Chapter 598 Mistaken Identity
Hearing the words of the Qi family's elder grandfather, several women from the Qi family immediately rushed into the guest room and quickly dragged Madam Qi out of the bed.
Although Madam Qi's clothes were only slightly disheveled, the red marks on her neck, coupled with her smeared makeup and a few stray strands of hair, made it clear to anyone what Madam Qi had just experienced.
"Was she drugged?" a woman who was friendly with Madam Qi whispered, her eyes filled with unconcealed worry. Dragging her like this without her waking clearly indicated she had been drugged.
"Bah, no matter what, this slut deserves to be drowned in a pig cage!" a round-faced woman next to her spat maliciously.
The round-faced woman was also a daughter-in-law of the Qi family. She had married into the family shortly after Madam Qi. Initially, the round-faced woman was proud and always tried to suppress Madam Qi.
Her own parents were alive and were good workers. Not only did she have the support of her parents-in-law, but her husband was also strong. During the off-season, he could go to the prefectural city to do odd jobs to supplement the family's income.
As new daughters-in-law of the Qi family, compared to Madam Qi, who had a paralyzed mother-in-law in bed and a pair of children to raise, and whose husband, Qi Changlin, only knew how to study, not only did he not earn money, but he also spent more than ten taels of silver a year. Madam Qi had to worry about her next meal and her clothes were patched up again and again. The round-faced woman was so smug.
However, as Qi Changlin passed the imperial examinations, Madam Qi immediately became the object of envy for the women in the village. She was the wife of a scholar. Although Qi Changlin was still studying in the official academy, the clan often subsidized the Qi family. The villagers flattered and curried favor with Madam Qi, saying that Madam Qi's good fortune was yet to come and that she would become an official's wife in the future.
This made the round-faced woman envious and resentful. She said a few sour words in private, but her parents-in-law overheard them and severely reprimanded her. Her husband also called her a gossiper.
Having been wronged for years, when Madam Qi was caught in the act this time, the round-faced woman was the first to rush into the room and, while dragging her, pinched Madam Qi fiercely a few times.
The elder grandfather, the village chief, and several Qi clan members had grim expressions. Madam Qi had been drugged, but no matter what, she had lost her chastity. She could only blame her bad luck.
"Uncle, what about inside the room?" Village Chief Ma asked in a low voice, his gaze hesitantly falling on the room. Madam Qi was easy to deal with, but this matter involved a distinguished guest, which was tricky. Qi Changlin's friends were all scholars. Not only did they arrive by carriage, but they also had servants accompanying them. If this was not handled properly and offended a distinguished guest, not only would Changlin suffer, but it might even implicate the village and the clan.
The elder grandfather's wrinkled old face was as dark as charcoal. Although he had not attended the banquet today, he had privately asked his cousin who helped with the cooking. The guests who came today were all distinguished individuals.
He heard that one of them was the son of the prefect, and another distinguished guest had an even more noble status. Changlin had not explicitly stated it, but he was three points more noble than the prefect's son. The elder grandfather dared not imagine what kind of status that was.
Just now, the women were whispering together, but when the elder grandfather and the village chief spoke, everyone dared not speak. It was precisely at this moment that Changlin had gone to the medical clinic. Otherwise, there would be someone to discuss with.
The elder grandfather frowned deeply. After hesitating for a long time, he suddenly became stern, pointing at Madam Qi, who was lying on the ground unattended, and said, "It's all this slut's fault for not upholding her chastity. Seeing that the distinguished guest was drunk and unconscious, she thought of climbing higher, almost ruining the reputation of Changlin and his close friend. First, lock this slut in the ancestral hall. Everything will be discussed after Changlin returns!"
Was this to shift all the blame onto Madam Qi? Village Chief Ma and several clan members exchanged glances, and then nodded. Although this was not honorable, it at least preserved Changlin's reputation and would not offend the distinguished guests.
Upon hearing the elder grandfather's words, the round-faced woman was even more overjoyed, wishing she could wake Madam Qi with a ladle of cold water and then watch her pathetic appearance.
However, the other women felt a pang of sympathy. They all knew Madam Qi's character. For the years she had been married into the Qi family, she had worked tirelessly like an old ox, her own health had collapsed, and she looked more than ten years older than women her age.
Finally, Qi Changlin had passed the imperial examinations, and Madam Qi could enjoy a good life in the future. But now that this incident had happened, Madam Qi would not only be unable to enjoy life but would likely not even be able to keep her life.
However, clan matters were not for a few women to interfere with. They had no choice but to half-drag and half-carry the unconscious Madam Qi to the ancestral hall, leaving two people to guard her, while the others returned to Qi Changlin's house.
