“Who else could it be if not you?”
Xu Da-bo’s mother no longer had the booming voice she once did; she shouted weakly.
“Recently we’ve offended you, Li Zheng—you must take our side!”
“Li Zheng, we are just a few weak women, we don’t have that kind of strength.”
Lan Shuang’s mocking words made Xu Li-zheng twitch at the corner of his mouth. Weak women? Her strength surpassed that of men.
Though irritated in his heart, Xu Li-zheng didn’t believe it was really Lan Shuang and the others who caused this. He kept a stern expression.
“Alright, if you hadn’t caused trouble yourselves, none of this would have happened.”
“Li Zheng, ow…”
Xu Da-bo’s mother tried to speak again, but the pain left her speechless. Xu Da-bo, a grown man, was also groaning.
“I can’t take it, it hurts too much…”
“Enough, go back and rest properly!”
Xu Li-zheng finally couldn’t bear it. After all, these were his own family—he couldn’t just watch them writhe in pain.
Xu Da-bo’s several daughters-in-law stayed by their husbands, wailing like banshees.
Xu Da-sao glared fiercely at Xu Chahua. “It’s all your fault! Ever since you came back, nothing in this house goes right!”
Hearing this, everyone immediately looked at Xu Chahua. Xu Chahua nearly cried from anger.
“You yourselves are dishonest. Don’t blame everything on second sister-in-law, or her parents will be angry!”
Lan Shuang deliberately pointed toward the ancestral hall. Not bad—this excuse worked very well.
Sure enough, when Lan Shuang said this, everyone instinctively felt a chill down their spine, not daring to bully Xu Chahua at the hall’s entrance.
Xu Li-zheng, feeling somewhat guilty, said: “Everyone, keep your mouths shut. This has nothing to do with Chahua.”
“Li Zheng, didn’t they say three days of kneeling? But they only did it for one day.”
Lan Shuang hadn’t wanted to bring this up, but Xu Da-sao had mentioned second sister-in-law again. She could be so malicious, hating every flea equally.
“The main thing is their current condition isn’t good enough.”
Xu Li-zheng felt his head ache. This little sister-in-law of Chahua’s was really a thorn in the side.
Were all daughters from prominent families this formidable?
“No matter. We can wait until they’re capable of kneeling again, then watch them do it.”
Lan Shuang’s words almost made Xu Da-bo’s mother fall off the stretcher, her eyes full of hatred.
“Evil… you are too evil…”
“Not nearly as evil as your scheming hearts.”
Lan Shuang clapped her hands. “Compared to you seizing others’ belongings, what I did is just a small prank.”
Though, their family would probably never kneel in the hall again.
What a terrifying memory.
Xu family, collectively: !!!
“Lan Shuang is right. This is what you owe me!”
Xu Chahua, rarely this firm, stared at Xu Li-zheng. “Uncle Li Zheng, don’t you agree?”
“Yes, yes. Let them rest and recover first.”
Xu Li-zheng rubbed his forehead in exasperation, signaling the young men carrying the stretchers to hurry off. Their footsteps vanished quickly.
Watching their retreating backs, Min Ruolan felt relieved.
“Look how scared they are. It’s not like we made them this way, really pathetic!”
“Better to be scared than dead.”
Lan Shuang had not gone easy on those who wanted to hurt her.
Back home, Min Ruolan and Xu Chahua vividly recounted to Grandmother Lan what had happened at the ancestral hall.
The two sisters-in-law didn’t think much of it, but Grandmother Lan shot a deep, knowing glance at Lan Shuang.
When everyone else went to the kitchen, it was just Lan Shuang and Grandmother Lan. The old lady finally smiled:
“Lan Shuang, this was you, wasn’t it?”
Grandmother Lan believed in cause and effect, but not in ancestor spirits showing up.
If ancestors truly could intervene, the Lan family wouldn’t have ended up in this predicament.
“Grandmother.”
Lan Shuang linked her arm with Grandmother Lan. “Nothing can be hidden from your eyes.”
“Lan Shuang, I’m very pleased you have this ability.”
Grandmother Lan gently patted her hand and said with concern, “The Emperor’s men are still lurking in the shadows. You must be extremely careful—not let any of them notice you.”
“Don’t worry, Grandmother. I’ll be cautious.”
Lan Shuang’s expression grew serious as well. She returned to Grandmother Lan’s room and brought a small packet of snacks.
“Grandmother, your teeth aren’t strong. Eat something soft.”
“You’re a good child.”
Grandmother Lan was deeply touched. Only Shuang noticed how little she ate, knowing she had trouble chewing.
“Grandmother, don’t worry about dragging us down. If anything happens, just tell me.”
Lan Shuang rested on Grandmother Lan’s lap. “We all want you to stay well. One day, we’ll personally bring Father, Mother, and the brothers back to the capital.”
“All right, all right, I’ll remember that.”
After leaving Grandmother Lan’s room, Lan Shuang informed her two sisters-in-law that she was going to the clinic to pick up medicine.
She did have medicine in her space, but she needed an excuse to take it out.
Just outside the village, she saw a group of children playing. She only glanced at them and kept walking.
Suddenly…
A terrified scream rang out in the distance.
“Fei Fei! Fei Fei, what’s wrong?!”
“Waaah… Fei Fei, don’t die!”
The child named Fei Fei frantically pointed at his neck. He looked about seven or eight years old, his face turning blue-purple.
The other children turned pale with fright. One slightly older child reacted quickly.
“You keep an eye on Fei Fei. I’ll go fetch the doctor.”
“Okay!”
Cai Xia grabbed Fei Fei’s hand tightly in fear. “Brother, don’t be scared! The doctor will be here soon.”
Fei Fei couldn’t respond. The choking sensation grew stronger, and he felt… like he was going to die.
At that moment, Fei Fei felt his body lift off the ground. Someone grabbed him from behind.
Then hands pressed above his navel, shaking him vigorously.
“What are you doing?! Don’t bully my brother!”
Cai Xia was terrified. She rushed forward, trying to push Lan Shuang away. Other children jumped to help.
Lan Shuang’s gaze swept over Cai Xia coldly. “If you don’t want your brother to die, don’t interfere.”
Cai Xia froze, tears still on her face, hesitating whether to trust Lan Shuang.
At that moment, the object lodged in Fei Fei’s throat shot out.
“Cough! Cough! Cough!”
Lan Shuang placed Fei Fei on the ground. He coughed violently, almost vomiting.
Once he relaxed, the near-death sensation vanished, and his breathing returned to normal.
“Fei Fei, are you okay?”
Cai Xia realized her brother had recovered. She suddenly understood that the woman before her had saved him.
She was incredible!
“Sister… cough… I’m fine now.”
Fei Fei clutched his still-sore throat. “Something got stuck—the seed of a plum.”
“Thank you.”
Cai Xia wanted to say more, but Lan Shuang merely nodded slightly and quickly walked away.
Soon, the barefoot doctor and a group of adults came running frantically toward them.
Aunt Hua stumbled several times, nearly falling.
“Fei Fei! Grandma! Fei Fei!”
“Grandma, Fei Fei is fine now!”
Cai Xia immediately shouted to the adults. Aunt Hua scooped Fei Fei into her arms.
“Cai Xia, what happened?”
“Grandma, a beautiful fairy saved Fei Fei!”
Cai Xia vividly recounted how Lan Shuang had saved her brother, leaving all the adults wide-eyed in astonishment.