Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
How could Wei Ziqin be willing to let go of her hand? As she wiped the tears from her eyes, she said, “Child, I already asked Master Jiang, he said that classes got out very early yesterday and all the other children returned home early. Where in the world did you go?”
On her journey back, Qiao Mu had already thought of an excuse and edited out her trouble with that vixen woman and the other people. She merely said that she was nearly kidnapped after leaving the school but was thankfully rescued by a young chivalrous hero and returned home after some twists and turns.
Hearing this, Wei Ziqin found it exceptionally dangerous and hastily embraced her child, muttering her thanks for heavens’ blessing with an ashen face.
Qiao Mu comforted her for a while. Then, someone started loudly pounding on the door.
Wei Ziqin hesitated a moment before pulling Qiao Mu’s hand and said, “Your dad, he brought some people and turned the village upside down looking for you all of last night. In truth, it’s not that he doesn’t care about you.”
Qiao Mu dryly uttered a sound of agreement. Seeing her daughter’s icy face, Wei Ziqin could not help but sigh.
She could tell that in the past few days, Qiaoqiao was quite indifferent and unconcerned about her father, and she would not even him “Father.”
Ever since Xu Jiao escorted Qiaoqiao to the inn to make amends to Miss Liu, Qiaoqiao rarely looked at her father directly. Although the child did not say anything, her heart must have been hurt by her father.
“Qiaoqiao, do you blame your dad?”
Thud thud thud thud thud. The sound of the door shaking in its frame from strong slapping interrupted Wei Ziqin’s words.
Wei Ziqin anxiously glanced toward the door. “Qiaoqiao, you… Don’t say anything when you head out there, let Mother handle it.”
From the looks of Elderly Lady’s attitude, it appeared she would not this spare mother and daughter pair today unless a conclusion was reached.
“Mother.” Qiao Mu calmly looked at her mother. Her pitch-black eyes were very clear, and Wei Ziqin could see her own reflection in her daughter’s eyes.
“I have had a strange dream every night for the past few days.” Qiao Mu’s tone was fairly gentle and calm, as though she was detailing something unrelated to herself. “I dreamed that Younger Sis was sent to a rich family, but they did not treat her like a human. Every day, they beat her, cursed her, degraded her, subjugated her. When she was 12, Younger Sis died. She was tossed out of the estate like a pile of trash and laid in a shower of rain with rags that didn’t cover her and eyes that would not shut. This was because, in their eyes, she was nothing but trash. If she died, then she died. There was nothing unfortunate or pitiful about it.”
Wei Ziqin’s face contracted in horror, and she shot forward, clutching her daughter’s mouth. Her head furiously shook as she said, “It won’t happen. Qiaoqiao, why did you have such a horrifying dream? This is a dream—nothing but a dream! Mother has already decided that no one can take Xiao Lin’er from our side. Mother has decided. Mother has decided that no one can take my children away from me. Even your grandmother can’t decide for Mother.”
Qiao Mu tugged on her mother’s hand, and her lips stretched, trying to display a rigid smile. “I think so too. Mother, no one can presumptuously decide Xiao Lin’er’s fate for us. I will be wholly responsible for her life. Mother, this time, let Qiaoqiao protect you.”
Wei Ziqin had tears streaming down her face. She did not know why she was crying, but her chest was painfully constricted, and tears uncontrollably flowed down her face.
She was a mother. She could not be weak. If she retreated, then her young daughter would not have any way out. Wei Ziqin grasped Qiao Mu’s hand and squeezed it tightly once before standing up with a determined expression and pulling the room’s door open with a swoosh.
