Wen Yining flicked her wrist. “What’s the matter? Do I have to pick an auspicious day just to hit you?”
Zhang Xue’s lips trembled with fury. Wen Yining, who didn’t even realize she was in the wrong, had the audacity to talk back to her.
This weakling… actually dared to come at her?
Zhang Xue’s face twisted with rage. “Do you know who I am? I’m your mother-in-law! And you actually dare to hit me? I’ve really been giving you face!”
As she spoke, she reached to grab Wen Yining by the hair, intending to drag her out into the yard and beat her.
But before her hand even touched Wen Yining, Wen Yining had caught her wrist and pinned it firmly to the cutting board.
Leaning slightly forward, Wen Yining studied the bracelet on Zhang Xue’s wrist.
If she remembered correctly, that bracelet was part of the dowry passed from the mother to the bride when the original Wen Yining got married.
“Give me back the bracelet,” Wen Yining said coldly. “You really have no shame! Even trying to snatch your daughter-in-law’s dowry? If this gets out, the Cheng family will lose face completely!”
Zhang Xue refused. Once something was in her hands, there was no reason to return it—especially after Wen Yining had just slapped her.
She tried to pull her wrist free, cursing, “What do you mean I’m greedy for your dowry? Forget this lousy bracelet! Even you belong to the Cheng family. If the bracelet’s in my hands, it’s mine!”
“Not giving it back?” Wen Yining’s lips curved into a wicked smile. “Then don’t blame me for being impolite.”
She picked up the kitchen knife on the cutting board and brought it down toward Zhang Xue’s wrist.
Zhang Xue’s legs went weak. She collapsed to her knees at Wen Yining’s feet, nearly wetting herself in terror.
Cheng Yifeng’s father, hearing the commotion in the kitchen, came over. Even he felt his legs go weak at Wen Yining’s fury.
“Stop! Stop immediately!” he cried, putting out a hand, then quickly withdrawing it to avoid getting cut.
“If you strike like that, someone could die! All over a bracelet, it’s unnecessary! Totally unnecessary!”
He grabbed one of Zhang Xue’s arms, trying to pull her away from Wen Yining’s knife.
He wasn’t worried that Wen Yining might become a killer; he was worried that having a murderous daughter-in-law would ruin the Cheng family’s reputation.
But Wen Yining had no intention of letting go. Seeing that Zhang Xue still refused to return the bracelet, she raised the knife again, ready to finish what she had started.
“Take off the bracelet now!” Cheng Yifeng’s father barked, kicking Zhang Xue. “You long-haired, short-sighted old fool! What’s so great about that bracelet? Using it to snatch your daughter-in-law? I can buy another one anytime!”
Trembling, Zhang Xue removed the bracelet and tossed it onto the cutting board. “H-here! Take it!”
The bracelet rolled twice, hitting Wen Yining’s knife with a crisp clink, then stopped.
Wen Yining rubbed her own bracelet on her clothes. Seeing it was smooth and unscathed, she set the knife back on the cutting board and returned to her room without another word.
As soon as the door closed, Zhang Xue and Cheng Yifeng’s father collapsed to the floor, drenched in cold sweat.
“This… this little disaster is insane!” Zhang Xue scooped a bucket of cold water from the tub and gulped it down. Only then did her scattered wits settle back in.
Cheng Yifeng’s father snatched the water ladle and drank the rest in one go, wiping his mouth and lowering his voice: “Yeah! What could have triggered her? In no time, she went from a weakling to a firecracker!”
Zhang Xue frowned. “Could she be possessed?”
Cheng Yifeng’s father glared at her. “Shh! Don’t talk nonsense! If anyone hears, we’re done for!”
Zhang Xue peeked outside and muttered, “Anyway, she’s not normal.”
Cheng Yifeng’s father threw the ladle back into the tub and whispered, “Let’s observe her for a couple more days. If she’s still this crazy, we need a plan to get rid of her.”
Zhang Xue couldn’t bear to waste the dowry and all the food she had provided for Wen Yining and Yaoyao over the years. “We spent sixty-eight coins to marry her! And all the food and clothes she’s had here over the years can’t just be for nothing!”
“Stop being short-sighted!” Cheng Yifeng’s father shot her a warning look. “Go cook! I’m starving!”
Zhang Xue dared to scold Wen Yining, but she didn’t dare to defy Cheng Yifeng’s father. Begrudgingly, she started preparing the meal.
As Wen Yining entered the room, Yaoyao, who had been spying outside from the windowsill, jumped down from the stool and clutched her mother’s leg.
“Mom, you’re amazing!”
Wen Yining patted Yaoyao’s small face. “Learned it?”
Yaoyao blinked her innocent eyes. “What?”
“When you have to act, don’t waste words.” Wen Yining gently stroked Yaoyao’s straw-like hair, teaching her softly. “When someone cheats or bullies you, don’t reason with them. You have to be tougher than them, braver than them. Got it?”
Yaoyao nodded, half understanding. “Got it.”
Wen Yining held Yaoyao on the bed, pinching her tiny cheeks. “But you’re still a child. Don’t play with knives carelessly—you could hurt yourself.”
To Yaoyao, Wen Yining was her idol. Whatever she said was right. “I’ll listen to you, Mom.”
“Good girl.”
Wen Yining examined the bracelet she had just reclaimed from Zhang Xue.
In the original story, it was a magical artifact. Later, opening its space unintentionally allowed Cheng Yifeng to gain multiple merits and promotions.
Wen Yining took off the blood-stained bandage on her forehead and wiped the bracelet.
In the blink of an eye, the spatial space appeared.
She carefully surveyed the medical room she was now in. Unlike the small, old-fashioned courtyard she woke up in, this room was equipped with modern medical devices.
Not only was it fully stocked with medicine, but it also had a cabinet full of snacks.
She grabbed a piece of chocolate to replenish her energy.
After calming the hunger-induced dizziness, she fetched disinfectant and anti-inflammatory medicine, treating the wound on her head again.
Satisfied with this tailor-made space, she felt very pleased.
Even more surprisingly, the space wasn’t completely cut off from the outside world. She could still hear sounds from outside.
Yaoyao’s crying voice reached her clearly.
With a thought, Wen Yining left the space and returned to Yaoyao’s side.
Yaoyao, having seen her mother disappear, didn’t dare make a sound.
Now, seeing her reappear, tears still on her cheeks, Yaoyao hiccupped and whispered, “Mom…”
Wen Yining pulled a piece of milk candy from her pocket and slipped it into Yaoyao’s mouth, whispering, “Mom can do magic, but it’s our secret. You can’t tell anyone. If you keep the secret, you’ll get candy every day and sweet little cakes too.”