Feng Xinyao had no idea what Shen Yu was thinking. She simply assumed that even a child as precocious as Shen Yu couldn’t resist being swayed by a few words from her.
By the time Shen Yu went inside and roused Shen Jiaojiao and Shen Yueyue, Feng Xinyao’s snake soup was piping hot. The four of them each downed a steaming bowl before heading toward the village entrance.
In this body’s memories, there was no knowledge of the route to the county town. Fortunately, she remembered that a cart driver from a neighboring village came to each village’s entrance every day to pick up passengers headed to Anqing County.
So Feng Xinyao waited at the village entrance with the three children.
This year’s harvest had been poor, so not many people were going to the county town. Still, a few older women and young wives carrying willow baskets on their backs were waiting to sell their wares there.
Seeing Feng Xinyao with several children in tow, the women felt a pang of sympathy and spoke to her with great courtesy.
But just as they were chatting, a voice suddenly cut in.
“Isn’t this Brother Ye’s wife? You just split from the family and you’re already rushing the kids off to town—are you that hard up for money?”
“Oh? So your family’s short on cash and you’re taking the kids to town—do you have some money-making scheme the rest of us don’t know about?”
Feng Xinyao pretended not to understand that the woman was insinuating she planned to sell the children, and shot back instead.
“How dare you talk to me like that?”
The woman stamped her foot, tightened her grip on the boy’s hand beside her, and shot Feng Xinyao a vicious glare.
Feng Xinyao smiled. “What’s got you so riled up, big sister? Did I say something wrong?”
“You—”
The woman naturally couldn’t spell out why she was angry, so she could only grind her teeth in silence.
The older women nearby couldn’t stand it anymore and shoved the woman away from Feng Xinyao:
“Girl Feng, don’t lower yourself to her level. She’s probably still holding a grudge against you over what happened ten years ago.”
Hearing this, Feng Xinyao gave the woman a once-over from head to toe.
The woman looked to be in her mid-thirties, her skin tanned dark from the sun, with crow’s feet creeping from the corners of her eyes.
From what she could recall, the original body had no real dealings with this woman, yet the woman seemed to find fault with her at every turn—once even dumping a basin of water over the original’s head while doing laundry.
The original had been a pushover and never made a fuss, even writing it off as an accident. But now it was clear that wasn’t the case at all.
She asked the older woman beside her, “Why is she angry at me?”
“You don’t know?”
The older woman looked shocked. All these years, Li Guizhi had bullied Feng Daya openly and in secret, and never let up.
Feng Xinyao shook her head. The old woman was about to speak when Li Guizhi shouted anxiously, “Old Mrs. Qin, at your age, aren’t you afraid your tongue will rot from all that gossiping!”
“Oh, you little wretch—I’ll tear that rotten tongue of yours out first!”
The village women were no pushovers when it came to a fight.
Seeing that Old Mrs. Qin was actually serious, Li Guizhi lost her nerve, grabbed her son, and scurried far away.
Old Mrs. Qin spat smugly in her direction and was about to pull Feng Xinyao aside to talk when the ox cart to the county town arrived.
Feng Xinyao figured she’d missed out on that piece of gossip—after all, there were people from other villages on the cart, and she doubted Old Mrs. Qin would speak freely in front of them.
But clearly, she had underestimated the fighting spirit of village women.
The bigger the crowd, the bigger the stage. Old Mrs. Qin crossed her arms, shot Li Guizhi a disdainful look, and dropped a bombshell.
“Girl Feng, the reason she looks down on you is probably because she’s still got her eye on your man.”
“What?”
Before Feng Xinyao could even react with curiosity, the women from several villages had already pricked up their ears.
Li Guizhi flushed with fury, and just as she opened her mouth to retort, she met Old Mrs. Qin’s threatening gaze. She ground her teeth and muttered in a low voice, “That was years ago. Who’s still pining over that? My son’s already this big.”
Aunt Qin sneered and pulled Feng Xinyao aside. “Back in the day, before the Shen family had settled on you, she’d already set her sights on Shen Laoda. Later, I reckon Shen Laoda didn’t take a fancy to her. And honestly, who wouldn’t prefer someone younger?”
