I Became the Mother of His Child

Song Tianxin's gaze was like a blade that plunged into the deepest part of Song Yuanyao's heart in an instant. "Sister-in-law, how could you hit Niuniu?" Song Yuanyao sadly embraced Song Tianxin's small body and turned her head to glower at Wang Qinghua, "Niuniu is your own daughter, how could you bring yourself to hit her?" Thinking of the bruises on Niuniu's arms, Song Yuanyao's voice couldn't help but carry an accusatory tone.

She had promised Xiao Ya that she would protect her, but she had failed to do so just now.

"What's wrong with me hitting her? She's my daughter. If she doesn't know any better, can't I discipline her?" Wang Qinghua screamed at Song Yuanyao, not feeling there was anything wrong with hitting her own daughter. "You wretched girl, don't you dare spout nonsense, do you hear me?"

"I hear you." Song Tianxin huddled her body and then whimpered.

"Sister-in-law, how could you become so irredeemable." Song Yuanyao couldn't believe her eyes as she looked at Wang Qinghua in disbelief. She had thought initially to smooth things over, believing she could convince her sister-in-law to let the matter pass, but now she realized how naive she had been! Shaking her head, Song Yuanyao looked at Wang Qinghua one last time before silently standing up, taking Song Tianxin by the hand, and walking out the door.

"Song Yuanyao, I'm warning you, don't talk nonsense," Wang Qinghua hissed as she saw Song Yuanyao head for the door, although mentally prepared to defend herself with flawed arguments, if Song Yuanyao kept the matter to herself, it would save her a lot of trouble, especially during the festive season when she didn't want any unpleasantness.

Song Yuanyao turned to glance at Wang Qinghua and then shook her head, "It seems, sister-in-law, you really have forgotten last year's lesson. Do you think you would still be in the Song Family if it weren't for Niuniu? You're not grateful towards Niuniu and even hit and scold her! Heh, you really are something," Song Yuanyao said ironically before taking Niuniu's hand and stepping out of the bedroom.

Wang Qinghua's face turned deathly white; last year's events were still clear in her mind. Over the past year, she had been a bit more restrained, but after the quarrels, feeling extremely frustrated, she gradually started to show her true nature again. Now, hearing Song Yuanyao mention it, she suddenly felt her courage falter.

"Yuanyao, listen to me!" Wang Qinghua called out desperately, trying to grab Song Yuanyao. "Consider it a plea from your sister-in-law, okay? Please don't talk about it outside. I was wrong, but I'm at my wit's end! Your brother is not well, and we haven't had much income this year. Niuniu's health isn't good either, and the neighbors keep pressing for the money we borrowed for your brother's emergency. I... I'm really at my wit's end!" Wang Qinghua was frantic, her tone earnest, yet she tried to paint herself as a victim.

She was banking on Song Yuanyao's soft-heartedness, thinking that as a young girl, Song Yuanyao would be easy to deceive.

But Song Yuanyao felt even more disappointed after hearing Wang Qinghua. If she truly was a naive young girl oblivious to the world, perhaps she would have believed Wang Qinghua's excusable, desperate excuses. But she wasn't! She knew the family situation to some extent, and quite a bit of the money borrowed from relatives and neighbors had been repaid. The debts outside were not that much, and above all, the majority of the money for medical expenses initially came from her second sister-in-law, which everyone in the family knew.

Now that her sister-in-law was using last year's medical expenses to seek sympathy, how could Song Yuanyao not be disappointed? Thinking this over, she shook her head calmly, firming up her decision to no longer tolerate her sister-in-law's impunity and not wanting to keep the peace anymore.

Damn sly wench! Seeing Song Yuanyao shaking her head firmly in refusal, Wang Qinghua realized this girl was not going to let the matter slide and instantly, in a sudden fury, raised her hand and slapped Song Yuanyao.

With a slap, the motion was quick and decisive.

"Wang Qinghua, how dare you! You actually had the audacity to throw a tantrum at my daughter, huh! Who gave you the courage?" Mrs. Song paced around the main room before hearing noises from her eldest son's bedroom and walked over, suspicious. She just happened to see Wang Qinghua slapping her little girl, which immediately triggered a loud outcry from her.

"Mom!" Wang Qinghua panicked. She hadn't expected to lose her temper and hit her sister-in-law, only for her mother-in-law Liu Shuxiang to catch her red-handed.

"Don't call me mom, I can't bear to be your mother!" Mrs. Song glared at Wang Qinghua, her voice full of anger, "Tell me, Wang Qinghua, why did you hit Yuanyao? If you can't give me a satisfactory explanation today, don't blame me for kicking you out of the house during the New Year." Mrs. Song's voice carried authority.

The quarrel was not a small one. Song Yuantao, who was enjoying a drink with Father Song in the main room, immediately set down his utensils and walked towards his own bedroom upon hearing Mrs. Song's roar. There, he saw his sister's swollen cheek and Wang Qinghua's face, frantic and at a loss.

"Mom, what happened?" Song Yuantao stepped forward to ask Mrs. Song first.

"You ask her, ask your wife what she just did!" Mrs. Song pointed at Wang Qinghua, huffing angrily.

"Wang Qinghua, what have you done again? It's the New Year, why can't you behave nicely? Speak! Do you have to disturb the peace of the Song Family?" Song Yuantao had recovered from his illness, but his tolerance for Wang Qinghua had dwindled, and her distasteful behavior over the past year had pushed him to the edge of a cliff.

"I was just discussing something with Yuanyao earlier, and a little dispute arose," Wang Qinghua said in defense, though feeling guilty.

"A dispute? From a small disagreement, you dared to hit her," Mrs. Song burst out in anger, wishful for something in her hand to smash Wang Qinghua with.

"You hit Yuanyao?" Song Yuantao's chest heaved with a mix of agitation and a threatening glare fixed on Wang Qinghua.

"I didn't mean to lash out at Yuanyao on purpose, it was just a momentary fit of anger that I..."

Slap! Unable to bear listening to Wang Qinghua's excuses, Song Yuantao raised his hand and slapped her across the face. Then, with full remorse, he turned to look at Song Yuanyao: "Yuanyao, I'm sorry, your big brother has let you down. You've been wronged." Song Yuantao turned to Song Yuanyao, his apology sincere and head bowed.

"Big brother! I'm not the one who has been wronged; it's Niuniu," Song Yuanyao said softly, shaking her head and pulling Niuniu out from behind her. "My sister-in-law often hits and scolds Niuniu in private. Look at Niuniu's arm; she has pinched it until it turned purple. Plus, today she even instigated Niuniu to steal Cheng Guang's New Year's money. Niuniu is just a child, and my sister-in-law is leading her to steal things. Does she want to ruin Niuniu? My heart aches for Niuniu; I can't bear it any longer. But big brother, Niuniu is your daughter, and it's up to you to decide how to handle this." Song Yuanyao lifted Niuniu's sleeve for everyone present to clearly see.

As soon as Song Tianxin's arm was exposed, the blue and purple bruises were plainly visible to the onlookers. Song Yuantao, upon seeing the bruises, felt a heat around his eyes and, looking at his daughter who was shivering and trying to hide, her cheeks still wet with tears, felt a surge of fury well up inside him.