Lin Xiaowan’s mind felt groggy and heavy. She could smell a salty and fishy scent distinctive to the beach, while the sound of waves beating on the shore faintly traveled to her ears. This must be a dream! It must be! Her hometown was located in the inner regions. She had only seen the sea once in her life when she visited her sister, who studied in a university located beside the sea. Why would she be able to hear the sound of waves now?

Lin Xiaowan tried her best to open her eyes, but she was unable to break away from the clinging darkness. It felt like a nightmare. Her mind was sober, but she couldn’t wake up.

“Second Sister, Second Sister! Waahhh… Second Sister, you can’t die! Shitou isn’t hungry anymore, Shitou doesn’t want to eat steamed buns anymore! Second Sister, please wake up!…” Lin Xiaowan felt a light weight beside herself, shaking her arm desperately.

Second Sister? That wasn’t right? She was the eldest child in her family. Her parents had died when she was in middle school. As the eldest sister, she dropped out of school to work and raise her younger siblings all by herself. She has been called ‘Eldest Sister’ for over twenty years. Why was she suddenly being called ‘Second Sister’? He must have made a mistake!

“So wicked! The child had just wanted to pick up a steamed bun to eat, yet that woman had beat her as if she wanted to kill her! Xiaocao has always been a child with a weak constitution. Can she still survive after having her head smashed in? Look at how much blood there is! Is she still alive?”

“Moreover, it was the child’s aunt who did it! A steamed bun doesn’t even cost much money. She hit her so hard the child’s head slammed against the ship. I’ve never seen such a cruel person!”

“Xiaocao’s father is the most famous fisherman around this area. He’s also a good hunter. If it wasn’t for him, Old Yu’s family wouldn’t have been able to build that new five-room house and ship. Why couldn’t she just let the child eat a steamed bun?”

“The child doesn’t seem to be doing that well. Quick, call her mother over! If this drags on, she might not even be able to see her child’s last moments!”

“Li Guihua really has a sharp tongue and cruel heart. She was so vicious even to her own niece! We should keep our distance from her. Otherwise, she might backstab us if we accidentally offend her in the future!”

…… 

Lin Xiaowan’s ears buzzed with the voices of strangers. Her senses were gradually returning. She felt herself lying on soft sands and her forehead was aching with pain. She seemed to be surrounded by a large crowd.

This is such a strange dream. When can she wake up?!

“What nonsense are you talking about?! If you don’t know what happened, then don’t speak blindly! That darned girl stole a steamed bun that I brought back from my maiden home. I just scolded her a little and lightly pushed her a couple of times. Who could had thought that she would bump into that ship? Didn’t you see me tell my son, Heizi, to call for a doctor?” She snorted. “So much money is needed to take care of her fragile body, but she was born in a poor family. She’s always sick, just like her mother! What an utter waste of food!” The woman spoke with a sharp voice, which sounded like a broken gong.

“Second Sister didn’t steal the steamed bun. Brother Heizi dropped it on the ground and didn’t want it since it was dirty! Second Sister picked it up because I was hungry! Second Sister isn’t a thief!” It was a young child’s voice. He was obviously sobbing, but his voice still sounded abnormally clear.  

“You little brat! You’ve already learned how to lie at such a young age! Your Brother Heizi clearly said your second sister stole it, yet you still won’t admit it! I just gently pushed her. Maybe she purposely bumped her head on that ship. She might just be using her injury to escape punishment!” A sense of guilt emerged within that woman’s bitter tone.

“Dashan’s wife, your words are unfair! The child has a huge bloody hole in her head and it seems like she’s about to stop breathing. You’re still trying to accuse the child of using her injury to avoid punishment! She was still just a little girl, so how would she be able to think of such a trick!” The speaker’s voice sounded old, but it was full of energy and hidden rage.

That’s right, that’s right! That woman is seriously vile. She battered the child so harshly because of a piece of bun. Moreover, they’re relatives! Lin Xiaowan wanted to open her eyes and see how ‘impressive’ that vicious woman was. However, her eyelids felt extremely heavy. She couldn’t open her eyes no matter how hard she tried.