On the other side, the elder grandfather immediately sent two young men from the Qi family to drive an ox cart to the prefectural city's medical clinic to find Qi Changlin. They had to inform Qi Changlin about this matter first. Even if he had to divorce his wife, Qi Changlin still had to make the decision.
...
Medical Clinic.
Several children who had drowned were sent in at once, and two of them had weak breathing. Doctor Luo was also startled, especially since these children were brought by Jiao Lianyu. Doctor Luo had no time for pleasantries and immediately took out his silver needles to begin treatment.
"Doctor Luo's medical skills are superb. An'an and the others will surely be safe," Jiao Lianyu said, patting Qi Changlin's shoulder reassuringly. He then looked at the worried villagers beside him and said gently, "Please rest assured, my good sirs. The clinic has a complete supply of medicines. If any medicine is truly lacking, I have some at home. Everything will be prioritized for the safety of the children."
The villagers had never seen such an approachable noble young master. Usually, when they encountered ruffians in the prefectural city, they did not dare to offend them. Hearing Jiao Lianyu's words, they thanked him shyly.
Four carriages stopped at the entrance of the medical clinic, attracting the curiosity of passersby. When they heard that several children had drowned, the crowd gathered at the entrance of the medical clinic did not leave, all waiting for the results.
Doctor Luo's medical skills were indeed superb. Otherwise, when Jiao Lianyu was stabbed by Li Li, Prefect Jiao would not have sent Doctor Luo to treat him. Although the children like An'an were in critical condition when they were brought in, after treatment, they were out of danger. However, children are weak, and they had caught a cold from falling into the water and were frightened. They still needed careful attention for the next two days.
"The children are out of danger," Doctor Luo's words brought relief not only to the villagers but also to the passersby outside the clinic.
"Thank you, doctor." The villagers were so excited that they could barely speak. One of the men almost knelt down to kowtow to Doctor Luo.
Doctor Luo quickly helped him up and continued, "To prevent fever at night, the children will stay at the clinic tonight. As long as they get through tonight, they can be discharged with a few more doses of medicine tomorrow."
Just then, an ox cart suddenly stopped at the entrance. Qi Ming's movement of getting off the ox cart was so hasty that he almost fell face first, but he could not care less at this moment. He pushed aside the passersby gathered at the entrance of the medical clinic.
"Changlin!" Upon seeing Qi Changlin in the room, Qi Ming hurriedly shouted, "Changlin, something has happened. Your wife..."
As soon as Qi Ming said this, not only was Qi Changlin in the medical clinic stunned, but the surrounding passersby widened their eyes. In broad daylight, there was such a shameless woman who dared to climb into bed with a guest while he was drunk and unconscious!
"Shut up!" Qi Changlin roared, losing his scholarly demeanor. He rushed over, grabbed Qi Ming by the collar, and pushed him away with eyes full of fury, "Don't talk nonsense and ruin my wife's reputation!"
Qi Ming, caught off guard, stumbled and fell to the ground. Seeing Qi Changlin's ferocious expression as if he were about to devour someone, Qi Ming dazedly defended himself, "I'm not talking nonsense. Everyone in the village saw it. The elder grandfather asked me to find you."
"Changlin, calm down!" Seeing Qi Changlin about to kick someone in his rage, Jiao Lianyu quickly stopped him, "It might be a misunderstanding."
Seeing that Jiao Lianyu could not restrain the furious Qi Changlin, his friend also stepped forward to help, "Gui Zhang is right. Huai Xin is the young master of the Qiu family. How could he do such a shameless thing? Changlin, you should go back first. This must be a misunderstanding!"
The villagers in the medical clinic looked bewildered. They were only worried about the drowned children earlier. Who would have thought that while they were at the medical clinic, a major incident had occurred at Qi Changlin's home?
However, the passersby who were eavesdropping at the entrance caught a hint of what was going on.
"Is that noble young master in blue the second son of the prefect?" a passerby whispered, his gaze falling on Jiao Lianyu. Scholars in Qianzhong Prefecture all knew that the prefect's second son, Jiao Gui Zhang, was talented and upright.
A middle-aged man on the right added, "Then, the young master of the Qiu family they mentioned, isn't that the youngest son of Lord Qiu? I heard that the third young master Qiu and the second young master Jiao are close friends."
Qianzhong Prefecture was not that large, and everyone knew the names of the noble young masters. Based on their surnames, they could be matched.
Compared to Jiao Lianyu's widespread fame, Qiu Huai Xin, although not known as a dandy, did not have a good reputation either. However, now that he had "harassed" his close friend's wife and was caught in the act by the villagers, this news would surely spread throughout Qianzhong Prefecture.