Chapter 13: The clash must mean she's the one who's domineering over him.

Song Fenglan's aunt's surname is Yu, and her husband's surname is Jiang. The cousin who is speaking is named Jiang Yufei.

Jiang Yufei was two or three years older than Song Fenglan. She disliked Song Fenglan from a very young age. Song Fenglan's family was well-off when she was young, while the Yu family was poor and had many children. Jiang Yufei's life was not as good as Song Fenglan's. She saw Song Fenglan wearing pretty little dresses and red leather boots, while Jiang Yufei herself had to wear other people's old clothes.

Later, the Song family fell into hardship, and Song's mother entrusted her daughter to her younger sister. Song Fenglan moved into the Jiang family home, and Jiang Yufei's attitude towards Song Fenglan worsened. Jiang Yufei believed that Song Fenglan needed to rely on her family for a living, and she also thought her own mother was a fool. How could her mother bring such a troublesome person like Song Fenglan into the family? Song Fenglan's family background was bad, and this cousin would bring trouble to their family.

Aunt Yu did not listen to her daughter; she defied all opposition and allowed Song Fenglan to stay in her home.

"Fenglan has already moved out, what more do you want?" Aunt Yu frowned. She suspected that her niece moved out so quickly because of Jiang Yufei.

Jiang Yufei was always talking about it, but Aunt Yu's daughter-in-law was rarely mentioned.

“She should have moved out in the first place. They’re already married, and she still has the nerve to live in the house.” Jiang Yufei rolled her eyes. “You’re my mother, not Song Fenglan’s biological mother. You should…”

"Stand on my side. She lives in our house, doesn't she pay for it?"

"You..." Aunt Yu was so angry that she didn't want to talk to Jiang Yufei, but she still spoke up, "Fenglan paid the money."

Before the Song family fell on hard times, Song's mother secretly gave Aunt Yu a considerable amount of money so that Aunt Yu could support Song Fenglan. Aunt Yu's husband knew about this, but her children were unaware of it. In those special times, it was best not to talk about such things, lest others think they were hiding money they shouldn't have.

If Song's mother hadn't been prepared, how could Aunt Yu's in-laws have allowed Song Fenglan to stay in the house? Song's mother didn't say much to Song Fenglan, also because she was afraid that Song Fenglan would become too proud and that the child, being so young, might accidentally tell others.

“She only pays after she starts working,” Jiang Yufei said. “With the little she pays… haha, she has to eat and live there, how much money can she possibly have left?”

Aunt Yu's daughter-in-law saw this but didn't say anything; instead, she went to her room. This daughter-in-law didn't have a particularly strong opinion of Song Fenglan, especially compared to Jiang Yufei, whom she felt was much more capable.

Song Fenglan wasn't their biological daughter, but she handed over a considerable amount of money, enough for them to eat and drink, plus rent. Jiang Yufei, on the other hand, was their biological daughter. She would frequently bring the child back to her parents' house for meals, but she never gave them any money, arriving empty-handed.

How could Jiang Yufei's sister-in-law be satisfied? Sister-in-law Yu wasn't stupid either. With Grandma Yu's terrible temper, how could she allow Song Fenglan to stay at home for so long? There must be something going on here.

It's not appropriate for the sister-in-law to say these things, to avoid arguing with her sister-in-law. Sister-in-law Yu always let Jiang Yufei say what she wanted, with Song Fenglan standing in front of her, so there were fewer conflicts between Sister-in-law Yu and Jiang Yufei, and Jiang Yufei didn't always target Sister-in-law Yu.

Song Fenglan was unaware that her aunt and Jiang Yufei had argued. The reason she joined the army at this time, besides regaining her memories of her past life, was also because she discovered she had transmigrated into a book. In the novel, Song Fenglan was merely a cold and aloof cannon fodder character. The original work described her divorce from Qin Yizhou, Qin Zihang changing his name to Song Zihang, Qin Yizhou's unhappy single life, and Song Zihang's bad temper stemming from his unhappy family background.

Mothers are just supporting characters, cannon fodder, and that's bad enough.

