Chapter 5 – Fierce Protector of Her Children

After Uncle Yan passed away, the Lü family didn’t sever ties with the Yan family. But after all, Yan Fengru and her siblings were merely his nieces and nephews, not his own children, so the Lü family couldn’t possibly support them entirely.

Later, when Yan Fengru became a maid, she sent her monthly wages home, and that helped the half-grown children of the Yan family survive and even live decently.

One year during Qingming Festival, Lü Hongzhuo followed his father to the countryside to pay respects at Uncle Yan’s grave. There, he accidentally encountered Yan Fengjiao.

Unlike Yan Fengru’s sharp phoenix eyes and slightly assertive looks, Yan Fengjiao had a standard oval-shaped face, a pair of watery almond eyes, and a fiery, peppery temper. That combination instantly captivated Lü Hongzhuo’s entire attention.

Seeing that his son had taken a liking to the niece of his friend and benefactor, Old Master Lü was naturally delighted. This way, the Lü family could righteously take care of the descendants of his sworn brother’s older brother—what could be better?

Their family had risen from humble farming roots, so Old Master Lü didn’t look down on the Yan family in the slightest.

It was his wife, Madam Sun, who had some opinions. As a mother, she felt that no woman was good enough for her son—nothing less than a celestial fairy would do.

Fortunately, Yan Fengjiao proved herself. As soon as she entered the Lü household, she gave birth to twin grandsons, thus securing her place firmly in the family.

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“I-I saw the loquats on the tree looked really good. I heard from the villagers that loquat syrup helps with coughs. Huiya said I was an elder, so she insisted I pick them for her to eat. So… so I just…”

That was truly what the original little girl had said from the bottom of her heart. As Yan Fengru listened, she almost shed tears.

Not long ago, her son Gu Qingbai had fallen into the water. Yan Fengru had tended to him day and night without rest. Because her full attention was on her son, she neglected herself and caught a cold.

Who would’ve thought that just a few coughs would catch the attention of her five-year-old daughter?

As for what her daughter said about being an elder—how that little brat from Gu Caihe’s household forced her daughter to pick loquats—Yan Fengru didn’t see it that way at all. That little brat, still so young, already dared to order her daughter around? Who gave her the audacity?

It must’ve been taught by that white-eyed wolf Gu Caihe! She had married into the Gu family and served them like a beast of burden, and now they wanted her daughter to serve their daughter too? Did she even deserve it?

Yan Fengru couldn’t be blamed for thinking this way. In this family, the person who most disliked her and her children was none other than Gu Caihe.

That little brat was full of nasty tricks and spoiled by her brother Gu Qingshan, to the point that she could get away with anything.

When Yan Fengru married into the family, Gu Qingshan was already fifteen. He had acted like a defensive wolf cub, fearing that his stepmother would bully him and his sister. But Yan Fengru hadn’t fussed with them, and yet Gu Qingshan still spoiled Gu Caihe rotten.

That brat had no sense of propriety, and even now, as a mother herself, she still refused to behave.

No! This matter couldn’t be let go! Yan Fengru had to seek justice for her daughter, Zhu’er.

“Zhu’er, be good. Mama’s fine. Mama’s cough is already gone. You remember this—no matter who tells you to climb trees again, you’re not to do it. Who does she think she is? She’s not worthy of you picking fruit for her to eat!”

Yan Fengru didn’t like Gu Caihe. She thought the girl was spoiled and crooked. Of course, Gu Caihe and her brother also didn’t like this stepmother.

As a result, Yan Fengru didn’t like Gu Changwen and Han Hui either—the two grandchildren from her husband’s previous marriage with whom she shared no blood ties.

However, no matter how much she disliked her stepchildren, Yan Fengru had never spoken ill of them in front of her own children.

Yan Fengru considered herself a reasonable person. Adult grudges shouldn’t be passed on to the younger generation.

After all, those were children left behind by her husband’s first wife. Whether she liked them or not was one thing, but her own two kids still shared the same blood with them—breaking bones still left sinew attached. There was no need to turn things into a feud where they’d never speak again.

But now, both Gu Qingbai and Gu Yuzhu had encountered trouble, and both incidents were related to those two brats. That had crossed Yan Fengru’s bottom line.

A mother could endure hardships herself, but if her children were hurt, she would immediately turn into a protective mother hen, ready to peck the culprits to death!

Gu Yuzhu nodded obediently. A five-year-old’s memory wasn’t very complete—fragmented and patchy—but what she remembered most clearly were the little moments in daily life.

Now she had a mother who truly loved her. A child with a mother was truly a treasure. Gu Yuzhu thought silently to herself, feeling a bit sleepy…

After learning the real reason her daughter had fallen from the tree, Yan Fengru couldn’t sit still. Once she saw her daughter asleep, she gently covered her with the quilt and, after closing the door, stormed out to confront that white-eyed wolf Gu Caihe.

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Just as Yan Fengru left, Madam Li came out of the house and ran into Gu Dapeng, who had just returned from town with medicine.

“Father, Mother just left in a big hurry. I’m afraid she’s going to cause trouble for Second Sister…” Madam Li put on a concerned expression at just the right moment. “No one wanted little Auntie to fall from the tree, but I heard from Changwen that it was because Huiya wanted to eat loquats and insisted her little aunt climb the tree to pick them. It’s good that the children are close, and I’ve already scolded both of them…”

When Gu Dapeng heard this, he immediately knew that with his wife’s fiercely protective nature, this situation wouldn’t end peacefully.

That brat Huiya—spoiled by that girl Caihe again—what did she need loquats for? She nearly caused his daughter serious harm!

Still, Gu Yuzhu was fine now. What worried Gu Dapeng more was his wife storming off to the Han family to start a fight with his eldest daughter. That would get ugly. So, he set down the packet of medicine and hurried after her.

Madam Li thought it over and decided not to go.

Her stepmother-in-law, Yan Fengru, was formidable, and her younger sister-in-law Gu Caihe wasn’t easy to deal with either. If the two started fighting, she’d be caught in the middle and end up pleasing no one. If anything happened to her baby because of it, she’d regret it endlessly. Better to wait for her husband to come back.

With that, Madam Li turned and went back inside, casually closing the door behind her.

Originally, she was supposed to work in the fields too, but the Gu family’s situation was fairly decent, and since she was pregnant, she was allowed to stay home. Still, once the busy farming season came, she would have to help with some lighter work.

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Gu Caihe was sitting at home when she saw her stepmother coming from afar with a black face and aggressive energy. She was so frightened she quickly shut the door.

At that time, the men were still out in the fields, and only the women were home.

Gu Caihe’s husband, Han Zhengqing, was the eldest in his family, with two younger brothers. The youngest wife, Liu-shi, had only recently married into the family at the beginning of the year. She was young and lively and loved to chat with her two sisters-in-law.

But compared to her eldest sister-in-law, Gu-shi, who was sneaky and loved tattling, Liu-shi preferred the diligent and honest second sister-in-law, Ge-shi.

Now, seeing the fearsome stepmother from her eldest sister-in-law’s maternal family charging over, Liu-shi spoke with a bit of gloating:

“Eldest Sister-in-law, isn’t that your stepmother? What’s going on? Did you upset her again?”

Noticing the schadenfreude in her gaze, Gu Caihe glared at her fiercely. “What’s it to you?”

“But she is your in-law, after all. Mother, don’t you think we should open the door and let her in? Eldest Sister-in-law is really being inappropriate,” Liu-shi said, turning to speak up just as their mother-in-law, Madam Hong, came out of the house.