First Assistant's Petite Wife Has Space

by Usui Takumii

not mine, readwn dot org. Total: 349 chapters and ongoing.

1. 00 to 15

FIRST ASSISTANT'S PETITE WIFE HAS SPACE

SUMMARY

In the 21st century, a female military doctor, Lu Jiao, transmigrated into a novel and became the vicious mother of four little villains and the wife of the future First Assistant. In the novel, the four little ones would grow up into villains who committed all kinds of crimes and killed people without batting an eye. Eventually, they would end up getting killed by the male and female protagonists. To avenge his sons, the First Assistant would transform into the final boss and die after committing many sins. Lu Jiao looked at the four little ones who were only up to her knees, then looked at the bedridden First Assistant. Forget it, she would do a good deed by educating these children properly and giving the First Assistant medical treatment while she was there. What she didn't expect was that the four little villains and the future First Assistant would want nothing more than to send her to her death. They attempted to strangle her in the middle of the night, use broken pieces of porcelain to slice her arteries, and poison her food. Lu Jiao was furious. "I'm not doing this anymore. If you want to become villains, go ahead." However, the four little ones now refused to let her go. "Mummy, please don't go. We'll be obedient from now on."

Get the Hell Out

"Why isn't she moving?"

"Could it be that she's dead?"

"She deserves to die. Nobody will hit us anymore once she's dead!"

Lu Jiao heard those boastful whispers before she could get her eyes to open.

She slowly opened her eyes and saw the little fellas who spoke beside her. These young boys appeared jaundiced and skinny without an inch of fat on their bodies. They almost looked like baby chickens.

Before Lu Jiao could speak, the four little brats realized that she had awakened and their expressions changed. The four of them snapped their bodies around and ran away. As they dashed, they screamed.

"She's awake!"

"She's going to hit me!"

"Daddy, help!"

"We didn't steal her eggs!"

Confused, Lu Jiao watched the boys run away. She then glanced at her surroundings.

She found herself in a dilapidated and mottled courtyard. In the center of the courtyard were three cracked-up mudbrick shacks. Hay was used to cover up these rooms and acted as roofs. To the east of the main building were two more cracked-up clay buildings. Other than these few rooms, there was nothing else in the courtyard. Its barren state made it appear especially desolated.

Where was she? Shouldn't she be dead?

As a female military doctor from the 21st century, she was on her way to rescue a team of soldiers when she was struck by the enemy's grenade. Matter of factly, there was no way she could still be alive.

As Lu Jiao searched her brain, a flood of memories overwhelmed her head. Very quickly, she realized what had happened to her.

She had transmigrated. She had transmigrated to the Xie Village, Qili Town within the Qinghe District in the Great Zhou Empire. She was the scholar, Xie Yunjin's wife, Lu Jiao.

This person, Lu Jiao, was quite a character. Not only was she vile in the way she spoke, but she was also very violent. She hit people and cursed at people – even her own quadruplet boys could not escape her viciousness. The four little boys were frequently beaten up by her and thus were terrified of her.

This morning, Lu Jiao got up and boiled two eggs. Since they were too hot, she didn't get to eat them. Instead, she went to the washroom and when she returned, the eggs were gone.

She was certain that her sons had stolen her eggs so she picked up a stick and started to strike the boys. However, she applied too much strength, lost her balance, and slipped. When she fell, her head hit a rock and she died – this allowed the transmigration to happen.

Lu Jiao was speechless as she raised an eyebrow. Then, she struggled to pick herself off of the ground. The fat on her body quivered. The simple movement of getting off the ground somehow managed to tire her out and make her sweat.

With a dark face, Lu Jiao looked down at her chubby self. She felt a wave of pity compared to those four skeleton boys who didn't have the slightest fat on them.

Due to the blood loss, she felt dizzy and decided to go back to her room to rest up first.

Just as she stepped into the old and broken mudbrick home, she heard voices croak from the east bedroom.

"Daddy, we didn't eat her eggs."

"Yeah, I didn't steal anything. Daddy, you taught us that if we take something without informing the owner, we'd be thieves. We don't want to be thieves."

"But she didn't believe us and blamed us for taking her eggs. She picked up a stick and hit us."

The noises in the east room intensified. These cries weren't like regular children's loud cries. They sounded more like suppressed and wronged squawks. The sound of it was hard to bear for anyone who heard it.

Lu Jiao subconsciously walked towards the east bedroom. The moment she peeked in, however, the four little boys silenced themselves. Their jaundiced faces turned pale as they ducked toward the head of the bed. It appeared that they wanted to somehow crawl into the wall.

Lu Jiao was about to speak when someone on the bed opened their mouth, "Lu Jiao, you think that because I am now paralyzed, I can no longer deal with you? Is that why your old habits came back?"

Lu Jiao looked over to the bed and lost herself as she stared at the man.

There was a slender man on the old and broken bed. Though slender, his features were delicately beautiful. His hair was dark like ink and his skin was smooth like jade. The coldness he carried on his brows was threateningly handsome.

Though he was gravely injured, he didn't appear at all depleted.

The only issue was the bone-deep bitterness that reflected out of his deep and dark pupils. He stared at Lu Jiao with such coldness.

If he was able to move, Lu Jiao had no doubt in her mind that he would snap her neck.

On the bed, Xie Yunjin noticed that Lu Jiao hadn't moved. Exasperated and disgusted, he spoke again, "I had demanded that you stop beating them. Didn't you hear me?"

Lu Jiao heard him and automatically wanted to explain herself, "I..?"

Before she could speak, however, there was the sound of footsteps at the door. Before the person entered, a caring voice was heard first.

"Third little brother, how are you feeling today? Are you better?"

Everyone in the room looked over at the person who just entered. He was dark and thin, with a hunchback. Though he wasn't yet 30, he looked as old as someone in their 40s.

This was Xie Yunjin's second eldest brother, Xie Erzhu.

Three days ago, Xie Yunjin got injured after he was stomped on by a horse carriage while in town. His parents, Xie Laogen and Xie Laotai, reacted fast and hired a doctor from Baohe Tang to look after Xie Junjie.

The initial prognosis was that due to the graveness of the injury, a lot of money was required to treat Xie Junjie. However, even after treatment, he may become disabled and would have to spend the rest of his life paralyzed in bed.

Xie Laogen and Xie Laotai's faces dropped upon those words. They then started to discuss whether or not they should pay for treatment. Was there a point to treatment? Plus, with Xie Junjie paralyzed, who would take care of him and his family?

Xie Laogen and Xie Laotai birthed four sons and one daughter. Xie Yunjin was their third child. Xie Laogen liked his eldest son the best while Xia Laotai favored the youngest pair of twins.

Xie Yunjin and his second brother were never their parents' favorites.

However, when Xie Yunjin was eight, his tutor hired from town discovered him to be extremely intelligent. The tutor went to his family and managed to convince Xie Laogen and Xie Laotai to send Xie Yunjin to school.

He performed shockingly well at school. First, he was chosen as the top pupil, then later, the scholar.

He was the only educated member of the Xie family over the last several decades. The village where the Xie family lived was extremely proud of him. Xie Laogen and Xie Laotai became respected because of him and therefore started to treat him well. Who knew that the sudden accident and grave injury would once again knock him into the abyss.

In the end, the Xie family discussed and decided to move Xie Yunjin's family out. They gave Xie Yunjin five taels of silver for treatment. Whether the treatment would turn out to be a success or failure, they would accept that as his fate.

Xie Yunjin's wife didn't agree to this. However, the Xie family didn't care about her opinion. They moved them into the old house anyway.

She was angry and refused to spend any money on Xie Yunjin's treatment. In the end, it was Xie Erzhu who took out the money Xie Yunjin gave him as support from before. He bought medicine from Baohe Tang and snuck into the mountains to brew it. Only after he fed Xie Yunjin that medicine, did Xie Yunjin manage to survive.

On the bed, Xie Yunjin heard Xie Erzhu's words, and his brows softened somewhat.

"Second brother, I am much better."

Xie Erzhu sighed in relief and rushed to his bedside, "Third little brother, drink up the medicine. Later, I will change the medicinal gel on you."

Lu Jiao was tempted to ask if they needed help.

Before she could ask, however, Xie Yunjin snapped his head around. The look in his eyes was cold like icicles that formed over nine different winters, "Get the hell out."

Chastise the White Lotus

Lu Jiao's eyes darkened. She played with her fingers and then turned to leave. It wasn't the right time to say anything so it would be better to stay quiet.

Plus, the entire family hasn't eaten all morning. It would be better for her to check out the kitchen and make some food.

She then walked towards the kitchen in giant leaps.

There was quite some stuff in the kitchen. Other than the food the Xie family gave them when they were forced out, which included 50kg of brown rice and 25kg of cornflour, Lu Jiao's own family dropped off 2kg of white rice, eggs, and sugar. The glutinous rice and soybeans were all gifts from the villagers.

Ah, there was also a hen in the corner. This hen was stolen by the original Lu Jiao from the Xie family when they were moved out.

Back then, the eldest daughter-in-law, Chen Liu, rushed out to take it back, but Xie Laogen stopped her.

Lu Jiao scanned around the kitchen and immediately came up with an idea. She made porridge with the rice, then took three eggs and made savory crepes with the cornflour.

By the time she was done, she had sweated from exhaustion. She very much wanted to sit on the ground and rest.

However, she thought about the four starved brats and the paralyzed Xie Yunjin, accepted her fate, and wiped the sweat off her face. She walked towards the east bedroom.

Before she could enter, she first heard some soft and weak voices.

"Third brother Xie, you must be hungry. I made this porridge, especially for you. Hurry and have a bowl. Or else your body will get too weak."

Lu Jiao listened to these soft and tactful words. Subconsciously, she stood by the door and peered inside to see who it was.

Other than Xie Yunjin, Xie Erzhu, and the four little boys, there was now a delicate-looking woman in the room. She was slender and she wore a long white dress with a tied-up band as the belt. This cinched her waist and made her outline appear like a skinny willow tree branch. Her silhouette from the back alone left a lot of room for imagination.

Lu Jiao stared at her and quickly dug her out of her memories. This woman was one of the villagers from the Xie village. Her name was Shen Xiu.

The rumor was that Shen Xiu and Xie Yunjin were childhood friends who had always liked each other. If it weren't for Lu Jiao's interference, Shen Xiu most likely would've married Xie Yunjin.

Due to this rumor, the original Lu Jiao got into a huge fight with Xie Yunjin. Only when Xie Yunjin made it clear that he did not intend to marry Shen Xiu, did she let this go.

After Shen Xiu learned that there was no hope of marrying Xie Yunjin, Shen Xiu's family arranged for her to marry someone else. Sadly, after four years of marriage, her husband passed away and she became a widow with a daughter.

The Su Clan thought that the widow was easy to take advantage of and so they kicked her and her daughter out. These days, Shen Xiu lived with her own family, which wasn't far from here.

Lu Jiao was lost in her own thoughts when Xie Yunjin's crips and weakened voice arose, "I don't need it. Take it back."

Xie Yunjin's words flustered Shen Xiu, who quickly argued, "Third brother Xie, how can you not eat?"

Beside the bed, Xie Erzhu, who had changed the medicinal gel on Xie Yunjin, glanced at Shen Xiu, "I will cook for my brother in a bit. You should take that with you and go home."

Shen Xiu was a widow. How could a young widow go to someone else's home and act attentive? Third brother was an honorable scholar. Nobody had the right to ruin his reputation.

Shen Xiu was about to argue more when Lu Jiao walked in. Furious, she stared at Shen Xiu, "Why are you in my home?"

Lu Jiao didn't want to come in originally. But the entire family hasn't eaten since morning. She, herself was hungry so the four young boys must be too.

In order to stay true to her character, Lu Jiao got angry at Shen Xiu right away. She thought this reaction made sense given the original host's personality.

Those words made Shen Xiu speak unkindly, "I came over to bring food for my third brother. He's wounded badly and he has to eat."

Lu Jiao's face turned devious as she continued to gawk at Shen Xiu. She yelled angrily, "That's none of your business. You're a widow whose husband died so you run around to other people's homes? Are you still thinking of seducing my husband?"

Shen Xiu's eyes turned red after she heard Lu Jiao's words. She then glanced over to Xie Yunjin and started to cry.

"Third brother Xie, how can she accuse me so? I simply cannot bear the thought of you going hungry."

Those sporadic sobs could invite pity from anyone.

If this was any other man, they may grow to pity her. However, the person she faced was the cold-hearted Xie Yunjin.

Xie Yunjin's brows didn't even flinch as he muttered, "Take your stuff and go home."

Shen Xiu wanted to say more but Lu Jiao started to curse, "You want me to drag you out? If you aren't going to be embarrassed, I'd be happy to drag you out."

She then started to roll up her sleeve. Shen Xiu's face turned white. Though she was a widow, she still needed to save her face. Before Lu Jiao could act, Shen Xiu picked up her basket and left.

Afterward, Xie Yunjin didn't acknowledge Shen Xiu and simply looked at Lu Jiao with disgust, "Get out."

