In her past life, because her mother had been framed, her father never pursued how Qing Bao had died.
He assumed Qing Bao was also a bastard.
Qing Bao’s little face darkened as she glanced at the sky, where the moon hung high.
She had to reach her mother before the clansmen did.
Otherwise, the consequences would be dire.
“Old Madam Su, take a few people and watch the children here. I’ll lead the clansmen to the back hill to search for Si He.”
After instructing Old Madam Su, the Clan Leader called for the clansmen to light torches.
A group of people, led by Old Madam Su’s matron, headed toward the back hill.
Nearby, a physician was bandaging Su Mengmeng’s bleeding head.
Su Mengmeng wept as if her heart would break, each sob striking Old Mrs. Su’s heart.
While softly comforting Su Mengmeng, Old Mrs. Su glared fiercely at Qing Bao.
“You vicious little bastard, come over here at once and kowtow to Mengmeng to apologize… Ugh! How dare you run inside!”
The old lady was nearly furious to death.
Qing Bao paid her no mind.
Instead, clutching the Judge’s Brush, she toddled on her short little legs into the room.
Inside, several injured adults were too terrified to utter a word at the sight of Qing Bao entering with the brush.
“Uncles, how did you manage to fall and hurt yourselves like this? Hurry and get up to go outside—Old Madam is waiting for you!”
Qing Bao lightly poked their faces with the brush tip.
A tingling sensation spread from their cheeks to their minds.
In an instant, the adults looked dazed, as if unaware of what had just happened.
Once everyone had left,
Qing Bao set down the Judge’s Brush, letting it hover horizontally in midair.
The three-year-old hopped onto it with a soft thud, sitting astride it and gripping the little tassel on the brush handle.
“Brushy, quickly take me to the back hill to find Mother.”
The Judge’s Brush obediently quivered twice, then flew out the window with the little toddler.
Under the night sky, if one didn’t look closely at her proportions, she might be mistaken for a youth riding a flying broom.
In a cave on the back hill,
Si He was freed from the sack.
She had fiercely protected the Sugar Crisp in her arms, and even in her violent struggles, it remained uncrushed.
Though dressed in coarse cloth, her fair cheeks and delicate features stood out as she stared in terror with wide, beautiful eyes at the ill-intentioned man before her.
“Su Dazhuang, why have you kidnapped me here? Don’t you know today is the day my husband returns in triumph? He’s sure to come back with his troops. Let me go, and I’ll pretend this never happened.”
Si He struggled to calm herself, attempting to negotiate with Su Dazhuang.
Su Dazhuang was the only son of Aunt Ba in the village; a year ago, his wife had been drowned in a pig cage, and he still craved money.
Si He believed preserving her life and chastity was paramount now, so she added, “However much silver you want, I can get it for you!”
Though she had little silver herself, the rewards from her husband’s triumphant return would surely be plentiful.
Since leaving the Su Family and moving to the village, she had refused even a needle or thread from the Su Family or the Si Family, supporting her daughter through her own diligent work gathering herbs and doing embroidery.
Today was her daughter’s birthday, and she hadn’t yet brought back the new clothes and Sugar Crisp she’d saved up to buy.
She couldn’t perish here.
Yet,
Su Dazhuang completely disregarded her words, leering lustfully instead.
“Of course I know today is the day General Su returns. I kidnapped you precisely to taste his woman before the great general arrives.”
After speaking, the man reached for her collar.
Si He screamed, summoning unexpected strength to shake off his hand.
She stood up to run, but the man grabbed her hair tightly and threw her back onto the large rock.
The man leered, rubbing his hands together. “So this is the so-called General’s Wife? Too weak to truss a chicken—far inferior to General Su’s other wife.”
“She knows martial arts, is bold and straightforward, and returned from the battlefield with General Su after earning merits. And you? You’re just a useless waste. Even if you die here today, neither the Su Family nor the Si Family would spare you a glance.”
“Since you’re going to die anyway, why not let me have some fun first!”
Su Dazhuang said, pouncing toward Si He.
Si He gritted her teeth, rolled away to dodge him, and quietly clenched a stone she found by her hand.
Yes, even though she was the Si Family’s true daughter who had been lost and found, in their eyes, she was nothing but a waste who had returned to steal the affection meant for the adopted daughter.
Her three brothers and parents doted on the adopted daughter, obeying her every word.
Even when she married into the Su Family, she had to share the wedding day with the adopted daughter. Though she was the legal wife, she could only wear a pink wedding gown.
The man’s words had undoubtedly struck a nerve.
For the sake of her adoptive parents, who had raised her, she had no choice but to endure the humiliation.
But now.
They wanted her life.
Si He escaped, shrinking into a corner of the cave, her entire body trembling with fear and helplessness as she stared at the man in terror.
The man grabbed her again, reaching to tear off her clothes.
Si He tightened her grip on the stone. With a fierce glare, she raised it and struck the man on the back of the head.
Thud—
The stone landed.
The man’s eyes widened, and he slowly collapsed to the ground.
She slumped to the floor, shivering, and reached out to check the man’s breath. Thankfully, he wasn’t dead.
From somewhere, a wisp of black energy drifted by.
She turned, picked up her daughter’s new clothes and the Sugar Crisp, and prepared to flee.
At that moment.
A red light appeared out of nowhere, and Si He was instantly swept into it by an unseen force.
Simultaneously, a group of people burst into the cave, holding torches and urgently searching for someone.
“Si He, are you in here?”
“Granny Wang, didn’t you say you saw Su He entering the cave? Where is she?”
“I did see her going up the back hill with another man… Ah!!!”
Granny Wang stepped on something soft. When she brought the torch closer to look, her face instantly turned pale with fright.
In her previous life, it had been like this, but they had arrived earlier and witnessed the man holding Si He, both in disheveled clothing.
In this life, Qing Bao had beaten up Su Mengmeng in the courtyard, delaying things slightly.
Thus, when they arrived, they found the man already fallen.
Qing Bao brought her mother back to the room in the courtyard.
When Si He opened her eyes and saw the familiar room, she was completely stunned.
“How did I get back? Qing Bao, you…”
“Don’t worry about how you got back for now,” Qing Bao said, lifting her small face to her mother. “Grandmother bribed a man to ruin your reputation. You can’t let them bully you anymore, or the consequences will be terrible.”
Hearing this.
Si He froze, her eyes reddening slightly. She knelt down and hugged Qing Bao, asking in a choked voice, “Qing Bao, you know?”