After all, she was her biological mother. Li Yumei complained inwardly, but on the surface, she couldn’t stop herself from sounding aggrieved.
“Mom, it’s all because of Dakang’s new wife. Not only did she beat me, she also beat Dajun and his two brothers!”
As she spoke, Li Yumei genuinely began to feel sorry for the children.
“You should have seen their butts. They were covered in long, red welts from being beaten. She wouldn’t even give the children anything to eat. When I got there, the three of them were crying from hunger and screaming from the pain.”
“How dare she!”
The moment Wang Xiuying heard this, she exploded with rage. The woman their family had paid such a high price to bring into the house actually dared to act like she was the mistress of the place and treat them this way.
That job alone was practically priceless nowadays. It was worth at least a thousand yuan.
“You stay here and watch your brother. I’m going home right now. If I don’t make her kneel beside your brother’s bed and repent today, I’ll change my surname!”
After saying that, Wang Xiuying stormed out.
Li Yumei opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
Her mother was Qiao Nian’s mother-in-law, after all. She refused to believe that Qiao Nian would actually dare to hit her mother.
If Qiao Nian so much as laid a finger on her mother, the neighbors’ accusations alone would drown her.
Qiao Nian had no idea what Li Yumei was thinking. If she had known, she would have simply scoffed.
When she had first been reborn, her mind might still have been foggy enough that she would have looked for excuses. But after beating Li Yumei, the memories of her previous life had become even clearer.
In her previous life, the three little brats in the Li family had all dared to beat her—their nominal mother. So why couldn’t she beat their grandmother?
As soon as Wang Xiuying arrived home, she saw her three beloved grandsons huddled pitifully by the doorway.
Remembering what her daughter had told her, she immediately pulled down Li Xiaojun’s pants.
Sure enough, his butt was swollen and covered in red welts.
Wang Xiuying sucked in a sharp breath as though someone had stabbed her right in the lungs.
The tears Li Xiaojun had been holding back for so long suddenly streamed down his face.
“Grandma, that bitch—”
Realizing what he was about to say, he quickly covered his mouth and glanced toward the house before continuing.
“Grandma, if you hadn’t come back, we would have been beaten to death. Waaaaah!”
Li Dajun and Li Erjun immediately began talking over each other, eagerly telling their grandmother everything that had happened.
Wang Xiuying had already been frightened and stressed out for the entire afternoon. Now, hearing the complaints from her beloved grandsons made her dizzy with rage.
She had never heard of a stepmother who, on the very first day she entered the household, dared to beat her husband’s children so brutally!
Even if she was only pretending, she should at least have pretended to be a virtuous stepmother.
With a loud bang, Wang Xiuying kicked the door open.
She saw Qiao Nian in the kitchen, actually cooking porridge.
When Qiao Nian saw her come in, she smiled gently.
“Mom, the porridge is almost ready. I thought that when Dakang wakes up, having some porridge would be easier for him to digest. I was just planning to bring some to the hospital later.”
Wang Xiuying froze for a moment before immediately snapping back to reality.
“So now you’re pretending to care? Crying crocodile tears after the fact? Taking care of Dakang is your duty! Let me ask you—what gives you the right to beat my children?”
“Because I’m their mother now!”
Qiao Nian couldn’t be bothered to pretend anymore and immediately shot back.
She didn’t actually want to be their mother, but this identity was genuinely useful.
“Everyone in the compound knows by now that Dajun is vicious and tried to poison his own father. Isn’t it only right that I discipline him?”
“You little bitch! A whore who was born but never properly raised! No matter what my grandson did, it isn’t your place to teach him!”
Wang Xiuying’s head throbbed with anger.
Thinking about her eldest grandson—whom she couldn’t bear to touch even with a finger—she pulled off her shoe and charged toward Qiao Nian.
“Help! Someone’s trying to kill me!”
“The Li family is trying to kill someone again!”
Qiao Nian shouted as she ran toward the doorway.
Whether it was the Qiao family or the Li family, there was no one outside whom she truly cared about. But to them, having outsiders witness their family disputes was completely different.