“Cao’er!!!” It was a tired voice that also sounded anxious and pained. Lin Xiaowan felt her body being lifted by a pair of thin and weak arms. Several drops of warm tears fell on her face.

Such a warm embrace. The feeling of having a mother… How long has it been? Since her mother passed away from a car accident when she was fourteen, she had never felt such a warm and secure feeling. Even though she had gritted her teeth and learned to be strong in life, Lin Xiaowan still felt the urge to cry.

“Younger Sister… She’s bleeding a lot! Mother, it’s not the time to be crying! Quickly call for a doctor!” This was a young girl’s voice. She sounded to be at most ten years old, but… Who’s she calling ‘Younger Sister’? She wouldn’t be calling me, right? A bad feeling suddenly emerged within Lin Xiaowan’s heart. What kind of dream is this? Why is it starting to feel even more real? 

Ow!! Her forehead really hurts and the feeling of being embraced… This definitely wasn’t a dream! However, she had clearly lived as Lin Xiaowan for twenty-nine years. Why did she suddenly turn into ‘Cao’er’?

“Move away. Quickly move! Doctor You is here!”

“Doctor You, please save Cao’er! Please save my daughter!” The woman, who was holding her, didn’t know what to do besides crying. At this time, she finally raised her head and pleaded with the doctor while trembling. Her voice was weak and helpless.

“Set the child down. Let me stop her bleeding first…” Lin Xiaowan felt a pair of hands gently wiping the blood on her forehead. When her wound was being cleaned, she felt a sharp pain that made her body shake violently. She opened her eyes slightly, but the piercing light made her shut her eyes again.

“She’s awake, she’s awake! Xiaocao is awake!” Someone in the crowd exclaimed.

Doctor You gently helped the young girl bandage her wound, while saying, “It’s good that she’s awake. However, her body has always been weak and she had bled so much just now. She needs to properly rest for some time. Be sure to give her some nutritious foods to help her recover.”

Lin Xiaowan slightly opened her eyes and slowly got used to the brightness. She was stunned when she finally saw her surroundings. Why was she surrounded by a group of people wearing ancient period clothing? She thought back to the voices she had heard earlier… Did she get caught up in a ridiculous transmigration plot? 

“Cao’er, you’re awake? Does your head hurt? Tell Mother, do you still feel uncomfortable anywhere?” Lin Xiaowan turned her head towards the voice and stared into a gaze full of concern and pain. Uh… This her mother? Isn’t she too young? She didn’t look that much older than herself.

“Younger Sister, who beat you up like that? I’ll go scold them for you!!” This thin little girl, who seems to be less than ten years old, was her older sister? Lin Xiaowan widened her eyes, then lowered her head to look at herself. She saw a pair of tiny hands and a small body. She smiled bitterly in her heart. Did the heavens take pity on the difficult life she had previously and granted her a chance to regain her childhood?

However, why didn’t the heavens give her a better family? The whole family were dressed in rags and their faces were wan and haggard. They were so poor that they would even pick up a steamed bun that someone else had thrown away. Doesn’t that seem too miserable?

Lin Xiaowan gradually recovered from the shock of being transmigrated. Since she had already came, she’s just going to go with the flow. Her younger siblings from her previous life had already gotten jobs and formed their own families. It was probably a good time for her to step back and rest. However, she did wonder if her siblings would be sad about her suddenly ‘passing away’.

For a moment, Lin Xiaowan fell into a trance. She thought back to when she was fifteen. She had just entered the second year of middle school that year. Her parents had left early in the morning to sell vegetables like usual, but they had gotten in a car accident on the way and passed away. Her uncles hastily took care of her parents’ funeral before leaving in a hurry, as if they were scared that the three orphaned children would cling on to them.

As the eldest sister, she had dropped out of school ever since she was young. She took the heavy responsibility of raising her siblings on her slender shoulders. That year, her sister was twelve, while her brother had just turned ten.

