Chapter 3: Great Chaos

  He Jing was just a ten-year-old child, and since he had been raised by He Huan since childhood, he trusted her very much, and hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

  He Huan led him in, saw him back to his room, and ordered Bai Shao to lock the door, then turned around and walked towards the main house. The few people inside the house saw her return, and without saying a word, they all closed their mouths. Grandmother Wei put her hands together, muttered a sentence "Amitabha", with a slightly displeased tone said: "It's good that you're back, nothing happened is good."

  Huan's aunt, Mrs. Tao, came forward and asked, "Huan'er, where have you been all night? Everyone was worried about you." Her tone was reproachful.

  "Great Aunt." He Huan bowed and asked in return, "Do you really want to know where I went?"

  Mrs. Tao felt something was off and looked at her in surprise.

  He Huan deliberately limped to the table, poured a glass of water, and drank it in one gulp. She then poured another glass and drank that too. Since yesterday noon, she hadn't eaten anything, and if she hadn't picked two wild fruits on her way back, she would have probably fainted from hunger by now. But no one in the house cared whether she had eaten or not, nor did anyone notice that she was injured.

  He Jing's birth mother, Cao, scolded her loudly: "What kind of attitude is this? You're a young lady who doesn't come back all night and doesn't even leave a message. I'm your mother after all!"

  "Aunt Cao, you're not my mother."

  "What did you say?!" Cao's face was momentarily stunned, but soon turned red with anger.

  "My mother is already dead." He Huan stated calmly.

  When she heard this, Cao's face turned from white to red, and her two eyes almost spewed out flames of anger. She turned around, picked up the feather duster on the table, and shouted loudly: "Although you are not my biological child, I have raised you with hardship for ten years, and today I will teach you a good lesson on behalf of your father -" Her voice stopped abruptly, staring blankly at the feather duster that had just been snatched away. He Huan actually took the feather duster from her hand, was she out of her mind?

  Ten years ago, Cao was always like this, holding a feather duster to chase and beat Nian, she never resisted, not even daring to have half a complaint.

  He Huan threw the chicken feather duster to the ground and trampled on it with one foot, facing Cao Shi angrily: "You are just a concubine raised by my father. I call you 'Auntie' only because of Jingdi's face..."

  "You little wretch, your father is gone, are you trying to drive us mother and son to death so that you can monopolize the family property?" Madam Cao said as she reached out to pinch He Huan's neck.

  He Huan's right foot twisted, and he didn't dare to fight back. He could only dodge her attacks sideways and said coldly: "Family business? This family has been empty for a long time, where is the family business?"

  Cao picked up the teapot on the table and threw it at He Huan's face, shouting: "Today I must teach you a good lesson."

  He Huan turned his head to the side, and all he heard was a "bang" as the teapot shattered on the ground into pieces. It wasn't until then that Wei Shi and Tao Shi snapped back to reality. Wei Shi leaned against the back of the chair panting heavily, shaking his right hand while pointing at the two women, saying sorrowfully: "Quickly pull them apart, quickly pull them apart."

  Mrs. Tao stepped forward, wanting to hold onto He Huan, and said in a low voice: "Huan'er, you're not feeling well in your heart, but Big Aunt understands that she's still your mother after all. Big Aunt has taught you since childhood that filial piety comes first among the hundred virtues..."

  Tao's body was weak, and He Huan easily pushed her towards Cao Shi, pointing at Cao Shi, saying word by word: "She is just the father's concubine, without parental orders or matchmaker's words, nor a big red flower sedan chair, she is not my stepmother."

  Cao pushed Tao aside, baring her teeth and pouncing on He Huan, shrieking hysterically: "For ten years, I've worked hard to raise you siblings, only to end up in this state. Don't think that just because you've grown powerful, you can kick me away. You'd better not even think about it!"

  Cao was originally a boatwoman, although not considered rough and tumble, but physically robust. He Huan was petite, and with hunger and foot injuries, she was already panting. Seeing that Tao and Wei had no intention of pulling Cao away, she loudly ordered: "Aunt Cao has gone mad, Bai Miao, why don't you come in and tie her up?"