It meant their dignity was being thrown onto the ground for everyone to trample on.
As soon as Qiao Nian stepped outside, she saw a crowd of curious faces.
Uncle Chen, who had been watching the commotion that morning as well, walked over in confusion.
“Dakang’s wife, what’s going on? Is there trouble at your house again?”
Qiao Nian imitated Wang Xiuying’s dramatic tone from her previous life, drawing out every word pitifully.
“Uncle, I’m so unfortunate! I married into this family because I only wanted to live a good life. The moment I stepped through the door, I heard these children discussing how they were going to kill me. Then, right afterward, they poisoned their own father!”
“Bullshit!”
Wang Xiuying had just come outside and immediately heard Qiao Nian slandering her precious grandson.
She hurriedly pulled down Li Xiaojun’s pants and shouted,
“My Dakang simply ate something bad! What does that have to do with the children? Everyone, come and look! Xiaojun is still so young. We paid such a huge bride price to bring this new daughter-in-law into our family, and on her very first day, this is how she treats the children? Who behaves like this?”
The three Li brothers also cooperated with their grandmother and immediately began wailing.
The children cried so pitifully that anyone who heard them couldn’t help feeling sorry for them.
Slowly, some of the neighbors began taking Wang Xiuying’s side.
“The children are still young. This new wife really is a little too cruel. If she keeps beating them like this, she’ll eventually hurt them badly.”
“Children need discipline. A tree won’t grow straight if you don’t prune it, and children won’t learn right from wrong without discipline. But if these children aren’t properly taught, they might very well go down the wrong path.”
“That may be true, but she can’t beat them like this. It’s obvious she doesn’t feel sorry for them because they aren’t her biological children.”
“Oh, really? Then why don’t you take them home and raise them yourselves? If Dajun poisons someone and kills them again, will you take responsibility?”
Qiao Nian shouted back at the people criticizing her.
Then she turned her gaze toward Wang Xiuying.
“But you, too. You keep saying Dakang ended up in the hospital because he ate something bad. Dajun already admitted it this morning. Everyone in this courtyard knows it was Li Dajun who tried to poison his own biological father!
“And you’re covering for him. Do you think you’re helping him? You’re clearly harming him!
“Today, I became their mother, so I have to take responsibility for their future. If they misbehave, I’m going to discipline them. I have nothing to feel guilty about! If I don’t teach him a lesson for poisoning someone today, am I supposed to wait until he gets angry with a neighbor someday and poisons them to death before I finally discipline him?”
The moment she mentioned poisoning a neighbor, the people around them became uneasy. The way they looked at Wang Xiuying and her three grandsons immediately changed.
“Are you all stuffing donkey hair in your ears? Didn’t you hear what Dakang’s wife just said? Do you think this is some harmless little prank? This is a matter of life and death! What’s wrong with giving him a beating? If you don’t teach him a lesson, he’ll never learn!”
“Exactly! That child has been vicious since he was little. His father and grandmother spoiled him rotten. Do they really think they’re doing what’s best for him? They’re just raising him to become a good-for-nothing!”
“I actually like Dakang’s wife. She doesn’t care about gossip and dares to speak and act her mind!”
Wang Xiuying watched as the neighbors pointed at her and listened to one insult after another. Her face flushed bright red with anger.
She had devoted herself to her son and her grandsons. What had she done wrong?
What exactly was her fault?
“You heartless, rotten slut! You filthy whore! Just wait—I’m going to tear you apart today!”
Wang Xiuying was completely enraged.
That wicked woman actually dared to ruin her eldest grandson’s reputation like this. Now that he had a reputation for trying to kill his own father, how was her grandson supposed to live in the future?
Smack!
Qiao Nian was well-fed now, and she had plenty of strength.
After living through one entire lifetime and being given a second chance, how could she possibly just stand there and let herself be beaten?
The crisp sound of the slap rang out.
Not only was Wang Xiuying stunned, but all the surrounding neighbors were stunned as well.
For a moment, it was as though someone had pressed the mute button on the entire world.