Just as she was about to touch the child’s skin, Jian Yue stopped and instead grabbed a corner of the child’s clothes, pulling him out.
At Jian Yue’s outstretched hand, the little boy—the third child, Ye Xisu—instinctively flinched. Toward his stepmother…
He still harbored some fear, but faced with Granny Zhang, who was even more unfamiliar and had tried to sell them, he would rather follow his stepmother.
He was already six years old, old enough to understand some things, and besides, poor families’ children matured early.
The stepmother was detestable, but his eldest brother had told them that if the five children truly had no adult left, they would likely scatter, perhaps ending up like the scene of being sold today.
So no matter how the stepmother had come back to life, he was still grateful—even if she would scold and beat them and let them go hungry later, at least the five siblings would still be together.
It was just that the stepmother’s movements… were not the fierce yanking and pulling of before.
Jian Yue pulled the child over and quickly set down the fourth child, Ye Xiqi, who was still on her, letting the two children stand together.
The fourth child, Ye Xiqi, looked at her twin brother before her and hugged him in lingering fear, no longer clinging desperately to Jian Yue.
“Brother.”
“Sister, don’t be afraid.” The third child, Ye Xisu, also hugged his sister back, patting her back comfortingly.
Jian Yue watched the two children holding each other and finally let out a breath of relief. But these two human cubs embracing each other softened her heart a little.
Her voice even carried a hint of gentleness as she spoke: “Little Three, take Little Four back first.”
Ye Xisu heard the terms “Little Three” and “Little Four” from his stepmother’s mouth for the first time and was momentarily dazed, not knowing who she was calling. But when the stepmother’s gaze fell on them, he understood—she was calling him and his sister.
“Jian Yue, what do you mean by this?” Granny Zhang felt something was off upon hearing this.
Ye Xisu snapped back to attention and pulled his sister to head back first. But just as he was about to reach the thatched hut, he suddenly wanted to take a look at that stepmother.
Perhaps this scene would become one he could never forget for the rest of his life.
“What do I mean? You took advantage of my illness to come after my life, running over to grab my children. You ask me what I mean—I should be asking you what you mean.”
Jian Yue flexed her wrist. These two weren’t fragile children; they were fine for working out her muscles and bones.
“You, what are you going to do? Er, Er Tuzhi!” Granny Zhang instinctively felt afraid as she watched Jian Yue approach step by step.
But the Er Tuzhi she called had just had his wrist twisted by Jian Yue and was in too much pain to do anything, let alone come over.
“Er Tuzhi, do you not want your wages for this month?!” Watching Jian Yue draw closer, Granny Zhang couldn’t help but shout.
Even Er Tuzhi, despite the pain, froze for a moment, his face twisting in agony, before enduring the pain to block Jian Yue.
But all he seemed to hear was a light, mocking laugh. Before he could react, he couldn’t even see the figure in front of him clearly.
In an instant, Er Tuzhi’s screams and Granny Zhang’s screams intertwined, making anyone who heard them tremble involuntarily.
In less than a moment, Er Tuzhi and Granny Zhang were already sprawled on the ground in disgrace. As for the three taels of silver Granny Zhang had taken out to buy and sell the children, it had fallen to the ground.
Jian Yue picked up the three taels of silver and pocketed it. She crouched in front of Granny Zhang and said politely, “You barged over to grab my children and covered them in injuries. Three taels for medical expenses isn’t too much, is it?”
Granny Zhang was furious, but she and Er Tuzhi were still lying on the ground after being beaten by Jian Yue—could she say it was too much?
Naturally, she couldn’t. She could only swallow the bitter loss and grit her teeth to say, “No, not too much.”
“Not feeling wronged?” Jian Yue’s lips curled upward.
“Not wronged…”
“Alright then, go back to wherever you came from.” Jian Yue rose to her feet, sounding agreeable.
Hearing this, Granny Zhang’s eyes still held a trace of luck and malice. She scrambled up with Er Tuzhi, thinking that once she left first and came back with more people, it wouldn’t be so simple.