  Bai Mian stood at the door with a rope in her hand, looking timidly at He Huan. She had received He Huan's orders early on, but she didn't dare to take action.

  "Hurry up!" He Huan shouted loudly.

  Bai Mian nodded blankly and subconsciously stepped into the house.

  "How dare you!" Cao glared at Bai Miao viciously. "If you dare to move me, I'll sell you off today!"

  "She's my maid, no one dares to touch her!" He Huan had already snatched the rope from Bai Miao's hand and put it around Cao Shi's body before he even finished speaking.

  Cao reached out to grab He Huan's hair, cursing and scolding with coarse language. Bai Mian was afraid, but seeing her master being beaten, she instinctively protected He Huan.

  He Huan did not expect Cao's fighting strength to be so strong, but she and Bai Zhi were after all two people, barely using a rope to tie up Cao's body. Cao struggled like a mad dog, cursing with foul language, trying to shake off He Huan and Bai Zhi who were holding the rope.

  Wei's family saw the situation, tears like rain, and shouted that their family was unlucky. Tao's family also followed suit and cried. When they were in a difficult situation, she thought of going forward to hold He Huan, but hesitated.

  He Huanxin knew that Cao Shi was a bully who only picked on the weak. With one hand grasping the rope and the other snatching up a vase from the table, she smashed it at Cao Shi's neck without hesitation.

  Tao took a deep breath and stood still on the spot. Wei also forgot to cry, staring blankly at Cao who had fainted to the ground.

  "Bind Cao Niang to the table leg!" He Huan commanded loudly.

  "Miss." Bai Miao didn't dare move her hand.

  He Huan bent down and dragged Cao's body with great effort.

  "Hey girl, are you... crazy..." Wei said, bursting into tears again.

  "Yes, I'm crazy!" He Huan raised her head, straightened her waist, and glanced at Wei Shi before staring directly at Tao Shi. She spoke slowly and deliberately: "Auntie, didn't you just ask me where I went for the whole night?" With a cold smile, she pointed to the bruise on her neck and said: "Yesterday, you forced me to pawn the last remaining bangle my mother left behind. I had nowhere else to turn, so I could only go hang myself at my parents' graves."

  In an instant, the house fell into a scorching silence. The bruise on He Huan's neck was so shocking that both Wei and Tao forgot to cry. Bai Miao came back to her senses, knelt down at He Huan's feet, and wept uncontrollably.

  "What are you crying about!" He Huan suddenly stood up and pointed at Cao Shi, ordering: "Tie her up properly for me!"

  Bai Rou tightly bit her lip, not daring to make a sound, and used trembling hands to bind Cao Shi. Tao Shi was frightened by He Huan and retreated several steps, looking like she had lost her soul. Wei Shi, after being stunned, gasped violently, as if she was about to suffocate at any moment.

  "Mother-in-law, don't get angry, take care of your body." Mrs. Tao stepped forward and wanted to help Wei's mother calm down.

  He Xian took a step forward and walked to the side of Wei's taishi chair, patted her back and said: "Auntie, you don't have to worry. As the saying goes, great difficulties will not kill me, I must have good fortune later. I will live well, unless someone forces me to not be able to live. If that's really the case, I won't be stupid enough to hang myself, at most we'll all perish together."

  Before he had even finished speaking, Wei shouted in a loud, panting voice, "What did you just call me?!"

  He Huan took a step back, looking at her coldly and saying: "Because your mother couldn't give birth to a son or daughter for my grandfather, that's why he married you. There is an official document from the government about his concubine, so naturally you are my aunt."

  "You... you... you!" Wei's voice trailed off as she suddenly stood up, her eyes blazing with anger at He Huan. But in an instant, her body swayed twice and she fell onto the armchair with a thud, looking like she had fainted.

  "Mother!" Mrs. Tao hastily came forward to support Wei, turned her head and scolded He Huan: "No matter what, she is your own grandmother, how can you..."

