Chapter 25: Special Favoritism

“Go back? I have conditions—how could I let you go that easily?”

Xiang He’s bright smile looked more terrifying than a demon in the eyes of the two women!

Mrs. Li flailed her legs, occasionally touching Xiang He but finding no footing. A wave of fear surged in her heart. “Say it!”

“One, you’re never allowed to bother my family again. Don’t come here, and don’t even think about laying a hand on anyone in my house.”

Their throats slowly loosened—their entire bodies were being held up by Xiang He. Mrs. Li gripped her hands tightly and nodded hard. “Fine!”

“Two, the third branch has officially separated from the family. Anything related to us has nothing to do with the Old Xiang family, the eldest branch, or the second branch.”

“Fine!”

“Three, if you break the first two rules—don’t expect to die a good death. And I always keep my word.”

“You—!”

The pressure around their necks loosened again. Mrs. Yu felt like she was about to fall and screamed, “I agree, I agree! Pull me back up!”

Xiang He clicked her tongue. “Grandma hasn’t agreed yet.”

“Mother, hurry and agree! If we fall, we’re both screwed!”

Recalling Xiang He’s earlier threats made Mrs. Yu’s scalp go numb. If she ended up bedridden, no one in her family would take care of her. And if her father really let Xiang He do it…

Life would be pure hell from then on!

“Mother, hurry and agree!”

Mrs. Li stared daggers at Xiang He, grinding her teeth, her neck flushed red. “Fine!”

As soon as she agreed, applause erupted below. Xiang He smiled sweetly—almost too gently—and retracted her arms, pulling both of them safely back.

The two collapsed onto the ground with weak legs. Xiang He turned to pick up the bamboo stick, casually swishing it around to make some noise. She wiped her scratched cheek with her sleeve—courtesy of their fingernails. That cut wouldn’t heal easily.

“You filthy little brat!”

Xiang He smiled with pursed lips, catching a glimpse of someone approaching from below, her smile deepened. “Grandma, mind your words—cursing people all day will bring retribution upon yourself.”

“Just a lowly, despicable brat! The curse will fall on you! Heartless dogs like you are doomed to die young!”

“Well, well, Fourth Aunt Xiang sure knows how to curse. If she went into the city, no one would dare come near her, huh?”

“Pah!”

Mrs. Li, who had just been nearly scared out of her wits, now started her personal attacks again.

Xiang He felt a bit helpless to respond and looked toward the person ascending the stairs. “Big brother, please take them both back, this noise is disturbing everyone.”

The two turned in surprise and saw Xiang Fusheng, who had somehow arrived unnoticed. They wondered if he had heard everything.

Since Xiang He could remember, Xiang Fusheng had always subtly or openly urged the family to avoid using harsh words, especially when Mrs. Li was cursing, he would put on a stern face. Thus, Mrs. Li rarely cursed or spoke rudely in front of him.

After all, Xiang Fusheng aimed to become a high official and planned to marry a woman from a noble family—he obviously disliked the rustic ways of his family.

Mrs. Li doted on him deeply, always siding with him in everything, as he was the first eldest grandson.

Now that Xiang Fusheng had overheard, Mrs. Li immediately changed her expression. “Fusheng, you’re here! Come, come, help me get home.”

Xiang Fusheng’s face darkened. Xiang He took the palm mirror from her bosom. “Big brother, I found this in your drawer. Knowing you were anxious, I told the teacher and brought it back for you.”

At a glance, Xiang Fusheng’s eyes widened. He hurried forward to snatch it and tuck it into his bosom, his eyes flickering with slight displeasure. “Thank you very much, He girl.”

“You’re welcome.” Xiang He rubbed her sore arms with both hands. “This mirror is quite strange. Big brother, where did you find it? I want to find one too.”

Speaking casually, Xiang Fusheng suppressed his temper, twisting the corner of his mouth. “I happened to pick it up. It seemed delicate, so I kept it. Nothing special.”

“Oh? Where did you pick it up? It seems pretty mysterious to me.”

After several mentions, Xiang Fusheng’s face turned grim. “It’s just an ordinary mirror. If you want one, go buy it yourself in town. I’ll take them back now. Sorry for the disturbance tonight.”

Seeing the look on his face, Xiang He appeared completely indifferent and waved her hand. “Watch them carefully and don’t let them stir up trouble again. Once a crooked thought takes root, it’s like a cracked jar—once the water starts leaking, it won’t stop easily. The water is like those thoughts—the more there are, the further one strays from the right path.”

These words left Xiang Fusheng stunned. He suddenly turned his head to look at her, but Xiang He was facing away from him, bent over the large jar.

This… felt like a message hidden in her words.

He stared at her intently for a long while, but all he saw was the back of a village girl. Xiang Fusheng mocked himself inwardly—seems he was overthinking.

He stepped forward to help Mrs. Li up. “Grandma, Mother, let’s go home. Grandpa and Father just returned from the village entrance.”

Mrs. Li’s expression lit up. “Did they catch anything good?”

“A wild pheasant.”

“Pfft! Not even something big!”

Mrs. Li grumbled under her breath the whole way, but didn’t dare say anything too nasty. Only after they were far enough away did the crowd finally disperse.

Xiang He called out, “Seventh Sister, wait up here a moment!”

Xiang Huiying jogged up in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Mrs. Su came out from behind Xiang He, holding a small piece of pork. “Take this back and cook it for Sixth Aunt.”

Xiang Huiying quickly waved her hands. “No need! I didn’t do much! Grandma will scold me.”

Xiang He took it and pushed it into her hands. “If we hadn’t returned tonight, weren’t you planning to run out of the village to look for us? This is a thank-you gift—you must take it.”

Seeing she couldn’t refuse, and truthfully a bit tempted by the meat, Xiang Huiying blushed and accepted it. “Th-then when you harvest your grain, I’ll come help!”

“That would be great! Now hurry home, Seventh Sister, or Third Aunt will start worrying.”

The whole family watched Xiang Huiying skip away before Mrs. Su finally relaxed. She bared her teeth with a hiss and rubbed her scalp where her hair had been yanked. “That old hag really pulled hard!”

Xiang He quickly helped her over to sit down and took out a cloth bundle from the large jar. Inside were various medicinal powders she’d bought for treating everyone’s injuries over the past couple of days.

“Father, are you really Grandma’s biological child? She sure hits hard.”

Xiang Dayong paused, a bitter look flickering in his eyes. “Yes… her own… When I was born… something bad happened…”

There it was—yet another unspoken sorrow. Xiang He handed the packet of medicine powder to Mrs. Su. “Mother, you take care of their wounds. I’ll go fetch water to cook something. I’m starving.”

“Go quickly and come back fast. It’s dark out, and I don’t feel at ease.”

“Got it.” Xiang He pointed to the cloth bag beside her. “Don’t touch the herbs inside, Mom. I’ll use them to brew a tonic for Dad when I’m back. The powders are for wounds—they can be used now.”

“Alright.”

Xiang He picked up the buckets and shoulder pole and started down the path. Not far from their place was the lower stream where they’d bathed last night—the whole village fetched water from this river.

Since the water kept flowing, no one worried much about whether it was clean or not.

Although the pole wasn’t heavy on her shoulders, Xiang He felt a bit worn out. She’d spent the whole day doing hard physical labor and was starting to feel it.

As she reached the river to fetch water, she yawned uncontrollably.

Lifting both buckets, Xiang He sensed a chill nearby. She balanced the pole and began walking back.

A pitch-black shadow silently followed close behind her. Still looking straight ahead, Xiang He chuckled softly. “I helped you today, didn’t I? Tonight, it’s your turn to help me.”