Lin Yu's small body trembled uncontrollably, her mouth trembled, and the words she uttered were stuttering and incoherent:

"Mother, I'm scared, Grandma will sell me..."

Ye Lan desperately held back the tears that were about to spill from her eyes.

It's because she's incompetent and can't protect her children, causing them to suffer along with her.

"Little Yu, don't be afraid, Mommy's here! Come on, let's go back inside."

She no longer cared about the stolen food; she took her two children by the hand and went back into the house to comfort them.

Back in the village, Lin Yan put twenty coins on the oxcart as usual.

But Lin Shun had already noticed and promptly returned the money to her.

"You already gave me twenty coins yesterday, enough for ten trips. Besides, the braised pork you brought yesterday was delicious. Father told me not to take any more money from you!"

"Take it! Otherwise, I won't ride in your oxcart next time. Everyone's struggling these days."

Lin Shun had no choice but to accept it, unable to refuse.

When Lin Yan returned home, the atmosphere at home was very strange.

The courtyard was quiet, and the voices of the younger siblings could not be heard.

Seeing that the kitchen and west room doors were wide open, she picked up a sickle and peered into the west room.

After seeing that her mother and children were all inside, she quietly put down her sickle.

"Mother? What happened? What happened to the wound on my brother's forehead?"

Seeing her return, Ye Lan felt as if she had found a pillar of support.

But the look in her eyes was full of guilt.

"My dear daughter, I'm so sorry. Your grandmother took all the things you bought yesterday, and I couldn't stop them..."

Lin Yan narrowed her eyes slightly after hearing this.

It seems she didn't hit her hard enough last time.

The Liu family even dared to come to our house and cause trouble!

"What happened to the wound on your forehead, little brother?"

Ye Lan hesitated and refused to give a direct answer; she could only look at her younger brother on the bed.

Lin Muyan felt a surge of grievance.

She sniffed and replied with a pout:

"It was Xiaobao; he pushed me to the ground."

Lin Yan had some memories of Lin Xiaobao.

The eldest grandson of the Lin family was Liu's favorite.

His family doted on him to the extreme.

He was two years older than his younger brother, but in this small mountain village, he was unusually tall and chubby.

Lin Yan examined her younger brother's scar closely and found that this one was even bigger.

It took up almost half of her forehead, and the red flesh inside was exposed.

This won't do; it might leave a scar.

Those who passed the imperial examinations during the Great Qi Dynasty were required to have a presentable appearance and were not allowed to have any disabilities.

If someone has such a large scar on their forehead, they are definitely not destined to take the imperial examinations.

She had originally planned to send him to school to take the imperial examinations once she earned enough money.

Fortunately, she had gathered some herbs in the mountains today, which could help stop the bleeding and reduce bruising.

Lin Yan handed the two fish and four rabbits to Ye Lan.

She was instructed to keep the fish in a basin of water and surround the wild rabbits.

After taking the herbs out of the basket and crushing them, Lin Yan applied them to her younger brother's forehead and instructed him:

"Remember to keep the wound dry and don't touch it, otherwise the scar will be very ugly."

"Okay, I'll listen to my older sister."

After treating her wounds, she was just about to go to the old house to teach Liu a lesson when she suddenly heard footsteps at the gate.

The heavy footsteps sounded like a man's; one could hear the sound before seeing the person.

"Daughter, come here, look what Daddy brought you back?"

Lin Yan followed his gaze and saw that he was carrying a bag of candied fruit.

She had seen this in town before; a small bag of it cost twenty coins.

For the impoverished Lin family, this was a generous gesture.

"Take it and share it with your younger siblings, daughter. Where's your mother?"

After handing her the candied fruit, Lin Zhenghong didn't expect her to answer and went inside to find someone.

Upon receiving the candied fruit, Lin Yan felt a lump in her throat.

Is this how God sent her such wonderful relatives to make up for her past life?

"Father, Mother has gone to fetch water and will be back soon."

After she called him "Dad," she realized it wasn't so hard to say after all.

"What?! Daughter, what did you just say?!"

Lin Zhenghong excitedly grabbed Lin Yan's arm, his face full of disbelief!

This was the only complete sentence his daughter had uttered in over a decade.

"Dad, I'm not stupid anymore."

"Really?! Hahaha! Heaven has eyes! My daughter isn't stupid anymore! Good! Good! Today our family must celebrate!"

Hearing Lin Zhenghong's excited voice, the two little ones inside ran out and hugged him tightly.

"Dad! You're finally back, waaaaah..."

"What's wrong? Why are you two crying for no reason? Xiaoyan, what happened to your face?!"

Lin Yu was young, and remembering what had happened the day before, she cried uncontrollably in his arms.

Lin Muyan raised his head, looked at the tall figure in front of him, and said, word by word:

"Father, Grandma came over the other day, intending to sell my little sister to a brothel. Luckily, my eldest sister woke up and chased the slave trader away. Just now, Grandma came over and took all our food. Little Bao even hit me."

"What?! I'm going to find your grandma right now!"

The wound on his son's forehead stung Lin Zhenghong's eyes!

He stormed off toward the old house in a rage.

Lin Yan followed silently behind him.

A father who knows his daughter has been sold to such a filthy place by her own mother and shows no remorse is not a good father...

Liu and Old Man Lin were eating dumplings when suddenly the door was pushed open.

Lin Zhenghong stormed in, without a word of greeting, and immediately began questioning Liu:

"Mother, why did you sell Xiaoyu to a brothel? She's your own granddaughter!"

"You unfilial son! She's a money-losing burden, and only you treat her like a treasure. Your younger brother needs to study, and he pays so much tuition every year. If you don't sell her, are you going to give him the money to become the top scholar?!"

Lin Zhenghong was so angry he laughed.

Their family has actually reached the point where they need to sell their child to support their younger brother's education?!

Where does the money he gives me every month go?

“I’ll give you seven hundred coins every month. We have so much land; we’re not that poor!”

Old Man Lin remained silent, quietly eating his meal.

When Liu heard what Lin Zhenghong said, she almost jumped up in anger!

"Let me tell you, those fields belong to your little brother, they have nothing to do with you. If you dare to covet those fields, I'll sell your eldest daughter too!"

It's the underling again!

From childhood to adulthood, my parents only ever had eyes for my younger brother!

It was as if he were a slave in this household!

The money he worked himself to the bone to earn was not enough for his wife and children.

Most of the money went to his parents to support his younger brother's education, and now his mother wants to sell his daughter!

His eldest daughter is still quite bright; he doesn't know when she might lose her mind again.

Unfortunately, she inherited her child's mother's good looks.

He couldn't imagine what kind of hell a beautiful fool would live if she were sold to a brothel.

His parents disappointed him greatly.

His father stood by and silently condoned his mother's actions, which chilled him to the bone. It seemed that neither his parents treated him as their son.

"Father, Mother, let's separate the family!"