"...heartless wretch, utterly conscienceless... I let you eat, I let you eat, you’ve even fed the buns to the dogs, no one shall taste them now." Approaching the door of the West Wing Room, Lady Zhou deliberately raised her voice and cursed, simultaneously sweeping into the courtyard like a whirlwind. What she was planning was to throw away all the buns that Lian Shouxin had brought back.

"Wah..." Xiao Qi burst into tears. He had already held in his breath and shock during Lady Zhou’s disturbance in the Upper Room, and now, hearing Lady Zhou head toward the courtyard, he was holding back, scared, anxious, and could no longer restrain himself, crying out loud.

Lady Zhou really was not an easy one, Lian Manman thought to herself. At this time, it was even more crucial to stay calm, let Lady Zhou make a scene, and they would not intervene, watching how Lady Zhou would end this.

Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang both stood up; tenant farmers despised and feared food waste the most. Hearing that Lady Zhou was about to throw away the buns, they walked outside, intending to stop her.

"Manman, take good care of your brother," Lady Zhang didn’t forget to instruct.

Lian Manman touched her forehead, resigned to picking up Xiao Qi and comforting him in a soft voice.

"Xiao Qi, don’t be scared, mom wouldn’t dare throw away our buns." Although Lian Manman didn’t say it with much confidence, she knew Lady Zhou was the kind of person who would go through with her threats, otherwise, she wouldn’t have the Lian Family all wrapped around her finger.

"Even if she throws them away, we’ll still have buns to eat," Lian Manman said, "Whatever she throws away, we’ll just get back from the Upper Room."

The elders may be unreasonable, and Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang couldn’t do much about it. As for her and Xiao Qi at their age, they had even more right to be unreasonable—who else could do anything about it? The fierce Lady Zhou, faced with two hungry children, on whose side would people stand?

"Really?" Xiao Qi, hearing Lian Manman say so, immediately felt not so sad.

"Of course it’s true, when has your sister ever lied to you?" Lian Manman smiled, then lowered her voice, "Xiao Qi, keep crying, the louder the better."

Xiao Qi obediently cried out even louder.

By this time, Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang had already reached the doorway and could see Lady Zhou standing at the entrance to the courtyard, kicking the garden gate. Lady He and Si Lang were following behind her.

The garden gate was just a few wooden boards nailed together, with simple bolts that, if removed, could easily open the gate. Lady Zhou, enraged, was kicking the gate to vent her anger.

Old Master Lian also came over from the Upper Room, reaching the doorway of the West Wing Room. Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang hurried out to help Old Master Lian.

Just at that moment, there was a crack followed by Lady Zhou’s cry of pain, and the shrieks of Lady He and Si Lang.

It turns out that snow had fallen during the day, and with the low temperatures at night, a thin layer of ice had formed on the ground, making it somewhat slippery. Lady Zhou, with her bound feet and kicking the door, lost her balance and fell straight backward.

Lady He and Si Lang were right behind Lady Zhou and could have caught her. However, it was not clear what they were thinking, both quickly dodging to the side. Only after Lady Zhou had hit the ground did they begin to shout.

Lady Zhou, whether the fall was severe or not, cried out once and then fell silent.

Now, the scene outside became lively, everyone rushing forward to help, carrying or supporting Lady Zhou back to the Upper Room.

"Grandma has fallen." Lian Zhizhi ran back and recounted the recent events to Lian Manman.

"Sister, you watch Xiao Qi, I’m going to have a look." Lian Manman quickly got off the kang (a traditional heated bed platform) and instructed Xiao Qi, "Xiao Qi, keep crying. Tomorrow your sister will go to town and buy you some fried dough sticks to eat."

"Second sister, you have to keep your word. Wow..."

...

As Lian Manman walked into the Upper Room, she saw Lady Zhou lying on the kang bed, facing away, so she could not see the color of her face. Old Master Lian sat at the head of the kang bed, his face ashen, while Lian Xiuxiu sat next to Lady Zhou, clutching her hand, sobbing intermittently.

The rest of the Lian Family gathered around the edge of the kang bed.

When Lian Yeye saw Lian Manman come in, she gave her a look that cautioned her to be careful.

Lian Manman nodded gently and walked over to stand beside Lady Zhang.

"Mother, Xiao Qi just won’t stop crying..." Lian Manman began.

"Still bringing up Xiao Qi, can’t you see the state your grandmother is in? This is all because of you kids..." Lian Shouyi cut off Lian Manman’s words, his voice filled with anger.

"Second uncle, speak with a conscience. Both the second aunt and Si Lang were right behind grandmother when she fell backward, and they both dodged out of the way, causing grandmother to fall. Why don’t you mention that?" Lady Zhang retorted.

"I tried to help grandmother, but she was too heavy for me and I couldn’t hold her up. It’s not my fault." Lady He hastened to defend herself.

"I saw it too, if the second aunt and Brother Si Lang hadn’t dodged, our grandmother definitely wouldn’t have fallen." Lian Yeye spoke up.

Si Lang immediately turned his head to glare at Lian Yeye and stealthily waved his fist.

Lian Yeye glared back, "Brother Si Lang, what are you swinging your fists for? I’m telling the truth. Even if you hit me later, I would say the same."

Good for you, Lian Yeye, Lian Manman applauded her quietly in her heart.

"You can’t just say anything. In the dark and confusion, you saw everything clearly?" Lian Shouyi interjected quickly, "If it weren’t for the Old Fourth Family sneaking off with the baba, why would mother be so angry as to go to the garden?"

"Second brother, I did take the baba to the garden, but I didn’t do it behind anyone’s back, nor did I intend to conceal it. I was about to tell father." Lian Shouxin said.

"Let’s not talk about anything else, let’s see how badly mother is hurt first." Lian Shouli interrupted, "Mother, mother, can you hear us talking?"

Everyone then turned their attention to Lady Zhou. Lady Zhou’s eyes were tightly closed, with only her eyelids moving slightly.

With the room growing quiet, Xiao Qi’s crying from the West Wing Room became especially loud.

"Mother, you should go check on Xiao Qi." Lian Manman urgently pulled at Lady Zhang’s hand, "Xiao Qi, he just had another dream about that child."

****

Here’s one Chapter for now, I’ll strive for a second update tonight. For those with guaranteed monthly tickets, I ask for your support with monthly/fan tickets. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)