Hearing the commotion, a plump woman stepped out of the house. Her small eyes, squinted nearly shut by the flesh on her face, gleamed with calculation. She was Zhang Dacheng’s mother, He Erhua.
The moment she saw her family gate kicked open, she shrieked from the depths of her throat, “Where did this little beast come from?! Why are you kicking my gate?!”
As she spoke, she lunged forward, claws aimed at Su Wenzu’s face. Su Wanhai stepped in immediately, grabbing her sleeve and flinging her aside.
“Who are you calling a little beast?!”
He Erhua stumbled, barely steadying herself before spitting viciously onto the ground.
“Zhang Dacheng! Stop hiding like a turtle inside! Your old mother is being bullied in her own courtyard and you can’t see it?!”
The curtain lifted again. A thin, sharp-faced man walked out leisurely, picking his teeth. His small, beady eyes made him look particularly shifty.
“Well now,” he sneered, “isn’t this Father-in-law? You just left earlier—why are you back so soon?”
Su Wanhe trembled with anger, raising a finger at Zhang Dacheng but unable to speak.
“Father… Mother… Grandfather?”
A wooden door on the right creaked open.
Su Miao had been washing dishes in the kitchen. Hearing the noise in the courtyard, she had assumed her mother-in-law was quarreling again. When she stepped out and saw her parents, who had already returned home earlier, she froze.
She had grown thin. Su Tian’s gaze locked onto her. Before marriage, Su Miao had still carried a hint of baby fat. Now her cheeks were hollow, making her already large eyes look startlingly big—as if they took up half her face. The once lively, clear eyes were now dull and numb, only flickering faintly upon seeing her family.
A thin layer of coarse cloth hung loosely on her frail frame. Her hands protruded from the sleeves; a gust of wind might have knocked her over.
She seemed to want to say something. Her bloodless lips trembled, but no sound came out.
“Eldest Sister!”
Su Tian released Wu Fen and hurried forward, taking Su Miao’s hands.
“How have you grown this thin?”
Su Miao’s empty gaze shifted slowly until it focused on Su Tian.
“…Tian… Tian-jie’er?”
Seeing the sister he had grown up with reduced to this state, Su Wenzu could bear no more. His fist flew straight into Zhang Dacheng’s face.
“So this is how you treat my sister?!”
Caught off guard, Zhang Dacheng staggered backward.
“Ahhh!” He Erhua shrieked and threw herself in front of her son protectively.
“How have we wronged her?! My son feeds her and clothes her! And what does she do? It’s been over a year since she entered our house and her belly hasn’t shown any sign of life! The Zhang family must have been cursed for eight generations, marrying a hen that can’t lay eggs!”
She flopped onto the ground, wailing loudly. Before long, villagers gathered outside to watch.
Zhang Dacheng rubbed his jaw and sneered, “We only ask her to wash dishes and feed the chickens. What daughter-in-law doesn’t work? She’s just delicate.”
Su Tian suddenly rolled up Su Miao’s sleeves. “This is what you call washing dishes and feeding chickens?”
Su Miao’s arms were mottled with bruises, blue and purple pinch marks, and unmistakable welts from sticks. Old and new injuries layered over each other. At Su Tian’s light touch, Su Miao sucked in a sharp breath, her face turning even paler from the pain.
Wu Fen erupted like a cow protecting her calf. She lunged at He Erhua, hands flying. In the blink of an eye, she delivered slap after slap—dozens in rapid succession.
“I’ll let you beat her? I’ll let you beat her?! Back then you humbled yourself and swore again and again you would treat her well! That’s the only reason I agreed to this marriage! And now you dare torment my daughter right in front of me! Who gave you the audacity?!”
Blood trickled from the corner of He Erhua’s mouth. She rolled over and shoved Wu Fen, and the two women grappled on the ground.
Zhang Dacheng tried to intervene but was blocked by Su Dashu and the broad-shouldered Su Wanhai brothers.
“Zhang Dacheng,” Su Dashu said coldly, “what explanation do you have?”
Su Tian quietly led Su Miao behind them. Su Miao had long grown used to swallowing her grievances in silence, biting down and enduring everything alone. She had almost forgotten what it felt like to be shielded by others. Now, looking at the solid, protective backs before her, tears slowly blurred her vision.