Wang Shaoyi and Wang Dazhu launched into a discussion about their baby cousin.
Meanwhile, her mother was busy feeding the group.
Xia Youmi was nestled in the arms of another little cousin, playing with Da Huang the dog.
This dog was especially clever—sometimes even capable of guarding the little one on its own.
One time, while Xia Youmi was asleep alone, she accidentally rolled off the bed after turning over twice in her sleep. The bed wasn't high, and she was bundled up thickly.
But Da Huang didn't understand that.
It just sensed danger.
It immediately bolted from the house, ran out to the fields to fetch her mother, and after confirming that her mother was rushing home, it even went to alert their uncle at the Wang household.
In the end,
Da Huang arrived with a whole crowd of uncles, cousins, and its own siblings.
The scene had been spectacular.
Xia Youmi, the old soul in a baby's body, had been absolutely mortified.
Afterwards, Da Huang was rewarded with a rare lamb bone in recognition of its bravery.
In this clan, dogs were considered indispensable companions—every household in the Wang family raised them.
In the past, maybe they were just for guarding homes.
But ever since Xia Youmi's father, Xia Li, joined the extended family, he had been selecting and training promising dogs.
These dogs could hunt with him, eat meat and bones, and even follow verbal commands.
Their puppies were raised and trained. Once their temperaments were stable, they were given to different family members.
Most of them were treated well and lived out their natural lives. A few passed due to accidents.
But anyone who dared mistreat a Wang family dog would be cursed and beaten by the whole village.
Xia Li had served in the military for over twenty years.
In the past seven or eight years, he'd rarely been home.
Da Huang's mother, Wang Dahei, was one of the last dogs personally trained by Xia Li.
At eight years old, she gave birth to Da Huang and its three siblings. After weaning, and with approval from their uncle and little cousin Wang Shaoyan (who adored dogs), Da Huang was sent to this home.
They say its birthday was not far from Xia Youmi's.
By midday,
the two cousins and their friend Dazhu finally stood up to go home.
In a corner of the house, where their mother wasn't looking, cousin Wang Shaoyi cheekily grabbed a handful of Xia Youmi's chubby cheeks like a monkey—
Then pretended to say a proper goodbye:
"Ah-Mi, we're leaving now. We'll come see you next time!"
Little cousin Wang Shaoyan looked disapproving.
And when silly Wang Dazhu tried to copy Shaoyi and go for her face too, Shaoyan slapped his hand away.
"Hee hee."
Xia Youmi just showed her teeth in a grin.
Soon after they left, her mother brought out today's baby food—a bowl of millet porridge.
It smelled sweet and fragrant—likely sweetened with sugarcane gifted by her aunts.
Mother and daughter exchanged a glance.
Xia Youmi inwardly praised:
Mom's cooking is amazing! Heaven hasn't treated me badly after all!
Wang Xiu looked down at her daughter with loving eyes, thinking sweetly to herself:
The heavens gifted me a pearl! I will repay this kindness!
Those little boys were right—my daughter truly is a fairy come down to earth!
After a satisfying meal, Xia Youmi drifted off to sleep again.
She didn't think much about the morning's chatter.
But here's what had happened:
Silly Dazhu had a neighbor whose newborn daughter cried endlessly—even keeping him from sleeping at night.
He was miserable.
He visited a few times out of curiosity. The baby girl was tiny and red-faced. Though she was cute, she cried like a monkey—and with such surprising strength, too.
So—
Wang Dazhu assumed all baby girls were loud, monkey-like criers.
Then, when he saw his famously monkey-like (and energetic) cousin Shaoyi, he couldn't wait to share his theory.
He even asked him to keep an eye on his "monkey sister" to stop her from crying.
Outrageous!
The two cousins, who doted on Xia Youmi like sugar, were instantly triggered.
They had watched their little cousin grow up from birth—a snow-white, jade-like precious pearl.
She never cried or fussed. When hungry, she'd hum softly, and when teased, she'd smile.
Sometimes, she'd grasp their thumbs in trust—and even the coldest heart would melt.
Unfortunately, words alone couldn't prove anything. And the scarred-for-life Dazhu wasn't convinced.
So they arranged a visit the day after her first birthday, to show him in person.
That fool even told his family and brought wild veggies and eggs as a gift.
For an unrelated kid to bring gifts meant their family wasn't short on food.
In the end, the kids all returned home fully satisfied.
Xia Youmi hadn't paid attention to any of this.
But her mother, Wang Xiu, had taken it seriously.
The children's reactions confirmed her suspicions.
She had even gone to check on several other newborn girls in the village.
Sure enough…
Xia Youmi thought she was doing a great job pretending to be a baby.
In reality,
her mother and aunts had already noticed something was off.
She just wasn't convincing enough.
The biggest bug was that Xia Youmi had never actually interacted with real babies!
She'd never had kids, and was too young to remember when her brother was born.
As an adult, she'd barely had close contact with infants—only glimpses at most.
After she was born, she never cried.
Except for a few accidents, she always tried to signal the adults first.
She responded directly to teasing, accepted weaning with no fuss, and even wanted solid food early.
On the surface, these behaviors weren't outrageous—
But to experienced parents, they were not normal.
They all silently agreed to keep this to themselves, and avoided letting anyone outside the two families interact with her.
In private, Wang Xiu discussed it with her brothers. They believed she was a deity reborn into their family.
Here to experience tribulation. Here to help them.
Her aunts recalled how clear and pure Xia Youmi's eyes always looked when they held her—and nodded in agreement.
Although Wang Dazhu's visit had been unexpected today…
A baby past one year showing a bit of cleverness wasn't too suspicious anymore.
So they finally relaxed and began socializing again.
Especially those who loved to brag about the Wang family—they'd use any excuse to carry her around.
Xia Youmi was miserable.
As soon as she could walk—and later run—
She was determined to become a girl who flew like the wind.
Da Huang was also extremely clingy.
So Xia Youmi simply took both her own dog and her uncles' dogs and ran wild through the village.
As she got older, she began training in martial arts with her Wang cousins under Uncle Qing.
From learning low horse stances to performing forward and backward rolls—
From scaring her mom to making the clan proud.
Even the village kids, who'd learned some basics themselves, couldn't compare to the fierce little lady from the Xia family!
What kind of girl fights… with a pack of dogs?!
One by one, they all submitted and respectfully called her "Boss" whenever she showed up.
Her two cousins were proud but didn't dare compete for the title.
They had long started attending school and only returned home on holidays.
When they were in the village, each had their own responsibilities.
They were the last two boys in their respective branches—and bore heavy burdens. They were both only permitted to follow the path of civil service and the imperial exam system.
No more lives could be lost on the battlefield.
Author's note:
The early chapters are a bit slow-paced. The story will speed up later.