Su Wanwan hadn’t expected Su Cuifen’s burns to be this severe.
She had only intended to scare them.
But after thinking about it, she felt it was simply the consequence of Su Cuifen’s own actions.
If Su Cuifen hadn’t harbored malicious intentions toward her, none of this would have happened.
As a doctor, Ye Xiu’e couldn’t ignore someone in pain.
Without even asking what had happened, she helped Su Cuifen onto a stool.
Then she hurried to her medical box, found burn ointment, and carefully began treating the wounds.
The burns had already blistered.
Scarring was unavoidable.
Still, applying medicine immediately could reduce the damage.
Ye Xiu’e had an exceptionally kind heart.
She hated seeing people suffer and only wanted the child to endure as little pain as possible.
Watching her mother focus on treating the injury, Su Wanwan suddenly understood everything.
Now she knew why Xu Shi had said that once she died, their family would have a better life.
Xu Shi knew perfectly well how important Wanwan was to Ye Xiu’e.
If Wanwan died, Ye Xiu’e would lose the will to stay.
She would eventually leave the Su family.
But Wanwan hadn’t died.
Not only had she survived, she had recovered astonishingly quickly.
So Xu Shi had been forced to come up with another plan.
For example…
Pushing Ye Xiu’e into remarriage.
There was only one barefoot doctor position in the brigade.
Xu Shi had spent years following Ye Xiu’e around, learning medical skills.
Su Wanwan sneered inwardly.
What a perfect scheme.
Ye Xiu’e already contributed her entire ten-yuan monthly subsidy to the family account, yet they still weren’t satisfied.
They wanted to kill Wanwan and drive Ye Xiu’e away.
All for a single position.
Xu Shi truly was vicious.
Speak of the devil.
After hearing from Maodan that something had happened at home, Xu Shi hurried back.
He dragged her to the room just in time to see Ye Xiu’e removing Su Cuifen’s clothes.
The boiling water had soaked through the cotton padding and burned the skin underneath.
The fabric had partially fused with the flesh.
When Ye Xiu’e carefully lifted it, blood immediately seeped out.
The pain made Su Cuifen scream uncontrollably.
Seeing this, Xu Shi’s heart ached.
Though she usually favored her sons, her daughter was still her own flesh and blood.
“Heavens!
Cuifen, what happened to you?
How did you get burned like this?”
The moment she saw her mother, Su Cuifen burst into loud sobs.
At last, someone could stand up for her.
Unfortunately for her, Su Wanwan moved first.
Immediately, she put on a pitiful expression.
“Auntie, it’s all my fault.
Big Sister picked up a broom and wanted to hit me.
I was scared and kept running away.
I didn’t know she’d knock over the thermos and fall.”
Hearing this, Ye Xiu’e’s hand trembled.
The ointment went on a little harder than intended.
“AAAAH!”
Su Cuifen screamed again.
Yet Ye Xiu’e didn’t feel guilty at all.
Instead, she simply set down the medicine.
She couldn’t bear seeing people suffer.
But she hated seeing her daughter wronged even more.
Fortunately, she had returned early after gathering only a small amount of herbs.
Normally, collecting medicinal plants took much longer.
If Xu Shi had returned first, Wanwan would surely have suffered again.
Su Cuifen nearly exploded with anger.
That ugly freak was actually accusing her first and twisting the facts.
Worse still, her aunt clearly believed it.
Even her own mother looked disappointed.
By all that was holy, it had been the ugly freak waving a broom at her.
Through gritted teeth, she protested,
“Mom! Auntie! I didn’t!
Don’t listen to her lies!
She was the one holding the broom and trying to hit me!”
As she spoke, she glared viciously at Su Wanwan.
In her heart, she regretted not drowning her back then.
Nearby, Maodan eagerly supported his sister’s story.
After hearing everything, Ye Xiu’e’s expression grew even colder.
She snorted.
“Hmph!
When I came in, the broom was lying right beside you.
