Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

“Hmph! If I didn’t follow you, how would I discover all these useful things? If you don’t speak up, I won’t mind letting your Master know that we’ve already found you. I wonder if you can still see tomorrow’s sun by then!”

Ms. Xin’s face turned from pale to green and then back to pale again, as she helplessly slumped onto the ground.

“I didn’t! I never did anything to hurt Third Sister-in-law. I swear to the heavens!”

“Ms. Xin, did you forget what you put in the meeting gift for Sisi on your first encounter? Do you need Third Brother to remind you?”

“I… I… What are you talking about? That sachet is something every girl in Yihong Courtyard has. I’ve always worn it myself. Could there be a problem with the sachet?”

Ms. Xin’s face turned grayish-white, and her expression didn’t seem to be fake.

Just then, Di Ah-Bao’s knocking suddenly came from outside.

“Cui’er! Little Cui’er, are you there? Cui’er, come and open the door, it’s me, Ah-Bao! Hurry up and open the door!”

Accompanied by Di Ah-Bao’s pounding, Ah-Huang and Ah-Hua barked wildly.

These two hounds were becoming more and more understanding of humans and rarely barked indiscriminately at the Di Family when regular people came by.

Only Di Ah-Bao, Ms. Zhao, and Ms. Wang were exceptions, causing the two dogs to go crazy and be uncontrollable despite people trying to pull them back.

Ms. Xin’s face lit up, and she suddenly snapped out of her daze.

Guihua glanced at the two confronting each other and gently got up, tugging on Zhang Peng before saying,

“Brother Ye Lei, it’s difficult for an upright and incorruptible official to meddle in family affairs. It’s inappropriate for Auntie Guihua to speak too much about your family matters. Zhang Peng and I will leave first. As for Sisi, I’ll visit her tomorrow morning.”

As she spoke, she and Zhang Peng left the kitchen one after another, and upon going outside, they finally opened the yard door.

Di Ah-Bao was exerting all his strength knocking on the door outside the yard. Guihua suddenly opened the door, which instead frightened Di Ah-Bao, causing him to lurch forward and almost stumble headfirst.

“I told you two were deliberately messing with yours truly, right? Well, are you here to start a fight or not?”

Di Ah-Bao had a rascal-like appearance, and the moment he spoke, people couldn’t help but want to punch him twice.

Zhang Peng furrowed his brows and was about to speak, only to be smoothly led away by Guihua beside him.

“Shut up! Don’t make life difficult for Sisi and her husband. Let’s go!”

As Guihua’s words fell, Zhang Peng didn’t retort; instead, he obediently followed Guihua out of the Di Family’s home and went in their own direction.

However, Di Ah-Bao interpreted their withdrawal as fear and burst into laughter.

“Pah! What are you, coming to visit every two or three days, thinking you’re some big shot? Heh heh heh!”

After saying that, he staggered into the Di Family’s hall.

The children inside the hall had learned to avoid Di Ah-Bao, so naturally, they didn’t provoke him. Di Ah-Bao turned his head and noticed that the kitchen area seemed lively, so he walked over.

“Speak up! There are no outsiders here now, so if you have something to say, hurry up. If you wait until my patience is gone, things won’t end well.” Di Yelei threatened and coaxed.

As they were talking, Di Ah-Bao barged in. Seeing Ms. Xin, his face immediately turned peachy, with the blossoming of wealth and honor type.’

“This isn’t a matter of whether there are outsiders.”

A moment later, she raised her head and looked at the people present. “Fine, I’ll tell you! But you must promise me not to reveal anything that happens today! After all, I was just ordered to stay by Sisi’s side, and I didn’t do anything to betray her!”

“Then, whose order did you receive?”

A cold female voice suddenly came from behind, causing several people to turn their heads involuntarily. They saw Liu Sisi leaning against the wall at the doorway, the wind blowing her dark hair across her forehead, her demeanor dignified and awe-inspiring, as she stared at her intently.

“Sisi, why are you up? Your body is not well and shouldn’t be moving around. Hurry back and lie down!”

Di Yelei stepped forward quickly, trying to help her up.

Liu Sisi did not refuse Di Yelei’s kindness. As he helped her up, she turned her head to look at Ms. Xin.

“Ms. Xin, come with me.”

Di Yelei bent down, directly picked up Liu Sisi, and carried her back to her room.

Behind him, Ms. Xin did not refuse, but quickly followed.

“Little Cui, where are you going? I’m here to take you home! Little Cui, don’t leave!”

Di Ah-bao, who was beside them, seemed like a child who had never grown up, shouting loudly and rushing after them. Ms. Xin had to stop and look back at him, soothing him softly.

“Ah-Bao, you wait here for me. Third Sister-in-law and I have a few intimate words to share. After we finish, I will come to find you, but you must not be angry. If I find you like this again…”

Ms. Xin’s words carried a warning tone, making Di Ah-bao laugh and shake his head repeatedly.

“Little Cui, I’m listening to you. Can’t I listen to you? You want me to wait here, and I’ll wait here. Hurry up and talk, and then we can go home. If anyone dares to bully you, just tell me. Even the Heavenly King himself couldn’t bully a hair on your head, hmph!”

His tone was as if it were a matter of course.

Ms. Xin smiled and said, “It’s alright. We’re all family here. Who could bully me?”

She walked into the room again. In less than two hours, so many things had happened.

“What kind of riddles are you playing? There are no outsiders here now, so tell me clearly, I want to hear!”

“We didn’t say anything…”

Di Yelei wanted to cover it up, but Liu Sisi glared at him, forcing him to swallow his words.

“Let me say it then!”

Ms. Xin gave a desolate smile and walked to one side, sitting down on a small stool nearby.

“I really didn’t mean to harm you, Third Sister-in-law! I had just come out of the Yihong Courtyard when I gave you the sachet. The sisters there all had the habit of giving sachets to each other. The one I gave you was from one of my good sisters…”

Liu Sisi squinted at her, examining her up and down carefully, and couldn’t help but recall the days when she was constantly drowsy.

“Are you telling the truth?”

“I swear by heaven, if I speak even half a lie, may I die a horrible death and have no place to bury my corpse!” Ms. Xin vowed directly.

Even though Ms. Xin made such a vow, Liu Sisi still felt there was a problem.

“Assuming what you said is true, what happened next? Why didn’t you tell me about the sachet problem and let me wear it instead? Yelei, what you said earlier about chasing after Ms. Xin, what exactly was the matter?”

There sure were a lot of ambiguities in that question!