Chapter Twelve: Grudge

Page 1/3

Chaoxiao paid no heed to any of this; the little one was bent on petty revenge from dawn till dusk, harboring a great grudge within. The small figure puffed out her belly and returned to the corner of her own grassy sofa, sat down, twisted her little body, turning her back to the prison once more, and brushed aside the chaos behind her. With nimble fingers, she activated her wrist device.

Interstellar express delivery, mission guaranteed: she spent eight interstellar credits to buy a pack of little cookies said to be irresistible even to the bugs, then collected the goods directly from the pickup window, which were transferred straight into her wrist device’s backpack.

Chaoxiao quietly took a piece, crushed it, and sprinkled it onto the stone platform embedded with bars beside her.

The suspicious Huahua, drawn by the scent, began to sneak some bites. Chaoxiao summoned Huahua back into her embrace, and together, the girl and her bird turned their backs to the others, silently waiting.

Soon enough, a rustling noise came from beside them; a small creature had arrived on the stone platform.

Though it was not the mouse she had hoped for, a cockroach would do just as well.

Chaoxiao considered pulling out her electric pen but decided against it—after all, a live cockroach was more thrilling than a dead one.

Seeking revenge, Chaoxiao, unbothered by the mess, released Huahua and quickly wrapped a handful of grass around her hand with two swift coils. Then, with lightning speed, she pounced repeatedly.

Excellent—two cockroaches, shining and slick, their red-black shells glistening, were in her grasp.

Very satisfied, Chaoxiao squeezed the cockroaches tightly and glanced back.

She saw Li Wenxin, perhaps freshly scolded and feeling displeased, curled up alone in a corner humming softly. Chaoxiao’s eyes brightened and she puffed out her belly once more.

She rose, feigning a trip to the restroom, weaving past the disorderly crowd in the cell. As she passed Li Wenxin, she flicked one cockroach from her hand, slid smoothly to the bucket at her feet, withdrew her hand-wrapped grass, and scooped some disinfectant gel from her backpack. Just then, startled screams erupted behind her.

“Ah, ah! Cockroach! There’s a cockroach! Mother, mama, a cockroach is crawling on me! Ahh…”

Chaoxiao turned to see the unlucky girl bouncing erratically around the cell like a lunatic.

“There, there! It went inside my sleeve! My neck! My neck itches! Mama…”

The startled Mrs. Luo saw her daughter screaming and tearing at her clothes like a madwoman, trembling with no composure left. She was stunned.

Before she could react, the matron’s stern scolding came from the side: “What’s all this commotion?”

Mrs. Luo hurried forward and grabbed her daughter. At the same time, the guards on duty heard the noise and quickly arrived.

“What’s going on? What’s going on?”

Page 2/3

They saw Li Wenxin stripping off her clothes, and several guards’ eyes widened, especially the one with the large black mole.

Joking aside, Li Wenxin was twelve, a young lady of marriageable age. In their culture, girls were ready for marriage at fifteen, and a twelve-year-old girl stripping her clothing in public certainly caught the guards’ attention.

Though the prison guards here were cautious about causing trouble—not like the rougher guards in other cells—they certainly did not forgo any easy opportunities.

The reprimand was abruptly cut off as all the guards looked at the bouncing Li Wenxin with considerable interest, the black-mole guard even emitting a lecherous chuckle.

Old Mrs. Luo, a stern and traditional woman who had lived her whole life with old-fashioned values, felt utterly ashamed—especially since her daughter-in-law Chaoxiao would not tolerate such behavior, much less Li Wenxin at that moment.

Her face stretched long with dark clouds of shame.

“Old family!”

Mrs. Luo’s most understanding sister-in-law, Mrs. Xiao Luo, was frightened by the words and quickly hid her daughter behind her.

“Zhou, Wen, Liu, are you dead?”

The three concubines trembled, knowing they could no longer avoid the situation. They quickly released their own sons by their sides and stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking the lustful gazes from outside the bars.

Only then did old Mrs. Luo breathe a sigh of relief. She fixed her gaze outside, her tone unfriendly.

