Chapter 22

Chen Tiedan was actually holding several rotten eggs, and as they splattered on Mrs. Xiao, a foul stench immediately filled the air.

Aunt Xiao’s expression changed as she rushed over to stop him. The clothes were mostly fine, but Mrs. Xiao now reeked of rotten eggs.

“Who are you calling a filthy whore?”
The voice, unexpectedly cold and harsh, came from the usually gentle and mild-mannered Father Xiao.

Even Bai Jiaojiao was startled by the sudden outburst—she thought for a second that middle-aged version of Xiao Zhou had emerged.

Chen Tiedan instantly burst into tears. “She is a filthy whore! I don’t like her, she’s disgusting! My mom said she’s always rolling around in the mud!”

Father Xiao helped his wife up and cast a frosty glance at Aunt Xiao, who hastily explained, “He’s just a kid talking nonsense. I was joking around, and that name—someone else said it first. I don’t know why he remembered it.”

She turned to her son and jabbed his head. “Tiedan, apologize to your uncle and aunt, now.”

“Sorry, Uncle,” Chen Tiedan quickly apologized.

Father Xiao clearly still wanted to lash out, but since Mrs. Xiao was covered in egg slime, it was best to clean her up first.

Bai Jiaojiao said, “Dad, take Mom to clean up. I’ll find out what’s going on.”

“Alright,” Father Xiao nodded. He didn’t expect his daughter-in-law to actually do anything, but just as he stepped out the door, he heard a loud crash. He turned back to see her having kicked a chair to pieces and now holding up a wooden stick, pointing it at a six-year-old child.

Father Xiao hesitated. He didn’t dare leave now—it looked like his daughter-in-law might commit a crime. But seeing his wife’s dazed, fearful expression and filthy hair, he figured with Xiao Zhou still here, it’d be fine. He led his wife to the back to wash up at the pond.

Aunt Xiao’s previously pleasant expression shattered. Seeing the sharp wooden splinters nearly poke her son, she cried out, “What are you doing? Put that down!”

Bai Jiaojiao pointed the stick right at her, barely an inch from her face.

“If you can’t teach your son, then I’ll teach him for you. Otherwise, when he goes out calling women filthy whores, people will assume he’s describing his own household.”

Aunt Xiao finally understood. Her face turned ugly. “Bai Jiaojiao, I’m your eld—” relative.

Before she could finish, the stick moved even closer, practically pressing into her skin.

Little Chen Tiedan, terrified, tried to run. Bai Jiaojiao shouted, “Xiao Zhou!”

The man who had been silent this whole time grabbed the boy by the back of his collar.

“Let me go!”

Bai Jiaojiao turned the stick on the child again. He immediately froze, face red from being held awkwardly.

“Speak. Who taught you to say that? Was it your mother?”

“Mooom! Help me!” Chen Tiedan yelled.

Driven by maternal instinct, Aunt Xiao—though previously afraid—charged forward. She was a stocky rural woman and wasn’t scared of a physical fight.

But before she could get close, she took a hard kick to the stomach and fell to the ground.

Even Bai Jiaojiao was shocked. That reaction speed and strength were incredible. She looked at Xiao Zhou, who blinked innocently.

Her lip twitched slightly.

“Xiao Zhou, I used to spoil you the most. You even said I was your second mom. Now you’ve married and already forgotten me?”

Xiao Zhou answered coldly, “Then why did you teach people to call my mom that?”

Aunt Xiao’s face shifted but she denied it firmly: “I didn’t.”

Bai Jiaojiao walked up to the child and pulled a piece of candy from her bag. “Want it?”

Rural kids had no resistance to sweets. His eyes locked on the candy, and he immediately reached out.

Bai Jiaojiao kept it clenched in her fist. “Who taught you those words?”

“My mom.”

Aunt Xiao’s face darkened further.

Bai Jiaojiao pulled out another candy. “Who gave you the rotten eggs?”

Chen Tiedan’s eyes lit up even more. “My mom!”

Aunt Xiao clutched her chest. Her own son was going to give her a heart attack. She tried to cover it up: “He was bullied by other village kids, and I found a few rotten eggs near the chicken coop recently. I just told him to throw them around for fun.”

Bai Jiaojiao gave her a sweet smile—an elegant, carefree smile no village girl could match, the kind only the privileged wore.

She took out an expensive White Rabbit milk candy.

“My mom told me to throw them at Auntie,” Chen Tiedan added cheerfully, selling out his mother without hesitation.

Bai Jiaojiao’s eyes turned cold. As Chen Tiedan reached for the candy, she pulled it back and put it in her pocket. He stared in disbelief.

“I was just joking. Why would I give candy to a child who misbehaves?” Bai Jiaojiao gave him a smile that, in a child’s eyes, was pure evil.

Xiao Zhou’s lips curled slightly. His wife was amazing—and so cute.

“Xiao Zhou, toss him out. Just don’t break any bones,” Bai Jiaojiao instructed.

Without hesitation, Xiao Zhou threw the kid outside. The little brat landed hard on his backside. The door was promptly locked to keep him out.

Aunt Xiao was heartbroken, but one look at the couple’s cold stares made her nervous. She quickly tried to salvage the situation. “Kids say silly things—it doesn’t count. I don’t have a problem with Meiping.”

Bai Jiaojiao gathered the clothes and gifts from the ground and handed them to Xiao Zhou. Hands on her hips, she glared at Aunt Xiao. “I don’t care what’s going on in your mind. But if you bully my mom, then you’re no family of ours. Don’t come around anymore.”

“You can’t!” Aunt Xiao panicked. Her husband was useless, and she had counted on Father Xiao’s generosity. She couldn’t afford to lose that support. “I’m your elder! You should respect me! Xiao Zhou’s mom is a fool—everyone in the village says so. I just made a couple of jokes. Even your dad wouldn’t take it seriously!”

Bai Jiaojiao sneered. “You said ‘filthy whore’ and you’re right—you would know. Only another ‘filthy whore’ would think that way.”

Aunt Xiao’s face went pale. “I’ll tell your father! And Xiao Zhou, look at the wife you married—no manners at all!”

Xiao Zhou, whose gaze had long turned cold, stared her down and said, “Filthy whore, I won’t forget what you did today. My dad won’t help you anymore, either.”

Aunt Xiao shivered.

Bai Jiaojiao opened the door. They took everything they had brought with them.

Aunt Xiao was scared but couldn’t bear to lose the gifts. She ran after them.

“Wait, I know I was wrong, but those were things your father worked hard to bring! He just left, and now you’re taking them back just because Tiedan said something rude? How can your family be so heartless!” she shouted with her rough village voice.