Over the next fourteen years, she not only took care of their family’s three acres of farmland, but also worked various jobs for the sake of her younger siblings’ school fees. She was afraid that she wouldn’t be hired because of her age, so she would lie by saying that she was seventeen and that she just looked young.  

She had sold vegetables, helped others sell fruits, and worked as a waiter. She had also worked in a factory… Later on, the lady boss of a braised food store had helped her after she noticed that she was able to endure hardships and was honest and kind. The lady boss also pitied her due to her circumstances. Thus, she hired her to help out in her store.

The braised food store provided good benefits. Accommodation and meals were provided, and the wage was higher than other stores. The lady boss had also taught her the secret recipes for her braised foods without any reservation. Later on, when the lady boss decided to return to her hometown, she sold the braised food store, which was well-known and doing rather well, to her at a low price. With this small braised food store, she was able to earn enough money to support her younger siblings through middle school and high school… 

Her younger sister was an intelligent child and her heart ached for her sister who had to wake up while it was still dark to work in order to send her to school. After graduating high school, her younger sister skipped the national college entrance examination without telling her and secretly followed the other girls from the village to find work in the south. 

Lin Xiaowan had cried her heart out for this matter when she found out. She hated herself for being useless and hindering her sister’s future. Even if it wasn’t a famous university, her sister should have been able to enter a decent university with her grades.

Her younger brother had always ranked at the top of his class since he was young. He had even skipped a grade in both elementary school and middle school. When he was fifteen and still a sophomore in high school, he had pestered his homeroom teacher to help him register for the national college entrance examination. On his career form, he only filled in ‘military academy’ as his first admission choice and left all the other slots blank.

There were no tuition fees for the military academy and they also gave a standard allowance. Those with excellent grades would be assigned to the local army and would even be ranked as a deputy officer! She knew that her brother had just wanted to lessen her burden!

Fourteen years had passed in a blink of an eye. While working, her sister had continued to study and earned a bachelor’s degree. After that, she became a white-collar worker and even found love.

Her younger brother performed outstandingly while studying in the military academy. He graduated when he was nineteen years old and was assigned to the Jinling Military Camp. He became the youngest officer in the camp. Later on, her tall and handsome brother, who was exceptional in all areas, caught the eye of the deputy commander of the camp. The deputy commander introduced his granddaughter to her brother and they fell in love.    

When they got married, her sister also brought along her white-collar husband and their one-year old son to the wedding. After seeing her younger siblings with their own happy families, she was so happy that she drank a few more cups of wine…

After the wedding banquet, when she was walking down the stairs, she accidentally missed a step and fell down the stairs… When she woke up again, she had already entered the body of this weak, little fisher girl…

“You… you’re my mother?” Lin Xiaowan didn’t retain any memories from the original host of this body. However, she had coincidently hit her head, so that gave her a good opportunity to pretend to have amnesia. Weren’t all transmigration novels just like this?

That weak-looking woman already had a pale face, but her face became even more ashen. She wobbled and asked in disbelief, “Cao’er, what’s wrong? Why can’t you even remember your own mother? Doctor You, what’s exactly wrong with my daughter?”

Doctor You was an old man in his fifties. He stroked his beard and frowned. After a moment of deliberation, he said, “When I was younger, I had read a medical book that mentioned a similar case. There was a man who stumbled down a mountain and injured his head, losing all his memories. Little girl, try thinking a little harder, can you remember anything?”

Lin Xiaowan, who was now Yu Xiaocao, scrunched up her face and pretended to think harder. After a long moment, she shook her head firmly and said, “My mind is completely blank. I can’t remember anything at all.”

“My poor daughter… Doctor You, can Cao’er’s illness be cured? Is there any danger to her life?” Yu Xiaocao’s new mother in this lifetime held her hand and wept silently.