“Gentlemen, His Majesty has yet to determine the guilt of the Wen Ding Bo household. For now, there’s no need for you to trouble yourselves.”

“Tch! Who wants to watch? Brothers, let’s go!”

The black-mole guard, annoyed at the lack of spectacle, spat and cursed in his heart, then led his crew away.

After the outsiders had left, old Mrs. Luo withdrew her gaze and snorted heavily at Li Wenxin.

“A woman should be chaste and virtuous. Have some shame!”

Though she didn’t mention names, Mrs. Xiao Luo, who had just been fixing Li Wenxin’s clothing and handling the cockroach, stiffened.

Meanwhile, two pitiful cockroaches, frightened by the commotion, fell—one to the ground, the other caught by Mrs. Xiao Luo.

Hearing old Mrs. Luo’s disdain, Mrs. Xiao Luo’s hatred surged within. She stamped her foot, flicked her hand, and with two sharp snaps, both poor cockroaches burst.

“Mother…”

“Shut up!” Seeing her daughter about to make a fuss, Mrs. Xiao Luo lowered her eyes heavily, suppressing her rebellious child and warned softly, “Don’t make trouble!”

Li Wenxin, spoiled and arrogant, swallowed a mouthful of old blood in frustration but, constrained by her grandmother’s authority, could only suppress it. However, when her eyes shifted and she saw Chaoxiao passing by calmly as if nothing had happened, her eyes narrowed.

Suddenly realizing something, Li Wenxin’s face changed drastically. She broke free from her mother’s grip in a frenzy and rushed forward to block Chaoxiao’s path.

Page 3/3

“Was it you, wasn’t it? You vile girl, you’re the one causing trouble, aren’t you?”

Quite perceptive.

Chaoxiao ignored her and tried to bypass the mad girl to return to her little den. But her attitude only infuriated the lunatic further, who raised her palm and struck hard.

“You vile girl, you fool! Today you’ve humiliated me—let me see if I don’t beat you to death!”

Sensing danger, Chaoxiao secretly clenched the electric pen in her hand, ready to deal a severe blow.

But before the expected slap could land, Chaoxiao was suddenly caught in a warm embrace.

Startled, she quickly retracted the electric pen as a familiar voice rang out above her head: “Sister Xin, no!”

It was the third aunt.

At the moment Li Wenxin’s palm was about to fall, sensing the situation was amiss, Mrs. Song immediately released her hold on Fourth Brother and took a swift step forward, grabbing Chaoxiao and spinning her behind her for protection.

It was not out of kindness but because she recalled the care the late second sister-in-law had shown their branch of the family, which prompted her intervention.

Mrs. Song decisively hid Chaoxiao behind her, accompanying the youngest child, her gaze briefly passing over the flustered Li Wenxin and meeting the disapproving eyes of Mrs. Luo and Mrs. Xiao Luo.

“Sister-in-law, Sister Xin is young and frightened, confused and out of control. Everyone can understand that. But you are the elder and the matron—you must not lose your head. The whole family shares the same bloodline, and you know how Chaoxiao is. The child is innocent, naïve, and young, having lost her parents early. How could she possibly harm her sister? Sister-in-law, and Sister Xin must be mistaken.”

Chaoxiao peeked out slyly: No, there’s no mistake—she can do it!

“Besides, earlier, Second Brother asked Mother and Sister-in-law to look after Chaoxiao. Would Sister-in-law really stand by and watch her sister be humiliated?”

“Hmph, I always thought Third Sister-in-law was a soft one, but it seems she has steel teeth,” Mrs. Luo sneered coldly.

Mrs. Song pushed back the two heads peeking over, and bowed to Mrs. Luo and Mrs. Xiao Luo.

“Sister-in-law is the elder, I the younger, so I dare not overstep. But Mother is wise, Sister-in-law magnanimous. With the family burdened by hardship and the whole household imprisoned, at this critical moment, we must unite as one rope, work together to overcome difficulties, and avoid becoming the laughingstock of outsiders. Don’t you agree, Mother?”