Besides, with all the injuries on her and Er Tuzhi, that shrew would have a lawsuit to deal with.
But as Granny Zhang and the other left, they didn’t see the smile in Jian Yue’s eyes growing deeper. Granny Zhang’s inability to hide her emotions was plain enough for Jian Yue to read.
“Fighting—that’s what I’m best at. Even modern technology can’t find the wounds, and in this ancient time, it’s even more impossible.” Jian Yue shook her head, murmuring to herself.
This method of beating that left people in pain for ten days or more without a trace of injury was a bit insidious, but as a general, she was quite familiar with it.
After that round of fighting, because this body was somewhat weak, she had worked up a bit of sweat, which actually eased her mind—even the matter of traveling through time no longer felt so irritating.
But as her gaze shifted, she met the eyes of the two children standing at the doorway.
Jian Yue: …
“Mother, Mother…” The fourth child, Ye Xiqi, also caught Jian Yue’s gaze and instinctively trembled as she called out.
The stepmother looked even more terrifying when she was about to hit someone.
“Mother.” The third child, Ye Xisu, followed suit, his face carrying a hint of calm, but his small hand was gripping the door tightly, betraying his unease.
They thought the stepmother was going to hit them… and that it would be a light punishment…
“…” Jian Yue was at a loss for words for a moment.
Staring at each other with wide eyes only made the two children even more frightened and afraid to speak, worried that if the stepmother took a disliking to them, she would hit them again.
The fourth child, Ye Xiqi, quickly grabbed the third child and took a fearful step back. Whether it was from standing too long or from her legs going weak after struggling to avoid being caught earlier, she plopped down on the ground.
Ye Xiqi pursed her lips, wanting to cry, but she was afraid the stepmother would hit her. The stepmother hated it when they cried—the more they cried, the harder she hit them.
At that thought, Ye Xiqi’s eyes reddened from holding back tears, her eye sockets glistening with crystal droplets.
Ye Xisu hurriedly tried to help his sister up, but after struggling for so long, his body felt weak. He tried hard for a while but still couldn’t lift his sister from the ground.
Seeing them look so pitiful, even Jian Yue felt a pang of reluctance.
Thinking of the bruises on the fourth child’s hands and the scratch marks on the third child’s body, Jian Yue ultimately decided to approach these fragile-looking little ones.
But the moment Jian Yue took a single step closer, the fourth child, who had been holding back her tears, finally let the droplets in her eyes spill over into sobs and burst out crying.
Seeing how terrified they were of her, Jian Yue felt like she must be some irredeemable villain.
“…Don’t cry.” Jian Yue said.
“Wuwu, Mother, I’m sorry. Qi’er didn’t want to cry, but, but Qi’er just couldn’t hold it in, wuwu, I’m sorry.”
Jian Yue looked at the fourth child, while the third child watched her with some wariness, and she felt… quite puzzled.
Although she had never really interacted with children before, she shouldn’t be scaring them into tears like this—it was all the original owner’s fault.
Jian Yue steeled herself. She decided it was better to keep some distance. Thinking of something, she turned and headed in another direction.
There were seven boiled eggs there. Why seven?
Jian Yue sifted through more of the original owner’s memories, specifically the cause of her death.
It was almost laughable. It was just at the start of summer, and many wild fruits on the mountain were beginning to ripen. As the wicked stepmother, she naturally wouldn’t pass up anything edible, so she sent the five children into the mountains to find food for her.
She didn’t even fear that a fierce tiger on the mountain might devour these children—the oldest no more than seven, the youngest no more than three.
But judging by the original owner’s selfish nature, she probably only thought of herself.
However, the children got lucky and found a nest of eggs to bring back. The original owner was afraid the children would sneak a bite.
The memories that followed made Jian Yue wonder if the original owner’s brain had gone completely fried.
She actually boiled the entire nest of eggs—all fourteen of them—determined to eat them all in one go, leaving none for the children.
In the end, after eating the seventh one… she died.