After Yan Xia finished speaking, she sent her children away.

With Xiao Ji's help, she took a bath, leaned against the bed and read a book before falling into a sweet sleep.

The next morning, Bai Ruixue rented an oxcart and returned to Baihua Village. She was alone. When she left the He family, she was stopped by Daozi, but when he learned that she was going back to her parents' home to borrow money, he quickly let her go.

Several months have passed since the last time I escaped from Baihua Village.

Bai Ruixue felt uneasy thinking about the expressions on her parents' faces when they severed ties with her.

But she had no choice; she had already agreed to He Tian's request in bed yesterday.

I had no choice but to bite the bullet and go back to borrow money.

The oxcart arrived at the village entrance at noon. Bai Ruixue did not pay the fare; she told the driver to wait at the village entrance.

The driver was a little unhappy, but there was nothing he could do; that's how it is when you're trying to make a living.

After Bai Ruixue got off the oxcart, she slowly walked to her doorstep. The villagers looked at her as if they had seen a ghost.

"My God, is this a zombie coming back to life?"

"Isn't this Xiaoxue from the village head's family?"

"Am I dreaming? Didn't the village head say Ruixue was dead? How come there's someone who looks exactly like her?"

"Ruixue, are you a human or a ghost? I've never bullied you before, so please don't hurt me."

"Whose ghost is out in broad daylight? You've been fooled by the village head. Look at her body, you can tell she's pregnant just by looking at the way she walks. I had seven children back then, I can tell at a glance. Could she have eloped with a man? So the village head got angry and simply said she was dead."

“.............”

The villagers pointed and whispered about Bai Ruixue.

Some even guessed the truth.

Bai Ruixue's face turned pale and then red, and she ignored everyone.

"Knock knock knock—"

When she arrived at her doorstep, she found it tightly shut.

So he knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Bai Lizheng's voice came from the courtyard.

His footsteps grew closer, and soon the door opened.

His hands trembled the moment he saw Bai Ruixue.

"Smack—"

Before Bai Ruixue could speak, Bai Lizheng closed the door.

Not even a crack can let in.

"Get out, get the hell out—" he said, his voice trembling with agitation.

Bai Ruixue was in tears. "Father, I'm back. Please open the door. I know I was wrong. Please open the door." She pounded on the door.

But there was no sound from the other side of the door.

Bai Lizheng didn't leave; he leaned against the door and wept silently.

"Father, I was wrong, I know I was wrong, please let me come back," Bai Ruixue said between sobs, while the villagers behind her stood watching the spectacle.

"Who's speaking? Is that Xiaoxue? Ah? Is that my Xue? Speak up, Xue, is that you? Mother is here, my Xiaoxue, you're finally back! Mother has missed you so much—"

Mother and daughter are of one heart.

Bai Zhao was resting in her bedroom when she heard the commotion at the door, and her heart ached.

During this time, she cried so much that her eyes became blurry.

Everything I see seems a bit blurry, and my mind is sometimes clear and sometimes makes silly mistakes.

Bai Zhaoshi touched the wall, walked shakily into the courtyard, and cried out to the outside.

"What are you doing out here? What Xiaoxue? She's dead! You're not allowed to mention her again! We gave her chance after chance, but she insisted on choosing He Tian, ​​whom she'd barely met! A married daughter is like water spilled from the ground—you can't bring her back. Go back inside and lie down. Don't come out!"

Bai Lizheng wiped away his tears and snot with his sleeve.

He pulled his wife back into the house.

But Bai Zhao refused.

"It's Xiaoxue, it's her! I want my Xiaoxue! Let me see Xiaoxue!" Bai Zhaoshi sat down on the ground, refusing to get up no matter what.

Bai Lizheng is too old to pull her along.

The two remained locked in a stalemate in the courtyard.

"Waaah, Mother, I was wrong. Father, please open the door, I'm back. Mother, please let Father open the door, okay? I was really wrong, I was wrong. Do you want to force me to my death to be happy? Fine, since you want me to die, then I'll hang myself here. Father, Mother, I'm sorry, let's meet again in the next life."

Bai Ruixue used her trump card.

Bai Zhao panicked.

Her mind cleared up a bit.

"If you drive Xiaoxue to her death, I'll kill myself too! I'll go with her, so my poor daughter won't be all alone." The ruthlessness in her eyes terrified Bai Lizheng.

Left with no other choice, he had to open the Bai family's door.

Bai Ruixue outside the door didn't look like she was about to die at all.

Bai Lizheng sighed.

This daughter is truly spoiled; she's rotten to the core. How can she possibly be raised well?

They threaten them with death at the drop of a hat.

Unfortunately, my wife falls for this trick.

"Father, you've finally opened the door." Bai Ruixue squeezed past Bai Lizheng and rushed in, feeling the chills of those stares outside.

Bai Lizheng didn't even dare to lift his head; he quickly closed the door.

I was afraid of being laughed at.

“Why did you come back? You are no longer my daughter. This family has no place for you.”

Bai Lizheng walked straight to the main room, ignoring Bai Zhaoshi on the ground.

"Mother, please get up." Bai Ruixue had stopped crying and helped her mother into the main room.

"Father, Mother, I've come back with good news to tell you. I'm pregnant, three months along. I know what happened before was wrong of me. Father, Mother, now that we have a child, let bygones be bygones. I came back specifically to see you. My husband is very good to me. He said he'll take the imperial examination next year and wants to help my son pass it so he can be born with a scholar as his father."

Bai Ruixue stroked her belly, her face full of affection.

"Ha, you're doing well, yet you've lost weight? Look at your hands. When you were at home, did we ever make you do any work? We raised you for so many years, and now you're working as a maid in someone else's house. And a son? He's only three months old, and you're already so sure it's a son? If he could pass the imperial examination, would we have waited until now? You're so naive, believing everything people say. If he really cared about you, why doesn't he take you back to your parents' home to see us?"

Bai Lizheng's voice softened a bit.

Although his words were still harsh, he softened when he learned that his daughter was pregnant.

"What? You're pregnant? My little Xue, did you walk back? Are you tired? Did the He family bully you? Your father is right, your hands are covered in calluses. It breaks my heart. You must not have had a good time in the He family. How about we get a divorce? After you get a divorce, your father and I will support you. Even if you never marry, your father and I will still support you, okay?"

Bai Zhao's tears welled up again with heartache.

She sniffed and touched Bai Ruixue's hands.

She was crying so pitifully.

"Father, Mother, I'm doing well. Although I have to do laundry and cook at my husband's house, I'm very happy. Since having the child, I've come to understand the hardships of being a parent, and I know you're doing this for my own good, worried that I'll be bullied and that my husband will let me down. But he hasn't. I've been married for a few months now, and you still don't trust me? As for divorce, I don't want a divorce. My child can't be without a father. I've come back this time because I need your help. Please help me."