  "How can I?" He Huan sneered, "I'm someone who has died once, what else am I afraid of? Besides, Eldest Aunt, was I wrong? Once a concubine, always a concubine, even if it's taken to the authorities, the reason is on my side."

  Tao fell silent. Although there were examples of concubines being promoted to wives among the common people, the government had laws that made it clear that a concubine would remain a concubine for her entire life. Moreover, those concubines who obtained the status of wife did so because their husbands took the initiative, but Wei Shi obtained the title of wife after her husband's death, during the He family's time of crisis, by using the key to the warehouse.

  Just as Tao was stunned, He Huan fixed Wei's head with one hand and pressed her chin with the other, trying to pinch her philtrum with her thumb. Feeling Wei tilt her head to avoid her action, she coldly sneered and pinched her philtrum fiercely with her thumb nail.

  Wei's eyes snapped open as she let out a pained cry, glaring furiously at He Huan.

  He Huan took a step back and said in a low voice: "Auntie, please don't play those unscrupulous tricks on me."

  "What do you mean by this? Have you gone mad?" Wei's face turned red with rage.

  "What does it mean?" He Huan's gaze swept over the Wei and Tao families, then looked at the Cao family on the ground again, and said sarcastically: "Yesterday, you told me that there was not a single grain of rice or a copper coin in the house, and I had to pawn my mother's last bangle. Now I ask you, from yesterday when I left home until now, haven't you eaten anything? Is it true that there is really nothing left in the house?"

  Tao's head hung down in shame, and Wei also averted her gaze.

  He Huan let out a soft laugh and sorrowfully accused: "Although I've never said anything, it doesn't mean I don't know anything. You all think that instead of letting me take my mother's dowry when I get married, it's better to dig it up and use it to support the family. I endured silently because we are a family and should share the joys and hardships together. When I hanged myself in front of my father and mother's graves, it wasn't because I couldn't bear the hard days, but because my heart was cold. I treated you all as family, how did you treat me?"

  In the brief silence, Cao's wife let out a low moan and slowly came to. He Huan saw that both Wei's wife and Tao's wife had their heads lowered, so she walked over to Cao's wife, nudged her leg with her foot, and said loudly, "Aunt Cao, you've seen everything. Our family is struggling now, but we won't make things difficult for you. From now on, you can either return to your parents' home and remarry, or stay here as Aunt Cao and work together with us to get through these tough times."

  Cao was momentarily stunned, and Tao spoke first: "Huan'er, the Cao family has been gone for a long time. Besides, it was your uncle who made the decision back then..."

  "Eldest maternal aunt, since you mentioned Eldest maternal uncle, I have to ask, when Eldest maternal uncle brought back Cao's wife and father's clothes, mother was ill but still alive. What about the sentence 'father married her outside', where did this word 'married' come from?"

  Cao's family suddenly woke up from their confusion and shouted loudly: "I have paid homage to the old master with you, and you treat me like this, which is a great disrespect!"

  "Shut up!" He Huan scolded, continuing to speak to the Tao family: "Auntie, if I'm not mistaken, Uncle's 'marriage' must be for Jingdi. Uncle had already discussed and agreed with her early on to have Jingdi adopted by your family, right?"

  If Tao still had his wits about him, he would certainly have retorted, but at this moment, how could he think of anything else? On the spur of the moment, he blurted out: "Your great-uncle because your brother Jing was injured..."

  "Did the eldest uncle and aunt not have a son or daughter because the eldest uncle was seriously injured while protecting Jingdi?" He Huan sneered, "If I'm not mistaken, I was already seven years old ten years ago, and at that time, the eldest uncle and aunt had been married for almost ten years. Is this also related to Jingdi?"

  Tao's face turned pale and then green, muttering in a low voice: "No matter what, it was all thanks to your great uncle that the He family's bloodline was preserved."

  "Eldest maternal aunt, you're being too heartless when you say that. At that time, although Eldest Uncle was injured, Father lost his life. You can still see Eldest Uncle every day, but Mother and I didn't even get to see Father's body!"

  "That's enough!" Wei weakly rebuked in a low voice, covering his chest and asked: "What do you want to achieve by causing such a commotion today?"