"I’m not going, I’m not going." Xu Minchang clung to Old Madam’s hand, crying as if his mother had died: "Grandma, I don’t want to go." "How can you not go?" Mrs. Feng moved forward to pull Xu Minchang away, but Old Madam slapped her hand away. Dıscover more novels at N0v3l.Fiɾe.net "My dear grandson, tell Grandma, why don’t you want to go?" Old Madam squatted down, patiently coaxing Xu Minchang. Xu Minchang cried even harder: "I don’t want to go to Grandma’s house. Every time I go there, they take off my nice clothes and don’t give me anything to eat. When Mom brings nice things over, they eat it themselves and won’t let me and Mom eat, and they also make me and Mom do chores. Mom has to wash clothes for my uncle’s family, and I have to help clean the yard. Their place is so dirty. I don’t want to go, I don’t want to work, I don’t want to go hungry." Old Madam’s gaze changed. A fierce light flashed in her eyes as she coldly asked Mrs. Feng, "Is it true?" Mrs. Feng stuttered and did not respond. Old Madam then asked Xu Minruo: "Eldest daughter, is it true?" Under Mrs. Feng’s deadly gaze, Xu Minruo still nodded: "Grandma, everything my brother said is true. If I go, not only will my grandmother make me work, but she will also discuss with my mom about which family to marry me into and how much dowry they can get." Upon hearing Xu Minruo’s words, Lan whispered to Anning, "Mom, how can the second aunt be like that? Luckily, I am your daughter; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to bear it." Anning smiled down at Lan: "Your second aunt is foolish. Just watch, she will eventually be forsaken by everyone." "Mrs. Feng." Old Madam roared and slapped away Mrs. Feng, who was still trying to pull Xu Minchang, then pulled both Xu Minchang and Xu Minruo behind her: "Your Feng Family is really something, daring to mistreat my grandchildren, how very bold." "Mom, isn’t it normal for children to do some chores at their grandparent’s home?" Mrs. Feng felt wronged, believing it was normal for children to work at their grandparent’s house. After all, which children didn’t work? Old Madam was so angry she wished she could strike this fool: "Work? Why should they work for the Feng Family? Did they eat a single grain of the Feng Family’s rice? Did they wear a single inch of the Feng Family’s cloth? With nothing given, they still expect my Xu Family’s people to work for them. How wonderful that must be! Mrs. Feng, let me tell you, from today onwards, my Xu Family won’t set foot in the Feng Family’s door. If you want to go back to your family, go alone; my sons and grandsons won’t accompany you." "Mom, you can’t do this." Mrs. Feng began to cry: "If my husband and children don’t accompany me, how embarrassed would I be? What would I say if my mother asks?" "What would you say?" Anning actually laughed, stepped forward, and mockingly said to Mrs. Feng: "Just say the children are growing and need to eat well, but going to the Fengs’ they won’t have food. Perhaps the Fengs are too poor to even feed their grandchildren, so it’s better not to go, and it might save the Fengs a few grains of rice, right?" Mrs. Feng looked up, resentfully glaring at Anning. Anning was not afraid of her and, smiling, rubbed her wrist: "What are you looking at? Keep staring and I’ll gouge out your Bead." Mrs. Feng jumped in fright and hurriedly retreated several steps. Old Madam actually liked Anning’s assertiveness. "Your elder sister-in-law is right. If they want to starve people from our Xu Family, why should we go? We simply won’t go." After saying this, Old Madam warned Xu Zhiyong: "Second son, if you dare go, don’t acknowledge me as your mother; and I’ll not acknowledge you as my son." Xu Zhiyong dared not go against Old Madam, quickly answered obediently: "I won’t go. I’ll listen to Mom." Actually, Xu Zhiyong was quite angry himself. Every parent adores their own child, and Xu Zhiyong, who was fond of children, had not known before about his son being stripped of clothes at the Feng Family. Sometimes when Xu Minchang went to the Feng Family, he would come back in different clothes. If Xu Zhiyong asked about it, Mrs. Feng would always claim that Xu Minchang had dirtied his clothes by playing