Chapter Six: If There Is a Branch, Climb Upward, Unafraid Even If You Fall and Shatter to Pieces

Ever since his mother passed away, he had never received treatment or bandages for such minor injuries.

In his household, he was treated with utter indifference. The servants were fickle, serving him spoiled food in a dilapidated, run-down courtyard and clothing him in rags that even the lowest servants wouldn't wear. Everyone gossiped that he was a freak. His parents, though aware of the situation, offered no sympathy—having already reached a point of absolute disdain—and simply reasoned that since he couldn't feel pain, the wounds would heal on their own in a couple of days, making it a waste to spend medicine on him.

As time passed, even he began to feel that his own skin and flesh were of no consequence.

Seeing him lost in a daze, Jiang Yuan gave him a solid slap on the head. It was neither too light nor too heavy, just enough to snap him out of it.

"What are you thinking about? My place isn't like your old home; you should be grateful I can even dust some herbs on you and wrap that up. Get home quickly, and don't think about slacking off when it's time to chop wood later!"

Jiang Yuan muttered on. Xie Changzhi blinked, fine snowflakes settling into his hair and frosting his lashes and brows; he couldn't help but rub his eyes.

It took them only the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn to return. As they reached the gate, they saw Mother Jiang pacing the main room in a panic, frequently glancing out toward the courtyard. Little Jiang Hu sat on the threshold, picking at his fingers. Upon seeing Jiang Yuan return, he immediately stood up, his small body instinctively taking a step forward before stopping in his tracks.

Xie Yanzhi and Xie Tingjun sat inside the room, silent and grim-faced. When they saw Xie Changzhi return and noticed his clean, intact clothing, their expressions darkened further. Xie Yanzhi, in particular, kept his gaze locked on Xie Changzhi’s face.

Xie Changzhi’s shoulders twitched, and he took the firewood from Jiang Yuan, steering clear of the father and son to go chop wood on the other side of the yard.

"Mother!" Jiang Yuan walked in quickly and scanned the room. "What's wrong?"

"The... the food we had left! It's all gone!" Seeing Jiang Yuan, Mother Jiang seemed to find her backbone, and tears immediately spilled from her eyes.

A short while ago, Mother Jiang had thought it was time to start the porridge so it would be hot when Jiang Yuan returned. But upon entering the kitchen, she found they had been robbed. The dozens of catties of rice in the jar were wiped out, and even the last bit of salt and oil in the cupboard had been swiped. All that remained were a few rotten cabbage leaves.

In the past, losing this might have been manageable, but all the family's money had been lent to Lu Bai by the original Jiang Yuan. To put it bluntly, they had no meal for tonight, let alone any way to survive the snowy days ahead. And that wasn't even considering the five extra mouths Jiang Yuan had brought home...

Five...?

Jiang Yuan scanned the room. Where were the other two?

"Stop looking! I already ordered Mobai and Mofei to go snatch it back," Xie Tingjun sneered. His gaze flicked over Mother Jiang with a trace of contempt, and when he looked at Jiang Yuan, there was a strange, lingering sense of superiority. "You poor, backwater villagers are all the same—ignorant and vicious, stealing food from each other. It’s laughable that you couldn't even guard this little bit! Crying, crying, crying—you're crying away all your luck! Those are my carefully trained secret guards, and I’m using them to watch your house!"

Hearing this, Jiang Yuan exhaled in relief, though she noticed Mother Jiang’s expression was still troubled.

Before she could ask, Mother Jiang, unable to bear the torment, covered her face and sobbed: "It seems it was your uncle who stole it. The thief the young man described sounded exactly like him."

Her eyes were red and swollen, her face filled with embarrassment. In the past, when her husband was still alive, that family would often come by, using the excuse of showing respect to their elders to take rice, flour, and meat. But now, the children were counting on that food to survive the winter! It was all her fault for being too weak, allowing that family of thieves to act so brazenly.

"Mother, don't cry. Hu’er will give Mother a steamed bun." Jiang Hu didn't understand what had happened, only that his mother was crying. He pulled a small piece of a steamed bun from his tunic and held it up with both hands, offering it carefully.

Mother Jiang froze, then wept even harder.

The sounds of sobbing echoed in the courtyard. Xie Tingjun frowned, about to speak, but Jiang Yuan shot him a glare that silenced him, leaving him only able to huff through his nose.

Then, a bloody, freshly killed rabbit was tossed into his lap. The father and son yelped in alarm.

"There's a knife in the kitchen and water in the vat. Skin it and remove the innards. If you can't cook it well, it's just as well, since this rabbit isn't enough to go around anyway!"

Xie Tingjun and Xie Yanzhi: ...

The two retreated, dragging each other away.

"It's alright, Mother. I only want to ask you one thing." Jiang Yuan waited until Mother Jiang seemed calmer before speaking. Mother Jiang looked at her with swollen, nervous eyes. "Are you willing to cut ties with Uncle's family?"

Jiang Yuan watched her eyes closely, not missing the bewilderment in them. It took a long moment for Mother Jiang to respond. "But... they are your father's kin. We..."

Jiang Yuan interrupted her, her face taut. She pointed to the half-man-high sack of rice that Mobai had brought back. "Do you mean to say that you would rather let them steal the food that my sister and Hu’er need to survive the winter, just to maintain those ties?"

She grabbed the steamed bun from Jiang Hu’s hand and shoved it into his mouth. The next second, her voice turned tearful as she hugged the confused boy. "Eat quickly, this is the last meal. Little brother, we have such hard lives. Father is dead, and Mother is still siding with outsiders. I just hope that after we starve to death, we can be reborn into a better life."

She buried her head on Jiang Hu’s shoulder, hiding her expression, but the sound of her crying brought Xie Changzhi running over, not even bothering to drop his axe.

A rare expression, other than numbness, appeared on his face. "Miss Jiang Yuan, it's okay. We still have the rabbit. Tomorrow, I can go hunt more..."

Jiang Yuan slapped her hand over his mouth. She looked back at Mother Jiang, her clear eyes filled with stubbornness. Mother Jiang looked at her two children, thin as paper, and her heart ached with renewed grief.

"It’s not that I don't want to cut ties. It’s just that your father has just passed. We are orphans and widows—if we don't have your father's family, where can we turn for support? If others want to bully us, then..."

Jiang Yuan dismissed this without a second thought. "Support? They’re man-eating wolves and tigers! Today it’s rice, tomorrow they might sell your daughter, and you’d still be counting their money for them! You are truly muddled. If you really care about me and Hu’er, you should have cut them off long ago!"

Mother Jiang trembled under her daughter's rebuke. She opened her mouth, shocked to find that her daughter's words were not without reason, but was this not too rebellious? That family was, after all, their relatives, while the five people in the courtyard...

"...Mother." Jiang Yuan had been too busy debating to keep her hand over Xie Changzhi's mouth. Unexpectedly, he interjected: "Mother, Miss Jiang Yuan, I am clumsy with words, but I understand the situation. I am deeply grateful that you are willing to take in my family. I may not have much ability, but I will certainly protect you all."

Xie Changzhi finished speaking in one breath, his head bowed, only then realizing that the three of them were staring at him.

"Father, I told you this lowly brat was just pretending to be a fool! Now he's found a new master, crawling up the first branch he sees. He’s not afraid of falling and shattering his bones!"

Xie Yanzhi poked his head out, saw the peaceful scene in the courtyard, and squeezed the internal organs he was holding with such force they burst.

"Ah! What the hell is this! It's dung! Ah, Father!"