For dinner, Ye Yunniang cooked porridge, steamed a pot of buns, and also prepared braised pork, stir-fried green peppers with pork, greens with mushrooms, and stir-fried bean sprouts.
Cai Damei couldn't stand the smell of meat, so Ye Yunniang served two vegetarian dishes and took them to the room in the backyard.
With an extra child in the house, there wasn't enough space.
Cai Damei had built a room for herself in the backyard to live in, making it easier to be near Bao Min.
Cai Damei's bedroom was left for the three children to stay in.
Arriving at the backyard, Bao Min was also there, reading a book.
Bao Min knew prenatal education was good for the child, so whenever he had time, he would read to Cai Damei's belly.
Ye Yunniang set down the tray and left, returning to the front yard to eat with the three children.
After the meal, Li Pan and Li An did their homework, while Ye Yunniang did needlework. Li Ping lay down to rest.
After finishing his homework, Li Pan started drawing.
Li An taught Ye Yunniang to read characters.
In half a year, Ye Yunniang had not only learned all the surnames from "The Hundred Family Surnames" but had also studied "The Three Character Classic."
When study time was about over, Ye Yunniang went to prepare the calming medicine and made the three children drink it.
After putting the three children to sleep, Ye Yunniang returned to her room.
Lighting the oil lamp, she opened the letter that had been placed at the head of her bed this morning. The letter contained only one sentence.
"Ye Yunniang, don't skimp. Your man has money."
Along with the letter was a roll of banknotes. This roll contained ten one-thousand-tael notes.
Ye Yunniang opened the drawer and took out the box from the very back.
There were already two rolls of banknotes inside the box.
Ye Yunniang put it away safely, returned it to the drawer, and lay down to rest.
Worried about the three children, Ye Yunniang woke up at midnight and went to the main room.
The three children were sleeping soundly.
After tucking them in properly, Ye Yunniang left the room and closed the door securely.
Returning to her room to sleep, in her dream, Ye Yunniang went back to the night in the garden when she burned the clothes.
Her neck was being hugged again. "You lied to me. You said I would have loving parents, brothers, and sisters."
Ye Yunniang felt her neck being held very tightly, almost to the point of suffocation.
"L-let go," Ye Yunniang said with difficulty. But the hold on her neck grew tighter and tighter; she was almost unable to breathe.
Was she going to die?
No, she still had her children; she couldn't die. Thinking of this, Ye Yunniang's body surged with boundless strength. She pushed away whoever was holding her with force.
Ye Yunniang opened her eyes, turned over, leaned over the edge of the bed, and coughed violently.
Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough...
After a while, the coughing stopped. Ye Yunniang got up to pour herself some water and took a sip.
The cold water went down her throat.
It hurt so much.
Ye Yunniang reached up to touch her neck and felt something was wrong.
Lighting the oil lamp, she went to the bronze mirror.
On her neck were clear finger marks.
The hand was very small, even smaller than Li Ping's when he was just born.
Recalling what she had just dreamed, Ye Yunniang's body trembled.
"Is it you?"
"You lied to me."
"I didn't lie to you."
The lamp flame flickered violently. "You did. My new... mother, she doesn't want me either. She deliberately got into a fight. She wanted to get rid of me."
Ye Yunniang suddenly thought of Hongyan's actions during the day.
"Did you... reincarnate into Hongyan's womb?"
Mentioning Hongyan, the lamp flame shook violently, almost going out.
"Why would she do that?"
A moment of silence, no answer.
"I'll try to find out for you, the reason she did this?" Ye Yunniang proposed.
"Make her keep me. I want to see the colorful daytime."
Ye Yunniang hesitated; she didn't want to have much contact with Hongyan.
The lamp flame flickered again. "You lied to me. You must help me."
"Alright. I'll think of a way." Ye Yunniang tried to soothe, afraid that the other might harm her three children if displeased.
As Ye Yunniang was pondering how to investigate, Liang Maimiao hurried in, her voice full of excitement.
"Yunniang, big news!"