Song Fenglan couldn't let her son become a comparison group with others. She didn't think her son would become bad because of her divorce, but she was willing to let him have a happier family and live a more comfortable life.

If it weren't for the original story, Song Fenglan wouldn't have known that Qin Yizhou would remain single for life because of her. She always thought Qin Yizhou was forced to be with her, that he was set up, and that he had no choice but to take responsibility for her. Even though Song Fenglan believed that someone like Qin Yizhou wouldn't be easily controlled, there was always a knot in her heart.

Of course, whether Qin Yizhou remains single his entire life doesn't necessarily mean he deeply loves Song Fenglan. Song Fenglan simply wanted to give Qin Yizhou a chance, and also a chance for herself. Song Fenglan wasn't trying solely because Qin Yizhou remained single his entire life in the original story, nor was it entirely for her son's sake; she was doing it for herself.

If she doesn't try it once or twice, Song Fenglan will never be able to get over those things in the future.

When Qin Yizhou asked the child about eating under the table, Song Fenglan explained.

“My aunt has had a tough time. I’m not her biological daughter, just her niece,” Song Fenglan said. “Some things are best kept to ourselves. If we say them out loud, it will put my aunt in a difficult position.”

Song Fenglan had considered that her aunt might have taken some of her belongings, and in that particular era, her aunt could have easily denied it. The fact that her aunt was willing to let her stay and help raise her child after she gave birth was already quite kind of her.

That's not her biological mother, just her aunt. You can't expect too much from others.

“When I went to work, my aunt helped take care of Zihang,” Song Fenglan said. “Taking care of him for too long is not good in the long run. My aunt also has grandchildren, so it has some impact on her.”

As for the Qin family, almost none of them came to visit Song Fenglan and her son. Even though they lived in the same city, they ignored Song Fenglan and her son. Song Fenglan wasn't about to risk offending them; if they didn't like her, she didn't like them either, and she didn't need to rely on them for a living.

Song Fenglan didn't mention anything about the Qin family, but Qin Yizhou thought about it.

Qin's mother was in poor health, and Qin's father had suffered many injuries on the battlefield in his early years and had long since retired due to illness. Qin Yizhou didn't expect his parents to take good care of Song Fenglan, but he also knew that his parents' attitude towards Song Fenglan was problematic.

Qin Yizhou did not force Song Fenglan and her son to move into the Qin family home, also considering that his parents, brothers and sisters-in-law might not treat Song Fenglan well.

“Auntie is very good,” Qin Zihang said. “Very good, very good.”

Qin Zihang emphasized that he had no problem with his great-aunt, "My great-aunt gave me food, but not others."

Aunt Yu would buy food and share some with Qin Zihang, even if it was just a tiny bit, less than what Aunt Yu's grandchildren received. Qin Zihang was still very satisfied. Having something to eat was better than nothing.

“Now that we’re here, we can eat whatever we want,” Qin Yizhou couldn’t help but say.

"Eating too much will turn you into a fat pig," Qin Zihang said. "You can't eat too much; you have to stay healthy."

"You've raised your child very well." Qin Yizhou looked at Song Fenglan. He didn't see any pessimism in Qin Zihang; his son was optimistic and strong.

“He is my son,” Song Fenglan said. “If I don’t raise him well, what if he says bad things about me as his mother later, and the retribution comes back to haunt me?”

It's true that Song Fenglan didn't have much affection for Qin Yizhou, but her son was her own. Song Fenglan couldn't let the fact that she was framed mean her son ruined everything. Of course, if the child's father wasn't a good person, Song Fenglan wouldn't have given birth to the child, much less say such things to him.

No one believed in the idea that children were innocent. She only knew that mothers were innocent and pitiful women, and that mothers had the right to choose their own lives. Song Fenglan was never afraid of being called cold-blooded or heartless; that was just her nature.

"I'm good to my mother." Qin Zihang held out his hand. "I swear."

"Why are you making oaths at such a young age?" Song Fenglan chuckled. "Don't always think about making oaths. If you make too many oaths, people won't believe you."

