Old Madam He had initially been angry, but seeing how Liuya seemed to have lost even more weight overnight, her face still faintly bearing yesterday’s slap marks, her spirit utterly drained—she couldn’t help but pity the child.
Who knew how long the girl had suffered alone in the cold last night?
How heartbroken must a six-year-old be to gather the courage to venture out alone in the dark to find her mother?
And the cruel irony was—that very mother was neglectful and biased, treating Liuya with nothing but harshness.
At this thought, Old Madam He’s anger melted into heartache.
Sigh.
With a silent exhale, she gently patted Huang Yaning’s head, her voice warm and tender.
“What matters is that you’re back safe. From now on, if you’re ever wronged, go to the village chief—or come to me. Don’t act rashly and run off alone again, alright?”
There wasn’t a trace of blame in her words, which only made Yaning feel worse. A sour, aching sensation swelled in her chest, and her eyes reddened.
Suddenly, she remembered—in Minmin’s memories, there had been a time last year when she had gone to the mountains to gather firewood. Weak from days without food, cold and starving, she had collapsed by the roadside.
It was the He family who found her, took her in, and fed her a bowl of warm porridge and two plump boiled eggs…
That simple meal had saved Minmin’s life.
One day, Yaning vowed silently, I will repay the Hes properly.
Thanks to the Feng family’s recent string of scandals and their repeated defiance of the village chief’s authority, the chief’s patience with them had worn thin.
“Old Man Feng,” he said coldly, “if anything else happens to Liuya, I doubt any tutor within a hundred miles would dare take your precious grandsons as students.”
A blatant threat!
Feng the Eldest and Xiao Li paled instantly, while Old Man Feng clenched his fists.
Though he no longer doted on his grandsons as blindly as before, the family’s future still depended on them.
Most village children didn’t begin their education until eight or nine, sometimes even ten—old enough to understand discipline. Not wanting to stand out, Old Man Feng had waited until this year to enroll Dabao and Erbao.
Yet the local scholar had refused them outright!
His backup plan had been to send them to a county school next spring—but if the village chief decided to interfere, no school would accept them.
With the boys’ education—and thus the Feng family’s prospects—at stake, Old Man Feng felt as though the chief had him by the throat.
But the blows kept coming.
Old Madam He spoke next, her voice deceptively mild.
“Old Man Feng, I hear your Taoniang works as a wet nurse for the Sheng family in the capital. If anything happens to Liuya again… well, this old woman might just pay the Shengs a visit and have a little chat about your family’s wonderful deeds…”
Old Lady Li’s eyes bulged with rage, while the second branch of the Feng family seethed in panic.
If Dabao and Erbao’s future was the leverage over Old Man Feng and the eldest branch, then Taoniang’s job was the chokehold on Old Lady Li and the second branch.
With the village’s two most respected elders wielding these threats, the Fengs had no choice but to swallow their fury and submit.
Yaning thanked the village chief, Old Madam He, and the other villagers once more.
Not wanting to burden the Hes further, she collected the medicine Old Man Bai had prescribed the day before and followed the Fengs back home.
Sheng Residence, Capital
The sunset’s afterglow still lingered when the servants of the Peony Courtyard began lighting the lanterns.
Amid the bustle, Qingying returned, draped in a dust-covered gray cloak, followed by a young woman in cotton robes and a veiled hat.
Upon learning that the madam had caught a chill, Qingying feared bringing the cold indoors. She led the girl to her quarters to freshen up before hurrying to report.
“Sister Qingying, the madam says you may enter directly.”
The maid at the door lifted the curtain with a smile. Qingying nodded and stepped inside, immediately enveloped in warmth.
Madam Sheng reclined on the daybed, Xiangxiang standing behind her.
“Madam—” Qingying curtsied.
“Sit, sit. You’ve had a long journey—you must be exhausted.”
Sheng Minmin gestured for Xiangxiang to pour tea.
Qingying perched gingerly on a stool, back straight, and cut straight to the point.
“Madam, those two beasts from the estate have been imprisoned. In three months, they’ll be exiled to the borderlands for twenty years of hard labor.”
“After the sentencing, I visited the families of the women they abused. Madam, it’s horrifying—there were five or six victims, the youngest only twelve…”
Her voice tightened with disgust.
“As you instructed, I gave each family two hundred taels and promised additional dowries when their daughters marry. Most were grateful, but one girl—her parents are dead, and her brother and sister-in-law rule the household. The couple is vile. They tried to force her to marry a butcher who’d beaten his first wife to death!”
Minmin and Xiangxiang frowned.
“The girl refused and was beaten black and blue. Remembering your orders—that any girl unwilling to marry or stay home could sign a contract with us—I asked her. She begged to come. So I paid her brother a hundred taels for her freedom and left the remaining hundred with her. She’s in my room now…”
“Are her injuries severe? Was a physician seen?” Minmin asked.
“Yes. The doctor said no internal damage was done. With medicine and rest, she’ll recover.”
Minmin nodded. “Good. You and Xiangxiang will guide her, but let her heal first.”
Qingying acknowledged the order, then knelt abruptly.
“There’s one more matter. I acted without permission and must beg your punishment.”
“Speak.”
“The estate managers’ families have been protesting daily at the county office, causing an uproar. I feared that if rumors spread about the victims, those poor girls and their families would suffer even more…”
She took a steadying breath.
“So I spent five hundred taels to ensure the county only states the managers committed grave crimes—no details, no mention of the women.”
Five hundred taels was no small sum. Qingying had agonized over the decision but trusted her mistress’s compassion would understand.
