Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The next day, Tiedan brought Er Ya and knelt before me, kowtowing with thuds.

He cried, “Auntie, please, don’t let my father kill my mother.”

“I didn’t tell your father to kill your mother. I just asked him to sign a confession. He refused to sign. When did you ever see your father kill your mother?”

“Last night, my father reached out to strangle my mother…”

Tears streamed down his face, and Er Ya wept quietly, afraid that crying loudly would disturb us.

At that moment, they became two pitiful little ones.

I told the steward to take them out, then looked toward the inner room.

“You’re lucky. Yesterday, your children saved your life. Most importantly, your daughter. She rolled over and looked at Xie Er, and only then did Xie Er stop.”

Xie Er’s Wife felt as if struck by lightning.

Like many women in this village, or in this world, she had devoted her entire life to her family.

She poured her heart and soul into her man, only wanting to live a good life.

She was selfish, foolish, and even vicious, but it was all for this family.

She hoped to rise with Xie Er like chickens and dogs ascending to heaven, but Xie Er thought she had become a burden and only wanted to achieve immortality alone.

“Damn Xie Genzhu, you’ll rot in the ground with me!”

She gritted her teeth and left.

That very day, she called over several of her brothers, forced Xie Er to sign, gave the paper to me, and then pushed Er Ya in front of me.

“I’m selling this girl to you. I know you’re kind-hearted. You’re so good to that dog… Lanting, you won’t mistreat her. I’m selling her to you because I’m afraid one day her father might change his mind and come looking for her. I’m not trying to take advantage of you-just one string of cash, one string and you can take her away.”

“Mom, don’t abandon me. I’ll eat less and work hard. That day, I didn’t come out to help because I was afraid of delaying washing the pots. I didn’t dare come out to watch the excitement.”

She cried terribly.

Xie Er’s Wife had a complicated expression, her eyes reddening again and again, her teeth clenching.

“Mom is doing this for your own good. There won’t be any good days following me. I remember your goodness today, that’s why I’m doing this. I’m afraid that one day I might forget…”

She mumbled and stopped, dazed.

Indeed, she spoke the truth.

Human nature is complex. Xie Er’s Wife had just experienced a great upheaval. Now she hated Xie Er and remembered her daughter’s goodness, so she tried to secure a future for Er Ya.

But Xie Er would certainly coax her back, and she would certainly forget Er Ya’s goodness.

By then, life would return to how it was before.

Xie Lanting quietly tugged my sleeve, his face full of entreaty.

In the original book, aside from the female lead, the only woman who gave Xie Lanting warmth was Er Ya.

She was raised by Xie Lanting. He changed Er Ya’s diapers when no one else cared for her and fed her porridge. When Er Ya grew a little older, she would secretly share her food with Xie Lanting.

But when Xie Lanting grew up and seized power, Er Ya had long been dead.

It’s said she fell suddenly ill, and Xie Er and his wife neglected her. She feared disturbing her parents, so she clenched her teeth tightly, not making a sound. The next morning, she was stiff.

Xie Lanting dealt with Xie Er’s family and returned to the village to place several bowls of rice topped with meat on Er Ya’s grave. Er Ya had never eaten that much meat in her entire life.

Later, he met the female lead.

The female lead bore a slight resemblance to Er Ya.

At first, he treated her like a little sister, but later, she became his only warmth.

I gave Xie Er’s Wife one tael of silver and had an irrevocable sale deed drawn up, a death contract.

I don’t trust Xie Er and his wife.

I’m afraid that if I raise Er Ya as my own daughter, Xie Er and his wife will come to reap the benefits and morally blackmail Er Ya.

I also fear that when Er Ya grows up, she might be confused and deceived by a few words into acknowledging her biological parents, making me a laughingstock.

I won’t allow anyone to insult me like that.

So I might as well be the villain and cut everything off at the source.