Seeing Chen Liyun in such a state, Chen Lihong stayed a while longer. The little one had gone hungry after being away all day, but going an entire day without nursing took a severe physical toll on the mother as well.
Chen Lihong cooked a bowl of egg noodles for Chen Liyun, boiled some hot water, and turned to instruct Chen Shu and Chen Chang. She warned them not to make trouble if their mother developed a fever during the night, and reminded them to bring her hot water to drink if that happened.
Chen Chang nodded obediently.
Chen Shu, however, asked out of curiosity, “Third Aunt, Mom seemed fine just now. Why would she get a fever? Is it… because she went to get a divorce from him today, and she’s heartbroken?”
Refusing to call Qi Hongwei “Dad,” she deliberately paused mid-sentence.
Chen Lihong believed in being honest with the children. Chen Shu was already seven, after all. If the girls never learned what their mother had sacrificed for them, it was bad enough that they might not grow up to be filial, but if they ever took Qi Hongwei’s side, it would be enough to make Chen Lihong sick with rage.
Stroking Chen Shu’s thin, yellowish hair, she said softly, “It’s not out of sadness. She couldn’t be happier to finally divorce that man named Qi and have rightful custody of the three daughters she loves most in the world. Why would she be sad?”
The physical toll of going a full day without nursing during lactation was something children couldn’t understand even if she explained it.
After a moment’s thought, Chen Lihong added, “She ran around getting the divorce and selling things to earn money, all so she can give you a better life. She’s simply exhausted.”
Little Chen Chang murmured softly, “Mom works so hard!”
Chen Shu understood even more. Her mother could have easily remarried; Third Aunt had previously mentioned that she could find another husband even if she only kept Abao with her. Yet for the sake of Chen Shu and Changchang, their mother had chosen to stay, exhausting herself to the point of illness today.
With reddened eyes, Chen Shu promised solemnly, “Don’t worry, Third Aunt. I’ll take good care of Mom and look after my little sisters so they won’t disturb her.”
“You’re the best, Shushu,” Chen Lihong praised, patting her cheek. “I’ll head home for now and come back first thing tomorrow morning.”
***
It was nearly eight o’clock by the time Chen Lihong reached her house. Having spent the entire day working in the fields, she had grown famished while cooking the egg noodles for Chen Liyun and ended up having a bowl of plain noodles herself.
To her dismay, the stove at home was cold and dark. Fang Dahai and their two children were sitting in the main room, watching the door eagerly in anticipation of her return.
“Mom, what took you so long? I’m starving to death!” Fang Lei yelled.
Fang Jing stood up and walked out to the courtyard to meet her. “Mom, I’ll help you make dinner.”
A headache started to form behind Chen Lihong’s eyes. Glancing at Fang Lei, she could not help rebuking Fang Dahai. “Lei’s father, why didn’t you help Jingjing cook? It’s almost eight. Aren’t you two hungry?”
Fang Dahai kept his face dark and cast her a cold look, offering no response.
She immediately knew he was angry.
Given her younger sister’s dire situation, Chen Lihong felt that stepping in was simply her duty as an older sister. While she felt a twinge of guilt toward her own family, his reaction irritated her. Their dinners were always simple, and their daughter Fang Jing was already capable of handling plenty of chores. If Fang Dahai had just lent a hand, they would have eaten long ago.
Annoyed, she dropped the subject and handed the pastries Chen Liyun had forced on her to Fang Jing. “Your Fourth Aunt gave us these. If you’re hungry, share some with your brother to hold you over. I’ll go make dinner.”
“Wow, walnut crisps and fried dough twists!” Fang Jing cried out in delight.
“What? There’s food?” Hearing that, Fang Lei came rushing out.
Chen Liyun had bought three packages of pastries earlier that day. She had planned to keep one for her own household, give one to Chen Lihong, and find time to deliver the last one to Brother Chen. But on her way home, she had run into the village woman who came to nurse Abao and gave one away, leaving only enough to split between herself and Chen Lihong.
