Jiang Tang not only filled the two little ones’ bellies but also took them to bathe.
They were clearly adorable, beautiful little dumplings, yet they were covered in dirt and dressed in tattered rags. Jiang Tang’s heart ached at the sight—she couldn’t bear it. She had no idea how the original owner could have been so heartless.
During this time, Jiang Tang deliberately made trouble for Jiang Qinghuan, forcing her to heat bathwater for the two children.
The current Jiang Tang had a fiery temper and refused to swallow any grievances. Jiang Qinghuan dared to bully her two children like that—just making her heat some bathwater as payback was already lenient. Jiang Tang wished she could make her clean up their excrement and urine, and let her go hungry for half a month to see how it felt!
Although Jiang Qinghuan was reluctant to do the work, with Ding Yuqin and Jiang Dehai both urging her on from the side, she had no choice but to lower her head and obediently go heat the bathwater.
During the bath, the little daughter Yueyue was fine—she had been won over by a meal and wasn’t the least bit afraid of Jiang Tang’s approach.
When told to take off her clothes, she took them off. When told to get into the tub, she got into the tub.
The Jiang family used one of those large wooden bathtubs—heavy and solid, made of fine quality wood. Just this bathtub alone must have cost a pretty penny when custom-made, showing how deep the family’s wealth ran.
Yueyue patted her round little belly, soaking in the warm water, and let out a drowsy little yawn.
She said softly, “Mommy, Yueyue is sleepy…”
Yueyue had eaten too much and was getting drowsy from the carbs.
Able to eat and sleep—she was a carefree little girl.
Jiang Tang supported Yueyue, washed her little daughter thoroughly from head to toe, then wrapped her in a small blanket. She looked like a glutinous rice dumpling—soft, squishy, and utterly adorable.
When it was Chaochao’s turn, the little boy was quite embarrassed. His movements to take off his clothes were slow and hesitant—it was obvious he didn’t want Jiang Tang to help him bathe.
Jiang Tang put her hands on her hips and threatened, “If you don’t bathe, you’ll be a stinky kid. I only sleep with clean kids, not stinky ones. You choose for yourself—are you bathing or not?”
Chaochao looked up at Jiang Tang.
What?! Mommy was going to sleep with him?!
Chaochao’s pitch-black eyes dilated in shock, and then, slowly, he took off his dirty clothes.
It was only after Jiang Tang saw the little boy’s bare body that she suddenly understood—Chaochao’s reluctance to undress wasn’t just a little boy’s shyness about bathing. It was because his body was covered in scars.
Some were dark bruises, some were freshly red and swollen.
The scars were a mix of old and new—it was clear he had been bullied for a long time.
Whenever Jiang Qinghuan’s family took out their anger on the two children, Chaochao always stepped forward to protect Yueyue, so all the scars fell on Chaochao’s body.
He also always let Yueyue eat first from whatever food they managed to get, eating the least himself. So after taking off his clothes, Yueyue still had soft baby fat, but Chaochao was skinny as a rail—not an ounce of flesh on him.
It made Jiang Tang’s nose sting with emotion.
She carefully placed Chaochao into the water basin, gently wiping his small body, and asked softly, “Chaochao, does it hurt?”
Chaochao shook his head. “Chaochao doesn’t hurt.”
“Bullshit!” Jiang Tang suddenly cursed in agitation. She said loudly, “Getting hit always hurts! Chaochao, next time someone hits you, hit back hard. Don’t be afraid—just hit back! And you shout louder than them. Even if it hurts, scream it out—the louder, the better.”
Chaochao sat in the basin and looked up, revealing his delicate little face as he gazed at Jiang Tang, his dark eyes full of confusion.
Why couldn’t he understand what Mommy was saying?
Jiang Tang ruffled his hair and said, “It doesn’t matter if you understand or not. From now on, if anyone bullies you, just do what Mommy says. Hit back, and shout loud!”
Chaochao seemed to half-understand, but he still obediently nodded. “Okay.”
She washed his entire body, not even sparing his little pepper, scrubbing him completely clean—and making Chaochao’s face grow redder and redder.
In the end, just like Yueyue, he was wrapped in a blanket and carried to the bedroom.
As Jiang Tang carried the children past Jiang Qinghuan’s door, she lifted her foot and kicked it heavily twice.
“Jiang Qinghuan, my son is done bathing. Go dump the bathwater!”
