“Sister-in-law, what are you doing? Let Mom drown Second Sister-in-law if she wants. It’s just a girl, not a strong man—one less mouth to feed isn’t a bad thing.”
A childish but sharp voice pierced her ears. Ye Wen frowned in her sleep.
“You actually dared to push Mom to the ground over a worthless person, and she even fainted! That’s utterly unfilial!” The young voice continued to scold her.
At that moment, a young woman sneered, “Exactly. Sister-in-law, if you really can’t have a son, why not treat our Yaozu better? In the future, Yaozu can help you and Elder Brother with your funeral. Isn’t that the same?”
“Second Sister-in-law is right!” The childish voice quickly agreed. “When Elder Brother comes back, I’ll tell him you pushed Mom! Let’s see if he doesn’t beat you to death!”
So noisy…
Ye Wen turned restlessly amid the chaos, instinctively trying to pull the blanket over her head—but her hand found nothing.
Where’s the blanket?
Groggily, she reached out to feel around and was suddenly grabbed by a pair of warm little hands.
What the…?!
She had always lived alone. When did a second person come into the house?
Startled by the sudden grab, Ye Wen opened her eyes—but she was even more terrified.
Wasn’t she supposed to sleep in on Saturday after staying up late?
How did she wake up to find the house completely changed?
She tried to endure the headache and looked around. Mud floors, mottled clay walls, simple wooden furniture. On a nearby bed crouched a young woman in her twenties, disheveled, clothes messy, clutching a swaddled baby tightly, watching her warily.
The room was dim and stuffy, with a faint smell of blood that made her feel nauseous.
Ye Wen was lying on the ground. Her back of the head throbbed painfully. She reached back and touched a lump the size of an egg, making her gasp in pain.
“Mom, you’re finally awake!”
That same voice sounded again. Ye Wen looked up and saw a girl about eleven or twelve squatting nearby with twin buns in her hair.
“Mom, are you hurt?” The little girl asked with concern.
“You…?” Why was this girl calling her Mom?
Ye Wen was puzzled. She wasn’t even married yet—when did she have a daughter this big?
The little girl’s face changed instantly. “Mom! Don’t scare me! I’m Xiaonan!” She turned angrily toward the woman on the bed. “It’s all Sister-in-law’s fault! You pushed Mom so badly I almost didn’t recognize her! I’m going to get Elder Brother right now!”
“Wait!” Ye Wen grabbed the girl who was about to dash out. She hadn’t figured out the situation yet—how could she let the girl run away?
The woman on the bed stiffened at the words “get Elder Brother” and hugged the swaddled baby tighter.
Ye Wen noticed fresh blood streaks on her wrists and blood on her clothes. Cradling the tiny baby, it was obvious she had just given birth.
A seventeen or eighteen-year-old woman stood by the bed, eyes darting around, clearly scheming something.
When she saw Ye Wen looking, she immediately pretended to crouch and offer help, but her words were manipulative: “Mom, look what Sister-in-law did! She dared to hit you over a worthless person. When Elder Brother comes back, you should tell him. A wife hitting her mother-in-law—how can this be allowed?”
Ye Wen frowned.
This woman had been watching coldly before. Now she pretended to be dutiful, stirring trouble behind her words. Annoying.
Xiaonan, as expected, got furious. Her almond-shaped eyes wide, she shouted at the woman on the bed: “Second Sister-in-law is right! Sister-in-law, you hurt Mom! I’m going to the field to get Elder Brother to settle this!”
She struggled to run out. “Mom, let go! I have to get Elder Brother to teach this evil woman a lesson!”
The woman on the bed stiffened at “get Elder Brother.” Knowing her husband always sided with his mother, she instinctively held the baby close and shrank back.
Ye Wen cursed inwardly: What a mess!
Seeing all three dressed in old-fashioned clothes, she realized… she had transmigrated?
In disbelief, she raised her hands. The rough sleeves and calloused palms made her shiver—this was not her body!
The childish “Mom” echoed in her ears. Even scarier, the little girl called the other two women “Sister-in-law.”
Not only was this body a mother, but it had two grown sons, both married, with grandchildren. She had transmigrated into a middle-aged woman!
A sudden dull pain hit her. Ye Wen held her temple.
Though she didn’t understand how she ended up here, she pieced together a rough idea from the snippets she heard: the so-called “Elder Brother” was clearly a husband who abused his wife, and these two girls were trying to call him back to punish his newly delivered wife.
As a modern woman, she could never allow this to happen in front of her eyes.
She held the little girl’s hand tightly, afraid she’d run off: “Child, Mom’s head hurts badly. Help me back to the room to rest.”
“All right, Mom. Work is almost over anyway,” the girl pouted. “When Elder Brother comes back, I’ll make sure he teaches Sister-in-law a lesson! How dare she oppose Grandma!”
Ye Wen had a headache. This girl hadn’t abandoned the idea of reporting, and she showed no respect to Sister-in-law.
Her gaze shifted to the woman huddled in the corner of the bed. She was trembling, holding the baby, eyes vacant, too scared even to defend herself. In this house, she had no dignity at all.
“Xiaonan, you go get Elder Brother later. I’m here.” The young woman who had stirred trouble, Tian Chunhua, spoke up again, linking arms with Ye Wen. “Mom, I’ll help you back to your room.”
At this, Xiaonan immediately tried to run out.
“Stop!” Ye Wen shouted with undeniable authority.
The yell froze both Xiaonan and Tian Chunhua mid-action. The usually unpredictable mother-in-law’s sudden roar scared Tian Chunhua from acting rashly.
Ye Wen shook off Tian Chunhua’s fake hand. “I said, Xiaonan will help me back to my room.” She shot a cold glance at the troublemaking daughter-in-law, then pointed to the kitchen. “Go boil some hot water. I’m thirsty.”
Her eyes were sharp as knives. She realized the second daughter-in-law was deliberately causing trouble.
Sending Xiaonan to call Elder Brother was just to watch the chaos.
Tian Chunhua felt uneasy under Ye Wen’s gaze, muttered “Oh,” and sluggishly walked out.
She wondered: Has the sun risen in the west today? The mother-in-law, who usually couldn’t bear the slightest grievance, suddenly changed. She didn’t let her niece report the matter and even glared coldly at her…
Although she had some confidence from giving birth to a son, Tian Chunhua knew the mother-in-law’s temper well. She was doting on the grandson but had little patience for the daughter-in-law.
She shrank her neck and didn’t dare cause more trouble, obediently heading to the kitchen.