The villagers surrounding them clicked their tongues, shook their heads, and sighed. Madam Liu’s life had been rather tough. Her mother-in-law was vicious and harsh, while her sister-in-law was lazy and selfish. After she gave birth to her youngest son, she didn’t get to properly recuperate. Thus, she became prone to illness. However, her mother-in-law still ordered her around without letting her rest. Even after all that, her mother-in-law was still unsatisfied with her and constantly picked on her.

Although her husband was capable to earning money, Madam Liu had never received a single cent before her mother-in-law, Madam Zhang, pocketed all the money. Her younger daughter was born sickly and wasn’t expected to live very long. Now she even injured her head, ah…

Doctor You consoled her, “Don’t worry. As long as there aren’t any other symptoms, her health wouldn’t be affected. Maybe she will start recovering her memories after a few more days. Bring her home first so that she doesn’t catch a cold.”

“Thank you so much, Doctor You! We’ve troubled you again!” Yu Xiaocao’s mother, Madam Liu, wiped her tears with the corner of her clothes and bent down to pick up her daughter.

However, a young man in his twenties had already picked Yu Xiaocao up before she could do so and said, “Second Sister-in-law, let me carry her!”

Yu Xiaocao blinked and stared at this tall and thin man with curiosity. He was a young man with a refined aura. As someone with the mentality of a twenty-six years old, it felt somewhat weird to be carried by a young man like this.

The young man flashed a smile at her and asked, “Xiaocao, do you still remember Third Uncle?

“I don’t remember you!” Yu Xiaocao shook her head honestly. Her movement pulled on her wound and made her grimace in pain.

The young man hastened his pace and carried her towards a room inside a courtyard. Yu Xiaocao wanted to walk by herself, but she had lost too much blood. She was still too dizzy and weak, so she could only stay in her third uncle’s arms. She just kept reminding herself: I’m a child, I’m just a child right now…

Her eyes weren’t idle as she carefully looked around and got a general idea about her surroundings. This was a small fishing village that was close to the sea. There were mostly old straw houses in the village. Their family had a five-room residence with a courtyard, so they can be considered a family with above-average living conditions in the village.   

However… if her family had decent living conditions, why had the original host of this body died because of a small and dirty piece of steamed bun?

“What happened?!” A white-haired old woman with deep wrinkles around her mouth came out from the main room. When she saw her daughter-in-law carrying a blood covered Yu Xiaocao in her arms, she frowned and grumbled, “You went out so early this morning. Where did you go? Wouldn’t her head injury cost a lot of money to be treated? A family full of sick and useless people. Even a rich family will be ruined by all the medical fees! Second Daughter-in-law, is this how you look after your daughter?”

“Second Sister didn’t fall by herself! Eldest Aunt pushed her!” The little boy, Shitou, swiftly replied. He straightened his back, trying to protect his sick and weak sister.  

The wrinkles on the old woman’s face deepened as she furrowed her brows. Her fierce gaze shot towards the plump figure hidden behind them. She coldly shouted, “Eldest Daughter-in-law, what exactly happened?”

Her eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Li’s, eyes darted around before she answered evasively, “Heizi told me that Xiaocao stole a steamed bun from my room. I just didn’t manage to hold back my anger.”

Xiaocao’s older twin sister, Yu Xiaolian, wasn’t as amicable as her mother. She shouted at the fat Heizi, who was hiding behind his mother, “Brother Heizi always lies, so how can we still believe in his words?”

Li Guihua’s imposing manner had slightly deflated, but, when she saw her precious son being criticized, she immediately bounced back like a rubber ball, “You little brat, who are you calling a liar? You’re still refusing to admit that you stole something! Who would still throw a whole steamed bun on the ground when the harvest had been so bad recently? Heizi, come over here! Quickly come and tell everyone how that damned girl, Xiaocao, stole our steamed bun?!”

Yu Ge, whose nickname was Heizi, was tanned and fat. He was the eldest child among the younger generation of the family and was spoiled by his mother. Although he was usually a bully in front of his younger siblings, he was actually a complete coward. Xiaocao had been battered until she was bloody and nearly died because of his careless words. It was impossible for him to not feel guilty at all.