Lu Jiao was somewhat angry to hear that. However, when she remembered all the sins the original host committed, she endured. Instead, she peered at Xie Yunjin and said, "I made porridge and egg crepes. Should I bring some in here for you?"

Her words made everyone in the room look over and stare at her. Xie Yunjin's face was so cloudy that raindrops might fall from it. His voice was cold, "What trick are you playing now?"

Then, a bloody and hostile air engulfed his gaze. The most tragic event in his life was when he met this woman. She was like a demon who clawed onto him.

Ever since he married her, she would find all sorts of irrational ways to bother him. He originally thought that after she had four kids, he would shift her focus onto the kids and the family would live in harmony.

Who knew that after giving birth, this woman's behavior worsened. Not only did she strike other people's kids, but she also hit and cursed at her own.

Three days ago, he was so worried that this woman would beat the children while he was away, that he rushed his way home and was hit by the horse carriage. This was the reason why he was gravely injured.

If he wasn't so worried about his children, he wouldn't have gotten so hurt. He may never stand up again in this lifetime.

That thought brewed bloody intent in him and it surged in his eyes.

As a military doctor, Lu Jiao sensed Xie Yunjin's killer's intent right away. She tapped her fingers. If this man was able to move around easily, there was no way he would let her go.

Lu Jiao wanted to remain in character and so she howled at Xie Yunjin, "Xie Yunjin, what's the meaning of this? I kind-heartedly cooked you a meal yet you are doubting me? Me?"

Lu Jiao moved her fat body as if she was going to lie on the ground. This was a common tactic the original host used. When there was a conflict, she would start rolling on the ground and curse.

On the bed, Xie Yunjin watched as Lu Jiao got ready to slam onto the ground. His forehead throbbed and his expression became terrifyingly dark. Then, he ordered through gritted teeth, "Go bring in the food."

Lu Jiao instantly stopped herself. She turned around and rolled her eyes.

[So there is something you are scared of.]

She walked into the kitchen in giant leaps and quickly poured out five bowls of porridge. She put those on an old and broken table and placed the crepes onto a chipped plate. Then, she carried the little table into the east bedroom.

Lu Jiao was smart enough not to stay. After she put down the table, she brandished her arms and left angrily.

Slow Down, Don't Panic

In unison, the people in the room looked over to the porridge and crepes on the table. The four little boys stared at the steaming white porridge and the fragrant egg crepes. They couldn't help but gulp.

It's been a long time since they've had such fresh porridge and they've definitely never eaten crepes this delicious.

The Xie family had a lot of people and there was never enough food left over for them. Normally, the food they did get was taken away by that evil woman. So, most of the time, they never got to eat until everyone else was full and this was why they were so boney and pale.

Though the four little ones were hungry enough to gulp down their saliva, they didn't move. They all stared at their dad who was in bed.

Xie Yunjin narrowed his eyes and pondered over Lu Jiao's abnormal behavior today.

That woman used to try and please him once upon a time. However, today was the first time she acted so generously. He was suspicious that she had other intentions.

Xie Yunjin thought about it and said to Xie Erzhu, "Second brother, can you bring me the food and let me check them out?"

Xie Erzhu nodded at the suggestion. It was a good idea to carefully investigate; that woman may just poison the porridge and the crepes.

Honestly, he himself had never seen her so generous. Unusual occurrences normally meant something was up. So, it was better to look into this.

After Xie Yunjin checked out the food, he realized that there was no poison in the food. Just what was that woman planning?

An eerie coldness flashed across Xie Yunjin's eyes. However, he quickly turned his head to look at the four little ones by his bedside, "You all should eat."

The four little ones said in unison, "Daddy, you eat first."

Their words softened Xie Yunjin's heart a little. These boys were the people who could truly touch him at his softest spot.

"Yes, I will eat with you guys. Go ahead."

The four little ones nodded happily and then walked to the table. Inside the room, Xie Erzhu took a bowl to feed it to Xie Yunjin.

Xie Yunjin wounded his head so he couldn't move well. Every movement made him dizzy and nauseous.

Other than his head, he had three broken ribs and internal bleeding from the spleen. Luckily, the volume of blood he lost was low, which allowed him to be able to take medicine and heal slowly. As for his legs…

The thought of his legs turned him gloomy.

Inside the kitchen, Lu Jiao efficiently ate a bowl of porridge. Honestly, she wanted to eat more because she was so hungry. However, when she looked at her flabby belly, she decided to portion control from now on.

As Lu Jiao started to do the dishes, she remembered the people in the east bedroom, who should be done eating by now, she decided to go and get their dirty dishes as well.

Outside the east bedroom window, she suddenly heard Xie Yunjin's magnetic voice.

"Xie Wenyao, Xie Wenjia, Xie Wenshao, and Xie Wenyu, take your own bowls to the kitchen and wash them."

Since half a year ago, Xie Yunjin had trained his four little guys to do what they could around the house. So these four little beans didn't object when they heard their dad's orders and agreed right away.

"Yes, daddy."

Outside the window, Lu Jiao heard Xie Yunjin's words and reacted as if thunderstruck. She was petrified from shock.

Because now, she had confirmed something. Not only did she travel through time, but she also transmigrated into a novel.

Not long ago, a wounded woman was treated in the hospital. She brought a novel with her to read. In the novel, there were four villains who committed all sorts of evil crimes. They would kill people without batting an eye. However, in the novel, the four villains were killed after the male and female protagonists cooperated. The four villains had a dad, who was the First Assistant and in order to avenge his sons, the First Assistant turned into the big boss in the novel and was only killed by the protagonists at the end of the novel.

The four villains had a devious mother – the wife of the First Assistant. Their evil mother died young and her name was Lu Jiao. The four villains were named Xie Wenyao, Xie Wenjia, Xie Wenshao, and Xie Wenyu. That First Assistant was named Xie Yunjin.

Lu Jiao's face grew unpleasant.

She had transmigrated into the future villains' devious mother and the wife of the First Assistant who died young. How unfortunate.

Lu Jiao was going crazy when the four little ones came out of the room with their bowls and chopsticks. One of the boys held onto two plates and one of them was the large one that contained the eggs crepes.

The moment the four kids saw her, they started to edge away out of fear. Their careful manners were not at all like villains who would kill without blinking.

Lu Jiao looked at these four little beans who were only up to her knees, then she looked into the room to see the paralyzed man who will one day become the First Assistant. Silently, she told herself.

[Slow down. Don't panic.]

Inside the east bedroom, Xie Erzhu caringly asked Xie Yunjin, "Third brother, do you need to pee?"

Xie Erzhu was a commoner who'd never read a single book in his life. The way he spoke was also very straightforward. However, Xie Yunjin didn't seem to mind.

"Not right now. Second brother, you should go back and do your own thing."

Xie Erzhu and his wife were the laborers of the Xie family. They were in charge of all the dirty and tiring tasks around the house. Their two daughters, despite their young age, were also asked to feed the chickens and the ducks.

Before, Xie Yunjin had warned Xie Erzhu and his wife to slow down and work less. However, those two were honest hard workers.

Due to this, Xie Yunjin would sneak some silver to those two just so they could buy some good food in private and nourish their bodies.

He had no idea that there would come a day when his kindness would be rewarded. When everyone else had given up on him, his second eldest brother used all the money he had to seek advice from the doctor.

Xie Yunjin's emotions were unspeakably complex. As Xie Erzhu turned to leave, he muttered, "Third younger brother, I'll go home first to do some work and I'll come and check up on you in the afternoon."

Xie Yunjin silently watched him leave and he wondered whether or not he'd be able to stand up again in this lifetime. If he could, he promised to treat his second eldest brother's family well.

Outside the room, Lu Jiao saw Xie Erzhu come and she weakly greeted, "Second brother, you're going back?"

Xie Erzhu stared at his sister-in-law in awe. Was she possessed? This was so scary.

Xie Erzhu didn't dare to stay and headed out of the courtyard right away. However, after a few steps, a crash came from the kitchen.

Someone had broken a bowl in the kitchen.

Xie Erzhu's expression changed and he glanced at Lu Jiao speedily. Lu Jiao walked towards the kitchen and afraid that she would hit the kids again, Xie Erzhu followed her.

Inside the kitchen, the youngest one, the Fourth Born, accidentally broke his bowl while washing it. He was now in tears because he was so startled.

The moment Lu Jiao got into the kitchen, the First Born stood up, "Me. I was the one who broke it."

The Second Born chimed in, "I broke it."

The Third Born was quick to follow, "I broke it. It was me."

Those three were obviously scared as their little legs quivered. However, they refused to retreat.

Lu Jiao didn't think much of this but she didn't go up to them to comfort them. Right now, she wasn't sure how she should deal with this situation.

"Enough, get out of here."

The four little ones thought they heard wrong and they exchanged glances. The First Born was the first to react. He grabbed the Fourth Born's hands and lifted his legs to run. Behind them, the Second and Third born escaped in a hurry as well.

Lu Jiao walked over to start washing the bowls. Those four little guys were like baby chickens. Why would they bother washing the dishes?

The Reappearance of the Space

Before the door, Xie Erzhu watched everything unfold. Suspicious, he wondered why his third sister-in-law acted like a different person? If she could always act this way, that would be wonderful. However, her current state terrified him. He had a feeling that she had suppressed herself just to make a big move later.

Xie Erzhu didn't dare to speak and turned to leave.

Later, Lu Jiao washed the dishes and thought, what should she do now? It was impossible to stay put in the Xie family. Not only was her relationship with Xie Yunjin and the four kids very tense, she had also never thought she'd take someone else's man and children.

Thus, she didn't think she should stay. However, how should she get out of here?

Lu Jiao thought about it. In the Great Zhou Empire, women were allowed to be the head of the household. She could peacefully separate from Xie Yunjin and then head over to Yamen to start her own household. There, she could stay with the original host's family at the Apricot Flower Village.

But it was not the right time to separate from her husband. Xie Yunjin was paralyzed and the four weaklings were no stronger than baby chickens. If she brought up separation now, the future First Assistant would never forgive her. Especially when she remembered how he wound up the ultimate villain in the book! Therefore, the best choice was not to leave now.

It would be better to first cure Xie Yunjin's legs.

That idea brightened Lu Jiao's eyes.

That was right. If she could cure Xie Yunjin and raise the four little ones to be chubby and healthy, Xie Yunjin may just hate her less. If she leaves him then, he may just spare her life.

Then, they could each walk their own roads and never cross paths ever again. As for those four little villains and that one big villain's fate, there was nothing she could do to change that. Even if she wanted to alter their fate, nobody would humor her and she may just lose her own life in the process.

Lu Jiao very quickly started to think about Xie Yunjin's legs. His legs were heavily injured. The doctor had said that the horse carriage had crushed his bones. In order to heal his legs, they must find the best military doctor to perform surgery on him.

That was right. There were military doctors in the Zhou Empire's army who knew how to perform this surgery. However, those who knew were far too few and that was why the doctor from Baohe Tang said treatment would be difficult.

Lu Jiao naturally wasn't worried about surgery. She had the knowledge to perform it. However, in the world she was in now, surgery should only be performed if she could ensure no hiccups.

Just as she thought of that, she felt her palm grow hot.

Instinctively, she looked down and saw a flickering flame-cloud pattern show up on her palm. That was her space…

Lu Jiao's heart started to tremble. Her space transmigrated with her?

Lu Jiao quickly opened her space and found that her world truly did follow her here. Everything in her space was left untouched.

Her space was modest in size but it was very incredible. Inside, there was a stream and a piece of farmland. Beside the stream was a three-roomed bamboo house.

The bamboo house contained much medical equipment and some commonly used medicine. In the east room of the house, there was a bookshelf filled with all sorts of books.

On the plot of land outside her home, she had planted many medicinal herbs. They included ginseng, ganoderma and astragalus. On the edges of the land, she grew a variety of fruits. Currently, there were even some hanging on the branches.

On the most inner corner of the land were green onions, ginger, garlic, and other similar plants. She planted these so it would be convenient when she cooked.

Lu Jiao stared at all of this and felt her energy was restored. With all these, she won't have any trouble with Xie Yunjin's legs and would be able to feed those four little ones. She had no reason to worry about her life being difficult going forward.

The gods were truly kind to her. Lu Jiao smiled and all the worry that was on her face vanished.

She did the dishes and efficiently picked up the hen from the corner of the kitchen. She was going to kill it to make chicken soup and fatten up the four little ones.

The porridge and egg crepes for breakfast had already shocked the four little beans yet somehow, for lunch, they were fed brown rice and chicken soup.

Though the brown rice was crunchy, Lu Jiao mixed some white rice with the brown so it was easier to chew. Plus, the chicken soup was fresh out of the pot.

The four little beans were stunned and they couldn't believe what they saw.

Rice? Chicken soup? Was this New Year's? No. Even during New Year's, they didn't get to eat this well. This was rice! And chicken soup! And there was so much meat in the soup.

The four boys looked up at Lu Jiao then turned to look at Xie Yunjin.

