“Shut your foul mouth! If I hear you spouting nonsense one more time, I’ll tear your lips off!”
Old Madame Han turned around in a fury, unleashing a barrage of scolding right in her face.
Startled, the woman knew the old matriarch was in a fit of rage and not to be provoked. She shrank her neck back and cowered like a quail behind the others.
Han Er’er was also glaring in fury. He turned around and swept the child into his arms.
He shot a venomous glare at the woman. “Wang Cuiju, keep your mouth shut in front of the child! This family hasn’t just tolerated you for a day or two. If you keep making such unreasonable trouble, I’ll divorce you sooner or later!”
“Han Er’er, say that again if you have the guts! I worked myself to the bone bearing you a son, and you want to cast me out?!”
“Enough, all of you shut up! If we can’t find Han Si and his wife today, none of us are taking another step forward!”
Old Madame Han snapped back with a scowl, burning with sheer anxiety inside.
In these chaotic times of war and unrest, she prayed those two children hadn’t been captured by bandits!
On the other side, hearing his family’s shouts, Han Yanqing leaped up in excitement and yelled at the top of his lungs.
“Mother! Eldest Brother! I’m over here! I’m with my wife!”
Upon hearing her youngest son’s voice, Old Madame Han’s face flushed with excitement!
Han Laoda and Han Er’er abandoned the handcart entirely, dropping everything to support Old Madame Han as they rushed across to the other side!
“Han Si! Quick, let Mother see—are you hurt anywhere?!”
Once they reached Han Yanqing, they quickly checked him over under the moonlight to see if he had any injuries.
Seeing that he was completely unharmed, Old Madame Han could no longer hold it back.
She wrapped her arms tightly around Han Yanqing, breaking down into a frightened, wailing sob.
“My son, Mother thought the bandits had taken you away! Why did you run off blindly on your own? You nearly scared your mother to death!”
Old Madame Han had always been calm and composed, rarely losing her poise like this. Right now, she was clinging to Han Yanqing, weeping with tears and snot streaming down her face. Even the two elder brothers had reddened eyes.
Halfway through crying, Old Madame Han snapped her head up, asking with an aching heart, “Son, where is Ru? Your second sister-in-law said she was taken by bandits?!”
“No! My wife wasn’t taken by bandits! We even knocked the bandit out! Mother, my wife is right here!”
Proud and elated, Han Yanqing pulled Lin Yueru out from behind him.
Letting go of Han Yanqing, Old Madame Han seized Lin Yueru’s hand with immense heartache.
“Child, thank goodness you’re alright! You’re so pretty—if those bandits had snatched you away, what would we have done!”
Back in the Han household, the old matriarch had always protected Lin Yueru the most, treating her like her own flesh-and-blood daughter!
Perhaps swayed by the original host’s lingering emotions, Lin Yueru’s eyes also grew somewhat misty as she looked at Old Madame Han.
But now was not the time to weep!
At the back of the group, there was still a familiar face hiding!
Lin Yueru raised her hand and gently wiped away Old Madame Han’s tears. “Mother, I’m fine. Yanqing and I are both fine. What’s more… my mind is cured.”
Old Madame Han’s mouth fell open, her thoughts freezing. “Ru… what did you say?”
“Mother, she said she’s cured! Fourth Brother’s wife says her mind is clear now!”
Han Laoda blurted it out eagerly with a flushed face, his voice trembling with excitement.
Afraid it might be hard for them to take in, Lin Yueru patiently explained in a soft voice:
“Yes, Mother. I didn’t expect it either. Being scared like that by the bandit somehow cleared my head. I suppose it was a blessing in disguise.”
“Wonderful! That’s wonderful!” Old Madame Han gripped Lin Yueru’s hand tightly. “Ru, the heavens truly have eyes! Such a good girl like you, how could you stay muddled and foolish forever!”
Lin Yueru nodded firmly, gently patting Old Madame Han’s back to comfort her for a long while.
After a moment, Old Madame Han’s emotions gradually settled.
Unexpected events had come one after another today, putting this old woman’s heart through a rollercoaster of worry, and she had even buried herself in the children’s arms, sobbing her eyes out!
Recalling this, Old Madame Han flushed with embarrassment.
Feigning composure, she dusted off her clothes and issued her orders: “Now that Han Si and Ru have been found, our family is whole again!”
“From now on, no matter what happens, our family must stick together at all times. What happened today must never happen again!”
“We’ll do as you say, Mother,” Li Qiumei, the wife of the eldest son, was the first to speak up, her voice gentle and soft.
The others chimed in agreement as well, and even the woman at the very back of the group gave a half-hearted shout.
Catching sight of that woman, Lin Yueru narrowed her eyes slightly.
She sidled up to Old Madame Han’s side and whispered, “Mother, there’s something I’m not sure if I should tell you…”
“Speak! Silly girl, what could you possibly need to hide from Mother?!”
Han Yanqing immediately leaned in and took her hand. “Wife, can Yanqing listen too?”
“You can listen. You saw it, after all.”
Old Madame Han asked suspiciously, “Ru, what is it really?”
“Mother, once I say it, please don’t think I’m being petty…” Lin Yueru lowered her head, looking troubled.
“I won’t! Speak your mind without worry!”
Only then did Lin Yueru recount softly, “Mother, Yanqing, Second Sister-in-Law, and I were originally hiding behind a large tree when we ran right into a bandit. As soon as that bandit came over, Second Sister-in-Law shoved me out and ran off on her own…”
“Yes! That’s right!”
Bringing this up made Han Yanqing so angry he nearly jumped out of his skin. “If I hadn’t gone to fight the bad guy, my wife would have been hurt!”
Seeing this, Lin Yueru kept her head down and said no more.
“Wang Cuiju! Get over here!”
Furious, Old Madame Han spun around, scanning the crowd for Wang Cuiju’s figure.
His face flushed with rage, Han Er’er marched to the back, grabbed Wang Cuiju by the collar, and hauled her to the front.
“Speak! Is what Han Si and his wife said true?!”
Wang Cuiju trembled violently, not daring to lift her head.
“She’s lying! I never went beneath that tree at all… I carried Sanbao and hid outside right from the start!”
“Mother is lying. Mother was behind the tree with Fourth Uncle and Little Aunt. Mother only ran away with Sanbao later.”
Nestled in Han Er’er’s arms, Sanbao pointed a ter little finger at Wang Cuiju.
“Fine! Very well, Wang Cuiju!” Old Madame Han paced in furious circles.
Unable to find a handy tool in the moment, Old Madame Han simply slipped off a shoe and hurled it straight at Wang Cuiju’s face!
“I usually let it slide when you run your foul mouth, but now you dare to harm family! Enough, say no more—this family has no room for you!”
Stunned by the blow from the mud-caked, stinking shoe and with her legs giving way from sheer terror, Wang Cuiju collapsed onto her rear on the ground.
Her tongue tied up in fright, she sobbed incoherently.
“Mother, Erhu, I… I lost my head! I won’t do it again, I’ll never dare to do it again!”
Seeing everyone glaring at her in grim silence, Wang Cuiju dropped to her knees in panic, kowtowing repeatedly.
“Mother, I beg of you! For the sake of me bearing Sanbao, give me one more chance! I’ve really learned my lesson this time. I won’t ever dare to spout nonsense again!”
“Second Daughter-in-Law, over all these years, our Han family has never mistreated you, nor have we denied you second chances! But now you’ve stooped to taking someone’s life—our family wouldn’t dare keep you any longer!”