He kept muttering without actually saying anything relevant until Madam Li smacked him several times. When he finally summoned up the courage to continue lying, he was interrupted by Xiaocao’s older brother, Yu Hang.

“Brother Heizi, do you still remember the story of ‘the wronged souls coming back for justice’? Also, the myths about the eighteen levels of hell? Eldest Aunt had also said this earlier, liars will have their tongues cut off in hell!” The ten year old Yu Hang was usually very quiet, but he had clearly seen through the current situation.

Heizi guiltily looked at Xiaocao, who was being carried by her mother. The sickly and pale Yu Xiaocao silently stared at him with her empty eyes. She barely had any flesh on her small face, which made her eyes look frighteningly big. Her dark pupil nearly filled up her entire eyeball. Her face was also stained with streaks of blood. Wasn’t this exactly the same as the wronged ghosts mention in the story?

Heizi was so scared that he almost wet his pants. He didn’t dare to look at her again and buried his head into his mother’s embrace. He screeched like a dying pig, “I wasn’t the one who had hurt you, so don’t come looking for me! What I said earlier doesn’t count! I dropped the steamed bun on the ground and didn’t want it anymore because it was dirty! Waaahhh… Don’t take my soul away! I don’t want to go to hell and have my tongue be cut off!…”

The truth has been revealed, so Madam Li can’t even argue anymore. She was so angry that she smacked her son’s back several times. Under the onlookers scrutinizing eyes, she could only give in, “Darned brat, why did you lie? Second Sister-in-law, I’ve already scolded him, so don’t take a child’s action to heart.”

Yu Lichun, who had followed behind them, spoke up at this time, “Why are you still fighting over a steamed bun when the child was already injured like this? Sister-in-law, you should hurry up and give Doctor You the medical fees!”

Yu Lichun was the eldest brother of Xiaocao’s grandfather, Old Yu. The two families didn’t have a close relationship due to Xiaocao’s grandmother, Madam Zhang. 

When Madam Zhang heard that she needed to pay for that useless brat’s medical fees, she widened her eyes and spoke through gritted teeth, “Brother-in-law, that’s easy for you to say. Pay for her medical fees? All the money that we had wasted on that brat and her mother every year is enough to feed an entire family. Where am I going to find the money to pay for them? Money doesn’t just fall from the sky for our family, so we can’t just spend it carelessly! It’s a small wound, so just cover it with some plant ash and it’ll be fine. She doesn’t need any medicine!”

“She’s not her real granddaughter, so of course she doesn’t want to pay!” The villagers, who had followed along, shook their heads and sighed.

Madam Zhang was actually Yu Hai’s step-mother, who married Old Yu after Yu Hai’s mother died. After they got married, she gave birth to their third son, Yu Bo, and a daughter, Yu Caidie. The eldest son, Yu Dashan, was a child Madam Zhang had from her previous marriage. He had changed his surname after his mother married into the Yu Family.

Yu Lichun cried out against the injustice for his nephew, “Third Sister-in-law! Dahai goes out to the sea to fish every day before dawn. He would also frequently go up the mountain to hunt for pheasants and wild rabbits, then sell them in town. Moreover, all the money he makes goes to the family. We, the villagers, aren’t blind. If Dahai wasn’t in your family, would your family be able to build this five-room house? Can your family afford the new ship? His daughter is badly injured right now, yet you can’t even bear to spend some money? How can he not be disappointed?”

Madam Zhang was upset when she heard Yu Lichun’s words, “Brother-in-law, according to your words, Dahai is the only reason our family is doing well? Let me tell you right now! I’m not going to pay the medical fees! Whoever caused this mess and injured her should be responsible for paying!” After she finished speaking, she turned around and went back into the room, slamming the door loudly.

Madam Li’s fleshy body trembled slightly and she muttered in a low voice, “All our money is in Mother’s hands. I don’t have any money…” Then, she pulled her son back to their own room.

