Chapter 244 What were you thinking?

Will I die?

"If she dies, won't I die too?"

"There are so many rumors circulating outside, even my own children say I'm a slut. So tell me, how am I supposed to live?"

"Since she did such a thing, she should be prepared to bear the consequences. She can't do evil and then not have to pay any price, can she?"

Xie Qingran continued to patiently reason with Xiao Ting, wanting to see if the child truly understood reason.

Hearing this, Xiao Ting felt even more desperate: "As children, we have no right to speak ill of our mother. No matter how much love and care my mother has for us brothers, it is all real!"

"Auntie, I know you've been wronged in this matter. Please, Auntie, let me suffer more punishment and spare my mother!"

"She can't go back to her parents' home, she'll die, she really will die!"

Xiao Ting reached out and gently grasped Xie Qingran's skirt, kowtowing and pleading once more.

Xiao Huo saw his brother like this from afar, and felt a pang of sadness. He strode forward and shoved Xie Qingran hard from behind.

"You vile, wicked woman, what right do you have to make things difficult for my brother and bully my mother!"

Xie Qingran lost her balance and stumbled forward.

Xiao Ting turned pale with fright and almost immediately hugged Xie Qingran tightly as she fell forward, using his own body as a cushion for her!

After confirming that Xie Qingran was alright, Xiao Ting finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Auntie, are you... are you alright? Is your stomach okay?"

"fine."

Xie Qingran quickly regained her balance.

She looked at Xiao Ting coldly: "I will not send her back to her parents' home, nor will I remove her from the register. I will lock her up in the estate that was part of my dowry, where she will eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures. This is only because you just hugged me. As for your brother, you can discipline him yourself."

After saying this, Xie Qingran turned and left.

"Brother, what is she muttering about?"

"Why...why did you help her?!"

Xiao Huo walked over and looked at Xiao Ting with a puzzled expression.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Ting slapped Xiao Huo hard across the face. Then, he grabbed Xiao Huo's wrist and strode towards his own courtyard.

After entering, Xiao Ting dragged Xiao Huo directly to the ancestral hall, pointed at his father's memorial tablet, and glared at Xiao Huo through gritted teeth: "I'm asking you, what did Father say before he passed away!"

"Brother?" Xiao Huo looked at Xiao Ting with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong with you? Brother, what do you mean by this?"

"Answer my question!" Xiao Ting clenched his fists and glared at him through gritted teeth.

"Father told us to protect Mother well."

Xiao Huo lowered his eyes, finally realizing the seriousness of the situation.

Seeing Xiao Huo's expression, Xiao Ting sneered, "Then you should know what you've done and that you've implicated Mother, right?"

"Xiao Huo, kneel here and think carefully about how you want to go in the future." Xiao Ting gritted his teeth, said these words, and strode outside.

On the other side, Xiao Yanran gently applied medicine to Xiao Jin, sighed helplessly, and said sullenly, "What's going on here? How are we going to explain this if my sister-in-law finds out?"

"My mother won't blame you, it was all my own choice!" Xiao Jin gently patted Xiao Yanran's hand and smiled at her: "Don't worry, Auntie!"

Seeing Xiao Jin like this, Xiao Yanran felt a surge of relief. She then whispered, "Don't fight anymore. Your mother only has you left. It will make her sad."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jin suddenly hugged Xiao Yanran and whispered, "Auntie, believe me, I really did it willingly. Auntie has been so good to me, I just want to protect her!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu also glanced in their direction.

He looked at Xiao Jin and said, "The two of us can protect my sister-in-law. We don't need you, little rascal, to cause trouble. You have a mother, so you should think more about her and spend more time with her. We... we don't have a mother anymore."

The loss of their mother is the deepest pain in the hearts of the two children.

At such a young age, they watched their father, mother, and eldest brother die one by one, and saw their brilliant second brother become a cripple. They should have been the most noble young masters and ladies in the capital, but now they can only huddle in the backyard of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and live a slow life.

The contrast between before and after is just too great. Let alone children, even adults would find it unbearable.

Xiao Yanran suddenly turned around and looked at Xiao Yu, her eyes slightly red. She quickly walked over and hugged Xiao Yu, whispering, "It's okay. It's okay to lose our mother. We have our sister-in-law. She's very good to us!"

Xie Qingran felt a pang of sadness upon hearing these words as she entered the room. She walked over and watched the three little children applying medicine to each other, finding it somewhat amusing. She affectionately pinched Xiao Yanran's nose and said softly, "Yanran can fight now?"

"Sister-in-law, I'm sorry. Have we caused you any trouble?" Xiao Yanran really enjoyed the fight, but seeing Xie Qingran's pale face now, she still felt sorry for her. "You're pregnant and we're still causing you trouble. It's really wrong of us. Sister-in-law, why don't you punish us?"

Looking into Xiao Yanran's eyes, Xie Qingran knew that the child was probably feeling sorry for her.

She chuckled softly, then reached out and gently pinched Xiao Yanran's cheek, saying softly, "You and they were all protecting me, how could I blame you?"

"Yanran, a girl should have the courage to throw a punch at any time." Xie Qingran looked at Xiao Yanran very seriously: "Seeing you like this now, I only feel gratified and relieved!"

When she was a child, she was strictly taught by the old woman on the estate to be a submissive girl. In her previous life, Xie Qingran did indeed do as the old woman said, to be a submissive, obedient girl, but what was her fate?

She was deceived by the person she was closest to and trusted most, who handed her over to a group of beggars to be humiliated!

After being reborn, Xie Qingran finally understood that all the teachings Wang Mama had given her were complete nonsense!

Now that she is about to become a mother, she will not let her child suffer any injustice, nor will she let Xiao Yanran and Xiao Yu suffer any injustice.

"Sister-in-law, are you really not angry with me?"

Xiao Yanran looked at Xie Qingran cautiously, afraid that she was just saying it casually.

Xie Qingran nodded, sat down, and hugged Xiao Yanran: "Yes, I'm really not angry at you. I'm actually very gratified that you risked your life to protect me and the baby in my belly!"

"Ayu, Yanran, I don't care what people outside say. I just want to ask you two, do you acknowledge this child?" Xie Qingran's voice trembled slightly as she spoke.

Although the children are still young, Xie Qingran still wants to know what the two children are thinking.