Chapter 44 The Moon of Yesteryear

Ruan Yuan leaned against the window, just like always. Down the long street, a girl with short hair was handing out flyers with a cloth bag. That high-necked jacket and skirt was once her most secret longing.

Turning back, Ruan Yuan's eyes were calm and indifferent. "Of course I know. She told me herself. Do you know what she said? She said my mother was a slut, and her daughter was a lowly thing. How could a mother and daughter like that want to marry a good man? You didn't want my mother back then, and no one will want me now."

She'd exchange me for a few hundred dollars to give to her own daughter, to someone else's daughter who'd become a concubine, as a way of repaying the debt of raising me. How ridiculous!

Ruan Yonggui, my mother owes you nothing, and I owe your family nothing either. My mother used her own money to buy this house and settle down. I started working at the age of thirteen to earn money, and later I even sold my body to help support my family and pay for her medical treatment. I have fulfilled my obligations to you in giving me life and to you in raising me.

This is the last time I'm here. From now on, I won't care whether you live or die. Also, Liu Ping isn't you. He's responsible, can support his family, and doesn't look down on my background. But you, you got someone pregnant and then looked down on their background, looked down on their background yet still took their money, and then abused their child. You hypocritical scoundrel.

Ruan Yuan didn't say a word, and Ruan Yonggui's face paled a little more.

The debt of gratitude has been repaid, and the revenge must be taken. That woman is dead. As for Ruan Yonggui, Ruan Yuan didn't take his life, but she severed all ties with him. The last thread of blood ties between them is gone today. She shouldn't have held onto any hope.

She had always treated her family with gratitude, but her mother disliked her and her sister didn't love her. She thought her biological father always loved her.

But if he truly cared for her, he wouldn't have ignored her suffering for twenty years.

Yes, from the very beginning, they despised themselves to the core.

With one foot already out the door, Ruan Yuan said coldly, "If Ruan Xue does something utterly immoral, I will still spare her life. Then you can take your people back to your hometown."

When that little sister was little, she would secretly hide half a pancake, half a steamed bun, or half an egg for her when her mother didn't give her any food. When did she change?

Ruan Yuan didn't know either.

Perhaps it was the daily favoritism from parents that distorted everything.

Hearing the commotion at the courtyard gate, Liu Ping poked his head out of the kitchen. Because of the scars on his face, even when he smiled, he looked particularly ferocious. Ruan Yuan, however, was not afraid. She simply patted Liu Ping's strong arm lightly and then asked, "Why are you making chicken soup today?"

"Old Wang from next door brought over half a chicken, saying it was to thank you for saving her granddaughter's life. I heard you're pregnant, so she also brought a small bucket of rice wine. I noticed you haven't had much of an appetite these past few days and can't stand the smell of meat, so I fried some tofu balls and stewed them with chicken broth. That shouldn't be too greasy."

After saying that, Liu Ping made a freshly fried tofu ball and gave it to Ruan Yuan to try.

Speaking of Granny Wang, Ruan Yuan remembered that some time ago, the Japanese had been bombing their area, and many houses had been destroyed. People fled to the foreign concessions, and she was one of them. It was very chaotic.

Chaos easily breeds trouble. When she returned home after the war subsided, the place was a mess, as if it had been ransacked. The thieves had practically peeled off the walls. Luckily, she had her money and valuables with her, otherwise she and Liu Ping would be penniless now.

Just then, cries for help came from next door. Ruan Yuan climbed over the wall and saw that it was a man bullying someone. Enraged, Ruan Yuan immediately picked up a stone from the ground and went in to crack the man's head open. It was only thanks to the girl's loud shouts and fierce struggles that Ruan Yuan was able to find an opportunity.

The little girl became deaf from a fever when she was young. At the age of fifteen or sixteen, she lived with Granny Wang and made a living by sewing shoe soles and washing clothes for others. Although the little girl was deaf, she could still sew two pairs of shoe soles and spin several ounces of thread a day. She kept the house clean and tidy inside and out.

Seeing that Ruan Yuan had cracked the man's head open, the girl became fierce and ran into the kitchen, grabbed a cleaver, and chopped off the man's genitals. The man who was killed was, of course, thrown into a mass grave.

At this point, the death of one or two people is no big deal. Apart from those families with a little money, who would bother to report it to the police? Rather than sending money to the authorities to beg them to investigate, they would rather save that money to buy more food to fill their stomachs.

A full cup of fine wine, the blood of a thousand families; finely sliced, fatty mutton, the fat of ten thousand households.

"What are you thinking about?" Liu Ping pulled her into his arms. What was this? His sweet and soft wife!

Ruan Yuan paused for a moment, then brought up Ruan Xue again.

Mr. Xie instructed Liu Ping to have someone keep an eye on Ruan Xue. At first, she didn't know what was going on, but when she heard Liu Ping say that Ruan Xue was having an intimate relationship with a Japanese man, she knew that Ruan Xue was doomed. Not to mention that Liu Ping's gang was based on the principle of eliminating evil, even Mr. Xie was not someone Ruan Xue could afford to offend.

"You want to spare her life?" Liu Ping was taken aback. He knew his wife well; she was kind when she needed to be, but ruthless when she needed to be. This decision didn't seem like Ruan Yuan's usual style.

Could it be that Ruan's father pleaded for him? To be honest, Liu Ping disliked Ruan's father very much. He looked down on a man who had no sense of responsibility.

Ruan Yuan shook her head, her eyes cold. "Break off all four limbs and throw them to my father to take to the countryside, so they won't be an eyesore here."

Mother Ruan confessed to everything, including discussing with Ruan Xue about selling her. So how could she possibly still have feelings for Ruan Xue? It's just that she couldn't take action against the Zhang family before, and later Mr. Xie had Liu Ping and the others keep an eye on Ruan Xue, which is why it's been delayed until now.

Liu Ping laughed heartily. This was his wife! Ruthless and vicious!

——

When Xie Ning learned that the Japanese man was Fujita Mitsuha, he thought to himself, "Just as I thought. One or two of them are suspicious. Could it be that her face is too young, giving others the illusion that she is easy to fool?"

Just as Xie Ning was about to go along with Ruan Xue's plan and accept her invitation, a hospital certificate and a letter were delivered to the mailbox at the front door.

“I didn’t expect them to use Ruan Xue as a hostage to threaten you. This is clearly a trap. I think it’s best not to take any risks.” Seeing Xie Ning’s interest, Cai Huai had a bad feeling and quickly brought up the last time Xie Ning was tricked to shut him up.

Xie Ning shook his head again, "Cai Huai, I can't be so easily scared after being bitten once. Besides, they're luring us into a trap. Who knows if they've invited in a gentleman or a vicious wolf?"