Xie Yunjin's eyes were narrowed as he gloomily stared at Lu Jiao. Just what was this woman planning?

There was no way Xie Yunjin would believe that this woman had changed. How could someone's core traits change? So this woman must be up to something.

Could it be that the good food was used to numb them so that when the opportunity came, she could poison them?

Xie Yunjin felt a rush of hatred in his heart as he gawked at Lu Jiao in disgust, "Just what are you doing? You want to poison us so you can escape?"

Xie Yunjin's words scared the four little boys and their expressions changed. The four of them flew to the head of the bed.

Lu Jiao had no energy for this. This situation was difficult to smooth out. However, no matter how hard it was, she had to try.

"Xie Yunjin, what's wrong with you? I give you good food yet you call me a bad person? If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have cooked. Poison? I sure want to poison you all. But where do I get poison from?"

Lu Jiao leaned over angrily and spooned out some rice. She shoved it in her mouth, then drank from the soup bowl.

"Did I die from poison?"

Then, furious, she left the room. At the door, she ran into Xie Erzhu, who had brought taro and fish soup.

Lu Jiao glared at him and walked out. Xie Erzhu retreated to the side to let her through. He never dared to provoke this sister-in-law. She was some character.

After Lu Jiao left, Xie Yunjin said to the four little ones, "Go eat then."

If Lu Jiao dared to hurt these four boys, he would die himself before he let her escape. He would skin her alive and make her regret her life.

The four little ones heard their dad and said nicely, "Daddy, you eat too."

Xie Yunjin nodded and asked Xie Erzhu to come in and feed him.

Xie Erzhu saw the rice and soup and was very surprised, "Sister-in-law killed the hen? That's the right thing to do. Your health isn't great so you need the nutrition."

Xie Erzhu placed the taro and fish soup onto the table and poured a bowl to feed Xie Yunjin.

Towards Lu Jiao's behavior, Xie Erzhu was very confused. He had always thought that Xie Yunjin was smart so he couldn't help but to mumble.

"Third brother, what's up with the sister-in-law?"

Xie Yunjin's dark eyes were brewing a storm as he said in a low voice, "She must be plotting something."

It wouldn't surprise him if she was getting them to put their guards down by giving them good food. Then, once their guards were down, she would poison them and run away.

Logically, Lu Jiao wouldn't dare to do that. Because she would be executed if she poisoned her husband and her children. However, that woman was as stupid as a pig and she would never think of that.

Regardless, Xie Yunjin had no intention of giving her the opportunity to succeed!

Why not kill him

Inside the east bedroom, the father and sons ate lunch while Lu Jiao had her meal inside the kitchen. The chicken soup was a little oily so she spooned out the oil and drank the clear soup.

Scared that those four little beans would break another bowl while they cleaned up, Lu Jiao carefully listened to any noises from inside the east bedroom. The moment it sounded like they were done, she went into the room to clean up the dishes.

This time, the four little ones stood as far away from her as possible. However, they didn't react as scared as they were when she woke up this morning.

Lu Jiao ignored them. She didn't glance at Xie Yunjin either and simply picked up the dirty dishes.

Behind her, Xie Erzhu mumbled in confusion, "Third brother, your wife seems to be different now. She hasn't bothered you all day. Normally, she would be all over you asking for praises and compliments."

Xie Yunjin thought her behavior made sense. As he had previously stated, she was plotting something.

Xie Erzhu didn't stay long in the afternoon. After he fed Xie Yunjin and helped him to pee, he went home.

In the afternoon, Lu Jiao napped in the west bedroom. She had been busy all morning and was exhausted.

Though she wanted to lose weight, she couldn't be impatient and had to do it slowly.

After her nap, she did a yoga routine designed to lose weight. After she was drenched in sweat, she went to the kitchen to boil some water for a bath.

At night, she boiled some chicken porridge with vegetables. She shredded the leftover chicken from lunch and added some vegetables. It tasted great.

However, Lu Jiao secretly added some water from the stream from her space. This water helped condition the body. She didn't dare to add too much of it as too much of the stream water would cause the porridge to taste sweet and she didn't want to get caught.

Xie Yunjin carefully checked the food for poison. After he made sure it was clean, he allowed the kids to eat.

The meals today made the four little ones feel like they were in a dream. They even suspected that Lu Jiao had gone dumb.

The four of them murmured to each other and hoped that she would stay stupid. That way, they would continue to get yummy food.

Lu Jiao heard their conversation and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Just what went on inside their heads?

After dinner, she went to clean up the dishes. There, Xie Yunjin suddenly spoke up, "Lu Jiao, stay in the east bedroom tonight and help take care of us."

Inside the room, Lu Jiao and Xie Erzhu both raised their heads.

For the past three days, it was Xie Erzhu who slept in the east bedroom and helped out throughout the night.

Who knew that today, Xie Yunjin would ask Lu Jiao to stay and take care of him.

Xie Erzhu was shocked and said, "Third brother, just let me do it."

Xie Yunjin said to Xie Erzhu, "Brother, you've been here for days now. It's better for you to go home and spend some time with my sister-in-law. Tomorrow, you can come back."

Xie Erzhu was still worried and carefully shot Lu Jiao a look.

Lu Jiao's face was a little heavy as she narrowed her eyes at Xie Yunjin. Why did this guy ask her to spend the night? There was no way she would agree to sleep in the same room as him.

Could it be that he wanted to kill her? But he couldn't even move.

Or maybe he simply wanted Xie Erzhu to go home and spend time with his wife. After all, Xie Erzhu did stay here for three nights by now.

That was a reasonable explanation.

Despite her thoughts, she remained cautious. However, she didn't decline out loud.

After all, this guy will become the final boss. She had to make sure their relationship wasn't too tense.

"Alright."

Lu Jiao agreed and Xie Erzhu couldn't say much else. After he helped Xie Yunjin clean up, he left.

When Lu Jiao went to wash the dishes, the four little boys crowded Xie Yunjin and mumbled unhappily inside the bedroom.

"Daddy, why would you let her sleep in our room?"

"I don't want her in our room."

"Tell her to get out."

Xie Yunjin's eyes were as dark as the night sky and his gaze could suffocate anyone.

"Enough. We need your uncle to rest well tonight. Tomorrow, I will tell her to get out."

The four little ones finally stopped and quietly crawled into bed to sleep beside Xie Yunjin. For the past few days, they've slept like this. Only when they were beside Xie Yunjin, did they feel safe.

Inside the kitchen, Lu Jiao washed all the dishes and went to retrieve bedding from the west bedroom. As she headed to the east bedroom, she cautioned herself to be careful tonight and not get harmed by Xie Yunjin. She didn't want to become the wife who died young.

Despite her plans, the moment she laid down, she realized just how tired she was. Plus, it was easy for her giant body to fall asleep. As she laid down, her eyelids dropped.

Despite this, Lu Jiao pretended to be asleep and waited quietly for Xie Yunjin's movement. She wanted to see what he would pull off.

Given Xie Yunjin's intelligence, he must know that murder came with consequences. If he killed his wife, it would tarnish his reputation and he would be incriminated. Once she was dead, he would be executed. Where would that leave those four little beans?

So, the most likely scenario was that he would kill her and make it look like she had killed herself.

The more Lu Jiao about it, the colder her heart grew. She did everything she could to stay awake but the man in the bed didn't move an inch.

Lu Jiao carefully listened to his breathing and discovered that he wasn't faking it – he had truly fallen asleep.

So was all of this her imagination?

Although Lu Jiao endured until late into the night, in the end, she really couldn't stay awake anymore and fell deep asleep.

The moment she fell asleep, the man on the bed opened his eyes. His gaze was sharp like daggers that could slash all in sight.

Lu Jiao was soundly asleep and didn't notice the noise. She even dreamt of her other life. After her death, her comrades mourned her in pain, and her parents, who each found their own true love, attended her funeral.

Lu Jiao was engrossed in her dreams when she felt someone strangling her neck, hard. It suddenly became hard to breathe.

She jolted awake and lifted her arm to hit the person guilty of choking her.

With a loud bang, the person slammed into the wall. Lu Jiao was now fully awake as she stared at the person.

It was late into the night and the moonlight shone through the window and reflected directly onto the man.

The man's handsome visage appeared unspeakably troubled. His eyes were somewhat red as he stared at her with absolute disgust.

Right now, he acted like a demon who had just crawled into this world from hell. All he wanted was to eat Lu Jiao's flesh and drink Lu Jiao's blood.

Lu Jiao finally caught sight of the person who choked her. It was the heavily wounded and paralyzed Xie Yunjin.

"Are you crazy? Why aren't you sleeping and why are you strangling me?"

Xie Yunjin's eyes turned redder at Lu Jiao's words. His gaze was ridden with killer's intent.

"Yes, I am crazy. I am crazy because of you. You have ruined my supposedly great life. So, I am going to kill you."

He felt dizzy and he wanted to vomit, but he gritted his teeth and endured as he crawled toward Lu Jiao. It appeared that unless he achieved what he came here for, he would not give up.

Lu Jiao got up and slapped him unconscious.

Xie Yunjin finally silenced as he fell onto the ground quietly and unmoving.

Lu Jiao stared at him. A dark thought sprouted inside her heart. Why not kill him? If he was dead, then she wouldn't need to worry he'd seek revenge in the future.

Poison to Kill Mother

Lu Jiao quickly erased her devious thoughts. If she killed him right here and now, she would be no different than those criminals who kill without batting an eye. Plus, if she killed Xie Yunjin now, what would the kids do?

On top of that, Xie Yunjin was the villain in the novel. If he was dead, the book would no longer make sense. Once the book stopped making sense, she would die.

Lu Jiao helped Xie Yunjin up and carried him onto his bed.

It was easy for her to carry him. Somehow, she did not need to use a lot of strength to carry this grown man. This was the benefit of her space. In her previous life, after she gained her space, she also grew very strong. In this life, her space followed her. So naturally, she was strong here too.

The sky had started to turn bright. Lu Jiao needed this opportunity to sleep. She hadn't slept all night and her body was exhausted.

By the time she opened her eyes again, it was morning. The four little boys had run off to god knows where.

On the bed, Xie Yunjin had woken up as well. He stared at her quietly as if everything that happened last night was simply a dream. As if nothing unusual went on.

Lu Jiao was speechless and pursed her lips. She decided to go out and make some breakfast. On the bed, Xie Yunjin asked, "Get me a cup of water."

Lu Jiao wanted to ask him if he was thirsty because of his midnight workout. But in the end, she didn't say anything and went to fetch some cold water from the kitchen.

"There's no hot water. Do you drink it cold?"

The man in the bed had no objection, "Yes."

Lu Jiao carried the water over and was troubled. How did this work?

"Do I feed you?"

Though this free husband had a handsome face, he was a stranger to her. Plus, most importantly, he wanted to kill her. So Lu Jiao didn't dare to step too close to him.

Xie Yunjin shook his head, "There's no need."

He took over the water and struggled to drink it while lopsided.

Xie Yunjin hurt his head, chest, and legs but his arms were fine. He was capable of carrying some objects. However, his movements remained limited as moving caused headaches and nausea.

Lu Jiao noticed that his hands shook while he drank and it dripped everywhere. Subconsciously, she looked for something she could use to wipe him off.

The moment she turned around, the man in bed threw the bowl onto the ground. He then quickly grabbed onto one of the broken porcelain pieces and struggled his way towards Lu Jiao. With one hand, he tried to grab Lu Jiao's neck while his other hand with the porcelain shard aimed to slash the major artery on Lu Jiao's neck.

Lu Jiao sensed the violent movement behind her right away. She leaned to the side to dodge the attack and swung her arm. Her punch knocked Xie Yunjin back into the bed.

As a military doctor, she was military trained. Her movements were quick and efficient. There was no way Xie Yunjin could sneak up on her. Plus, he was very much injured, and no matter how fast he was, his movements were blunt and delayed.

Lu Jiao was angry this time. She went up to the bed and placed her hands around Xie Yunjin's neck. Furious, she cursed, "You want to die? If you want to die, I can grant you your wish."

On the bed, Xie Yunjin stopped. The choking motion made it hard for him to breathe as he stared at her with his eyes wide open.

"If you kill me, you will die too."

Lu Jiao was clear in the head. It wasn't easy for her to gain this life. She didn't want to die. She loosened her grip a little but the words she breathed out remained harsh.

"If you dare to try and kill me again, don't blame me for defending myself and killing you first."

Even if he was going to become the final boss, she wasn't going to sit around and do nothing.

After she warned him, she heard footsteps by the door.

Lu Jiao thought of the four little ones and let go of Xie Yunjin.

No matter what, they shouldn't fight in front of the kids. Parents were the children's mirror. If they fight in front of the kids, the kids would be traumatized.

Lu Jiao turned to look at the door and found the First Born had stumbled in with a bowl of water.

He was obviously very scared but he did his best to remain calm. He walked his way to Lu Jiao, "Water for you."

Lu Jiao strangely glanced at the little fella. He didn't like her so why would he give her water? That was too good to be true.

