Chapter 69 Xiao Xiuning is bullied and abused in the second wife's house

Yun Zhaoxue and Yang Shi and the others went upstream to fetch water.

The water upstream is clear, and the water containers are all located here.

Downstream activities include washing your face, hands, and feet.

Xiao Xiuning and Ye Hongying were also there. They had just filled their water containers and were preparing to go back. The former was walking with a limp, and the latter was supporting her. "Xiuning, slow down..."

Seeing her daughter's suffering, Madam Yang felt sorry for her. She thought it was just a minor knee injury and nothing serious. How could it be so severe after an afternoon? She asked with concern, "Ning'er, is the injury on your leg serious?"

As he spoke, he reached out to help her.

Xiao Xiuning avoided her touch, as if deliberately trying to spite her.

How is she?

Anyway, I won't die.

She had just seen it all: Madam Yang was protecting Yun Zhaoxue, while she, despite being so badly injured, had to help Madam Wu walk with Ye Hongying, and her mother hadn't said a word of concern for her.

“Ning’er, the Princess is your mother, and she cares about you.”

Madam Yang was only concerned about her daughter's health and didn't argue with her. She said in a kind voice, "Xue'er brought some medicine for sprains and bruises. When you go back with your mother later, I will apply the medicine for you."

Upon hearing that the medicine was from Yun Zhaoxue, Xiao Xiuning reacted as if her tail had been stepped on, jumping up and down in a panic, her voice involuntarily rising: "I don't want it! I don't care about her medicine!"

Why have you become so stubborn?

"I don't want it, and I don't want it. I'd rather die than accept her charity."

With that, he walked ahead by himself.

Ye Hongying said, "Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will take good care of Xiuning."

Yang had watched Ye Hongying grow up since she was a child, and in her memory, Ye Hongying was a good girl.

Trusting her character, he stepped forward and excitedly grasped her hand. "Thank you so much, I'm so grateful for your help. If anything happens to her, please come to me. Could you please talk to her and persuade her not to hold a grudge against me, and to return to her own team?"

"Your Highness, I've tried to persuade her, but Xiuning is unwilling. I don't want to force her. It's good for her to have company with me. The more you pressure her, the less willing she is to go back. Don't worry, I will try to persuade her slowly over this period of time." Ye Hongying said she was trying to persuade her, but behind her back she was doing things to sow discord.

Yun Zhaoxue said calmly, "She got injured while trying to get water for your mother-in-law. If you don't take care of her, who will?"

If she doesn't take care of them, does she expect them to just leave the person back for them to take care of?

How could there be such a good thing?

However, Ye Hongying didn't have much status in the second wife's household, otherwise she wouldn't have been sent out to beg for water, while the men in her family would hide behind them and pretend to be dead.

On the way here, I saw that the two of them were unsteady on their feet and could barely walk, and they had to help Wu walk.

“Xiuning and I grew up together. She is like a younger sister to me. Even if it weren’t for my family members being injured, I would still take care of her.”

Yun Zhaoxue said, "Oh, then don't just talk the talk, walk the walk. The stream is slippery and has stones, so don't let her do this kind of water-fetching work next time. Her leg injury needs rest, so it would be best to find someone to make a simple stretcher to carry her. There are many able-bodied men in your second branch, so you should be able to spare two hands."

Ye Hongying, "..."

It's easy for them to say. They can't even walk themselves, how can they lift others?

Only after hearing this did Madam Yang realize that something was amiss.

Yes, Ning'er's leg is injured like this, yet she still walked so far to fetch water?

Is he having a hard time over there?

Yun Zhaoxue added, "It's quite pitiful to see someone dragging their injured leg to help others and then dragging their injured leg to fetch water."

Madam Yang was shocked. "What? Such a thing is possible?"

The eldest daughter-in-law, Xie Wanyun, also said, "Mother, I saw it too. This afternoon, my fourth sister helped my second aunt walk for an hour."

Song Mingyan whispered, "I...I saw it too."

He was exhausted from the journey and too tired to walk any further, so he kept it a secret from Yang Shi and didn't want to cause any more trouble.

"This child is really...why can't she stay at home?" Madam Yang was annoyed. She should have guessed it sooner. The second branch of the family hated them to the bone, so how could they treat her daughter well?

