At the mention of food, the children couldn’t help but lick their lips, yet they all held back from saying they were hungry.
Feng Xinyao sighed inwardly. Children of the poor grew up fast—these little ones were truly sensible.
She moved quickly. There was no water in the house, and she felt too embarrassed to fetch some from the Lizheng’s place, so she picked up the buckets and headed to the nearby stream.
The fields had suffered a severe drought this year, with most of the ground cracked and dry. The stream’s water level had dropped considerably too, but at least there was still some to use.
Feng Xinyao labored to scoop up two buckets of water, then scrubbed the pot and the broken bowls on the bamboo rack until they were clean. She deftly skinned and cleaned the snake, then stuffed a handful of dry grass into the stove pit.
The fire blazed vigorously, and the house that hadn’t been lived in for over a decade slowly began to warm up.
When the water in the pot came to a rolling boil, Feng Xinyao tossed the snake meat in to blanch out the blood. Once it was half-cooked, she fished it out, replaced the water with fresh, and brought that to a boil. She grabbed a handful of millet and stirred it in until it thickened into a porridge, then shredded the snake meat and added it to the pot.
There weren’t many seasonings, but when you’re starving with your stomach pressed against your spine, a bowl of snake meat and millet porridge was more than satisfying.
By the time the meal was ready, the children had finished clearing the weeds from the yard.
Looking at the little courtyard that now felt alive again, Feng Xinyao was in good spirits. She poured warm water for the children to wash up properly.
She had to admit—these kids were truly beautiful.
Shen Yu was only six years old, yet he already had sharp, defined brows and bright eyes. His large, dark eyes were calm and steady, carrying a composure far beyond his years. He would surely grow into a strikingly handsome man with an ethereal air.
The two little girls looked almost identical—big eyes and delicate, porcelain-like faces—but their temperaments were quite different.
The older sister, Jiaojiao, was more straightforward and adorable, her big eyes sparkling and lively, her little head tilted as if always brimming with curiosity.
The younger sister, Yueyue, didn’t dare meet her gaze directly. Her small hands were either nervously clutching the hem of her own clothes or gripping her siblings’ hems. She was a shy, timid little girl who inspired affection.
Three children, three personalities, yet all of them were well-behaved and sensible.
Feng Xinyao liked them all. She gave each one a bowl of steaming hot meat porridge.
There was no table or chairs in the room, so she could only set the bowls along the edge of the heated brick bed.
“Try it and see if it’s good,” Feng Xinyao said with a smile, gesturing for the children to eat.
Looking at the steaming bowl of porridge, piled high and full, the children couldn’t help but swallow their saliva, yet none of them reached for it.
Feng Xinyao, who had been about to head to the kitchen to get her own meal, paused mid-step and asked softly, “Why aren’t you eating?”
The children turned around at her words and looked at her with pleading eyes. “Stepmother hasn’t eaten yet.”
Their soft, gentle, and obedient demeanor struck Feng Xinyao’s heart once again.
She had to admit—their parents really knew how to raise children.
She said, “You go ahead and eat. Mine’s in the kitchen; I’ll eat outside.”
Afraid that her presence would make the children follow too many rules, Feng Xinyao decided not to eat inside at all.
She went outside and served her own meal, and only then did she hear the faint clink of chopsticks touching the bowls from inside—just two soft sounds.
It seemed that not making noise while eating was also part of their parents’ upbringing.
Fine by her. There was nothing she needed to teach them; she could skip the whole battle of wits with the kids.
…
In a small ancient village, once it got dark, everyone went to sleep. There was no entertainment whatsoever.
Feng Xinyao followed local customs and, as soon as dusk fell, she took the children up onto the heated brick bed to sleep.
There was little bedding in the house, so she took out the children’s clothes, laying some beneath them and draping others over them to make do for the night.
Tomorrow she could go to the county town and see about buying some bedding to bring back.
The silver taken from the Shen family—better to spend it sooner rather than later, lest someone set their sights on it.
She would also need to figure out some way to make a living; otherwise, with children to feed and nothing to eat or drink, they wouldn’t survive.
Perhaps it was because she had too much on her mind that a faint drowsiness suddenly crept over her. Feng Xinyao closed her eyes, about to sleep, when she heard the soft rustle of footsteps in the courtyard outside.
Her delicate brows furrowed sharply. Anyone coming to the door in the dead of night was either a robber or a thief…
She glanced at the sleeping children, then grabbed the wooden stick propped against the corner of the wall and slowly edged toward the gate.
But as she reached the gate, she heard the footsteps heading toward the window of the inner room. Worried for the children’s safety, Feng Xinyao abruptly pushed the door open and swung the big stick up to strike—when suddenly a cloud of white powder flew straight at her face.
Feng Xinyao dodged to avoid it, but still accidentally inhaled a bit through her nose. Gripping the wooden stick tightly, she retreated two steps, and heard the footsteps before her drawing closer.
“You little slut. I told you to come to me and you refused, then stirred up this family split to shame the Shen name. If I don’t teach you a lesson today, I don’t deserve to be called a Shen.”
The man lunged straight at her as he spoke.
Feng Xinyao’s brows knitted sharply as she swung the wooden stick with all her might. Though the powder had blurred her eyes, she recognized from the voice that it was the original owner’s younger brother-in-law, Shen Xing.
Back when she was in the Shen household, if the original owner hadn’t fought back desperately, she would have long been taken advantage of by this scum.
Shen Xing was blocked by the wooden stick and couldn’t get near her for a long while. Enraged and humiliated, he cursed:
“Damn it, you bitch. Am I being too nice to you? If I don’t make you beg for mercy with tears today, I don’t deserve the name Shen.”
With that, Shen Xing lunged forward in a swift stride. Feng Xinyao tried to resist, but felt the hand holding the wooden stick suddenly lose all strength. She stumbled back a step, and the stick slipped from her grasp.
Shen Xing sneered: “How about it? Feel your whole body burning up, all your strength gone? Heh. I spent a good chunk of silver to get you this fine medicine. I suggest you give in willingly and spare yourself the suffering.”
She had thought the heat in her body was from rage…
So it was this bastard who had drugged her with such despicable stuff.
Feng Xinyao would never yield to scum like him—then she would fight to the death.
Her body was weak, but her eyes grew ever more fierce and ruthless.
“Sister-in-law smells so sweet.”
At that moment, Shen Xing thought she was nothing but a delicate flower with no thorns left. He leaned in close and took a deep breath, and was just about to go further when something slammed hard into his back.
“Let go of my stepmother!” Shen Yu shouted urgently and sharply.
“Let go…” The two little girls had also run out barefoot behind him.
Shen Xing let out a mocking laugh: “Right, I almost forgot about you little bastards who bite the hand that feeds you. Today I’ll tie you all up and make you watch me have fun with your stepmother.”
As he spoke, Shen Xing rushed toward the children in two or three strides.
Feng Xinyao struggled, and seeing Shen Xing’s evil claws about to grab the children, she relented: “I agree, Shen Xing. Don’t touch the children.”
“Stepmother!”
The children didn’t understand matters between men and women, but they knew their second uncle was bullying their stepmother.
Yet they couldn’t understand why their stepmother, who had been resisting so fiercely just moments ago, had suddenly agreed. For a moment they stood frozen, not knowing what to do.
And Shen Xing paid them no mind, turning around to close in on Feng Xinyao.
“I do like that my sister-in-law knows her place. Rest assured, your little brother will treat you well.”
Shen Xing laughed recklessly as he tugged at his own belt, but Feng Xinyao’s brow relaxed as she smiled faintly and crooked her finger. “Why not let me help you?”