She had just taken two bites when she noticed the little girl beside her swallowing hard. Seeing her look over, the girl quickly averted her gaze and hurried into the house. "Hurry up and eat, then change your clothes. Wearing wet clothes for too long will make you sick. I'll go find some clothes for you."
Zhou Qiong followed her into the house. It was an empty hall, with nothing but a table and four chairs. She then followed the girl into the adjoining room, only to regret it the moment she stepped inside.
The smell in the room was so overpowering that it made her want to vomit up the pancake she had just eaten.
Was this really a place for people to live? It was so filthy and cluttered. The room wasn’t large—aside from a bed against the far wall and a broken cabinet beside it, there wasn’t much of use. The piles of miscellaneous items seemed like nothing more than garbage to her.
She lifted the straw mat on the bed to find dried grass underneath. The grass, stained with some unknown filth, was a dark yellow color, and the stench hit her so hard it felt like it was piercing her skull, making her gag.
Just before she could bear it no longer, she rushed out of the room.
Seeing her like this, the girl followed her out, frightened. "Mother, Mother, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Let me catch my breath," she said, pressing a hand to her chest, her expression on the verge of tears. After all, she had ended up here because of an act of bravery, and now Heaven was treating her like this? Living in such conditions—how could she possibly endure it?
The little girl was very sensible and quickly brought a long bench from inside, placing it beside her. "Mother, if you’re not feeling well, sit down quickly. Resting for a bit will help."
Zhou Qiong looked at the girl, then up at the blazing sun in the sky, and moved the bench closer to the doorway. "Are you called Xiao Miao?"
On such a hot day, her clothes were almost dry from wearing them.
"Mother, have you forgotten my name again? I’m Xiao Miao! I’m Yang Miao!"
"Yang Miao!" This woman must have some issues, judging from what they had said earlier. She was either simple-minded or ill. Otherwise, with her disheveled hair and filthier appearance than the children, no normal person would live like this.
"Is your brother called Yang Shu?" Earlier, Gui Bao had called him "Xiao Shu Ge."
Yang Miao nodded happily. "Yes, my brother is Yang Shu. Mother, you remembered!" Her expression was full of excitement.
Zhou Qiong forced a smile. "And… what about your father?" she asked nervously.
"Father… Father… he’s gone," Yang Miao lowered her head sadly. "He passed away three years ago. Mother, you’ve forgotten again."
Her voice was soft, as if the answer had drained all her strength.
Zhou Qiong, however, breathed a huge sigh of relief. Good! So the man of the house really was dead. Though it was cruel from the children’s perspective, now that she had become the mother of these two children, if a slovenly man suddenly appeared to live with her, she feared she would go mad sooner or later. Thank goodness!
She had no idea where this place was or what point in history they were in. Looking at her own hands and then at Yang Miao beside her, she felt a deep sense of unease.
The two children were still so young, yet they had lost their parents early. Though they had her as a mother, she was more of a burden—otherwise, their lives wouldn’t have ended up like this.
"How old are you?" she asked, gently patting the girl’s head.
"Auntie says I'm eight this year, and my brother is ten."
"Who is Auntie?"
"Auntie is just Auntie! Defu's mother."
Zhou Qiong wanted to learn more about herself. Regardless of how things were in the past, she was now a genuine rural woman. Thinking of this, she silently mourned for herself for three minutes in her heart. She had so much bitterness to share but didn’t know who to turn to.
"Xiao Miao, I—" Seeing the girl staring at her intently, she quickly changed her words, "Mother wants to ask if Mother is sick?" Becoming a mother at such a young age was something she found very difficult to adjust to.
The girl nodded. "Mother is sick. You’ve been sick for a long time. Grandma Feng next door said Mother is pitiful and told us to be filial and take good care of you."
She bit her lip. "What kind of illness? Is it madness?"
The girl suddenly leaned closer to her. "Mother, don’t be afraid. They may fear you, but we don’t. My brother and I won’t leave you."
So it really was madness.
A noise came from the doorway—it was the boy returning with water. Seeing this, Zhou Qiong quickly stood up to help. How could such a young child carry water? He staggered as he walked with the bucket.
The boy was taken aback, then avoided her, swaying as he carried the water into the adjacent room.
Zhou Qiong followed him inside. It seemed to be a kitchen, though the space was small. Aside from a stove, there were only firewood and a water vat inside.
Yang Shu poured the water from the bucket into the vat, then turned to look at her, his expression somewhat guarded. He glanced at Yang Miao behind her. "Didn’t I tell you to change Mother’s clothes? Why is she still wearing this?"
"It’s fine. The clothes are dry already."
She didn’t care whether the clothes were dry or not now—she just felt they were too dirty. Perhaps she should take them to the river to wash later and change into clean ones. The spot she saw earlier seemed deserted, and with the hot weather, washing clothes would also be refreshing.
Hearing her words, the boy picked up the bucket and left the room again. But not far outside, he tripped over something, fell in the yard, and the bucket tumbled aside.
Zhou Qiong hurried over to help him up, but the boy instinctively dodged her. Unintentionally, she caught sight of the deep bite scars on the exposed part of his leg, a horrifying sight.
She quickly lifted his pant leg. "Who did this?" The person must be deranged—how cruel must they be to bite a child like this?
The boy just nervously pulled his pant leg back down, gave her a puzzled look, got up, grabbed the bucket, and ran off.
Zhou Qiong walked back to the girl. "Who bit your brother’s leg? Is someone bullying you?"
The girl looked at her, tears suddenly welling up in her eyes, but she refused to say a word.
Zhou Qiong suddenly felt uneasy. She quickly rolled up the girl’s sleeve and, sure enough, found several deep bite scars on her arm as well, making her heart ache.
"Don’t cry. Tell Mother, who bullied you? Mother will stand up for you."
The girl shook her head. "It doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s already healed, Mother. It doesn’t hurt."
Her heart sank. Suddenly, as if realizing something, she looked at the girl in disbelief. Her hand, which was touching the bite scars, began to tremble slightly. "Was it… was it… was it Mother who bit you?"
The girl hugged her tightly. "Don’t be sad, Mother. You were sick. You didn’t mean to. It’s already healed. It doesn’t hurt anymore."
Zhou Qiong's heart felt unbearably heavy. It seemed she truly had been a madwoman before, to have bitten her own child so badly. She tightened her arms around Xiao Miao, who was clinging to her, holding the child close against her waist. These two children were so sensible—who knew how much suffering they had endured in the past.
"Xiao Miao, it was all Mother's fault before. From now on, I will never hurt you again."