Given that this little guy couldn't even stand still while he held the big bowl, she took the bowl over. Observing it, she instantly saw through their trick. The water had been poisoned.

Lu Jiao's expression changed right away. They dared to poison her? And he had used jasmine grass.

No wonder these kids grew up to be villains.

Lu Jiao didn't have any intention of educating the four kids. However, for this to happen right in front of her meant she couldn't just say nothing.

Lu Jiao thought about it and headed to the bed with the bowl of water. As she walked, she said, "Your dad is thirsty. Let's give this water to him."

Her words made the First Born's face drop. He shouted quickly, "No! Don't let dad drink it."

"Why not?" Lu Jiao stopped her steps and turned to stare at the First Born. The little guy started to tremble then. This woman was very evil. If she found out that he tried to poison her, she would for sure beat him to death.

The First Born started to cry. Lu Jiao restarted her walk to the bed, "Looks like there's a story behind the water. Since that's the case, let's give your dad a taste."

The First Born started to scream, "Don't. It's… It's poisoned."

With a cold grin on her face, she looked at Xie Yunjin.

"You father and son duo surely share the same heart. The old one wants to kill me, the little one wants to poison me. You two are great."

Lu Jiao paused before she continued, "I want to ask Scholar Xie, for your son to poison his mother at such a young age, how much more capable will your son grow up to be in the future? Do you want your son to become an evil thief who commits all sorts of crimes?"

On the bed, Xie Yunjin's face changed color. He yelled at the First Born with a dark expression, "First Born, tell me, where did you get the poison?"

With tears in his eyes, the First Born said, "Last time, I saw lady Shen eat this. She almost died after."

So, after he witnessed his father's failed attempt to kill this evil woman last night, he got up early to find this poison.

He didn't think the evil woman would find out. The First Born started to cry out of sadness.

Lu Jiao watched Xie Yunjin, "As a father, you've set a great example. If he didn't see you do what you did last night, he never would've thought to do this. Poison his own mother? If this information got known, you think your son would have a future?"

Xie Yunjin's face dropped. With his eyes gloomy and heavy, he stared at Lu Jiao, "He's just a child."

"A child who knows how to poison his own mother. Once he grows up, god knows how much worse he'll be."

Lu Jiao didn't give Xie Yunjin another look and said to the First Born, "Go get a stick."

Xie Yunjin's expression changed and he shouted, "What do you think you're doing?"

Lu Jiao angrily screamed back, "Something like this deserves punishment. If you don't punish him, he will get the nerve to kill others and set buildings on fire."

She continued to stare at the First Born. Before he could answer, the Second, Third, and Fourth Borns all rushed inside.

"We did it. Hit us instead."

"Don't hit brother, hit us."

Daddy, Don't Hit Him

Lu Jiao continued to stare at them with a long face. Once again, she ordered, "Go get me a stick."

This time, Xie Yunjin didn't stop her. For the First Born to do what he did today, he deserved punishment. Or else he truly won't learn just how high the heavens were.

At this moment, Xie Yunjin felt regretful. He shouldn't have done what he did in front of the kids. He should've thought of another way.

The First Born's eyes were red as his legs trembled. He didn't know how to walk properly anymore as his body swayed with each step forward.

He would be beaten to death by that evil woman. Waaaa, he was going to die.

Though scared, he still found the stick the original host used to hit them with.

Lu Jiao took over the stick and while she watched the four lined up kids, she lectured expressionlessly, "You three, watch this. If you do what you did today again, you will receive the same punishment."

She ordered the First Born, "Give me your hands."

The First Born extended his boney hands. The sight of his hands made Lu Jiao quite sad. But she remembered how evil and ruthless they'll turn out and slapped the First Born's palm with the stick.

As she hit his hand, she lectured in a low voice, "Yes, it was my fault for hitting you in the past, but I am simply a common woman from the village. If my reputation gets tarnished, nothing will happen to me. However, you guys are going to get educated and you're going to get honorable jobs. If anyone finds out that you once poisoned your mother, what path would be left for you? How do you become good citizens then?"

That one strike on the First Born's hand made the other three cry. As they cried, they begged.

"Stop hitting him. We won't do it again."

"We won't do it again."

"We won't try to hurt you again. We'll let you hit us in the future."

Their words made it impossible for Lu Jiao to hate them and strike hard. The strikes grew soft and after 20 strikes to the palm, she looked at the First Born.

"Remember, think before you do something. If you want to do something, consider whether or not you should. Until you're certain, it's best not to do it."

The quadruplets were only four years old. They were still unsure what those words meant and only nodded as they listened.

On the bed, Xie Yunjin kept his gaze on this woman.

She sure appeared capable while she educated his sons – not at all stupid like before. However, Xie Yunjin didn't believe that this capability was hers to have. Someone must have taught her behind their back. Was it his mother-in-law?

His mother-in-law was once a servant for a rich family in town. She had seen and experienced much more than normal commoners.

His mother-in-law must've taught her all this. Xie Yunjin smiled sarcastically as he coldly stared at Lu Jiao.

Lu Jiao glanced around the room and spoke slowly, "Now I finally know how much you all hate me."

She paused, then looked at Xie Yunjin on the bed, "Let us have a serious chat."

Xie Yunjin didn't answer so Lu Jiao continued steadily, "Xie Yunjin as you should know, I wasn't always like this. When I lived with my parents, I wasn't like this. Back then, I may have been a little spoiled but I never would've acted so unreasonably."

Lu Jiao didn't lie. Back at her parents' place, she would have some harsh requests, but to the outsiders, she had always been somewhat good and she never rolled around angrily or hit people without a good reason.

The reason why she turned out this way was partially because of Xie Yunjin.

"I am now the way I am because I wasn't able to receive what I wanted. I married into the Xie family with high hopes. I wanted you to like me and be nice to me. Sadly, not only am I not in your heart, you even hate me."

She married into the Xie family with the expectation of having a good husband. The result was that her husband was cold and aloof. This was why the original host got more and more unreasonable as time went on. She started to roll on the ground and scream and even hit her own sons. The reason for that was because that was the only thing that could cause Xie Yunjin to show some emotions.

The original host saw that Xie Yunjin would get angry when his sons were hit. So she started to feel a rush of happiness as if she had avenged herself. Therefore, she started to hit them harder.

Of course, the original Lu Jiao wasn't all good. She didn't care as much and had an attitude that she didn't care about what happened to her.

Lu Jiao wanted to treat today as an opportunity to change her personality. It would be difficult for her to continue to act like a devious b!tch.

"I am exhausted so I have decided to stop bothering you. I have decided to separate from you."

"Separate?"

This time, Xie Yunjin finally showed some emotions. Not only did he frown coldly, his lips also formed a mocking smile.

So this woman did so much just to separate from them.

It was because he was paralyzed and she didn't want to take care of him anymore.

The mocking grin on Xie Yunjin's lips intensified and his face got so gloomy it just might rain.

Lu Jiao saw the heavy look in Xie Yunjin's eyes and found it hard to continue. However, she forced herself to speak, "Don't worry though. I'm not talking about separating now. I will separate from you once your legs are healed. Before, the doctor from Baohe Tang said the best army doctor can cure your legs. I will find that doctor and ask him to perform surgery. Once you are healed, we can separate. What do you say?"

Xie Yunjin snickered, "Finding me the best doctor? From where? How?"

Lu Jiao raised an eyebrow, "Don't worry about that. I will be able to find one."

"What if you can't?"

"I won't leave until I find one. I will for sure cure you before I leave."

Lu Jiao wasn't at all worried. She knew how to perform surgery. With all the medicine and equipment in her space, surgery was a none issue.

On the bed, Xie Yunjin continued to stare at Lu Jiao. This dumb woman seemed to have smartened up a little. The way she spoke and acted was now logical. His mother-in-law must've spent mad energy when she taught her.

Without any expression, Xie Yujie glanced at Lu Jiao and said coldly, "If you can really find a doctor who can cure my legs, I will agree to separate. I will sign the paper."

"Okay."

Lu Jiao was ecstatic. This was great. Now, she just needed to find the opportunity to perform surgery and then take care of him for two to three months after. After that, she would get to leave the Xie family.

With her improved mood, she turned to look at the four little ones. Slowly, she said, "See this? Your dad and I are going to separate soon. So you no longer have to worry about me hitting you."

The four little ones exchanged glances. They had no idea how to react to the current situation.

They should be happy that this evil woman will be. But for some reason, they couldn't get themselves to feel happy.

The four little ones were a little scared. On her way out of the house, Lu Jiao saw the First Born's swollen hands. She wanted to bandage him up but the memory of him poisoning his own mother made her think better of it. He needed to be taught a lesson.

"I'm going to make breakfast."

Behind him, Xie Yunjin watched her leave with a sarcastic grin. He sure wanted to see how she'll manage to find him a doctor.

As he thought about it, he looked over the First Born.

"First Born, give me the stick."

The baby was terrified. His hand hurt a lot. The evil woman had just hit him, was his dad going to hit him as well?

Second, Third, and Fourth Borns pleadingly looked up to Xie Yunjin, "Daddy, don't hit him."

Four Beautiful Babies

Xie Yunjin stared at the four pitiful kids. Though they were already four, due to poor nutrition, their limbs were tiny. When they walked, they couldn't even support themselves properly. All this was because of a lack of good food.

This made Xie Yunjin hate Lu Jiao. Even tigers feed their children. That woman was worse than an animal. But today, the First Born was in the wrong and had to be punished.

"Get the stick."

The First Born never dared to disobey his father. Though he was scared, he took the stick and brought it to Xie Yunjin.

"Dad, you can hit me."

Xie Yunjin took over the stick. He didn't hit the First Born's hand. Instead, he struggled to pick up the stick and hit his own hand.

The four babies were in shock. The First Born then started to cry, "Daddy, don't! Don't!"

Xie Yunjin hit himself with much difficulty and lectured, "The son's wrongdoing is his father's fault. I am responsible for your actions today. You have been punished. As your father, I should be punished as well."

The quadruplets all started to cry. Their dad was heavily injured but still hit his own hand. This was all their fault.

"Daddy, we don't dare anymore. We don't dare."

Xie Yunjin said in a low voice, "Remember today. If you ever do something wrong again, you will get punished and I will get punished as well."

This statement became imprinted in the quadruplets' brains. Over the next few days, they really didn't do much wrong.

However, Xie Yunjin, who had wrestled around during the night and again in the morning, finally could no longer hold on and passed out.

The four babies cried out loud. In the kitchen, Lu Jiao heard their cries and rushed over. When she saw the passed-out Xie Yunjin, she flew over and felt Xie Yunjin's pulse. He passed out due to anger and strong emotions.

He was already so wounded yet he still remained restless. This was deserved.

Lu Jiao got him to lie properly and snuck a few drops of the stream water from her fingertips into his mouth.

The quadruplets were far too sad to notice this.

After she took care of Xie Yunjin, Lu Jiao said to them, "Stop crying. He'll be fine. You guys stop making mistakes that make him so angry. His illness takes time to heal and he can't afford to get so emotional. Alright?"

The quadruplets listened to her and said in unison, "We got it."

Luo Jiao stared at them and found all words to be lacking.

Not only were they jaundiced without any fat, but they were also very dirty. Their hair was all tangled and there was dust and mud all over their faces. Their fingernails were also dark with dirt underneath them.

Luo Jiao felt a headache as she looked at them. She decided that she won't do anything else today except bathe the babies and get them changed. Once those four little ones were clean, she could do the other stuff she wanted to do slowly.

"Alright, the porridge is almost done. Come out and eat."

The quadruplets shook their heads, "We'll wait and eat with daddy."

Lu Jiao was about to say something when footsteps approached and Xie Erzhu's voice was heard, "Is the third brother awake?"

Lu Jiao speedily stared at the babies and whispered, "Don't say a word to your second uncle, alright? Or else your daddy will get so mad he'll pass out again."

The quadruplets nodded with much strength, "We got it."

This was for the benefit of the First Born. The matter of poisoning his mother could ruin his life. This was an era where filial ties were everything. If people heard of what the First Born did, nobody would offer him an opportunity in his lifetime. He will be burdened with this sin for the rest of his life.

Outside the door, Xie Erzhu walked in. When he saw the four kids and their red eyes, he was certain that his sister-in-law had hit the children again.

Xie Erzhu had a problem with this, "Sister-in-law, you cannot keep hitting the kids. They are still so young."

Before he could answer, Xie Yunjin woke up and said weakly, "Second brother, you're here."

Xie Erzhu's attention was diverted and he looked over to Xie Yunjin, "Third brother, how are you feeling? Are you feeling any discomfort? Have you eaten?"

Lu Jiao ignored the brothers and left the room. This morning, she made some corn and cooked some leafy greens.

One of these boys was paralyzed in bed while the other four were malnourished. Corns were great but they weren't too nutritious. She had to figure out a way.

Luo Jiao brought some corn to the room to feed Xie Yunjin and the four little ones.

After breakfast, Lu Jiao boiled two giant pots of hot water to bathe the four little ones. The basin she used to bathe them was the one she used for herself.

