Xu Daya dared not dodge; she glanced at Mrs. Feng and then lowered her head.
However, the image of the gentle mother in her heart had already faded away.
She thought of the things she had heard these past days.
She knew that neither Old Madam Xu nor Great Aunt had spoken falsehoods.
The reason her family had no money was solely because Mrs. Feng had taken the household’s money to subsidize her own family.
Xu Daya wasn’t ignorant of what’s right and wrong.
She knew that even though she often got scolded in the Xu Family, and Old Madam Xu was not particularly kind to her, it was still much better than staying at her maternal family.
Her maternal family only saw her as a calculation, without a shred of warmth.
When she visited her maternal family during the New Year, sotis she couldn’t even get a hot al.
But Mrs. Feng seed to have lost her senses, obsessively concerned only about her own parents and brother, to the extent that she would neglect her own household’s wellbeing.
Xu Daya had not known these things before, rely thinking the lack of money at ho was because Old Madam Xu had taken it away.
Having always heard Mrs. Feng complain about Old Madam Xu, Xu Daya harbored resentnt against Old Madam Xu and Great Aunt.
But now, watching with a cold eye, she realized that perhaps the most clueless and coldest-hearted person in this household was Mrs. Feng.
Mrs. Feng, wielding the fire poker, struck Xu Daya’s back with it, venting her fury with each blow. At first, Xu Daya could feel the pain, but soon she went numb.
Just then, Anning ca into the kitchen looking for sothing and saw Mrs. Feng hitting Xu Daya. She stepped forward and snatched away the fire poker.
"Little sister-in-law, what are you doing? Who treats a child like this? Are you hitting the child because you have grievances against us?"
Anning shot a few questions in quick succession, causing Mrs. Feng to turn pale in an instant.
"I told her to work and she dragged her feet, even falling asleep while tending the fire. She’s so lazy, what do you expect if I don’t hit her?"
Mrs. Feng, thinking of Xu Daya as her own daughter, felt justified to hit her and retorted with a stiff neck against Anning.
Anning almost laughed out of exasperation: "Little sister-in-law, these past days Daya has been taking care of Erya and also looking after Brother Ying. She, a child, has done no less work than you. Plus, with all the chaos at ho because of Brother Ying’s issues recently, she hasn’t had a proper al. If a child can’t eat enough and can’t sleep well, of course she will get tired. You should feel pity when she falls asleep by the fire, not bla her."
"I gave birth to my child; I’ll discipline her as I see fit."
Mrs. Feng didn’t want to back down in front of Anning, so she responded with rare firmness.
"She bears the Xu surna, not the Feng."
Anning pushed Mrs. Feng aside and pulled up Xu Daya: "Co on, let’s go back to Great Aunt’s room and see where you’ve been hurt."
"Don’t you dare go."
Mrs. Feng blocked Xu Daya.
Xu Daya’s face was pale, and tears were still hanging on it. She looked at Anning and, biting her lip, followed Anning away.
Mrs. Feng collapsed to the ground, covering her face and crying.
Anning took Xu Daya back to her own room, lifted her shirt and took a look—the child’s back was swollen, with patches of purple bruises that were shocking to see.
Lan was so frightened that she couldn’t even bear it.
Anning asked Lan to find so dicine from the cabinet, and she carefully applied the dicine to Xu Daya. She softly said to her: "Don’t be too obedient anymore. If your mother hits you again, just run out to the yard and call for your Grandma, or call for , that’s fine too. Don’t just wait to be hit. If your mother gets too heavy-handed and injures you, what will we do then?"
Xu Daya hung her head, tears falling in torrents.
"Auntie, my mom, how could she..."
Xu Daya couldn’t finish her sentence, she wanted to ask how Mrs. Feng beca like this, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it in front of Anning.
Anning patted Xu Daya’s head, "Good child, don’t overthink it, and don’t dwell on those possibilities. Just focus on yourself, don’t worry too much."
After a long ti, Xu Daya finally nodded.
Anning took out so snacks from the cabinet and handed them to Xu Daya, "You must be starving. Eat quickly. But eat quietly, don’t let your mom see, otherwise there will be another outburst."
At this point, Xu Daya really wasn’t thinking about Mrs. Feng, and on top of that, she was truly hungry. Taking the pastry, she inhaled the sweet scent, and she really wanted to gobble it down.
Yet she still looked at Lan, "Give them to Lan to eat."
Lan quickly shook her head, "Sister, you eat. I’m not hungry, my brother and I have already eaten."
Anning also urged Xu Daya to eat quickly.
With tears held back, Xu Daya swallowed the pastry. It was really delicious. She had never eaten anything this scrumptious in her life.
She thought to herself, if her mother hadn’t taken the money to her maternal family, she would be able to enjoy such sumptuous foods too.
Xu Daya wasn’t foolish, she knew that Anning, a woman, could earn money to buy her children snacks, and her father had the skills and did his work well, so he must have made quite a bit of money over the years. They really could afford to buy snacks. What a pity...
After having so snacks and a few sips of water, Xu Daya sat on the bed and fell asleep.
Anning looked at her and felt that this child had had a hard ti.
She helped Xu Daya lie down and covered her with the blanket before taking Lan to see the Old Madam.
Old Madam was sewing seasonal clothing for the master, but when she saw Anning co in with Lan, she smiled and waved at Lan, "Co here, Grandma has boiled eggs for you to eat."
Lan sweetly smiled, "Grandma, I’m not hungry, you and Grandpa eat them instead."
Old Madam then handed two eggs to Lan and Anning, but Anning didn’t eat.
Old Madam gave her a look, "Don’t be too kind-hearted in vain; what if you raise an ingrate?"
Anning smiled, "I’ve done my part, and my conscience is clear. As for her future, it is beyond my control."
Old Madam sighed, "How was I so blind at the beginning to marry such a troublemaker like Mrs. Feng into the family? Well, Daya seems to understand what’s right; if you’re willing to lend a hand, that’s fine by ."
Anning asked Old Madam to look after Lan for a while and then went to the kitchen to prepare a bowl of dough batter and took it to Xu Erya’s room.
Xu Erya was lying on the bed, and when she saw Anning co in, she didn’t show a welcoming face.
Anning herself looked stern as she put the bowl next to Xu Erya’s bed, "Your sister is exhausted and currently sleeping. You better eat quickly, don’t just lie around all day doing nothing. There’s a ss at ho; you should lend a helping hand."
Xu Erya snorted disdainfully, turned over, and ignored Anning.
Anning stood in her room for a while before she turned and walked away.
After lunch, Anning had the now awake Xu Daya help to look after Lan and Ying Ge’er, then she took Old Madam aside and whispered, "Mom, there’s sothing odd with Erya."
"What’s wrong?"
The Old Madam started to feel anxious.
Anning voiced her suspicions, "I suspect Erya has hidden so money."
She recounted her observations in Xu Erya’s room, "I rember there used to be a rat hole in the corner of her room, which was later filled in with mud by the second brother. But today, when I went to her room, that hole seed different. Also, she appears well-fed and her complexion is getting better by the day, there must be sothing fishy going on."
Old Madam raised her eyebrows, her eyes gleaming, "Alright, I understand. That sneaky girl, if I catch her hiding anything, I’ll see how I handle her."
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