Qi Nian thought to herself that as a woman alone with children and no support, it was better to avoid trouble than to court it. She hadn't even pursued the matter of that family's child stealing her fruit, and now her own child was about to be hit. She was furious. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself up from the ground, rushed over to pull Xiao Rui behind her to protect him, and thrust the dagger toward the hand that was coming down to strike Xiao Rui.
The reason she could react so quickly was that Qi Nian had seen the man charging over aggressively and had already gripped the dagger, ready to defend her child at any moment.
Xiao Rui had called out "Mother!" to her in his moment of danger—that made him her child to protect.
"You—you bitch!"
"You're the bitch! Your whole family are bitches! Your kid steals my kid's fruit and you think you're in the right? I didn't pursue it because I couldn't be bothered to argue with a child. But now I see clearly—fish rot from the head down. You're all a bunch of shameless thugs!"
"You—you, you…"
The big man's face flushed red with anger. Knowing he was no match in a war of words and that he was in the wrong anyway, he spat viciously and dragged his still-wailing son away.
Qi Nian was comforting Xiao Xi and Xiao Rui, thinking the matter was settled, when unexpectedly the man came charging back with seven or eight burly men, all bearing down on Qi Nian menacingly.
What to do when outnumbered and unable to win? No panic.
Qi Nian stood up and shouted loudly, "Whoever beats down these thugs who stole my son's fruit gets two pears from me—look, as big as the ones my kids are eating!"
At Qi Nian's shout, the people around who had been minding their own business now grabbed whatever hoes or cleavers they had for self-defense and rushed over to join the fight.
In a time of no food and no water, pears as big as fists were no ordinary prize.
Unfortunately for those who came to help, they never got the chance to make a move. An old man with lightning-fast footwork had already charged at the group of troublemakers. One against eight, he took them all down in a few moves.
The old man who had been looking for a child? Qi Nian hadn't confirmed whether it was him when Xiao Rui in her arms shouted behind her, "Father!"
Qi Nian turned to look—it really was the young man who had mistaken his son earlier.
"It's you?"
"Mm. Thank you for saving my son."
He said thank you, but Qi Nian could hear the politeness and distance in his voice.
Qi Nian shoved Xiao Rui in her arms toward Yao Chengyi. "Here's your son. Keep an eye on him and don't lose him again."
Yao Chengyi took the child and nodded.
Finally able to shed this little burden, Qi Nian just wanted to catch her breath. He wasn't talking, and she didn't want to speak either.
In truth, Yao Chengyi's attention was entirely fixed on Xiao Chen. No wonder he had mistaken the wrong son—his son was a bit plumper, hers was thinner, and both children's faces were smeared with dirt, but their facial features showed seven or eight parts similarity.
"Master, these two kids?" Old Hu came over after the fight and his jaw nearly dropped. "No one would doubt they're twins if you said so."
Old Hu and his big mouth!
Yao Chengyi raised his eyes, and Old Hu immediately shut up.
Yao Chengyi glanced lightly at Qi Nian, then picked up his own son and walked away.
Old Hu didn't need to guess—he knew his master wanted him to take this young lady who had saved the young master away from this place so she wouldn't be bullied again.
"Miss, traveling alone with two children won't be easy. If you don't mind, why don't we keep each other company on the road?"
Mind? Not in the slightest! Qi Nian had been waiting for him to say exactly that.
"Alright. Could you help me carry my bundle?"
"Anything else?"
Qi Nian shook her head.
"That's all you have? Not even a handcart? How did you manage to bring three children all the way here by yourself?"
From the first time they'd met, it had been most of a day. The three children were so small, with no help and no cart to ride in—Old Hu couldn't imagine how she'd managed to bring the children such a long distance.
"I'm tired and don't want to talk about it. If you want to know, ask the children."
"Oh, alright."
Old Hu took the bundle and saw Xiao Chen and Xiao Xi struggling to walk, so he simply picked up one in each arm. They hadn't gone far before they reached an ox cart.
Qi Nian took the straw mat Old Hu pulled over for her and sat down on it with the two children. She was exhausted, not wanting to move a muscle.
"Thank you for saving our young master. May I ask your name, miss?"
"Surname Qi. Qi Nian."
At the name Qi Nian, Old Hu was visibly startled.
Yao Chengyi, sitting not far away holding his son, was even more jolted, a string pulled taut as he waited to hear more.
"And… your husband?"
"Dead."
In the original owner's memories that Qi Nian had received, there was no man at all—so he might as well be dead.
"How old are your two children? They look like twins."
"They are twins. Just turned three."
Qi Nian and Old Hu continued their awkward conversation.
Through the chat, Qi Nian learned his name was Old Hu.
Xiao Rui's father was called Yao Chengyi, and their party also included Yao Chengyi's attendant, named Shen Lu.
Qi Nian and they had all come from the direction of Suicheng, except the Yao family were city folk while she was from Niulan Village outside the city.
Since they were banding together to flee disaster, both sides' backgrounds were thoroughly understood.
While Old Hu talked with Qi Nian, his eyes kept falling on Xiao Rui and Xiao Chen eating their fruit.
Niujia Village, Qi Nian—these words left Yao Chengyi and Old Hu both shocked and doubtful.
Yao Chengyi had Shen Lu watch over Xiao Rui while he and Old Hu went off to the side.
"Old Hu, you were the one who went to Niujia Village back then. Are you certain that woman only gave birth to Rui'er?"
"Master, I'm not so sure anymore either. At the time, I waited outside while the midwife delivered the baby, and only one young master was brought out. Could she have been carrying triplets? If so, the other two must have been born after I left. The children's ages match up, and the names and village match too. Do you still remember what that young lady looked like, Master?"
"I don't remember. Why would I bother remembering that woman's face?!" The moment that woman was mentioned, Yao Chengyi ground his teeth in fury, wishing he could tear her apart and devour her.
"…" Old Hu was left completely speechless.
Four years ago, Yao Chengyi had fled to Niujia Village to escape his pursuers. By some twist of fate, he ended up sharing a mountain cave with a village girl. He had been poisoned at the time and had no strength to resist—he was forced into bed by that village girl!
Forced! Into! Bed!
Later, by the time he learned that Qi Nian was pregnant, she was already close to giving birth. There was no chance to abort the child in her womb, so he could only have Old Hu bribe the midwife and secretly take the baby away after it was born.
As for Qi Nian of Niujia Village, both Yao Chengyi and Old Hu remembered her.
The reason Qi Nian had no memory of Yao Chengyi was because Old Hu, after taking the child away back then, had also administered a drug to her original body. As a result, she lost all memories from the decade or so before giving birth, and naturally, Qi Nian had nothing to inherit.
"Find a way to locate someone from Niujia Village and ask around."
"She said she got separated from her fellow villagers. In these circumstances, finding someone would be like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"Keep an eye out along the way."
"Alright. If those two children are also yours, Master, that would be wonderful—you'd have three children at once. But what should we do about that Miss Qi?"
"We'll deal with her once it's confirmed."
Daring to sleep with him while he was in peril, and even carrying his child? Yao Chengyi harbored a deep, bone-deep hatred for Qi Nian. Being violated by a village girl—that humiliation could never pass in his heart. The practice of keeping the child and disposing of the mother wasn't something he was incapable of doing.