he was still breathing. He was.
There was also a heartbeat.
He was still alive.
She rolled up Lin Jinxiao's trouser leg and saw that the wound had swollen until it was black. The wound had reopened and was surrounded by sticky pus and blood.
She remembered what happened that night and how he had told her just now that his leg hurt a lot.
She could not help but curse inwardly. He really bottled up everything.
She could only blame herself for being careless. He had already said that it hurt. He probably could not stand it anymore.
After today's incident, his injuries would have worsened.
She quickly comforted the four children. "Your father only fainted from the pain. He won't die at the moment. Don't cry. I'll think of a way to treat him."
At this moment, Li Ce and Liu Qingbo led the doctor in.
When Li Ce saw that Lin Jinxiao had fainted, he turned pale with fright. He pulled the doctor over and instructed impatiently, "Doctor, quick, take a look at my brother."
Chu Nanzhi looked at their panicked expressions and felt a little uneasy.
The doctor examined Lin Jinxiao's injuries and took his pulse. Looking at his pale lips, he suddenly frowned.
"The wound on Mr Lin's leg has reopened. He has internal injuries and his pulse is irregular. I'm afraid he won't be able to last much longer. There's nothing I can do."
Li Ce was overwrought when he heard that.
The four children were so frightened that they started crying again.
It was true that a re-opened wound very difficult to deal with.
Chu Nanzhi tried her best to think.
Although she was not a professional doctor, but as a police officer, she had acquired a lot of medical knowledge. Coupled with the fact that she was often shot at, she was very good at treating internal and external injuries.
Lin Jinxiao's symptoms were due to his wound reopening and his internal injuries. Today's incident was a huge blow to him. He had been too anxious and his body could not tolerate it.
Unfortunately, this was not her era. There were no advanced medical skills or treatments.
Even if they could find some famous doctors with superb medical skills, most of them worked in the inner palace.
Competent practitioners were rare in a small county like that.
That would not do.
She definitely could not become a widow before they reached an agreement.
She could not place her hopes on this old doctor anymore.
The doctor stroked his beard with a frown. "I'll prescribe a few more doses of medicine…"
"Wait."
Chu Nanzhi suddenly thought of something and hurriedly interrupted the doctor.
"Third Master Li, help me carry Brother Lin back to the room."
Li Ce was bewildered, but cooperated with her and carried Lin Jinxiao into the room, placing him on the bed.
Chu Nanzhi was worried that he would pass out from the pain. She suddenly remembered that there were some peppercorn trees growing in the courtyard, and she immediately instructed Li Ce,
"Go pick some peppercorns and squeeze out some of their juice. Then make a bowl of concentrated peppercorn wine. After that, boil a basinful of hot water."
Li Ce did as he was told.
The doctor followed behind the woman in a daze, not knowing what she was going to do.
The children were tired from crying and quietly stood in front of Lin Jinxiao, not daring to make a sound.
However, they were afraid that this bad woman would harm their father, so they quietly monitored the movements in the room without even daring to blink.
After Li Ce brought the pepper wine, Chu Nanzhi worked with him to force the pepper wine into Lin Jinxiao's mouth.
The spiciness woke him up, but not long after, he lost consciousness.
He babbled in pain, "Pu… ah… steel… ride… so…"
When the four children saw that their father had woken up, their faces were filled with joy. However, when they saw that their father could not even speak clearly, they grew worried. Their gazes were filled with resentment as they looked at the bad woman.
"What did you do to Father?"
"If you want your father to be fine, leave me alone."
Chu Nanzhi did not have the time to bother with the children and she shouted at them.
For now, she had to ease the pain in his leg.
The doctor seemed to have realized what she was doing and advised the four children, "The pepper wine can reduce the inflammation and relieve the pain. She's trying to ease your father's pain."
Not only did Chu Nanzhi want to relieve Lin Jinxiao's pain, but she also wanted to temporarily anesthetize him.
However, the anesthetic effect of the peppercorns was limited, and she did not have time to prepare a better anesthetic.
This was the only way.
Now, she had to hurry up and treat his wound.