As soon as they returned to their shelter, Liu Ji’an immediately sprang back to life.
The rest of the family knew he had been pretending, so they were relieved.
Liu Mother let out a sigh of relief and didn’t forget to praise him for doing a great job.
Ying Huan’s overly affected and delicate behavior might work on men, but the more Liu Mother looked at her, the more she disliked her.
Besides, her intentions were obvious to anyone with eyes.
Trying to set her sights on her fifth son? Not a chance.
Her fifth son would always belong to Shen Qingge.
Pulling Liu Ji’an aside while Shen Qingge wasn’t around, Liu Mother warned him repeatedly,
“In the future, be more alert when you go out. Don’t let those shameless women get anywhere near you.”
“If you dare mess around and lose your virtue, don’t blame Shen Qingge for abandoning you. I won’t help you when that happens.”
“…Mother, am I even your biological son?” Liu Ji’an couldn’t help asking.
“Of course you are,” she said, then added, “but even all my biological children combined aren’t as important as Shen Qingge.”
Although Liu Ji’an felt speechless, he couldn’t deny that his mother had a point.
His wife was the best woman in the world.
Of course, it would be even better if she stopped thinking about divorcing him in the future.
…
In less than half a day, the news that Ying Huan wanted to move into the Liu family—and scared Liu Ji’an into fainting on the spot—spread throughout Liu Village.
Probably because there was nothing new happening during the famine, everyone eagerly latched onto this bit of gossip.
Many people wandered near the Liu family’s shelter, and whenever someone came out, they rushed over to ask questions.
Liu Mother didn’t bother dealing with them and simply stayed inside, organizing things.
Madam Feng, on the other hand, chatted enthusiastically with them.
At dinner that night, Madam Feng brought up the topic again, clearly trying to provoke Shen Qingge.
“Fifth sister-in-law is really impressive—she managed to capture so many bad people, yet she’s afraid of just one weak woman? Bringing her back could help with the chores. Wouldn’t that make things easier for us?”
She deliberately brought up the most inappropriate topic.
The eldest sister-in-law Wang and second sister-in-law Wen kept signaling her to stop.
But she ignored them as if she couldn’t see.
Liu the Third shot her a look of disgust.
For many past issues, he had tolerated her again and again, but she only became worse.
If she didn’t stir the family into chaos, she wouldn’t be satisfied.
“Shut up!”
“Why should I? I didn’t say anything wrong. Fifth brother, don’t you agree? I think we should go visit Miss Ying tomorrow. After all, we’ll be one family sooner or later—”
Before she could finish, Liu Mother slammed her bowl down heavily on the table.
“If you like her so much, then I’ll bring her back tomorrow and put her in your household. Our family may not be rich, but we can still afford to keep a concubine.”
“Mother, that’s not what I meant!” Madam Feng panicked immediately.
If Liu Ji’an took a concubine, it would trouble Shen Qingge.
But Liu the Third taking one? Absolutely not.
Liu Mother snorted coldly. “Then what do you mean? You were so smug just now—why are you afraid when the trouble falls on you?”
“Third son, what do you think?”
Liu the Third knew that Liu Mother didn’t truly intend to give him a concubine—she was just teaching Madam Feng a lesson.
He cooperated and nodded. “I’ll listen to Mother.”
Thinking they were serious, Madam Feng threw down her chopsticks in anger and ran off crying.
Fourth Girl watched her mother’s figure disappear into the distance and lowered her head.
She didn’t feel sad.
On the contrary, she hoped Madam Feng would never come back.
Only then would her life improve.
The Liu family didn’t favor sons over daughters.
Even though she and Third Girl were girls, they were treated equally.
Wang and Wen also treated Fourth Girl well.
Only her own mother, Madam Feng, secretly forced all the work onto her and frequently beat and cursed her with the harshest words.
Fourth Girl didn’t dare tell Liu the Third or Liu Mother.
Because if she complained, Madam Feng would cover her mouth and beat her even harder.
Everyone thought she was sad because of her mother leaving.
But Shen Qingge clearly saw the faint smile at the corner of her lips.
Her own mother left, and she was happy?
After dinner, Shen Qingge asked Liu Ji’an about the relationship between Fourth Girl and Madam Feng.
Before his injury, Liu Ji’an rarely stayed at home—at most a few days a year—so he didn’t know much.
But in the village, it wasn’t uncommon for mothers to treat daughters poorly.
“Father and Mother have warned Madam Feng many times. On the surface, she doesn’t dare do anything to Fourth Girl, but as for what happens in private, if Fourth Girl doesn’t say anything, there’s no way for them to know.”
Shen Qingge said, “If they truly wanted to know, how could they not? They’re just turning a blind eye.”
“Many kinds of harm don’t disappear just because you pretend not to see them. If this continues, it will ruin Fourth Girl.”
Liu Ji’an understood this.
So did his parents.
But Madam Feng’s father had died saving Liu the Third.
Because of that life-saving favor, no matter how much they disliked her, they had to endure it.
Shen Qingge shook her head. There were many ways to repay a debt of gratitude, yet they had chosen the worst one.
In this era, women already had a hard life.
Fourth Girl shouldn’t be sacrificed for repayment.
“Either send Madam Feng away, or separate her from Fourth Girl. If this continues, they’ll regret it later.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll find a chance to talk to my parents about it,” Liu Ji’an said, nodding.
Then he brought up another matter. “What do you think about taking in those women?”
Shen Qingge replied, “I’ve said it before—those who are not of our kind will have different intentions.”
Liu Ji’an didn’t understand. “They’re weak and powerless. Even if they have bad intentions, they’re no threat to our village of over two hundred people.”
“You underestimate the role of women.”
Compared to strong men, weak-looking women are more likely to lower people’s guard.
In her past missions, she had often used beauty as a weapon—and it never failed.
These women had been surrounded by dozens of men for a long time, yet they had suffered little harm and even looked well-fed.
That alone proved they were not ordinary.
“Have your people interrogate them again carefully. This matter is not that simple.”
…
As for Madam Feng, who had run off in anger—
At first, she ran forward recklessly, determined not to return.
But after running for a while and seeing no one chasing after her, she became afraid and slowly turned back.
She kept walking while cursing everyone nonstop.
So absorbed in her ranting, she didn’t notice a woman swaying her hips as she approached.
“Madam Feng,” Ying Huan greeted her with a smile.
Madam Feng had never seen her before, but seeing her unfamiliar face, she guessed she was one of the newly taken-in women.
Her expression immediately turned cold, and she walked past her.
Ying Huan wasn’t annoyed and followed her with a smile.
“Madam Feng, I have a profitable deal I’d like to discuss with you.”