Madam Shen fell silent for a long time, and when she carried the food, her hands were too weak to hold it properly.
She glanced at the third branch of the family, hoping that the kind and easily bullied members of the third branch would come to their aid, but no one did.
She could only pick it up and eat it herself with trembling hands.
The long-lost feeling of being full returned, and a rare look of satisfaction appeared on Madam Shen's face.
Mu Wanting dissolved a digestive pill in water and fed it to Old Madam Shen. It wasn't out of concern for her, but simply because she was afraid that Old Madam Shen would overeat and die in the third house's tent.
After they finished eating, Shen Lijun arrived and looked at his mother.
"Mother, where's the food?"
Madam Shen said, "Your mother ate it."
Shen Lijun's face was gloomy.
"You know perfectly well that I was swept away by the sandstorm and that's exactly when I need to eat something to replenish myself."
Madam Shen remained silent until she spoke, amidst Shen Lijun's increasingly agitated expression.
"Lijun, I have no choice. I'm so hungry. If I stay hungry for a few more days, I might starve to death."
"What about me? What if I starve to death?"
Prolonged hunger made Shen Lijun increasingly irritable, and he no longer bothered to pretend anymore.
"I don't care, you better get me some food from Mu Wanting and the others, or I'll blame you if I starve to death."
Madam Shen felt heartbroken. She had been good enough to this son, so how did she end up being the one in debt?
That evening, Mu Wanting gave her the normal portion of food, which Shen Linong took away.
She stared longingly at Mu Wanting. Shen Linong had taken the food away earlier, but he hadn't done so in front of Mu Wanting.
Now that I'm in front of her, I wonder if she'll scoop out another portion for me.
Mu Wanting glanced at it, said nothing, and prepared to leave.
Madam Shen quickly called out to her.
"Wan-ting, Grandma has no food here."
Mu Wanting raised an eyebrow: "Grandma, what are you saying? I've already given you your share. So many people saw it. As for who you want to give it to or not, that's Grandma's business. Your granddaughter-in-law has no right to interfere."
Madam Shen's face paled. So, Mu Wanting knew. She looked at the indifferent expression on the third branch of the family's face.
The people in the third wife's family also knew about it.
She felt a surge of anger.
"You unfilial descendants, are you trying to starve this old woman to death?"
Seeing that her voice was getting louder and louder, and that she was about to make a scene, Mu Wanting didn't tolerate it and immediately shouted even louder.
“Grandma, we promised to take care of you, so we fed you well. You didn’t even ask how precious food is in the desert. We, the third branch of the family, are struggling to feed ourselves, yet we save it for you. You turn around and give it to others, and then you criticize us.”
The convicts had been looking in this direction for a long time, and after hearing Mu Wanting's words, they understood the cause and effect.
"This old lady Shen is too much. The third branch of the family has been kind and righteous to her, and she is still so ungrateful."
"Exactly, the second wife is so unfilial, yet she still sides with the second wife. She's really foolish."
The whispers of the crowd reached Madam Shen's ears, and her face grew even more grim. But at that moment, she couldn't care less about that; all she could think about was how to get more food from the third branch of the family.
Seeing her unreasonable and argumentative behavior, Mu Wanting's anger intensified.
"Grandma, since you're being so unreasonable, today is your last meal. Tomorrow it will be the second branch of the family's turn to serve you. When we divided the family property, we agreed that no matter which family we lived in, we would just stay with them and behave ourselves."
"You said you weren't full, even if it was because your second uncle took your food, but don't worry, I'll make sure you eat your fill this time."
Upon hearing this, Madam Shen panicked: "Wanting, Grandma thinks the food from your third branch of the family is better. Grandma wants to stay with you..."
However, Mu Wanting had made up her mind and ignored her pleas.
“Grandma, the rules cannot be broken. It was agreed that each family would take turns supporting the child for a month. If we delay the eldest and second uncles from fulfilling their filial duties, then our third branch will be criticized behind our backs again.”
Then, Mu Wanting led the old lady to the dining table.
"Grandma, please eat."
Despite her mixed feelings, Madam Shen started eating anyway, and because she was thinking about the delicious last meal, she inevitably ate a little too much.
After she finished eating, Mu Wanting prepared some medicine to aid her digestion.
Helpless, Madam Shen had no choice but to return to the second room. The second room was still cold and deserted, devoid of any warmth. Upon seeing her return, Shen Lijun said irritably.
"Why are you back again? Weren't you eating and sleeping well in the third house?"
Old Madam Shen cried out, "Lijun, the third branch of the family says it's time for me to be cared for. What are we going to do?"
Shen Lijun snorted coldly: "What else can I do? I'm starving to death myself, how can I care about you?"
As the days went by, life became increasingly difficult for the second wife. Almost all the food they had ended up in Shen Lijun's mouth.
Old Madam Shen was so hungry that her vision was blurry, so she had no choice but to go out again to look for wild vegetables to fill her stomach. But all the edible wild vegetables in the vicinity had already been dug up, and she walked for a long time without finding much.
That day, Old Madam Shen was so hungry that she couldn't bear it any longer, so she secretly went to find Madam Shen's mother. Madam Shen's mother sighed, still unable to bear watching Old Madam Shen starve to death.
The convicts, however, were abuzz with discussion.
"Hmph, you've always been so biased towards the second wife, and now you know you were wrong? You're really blind."
"That's right, you have to bear the consequences of your own actions."
Madam Shen was rebuffed and dragged her tired body back to the second room.
Shen Lijun, with his keen sense of smell, caught the aroma of the food coming from Madam Shen's mouth, and his brows immediately furrowed.
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