Chapter 13

After hearing what Old Madam Cheng said, Shu Yue finished her breakfast, shut the door, and prepared to enter her personal space again for a nap. This time she carried her son in with her. She had assumed it wouldn’t work, but to her surprise, holding him didn’t cause any problems at all.

Going in and out was simple—she only had to silently repeat the thought in her mind. Inside the space, the temperature was perfectly mild. She took her son into the bathroom, put him in warm water to bathe him, and then washed herself as well. Her whole body immediately felt lighter and more relaxed. With this space to help her, she was sure her postpartum recovery this month would be excellent.

It wouldn’t be like her previous life, where she had no real rest. Back then she had to carry the baby into the fields to earn work points right after childbirth, ruining her health. As she grew older, her body only deteriorated further.

When she came out of the space, both she and her son were clean and comfortable, and they soon drifted into deep sleep—until noisy voices outside woke her.

“Mom, have you gone senile? Protecting little sister is one thing, but now you’re shielding my sister-in-law too? If you’ve got time on your hands, why not help with the work at my house? No matter what you say, if you’re helping Jingchuan’s wife, you’re helping Big Brother’s household. So keep things fair—help me too. You know my eldest daughter-in-law just died giving birth. We’re all busy working in the fields, so please watch the baby for us!”

The voice was familiar—Cheng Youliang, Old Madam Cheng’s youngest son. The “eldest daughter-in-law” he mentioned was his own eldest son’s wife, who had died in childbirth earlier that year. The baby was only eight months old, at an age when constant care was needed.

Originally, the plan had been to raise the baby themselves—after all, a grandson is a grandson, no matter how hard things are. But when Youliang learned that Old Madam Cheng had brought Shu Yue to the ancestral house to recover, he and his wife couldn’t stand it. That was clearly helping Big Brother’s side of the family.

They wouldn’t let that happen without getting their own share. So they discussed it, then brought their baby over for her to take care of as well.

“I can’t take him. He’s your grandson, you raise him. Don’t count on me. Shu Yue is living here because she and your eldest brother’s family split households and she had nowhere else to go—that’s why she moved into the ancestral house. If you want to live here too, you can move in. Just don’t blame me if you have nightmares at night.”

Old Madam Cheng finished speaking coldly and walked away. She had no intention of raising anyone’s child. Neither of her two sons were reliable, so she certainly wouldn’t do their work for them.

The reason this ancestral house had remained empty so long was because Old Master Cheng had hanged himself here. Villagers—including her sons—found the place unlucky and avoided it.

Hearing her icy refusal, Cheng Youliang grew furious but was helpless. She was his own mother—he couldn’t raise a hand against her. When she told him to move in if he wanted help, he instinctively stepped back. Everyone in the village said the house was haunted. Even though the dead man was his own father, the place made him shudder. Live here? He didn’t even like stepping inside.

“Mom… no matter what, he’s still your great-grandson. Can’t you help a little? Big Brother’s side is already arranging a remarriage. They’ve got an older boy and girl. If they have to keep caring for this baby themselves, how will he find a new wife? You’re not busy working anyway. Watch the baby—it’ll give you something fun to do, won’t it?”

Youliang kept trying to persuade her. His son was irresponsible and refused to care for the children—any of them. The three older ones were already being raised by the grandparents, and there were more: Oldest Brother had three, Second Brother had three, Third Brother had two, Fourth Brother had two. All those children, and every son and daughter-in-law tried to dump them on the elderly couple whenever possible. It was exhausting.

If someone would take the baby, their lives would be easier. None of the daughters-in-law were easy to get along with. Seeing the grandparents caring for Oldest Brother’s kids made them resentful. If Old Madam Cheng also looked after this baby, at least Youliang wouldn’t feel guilty—everyone would be treated the same.

Shu Yue, awakened by the argument, sat up and looked through the window. She saw Cheng Youliang holding his grandson—she couldn’t remember the boy’s formal name, only the cheap nickname they’d given him: Gouzi (“Puppy”), supposedly to make him hardy. He looked thin and quiet now, but… she knew he was born rotten to the core.

In her previous life, when Shu Yue found her own son drowning by the river, she caught a glimpse of this very Gouzi nearby. At the time she didn’t think much—she was focused on saving her child. Later she even asked Huang Fang to check if Gouzi had been involved, but Huang Fang brushed it off without caring.

Back then Shu Yue didn’t understand why. Now she knew—because Huang Fang’s son wasn’t her real child. Of course she wouldn’t care how he died.

It wasn’t until after her son’s death that Shu Yue overheard Gouzi bragging by the river, describing in detail how he pushed someone into the water, how he watched him thrash, then slowly sink. Hearing such words from a child’s mouth was chilling and infuriating.

Shu Yue had beaten him soundly with a bamboo switch until he howled and ran home crying to complain.

Cheng Youliang and his wife were furious that their grandson had been punished and stormed over to confront Shu Yue. But that was the first time Shu Yue fought like a shrew, jabbing her finger at their noses and cursing them in public. She repeated Gouzi’s words aloud for everyone to hear.

The villagers shook their heads, unable to believe such malice from such a young child. A cousin—your own blood—watching him drown without lifting a finger? It was worse than an animal.

Seeing the boy’s guilty face, Youliang couldn’t deny it. Shu Yue wasn’t lying—his grandson really had done something terrible.

Shu Yue thought at least Huang Fang would demand justice for her son now that the culprit was known. But instead Huang Fang only sighed and said, “It’s fate.” And that was the end of it.

In her past life, Shu Yue had thought Huang Fang was simply paralyzed by grief. Now she understood: the dead boy wasn’t Huang Fang’s child at all—why would she grieve?