Madam Liu gave Doctor You a bitter smile and said, “Doctor You, I’ll have my husband send over the medical fees when he comes back… My apologies!”

Under everyone’s sympathetic gazes, Madam Liu sent away Doctor You and the villagers…

Yu Xiaocao, who was set down on the kang bed [1], stared at the affectionate Madam Liu. She didn’t really know how she felt right now. Even though this mother seemed weak and unreliable, she finally had a mother to love her again after fourteen years.

Yu Hang stroked Xiaocao’s hair while speaking to his mother, “Mother, Youngest Sister had been weak and often sick ever since she was born. This time, she even suffered a major injury… Grandpa You told us to feed her more nutritious foods to help her recover.”

A brief moment of silence filled the entire room. Madam Liu thought of her stingy mother-in-law and went out of the room with an agonized expression on her face. After she left, Shitou came closer and caressed her face with his cold hands. He whispered into her ears with his tender voice, “Older Sister, rest well and get better soon. Tomorrow, I’ll bring you an egg to eat…”

Yu Xiaocao sorted out her emotions, then smiled at the young child. She chatted with the cute kid for a while before she felt a wave of fatigue. Right before she fell into a deep slumber, she heard Madam Liu timidly saying, “Mother, the doctor said that Cao’er’s body is weak and that she’ll need to eat some nourishing foods. She only drank a few mouthfuls of porridge in the morning, so I want to make some egg soup for her.”

“Eat, eat, eat! Even a wealthy family wouldn’t be able to withstand the sufferings caused by all of you patients. Calling for a doctor and getting medications, which of these doesn’t require money?! We still need to sell the eggs the next time the market opens. There’s still some white rice inside the jar, so just take some to make a bowl of congee…”

Yu Xiaocao’s body was originally weak and she had just suffered excessive blood loss. Thus, she finally couldn’t resist the call for sleep and fell into a deep slumber.

She slept for a very long time this time. She didn’t wake up even when they were feeding her the congee and medicine. She felt as if she had fallen into a bottomless darkness. No matter how much she struggled, she was unable to escape from the endless despair.

After an unknown amount of time, when she was about to give up and accept her fate, a glimmer of light shone within the darkness. A frustrated yet sweet sounding voice appeared in her mind:

[Darn it! How did I accidently pledge my loyalties to a weak human-being? What should I do? What should I do now? Should I… I should just ignore her. If she dies, then our master-servant relationship will be void. However, I don’t know when I would be able to come out again!]

That damned Goddess of Spirits. She actually sealed most of this mighty divine stone’s spiritual powers, then abandoned it in some random human realm. It had waited for exactly eight hundred years before it was picked up by a human-woman. However, she had died before it was able to acknowledge its master…

It used up all its remaining spiritual powers to bring that human-woman’s soul to another realm and found a suitable body for her to revive in. If it didn’t save her with all its powers, then it might really have to experience another eight hundred years before waking up again.

Ay… It’s better to be a little weaker than stay in endless darkness. However, the wound on her head… Seems like it would need to use the little spiritual powers that it still had to heal her…

While Yu Xiaocao was amazed by that talkative glowing orb, she suddenly felt a cool and refreshing feeling on the wound on her forehead. The painful sensation was also gone. As the darkness around her gradually faded, she slowly opened her heavy eyelids.

A dim lamp was lit inside the room. She could faintly see thin Madam Liu laying on the edge of the kang bed. Her breathing could be clearly heard in the silence.

Yu Xiaocao recalled that strange dream she just had. She lifted her arm and touched her forehead. It really didn’t hurt anymore. Was that not a dream? Did that glowing golden orb, who calls itself a ‘Divine Stone’, really exist? Did it also cure the injury on her head?

Yu Xiaocao felt really hot and stuffy since she was tightly covered by a blanket. She took her arms out of the blanket and noticed a red string bracelet on her thin wrist. There was a multicolored stone threaded on the red string. Wasn’t this the small stone that she picked up in a mountain stream near the Potala Palace, that only time she went on a vacation?