"Okay, then I won't swear an oath," Qin Zihang said.

“It’s okay to make a vow occasionally, especially when you’re older and trying to fool people,” Song Fenglan said. “Some people aren’t very bright, and they just believe it.”

Especially for a woman who is obsessed with love, she believes a man's words after just a few sentences, thinking that a man's vows can last forever.

Qin Yizhou had initially intended to swear an oath, but upon hearing Song Fenglan's words, he hesitated. He wanted to swear that he would treat Song Fenglan well for the rest of his life; he could never be unkind to his wife, never allow her to live a life of misery. He truly loved her very much.

After breakfast, Qin Yizhou gathered some wood. When Song Fenglan saw this, she assumed Qin Yizhou was going to make a toy for Qin Zihang. However, when Song Fenglan noticed that Qin Yizhou was sawing the wood quite long, she thought perhaps he was going to make a larger toy, or maybe a special little chair for Qin Zihang.

When Qin Yizhou took the piece of wood to their room to demonstrate, Qin Zihang followed him eagerly. Qin Zihang was very excited, wondering what kind of wonderful thing his father was going to make.

"Is this for building railings?" Song Fenglan realized what Qin Yizhou was planning to do.

“Yes.” Qin Yizhou nodded. “Let’s do this while we’re still on holiday. Zihang will have to sleep alone eventually. If he sleeps alone, he won’t fall. With a railing, at least he can be a little protected.”

"Isn't it a big ship? A ship that can go into the water?" Qin Zihang stared wide-eyed at his father in disbelief.

"Don't play in the water, it's dangerous," Qin Yizhou said.

"I……"

Before Qin Zihang could finish speaking, a sound came from outside.

"ah."

"Something's wrong! Something's wrong! Get him to the hospital quickly!"

"Hurry, help!"

"Doctor, where is the doctor?"

...

Hearing the noise, Qin Yizhou quickly went out to check. Song Fenglan picked up Qin Zihang, afraid that he would be frightened.

A neighbor was shouting and yelling over there, sweat beading on her forehead, holding a baby less than a year old in her arms. The baby looked unwell, and the old woman was running around with the child in her arms.

Song Fenglan didn't take Qin Zihang out; it was enough for Qin Yizhou to go outside and have a look around.

"Mom," Qin Zihang buried his head in his mother's arms, his voice a little muffled, "Aren't we going out?"

“You don’t need to go out,” Song Fenglan said. “You’re still young. If something happens, don’t rush out. You must protect yourself first, okay? If someone else is in trouble, don’t panic. Don’t think about rushing in. You don’t have the ability. Rushing in will only make you cannon fodder. It won’t help. It’s all in vain. It’s like you take two yuan to buy something. You hand over the money, but the other person doesn’t give you anything and takes your two yuan back.”

"I'm not going out." Qin Zi

Hang originally wanted to go out, but after hearing what his mother said, he decided not to go out.

Song Fenglan didn't pray that her son would become a great hero; she only wanted him to live a peaceful and safe life.

A while later, Qin Yizhou returned.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Song Fenglan asked.

"The child fell headfirst into the bucket and drowned. They're taking him to the hospital now," Qin Yizhou said.

"How old is the child?" Song Fenglan frowned. "Didn't the bucket tip over?"

"The wooden bucket is quite heavy," Qin Yizhou said, "for a child who is less than a year old."

"Did you hear me?" Song Fenglan said to her son, "Not only are you not allowed to play in the river, but you shouldn't play in the water even at home. If something happens, you won't see your mother again. Your mother will have other babies, understand?"

"No, no!" Qin Zihang was scared. He hugged his mother tightly and didn't dare to let go. He didn't want to lose his mother, and he didn't want his mother to become another baby's mother. He wanted to be his mother's baby.

Seeing his son like this, Qin Yizhou didn't tell him not to be afraid. When it comes to matters of life and death, it's best to be serious.

The child was taken to the hospital for treatment, and when Shi Guilan heard about it, she said to others, "I think it's probably because of Qin Tuan's wife! None of this happened before she came, but it started happening as soon as she arrived!"