Zhen Ruoan's home was not far away, just a thatched hut at the foot of the mountain.
The thatched hut was simply surrounded by a fence made of wooden stakes, which could barely be considered a small courtyard.
There were also two chickens and a goose inside, leisurely strolling around the yard.
Mu Jinnian walked into the courtyard and placed Zhen Ruo'an on a bamboo chair.
Mu Ting looked around. Although the place was old, it was clean and tidy, which showed that Zhen Ruoan was usually very busy.
"Where are your family members?" Mu Ting asked Zhen Ruoan.
"There are only three people in my family: myself, my husband, and my mother-in-law. My husband hunted two wild boars and took them to the market to sell. As for my mother-in-law..." Zhen Ruo paused, then looked towards the thatched hut.
The little dumpling had been listening nearby and followed her gaze.
Suddenly the door of the thatched hut opened, and an old woman came out.
The old woman's eyes were half-closed, and she held up three incense sticks in her hand, as if she hadn't seen them at all.
They walked to the four corners of the courtyard one by one, muttering to themselves as they went:
"May the gods bless you with abundant wealth... May the gods bless you with abundant wealth..."
Seeing the old woman's superstitious appearance, Mu Jinnian scoffed disdainfully.
"If praying to gods and Buddhas could bring wealth and honor, wouldn't everyone in the world no longer need to strive and could just worship and burn incense every day?"
Upon hearing this, the old woman opened her eyes and stuck the incense stick in her hand into the ground.
He scanned the crowd, then finally fixed his gaze on Zhen Ruoan and asked...
"who are they?"
Zhen Ruoan answered hesitantly, "They came to the mountains for sightseeing. I injured my leg, and they brought me back."
The old woman completely ignored her words and said unhappily:
"You lazybones, all you do when you get back is sit around."
"Have you gathered all the wild vegetables? Hurry up and cook me some food."
Zhen Ruoan was scolded by her mother-in-law and pursed her lips in grievance.
Seeing that Zhen Ruoan did not move, the old woman smacked her lips and made as if to rush over.
Zhen Ruoan knew that her reaction meant she was about to take action.
Zhen Ruoan could only support her aching back as she prepared to get up from the chair.
"Please wait a moment, Mother-in-law. I'll go cook right away."
But a pair of small hands held her down.
The little dumpling looked at the old woman resentfully and said angrily:
"My sister's leg is injured, how can we let her cook!"
The old woman then noticed Zhen Ruoan's leg injury. She bent down to take a closer look and said somewhat impatiently:
"So what if you get a little hurt! Everyone bumps and scrapes themselves, why make such a fuss!"
"Besides, I don't think her injuries are that serious."
The old woman reached out and grabbed Zhen Ruoan's arm, pulling her up.
"Let me see if you can still walk."
"You can still stand, can't you! I think you're just making excuses to avoid work; you're just lazy as a person!"
Although the old woman was old, she was still strong and healthy, while Zhen Ruoan was as thin as a withered leaf in comparison.
Zhen Ruoan was being pulled by the old woman, swaying unsteadily while supporting her belly.
Su Ruiling couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward to stop her, saying, "What are you doing! She's pregnant!"
Su Ruiling was afraid that Zhen Ruoan would fall, so she quickly reached out to support her.
The old woman glared fiercely at Su Ruiling.
“So what if she’s pregnant? She’s my daughter-in-law, so she should take care of me, her mother-in-law.”
"She was the one who cried and begged to marry my son back then, and now she wants to act like a rich heiress?"
"Pah! Don't they even know if they're worthy!"
"Besides, it's none of your business how I discipline my family! You're such a busybody!"
As the old woman spoke, spittle flew everywhere, and she forcefully tried to drag Zhen Ruoan into the house.
When the little dumpling saw that the bandage on Zhen Ruoan's leg was stained with blood again, she was furious and pushed the old woman away.
With the little dumpling's strength, the old woman immediately staggered back a few steps.
The little dumpling said angrily, "You look very strong, can't you cook for yourself? Why are you abusing your older sister!"
"Hey, where did this little brat come from!"
“It is only natural for a daughter-in-law to serve her mother-in-law. Besides, I was just asking her to cook a meal. How is that considered abusing her?”
The old woman put her hands on her hips and shouted at the little dumpling with a strong voice.
Not to be outdone, the little dumpling put her hands on her hips and said:
"The injury on my sister's leg was from when she was caught in an animal trap while picking wild vegetables in the mountains. She was pregnant, and you still made her go up the mountain to work. This is abuse. You heartless, wicked old woman."
The old woman stared wide-eyed in shock after hearing what the little dumpling said.
"What? An animal trap?"
The little girl thought she had a change of heart and felt sorry for her sister whose leg was pinched.
Unexpectedly, the next second, the old woman pointed at Zhen Ruoan's nose and shouted angrily:
"You damned jinx! That animal trap was bought by my son at a high price to catch valuable wild animals, and now you've ruined it!"
"How are you going to compensate for this loss?!"
The old woman was so angry that her eyes turned red. She picked up a broom from the yard and was about to hit Zhen Ruoan.
"Ah!" Zhen Ruoan cried out, limping backward.
Granny Chang quickly stepped forward and held down the old woman's waving hands.
Granny Chang spat on the old woman's face.
"Pah! Your daughter-in-law has injured her leg, and you don't care about that. Instead, you're concerned about a bear trap."
"You heartless bastard, in your eyes she's not even worth as much as a bear trap?"
Granny Chang and the old woman started arguing back and forth, their words sharp and neither willing to back down.
Mu Ting walked up to Zhen Ruoan and asked:
"Have you been bullied like this by this old woman ever since you got married?"
Zhen Ruoan's eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her face helplessly.
She dared not tell Uncle Mu that these were all ordinary events today.
Normally, her mother-in-law would only be more ferocious towards her.
Mu Ting knew what her silence meant, and he held her shoulder with heartache.
"Child, have you ever thought about how heartbroken your father would be if he knew you were like this?"
The words "how much a father would feel" seemed to flip a switch on Zhen Ruoan's tears, which flowed uncontrollably.
Zhen Ruoan covered her face and cried, pleadingly saying to Mu Tingzheng:
"Uncle Mu, please! Please don't tell my father... This is all my own fault..."
Hearing their conversation, the little boy grabbed Mu Tingzheng's hand and asked, "Daddy, do you know my sister?"
Mu Ting nodded to the little girl and said, "She is your Uncle Zhen's daughter. You've met Zhen Chang'an before."
The little girl opened her mouth wide in surprise. She remembered that Uncle Zhen was the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Since my sister is Uncle Zhen's daughter, how did she end up in this pitiful state?
Zhen Ruoan cried bitterly, and the little dumpling knew that it was inappropriate for her to ask any more questions now.
The little girl had no choice but to ask Su Ruiling to help her sit down so that she could change her dressing and bandage her wound again.
The fierce battle between Granny Chang and the old woman continued, and the two were already spitting at each other.
Granny Chang was a head taller and stronger than the old woman, and she intimidated her with her imposing presence.
But when it comes to the filthiness of her mouth, Granny Chang is nowhere near as good as the old woman.
Qiuqiu was also furious with the old woman. Standing next to Granny Chang, it barked incessantly at her.
The old woman's curses became increasingly offensive, and Mu Ting frowned as he covered the little girl's ears to prevent her from hearing the foul language.
The scene became chaotic...
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