"Tuantuan!" Everyone gathered around, and Chen Zhixiu quickly hugged Xiao Tuantuan into her arms.
"Don't cry, Mommy. Tuantuan is back. Tuantuan will never believe Auntie again. Auntie is lying!"
Li Dandan's face turned deathly pale, her eyes wide with disbelief: "How...how did she come back?"
Chen Xue swallowed hard, her legs trembling. "Mom, what should we do?"
"Tuanzi, tell your aunt what happened?" Nan Nian asked Rong Manli to pull Chen Zhixiu away, then squatted down and looked into Xiao Tuantuan's eyes, asking very seriously, "Why did you come back so late?"
Xiao Tuantuan pouted and said with a wronged expression, "Auntie, it's not that Tuantuan is being playful. It's just that Third Auntie said she would take Tuantuan to buy food. After leaving Chenjia Village, Third Auntie said she forgot to bring any money and asked Tuantuan to wait. Tuantuan was afraid that her mother would worry, so she came back first."
"Li Dandan!" Nan Nian stood up abruptly, turned to look at Li Dandan, who was bowing her head, and said, "What else do you have to say?"
Chen Zhixiu couldn't stop her tears: "Third sister-in-law, are you planning to abandon Tuantuan? I said I would take Tuantuan away and wouldn't stay at home forever. Can't you give me some time?"
"Tuantuan is talking nonsense! How could I lose a child? She was just playing around!" Li Dandan said, her voice rising with confidence. She looked up and angrily retorted, "Tuantuan, how can you lie like that! You're so young and you're not learning good things, you'll end up feeding the wolves!"
If a five-year-old child were to meet Li Dandan's threatening gaze, they might be terrified.
Xiao Tuantuan nodded seriously: "Third Aunt, you're full of lies, aren't you afraid of being fed to the wolves?"
"you!"
Li Dandan glared at Xiao Tuantuan and quickly said, "Anyway, I didn't do it, and I won't admit it!"
Rong Manli frowned and touched the dagger in her sleeve.
Nan Nian laughed in exasperation: "A five-year-old child would wrongly accuse you? Li Dandan, do you think everyone is as brainless as you?"
Li Dandan snorted: "That's hard to say..."
"Enough!" Chen's mother, who had been silent all along, finally spoke. "Third son's wife, don't you know you're wrong?"
Li Dandan retorted, "Mother, you can't be so biased! I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Okay, you say you weren't with Tuantuan today, then explain why your jade pendant is in Tuantuan's hands?"
Chen's mother took out the jade pendant that Xiao Tuantuan had just handed her, her eyes full of disappointment: "You treat this jade pendant like a treasure every day. Don't tell me that you lost it and Tuantuan picked it up."
Li Dandan's eyes widened: "How did this jade pendant end up in Tuantuan's hands?!"
"Third Aunt, have you forgotten? You said you were going back to get the money, and Tuantuan said she wasn't eating anymore. When she tried to grab you, you broke free and ran away. In the process, Tuantuan accidentally pulled off the jade pendant from your waist..."
Xiao Tuantuan blinked her innocent eyes and whispered her explanation.
Li Dandan's face changed instantly: "I...I, no, Mother, please listen to me..."
"Li, what else do you have to say?" Chen's mother said in a deep voice, "I know you are greedy and selfish, but I never thought you would actually try to kill Tuantuan!"
"I didn't! Mom! I didn't!" Li Dandan quickly protested. "I didn't mean to kill Tuantuan. I just felt that our family wasn't well-off to begin with, and she eats so much. I did it for the sake of the family..."
"Shut up!" Chen's mother was furious. "Since you married into this family, have you ever earned a single penny? When have we ever deprived you of food and clothing? I, this old woman, am still in charge of this household! You can't do whatever you want! Tuantuan is my granddaughter, and I'm willing to raise her!"
Li Dandan pouted: "My health was ruined after giving birth to Xue'er, so I can't do any heavy work, Mother, you know that..."
"Besides, haven't my eldest and second sisters-in-law also been working in the fields?"
"Compared to us, are you even worthy?" Nan Nian looked at Li Dandan with sarcasm. "I can earn a hundred taels of silver every month by selling calligraphy and paintings."
Li Dandan was shocked. She knew that Nan Nian sold calligraphy and paintings, but she thought it was just a small amount of money. She didn't expect it to be one hundred taels of silver!
One hundred taels! If that were given to her, she'd be set for life!
"As for Ah Li, he can easily make a sword or knife that sells for thousands of taels of silver. We may not farm, but we still make a lot of money!"
Xiao Tuantuan was shocked; her aunts were both incredibly wealthy!
"So it turns out that the one who's been eating for free all this time is my third aunt!"
Xiao Tuantuan's words made Rong Manli's lips curl into a smile: "Yes."
Nan Nian burst out laughing: "Tuanzi is right."
Li Dandan's face flushed red and then turned pale. She forced herself to say, "My elder sister-in-law and second sister-in-law are capable, so it's only right that they earn more money. Unlike me, I don't know anything. What can I do?"
“If you don’t know how, you can learn,” Xiao Tuantuan said softly. “I don’t know how to wield a broadsword either, so I learned from my maternal grandfather. I didn’t know any medicinal herbs, so I learned from my maternal grandmother.”
"Hmph, she's not incapable, she's just being lazy!" Chen's mother sneered.
With a creak, the door opened.
Chen Luo overheard everything from outside. His face was dark with anger. He walked to his mother's side and said, word by word, "Although our family is not a noble family, we still have family rules and bottom lines! We must never do anything to harm our relatives!"
"Eldest daughter-in-law, go to town and call the third son back."
Upon hearing this, Li Dandan became extremely nervous and quickly nudged Chen Xue beside her.
Chen Xue burst into tears: "Grandpa, Grandma, my mother didn't mean it, waaaah!"
Rong Manli frowned deeply: "Shut up!"
"Hiccup." Chen Xue hiccuped in fright, looking at Rong Manli with fear.
Li Dandan's eyes darted around, and she said ingratiatingly, "Dad, Mom, I know I was wrong, so there's no need to call Lao San back. I apologize to Tuantuan and Xiu'er."
Chen Xue pouted: "Grandpa and Grandma don't love Xue'er anymore now that they have Tuantuan. Xue'er is their granddaughter, but they've never held her..."
Li Dandan sighed: "Father, Mother, I know you don't like Xue'er. I used to think you just didn't like girls, but Tuantuan is a girl too, yet you still want to send her to school!"
"Father, Mother, you're being way too biased!"
"I did something wrong because I was angry with Xue'er. Please forgive me this once. Besides, I wouldn't have done this if you hadn't been biased."
Rong Manli frowned even more deeply as she looked at Li Dandan, who was arguing illogically, and the dagger in her sleeve was about to be drawn.
Chen's mother looked at Li Dandan incredulously: "Favoritism? If you're talking about favoritism, isn't it favoring Xue'er? What Da Lang and Er Lang have, Xue'er will definitely have too, and what Da Lang and Er Lang don't have, Xue'er will also have! Take two new clothes a month for example, which family makes their children so frequently?"
"Whenever there's something good to eat at home, doesn't Xue'er always get to eat first? When there's something nice to eat at home, doesn't Xue'er always get to choose first? Third brother's wife, do you have any conscience?"
Li Dandan was taken aback, her eyes showing a hint of panic: "Xue'er is a girl, and she should be raised with care. Besides, Xue'er is your own granddaughter, while Tuantuan is just a granddaughter. Why should she be compared to Xue'er?"
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