The wooden basin was huge. With water in them, one basin could fit two of the kids.

The four little beans very much rejected the idea of a bath. Since they were born, Lu Jiao had never bathed them so the boys weren't used to this.

However, they couldn't avoid Lu Jiao's persistence and agreed in the end despite their unwillingness.

Inside the east bedroom, Xie Yunjin focused on the noises outside. He knew Lu Jiao had bathed the kids and didn't say much.

Before, he was the one who bathed the kids. That woman would never do it. She herself was too lazy to wash up, let alone wash the kids.

To bathe the children was very unlike her. Could it be that with the separation, she wanted to behave well and show off to him? Or maybe she didn't want to separate and did this to improve their relationship.

That last possibility made Xie Yunjin's gaze turn cold. The sarcastic grin returned to his lips. To improve her behaviors now was far too late.

Outside the room, the First and Second Born originally detested the idea of a bath. After some time, however, they started to enjoy it. To be inside hot water was truly comfortable.

The evil woman never washed them before. It had always been daddy who washed them. Who knew she'd bathe them now?

The Second Born peeked at Lu Jiao and saw her look back. He quickly turned his gaze elsewhere.

Lu Jiao naturally caught his small movement. She feigned ignorance and continued to wash these little guys meticulously.

There were lots of old and new wounds on these boys. She cursed at the original host. She truly was no better than an animal.

Since the First Born's hand was injured, Lu Jiao washed him up first, "All done. Get out now."

The First Born was a little unwilling but he was too scared to object. He took his time to gett out. Lu Jiao said almost angrily, "You didn't want to wash up at first and now you refuse to get out. Enough now, your hands are injured today so get out. In a few days, you can bathe for longer."

The First Born's eyes brightened, "Really?"

He quickly restored his serious little expression afterward. Lu Jiao used an old cloth to dry him and as she wiped him, she suddenly stopped.

The clean version of the First Born looked so much like Xie Yunjin. Not only were his features delicate, but his expressions also mimicked his father's. He was just too skinny and malnourished. Once healthy, he will for sure be one attractive baby.

Lu Jiao had always liked beautiful children. It was a surprise to suddenly have four of them. Sadly, they weren't fated to be with each other long.

However, she was more than willing to fatten them up.

Lu Jiao dried up the First Born and had him change into an old shirt. However, there were no pants. Luckily, it was summer and for a four-year-old to be pantsless was no big deal.

After the First Born was done, it was the Second Born's turn. After he was done, the water could not get any dirtier. Grossed out, Lu Jiao poured out the water and got a fresh batch for the Third and Fourth Born.

The Fourth Born was such a scaredy-cat that he didn't dare to look at her. When she held onto him, he even started to shake uncontrollably.

Lu Jiao was speechless. Just how scared was he? She didn't blame him though as the original host hit the Fourth Born the most.

Who was This? Who was This?

Lu Jiao felt guilty. Though she wasn't the one who hit them, she was in the body of the woman who did.

"Don't be scared. I won't hit you."

She took out her hand and patted the Fourth Born's head. The Fourth Born shuddered but seemed to have felt better. There was now some light in the way he looked at Lu Jiao. He couldn't help but touch Lu Jiao's hand, though he then retreated his hand before Lu Jiao could speak.

Then again, he extended his hand to touch it as if he had discovered a fun toy.

Lu Jiao let him play his own game.

After the Third and Fourth Born were done with their bath, Lu Jiao realized that the four quadruplets did not look identical. The First Born looked like Xie Yunjin. While the Second and Third Born looked a lot like each other, they didn't look like their father. Still, they were very handsome.

Lu Jiao stared at them and discovered that they actually looked very much like the self she was in her previous life.

Lu Jiao couldn't help but touch her fat face. Could it be that after she lost weight, she would look like the person she was in her previous life? If that was the case, then there was no need to worry. She was very pretty in her previous life.

Out of the four kids, the most beautiful was the Fourth Born. The Fourth Born had large eyes and the end of his eyes slightly pointed upwards. Though young, he appeared very chivalrous.

Just how deviously handsome will this child grow up to be? Lu Jiao thought about it and couldn't help but pinch this little guy's face.

The Fourth Born lifted his head and innocently looked at Lu Jiao. That loveable face of his made her want to put him in her pocket.

Lu Jiao pondered if Xie Yunjin would allow her to take Fourth Born when they separated. However, she decided there was no way he could let that happen and gave up.

She sighed and her gaze landed on the First Born's wounded hand. She took some antibiotics and applied them to his hand. Then, she found a clean cloth and bandaged him up.

Logically, the First Born was injured and shouldn't take a bath. But he was far too dirty and it was difficult to even look at him. There was dirt on his hand and if that got into his skin, he may get an infection.

"Okay. I've applied some medicine. Remember, don't get it wet again. Only use your hand once it heals, got it?"

Right now, Lu Jiao's eyes appeared kind and her tone was gentle. The First Born got lost in her eyes and couldn't react for a long time. Who was this? Who was this?

Afterward, Lu Jiao got up to wash the children's dirty clothes. These little boys didn't have many clothes and if she didn't wash them now, they won't have clothes later on. So, she better wash them and hang them to dry. Luckily it was summer and they'll dry quickly.

In the future, she'll go into town and get each of them two new sets of clothes.

Lu Jiao got up and was ready to wash the clothes when a group of people outside the walls started to march in. These people spoke loudly as they gossiped, "That woman, Lu Jiao, is taking it too far. She has money but isn't using it to help Yunjin? She's also starving Yunjin? Does she want to kill him so she can remarry?"

"That woman was evil to start with. She's just gotten worse over the years. The Xie village will not allow such women to exist."

"Let's throw her out. Throw her out!"

"The Xie family cannot have its reputation ruined because of that woman. If our reputation is ruined, we won't be able to marry our sons and daughters off in the future."

"Hmmph, she refused to use her money. My second brother had to take out our family's money to treat my third brother. I caught him red-handed."

The woman speaking was Xie Yunjin's youngest and only sister, Xie Lan.

Xie Lan's words made Xie Erzhu blush. He blushed, "I didn't steal our family's money. I didn't. I…"

Xie Lan didn't let him finish before he went off, "If you didn't steal our money, where did you get the money to buy third brother medicine? I heard that woman doesn't use her own money to buy third brother medicine."

Just then, the crowd looked over to the shortest woman in the group, the wife with the maiden name Ruan.

Lady Ruan had her hair brushed back and her thin face was tense. Her triangular eyes drooped down and she appeared very unhappy.

"Mother, you must teach that woman a lesson this time. Also, tell that woman to pay up her five taels of silver."

Lady Ruan heard her daughter's words and her face got even darker. The moment she entered the courtyard, she saw the fat Lu Jiao.

Lady Ruan's face was full of disgust.

"Lu Jiao, how dare you! You have the money yet you don't buy my son medicine? Tell me, what is your intention? Are you trying to kill my son?"

Lady Ruan was furious as she stared at Lu Jiao.

Lu Jiao narrowed her eyes and scanned the crowd. Other than members of the Xie family, there were some people from the village. These people all stared at her with much unfriendliness. Some even sneered.

Lu Jiao glanced around and ignored those from the village. She focused on Lady Ruan, the leader of the pack.

"Mother, you're talking to me about the five taels of silver you gave us when you forced us out? Yes, I didn't use that money to buy medicine. The reason why I didn't use that money was all because of your family. Your son was heavily injured and instead of taking out money to pay for your son's treatment, you moved your son out. You only gave us five taels of silver. Let me ask you – how much medicine can we get with that?"

Lu Jiao didn't let Lady Ruan speak. She then looked over to Xie Erzhu, "Second brother, how much medicine can you get with five taels of silver?"

Xie Erzhu became flushed and didn't dare to look at those around him. He felt extremely embarrassed by all of this. Their third brother was chosen as a scholar, so the whole family grew glorious. Yet the moment their third brother was hurt, their parents shunned him from the family and only gave him five taels of silver.

If it weren't for his own savings, only death awaited their third brother.

After he heard what Lu Jiao had asked, he whispered, "That's enough for three days of medicine – the most basic kind. If you want to buy higher quality medicine, the doctor said one portion is five taels."

Inside the courtyard, all the villagers gasped.

Three days of medicine costs five taels of silver? And that was the most basic type? If good medicine cost five taels for one day alone, just how much would Yunjin's injuries cost the family? His injury was an endless hole.

Though they were shocked to hear how expensive Yunjin's injury was, the fact that the Xie parents shunned their son still felt unacceptable.

Yunjin was very unlucky to have such parents. Many people sighed for him.

Lu Jiao looked over to Lady Ruan and stated at a slow pace, "Mother, look at my family. There's one man injured and four young boys. If I used all that silver for medicine, the rest of us would starve to death."

The crowd looked over to Lu Jiao and the four unsettled little boys. The sight of the boys shocked them.

Not only was Lu Jiao herself squeaky clean and looked fresh from her bath, but the four little boys were also squeaky clean.

Lu Jiao appeared a little different now?

Everyone shared that thought. At the front of the crowd, Xie Lan spoke up, "Lu Jiao, even if you only had five taels of silver, you should hurry and buy medicine for my third brother first. My second brother had to steal money from our family to buy medicine. How's that acceptable?"

Lu Jiao looked over to Xie Erzhu in shock. The money he used to buy medicine was stolen?

Xie Erzhu's face instantly turned red. He couldn't help but get angry, "I told you, I didn't take money from the family."

Xie Lan furiously screamed, "Then where did you get the money to buy third brother medicine?"

Frustrated, Xie Erzhu stared at Xie Lan, "Third brother gave me that money as support from before. He saw that I was exhausted from working all day and slipped me some money to buy food. I didn't buy food and saved the money instead."

Xie Erzhu's words changed the expression on Xie Lan's face. She acted as if she had just discovered evidence to use against him.

"Well, well, well, second brother. It is our family rule that nobody should have a secret stash of money. You dare to hide money."

Just then, Lu Jiao spoke up.

"Xie Lan, your second brother has a good conscience. I want to ask you, where is your conscience? Your third brother has always spoiled you and your fourth brother. When your third brother got injured, you guys shunned him and until now, none of you came to visit him. Do you have any conscience?"

Xie Lan's face dropped as her gaze threw daggers at Lu Jiao.

This fat b!tch. Statements like that would tarnish her reputation.

The more Xie Lan thought about it, the angrier she got. She wanted to speak but Lu Jiao gave her no opportunity, "It is no wonder that you're already 17 yet still unmarried. I see it's because you have no heart and nobody dares to marry you."

Wasn't this Woman Afraid?

The reason why Xie Lan was 17 and still unmarried was that she had very high standards and wanted to marry into the city.

Not only did she want the man to be rich, but she also wanted him to be good-looking. In the end, it caused everything to drag on for this long.

Lu Jiao had twisted the situation and made it sound like it was because she had no good heart and nobody wanted her.

Xie Lan started to cry while her mother's face became squished together. She clenched her teeth, "Lu Jiao, you dare to ruin your sister-in-law's reputation. You're an awful woman. The Xie family does not tolerate women like you. I…"

Before she could finish, someone else rushed into the courtyard. The moment this person entered, she exploded.

"I see how it is, you witch. You are here bullying my daughter again! You think the Lu family is all dead? You good for nothing old woman. Every day, you torture your daughter-in-law just because you're bored. For my daughter to marry into your family is her misfortune! Why should she be tortured and taken advantage of by you? Today, I am going to teach you a lesson so you know that the Lu family isn't to be screwed with."

This person lunged on top of Lady Ruan. She had a tall and thin build – an entire head taller than Lady Ruan. Therefore, Lady Ruan had no chance to counterattack. Even if she did, she wouldn't have won the fight. There was nothing she could do but be pulled by the collar and dragged across the ground.

Everyone in the courtyard was stunned by this scene. Everyone forgot how to respond.

Lu Jiao identified this woman who was teaching Lady Ruan a lesson. That was her mother by title, Lady Tian. Lady Tian was the opposite of Lu Jiao. She was thin and tall with long limbs. It was obvious that she was an efficient woman.

However, from her memories, Lu Jiao knew that this mother truly loved the original host.

The original host was often sick as a child and had to take a lot of medicine. If she was born into any other family, she would've been tossed out given that she was a girl and unhealthy. Lady Tian, however, was willing to spend the money to raise her daughter. This was why the original host got chubby. It was due to all the medicine she had as a child.

In Lu Jiao's previous life, her parents married through an arranged marriage. They didn't love her very much after they havd her. Afterward, her parents each found their own true love and sent Lu Jiao to a boarding school. Therefore, Lu Jiao was often jealous of girls who were spoiled by their parents.

She never expected that in her transmigrated life, she would get this woman as her mother. Lu Jiao instantly decided to love Lady Tian the best way she knew how in the future.

In the courtyard, Lady Ruan got dragged around by a full circle. By then, she finally reacted and started to scream, "Help, help!"

Xie Lan responded and started to shout anxiously, "Someone, save my mother. This old woman dares to bully my mother on the Xie family turf. She's taking it too far."

This sentence effectively garnered the Xie villagers' attention.