Ye Yunniang poured her a cup of warm water. "Have a drink of water, speak slowly, don't rush."
How could Liang Maimiao not rush? This matter was too big.
"The child in Hongyan's belly is Ma Xiaokou's!"
"Ma Xiaokou has a child?" Xu Erlei's exclamation of surprise interrupted what Liang Maimiao was about to say next.
"Shoo, shoo, go play somewhere else. What's a kid doing here? Don't disturb your Aunt Yunniang and me talking." Liang Maimiao urged Xu Erlei to go play elsewhere.
"Mom, if you don't tell me now, I'll find out in a couple of days anyway. Hurry up and tell us." Xu Erlei urged, he really wanted to know.
Xu Erlei pulled over a stool and sat down; he was going to listen.
Li An also brought his own small stool and sat next to Ye Yunniang. Li An was also very interested in these matters.
Li Pan and Xu Dalei, not far away, weren't interested in this and went back to their room to look at picture books. Next to them lay Li Ping, too lazy to move.
"Mom, stop dawdling. Hurry up and tell us." Xu Erlei urged again.
"Who does this child take after? Not studying properly day in and day out, just listening to gossip from this house and that." Liang Maimiao was speechless.
Ye Yunniang: ... Takes after you, of course.
"What about the child in Hongyan's belly?"
"The doctor saved it." Liang Maimiao said this and sighed with emotion; the child in Hongyan's belly had a really strong life force, not dying despite losing so much blood.
"How can they be sure the child is Ma Xiaokou's?"
"Hongyan said so herself." Although Liang Maimiao's words said this, her expression showed disbelief.
Ma Xiaokou with his narrow eyes, flat nose bridge, garlic-bulb nose, protruding mouth, and short stature—when it came to matchmaking back then, no one could take a liking to him.
Later, having no other choice, Ma Xiaokou's grandparents spent ten taels of silver to buy a young girl from a human trafficker. That was the current Chunxing, to be Ma Xiaokou's wife.
"If Hongyan said the child was Ma Hui's, someone might believe it. But Ma Xiaokou..." Liang Maimiao shook her head.
If Ma Xiaokou was said to have taken all the worst traits from Ma Kouzi and Niu Dajiao combined,
then Ma Hui took all the best traits of the Ma family—regular features, tall and sturdy build, giving off a very masculine and tough feeling.
If it weren't for his slightly lame leg and having such a family, matchmakers would have been knocking on his door long ago.
"Uncle Ma Hui has someone he likes." Xu Erlei suddenly interjected.
"Who?" Ye Yunniang and Liang Maimiao looked at Xu Erlei curiously.
Xu Erlei lifted his chin. "Want to know?"
"Yes."
"Give me five coppers." Xu Erlei started bargaining.
"You brat, looking for a spanking?" Upon hearing this, Liang Maimiao reached out to pinch Xu Erlei's ear.
Xu Erlei had been guarding against this move and simply jumped behind Ye Yunniang to dodge it. He stuck his tongue out at Liang Maimiao—can't catch me.
"Wang Tianyan." Li An beside them uttered a name.
"An'an, why did you say it?" Xu Erlei was annoyed.
"Impossible." Liang Maimiao didn't believe it; Wang Tianyan was a man, how could it be between two men?
Ye Yunniang didn't speak, but her face also showed disbelief.
"It's true. We saw it with our own eyes, the two of them kissing." As Xu Erlei spoke, he even puckered his lips and made a kissing motion.
Smack!
Liang Maimiao slapped Xu Erlei's head hard.
"Don't learn from these unsavory characters." Liang Maimiao warned in a very serious tone.
"Got it." Xu Erlei covered his head; his mom really hit hard.
Li An beside them also nodded hurriedly, afraid Ye Yunniang would give him one too.
Ye Yunniang pondered. "If that's the case, then it makes sense."
"Makes sense of what?" Liang Maimiao didn't understand.
Just as Ye Yunniang was about to share her speculation, a sharp scream came from outside.
"Ma Xiaokou, I'll kill you—"
