Oh no! Seven kids at the start, all yellow and skinny.

Chapter 24 I am wronged

That evening, when Yunyi returned to Wang Tianshun's house, she found a large basin of hot water in the room, and a basin of cold water next to it.

"Just wash it for now." Xia Songshi seemed a little reserved. "There's more in the pot if it's not enough. I'll keep an eye on it for you outside."

Yunyi knew that this was a signal of goodwill towards her, which was a good thing, so she did not refuse. After thanking him, she went into the house. She had been there for three days and had not taken a bath. Before, she had just wiped her body with a cloth, which was quite uncomfortable. She had originally planned to go to Mirror Lake to take a bath in the middle of the night.

Mirror Lake is a large lake to the south, formed by the convergence of water from Qinglong Mountain and Baihu Mountain. It is flowing water, very clear, and has always been the drinking water source for several villages in the vicinity.

Outside the house.

"Grandma, she...she accepted?" Er Ya asked cautiously.

"Yes." Xia Songshi patted Er Ya's head. "It's a good thing that she's changed for the better. You shouldn't target her anymore."

"Who knows if she's really better or if she'll only be better for a few days?" Er Ya said in a muffled voice, her head down, grinding small stones on the ground with her toes.

"Second sister, I think she'll get better. It's been several days now, and she's been feeding us meat. Today she even carried eldest brother down on her back." Sanya said cautiously to Erya.

Er Ya didn't say anything.

"Second sister, how about... if she turns bad again in the future, we just ignore her, okay?"

"Sanya, you like her too?" Erya frowned.

"Second Sister, I like my current stepmother." Wu Ya tugged at Er Ya's sleeve.

Er Ya looked at the others and saw that they were all looking at her with expectant eyes. She took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I won't target her anymore. But if she turns bad again, I'll smash her head with a rock."

“Okay, we’ll smash it with you.” Sanya smiled.

Xia Songshi smiled too. Her greatest wish was to take good care of the children and wait for her son to return. As for Yunyi, she would accept it if she really recovered. If she had other ideas, she would fight her to the death. In the end, she had to give the children a way to survive.

Da Bao, who was not far away, turned around and went back to his room. Although he did not express his opinion, he prayed in his heart that God would protect him and not let his current stepmother turn back into the one before. He was willing to live ten years less.

Yunyi took a thorough shower and washed her hair, finally feeling much better. She slept quite soundly that night, since the kids wouldn't be hitting her head for the time being.

Meanwhile, inside the ancestral hall, the village chief, along with several respected elders, was interrogating Xia Xiaoyue.

Xia Xiaoyue was detained for two hours and looked rather haggard, but she kept insisting on her innocence. Since no one had actually caught her selling children, as long as she didn't admit it, no one could do anything about it.

"Xiaoyue," the village chief took a puff of his pipe, "we've watched you grow up. Now that you're married, you're an adult, and everyone hopes you'll have a good life." He tapped his pipe as he spoke, "We know what kind of life the Liu family has. When you came back and said that Liu Daneng bought you a silver bracelet, we believed you. But is it true?"

Xia Xiaoyue swallowed hard and subconsciously pulled her sleeve down a little.

"Xiaoyue, we are poor, but we are not starving. Selling a child would be a crime punishable by heaven." The village chief sighed.

Guan Guihua's eyes reddened with anxiety: "Xiaoyue, just tell the truth, okay? As long as we change, everything will be fine."

"Uncle, I'm really innocent." Xia Xiaoyue stubbornly insisted that she hadn't done it. "My silver bracelet was really bought by Liu Daneng. You can ask him tomorrow if you don't believe me."

“In that case…” the village chief stood up, “then we’ll stay here for the night and go to the Liu family in Lishu Village to ask about the situation first thing tomorrow morning.” After saying that, he told everyone to leave and locked the door.

"Big brother..."

“Fugui, I know you’re upset, but it’s one thing to not know, but once you know, you can’t let it go, or it might cause a big disaster in the future,” the village chief sighed.

Xia Fugui's eyes were red, but he couldn't say a word.

“Father, let my sister reflect on her actions first,” Xia Xiaotian said. “We’ll talk about everything tomorrow.” His relationship with his sister was so-so. That girl had been clever and resourceful since she was little, and she always wanted to live a good life. The reason she chose Liu Daneng was because he was the son of the village chief of Lishu Village and the richest man in Lishu Village.

As for whether they would engage in human trafficking, he really wasn't sure.

Everyone agreed that this was the same thing. After all, they had worked all day and were tired, so they stopped talking and turned to go home.

Guan Guihua couldn't sleep at all. After all, that was her daughter, flesh of her own flesh. Others might not care, but she did. She couldn't help but feel a little resentful towards Yunyi. All she wanted was a piece of flesh. If she couldn't give it to her, she could have just refused. Why make such a fuss?

The more she thought about it, the more upset she became. So she got up, glanced at her husband who was sleeping soundly, and went out of the house, stumbling and wading to the outside of the ancestral hall.

"Xiaoyue? Xiaoyue?"

"Mother!" Xia Xiaoyue rushed over, "You've come to let me go, right?"

"Xiaoyue, are you sure you didn't do anything heartless?" Guan Guihua asked, her voice trembling with tears. "Don't lie to your mother."

"Mother, I told you I didn't do it! It was all that bitch Fang Yunyi who framed me!" Xia Xiaoyue started sobbing. "Mother, it's so dark in here, and there are rats. Please let me out."

"But……"

"Mother, I promise I'll live a good life in Pear Tree Village from now on. I'll never come back. Please, Mother." Xia Xiaoyue's attitude was very earnest, but what she was thinking was that if Liu Daneng didn't have a village chief as his father, and if he wasn't tall, strong, and good-looking, she wouldn't have married him.

But you need money to make a living.

She only earns a few copper coins a day, not even enough for a box of rouge.

He's only decent at night, able to satisfy her to varying degrees; otherwise, he's truly a useless coward.

However, this time when she goes out, she will go directly to the county town with Brother A Niu. Then she will not only wear silver bracelets, but also gold earrings and gold bracelets.

Guan Guihua was very conflicted.

"Mother, I beg you, if I go to Pear Tree Village tomorrow, the Liu family will definitely divorce me. Then, I will only have one way out: death. Waaah, Mother, are you really going to watch me die?" Xia Xiaoyue cried miserably. "Mother, I might as well just kill myself right now."

"Xiaoyue, don't do anything foolish. I'll go and beg the village chief again..."

"Don't beg him anymore. My uncle is just an old fogey. I don't know what benefits that bitch Fang Yunyi gave him, but he'd rather believe an outsider than me." Xia Xiaoyue's tone was filled with deep resentment. "It was clearly that bitch Fang Yunyi who wanted to leave the Xia family, it was clearly her who wanted to sell her children, so why is she blaming me?"