It's all her fault for spoiling her daughter. I'll have a good talk with her when I get back after fetching the water.

“Your Highness, it’s not what they saw. We were supporting each other as we walked.”

"Then what about fetching water?"

“We didn’t mistreat her. Xiuning just wanted to come over to wash up and fetch some water. If she’s unhappy with us, why doesn’t she go back?”

Seeing that they were all silent, Ye Hongying asked herself and answered, "It must be because there are people or things over there that make her even more unhappy."

After saying this, she and Madam Yang nodded slightly and took their leave.

As he brushed past Yun Zhaoxue, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, a look of provocation in his eyes.

Based on her understanding of Madam Yang, she knew that Madam Yang loved her daughter so much that she would definitely drive Yun Zhaoxue away in order to get her daughter back.

Yun Zhaoxue's good days are coming to an end!

The exile group consisted of more than 300 people. Those from smaller families were afraid of being bullied, so they huddled together for warmth. If a single person fell behind, they would surely be bullied to death.

Yang was deeply worried.

Xie Wanyun advised, "Mother, don't worry too much. Fourth Sister will come back when she has figured things out. Let's go fetch water first."

After fetching water, Yun Zhaoxue made an excuse to use the restroom in the bushes not far away.

Xie Wanyun accompanied her.

Yang and Song Mingyan went back first.

He emptied the stream water into the bushes, rinsed the water bag with mineral water, shook it a few times, poured the water back into the stream, and then poured the spring water back into the water bag.

After filling the water container, she was surprised to see two carp drinking water in the distance. She wanted to eat fish; she had eaten fruit and pastries for lunch and was now hungry, as they weren't filling enough.

It seems to be the location where she just went to the spirit spring.

Yun Zhaoxue had a sudden inspiration: could it be that the spiritual spring water poured into the stream attracted the fish?

She poured spiritual spring water into the stream, and the fish, attracted by the scent, swam directly towards her, opened their mouths wide to drink the water, and their bodies grew at a visible speed until they were full.

It was at this moment—

"Bang! Bang!!" She reached out and grabbed quickly.

The two carp were trapped, struggling frantically, shaking their heads and wagging their tails, splashing the stream with loud "bang! bang!" sounds, but they still couldn't break free from her grip.

Yun Zhaoxue threw the fish onto the shore.

Xie Wanyun, who was outside, waited for a long time without her coming out. Seeing movement in the bushes where she had disappeared, she called out, "Third sister-in-law, are you done? Do you need any help?"

"They're here."

Yun Zhaoxue used what was available, pulling a few grass ropes from the bushes and threading them through the fish's gills to make it easier to carry.

She emerged carrying a water bag in one hand and two large, fat fish in the other.

Xie Wanyun exclaimed in a low voice, "What a big fish! Third sister-in-law, how did this fish get here?"

"I picked them up on the shore. They were drinking water when I caught them."

A look of disbelief flashed in Xie Wanyun's eyes. "Third sister-in-law, you're really amazing. You actually dared to catch fish. I wouldn't even dare."

Although her family was not a wealthy or powerful one, her father held the rank of fifth-grade official and had servants. Even when she occasionally cooked, she would have the servants prepare the ingredients in advance.

Yun Zhaoxue was about to say what was wrong with it when she suddenly realized it didn't fit the original owner's character. The original owner was a princess, and had nothing to do with catching or killing fish.

"I didn't dare at first, but I was so hungry that I didn't want to go hungry, so I gritted my teeth and pounced to grab it. We're having fish tonight."

"Us? Can we eat it too?"

Xie Wanyun didn't expect her to be so generous. In the past, Princess Zhaoxue would share food with them, and it was already good enough if she didn't take it from them.

"Sure, I can't finish it all by myself anyway, but if you want to eat, you have to work."

With a division of labor, she was not a servant who waited on them.

"Thank you, Third Sister-in-law. Let me help you carry the fish."

"Here you go. Be careful, don't let them get away. We're counting on them to fill our stomachs tonight."

"No, no, I'll definitely hold it carefully." Xie Wanyun was also afraid the fish would escape, so she wrapped the other end of the waterweed around her wrist.