The boy’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a bone-chilling coldness.
His eyes, like a wolf’s, locked onto Wang Sao.
She felt her skin crawl under his gaze and instinctively recoiled.
“I… I said what? I was stating facts!”
She tried to hold her ground.
“My sister-in-law… is she someone you can talk about?”
Lu Xiangbei took a step after step toward her.
The deadly determination radiating from him seemed to lower the air temperature around them by several degrees.
“Apologize.”
“What?” Wang Sao thought she had misheard.
“To my sister-in-law… and to my little sister. Apologize.”
Lu Xiangbei repeated himself, his hand gripping the broomstick so tightly it creaked.
“Or today, I’ll use this broom to clean your mouth!”
At this moment, everyone understood.
These two Lu kids were resolute in protecting their new sister-in-law.
“You’ve gone mad, completely mad!” Wang Sao yelled, trying to sound fierce but faltering inside. “You’ve all been brainwashed by that fox spirit!”
At that instant, someone pushed through the crowd.
It was Li Xiujuan.
She cradled her child, who was sleeping soundly. The red rash on the child’s neck from yesterday had faded to a faint pink today.
“Wang Sao, don’t talk nonsense!”
Li Xiujuan’s expression was full of disapproval.
“Sister Su is not a fox spirit—she’s a living Bodhisattva!”
She lifted her child to show everyone.
“Look! My baby’s eczema couldn’t even be cured at the clinic. Sister Su just applied her ointment, and it was gone overnight!”
“She has this ability. Don’t even talk about hard work—I’d be happy to serve her tea and water every day!”
At these words, the crowd erupted.
“Really? That fast?”
“My goodness, look at that neck—it’s completely clean!”
“That ointment is magical!”
Everyone’s attention instantly shifted from whether “Su Ci was lazy” to how miraculous her medicine was.
Wang Sao stood there, completely isolated.
Her rumors had been smashed against the ironclad truth.
Her face flushed red, then pale, like she had walked into a dye house.
She wanted to argue, but seeing the smooth skin on Li Xiujuan’s child, she couldn’t utter a word.
She had personally helped launch the reputation of “miracle healer” Su Ci!
“Hmph! I’m leaving!”
Wang Sao couldn’t stay another second. She slunk away from the crowd, fleeing in embarrassment.
Her retreating figure looked like a defeated rooster.
A whole commotion had been quelled by two half-grown kids.
Lu Xiangbei glanced at the direction Wang Sao had fled, let out a cold snort, and slung the broom back over his shoulder.
He turned to Lu Xiangnan, still puffed up with pride, and for once, praised him:
“Well done.”
Lu Xiangnan puffed out his small chest, proud.
Defending the sister-in-law felt more glorious than acing both exams!
At that moment, the gate creaked open.
Su Ci strolled out, yawning.
She wore a clean white blouse and a knee-length khaki skirt, her long hair loosely pinned, revealing a graceful swan-like neck.
Her face, without makeup, was white as jade, moist as water.
In the morning light, she seemed to glow.
She looked freshly awake, with a faint reddish hint at the corner of her eyes, stretching slowly.
The serene, untroubled demeanor sharply contrasted with the chaos at the well just moments before.
“Sister-in-law!”
“You’re awake!”
Lu Xiangnan and Lu Xiangbei, who had been like two small hedgehogs, immediately softened upon seeing her.
They ran over eagerly.
One asked solicitously: “Sister-in-law, are you hungry? The porridge’s still warm in the pot!”
The other reported, seeking credit: “Sister-in-law, that Wang woman tried to slander you again, and we chased her away!”
The remaining military wives, still nearby, nearly dropped their eyes in shock.
This wasn’t a stepmother and her stepchildren.
It was a queen and her two most loyal knights!
Su Ci looked at the two children, clearly seeking praise, and smiled.
She reached out, patting Lu Xiangbei’s muddy hands and Lu Xiangnan’s water-stained clothes, giving each a pat on the head.
The gesture was intimate, natural.
“I see.”
Her voice hoarse from just waking, yet gentle enough to melt hearts.
“Our Xiangnan and Xiangbei have grown up. They know how to protect their family.”
“Very good.”
She didn’t give loud praise, nor material rewards.
Just these few understated words and a small gesture.
Yet in Lu Xiangnan and Lu Xiangbei’s hearts, it was sweeter than honey.
Everything they did for their sister-in-law was worth it!
Su Ci’s eyes casually swept over the military wives at the well, each with differing expressions.
Finally, she nodded slightly, revealing a flawless, impeccable smile.
Then she held Lu Xiangnan’s hand.
“Let’s go home for breakfast.”
“Since you two performed so well today, you’ll get an extra meal at noon.”
Her voice wasn’t loud, yet carried to everyone nearby.
“We’ll have…”
She tilted her head, thinking.
“…Abalone Rice.”
The words, “Abalone Rice,” fell like a droplet into hot oil, exploding instantly beside the well in the courtyard.
“What’s that?”
“Ab… Abalone? What kind of fish? Is it better than yellow croaker?”
“I’ve never even heard of it! Sounds so fancy!”
The military wives’ faces were full of confusion, curiosity, and a trace of envy.
They usually had to wait for months just to eat meat. And the Lu family’s new bride spoke of things they had never even heard of!
The gap was enormous.
Wang Sao’s small green eyes nearly popped. She had just been embarrassed by Lu Xiangbei and Lu Xiangnan, and now she had a new target for attack.
She let out a sharp laugh, piercing like glass.
“Oh my! Abalone Rice? I thought it was something else! Turns out it’s just bragging without a plan!”
Slapping her thigh, she winked and gestured at those around her.
“You actually believed her? She’s just a country girl. What does she know about abalone?”
“I think she just used a name you wouldn’t understand, to show off!”
“What’s this called? This is the decadent, bourgeois style! Never thinking about serving the people, only extravagant waste!”
Wang Sao felt increasingly justified, her spine straightening.
“This spoiled woman will waste all Captain Lu’s allowances!”
A few military wives nodded in agreement.
Yes, Captain Lu risked his life outside, and his wife spent money so freely—it seemed improper.
For a moment, all eyes turned to Su Ci, judgmental and disapproving.
Yet Su Ci didn’t even raise an eyelid.
It was as if Wang Sao’s fiery criticism was nothing but a fly buzzing at her ear.
She merely raised her hand to cover her mouth, lightly coughing twice.
A faint, sickly flush rose on her already pale cheeks.
Leaning softly on Lu Xiangnan’s shoulder, her voice was as light as a feather:
“Xiangnan, help me stand, I’m dizzy from standing too long.”
Lu Xiangnan immediately tensed, like a loyal little guard, supporting her arm.
“Sister-in-law, are you okay? Let’s head home!”
Once like a small firecracker, Lu Xiangnan now had a face full of concern.
Lu Xiangbei, meanwhile, planted the broom across the floor in front of Su Ci, his gaze warning that anyone daring to say another word would face his wrath.
Suddenly, Wang Sao looked like a bully picking on a patient.
Li Xiujuan, holding her child, hurried to back them up.
“Wang Sao, you should hold your tongue! Sister Su is weak. What’s wrong with her having some good food?”
“Exactly!” Another military wife, who had gotten Su Ci’s aloe ointment, chimed in. “Sister Su has skill. Unlike some people, she just talks!”
Wang Sao rolled her eyes in fury.
“You! You’ve all been brainwashed by her!”
At this moment, Su Ci’s gaze swept past the crowd and landed on a young military wife in the corner, her face full of worry.