Lu Jiao saw that the villagers were about to attack so she walked over to stop Lady Tian.

"Mother, let my mother-in-law go."

She didn't feel bad for Lady Ruan. If she died from this, then she deserved it. She was worried that the villagers would avenge her and hurt Lady Tian.

Hearing her daughter's words, Lady Tian finally lets go of Lady Yuan. By now, Lady Yuan was dusty in the face and looked like a beggar. She was born ugly and after such commotion, she almost didn't look human.

Xie Lan rushed to her side to help, "Mother, are you okay?"

Lady Yuan sat down on the ground and started to howl, "What sins have my Xie family committed to have welcomed such an unpleasant woman into the family? My perfectly good son was dragged down by her and now I just got beat up. Where's the justice?"

Her cry infuriated Lady Tian. She wanted to go up and beat up this old demon again. She had stopped considering they were in-laws a long time ago. She dragged her around was just to teach her a lesson. But she had cursed her daughter. What was the point in being nice now?

Lady Tian was about to go up to her when Lu Jiao dragged her back. She looked at Lady Yuan and said slowly, "Mother, why don't we go to the judges if you want to talk justice. Let's ask the county magistrate, what kind of parents would move out their son when their son gets injured? The son that was forced out of the family was also an honorable scholar, the examiner who ranked number one in all of the Qinghe Prefecture. I believe the country magistrate likely still remembers my husband. Why don't we pay a visit to the county magistrate at his office."

Lu Jiao's words silenced the crowd. Everyone stared at her as if they no longer recognized her.

This woman felt different from before. Before, she would roll around in the mud and curse at people with all sorts of ugly words.

She now did not curse and spoke logic.

Her words somehow imposed power over these people. Nobody in the crowd dared to underestimate her after they heard her speak.

Especially when she said she wanted to go to the county magistrate for justice. There wasn't a single trace of fear on her face. The commoners didn't fight against those with titles. Wasn't this woman afraid?

Lady Yuan was successfully scared off. Of course, she remembered that when her son was chosen as the scholar, the county magistrate personally visited. Back then, he had gifted the family 100 taels of gold. If the county magistrate found out that they shunned their son after he got hurt, they may get punished.

Lady Yuan was scared and didn't dare to argue now.

Just then, outside the trellis, the Village Leader, Xie Caigui, and Xie Yunjin's father, Xie Laogen, rushed over.

When they heard Lu Jiao's words, their faces turned dark.

Xie Fugui didn't want to take this as far as Lady Ruan. If that happens, their entire village's reputation may be tarnished.

Xie Laogen wanted that even less. Because he knew that they were wrong when they moved their son out.

When those two people entered the courtyard, they shouted at Lady Yuan instead.

"What are you yelling for? Is there an end to this?"

Xie Laogen helped his wife up, "Let's go back. Why are you causing a scene."

Lady Yuan didn't dare to speak anymore and got up to leave.

Before Xie Laogen left, he looked over to Lu Jiao with a troubled face, "Third daughter-in-law, I didn't want this to happen this way. But this is the condition of the family and there's nothing I can do."

Lu Jiao faked a smile and looked at Xie Laogen, "As long as you don't regret this one day."

Behind them, Xie Fugui glanced around and became angry, "What are you all fighting for? You must have too much time. Everyone, get back!"

Everyone was already stunned by what Lu Jiao had to say and so they no longer dared to kick Lu Jiao out. Instead, they all left.

Xie Erzhu however, didn't leave. While others were distracted, he went to check up on Xie Yunjin.

For their family to pull this stunt and not even end see their third brother, third brother must feel terrible. He needed to go and comfort him.

The crowd left very quickly. However, Shen Xiu, who stood at the back, didn't want to give up. She originally wanted to use the Xie family to kick out Lu Jiao. That way, she could marry third brother Xie.

Though third brother Xie was now disabled, she didn't mind. She would take care of him for the rest of his life. Who knew that she would end up failing. Shen Xie left in a rage.

Inside the courtyard, Lu Jiao looked over at the right time and saw Shen Xiu grit her teeth.

Her eyes narrowed and she carefully calculated the situation. She was almost certain that what happened today was set up by Shen Xiu, who influenced that idiotic Xie Lan to act out.

Lu Jiao couldn't help but snicker. That woman truly loved Xie Yunjin. Despite the fact that he was paralyzed, she still wanted to marry him. However, since Shen Xiu tried to drag down Lu Jiao, Lu Jiao was not going to forgive her easily.

Just she waits!

Mentally Exhausted

As Lu Jiao thought this over, Lady Tian hurriedly went up to her and started to check Lu Jiao's hands. After she made sure her daughter was fine, she sighed in relief.

"Thankfully I arrived on time. Or else you would've been taken advantage of."

To Lady Tian, her daughter will forever be the young wife who got bullied by her mother-in-law.

Lu Jiao sensed Lady Tian's sadness deeply and naturally pulled on Tian's hand, "Mother, why are you here?"

"I was worried so I came to check in on you."

Then, Lady Tian reached out her hand and took something from her younger son's hand. She handed it to Lu Jiao.

"I brought you a chicken and 20 eggs. My son-in-law isn't well. Remember to kill the chicken and feed it to him."

The Lu family wasn't rich. On the contrary, they were actually very poor. However, Lady Tian had always left the best for Lu Jiao. The original host was used to that.

To Lu Jiao however, this made her feel awful. Since she decided to love Lady Tian, she didn't want a bad relationship between the in-laws. Plus, her little brother, Lu Gui, was already 18 years old.

Because they were too poor, he still hasn't gotten a wife. However, since Lu Gui knew how to read, he got a job at a restaurant in town. Every month, he would receive a decent income.

"Mom, bring these home. You don't need to give these to me. I haven't been filial and continued to take from you. That's unacceptable."

Lu Jiao's words made Lady Tian stare at her. She didn't speak for a long time.

Lu Jiao's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that she had blown her cover?

Tears started to form in Lady Tian's eyes as she patted her daughter's head, "My Jiaojiao has finally learned to care for her mother. I am so happy."

She then wiped her tears dry and smiled, "It's okay. We have more at home."

Lu Jiao knew the situation at home. However, since Lady Tian brought these over, there was no way she'd admit that they didn't have this at home. Oh well, Lu Jiao will think of another way to repay her family. Better yet, she'll figure out a way for the family to make a living.

Lu Jiao decided not to reject this and took over the eggs and the chicken.

"Mom, let me put these in the kitchen."

She then hollered at Lu Gui, her little brother, "Brother, go sit inside with mom. I'll get you some water."

Though the Lu family lived in the neighboring village, there was a mountain between the villages. For Lady Tian and Lu Gui to come here today, it must've taken them two hours. The love Lady Tian felt for her daughter softened Lu Jiao's heart.

She poured some sugar water for Lady Tian and Lu Gui. As she poured, she caught the four little ones sneaking a peek. When she caught them, they all retracted their heads.

Lu Jiao found this funny and took out two more bowls. She poured them some sugar water and said to them, "Alright, I made two bowls for you guys. You four can share."

She took the water to the main hall but discovered that her mother and Lu Gui went to the east bedroom.

That made sense. The mother-in-law and brother-in-law should check out their injured son-in-law when they visited.

Lu Jiao took the water into the east bedroom. At the door, she heard her mother speak to Xie Yunjin.

"Son, Jiaojiao knows better now. In the future, she will live a settled life with you. The past is in the past. I just want you two to live harmonious and raise your four children into honorable people. That's the most important thing."

Lady Tian remembered to ask Xie Erzhu for his opinion, "Second uncle, am I right?"

What else could Xie Erzhu say? He nodded and quickly agreed, "You're right."

Tian glanced at her expressionless son-in-law. Honestly, she was a little scared of this man. However, for her daughter, she forced herself to continue.

"Jiaojiao was too young before. She's grown up now and will do better and better. Son, please forget all the unpleasantness from the past."

Outside the door, Lu Jiao couldn't bear to listen any longer. She had already agreed with Xie Yunjin that they'd separate once his legs heal. Wouldn't he think otherwise if her mother vouched for her like this?

Lu Jiao quickly stepped in, "Mom, brother, you've traveled far. Come and have some water."

Lu Gui took it over but Lady Tian didn't take it. She said to Lu Jiao, "Go and feed some to your husband."

Lu Jiao didn't want to get too close to Xie Yunjin since that guy wanted to kill her.

But Lu Jiao shouldn't worry about him killing her now. Because of what happened with their son, Xie Yunjin must now be considerate of their sons. In the future, as long as she didn't ask for it, he likely won't kill her.

Despite this, Lu Jiao didn't want to be too close to Xie Yunjin.

"Mom, you drink this. He's not thirsty."

Lady Tian refused and insisted that she fed her husband.

Helpless, Lu Jiao looked over to Xie Erzhu, "Second brother, can you feed Yunjin some water."

Xie Erzhu was about to take over the water when Lady Tian stopped him, "Jiaojiao, don't bother the second uncle with everything. Do everything yourself. Go feed my son-in-law some water."

Her son-in-law was injured. This was the best time to mend this young couple's relationship.

Though her son-in-law was paralyzed, he was a scholar. It may be tiring in the short term, but things will get better once their kids grow up. They have four kids after all.

Lu Jiao glanced at Lady Tian then glanced at Xie Yunjin. She signaled to Xie Yunjin to decline this offer.

Sadly, Xie Yunjin acted like an idiot and didn't move. Instead, his eyes were fixated on Lu Jiao.

Lady Tian rushed, "Kid, I'm telling you to feed your man some water. What are you standing around for?"

Lu Jiao had no way out and forced herself to go over there. Just then, the four little beans burst in and as they walked, they licked their sweetened lips, "The water's sweet. Yummy."

"Yeah, before, daddy used to feed us sugar water. But it's been so long since we last had it."

The four little ones rushed over to Xie Yunjin's bedside, "Daddy, the water is sweet. It's so yummy."

"Drink it. It's sweet."

Xie Yunjin's eyes darkened somewhat. He remembered everything Lu Jiao had said in the courtyard just now.

She was logical, fearless, and didn't back down.

This woman seemed to have completely transformed. How did his mother-in-law educate her so successfully?

Xie Yunjin thought it over as he soundless stared at Lu Jiao.

Lu Jiao felt his gaze on her and felt uncomfortable. She then helped feed him water.

Lady Tian smiled in satisfied then waved her hand at the quadruplets, "Babies, come to grandma."

The four little ones liked Lady Tian because Lady Tian always brought them snacks when she visited. However, normally, the moment grandma left, the evil woman would take away their food.

"Grandma."

Lady Tian hugged the children and kissed each and every one of them. These four beautiful babies were truly good-looking. They all looked like her son-in-law.

Though they were poor, having these four kids around and educating them were more valuable than everything else.

Lady Tian took out four candies from her pocket.

"Here, let me feed you some candy."

On the side, Lu Gui put down his bowl and took out two rice cakes from his pocket, and handed them to the First and Second Born.

"Here, this is a gift from your uncle. You guys share."

Lu Gui loved the quadruplets but he disliked his sister. She was so annoying. Every time he visited the Xie village, he would hear bad things about her. Lu Gui found her humiliating. So every time he visited her, he would stay quiet.

If it weren't for the fact that he worried for his mother, he wouldn't even come with her. However, his four nephews truly brought him joy.

He held onto their hands and smiled, "Let's go, I'll feed you rice cakes."

"Yes, yes."

The four little ones were taken outside. Inside the room, Lu Jiao had fed Xie Yunjin the entire bowl of sugar water. She was now covered in sweat from exhaustion.

How mentally tiring!

Real love appears in times of Calamity

Lu Jiao fed him the water but didn't want to even look at Xie Yunjin. As she turned to leave, she wondered how stupid he was to not have seen her signal for him to decline this offer.

"Mom, let me pour you another cup."

Lady Tian said, "Pour your second uncle one too."

Xie Erzhu felt unsettled. He stood up and brandished his arm, "No need. There's no need."

He tried to leave but Lady Tian stopped him, "Second uncle, stay and have some water. It's not like it's something valuable. First of all, I must thank you for taking care of my son-in-law. This is really Jiaojiao's responsibility. Thank you for going through all the trouble."

Xie Erzhu shook his head, "It's nothing. I am doing what I should be doing."

His tone was somewhat sullen. After what happened today, he was scared that his mother wouldn't let him out to take care of his third brother anymore. So he was very worried.

Lady Tian had thought of that too. However, she wasn't worried, and instead, she was secretly overjoyed. Her own daughter could now personally take care of her son-in-law.

Only real relationships survive hardships. This young couple's relationship would only get better from now on.

As Lady Tian thought about it, she said to Xie Erzhu gently, "Second uncle, after what happened today with your family, I don't doubt that you will no longer be allowed to come out here to take care of my son-in-law."

On the bed, Xie Yunjin's body exuded coldness. Even the temperature in the room dropped.

He remembered that over the past three days, none of his parents or siblings came to pay him a visit.

