When I woke up, it was already dark outside, and I realized I was still in the carriage. I tried to get up, but my body felt unwell. I looked at my clothes and shouted:

"Xie Yuancheng! Get out here right now!"

"Ying'er~ You're so energetic again so quickly?" Xie Yuancheng lifted the carriage curtain and came in, smiling happily.

"You've gone too far! I have my pride too! How could you do this to me in the carriage!"

"No, it's just that when we were causing trouble, I saw you weren't feeling well and your face was red, so I sacrificed my pride~"

I wanted to get up and hit him, but I was too exhausted, so I had to stay lying on the horse. It was really uncomfortable.

"Ying'er, let's see if you dare to sneak out shopping again." Xie Yuancheng's expression changed immediately after he finished speaking. "Hmph, going to a restaurant, don't you know I'm following you?"

"What are you doing, laughing at a young woman with a face full of pockmarks? Besides, we have three children in our family, plus my sister's, that makes four. Instead of staying home taking care of the little ones, you're out there teasing other people's kids."

"I'm so bored! You're such a shrewd person, you haven't told me when you're going back. I miss Yu'er so much, I miss Xizhi so much, I miss Su Ling so much~"

Xie Yuancheng scolded me enough, then helped me up and leaned against his chest: "Ying'er~ It's only 7 p.m. now, let's not go back tonight, take a break, a little while."

"No!" I strongly refused, just like when I dawdled before going to his room to discuss flood control.

"You don't like me, you don't want to be with me, you don't want me anymore~" Xie Yuancheng looked at me with his sparkling eyes, and I could see the stars in them.

"I love you~" Too lazy to waste words with him, those three words were enough to win Xie Yuancheng over, even though my back was still hurting.

The carriage cushions were soft, but I prefer sleeping in a bed. Xie Yuancheng whispered in my ear. We were chatting happily when we realized there were voices outside.

"Hurry up! You eat nothing but rice every day, you can't do any work, and all you do in winter is pick wild vegetables. Your man is precious, but what are you? You brat, how dare you walk so slowly?"

"Mom, my feet really hurt."

"Thump!" There was a sound of something heavy falling to the ground. "Pah! You dare to hurt your stinky feet? If you hadn't been shaking your stinky feet today, Doctor Wang would have taught you a lesson long ago, and we could have saved money. Hurry up, or I'll kick you to death!"

It was the same family from the restaurant earlier today. I looked up at Xie Yuancheng and whispered, "How pitiful."

Xie Yuancheng hugged me tightly and made a shushing gesture. Didn't they see the carriage? How could they speak so recklessly?

"We used a mysterious escape technique and added tree branches outside, so we can't see it." Xie Yuancheng's voice was barely audible, but I still heard it and nodded in agreement.

"Mom, my foot is really bleeding, can you walk slower?" Ye Ye started to cry. She must have been kicked just now. Oh, how pitiful.

"Wife~ You're so lazy~ And you smell bad, I'm not sleeping with you tonight~" It was her husband, Xixi.

This despicable man doesn't care about his wife at all. He should have acted as a mediator when she was being scolded.

"Xi'er, ignore this slut. She just eats for free all day and can't even comfort a person. What's the point of having you here!"

"Mom, don't leave me behind. Please slow down a bit, I'll catch up."

Night after night, she started crying. I heard her hopping on one leg. She was wearing worn-out shoes and still hopping on one leg. This mother-in-law is so fierce. I leaned against Xie Yuancheng's chest; thankfully, his embrace was warm.

"Cry your ass! What good will crying do now? Why weren't you crying at the restaurant?" Her mother-in-law probably slapped her twice; I could hear the sound of the blows.

"Mom~ I, I have a stomachache, I need to go to the toilet."

"So many things to do!" Although her mother-in-law was fierce, she was still waiting. They were probably a bit far away, but the open space outside made it easy for her to hear clearly.

I looked at Xie Yuancheng, and he came over and squeezed my hand. I wondered where they lived. Maybe they could send some money, enough for food and drink, and also for medical treatment.

"Mother, I didn't bring any straw paper or bamboo strips." Ye Ye is only fourteen years old; her life skills are a bit weak.

"You shameless bastard, why don't you pull up your pants and leave? Do you want everyone to come and see your stinky naked ass? You're filthy all over, and you don't even take a shower."

"Mom, we don't carry enough water at home, and you don't want me to waste water, so I don't dare to take a bath. Come to think of it, I haven't taken a bath for three or four months."

"Mom, she stinks! Her feet are black, her hands are black, and her belly is round from eating too much. She's so ugly!" If someone were to pass by, they would probably give Xixi a beating, and maybe that would cure his stupidity.

I heard footsteps. It's amazing how fast Ye Ye can run. "Mom, I'm dirty and want to take a bath. Can I take a bath when we get back?"

"You fetch water yourself, and you don't even wipe your butt. You eat a lot and poop a lot, so the toilet smells like you every day."

Her mother-in-law's words were indeed excessive. I squeezed Xie Yuancheng's arm tighter. The sounds outside were getting quieter and quieter. This kind of daughter-in-law is easy to bully. Although she was a bit too demanding when she begged Dr. Wang at noon today, she is really pitiful.

“They’re gone, we can talk now,” Xie Yuancheng whispered in my ear, and I patted him on the shoulder.

"This mother-in-law is so fierce. It's enough that she doesn't care about her daughter-in-law, she even has to criticize her."

"Yes, I guess they're from Liujiazhai. It's the poorest place in Linyang. Many times, we've given them money and food, but they just become lazy and stop looking for work, so they're not doing well."

"Oh? It's a village like this? Have you heard about the relief efforts?"

"Of course it stopped, it's been over two years. But it was eventually exposed, that's how we found out. No wonder they're getting poorer and poorer, they're just getting by by drawing salaries without working."

"But Ye Ye is quite pitiful. I'm thinking, should I secretly slip some silver into her pocket?"

Xie Yuancheng shook his head: "Not for now, I'll send someone to investigate first. You saw it for yourself today, she really went too far. Putting aside the handkerchiefs, just the fact that she took her mother-in-law and husband to Doctor Wang to ask for food."

At first, the people in the building were just watching the spectacle, but then she escalated her behavior; she's not a simple child.

"Could it be someone those scoundrels missed?" I was just guessing, but to my surprise, Xie Yuancheng nodded: "No way? Weren't they all driven away? And sentenced?"

“Ying’er, there’s a saying, ‘a fish that slipped through the net.’ Don’t worry about this. She’s more mature than a normal girl. Every word she says is a trap. Doctor Wang was tricked by her today.”

I nodded and casually said I wasn't feeling well and needed to go back. Xie Yuancheng was more decisive this time; he blew a small horn, and soon someone came to drive the carriage.

"You really want to attract a crowd to watch this? What a twisted sense of humor!"

"No, Ying'er, don't think such things~"

The carriage was a bit bumpy, but thankfully Xie Yuancheng was there to support me. I started to feel sleepy as I leaned against him, but he pinched my arm to stop me from sleeping. When I tried to rub my eyes, he slapped me away. I felt so wronged!

Fortunately, when we arrived at the manor, Li Ruowei came over and asked us where we had been fooling around all day, since we reeked of alcohol.