Aunt Qin was having a grand time gossiping, and the others were enjoying the show just as much.
In the end, Li Guizhi was forced to scramble off the oxcart midway. If her son overheard any more of that talk and repeated it at home, her husband would beat her to death.
Watching them ride on the cart while she had to trail behind on foot, clutching her child and looking miserable, Aunt Qin was thoroughly pleased. She nudged Feng Xinyao’s arm.
“Don’t you worry. She’s the one coveting your man. Next time she snaps at you, just bring this up.”
Feng Xinyao smiled faintly. She had no real interest in the grudges of the original owner of this body. As long as Li Guizhi kept her distance, she wouldn’t go looking for trouble either.
Perhaps sensing her lack of enthusiasm for the gossip, Aunt Qin moved on to chat with someone else.
It wasn’t that Feng Xinyao disliked talking—it was that the stench on this oxcart was truly unbearable. Every breath made her want to gag. But with so many people around, if she threw up, she’d be accused of being fussy and delicate.
She endured the whole ride, her brows knitting tighter and tighter—unaware that her expression was weighing heavily on the children’s hearts.
The two little girls were still young. They could read her face but didn’t understand what was wrong. Shen Yu, however, furrowed his brow deeply.
His stepmother must be upset because of what that woman said about his father.
He had to tell her—his father wasn’t the kind of man to be fickle. His father was a hero.
In all his memories, there had never been any woman by his father’s side.
But should he say it to her?
His father had once said he must never speak carelessly. Shouldn’t he have some proof that his father was a good man?
Lost in thought, he kept glancing up at Feng Xinyao with worry. Seeing her brow still furrowed, he’d lower his head again, anxious.
That tension didn’t ease until they finally got off the oxcart and Feng Xinyao breathed in some fresh air.
Seeing that her brow had finally relaxed, Shen Yu gathered his courage and tugged at the hem of her clothes.
Feng Xinyao furrowed her brow slightly. “You should breathe in the scent of the grass and leaves around here too. Inhaling that foul stench for too long can cause lung infections.”
Lungs? Infections?
What did those words mean?
Even a clever child like Shen Yu was utterly baffled.
Feng Xinyao gave a light cough, ruffled each of their little heads, then took Shen Jiaojiao and Shen Yueyue’s small hands in hers. “It’s nothing important. Let’s head into town first.”
She’d taken two steps when she remembered that Shen Yu had seemed to want to say something earlier. She called for him to keep up and asked, “What were you about to say?”
Shen Yu pressed his lips together. Seeing that Feng Xinyao seemed to be in a better mood now, he shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
Better not say it. Once he could prove that his father was a good man, then he’d tell his stepmother.
Feng Xinyao had no idea what was going through Shen Yu’s mind. She simply assumed he was a well-behaved, shy child who needed something but was too embarrassed to ask.
She didn’t press further. When she saw something useful later, she’d just buy extra for them.
The household had no rice or flour—those needed to be bought.
Pots, bowls, ladles, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar couldn’t be missing either.
Clothes and blankets needed to be picked out as well.
There was truly a lot to buy this time. Fortunately, Shen Yu had been clever enough to bring out the silver the Shen family had gotten from selling her.
At the thought, she unconsciously ruffled Shen Yu’s head again in approval.
Shen Yu froze, a flush creeping up his small face.
His father hadn’t held him since he was three. His father had said that now that he had a little sister, he had to be a man.
But unexpectedly, having his head rubbed by his stepmother’s soft, warm hand felt so comforting.
A hint of secret joy rose in his heart. As he lowered his head, he saw his third sister, Yueyue, staring at him with wide, fixed eyes.
“Are you tired? Want your brother to carry you?”
Shen Yu said as he bent down, but Yueyue took a step back and placed her soft little hand on his head, rubbing it.
Shen Yu: “…”
His sister rubbing his head was nowhere near as comforting as his stepmother doing it—she was rubbing him like he was a dog.
Shen Yueyue was also puzzled. What was so special about her brother’s head that their stepmother always rubbed it so gently?