Xie Yunjin couldn't help but snicker. Honestly, he was more than nice to his twin siblings. In the end, it was all for nothing. Plus, the reason why he was forced out after he got injured was partially due to his fourth brother.

Recently, his fourth brother set his eyes on this family – this girl from a neighboring village. Rumor has it that she was rather pretty but demanded much silver. His brother didn't lack that since he often took silver from the family.

But to marry, his fourth brother also needed a house. He wanted his third brother's house. So, he used third brother's injury as an excuse and convinced his parents to move out his brother and his family.

That thought truly pierced Xie Yunjin's heart. These people were his family.

Inside the room, Lady Tian's voice rose again, "But, second uncle, don't worry. From now on, the responsibility of taking care of my son-in-law will fall on Jiaojiao."

Lu Jiao, who just arrived with two more cups of sugar water almost stumbled. What happened?

Lu Jiao rushed inside to stop her mother before she could continue. When Lady Tian saw her, however, she waved her hand to get her to come over.

"Jiaojiao, your mother-in-law lost face today and I'm sure she won't let the second uncle visit anymore. The task of taking care of your man will now fall on you."

At once, Lu Jiao didn't know what to say. Logically, she should take care of him. Plus, to her, it won't be difficult to take care of him. The difficult part was that she had brought separation up to Xie Yunjin. For her to take care of him now would make him overthink.

Lady Tian was determined, "Alright, then it's decided. Second uncle, drink up."

Lady Tian took a bowl of water and handed the other one to Xie Erzhu, "Second uncle, drink."

Xie Erzhu took it over and drank it. It was sweet. How rare for his sister-in-law to put sugar in this.

He glanced at Lady Tian and thought that this was all thanks to her. If it weren't for her, his sister-in-law wouldn't have put sugar in his water.

Inside the room, Lady Tian finished her drink and looked up to Xie Yunjin, "Son, don't worry and rest up. Don't worry about money. We will think of a way."

She then got up and dragged Lu Jiao outside. Lu Jiao took the chance to take Xie Erzhu's empty bowl.

Once they left, Xie Erzhu looked over to Xie Yunjin and said, "Your mother-in-law is rather nice."

Xie Yunjin's expression was cold. After he saw Lady Tian and remembered his own mother, he smirked mockingly.

He looked back at Xie Erzhu, "Second brother, only visit when you're free from now on. Lu Jiao will take care of me."

After this series of events, Xie Yunjin had a hunch that even if Xie Erzhu could no longer come, Lu Jiao would take care of him.

This woman seemed to be completely different now. But that face of hers still disgusted Xie Yunjin.

He was now too lazy to think about why that woman changed so much. As long as she took care of him, he was good. As for the fact that she would find him a doctor to treat his legs… Xie Yunjin didn't believe that one bit.

After he heard his third brother's crestfallen words, Xie Erzhu felt bad. He was very sad on the inside as well and he himself wasn't very liked by his family.

"Third brother, then off I go."

"Yeah, go home now."

In the kitchen, Lady Tian was about to talk to Lu Jiao when she saw Xie Erzhu leave. Lady Tian came out to greet him, "Second uncle, you're going back?"

"Yes, there's work to be done. I cannot stay any longer. I must go back."

Xie Erzhu didn't ask Lady Tian to visit sometime. After all, his own mother must hate Lady Tian very much right now.

After bidding farewell, Lady Tian went back to the kitchen to lecture Lu Jiao.

"Do you remember anything I taught you? Take care of your man. Before he didn't like you but now, it's a great opportunity to get him to like you. Don't be stupid and forego this opportunity. Real love appears in times of calamity. My son-in-law isn't heartless. You better treat him well so you can live in harmony.

Plus, you have four kids together. Look at how beautiful they are. Once they grow up, they will be as handsome as my son-in-law. At that time, you will have an endless fortune to enjoy. So, you better treat your husband and your children well."

Others may not understand their daughters but Lady Tian thought she knew her daughter well. Back then, when her daughter was about to marry Xie Yunjin, she was over the moon.

Who knew that after marriage, her mood got worse and worse. She knew it was because she wanted her husband's love but her husband didn't think much of her.

Lady Tian was angry too. But what was there to do? Right now, there was an opportunity.

Lu Jiao's scalp felt fuzzy but she didn't want to tell Lady Tian the fact that she had agreed to separate from Xie Yunjin. Oh well, she will tell her mother later on.

"Mom, I will take care of him. Don't worry."

Lady Tian nodded in satisfaction. Then, carefully, she took out five taels of silver and handed it to Lu Jian.

"This is for my son-in-law's treatment. We gathered our money and borrowed some from our neighbors. This is all we have for now. Don't worry, we will find ways to get more."

Lu Jiao stared at the silver and was stunned. She knew that the Lu family was very poor and had very little income. She didn't expect her mother to give her silver at a time like this.

She could imagine just how much her sisters-in-law would hate her mother if they knew.

Lu Jiao shoved back the silver, "Mom, you already gave me silver last time. I'm not taking it this time."

Lady Tian didn't care what she wanted and shoved it back, "Enough. Once you make money, you can repay me. Get my son-in-law treated. Even if he never walks again, he may get to sit up in the future. You can get him a chair and life will go on."

Lu Jiao wanted to argue more but Lady Tian had turned to leave. As she left she spoke, "Alright, I have some stuff to do at home so I will go back now."

Lu Jiao froze. She wanted to go and stop Lady Tian but Lady Tian was very speedy, "Okay, I have to go now. You go back. Go back."

Lady Tian got to the main door and shouted at Lu Gui, who was playing with his nephew, "Lu Gui, let's go home now."

I'm not Hungry

Lu Jiao chased Lady Tian all the way to the gate, "Mom, eat something before you leave."

Lady Tian didn't pause and continued to walk forward in giant leaps as if terrified that Lu Jiao would chase after her.

Behind her, Lu Jiao's eyes were wet. Lady Tian truly loved her daughter and her maternal love was so intense.

Lu Jiao knew that Lady Tian lied when she said she had stuff to do at home. At least, she knew there was enough time to have a meal together. The reason she wanted to leave so soon was because she wanted to save Lu Jiao's food for Lu Jiao's family.

The more Lu Jiao thought about it, the sadder she got. Soon, tears started to roll down her cheeks.

Outside the trellis, the quadruplets watched the woman cry. They were unbelievably shocked that this evil woman knew how to cry.

The smallest of the four, the Fourth Born, carefully walked over and extended his hand to touch Lu Jiao's.

Lu Jiao lowered her gaze and saw the skinny little man peer up at her. He was so astonishingly cute. When he realized that she saw him, he quickly retreated his hand. When Lu Jiao looked back up, he poked at her again.

Thanks to his silliness, Lu Jiao didn't feel sad anymore. Since Lady Tian was so nice to her, she will repay the favor in the future. Ah no, she had to make money fast and return that five taels of silver. Or else it will be difficult for Lady Tian to explain this to the Lu family.

Lu Jiao thought of the herbs she had in her space. The ginseng and the ganoderma grew rather successfully. One of the ginseng was a century-old while the other was 50 years old. Out of all the ganoderma, the oldest was 50 years old.

Tomorrow, she will go into the mountains and pretend that she found two bunches of ganoderma. She'll sell one of them to Baohe Tang and use the other on Xie Yunjin. Xie Yunjin's current prescription lacked medicine that nourished the body.

His prescription asked for a medicinal herb that could help circulate the blood and treat infections. A good medicinal herb with such effects would cost them at least five taels of silver per portion.

That prescription didn't even include ginseng, ganoderma, or other rarer medicinal herbs.

Before, Xie Erzhu was right to say that he had been buying the most basic and common medicine. Xie Yunjin would need to take those for a very long time in order to see any effects.

As Lu Jiao thought about it, she picked up the Fourth Born. Fourth Born's boney body instantly tensed up.

Behind them, the First, Second, and Third Born all fixated their gazes on her, afraid that she would hit the Fourth Born.

Lu Jiao ignored them and turned to walk back into the courtyard.

She originally wanted to wash some clothes. But it was late now so she decided to cook first. After they ate, she could do the laundry.

Lunch was rice, fried eggs with green onions, leafy greens, and mushrooms.

The rice was cooked using what Lady Tian had given them before. There wasn't much to begin with and after she fed it to the family twice, there wasn't much left. In the end, Lu Jiao cooked all of it.

When she goes into town to sell the herbs, she'll buy some more rice and flour. It wasn't good for the kids to eat too much brown rice.

Since brown rice was not peeled, it had a hard texture. The rice must be soaked in water for two to three hours before it was cooked. If the rice was not soaked, it would be too hard to eat.

Lu Jiao finished cooking and saw that Xie Erzhu was nowhere in sight.

She checked the time and decided Xie Erzhu likely would not come. So today, it was her turn to feed Xie Yunjin his lunch.

Lu Jiao thought about it and decided it was no big deal. It was just feeding a patient. As a military doctor, it was more than normal for her to take care of the wounded…

Lu Jiao went to the east bedroom and found Xie Yunjin to be asleep. He was greatly injured and didn't rest last night. At this point, he looked really ill and his face was extremely pale.

If she didn't use the stream water to condition his body, he may never awaken.

His poor recovery was also due to the lack of good medicine. Though very injured, he could only afford the cheapest medicine and that was why he was barely healed.

Even the cheapest medicine cost one to two taels of silver. This proved just how valuable medicinal ingredients were in historic times.

Since Xie Yunjin was asleep, Lu Jiao left the room. However, the four little ones didn't leave the doorway. She couldn't help but call out to them, "Your daddy is asleep. Let's go eat something first. Once he's awake, I will feed him."

The four little ones didn't move and reacted as if they didn't trust her. Lu Jiao raised an eyebrow and threatened, "Let me tell you something – from today on, your grandma will no longer let your second uncle come over to look after your dad. So you can only count on me to take care of him. If you don't listen to me and behave, I won't take care of your dad."

The four little ones exchanged glances. They only now realized that their second uncle didn't show up today at noon.

The First Born was the first to walk towards Lu Jiao and stare at her, "We will listen to you. We won't run away if you hit us, or curse at us. In return, you take care of daddy."

The other three little ones followed with much docility, "We will listen to you. Don't just leave daddy there."

Lu Jiao nodded in satisfaction. It was a rare peaceful moment between the boys and their mother.

Though the four little ones only went to the kitchen for lunch after Lu Jiao threatened them. However, the sight of white rice and eggs widened their eyes.

White rice and eggs were valuable on their own. Lu Jiao's great cooking skills made this food taste even more delicious.

The quadruplets grinned ear to ear as they ate. The four little ones were cute like four puppies. Lu Jiao stared at them and didn't want to give up these four cuties to Xie Yunjin anymore.

But these four didn't like her much. So she gave up on that thought.

After lunch, Lu Jiao washed the clothes while she told the four little ones to take their afternoon nap. However, these four little ones were stubborn and stayed awake in order to protect Xie Yunjin.

The second Xie Yunjin woke up, Second Born rushed out to call Lu Jiao, "Daddy is awake. He is awake."

Lu Jiao put the last shirt out to dry and headed to the east bedroom.

On the bed, Xie Yunjin really was awake and chatted with the four little ones. When Lu Jiao walked in, he paused before he continued, "Go to sleep. I will be okay."

First Born said with a stern face, "Daddy, you haven't eaten. You can't heal without eating."

He then turned his head to peer at Lu Jiao. Lu Jiao instantly opened her mouth, "I will go get some rice and veggies and feed you."

She was in a rush today and didn't get to make chicken soup.

Lu Jiao was about to head out when Xie Yunjin said, "Don't. I'm not hungry."

Lu Jiao stopped and looked back to find the man did not look at her. Instead, his eyes were half-closed as if he wanted to rest more.

She thought that he acted this way because he hadn't gotten enough sleep. Therefore, she didn't think much of it, "Alright, then you sleep a little longer."

She then asked the four little beans to accompany their dad and nap with him.

The four little ones wanted to speak but Xie Yunjin gently comforted them, "Enough now. Go to sleep. I am not hungry right now. When I get hungry, I will eat."

The four little ones nodded and fell asleep soon after they closed their eyes.

Lu Jiao looked over to Xie Yunjin and said, "Keep an eye on them. I am going up to the mountain. We are out of firewood so I will pick some up. Plus, I will try to see if I can find some things to eat up there."

There wasn't much housework left here so she had the time to make a trip up the mountain. She'll use this opportunity to take the two bunches of herbs from her space. But, it was true that they were almost out of firewood and she needed to fetch some.

The original host had used chopped-up old tables and chairs as firewood. By now, there wasn't much furniture left in the house to burn.

A Troublesome Man

Lu Jiao only told Xie Yunjin this so he knew to watch over the little beans. She did not intend to discuss her plans with him.

She then turned to leave. Behind her, Xie Yunjin's eyes narrowed. This woman was still overweight. But her steps were steady, calm, and unrushed. The way she moved now exuded confidence – this was so unlike her.

Xie Yunjin continued to feel like this woman was now a brand new person. This likely was thanks to his mother-in-law. However, if his mother-in-law was this capable, why didn't she succeed before? There were so many suspicious matters but that woman's face was exactly the same as before.

