Madam Zhao's heart skipped a beat—how could she have forgotten that the wretched girl knew about her feigned pregnancy?
She hastily said, "What would you know at three years old? Don't concern yourself with adults' affairs, and don't ask questions! You'll find out who your sister is later!"
After speaking, she pretended to be embarrassed and hurriedly retreated to her room!
Granny Lei watched her guilty figure and thought of the words Xuanbao had first spoken yesterday, suspicion arising in her heart.
If those words had been said by another grandchild, Granny Lei might not have believed them, but it was her Xuanbao who had spoken!
She believed her!
Xuanbao was capable of performing Immortal Technique, ripening persimmons overnight.
But as the matter was not yet confirmed, she did not feel it right to tell the youngest son at this moment.
Even if Madam Zhao was only pretending to be pregnant, what difference did it make? The woman was already brought into the family, and Ruo Family's rules did not allow for divorce or taking concubines without offspring, unless a grave sin had been committed.
Ruo Xuan, though she had been a flower and not human, had nearly cultivated into an immortal, showing her intelligence and perceptiveness.
After seeing Madam Zhao's reaction yesterday and recalling some memories about her, Ruo Xuan understood that Madam Zhao was lying!
Ruo Xuan was just about to expose her lies when Ruo Chuan, pushing a cart, entered the yard excitedly, "Mother, Xuanbao, I'm back, guess how much money I made?"
Granny Lei replied tersely, "Just speak your mind, no need to fluff it up!"
Ruo Chuan, not getting face from his mother, asked Ruo Xuan instead, "Xuanbao, guess."
Madam Zhao had already hidden herself in her room, and Ruo Xuan's attention was diverted; she remembered that the two baskets of persimmons had sold for over a thousand wen.
Her little uncle was so excited that he must have gotten a good price.
"Four thousand wen!" Ruo Xuan stretched out three little fingers, then realizing her mistake, added another.
The small bodies of human children were naturally clumsy, and it was no exception for her, the soul of a hundred-year-old Little Flower Demon.
The sight charmed everyone!
Ruo Chuan shook his head, brimming with happiness, "Ha ha... wrong! It's five thousand wen! Five taels of silver!"
He extended five fingers.
Ruo Xuan's eyes brightened, "Little Uncle is amazing!"
Granny Lei was also pleasantly surprised, "That much?"
The admiring gaze from his beloved niece filled Ruo Chuan with pride, and he picked up Ruo Xuan to give her a kiss, "Xuanbao is even more amazing! She can even count on her fingers now! Little Uncle has a reward for you, do you want it?"
"Want!" Ruo Xuan caught a whiff of the sweet scent of malt.
Ruo Chuan took out a packet of candy for Ruo Xuan, "Share it with your brothers."
"Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, Brother, have some candy!" Ruo Xuan immediately went to share the candy with them.
"Big Brother doesn't want any, you have it, Xuanbao," Ruo Zhou replied, hugging the little figure rushing towards him, and just as he opened his mouth, he was fed a piece of candy.
Ruo Xuan then ran off to feed her other brothers.
The family watched them with laughter.
Only then did Ruo Chuan respond to his mother's earlier comment, "I just had some luck this time, ran into two big families' butlers who were competing to buy, and that's why I got a high price."
Of course, what he didn't say was that he had intentionally waited for both butlers to show up before he started his pitch.
Anyone in business loved having customers fight over their goods.
The family was delighted to hear this!
Today was truly a bountiful harvest!
Granny Lei declared with a grand gesture, "Cook the meal, slaughter the chicken, we're having a feast tonight! I've already cooked the braised pork."
Ruo Xuan, her speech muffled by the candy in her mouth, interjected, "And mutton, rabbit meat too!"
Granny Lei laughed, "Alright, Xuanbao, we'll stew whatever you want to eat!"
"I'll slaughter the sheep right away, Father!" Ruo Shui rolled up her sleeves.
Madam Liu was also rolling up her sleeves to start cooking when Ruo Shui stopped her, "You've been busy all day, help Xuanbao take a bath and freshen up yourself too, I can handle things here."
