As for whether her secret snacking would be discovered?
Lin Yingxue wasn’t worried in the slightest.
Aside from two intact chicken legs, she had already chopped the rest of the entire chicken into small pieces and mixed them in the pot.
No one would be able to tell which piece was the thigh and which was the tail.
She then deftly found a clean steaming cloth, carefully wrapped up the leftover white flour flatbreads, and stuffed them into a hidden spot in the firewood pile for her next meal.
“Yingxue!
Are you dead?
Is it done yet!”
Chen Tianhao was burning with impatience.
He reached out to push the door, only to find it latched from the inside.
Wu Qiaoqiao immediately raised her voice.
“See?
I told you she was up to no good!
With the door locked, she’s definitely in there sneaking bites!”
Before her voice even faded, she joined Chen Tianhao in ramming the door.
The kitchen door was already in disrepair and burst open after just a couple of shoves.
Lin Yingxue was squatting in front of the stove, leisurely adding firewood.
Seeing them barge in, she merely lifted her eyelids, looked past Wu Qiaoqiao, and fixed her gaze on Chen Tianhao.
Her voice was soft, laced with a hint of complaint.
“Tianhao, why did you come in with Qiaoqiao?”
Wu Qiaoqiao couldn’t care less about what she was saying.
She darted to the pot and yanked off the wooden lid.
A thick cloud of steam, mixed with the rich aroma of meat, rushed out with a WHOOSH.
It made her head spin, and she nearly drooled.
She turned to grab a bowl—not for herself, but to scoop out a few choice pieces of meat for her meat-craving son first.
Chen Tianhao was quick on the draw and snatched the bowl right out of her hands.
But little did he know, someone else was waiting to swoop in.
A figure darted from the door to the pot with a SWISH.
It was Huang Qiuju, sporting a large pregnant belly.
Ignoring the burning heat, she reached right into the boiling soup to fish for meat, shouting, “Let me nourish the son in my belly!”
Lin Yingxue silently shuffled closer to the stove, putting some distance between herself and the pot.
She didn’t want this pregnant woman bumping into her and blaming her for any mishaps later.
Chen Huaiyuan had been sitting leisurely by the wall, soaking up the sun.
Hearing the kitchen door open, he flicked some imaginary dust off his hem, fully expecting Lin Yingxue to tactfully and respectfully serve him the very first bowl of chicken soup.
He waited and waited, but no one came.
Instead, he heard a commotion inside.
His face darkened as he paced over to the kitchen doorway.
Seeing his two daughters-in-law and youngest son tearing at each other and fighting over a few pieces of chicken, his vision went black.
What a scandal!
“Stop it, all of you!” Chen Huaiyuan, who always maintained a dignified air, finally snapped and roared.
This shout truly brought the scene to a halt.
Wu Qiaoqiao, Huang Qiuju, and Chen Tianhao all stopped.
However, they only paused for a moment before turning back to continue their fight.
Chen Huaiyuan was furious.
His dissatisfied gaze pierced straight at the silent Lin Yingxue as he scolded her.
“This is all your fault.
What kind of child bride is as unruly as you?
You’re in charge of the stove, and you go and kill the egg-laying hen!
Don’t think that just because your mother-in-law has been bedridden for two days, no one in this house can discipline you.
Just wait until she wakes up; see how she deals with you.
“Why are you still standing here?
Hurry up and go to the room to serve your mother-in-law.”
Lin Yingxue knew exactly what Chen Huaiyuan was thinking.
He simply didn’t want her to have a single bite of chicken, so he deliberately ordered her away.
Even if Chen Huaiyuan hadn’t sent her away, she would have found an opportunity to go “serve” her mother-in-law anyway.
Now, he had just handed her the perfect excuse.
Wearing a wronged expression, Lin Yingxue meekly refrained from arguing.
She turned around and scooped a full coarse porcelain bowl of bright yellow, oily chicken and hot broth.
“Father, take your time eating.
I’ll go take care of Mother.”
Chen Huaiyuan adjusted the lapels of his faded old gown.
A sneer of disgust surfaced on his face, and he said no more.
Lin Yingxue carried the chicken soup into the main room and leaned over Jiang Baozhen’s bed to inspect her.
Jiang Baozhen’s eyes were tightly shut, showing not the slightest sign of waking up.
A wave of secret delight washed over Lin Yingxue.
She quickly set the chicken soup on the table and began searching the room on tiptoe.
Following the clues from the original book, she first ducked under the bed.
The original book stated clearly that before going to sleep every night, Jiang Baozhen would dig out her private stash of silver from under the bed and press it under her pillow.
Since she had been carried back unconscious this time, she definitely hadn’t had the time to move the silver.
It had to be hidden under the bed.
Sure enough, after feeling around for a moment, her fingertips touched several heavy pieces of broken silver in a hidden compartment.
Added up, there were a full five taels.
At present, this silver was enough for her to rent two rooms in the city and settle down temporarily.
Aside from the silver, Jiang Baozhen also had a pair of high-quality silver bracelets.
Not to mention the original owner’s heavy pure silver longevity lock, which Chen Huaiyuan had coaxed away from her under the pretense of keeping it safe.
In all likelihood, that had also fallen into Jiang Baozhen’s hands.
Lin Yingxue felt around under the bed for a good while longer and found a small, locked wooden box.
She searched the entire space under the bed but couldn’t find the key.
She figured that the key had to be on Jiang Baozhen.
This family beat and scolded the original owner at the drop of a hat.
It wasn’t entirely out of line for her to collect a little extra interest on the original owner’s behalf, was it?
She crawled out from under the bed.
Without bothering to dust off her clothes, she held her breath, crept up to the edge of the bed, and reached right into Jiang Baozhen’s collar.
Unexpectedly, the moment the blanket was lifted and her fingertips brushed the fabric, someone violently grabbed her wrist!
Jiang Baozhen suddenly sat bolt upright, her eyes wide open, staring right into Lin Yingxue’s face.
Lin Yingxue was frightened out of her wits.
A scream nearly burst from her throat.
She knew Jiang Baozhen’s temperament all too well.
When the woman threw a tantrum, she could curse for three days and three nights without repeating a single insult.
Now that she had been caught red-handed with the charge of “stealing,” she was probably not going to get out of this easily today.
Just as Lin Yingxue’s mind was racing, wondering if she should take advantage of Jiang Baozhen’s post-awakening weakness to simply knock her out with a chop to the neck, Jiang Baozhen suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a tight embrace!
“Xue’er…”
“My sweet Xue’er…
You’ve grown so big…”
Jiang Baozhen’s eyes were red, brimming with tears.
She tightly gripped Lin Yingxue’s arm with one hand, her gaze glued to the girl as if she could never get enough of looking at her.
Then, she raised her other hand and carefully stroked Lin Yingxue’s face.
When that rough palm touched her skin, Lin Yingxue’s heart inexplicably trembled.
An indescribable sense of familiarity welled up within her.
She froze on the spot, and the box and silver she was holding tumbled to the floor.
Chen Gensheng and the others, who had rushed over upon hearing the noise, looked at each other in dismay.
They were all bewildered by Jiang Baozhen’s sudden display of tenderness.
Chen Huaiyuan, on the other hand, felt his heart pounding wildly.
He thought in a panic, “Impossible…
This is absolutely impossible!”
“Xue’er…
My Xue’er…” Jiang Baozhen’s tears fell like rain.
Her lost and found daughter—the daughter who had been by her side for two whole years—and yet, she hadn’t even realized it.
Jiang Baozhen’s heart ached so much she could barely breathe.