Look, Sister-in-law, it’s still there by the spilled water.
Who was holding it hardly needs explaining.”
Then she continued,
“You siblings never enter my room with good intentions.
You must have come here to bully Wanwan again.
This time you injured yourselves and now you’re trying to blame her.”
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
“And another thing.
You call my daughter ugly all the time.
The truth is, you’re the ugly ones—your hearts are ugly.”
She wanted nothing more than to grab the broom and beat them herself.
But Xu Shi was standing right there.
For now, she restrained herself.
“That broom was the ugly—”
Su Cuifen almost called her ugly freak again.
Seeing Ye Xiu’e’s dangerous expression, she quickly changed her wording.
“That broom was put beside me by Wanwan!
I was lying on the floor after getting burned!
How could I throw it away?”
Although they had entered with bad intentions, they hadn’t actually managed to do anything.
Instead, they were the ones who got hurt.
But Ye Xiu’e wasn’t convinced.
“You’re saying my seven-year-old Wanwan picked up a broom and attacked a nine-year-old like you?”
Su Cuifen hurriedly explained,
“That’s because she had a snake and scared us! I didn’t dare fight back!”
“A snake?”
Ye Xiu’e narrowed her eyes.
“Where did it come from?
Where is it now?
And where did it go?”
The three rapid questions left Su Cuifen speechless.
“And besides, everyone knows my Wanwan is terrified of snakes.
Yet you’re telling me she was the one using a snake to scare people?
What kind of ridiculous lie is that?”
After Ye Xiu’e’s relentless questioning, Su Wanwan barely had a chance to contribute.
Now that the topic involved her directly, she immediately adopted a frightened expression.
“That’s right, Mom.
They brought a snake to scare me.
I got scared, so I ran.”
Instantly, Ye Xiu’e pulled her daughter into a protective embrace.
At that moment, she made up her mind.
She would never leave Wanwan alone at home again.
Still unwilling to give up, Su Cuifen looked desperately at Xu Shi.
“Mom!
Believe me!
I’m telling the truth!”
Maodan nodded frantically.
“Mom, Sister isn’t lying!”
Xu Shi remained silent.
Truthfully, she didn’t believe her children either.
Looking at the frail little girl nestled in Ye Xiu’e’s arms, she simply couldn’t imagine Su Wanwan chasing three children around with a broom.
As for the snake story?
Even more impossible.
Everyone knew what had happened before.
Once, while working in the fields, Su Wanwan encountered a snake and fainted from fright.
After that, she refused to go into the fields again.
The whole village knew about it.
The more Xu Shi thought about it, the more certain she became that her children were lying.
They had tried to bully the ugly girl and failed.
Instead, her own daughter had ended up disfigured.
Angry and disappointed, Xu Shi grabbed Su Cuifen and dragged her away.
Unfortunately, the movement pulled at her burns.
The pain made Su Cuifen scream again.
Maodan quickly followed.
He even dragged away Goudan, who had been secretly peeking from the doorway.
Once they were gone, Ye Xiu’e crouched down and carefully examined Wanwan again.
After confirming she wasn’t injured, she finally relaxed.
Then she picked up the thermos and went to boil more water.
Watching her busy figure move around the room, Su Wanwan felt a strange ache in her heart.
This woman loved her daughter so deeply.
Yet she still hadn’t been able to save her.
At that moment, Su Wanwan felt grateful that she had transmigrated into this body.
Otherwise, this pitiful woman would have lost her daughter.
Her future would have been unimaginably bleak.
Today’s events could be considered a small measure of justice for the original owner.
Su Cuifen was still young.
She didn’t yet understand what disfigurement truly meant.
But the original Su Wanwan had suffered terribly because of her skin condition.
These people had mocked and ridiculed her endlessly.
Their cruelty had gradually pushed her into isolation.
Eventually, she barely wanted to leave the house.
Very good, Su Cuifen.
Now it’s your turn.
From now on, you can experience what it’s like to be called ugly.