too much, so he had to wear the Feng Family children’s clothes back home. Xu Zhiyong actually believed it was true and didn’t meddle further in the matter. Little did he know, it wasn’t the case at all; Xu Minchang’s clothes had been taken away by the Fengs. Thinking of these matters, Xu Zhiyong was also very furious. He worked hard to earn money to buy clothes for his son, why should it be given away to the Fengs? Moreover, his own daughter Daya was both clever and sensible, and he had plans for his mother and elder sister-in-law to help find a suitable family for her to marry into. Who could have imagined the Fengs would meddle in Daya’s matrimonial affairs, with that bunch of riffraff from the Feng Family? If they were allowed to interfere, they would certainly ruin Daya’s future. Even for the sake of his children, Xu Zhiyong would not indulge Mrs. Feng. Seeing that Xu Zhiyong indicated he would no longer visit the Feng Family, Mrs. Feng, having no choice, left in tears. She had only walked a few steps when Anning chased after her, snatched away the things she was bringing, and said, "Our Xu Family isn’t visiting anymore, so what right do you have to take our things? I’m telling you, Mrs. Feng, go if you wish to go, but you’re not allowed to bring anything with you. If your mother is willing to give you a meal, then eat. If she doesn’t, then go hungry. If you starve to death, it’s your own fault." Old Madam laughed, "That’s right. What the Eldest Son’s Wife said is correct. Mrs. Feng, from now on, you’re not allowed to bring anything to your maternal home. If you dare to send things to the Feng Family again, I will allow your brother-in-law to divorce you." Mrs. Feng was terrified, "I, you can’t divorce me, if I get divorced, I’ll, I’ll just die at your doorstep." Anning sneered, "Not being divorced is fine too. If you dare to do something untoward again, dying of illness is also an option. At that time, we’ll find a new wife for your brother-in-law, someone thousands of times better than you. They will be loving, and in a few years’ time, who will even remember who you were?" "I don’t want that, I don’t want that." Mrs. Feng looked at Xu Zhiyong pleadingly. But Xu Zhiyong deliberately avoided looking at her, clearly heartbroken. Mrs. Feng’s heart sank to the bottom, as she left the Xu Family empty-handedly, sobbing. Anning then called Xu Minruo and Xu Minchang over to eat. During the meal, Anning also said to the children, "Your mother’s heart was beguiled by her own mother, and she won’t wake up unless we speak harshly." Xu Minruo replied softly. Xu Minchang, however, was quite happy, "She deserves it, she stole my things to give to the Feng Family, all of my things were earned by my dad, why should they go to the Fengs? If she keeps this up, I’ll stop recognizing her as my mother." Xu Minruo shot Xu Minchang a glance, and he made a face at her, "Elder sister, she’s really bad. Last time when I went to our maternal grandparents’ place, I secretly heard her talking with grandmother. They were saying that you’ve grown up nicely and could be worth a lot of money. Grandmother even told her to find a noble family for you to be a concubine, claiming it would help support the family. They said that once you get your monthly salary, grandmother and she would split it." With a clink, Xu Minruo’s chopsticks fell to the ground. She sat there stunned, her face had turned deathly pale. Anning smacked her chopsticks onto the table and asked Xu Minchang, "Did they really say that?" Xu Minchang blinked, "Yeah, I’m not lying." The child Xu Minchang might be naive and only cared about playing, but he was not malicious, and he had a bit of Xu Zhiyong’s honest nature; he didn’t lie, especially in front of his closest kin. He always told the truth even when faced with punishment. "She’s trying to ruin our entire family." Anning was so angry her teeth chattered, "If anyone in our Xu Family becomes a concubine, then our descendants won’t be able to pursue any official careers." Old Father also thought of this and his face immediately darkened. He turned to Xu Zhiyong, "Second son, we can’t keep this woman in our Xu Family." Xu Zhiyong said resolutely, "I’ll listen to father."