Watching her son and daughter rejoice, Chen Lihong called out with a smile from where she was busy in the kitchen.
“Your Fourth Aunt went to town today and bought them especially with you two in mind.”
She deliberately raised her voice so Fang Dahai would hear. Whether it was splitting the grain from the fields earlier or bringing over these treats now, her sister certainly never took unfair advantage of them.
Fang Dahai snorted, muttering under his breath, “A few lousy pastries, hardly worth mentioning!”
Yet, seeing how happy the children were outside, he kept any further complaints to himself.
***
Sure enough, Chen Lihun came down with a fever that night. In her feverish haze, she slipped into a dream.
In the dream, it was around dusk, right when she had returned home. Sunset glowed through the window and bathed Abao’s sleeping face, making the child look unimaginably sweet.
Unable to resist, she leaned down to kiss Abao’s cheek. But when she lifted her head, she was startled to find someone standing right beside her.
The figure wore a floral long-sleeved blouse over loose black trousers, with frizzy hair tied carelessly behind her head. Pale-faced and red-eyed, she swayed as if barely able to stay on her feet, looking exceedingly frail.
“You…” Chen Lihun stared in shock.
The woman was Chen Liyun herself.
This was indeed the original host.
She watched the sleeping Abao for a moment, then turned to look out at Chen Shu and Chen Chang playing outside. When her eyes finally rested on Chen Liyun, heavy tears were streaming down her face.
She gave a small nod and dropped to her knees with a thud.
“Thank you,” she choked out through her tears. “Thank you for taking care of my children, for being so good to them. I… I don’t know how else to thank you. Let me kowtow to you.”
With that, she began knocking her head against the ground.
Startled, Chen Liyun rushed to help her up. “No, please, don’t say that! The children are wonderful and sweet, anyone would treat them well. Please get up, stand up. What’s happening with you? You… I…”
Chen Liyun found herself at a loss for words.
She was the one occupying another person’s body. She was supposed to be dead, and the three children belonged to the original host, not her. After wrestling with her thoughts for what felt like an eternity, she finally managed to speak.
“Do you want to come back? If you do, come on back. I’ll… I’ll give the three children back to you. After all, they were yours to begin with…”
She saw the original host, still kneeling on the ground, shake her head.
Before the woman could say anything, a frantic wailing pierced Chen Liyun’s ears. “No! Mom, don’t give us away! Please, Mom, don’t!”
It was Chen Shu, crying with a desperate, helpless anguish that made Chen Liyun’s heart ache.
Chen Liyun snapped her eyes open. In the dim, early morning light of the room, Chen Shu stood holding an enamel mug, clearly having come to offer her some water, but she was now bawling openly.
Chen Liyun sat up immediately and pulled the girl into her arms. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“Mom, please don’t give us away!” Chen Shu sobbed.
It took a moment for Chen Liyun to realize it had all been a dream.
Was that really just a dream?
She glanced around the room, finding no trace of the original host. There was only Chen Shu crying, which in turn set off Chen Chang, until Abao, sleeping on the inside of the bed, also began to wail at the top of her lungs.
With no time to dwell on it, Chen Liyun focused on soothing Chen Shu first. “That’s not true at all. You’re my daughters, so why would I ever give you away? Hush now. Changchang and Abao are crying too. Go comfort Changchang, and I’ll check on Abao.”
Chen Shu was an obedient child. Wiping her tears, she turned to leave, but after two steps she came back and offered the enamel mug to Chen Liyun. “Mom, your skin is burning hot. I think you have a fever. Third Aunt said you need to drink lots of hot water.”
Chen Liyun touched her forehead, feeling the heat. She took the mug, tested the temperature, and quickly swallowed two sips before setting it aside. “All right, I drank it. Don’t worry, go check on Changchang.”