Xie Yunjin was confused.

Lu Jiao didn't care for Xie Yunjin. After she left the room, she searched around the home but failed to find the ax used to chop wood. However, she did find a rather old and broken basket she could wear as a backpack.

But without an ax, how could she go up the mountain to chop wood? Lu Jiao put on the basket and went to borrow an ax.

Her reputation was rather damaged here and it was likely that nobody would lend it to her. Lu Jiao stood by the gate, troubled.

Not far from here was another courtyard. A skinny old lady saw the troubled way Lu Jiao looked and so she walked over. As she approached, she asked, "Yunjin's wife. What's wrong?"

Lu Jiao stared and searched her brain to figure out who this old lady was. She was her father-in-law, Xie Laogen's second sister-in-law, Lady Xia. Everyone here called her "Second Grandma".

Second Grandpa died young and left Second Grandma behind as a widow. The two of them bore two sons and two daughters. She was a very kind woman. When Xie Yunjin was exiled here, Second Grandma even brought them some boiled eggs.

Lu Jiao smiled and asked, "Second grandma, do you have an ax at home? We are out of firewood and I want to go up the mountain to get some."

Second Grandma felt bad when she heard her words, "Why would a young woman go chop wood by herself up in the mountain? Bring my Huzi up there to help you."

Huzi was Second Grandma's biological grandson. He'd been married for two years but the couple hasn't had any children.

Naturally, Lu Jiao wasn't going to summon Huzi to get her firewood. That wasn't a sustainable solution.

"Second Grandma, there's no need. I will walk around the mountain and gather some usable wood. I won't go up deep into the mountain."

Second Grandma didn't insist then. She led Lu Jiao home to find her the ax.

The Second Grandma's family now lived separately and she lived with her oldest son. When her oldest daughter-in-law saw Lu Jiao, she expressed an obvious displacement and barely acknowledged Lu Jiao. Lu Jiao, however, didn't say much and left after she got her ax.

Second Grandma was worried and continued to tell Lu Jiao to be careful. Lady Zhao saw this and couldn't help but mutter, "Mother, why would you lend her our own ax? She can chop wood? That must be a joke."

Second Grandma turned to look at her daughter-in-law, "Enough now. She's one woman taking care of an injured man and four babies. It's hard for her. We should help out when we can. You shouldn't be so harsh and act like your Fourth Grandma and Grandpa."

Lu Jiao ignored those two. After she obtained her ax, she headed straight up the mountain. The Xie family was established right next to the mountain and since Lu Jiao's place was the most west of the village, they lived closest to the mountain.

But her physical body was truly useless. The climb up the mountain made her sweat bean-sized sweat that soaked up her entire outfit. Luckily it was summer now and she drew no attention.

After Lu Jiao climbed up the mountain, she first observed her surrounding. There truly were a lot of resources here, with medicinal herbs being the most abundant. Other than that, there were many wild fruits and fungi.

She originally thought that there wouldn't be much up here in the mountains. After all, many villages had settled around here. However, after she looked around, she realized that there was so much stuff around.

Lu Jiao was first confused but then she later understood. The villagers weren't educated and didn't have much experience. There were things on the mountain that should not be eaten. This is why they didn't dare to randomly collect anything – in case they encounter something poisonous.

Normally, the villagers would only harvest the wild vegetables and mushrooms that they recognize. Those they didn't recognize, they didn't dare to even touch them.

Lu Jiao smiled at that thought. She made a simple trap and tossed in the stream-washed bamboo rat that she caught.

Once that was done, she took her ax to chop up some wood.

Lu Jiao was very strong so chopping wood wasn't much work for her. She compiled a lot very quickly.

But as she chopped, she thought of the paralyzed Xie Yunjin. Due to the concussion and internal spleen bleeding, he couldn't do large movements. Therefore, he couldn't get out of bed. That meant it was easy to take care of going to the washroom for number one. They simply needed a bucket. But what about going number two?

Lu Jiao pondered and decided to make a simple toilet using bamboo. She chopped up some bamboo and then attached them together using natural rubber she found on trees.

Once she was done, it had gotten late. Lu Jiao went to check her trap and saw that two wild chickens and one wild rabbit fell for it. They were all still alive.

Lu Jiao laughed out of joy. These were all proteins!

She took the chickens and the rabbit and along with her firewood, she descended the mountain.

The night had fallen so she didn't run into anyone here. By the time she got home, she saw four little heads pop through the window in the main living room. When those four saw her come, they disappeared quickly with a "whoosh".

Lu Jiao shook her head and laughed as she found this funny. She put down the firewood, which was taller than her. Since the wood she chopped was wet, she could only burn them after they have dried for a few days.

It was late and time to prepare dinner. Before she started, she visited the east bedroom.

On the bed, Xie Yunjin was awake. The sight of her darkened his eyes. Lu Jiao raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you thirsty? How about I get you a cup of water for your throat."

Xie Yunjin coldly declined, "No need. You should go cook. The children are hungry."

Since he didn't want to drink, Lu Jiao left to go outside.

Behind her, Xie Yunjin subconsciously licked his lips. His entire being was unspeakably sullen and there was much coldness in his eyes.

He never expected to find himself in such a difficult situation. To need care from a woman who disgusted him, made him hate himself inside out.

Outside the door, Lu Jiao suddenly stopped and peered backward. She saw Xie Yunjin lick his lips and it was obvious that he was thirsty.

Lu Jiao was speechless. This man surely was troublesome.

So the future First Assistant was a troublesome man.

Lu Jiao did not say anything and went to fetch a bowl of sugar water. While she did that, she also self-reflected. Xie Yunjin was very injured and needed much hydration. She was at fault for not supplying him with it.

Lu Jiao went into the room with sugar water, "Drink this first."

Xie Yunjin instantly declined, "I said I don't need it."

Lu Jiao ignored him and went up to him with the water. She helped him sit up and ordered with a stern attitude, "Enough, drink this."

Xie Yunjin glared at her coldly but in the end, lowered his head to drink the water. The sweet water washed down his throat and brought him instant comfort.

As he drank, Lu Jiao said slowly, "Today, I went up the mountain to chop some firewood. I caught two wild chickens and a wild rabbit. Tomorrow, I will make you some soup. I also found two ganoderma up there today. Tomorrow, I will sell one to Baohe Tang. As for the money…"

Then get your Revenge

Before Lu Jiao could finish, Xie Yunjin choked on the water. She caught two wild chickens and a wild rabbit? Along with two bunches of ganoderma? How come he never knew there were so many goodies in the mountains?

Lu Jiao didn't expect her words to make Xie Yunjin choke. She quickly went to find something to wipe his mouth with. She failed to find anything nearby and in the end, wiped his mouth with her own sleeve.

Lu Jiao only did it out of convenience but Xie Yunjin was stunned by her action, "You, you…"

When Lu Jiao realized that she had just wiped Xie Yunjin's mouth with her sleeve, she felt awful.

"Haha, it's late. I'm going to cook for the four babies."

She then took the bowl and left. Behind her, Xie Yunjin angrily stared at her, "Lu Jiao, you dare to wipe my mouth with your sleeve."

Outside the door, Lu Jiao sneered. Ha, he minded the fact that she wiped his mouth? It was a luxury that someone wiped his mouth in the first place.

She walked to the kitchen to cook for the four little ones. For dinner, she made porridge with glutinous rice and vegetables. Honestly, glutinous rice was hard to digest, but they were out of white rice and she didn't soak the brown rice. Cornmeal wasn't nutritious and shouldn't be eaten too frequently.

So, Lu Jiao made glutinous rice and vegetable porridge. The glutinous rice was a gift from the village leader.

After she was done, she poured the food into four bowls and set them on the table. She went to the east bedroom to call the four little ones to dinner.

"Come out and eat."

The four little ones didn't move. Lu Jiao grunted and the four little guys remembered what she said at noon and quickly came out.

The First Born walked to her and looked up at her, "Then, feed daddy some food."

Lu Jiao saw his determined face and how he was doing his best to mimic Xie Yunjin's cold demeanor. In actuality, however, he was very much anxious.

Lu Jiao found this hilarious. He was only a silly kid yet he pretended to be an adult. She raised her hand and rubbed the First Born's head.

"Enough now. I will feed your daddy. You guys go and eat."

The First Born was in shock. This evil woman dared to touch his head.

Behind him, the Fourth Born walked over. He gawked at her, then gawked at her hand.

Lu Jiao understood him immediately. He wanted a pat on the head as well.

Lu Jiao's grin widened. What an amazing baby he was. She raised her hand and patted the Fourth Born's head, "Good boy. You guys go eat and I will get some food to feed your dad."

The four little beans finally went to eat. Lu Jiao fetched a bowl of glutinous rice and vegetable porridge to feed Xie Yunjin,

Because Xie Yunjin would lay in bed all day, he didn't digest well. So, Lu Jiao didn't get too much food.

"I didn't have time to make chicken soup. I'll make it for you tomorrow."

However, the man in the bed ignored her words and slightly nudged his body away.

"You get out and eat. I don't need you to feed me."

Dark lines appeared on Lu Jiao's face. In hindsight, she realized why Xie Yunjin acted so strange. She thought about it carefully and realized that after this guy got injured, he'd eaten very little. Why was that?

"Xie Yunjin, what are you playing at? You're critically wounded, how can you not eat? I remember now – for the last few days, you've only eaten very little as well. You also always have a lot of leftovers."

The air around Xie Yunjin turned colder. Depression started to cloud his eyes as he spat in anger, "That's not your business. Get out and eat."

Lu Jiao ignored him. The sick had the right to act unreasonably.

"If you don't eat, what will happen to the four babies? If something were to happen to you, who would take care of them?"

Xie Yunjin's heart quivered a little as his fingers quietly tightened into a fist. He remained silent and his entire being appeared solemn and dejected.

Lu Jiao stared at him and a light flicked off in her head. Could it be because of the washroom issue?

The once glorious scholar was now paralyzed in bed and needed assistance to relieve himself. It was a given that he wouldn't be comfortable with that.

Lu Jiao blinked. That must be a hard knot to untie for many paralyzed patients.

"Xie Yunjin, could it be that you are not eating because of your inability to use the washroom?"

Xie Yunjin's body trembled. His handsome and slender face was now full of dark lines. He snapped his head around and gawked at Lu Jiao cruelly.

"What are you talking about?"

Though he didn't understand what she meant by "going to the washroom", he could vaguely guess what she meant. His expression was now indescribably ugly.

Lu Jiao didn't get scared off by him. With a heavy heart, she said, "Xie Yunjin, you are already heavily wounded. Though you're enduring by taking the medicine and you may be feeling somewhat alright, your physical body is actually doing very poorly. Do you know how unwell your face looks? You are not showing any signs of color. If this state continues, not only will you not heal, you will likely die due to your own doing."

"I understand why you're doing this. The once glorious scholar is now paralyzed in bed and requires assistance to use the washroom. This situation is far too embarrassing. But think about it, everyone gets sick sometimes. This is nothing. You need to think more about the quadruplets. They're worried daily about your health and don't dare to leave your side, terrified that something might happen to you. If something does happen to you, aren't you afraid they'll be traumatized?"

Lu Jiao's words somewhat changed the expression of the man in bed. However, when he looked up and saw Lu Jiao, his face quickly turned gloomy. He frowned and said in a heavy voice, "Lu Jiao, I am in this state all because of you. If I wasn't so worried that you'd hit the kids while I was away, I never would've taken an overnight trip to rush home. I wouldn't have run into a horse carriage in town and gotten hurt like this."

Lu Jiao listened to his furious words and didn't explain herself. She nodded, "Yes. This is all my fault. Since you blame me, then why not take this chance to revenge yourself? Why not make me take care of your meals and help you go pee? Isn't that the best revenge against me?"

Lu Jiao's words strike Xie Yunjin's brain like thunder.

That was right. He was paralyzed in bed. This woman had to take on most of the responsibilities. It was her responsibility to take care of him.

Xie Yunjin thought about it and looked over to the porridge in Lu Jiao's hand.

Lu Jiao didn't speak more, terrified that he would find something else to argue over. She quickly started to feed him.

After the majority of the food went into his tummy, she stopped. He had barely eaten for several days and wouldn't digest well if he ate too much at once. That would cause bloating.

"I'm going to brew your medicine. If you need to pee or something, call me. I'll be in the kitchen next door."

Lu Jiao got up to leave. Behind her, Xie Yunjin stared at her unkindly. This woman continued to talk about peeing. How indecent.

In the kitchen, the four little ones finished eating. When they saw Lu Jiao enter with an empty bowl, their faces instantly relaxed.

They got up and started to run outside. Behind them, Lu Jiao couldn't help but warn them, "Slow down."

She washed the dishes in the kitchen and started to brew medicine in a crock. As she sat and waited, she felt her body ache all over. There wasn't a single spot on her body that felt well. Once she sat down, she didn't want to move.

This body of hers has been far too lazy. It caused her to be in pain every time she moved. Even though it hurt, she did not plan to give up on her diet.