Luo Li rushed home in a panic. Luo Xin, who was sitting at the door, stood up and looked back, asking in confusion, "Third brother, where is mother?"

No, I don't know.

Luo Chen, who was carrying firewood to the kitchen, noticed that her younger brother's expression was a bit strange: "Didn't you go to pick up your stepmother? She's by the river. You should be able to see her if you walk upstream. Didn't you find her?"

"I saw stray dogs on the way, and they kept barking at me. I was so scared that I hid in a haystack. I came back after the stray dogs ran away."

There are many stray dogs outside the village. They can't be driven away or killed off. They occasionally come into the village looking for food. In the past, there have been cases of them biting the elderly and children. The villagers see them and chase after them, but they can't catch them. It's a real headache for them.

Seeing her younger brother's pale face, looking quite frightened, Luo Chen said, "Then don't go out. Stepmother should be back soon."

Luo Li nodded in response, went into the house, closed the door, climbed into bed, and hid under the covers.

The stepmother was pushed into the river by that wicked woman and has already been swept away by the current. What should he do? Should he tell his older brother?

He didn't mean to not call out; he was just... just too scared. If he had spoken up, would that woman have pushed him into the river too?

Only after that woman left did he realize that they were far apart and that the wicked woman might not be able to catch up with him, but by then his stepmother was already gone.

What should I do? He really didn't do it on purpose. Did he kill his stepmother?

Now he dared not say it aloud. If his older brothers found out that his hesitation had caused his stepmother's death, they would definitely scold him to death. His younger sister liked his stepmother so much; if she knew, she would definitely not like him as her brother anymore.

Luo Li cried, feeling regret, fear, and self-blame. Afraid of being heard, he could only cover his mouth with the blanket and cry quietly.

Luo Chen was boiling water, sitting bored in front of the stove, writing on the ground with a small twig, wondering why his stepmother hadn't come back yet.

Luo Xin came in and asked, "Big brother, why hasn't Mother come back yet? It's already dark. Isn't Mother scared outside?"

"My stepmother is an adult now, she shouldn't be afraid..."

However, it was indeed quite dark outside. It had been more than 45 minutes since he returned. Why did it take the stepmother so long to wash the shoes?

Luo Yang smiled at the door and said, "Ah Li is unusually quiet today. Usually, she would be complaining of being hungry by this time."

Luo Chen added two pieces of firewood to the stove: "He said he encountered stray dogs on his way to find his stepmother. They were barking at him. He looked unwell; he must have been frightened. Let him lie down in the house for a while. You watch the fire. I'll go get his stepmother and call him when the food is ready."

Although it was dark, the moonlight was still quite bright. Luo Chen jogged to the riverbank, but didn't see Xiao Yunying. Instead, he saw a wooden basin containing shoes by the river, and his heart skipped a beat.

I walked closer, picked up the shoes and looked at them. They were their shoes. The basin was here. Where was the stepmother?

"Stepmother! Stepmother!"

Luo Chen put down his shoes, walked upstream for a distance, then turned back and walked downstream for a while.

Unable to find the person, Luo Chen's unease grew stronger.

Does she... no longer want them?

Luo Chen returned home dejectedly. Luo Yang was comforting Luo Xin when he saw his older brother's state and had a bad feeling.

Luo Xin asked disappointedly, "Didn't Big Brother find Mother either?"

"She probably won't reply..."

"Brother, you must be tired, go back to your room first."

Luo Yang interrupted Luo Chen and said to Luo Xin, "Xin'er, why don't you sit in the yard for a while and help your stepmother air out her shoes when she comes back?"

"Okay, but Xin'er needs to tell her mother that she can't come home this late anymore, or Xin'er will worry."

Luo Yang brought over a small stool for Luo Xin to sit on, and then went into the house with Luo Chen.

Luo Chen was worried that the little girl would hear, so he deliberately lowered his voice: "I saw a basin containing shoes by the river, but she was nowhere to be seen."

"Has your brother searched the surrounding area?"

"I've searched along the riverbank, both upstream and downstream, but I haven't found it."

Luo Li, still under the covers, couldn't hold back her tears and sobbed, which was heard by the two older children.

Luo Chen went over and lifted a corner of the blanket: "Ah Li, why are you crying?"

Luo Li's eyes were red and swollen, and her blanket and pillow were soaked with tears, clearly indicating that she had been crying for a long time: "I...I..."

Luo Yang asked urgently, "You know where your stepmother went, right?"

"I...I don't know..."

"You're lying!"

Luo Yang suddenly got angry. Remembering that Luo Xin was in the yard, he lowered his voice and said, "I know better than anyone how guilty you are. You were like this last time when you were playing and caused Xin'er to fall and break her head. You didn't dare to defend yourself and you didn't dare to look people in the eye."

Luo Chen said anxiously, "Do you know where your stepmother went? Tell me quickly."

Unable to withstand her two older brothers' questioning, Luo Li cried and said, "Waaah... Big brother, I killed my stepmother! My stepmother was pushed into the river by that woman named He Hua. I was scared and didn't dare to call for help. I only dared to come out after that woman left. My stepmother had already been swept away by the river."