At this moment, it was obviously impossible for her to go back to sleep peacefully.
Even if adults could endure hunger, and older children from the various branches could hold out, the younger ones could not.
The ninth young master of the second branch, Xie Wenhan, was six years old. Normally, he was already a troublesome child, but now, hungry, he started wailing loudly.
“Mother, I want bird’s nest with golden threads! I want bird’s nest with golden threads! I’m hungry, I’m starving!” When denied, he began rolling on the floor.
But there was no bird’s nest with golden threads to be found. Even a bowl of plain porridge wouldn’t satisfy him.
“Be good, Han-ge’er. Mother will give you some water. Drink water, and you won’t be hungry.” Lady Xiao Yun grabbed a broken bowl and scooped half a bowl of water from the bucket. “Here, Mother will feed you.”
Xiao Yun, wife of Xie Zhongzhi of the second branch, had two sons. The elder son, Xie Wenting, ranked as the second young master and was already married to Lady Xia.
At this moment, Xie Wenting was not in the mansion; he had followed his father, Xie Zhongzhi, to the palace.
Although Xiao Yun worried, she couldn’t reach him.
Meanwhile, her younger son, Xie Wenhan, was throwing a tantrum right before her eyes: “No! I don’t want this water. I want bird’s nest with golden threads! Mother, give it to me! My stomach hurts—I feel awful!” Xie Wenhan swatted away the broken bowl in Lady Xiao Yun’s hands, spilling water everywhere.
Tears filled Xiao Yun’s eyes as she hugged him tightly, not knowing what to do.
The third branch’s legitimate daughter—the tenth miss, Xie Wanxuan—and the fourth branch’s second legitimate daughter—the eleventh miss, Xie Wanning—were even younger than Xie Wenhan, five and three years old respectively. Naturally, they could not endure hunger either.
But these two little girls were always well-behaved. Even when starving, they would crawl into their mothers’ arms and close their eyes, pretending to sleep.
Tang Qingluo liked these two little girls. Usually, when they saw her, they would sweetly call her “Sister-in-law” with politeness and friendliness.
With just this, she, as the elder sister-in-law, could not possibly let them starve.
Remembering the plate of Osmanthus Sugar Steamed Chestnut Cake she had last stored, Tang Qingluo began communicating with the system in her mind.
“System, system, take out two pieces of Osmanthus Sugar Steamed Chestnut Cake.”
[Sorry, Host. Violation of rules. Unable to retrieve.]
“What? Why can’t I take them out?” Tang Qingluo was puzzled.
[Host, according to the rules, items stored as a plate can only be retrieved as a full plate.]
What to do now?
Even if she took out the whole plate, she could only hide it on her person. There were only eight cakes, but the plate was too conspicuous. How could she dispose of it afterward?
[Buzz… buzz… buzz… System activates equipment disassembly function. Host, please choose: 1. Keep plate. 2. Disassemble plate.]
Great! The system was still reasonably user-friendly—worth a thumbs-up. Disassemble!
[Disassembly successful. Obtained one portion of clay, one portion of aluminum, one portion of kaolin. Materials automatically stored in the disassembly backpack. Fee: 10 coins.]
She knew there was no such thing as a free lunch.
Compared to the exorbitant storage fee before, this cost seemed reasonable. Feeling the eight cakes in her arms, Tang Qingluo didn’t complain.
She took out two cakes and secretly slipped them into the little girls’ hands.
Their eyes lit up. Just as they were about to thank her, Tang Qingluo shushed them and shook her head.
The two little girls were smart—they understood her meaning and stayed silent.
They each took a small bite—mmm, it was indeed Osmanthus Sugar Steamed Chestnut Cake. Delicious.
“Mother, eat!” The girls, Xie Wanxuan and Xie Wanning, were not selfish. After taking a bite, they offered the cakes to their mothers—the third branch’s Lady Jiang and fourth branch’s Lady Ruan.
Lady Jiang, wife of Xie Shuzhi of the third branch, had two sons and a daughter.
Her elder son, Xie Wenzhang, ranked as the third young master, had gone to the palace with his father. Her younger son, Xie Wenrui, ranked as the fifth young master, was present along with her daughter Xie Wanxuan.
Lady Ruan, wife of Xie Jizhi of the fourth branch, had two daughters and a son. The elder daughter, Xie Wanru, had already married and was absent. The younger daughter, Xie Wanning, was the youngest in the mansion, ranking eleventh. Her son, Xie Wenjin, ranked as the fourth young master, had been imprisoned with his father, Xie Jizhi.
Although Lady Jiang and Lady Ruan were hungry, they could endure.
As mothers, they were pleased their children had something to eat and even thought of them. But with only one cake each, too little for the children themselves, there was no way they would eat—they naturally refused.
But since they refused, someone else wanted it.
The troublesome Xie Wenhan had been wailing and rolling on the floor. When he saw Tang Qingluo giving the cakes to the tenth and eleventh misses and then the girls offering the cakes to their mothers, he immediately jumped up and shouted:
“Mother! The tenth and eleventh misses are eating cake! I saw it myself—it was Sister-in-law who gave it! I want cake too! Sister-in-law, give me cake!”
He ran to Tang Qingluo, confidently demanding the cakes.
Troublesome kids were the worst. Why should he get them, just because he yelled at her normally?
“No more, Ninth Brother. I only have two pieces.” Tang Qingluo spread her hands.
“Mother! I want cake! I want cake! Waaah—” Hearing there was no cake for him, he started screaming again, rolling on the floor.
“Daughter-in-law, the child is young and can’t endure hunger. Can you give Han-ge’er one cake?” Xiao Yun, feeling sorry for him, begged Tang Qingluo, ignoring tensions between the first and second branches.
But Tang Qingluo was not the type to give in just because someone asked. No, she refused.
“Second Aunt, sorry, I really don’t have any cake left.”
Hearing that, the troublesome Xie Wenhan gave up on whining or rolling.
He quickly ran toward the slowly eating eleventh miss, Xie Wanning, intending to snatch her cake.
But in the struggle, he suddenly found his feet off the ground, suspended midair.
Tang Qingluo had been watching him. When he tried to grab the eleventh miss’s cake, she acted.
“Let me go! Put me down!” Xie Wenhan struggled, red-faced, hands and feet flailing.
Xiao Yun shouted angrily: “Qingluo, what are you doing? You’re so grown, and Han-ge’er is still so young! How dare you play like this with such a little child? Put him down immediately!”
“Second Aunt, Ninth Brother likes playing with younger kids. I happen to like it too. Our hobbies are the same, so we have a lot in common.” Tang Qingluo rolled up her sleeves, used both hands, and flipped Xie Wenhan upside down.
“Tenth Miss, Eleventh Miss, see how awesome Sister-in-law is?”
“Awesome!” The two little girls clapped their hands enthusiastically.
“Good girls! Wait and see what Sister-in-law does next. I’ll throw your Ninth Brother into the air, alright?” Tang Qingluo lifted Xie Wenhan, preparing to toss him.
“Aaaahhh—” Xie Wenhan screamed, struggling and terrified. “Mother! Save me! Tang Qingluo, you wretched woman! If you dare do this to me, wait until my elder brother comes back—you’ll pay!”
“No manners, clearly needs a lesson.” Tang Qingluo prepared to scare the troublesome child further and loosened one hand.
“Aaaahhh—” Xie Wenhan shrieked nonstop, and a sharp smell of urine wafted out.