“Jiang Tang, have you lost your mind? You’re actually telling me to dump your son’s bathwater…”
Curses poured endlessly from Jiang Qinghuan’s room, filled with her fury.
Jiang Tang couldn’t care less. She covered Chaochao’s ears and turned to leave. However they had treated the two little ones before, she would now pay it all back.
In Jiang Tang’s room.
The two little ones, carrying the scent of soap, were tucked into the warm blankets by Jiang Tang.
They were covered up to their chins, only their clean little faces and round, big eyes peeking out. The two little children lay side by side, like perfect replicas of each other—an incredibly heartwarming scene.
Twin babies, a dragon and phoenix pair—that kind of luck was truly one of a kind.
Yueyue still couldn’t believe it. Under the blanket, she grabbed her brother’s hand and whispered, “Brother, can we really sleep here today? Mommy’s blanket smells so nice. It smells so good.”
Hearing Yueyue’s words, Chaochao lowered his head, his little nose rubbing against the quilt. Not only did he feel its softness, but he really did catch a whiff of a fragrance.
Mom had this same scent on her too.
Yueyue pressed on, “Brother, can we really?”
Chaochao no longer doubted it, but repeated, “Mom said we can.”
Hearing this, Yueyue broke into a sweet smile and nuzzled against Chaochao’s shoulder.
In the past, the two children slept on the floor, which was hard and cold, and they could only huddle together for warmth. So now, lying in the cotton quilt felt like a dream, and they still clung tightly to each other.
Jiang Tang listened to the children’s conversation, gently patting their chests to lull them to sleep.
Perhaps the soft mattress was truly too comfortable, for the twins fell asleep before long.
Once the twins were asleep, Jiang Tang finally had time to carefully examine the original owner’s room. The beautiful desk and chair set—actually redwood! Calligraphy and paintings hung on the walls—actually Ming and Qing dynasty antiques!
A vase sat on the bookshelf—blue and white porcelain!
The original owner had thought the blue and white porcelain was ugly, so she’d taken it down and used it as a trash bin on the floor!
What a waste of a treasure!
This two-story attic was also the ancestral home of the Jiang family. The Jiang family had officially risen to prominence starting from the original owner’s grandfather’s generation, and a century of family heritage was hidden within this ancestral home—every chair and every table was priceless.
And all these things, three days later, would be moved away and smuggled off by Jiang Dehai’s family, becoming their spoils.
Just thinking about it made Jiang Tang gnash her teeth in hatred.
She was about to take her children to accompany the army, and she couldn’t take a single thing from the ancestral home with her. Even if it didn’t go to Jiang Dehai, it would be confiscated by the inspection team as punishment. What a pity!
She had already transmigrated into this book—shouldn’t she have been given a random system space or something as a bonus?
As her thoughts turned, Jiang Tang casually pulled open a drawer and discovered a jade bracelet tucked away in a corner.
This jade bracelet was quite unremarkable—white and green in color, with an opaque texture full of cotton-like inclusions, looking like a cheap product.
But in the original owner’s memory, this jade bracelet had been given to her five years ago by her parents before they were forced to be sent down, with earnest and repeated instructions.
“Tangtang, this jade bracelet is the heirloom of the Jiang family, a very precious item. You must keep it carefully. When you encounter danger, it can save your life. Tangtang, remember this—you must always carry it with you and never take it off, no matter what…”
Mother Jiang had spoken with heartfelt sincerity, but unfortunately the original owner was a blockhead who hadn’t taken it to heart at all. Instead, she found the bracelet’s quality lacking, wore it once, then took it off and tossed it into the drawer, never taking it out again.
If the original owner had been wearing this jade bracelet when she was sold by the human traffickers, she might have been able to save her life, rather than having the bracelet end up in Jiang Qinghuan’s hands and become her golden ticket.
Now, Jiang Tang took out the jade bracelet and wiped the dust off it.
She picked up a brooch and gently pricked the pad of her slender white finger, squeezing out a drop of crimson blood that fell onto the jade bracelet.
In an instant, the blood was absorbed by the jade bracelet, strand by strand, the blood-red color interweaving and merging within it.
A dazzling flash of seven-colored white light appeared before Jiang Tang’s eyes, and at the same time, a mechanical system notification sounded in her ears.
[Ding—]
[Blood DNA match successful, identity verification complete—]
[System space is now opening, system loading, please wait…]
[Ding ding—Space opened successfully!]
[Dear master Jiang Tang, welcome to the Spirit Treasure Space—]