Ye Qixin returned to the cave dwelling swiftly. After dealing with her two Younger Sisters' matters, she immediately transformed into Yang Xiaomao and darted through the primeval forest, reaching a cave dwelling halfway up the mountain in just one minute.
"Mother!"
She hurried in and, in a few brief words, explained everything that had just happened.
Yet instead of flying into a rage as she had expected and pinning her to the ground for a merciless spanking, Mother merely let out a heavy sigh. What she raised was not a hand to strike, but a warm touch that settled upon Ye Qixin's head.
"It's not your fault. You've already done very well."
A shadow clouded my brow. "Just as you said, I always thought Xiao Xuan was only somewhat resistant. I never imagined she simply didn't want another Younger Sister at all. The thought was so intense that being provoked could make her fall into a corner of darkness. That means such thoughts weren't born just once—they were something she had been turning over in her heart and resisting all along."
Her unease had probably begun a long time ago.
Because she didn't know what Mother was thinking, and as a daughter, she had no way to stop the decisions Mother made, she had begun to suffer through repeated doubts, trembling in constant anxiety.
"You've worked hard." I sighed again. "It's not her fault either. Yes, she... has worked hard too."
Sometimes, I asked myself why I had given birth to so many children all at once.
If I truly wanted a few more daughters, why couldn't I wait until the children had grown up? What child would want their mother's love shattered apart, their daily care and affection reduced to the tiny scraps left after being divided?
I had