Chen Shu nodded. Looking back with almost every step, she made her way over to the other side of the room, pulled the crying Chen Chang closer to the edge of the bed, and gently patted her to soothe her.
As Chen Liyun rocked Abao, she looked around the empty room and spoke quietly to the original owner in her thoughts: Are you really not coming back?
If you aren’t, don’t worry. I will take good care of your children. I’ll treat them as my own. Even if I have nothing left for myself, I’ll make sure they have food, water, and everything they need to grow up healthy, happy, and loved.
The room remained still and empty, as if what she had just experienced had truly been nothing more than a dream.
Whether it was the nutritious meals or Chen Liyun’s cheerful spirits, her cold had cleared up in just a couple of days.
With no need to worry about the farm work and none of her three children in school yet—even the eldest, Chen Shu—her days were spent preparing three meals, tending the private vegetable plot, looking after the girls, and doing embroidery.
Chen Shu was truly a wonderful little helper. Though only seven, she was capable at everything, from tending the stove fire and cooking to watching over her younger sisters.
Whenever Chen Liyun was too busy to keep up, the girl would even grab the laundry to wash. Chen Shu would reason sensibly that while her mother’s clothes were large and difficult to scrub, her own and her sisters’ were small and easy to manage.
Chen Liyun hated to see her work so hard, but this was not her previous life where servants handled everything. When she was free, she could manage, but if something held her up, the household genuinely needed an extra pair of hands. She let Chen Shu take on tasks the girl could handle, but instructed her to involve Chen Chang whenever there was something the younger girl could help with.
They were all her daughters, and she refused to let Chen Shu fall into the habit of giving endlessly just because she was the eldest. Not only would that be unfair to Chen Shu, but it might also teach the two younger girls to take her sacrifices for granted.
Now that she was a mother, she knew raising children took more than keeping them fed and warm. Some lessons mattered deeply for the bond between the three sisters and would shape the rest of their lives. Fumbling her way through motherhood, Chen Liyun had no one to consult but Chen Lihong, leaving her to figure out most things on her own.
Still, keeping everyone fed and clothed remained the immediate priority.
Having bought good fabric, she naturally found time after returning home to cut the cloth and work on her embroidery. Even so, by the next market day three days later, she was up early, sorting red and mung beans to steam batches of bean cakes.
This was a skill she had mastered as an unmarried girl in her previous life.
The kitchen at Duke Dingguo’s Manor had once employed an old imperial chef whose pastries were exquisite, particularly his mung bean cakes. Back then, as the legitimate daughter of a concubine-born master, her precarious standing had driven her parents to force her into the kitchen to learn the craft.
In her previous life, Qi Hong had been an imperial prince and later the emperor. Despite his discerning palate, he had never failed to shower praise on her mung bean cakes. A few days earlier, when Chen Liyun went to finalize her divorce from Qi Hongwei, she had walked through the town market. She had not seen anyone selling pastries like hers, though many vendors were selling various street snacks and doing a brisk business. With the market fair taking place today, she made a small batch, hoping to sell them in town and earn a little extra for the household.
After leaving a portion for Chen Shu and Chen Chang and telling them to lock the door and stay inside, Chen Liyun set off with half a bamboo basket of cakes on her arm. As luck would have it, she ran into Wang Fengying right outside.
Thanks to the grain she had shared, Wang Fengying was particularly warm toward her now. Approaching with a wide smile, she asked, “Sister-in-law, where are you off to? Going to the market?”
Chen Liyun offered a faint smile. “Yes, to the market. Second Aunt, you can just call me by my name from now on. I have my divorce certificate.”
Chen Liyun had stayed indoors for the past three days with a cold, but Wang Fengying had already heard the news from her mother-in-law, Old Madam Qi. In fact, she had come by today hoping to play matchmaker for her former sister-in-law.
She quickly corrected herself. “Then how about I call you Sister Liyun? Sister Liyun, I’m heading to the market too. Let’s walk together.”