His wife was the daughter of a Scholar. If she hadn't married him, why would she ever need to do heavy labor?
So, whenever Ruo Shui was at home, he would take on most of the chores, not letting Madam Liu do them.
But Madam Liu was hardworking and didn't let any household tasks slip after marrying into the family.
Madam Liu smiled warmly, "No worries, I'm not tired. Xuanbao's mother will take good care of everything. It's better if we all work together to finish cooking the meals faster. The children are all hungry."
"Then you tend to the fire! Tending to the fire is warm."
Madam Jiang couldn't help but tease, "Sister-in-law, the fourth brother really dotes on you, unlike your second brother, that blockhead! But fourth brother is right, you've been busy all day. I can take care of dinner, you go and take a rest."
Madam Liu's cheeks flushed as she laughingly said, "Second brother is very loving toward the second sister-in-law too!"
After that, she also called out to Ruo Jiang, who was at the other end of the room, "Second brother, second sister-in-law says she wants to slaughter the sheep!"
Upon hearing this, Ruo Jiang immediately shouted back, "Slaughtering sheep is man's work! Wife, put down the cleaver, let me handle it! You go tend to the fire, tending to the fire is warm!"
Madam Jiang's face turned red, and she said annoyed, "Idiot, the sister-in-law was just joking! Put down the cleaver? You might as well become a Buddha on the spot!"
Ruo Shui immediately said, "Well then, second brother, I'll leave the sheep to you! I'll handle the rabbits."
Ruo Jiang had a look of being greatly aggrieved, "Ah! Youngest brother, sister-in-law, you're tricking me!"
The whole family laughed.
The outside was filled with joy, while Zhao, although she had returned to her room, was stealthily eavesdropping by the window ledge.
Going out to help cook was out of the question. Not a single person in the Ruo Family treated her like family. Why would she cook for them?
But Ruo Chuan made five taels of silver? Ruo Shui also earned some silver today, and he even brought back so much game!
They could sell it for a good amount of silver, right?
A wild mountain goat could fetch at least a tael or two of silver.
Her mind couldn't help but become active.
She had married into the family for half a year and noticed that every bit of hard-earned silver was spent on buying medicine and consulting doctors!
A cripple, a lunatic, why spend so much silver on medicine?
Even her husband, though he had an eye condition, was only blind at night with no major issues during the day. Why bother with treatment?
It was simply a waste of silver. It would be better to take that silver and try her luck at the gambling house; who knows, she might win back even more.
Then, she wouldn't even have to think about buying medicine. They could even afford to hire the legendary Doctor Li!
The more Zhao thought about it, the more she felt she was right. If she took those silver coins and won back a hundred or so, would the Ruo Family no longer look down on her?
Would Ruo He move back into the room and be a real husband to her?
Ever since the day she married in, Ruo He hadn't set foot in their new room, not treating her like a wife at all.
In this way, how could she possibly conceive?
After a few more months, if she didn't give birth to a child, Ruo He might divorce her, right?
No, she had to make a contribution to the Ruo Family to ensure that Ruo He couldn't divorce her!
An hour later, dinner was finally ready. Xuanbao sat obediently, waiting for the adults to start eating before she could have the mutton.
The lamb cooked by Dad smelled so good!
Zhao came out clutching her stomach, drawn by the sight of the red braised lamb on the table, her eyes lighting up!
"Is it time to eat? I just fell asleep, I hope no one is mad at me? I'm heavily pregnant and have special circumstances, I'm always sleepy, and I get hungry quickly. My stomach is so painful, it's even making me feel nauseous. I'll just eat separately from everyone else, so I don't trigger my morning sickness and spoil everyone else's appetite," she said as she reached out to grab the biggest pot of lamb.
The stomach pain was real; she was having period cramps, and the lamb would indeed warm her up.
Xuanbao was anxious; she hadn't even had a bite yet!
So mean! Watch my "Immortal Technique"!
Suddenly, she picked up a faint smell of blood and blurted out, "Aunt Zhao, your stomach ache isn't from hunger, is it your period?"
Ruo He stiffened, staring at Xuanbao in shock, "Xuanbao, what did you say?"