Yu Xiaolian, carrying a basket, poked her head in and met Yu Zishu's gaze.
Yu Zishu walked out quickly, looking every bit the good older brother, and laughed, "Lian'er, why did you come back so late? I've been waiting for you all morning."
Yu Zishu appeared gentle and elegant, with delicate features. Compared to the other members of the Yu Family, his demeanor made him look nothing like a poor student, but rather like a child from a scholarly family.
At this moment, Yu Zishu was smiling warmly at her, as if they were siblings who hadn't seen each other for a long time.
"Why are you waiting for me?" Yu Xiaolian's tone was indifferent. In the text, after Yu Xiaolian gained power, she focused particularly on tormenting this Yu Zishu, which suggests he wasn't a good person either.
Yu Xiaolian used to be timid and weak, with a very low sense of presence in the Yu Family, and she didn't dare to speak loudly to Yu Zishu.
The current indifferent Yu Xiaolian who looked directly at Yu Zishu made him pause for a moment, but he quickly smiled again and said, "We siblings haven't seen each other for a while. This foolish brother misses his sister very much. Could it be that Sister Lian'er doesn't want to see me?"
"Whether we meet or not, what difference does it make?"
"Look, what's this?" Yu Zishu suddenly took out a red silk flower from his chest and said with a smile, "Do you like it?"
Yu Xiaolian frowned. Usually, her relationship with Yu Zishu wasn't this good. He was being overly attentive for no reason, which was highly suspicious.
Yu Zishu originally thought that giving Yu Xiaolian a silk flower would definitely make her very happy, but unexpectedly, Yu Xiaolian remained expressionless, looking at him without a word.
"Sister Lian'er, why are your clothes so dirty? Go change and freshen up a bit, then put this silk flower on your head so I can see how it looks, okay?"
Yu Zishu said as he handed the silk flower to Yu Xiaolian. Seeing she didn't take it, he placed it in her basket.
Yu Xiaolian, having crawled into a tomb earlier, had gotten her clothes dirty with the ashes of the Mugwort Jiang Lin had burned at the entrance. She nodded slightly at Yu Zishu and walked away.
Strangely, according to Yu Xiaolian's past memories, if Yu Zishu chatted with her for a few more sentences, Mrs. Cao would have already come over to drag him back. Why was she leaving it alone today?
Mrs. Cao didn't manage, nor did the Old Madam Yu. Something was definitely not right.
Just as Yu Xiaolian was about to step into her house, the Old Madam Yu called out to her, "Wretched girl, what's in your basket?"
Yu Xiaolian's heart sank. Looking down, she indeed saw a pheasant's claw sticking out through the gap in the basket.
The Old Madam Yu took a step forward, trying to snatch the basket from Yu Xiaolian, but she held onto it tightly, refusing to let go.
Caught off guard, Yu Xiaolian got struck in the face. In that moment of confusion, the basket was forcefully taken by the strong Old Madam Yu.
The Old Madam Yu threw the wild vegetables on the ground, revealing chickens and rabbits inside, her eyes lighting up.
"Where did you get these? Did you steal them from Jiang the Hunter? Naughty girl, it's bad enough to take one to satisfy a craving, but you stole three! Aren't you afraid of overeating?"
After scolding, the Old Madam Yu glanced around and then whispered to Yu Changfu, "Eldest, stop killing your own. We have ready-to-eat chickens and rabbits here, no need to kill our own. Let them go."
Yu Changfu had already placed the knife on the chicken's neck, just about to give it a cut. Hearing the Old Madam Yu's words, he immediately released it, and the chicken ran away frantically.
The Old Madam Yu handed the basket to Yu Changfu, whispering, "Take it to the kitchen, be careful not to let anyone see."
Yu Changfu took the basket, giving Yu Xiaolian a surprised look, seemingly not expecting her to dare steal.
With her face still stinging from the slap, Yu Xiaolian, though reluctant to hand over the wild game just like that, knew she couldn't resist directly as she was just a ten-year-old child facing a group of people. In a real fight, she would certainly suffer.
"Help! Someone's robbing! There are bandits stealing my stuff. Help!" Yu Xiaolian shouted at the top of her lungs.
The Old Madam Yu's face changed, stepping forward to cover Yu Xiaolian's mouth.
Yu Xiaolian ran as she yelled, "There are bandits in the village! Help! Someone, help!"
"You wretched girl, shut up. You stole from Jiang the Hunter, and you still dare to shout? Be careful, Jiang the Hunter will break your legs."
The Old Madam Yu wanted to catch Yu Xiaolian and give her a harsh punishment, but Yu Xiaolian, running like a rabbit, was too fast for her to catch, leaving the Old Madam Yu panting heavily.
Yu Xiaolian's loud shouting led the neighbors to think there really were bandits in the village, causing them to come out with their stuff.
Sun, who was working at the Zhao Family, hurried back, and soon enough, the Yu Family courtyard was surrounded by quite a crowd.
"What's going on? What's happened?" Sun, upon entering the courtyard, shielded Yu Xiaolian behind her.
Seeing so many people, the Old Madam Yu quickly changed her tune, wailing as she slapped her thigh, "Oh, what a misfortune to have such a disobedient girl, stealing from Jiang the Hunter at such a young age, stealing three of his catches, even.
I told her to return them, but she wouldn't listen. I got angry and wanted to beat her, and she started making noise, calling me a bandit and an evil person. Ah, it's hard to be a good person!"
Yu Xiaolian was genuinely surprised that the Old Madam Yu dared to twist the truth, and she loudly retorted, "You're clearly trying to take my wild game and shamelessly claiming you'd return it to Jiang the Hunter. Not only are you disrespectful as an elder, but you're also greedy for money, trying to rob me of my things and then even wanting to frame me."
The Old Madam Yu glared at Yu Xiaolian, "What do you mean, your things? Did you catch this game yourself?
How obvious it is that these are Jiang the Hunter's trapped game. You stole things and still won't admit your mistake? Watch out, I'll beat you to death today."
The Old Madam Yu's eyes shifted as she picked up a willow branch Yu Changhe used for basket weaving, intending to lash Yu Xiaolian.
Sun shielded Yu Xiaolian behind her, "Mother-in-law, let's get to the bottom of this before any hitting."
The Old Madam Yu had already raised the willow branch high, but she didn't want to earn the bad name of hitting a daughter-in-law in public, so she lowered her hand and scolded, "This wretched girl cursed your Brother Kuang to death. You foolish woman, still shielding her. I hope she curses you all to death sooner or later."
Hearing the mention of Brother Kuang, Sun immediately began to tear up.
Yu Xiaolian was about to say something when she heard Sun, almost frantically, cry out to the Old Madam Yu, "If you hadn't stopped us from taking him to the doctor, my Brother Kuang wouldn't have died."
The Old Madam Yu felt guilty. At that time, Yu Zikuang was just barely two years old, and she hadn't expected a mere cold would take his life.
Although she stopped the couple from taking Yu Zikuang to town to save money, they still called the village barefoot doctor. It didn't cost much, but at least treatment was attempted.
The Old Madam Yu pointed at Sun warningly, "Don't talk nonsense. I did get Brother Kuang a doctor. Do you see other families taking their kids to the Great Medical Hall in town over a minor illness? They usually get through it by boiling Qianghuo Grass in the village. It's just that your son was delicate. I think this adopted wretched girl took away Brother Kuang's luck; she's the one who cursed him."