Unfathomable Foolishness

"Sanlang and Wuya are injured. Eldest Daughter-in-law, hurry back and tend to them. See if we need to call a doctor!"

Seeing that Old Madam Li had backed down, Old Master Li, who had been silent all this while, finally spoke up. His face was full of concern as he urged Jin Yue'e. Someone who didn't know better might have mistaken him for a caring grandfather worried about his grandchildren.

Wuya's lips curled into a sarcastic smile. Their grandfather was a classic opportunist, always appearing after the storm had passed.

Jin Yue'e was concerned about her son and daughter's injuries and didn't want to waste her breath on the other members of the Li family. She nodded and quickly led her four children and the medicine box back to the east wing.

The three rooms in the east wing had been specially built by Li Changsen for his marriage. One bright room and two dark ones. The middle room was where Li Changsen and Jin Yue'e stayed, while the other two rooms were occupied by Sanlang and Qilang, and Erya and Wuya respectively.

Upon entering the room, Jin Yue'e immediately wanted to check the injuries on Sanlang and Wuya's bodies.

Wuya quickly spoke up, "Mother, I'm really not hurt. Please check on Sanlang. He took an arrow in the shoulder."

Ignoring her, Jin Yue'e first brought Wuya over and examined her to make sure she was uninjured. Then, she turned her attention to Sanlang's wounds.

"Mother, is Sanlang badly hurt? Should we call the doctor?" Erya asked anxiously.

Jin Yue'e looked at the wound on her eldest son, which was already starting to clot. Her expression softened. "It's not too serious. I can take care of the wound." With that, she went to the cupboard to find some medicinal herbs.

Erya breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that Wuya was covered in blood and Qilang was covered in dirt, she hurriedly took the two of them to change their clothes.

Wuya felt sticky all over and pulled Erya aside. "Sister, I want to take a bath."

Erya responded, "There's not much water left in the house, so we can't take a proper bath. However, we can at least wipe ourselves down. Just wait here, I'll fetch some water for you."

"What's wrong with you?"

As Erya fetched clean clothes, she noticed that Qilang was pouting with a displeased expression on his face.

Crossing his short arms in front of his chest, Qilang huffed, "I don't like Grandmother. She always scolds us and favours Uncle Two and Uncle Three, helping them steal our things."

Hearing this, Wuya fell silent.

In a large family like the Li's, it was actually quite common for parents to have favourites. Achieving a perfect balance was difficult. However, when favouritism went too far, it became unfair.

Especially in a situation like the Li family's, where their livelihood relied almost entirely on her father, Li Changsen. Yet Old Madam Li consistently favoured the Second and Third Branches.

Their patriarchal grandfather hardly intervened, at most offering a few soothing words to the First Branch after conflicts had settled.

People are naturally inclined towards self-interest. Given Li Changsen's role as the family breadwinner, it should have made sense for both grandparents to value the First Branch more.

But the reality was the opposite!

Sometimes, Jin Yue'e found her parents-in-law quite perplexing. Could it be that they avoided her because her father had been to battlefields and taken lives?

Recalling the many instances where Old Madam Li and Old Master Li overtly or subtly favoured the Second and Third Branches, Jin Yue'e couldn't help but think these two were truly foolish.

In a family, if one side consistently gives while the other always takes, it's clear that such an arrangement is unsustainable. Such a simple truth, yet they didn't seem to grasp it.

By acting this way, weren't they just fueling discord between the First Branch and the Second and Third Branches?

Now that they were still alive, they were forced by filial piety to coexist under the same roof. But after their grandparents passed away, did they still expect the First Branch and the Second and Third Branches to maintain relations?

It truly was incomprehensible!

Wuya pulled Qilang to sit on the kang. "Qilang, let me tell you, Grandfather and Grandmother, as well as Uncle Two and Uncle Three, are just paper tigers. They're only intimidating when you don't poke them."

"These people all rely on Father for their livelihoods and dare to ask others for things. But if we stand our ground, they won't be able to do anything to us."

"If you don't want them to take things from us in the future, you need to toughen up and not be afraid of them. And secondly, you need to find a way to become strong."

Qilang furrowed his brows and pouted. "But I'm still young. What can I do if I'm not strong like them?"

Wuya replied, "Then you'll need to find a way to become strong. For example, you can run around the military camp with me every morning."

"Like today, when I hit Uncle Two. If he tries to hit me back, I'll just run away. As long as I'm faster than him, he won't be able to catch me."

Qilang nodded enthusiastically, "Wuya, I won't be lazy anymore. I'll wake up early and run with you."

Wuya smiled in satisfaction, "That's a good boy."

Sighing, Qilang said, "I wish we could split from Uncle Two and Uncle Three like the little dogs' family."

Split from them? Wuya shook her head helplessly. While it might be possible to find a way to split families elsewhere, here on the border, they were a military household.

Military households were required to contribute a soldier each. If they split, both Li Changlin and Li Changmu might have to serve in the army along with Li Changsen. Something that Old Master Li and Old Madam Li would never agree to.

"Splitting is impossible, but as long as we become strong enough, Grandfather, Grandmother, and Uncle Two and Uncle Three won't be able to bully us."

At that moment, Li Erya came in with a basin of hot water. Seeing Li Wuya lost in thought, she smiled and asked, "Wuya, what are you thinking about?"

Wuya sighed, "I'm thinking about how we can convince Ye Mo to take us as his apprentices."

Li Erya rubbed the cloth while chuckling, "Why are you so eager to be Ye Mo's disciple?"

"Because he knows martial arts. During the New Year two years ago, when Qilang and I encountered a pack of hungry wolves at Tun Kou, he just casually hit them a few times with thumb-thick stones and killed them all."

"I checked the stones that hit the wolves. None of them penetrated the wolf's body. Ye Mo definitely knows internal martial arts."

Li Erya chuckled as she looked at her sister. Handing her the cloth she had wrung out, she asked, "You know about internal martial arts?"

Li Wuya lifted her chin, "Of course. Father knows external martial arts, right? If there are external martial arts, then there must be internal martial arts." With that, she sent Li Qilang out and went to a corner to wipe herself down.

After Wuya was finished, Li Erya went to fetch water for Li Qilang.

By this time, Jin Yue'e had finished dressing Sanlang's wounds, helped him clean up, and was now boiling some medicinal herbs in the kitchen.

When Jin Yue'e returned with the medicine, Li Wuya quickly climbed onto the heated brick bed and sat next to Sanlang. Seeing him sipping the medicine from a bowl, she reached out to pat his chest.

"Brother, drink slowly. No rush."

Sanlang looked at his younger sister helplessly, "I'm not in a hurry."

Li Wuya smiled gently and didn't say anything further. She continued to pat his chest gently. In places hidden from the naked eye, numerous faint green lights followed her touch, entering Sanlang's body.

Hu Yanhe's blow had caused some internal injuries, and it would likely take quite a while for Sanlang to recover just by drinking medicinal soup.

At that moment, Sanlang felt a slight alleviation of his pain. But he simply attributed it to the effect of the medicine and didn't think much of it.

That night, as they prepared to sleep, Li Wuya also kindly massaged Li Erya's sprained foot.

Early the next morning, Li Erya woke up and was pleasantly surprised to find that her foot didn't hurt as much when she walked. Excited, she pushed Li Wuya, who was still sleeping and said, "Wuya, you're really good at foot massages. Help me again tonight."

Li Wuya turned over, facing away from her sister, and continued to sleep soundly.