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Early the next morning, the children clamored to go see Shanhai Pass.
It had already been dark by the time they arrived yesterday, and they hadn’t been able to see anything clearly.
Big Brother Ye informed the family and carried Qingtian in his arms, leading several of his nephews to visit the city gate tower.
“It’s so tall!” Ye Changrui craned his neck upward, straining until it ached. “It must be as tall as one, two, three… lots of Gege stacked on top of each other!”
“Of course it is! This is the First Pass Under Heaven!” Ye Changzhao proudly repeated the phrase he had just learned the night before.
“First Under Heaven!” Although Qingtian didn’t quite understand what it meant, she echoed loudly nonetheless.
“Fresh fried cakes—!”
“Hot and crispy fried cakes straight from the pan—!”
A street vendor carrying a shoulder pole passed by, his hawking cries instantly drawing the attention of many nearby.
Outside the city gates, many carriages belonging to wealthy families were lined up, waiting to enter. Upon hearing the vendor’s cries, several of them began calling him over.
Seeing potential customers, the vendor quickly stopped, set down his shoulder pole, and lifted the cotton quilt covering his goods, revealing rows of golden, steaming hot fried cakes.
Just the sight of them—crispy and sweet on the outside—was enough to make the children’s mouths water.
“Want to try one?” Big Brother Ye asked.
“Yes, please!” Ye Changrui responded enthusiastically.
Ye Changrui glanced over, worried. “Are they expensive?”
Seeing their eager faces, Big Brother Ye set Qingtian down and went to ask the price.
When he heard they were only two copper coins each, he immediately counted out twelve coins and handed them to the vendor.
“Give me six.”
Seeing that Big Brother Ye was actually willing to spend money to buy treats for the children, the couple stealthily trailing behind—Shan Laoda and Madam Shan—were so jealous they clenched their teeth in frustration.
Madam Shan, who had still been a bit hesitant before, finally made up her mind.
She shoved her son into Shan Laoda’s arms, composed herself for a moment, then rushed forward with reddened eyes and suddenly wrapped Qingtian into her arms.
“Qingtian—my darling child—Mother’s finally found you—!”
Madam Shan’s acting was flawless. The moment she embraced Qingtian, tears streamed down her face in torrents.
Qingtian was terrified, pinned in place by the embrace and unable to move. She immediately twisted her head and shouted, “Father—!”
Who would’ve thought that Shan Laoda would suddenly rush out holding his son and call out, “Hey, Qingtian! Father’s right here!”
“Qingtian, your mother missed you so much she couldn’t eat or sleep. She’s dried up and can’t even nurse your little brother—”
Unlike Madam Shan, his acting skills were poor. He could only use his large, dirt-streaked hand to cover his eyes, trying to fake tears that wouldn’t fall.
“Your father, mother, and little brother all miss you dearly—”
As he spoke, he stealthily pinched his son’s bottom.
The child immediately burst into tears with a loud wail.
Shan Laoda added, “See? Your little brother cries for you every single day!”
Madam Shan sobbed, “Come home with Mother, won’t you? Without you, I don’t even want to live anymore—”
The other Ye children were completely stunned by the sudden turn of events.
It was Ye Changzhao who reacted first. He dashed forward and grabbed hold of Qingtian, shouting at Madam Shan, “Let go! Qingtian is my little sister, not yours!”
But he was too young, no match for Madam Shan’s strength. She easily shoved him to the ground.
Seeing this, the other four brothers panicked and charged in all at once.
They pulled at her arms and tugged at her sleeves.
Ye Changrui even opened his mouth and bit down hard.
Fortunately, Big Brother Ye finally rushed back at that moment.
He snatched Qingtian out of Madam Shan’s arms with one hand and grabbed Ye Changrui by the back of his collar with the other, lifting him up and tossing him aside. He scolded, “What have I always told you? Why are you putting your mouth on anything filthy you see? Don’t you know you’ll get diarrhea?!”
Ye Changrui huffed angrily and pointed at Madam Shan. “That bad woman tried to take Meimei away!”
Qingtian immediately wrapped her arms tightly around Big Brother Ye’s neck.
With a grim expression, Big Brother Ye asked coldly, “What do you two think you’re doing? Trying to snatch a child in broad daylight?”
“This isn’t some lawless wilderness. There are guards here, and laws too!”
“You’re spouting nonsense! Even if the Jade Emperor himself came down, Qingtian is still my daughter—!”
Madam Shan sobbed like her heart was breaking.
“Everyone passing by, please judge this fairly! What kind of logic is it that someone who can’t have kids thinks they can just take someone else’s child?!”
Shan Laoda chimed in too, “Qingtian, your father knows the Ye family has better conditions. They can feed and clothe you well, but we’re your real parents!”
The commotion they caused quickly drew a crowd, including some patrolling guards.
After all, with more and more refugees gathering in the area, people had already seen horrifying things—children being sold, abandoned, and even eaten.
But it was the first time anyone had seen two families fighting over a little girl.
Madam Shan, always one to grow more dramatic the more people watched, became even more excited as the crowd grew.
She rushed forward and suddenly dropped to her knees in front of the guards, kowtowing as she wept, “Please, honored officials, I beg you to uphold justice for this humble woman!”
One of the guards frowned. “What are you making a scene for at the city gates so early in the morning? What’s going on here?”
“Honored officials, Big Brother Ye has no children of his own, and all his brothers only have sons.
“His wife took a liking to my Qingtian and, relying on their large family and numbers, took the child by force despite our protests.
“My husband and I had no choice but to flee the famine with our newborn son while searching for our daughter—
“If you don’t believe us, just check the bottom of the child’s foot. She has a red birthmark!”
As soon as the crowd heard this, they all turned their attention to Qingtian, curious to see what kind of little girl was being fought over by two families.
By now, the wound on Qingtian’s head had already healed, and with her bangs falling naturally over her forehead, it was impossible to tell she’d ever been injured.
Her fair little face was adorned with a pair of large, black grape-like eyes that made her irresistibly endearing.
On one side stood a thin, sallow-faced couple with a crying baby in their arms.
On the other, a sturdy man surrounded by a group of lively children.
Instinctively, the crowd began to side with the seemingly weaker party.
“With that many kids around him, did he snatch them all like this?” someone murmured.
Even the guards began casting suspicious glances at Big Brother Ye.
Big Brother Ye nearly laughed from sheer anger at the couple’s shameless performance.
“I did trade food for the child—gave you a whole sack of sorghum grains! You were all too happy at the time, weren’t you?”
“And now that Qingtian’s doing well in our care, you come spouting such heartless lies? Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning?!”
But Madam Shan stuck to their planned story. She straightened her neck and sneered, “And just because you said so, we’re supposed to believe it? Who saw you give us that sack of sorghum, huh? Why not say you gave us a whole cart of polished rice while you’re at it?”
“You—!” Big Brother Ye was so furious that the veins on his forehead bulged. If the guards weren’t watching like hawks, he would’ve already punched Madam Shan straight into the ground.
Seeing the timing was just right, Shan Laoda stepped forward with the baby in his arms, trying to smooth things over. “Aiya, we’re all just thinking of what’s best for Qingtian. Let’s stop all this arguing.
“No need to trouble the officials any further here. Why don’t we find a quieter place and talk things through properly?”
It was only then that Big Brother Ye fully understood the Shan couple’s sinister intentions.
They didn’t care about Qingtian at all. What they saw was that the Ye Family was doing well—so they were using Qingtian as leverage to blackmail him for money!