The stone was only about the size of a marble. It appeared smooth and round as it sat in the middle of the creek. She had picked it up because she thought that the colorful stone looked really beautiful at that time. After taking it back, she made a hole in it, threaded it on a red string, and wore it on her wrist. Later on, when she was preparing braised foods, she felt that it wasn’t convenient to wear it while working. Thus, she just casually threw it aside and forgot about it. Why did it transmigrate and reincarnate with her?

“Cao’er, you’re awake! You’ve slept for exactly three days. If you still didn’t wake up, I was about to take you to town to see a doctor.” Madam Liu, who was lying on the kang bed, noticed the movement and raised her head. She cried out in happiness when she looked up and saw her daughter studying the rainbow stone.

Yu Xiaocao stared intently at Madam Liu. Her first impression of her mother was that she was thin. Although she had a beautiful and gentle face, it looked thin and pale. Her hands, which were fixing her blanket, were full of rough calluses and scars. With one glance at her hands, it was obvious that she was constantly performing manual labor.

“Mother…” Although Madam Liu wasn’t that much older than her in her previous life, she was touched by the maternal love within her eyes. Thus, she couldn’t help but call out to her. No one had looked at her with such a loving gaze ever since her mother passed away when she was fourteen. Yu Xiaocao suddenly felt like crying.

“Don’t cry, Cao’er. Does your wound still hurt? Mother will blow on it for you…” Liu Muyun gently blew on her daughter’s bandaged head, then she quickly turned around and wiped her tears with her sleeve.

When she was pregnant with the twins, she accidently fell into the water while washing clothes and gave birth prematurely. Although Xiaolian was slightly underweight, she grew up with a healthy body. However, it was a different situation for Xiaocao. She couldn’t even drink milk at first. Furthermore, she would frequently fall ill. There were even several times when she almost didn’t survive.

Her child needed to take medicine throughout the year, but their family haven’t split off yet. All the money that her husband earned from fishing and hunting must be handed to her mother-in-law. Every time she asked her mother-in-law for money to get medicine, she was always reluctant to give it to her and would say a bunch of unpleasant words. Her eldest sister-in-law would also make jeering remarks on the side.

She can endure anything for her child. However, she had never expected that her daughter almost died in the hands of her eldest sister-in-law. The doctor had clearly instructed them to nourish Xiaocao with more nutrition, but her mother-in-law was unwilling to even give them an egg.

Liu Muyun’s face was full of helplessness as she looked at the dark night sky outside the window. She had already married into the Yu Family for thirteen years. Every day, she had to be the first to wake up and last to sleep. She always exhausted because she was responsible for nearly all of the household chores.

She’s not afraid of being tired, but her mother-in-law was never satisfied with her no matter what she does. She often had to suffer from her demanding gaze and mocking remarks. Even her children were treated poorly.

There was no one in the family who she could rely upon. Xiaocao was injured by Eldest Sister-in-law and was unconscious for three days, but Eldest Brother’s family didn’t even appear once. Her youngest sister-in-law and father-in-law were the only ones who came to check on Xiaocao…

“Cao’er, are you hungry? Your youngest aunt gave us an egg. I kept it warm with some hot water.” Liu Muyun peeled the eggshell for her daughter. She had a satisfied smile on her face as she watched her daughter slowly eat the egg.

She continued, “My good daughter, you should rest some more. Mother will go prepare dinner. Your favorite congee will be ready by the time you’re awake. I’ll be sure to make it thick and add some pickled vegetables in it. I’ll bring a large bowl of it for our Cao’er to eat!”

Yu Xiaocao remembered what she had heard before she fell asleep. Her mother was rejected after she had asked this body’s grandmother for an egg. It seems like her family rarely had the chance to eat fine grains such as white rice and wheat flour.

For this bowl of congee, Madam Liu would probably have to endure people cruelly mocking her. Her heart somewhat ached for her, “Mother, I’ll just eat whatever everyone else is eating. Don’t separately prepare something just for me. Didn’t I already eat an egg today?”