Before long, Diao Siniang appeared with a woman who traded in people. Wiping the drool from her mouth, her body twitching now and then, she pointed excitedly at the two children.
"The one hiding behind him is Meng Anzhi. She's six this year... Don't be fooled by how little she is; she's pretty. Give her a few more years, and she'll be earning money for you."
The woman was dressed in bright, gaudy colors. Her eyes were fixed on Meng Anzhi's face, and a flash of admiration passed through them. What a beautiful little girl! Raise her for a few years, and she would surely become the brothel's star.
The little boy in front of her was good-looking too. He looked at people like a wolf cub, and some wealthy and powerful men had a taste for tender young boys like him. The woman concealed her greed.
"What can you tell about a child's looks? Ten taels of silver would be a loss for me."
When Meng Hongyi heard she wouldn't pay ten taels, he was about to speak, but Wang Guihua arrived and clapped a hand over his mouth.
She scolded him, "Since when do you get to decide? Eldest brother isn't back yet, and you dare haggle with her? Wait until he gets back."
His wife had made him lose face, and Meng Hongyi said unhappily, "Eldest brother was the one who told me to sell her."
Wang Guihua's heart clenched. She still didn't know how Jin Shanyao's case had been decided. If Jin Shanyao had been acquitted and came looking for the children, what would she give her?
No, she couldn't let them sell the children today, no matter what...
"Meng Hongyi, while you were gone these past two days, Jin Shanyao was the one who gave the children food. Can't you wait to hear the outcome?"
Meng Hongyi froze...
Diao Siniang exploded when she heard that. "Second brother's wife, I was wondering where you got that meat. So Jin Shanyao really did give it to you! If you dare get close to her, I won't give you a single clod of dirt."
When Meng Hongyi heard he wouldn't get any land, he snapped, "You damned woman, always ruining things for me!"
"All right, all right, stop arguing. I'll take a little loss today. Ten taels it is. I'll take the girl."
Afraid the duck in her grasp would fly away, the woman hurried to smooth things over. As she spoke, she reached for Meng Anzhi.
Meng Anci shrieked, "Just let me see which of you dares touch my sister!" At some point, he had picked up a pointed wooden fork, and he stared warily at everyone.
The woman burst out laughing. A four-year-old threatening people with a stick-how ridiculous...
"How about this? I'll take the boy too. What do you say to another ten taels for him?"
Diao Siniang shook her head. She seemed to see countless little figures floating before her eyes and reached out to grab at them blindly. "No," she muttered. "Fifty taels for the boy."
Seeing that something was wrong with her, the woman frowned and looked her up and down. Meng Hongyi and Wang Guihua also noticed something was wrong with their sister-in-law and asked, "Sister-in-law, what are you grabbing at?"
"Little people... Don't you see them?" With that, she bent over and vomited with a retch. Dizzy and disoriented, she collapsed and began convulsing all over.
Wang Guihua screamed in fright. Meng Hongyi was the first to react. Pointing at Diao Siniang, who was foaming at the mouth, he shouted, "A fit? She's having a fit!"
The woman said, "What fit? She's been poisoned! Hurry and fetch a physician!"
"Oh, oh... I'll go get one right away!" Meng Hongyi ran outside in a panic.
Before he had made it out of the courtyard, someone rushed in carrying Meng Tietou. "Second Brother Meng, your nephew fainted and he's foaming at the mouth! Hurry and get a physician to see him!"
Meng Hongyi took the child and called Wang Guihua over to help, then took off running for a physician. The Meng family's eldest branch was thrown into chaos.
In the back courtyard, the woman stared greedily at the two little ones and coaxed them, "Don't be scared, children. Auntie isn't a bad person. Auntie has candy... Why don't you come with me? There's food to eat and pretty clothes at my home."
She wanted to take advantage of the chaos to trick the two children into leaving with her, which would save her quite a bit of money.
Meng Anci and Meng Anzhi said nothing. Their hearts were pounding. Why had they eaten before everyone from the eldest and second branches had arrived?
If they found out that he was the one who had poisoned them... Meng Anci didn't dare think any further.
His little face was taut, his lips pressed together as he watched the woman's bright red lips open and close.
The woman talked until her mouth was dry, then sat on the ground and fanned herself with her hem. She had never met children this difficult. Neither oil nor salt could get through to them; nothing she said worked.
And whenever she went near the cat and dog, they bared their teeth at her.
"Are you mute? Speak..."
"Who are you calling mute?" A cool voice came from behind her. Before the woman could turn around, the two children burst into tears.
They ran out from behind the cat and dog and threw themselves at Jin Shanyao, each clinging to one of her legs and wailing. "Auntie... Auntie..."
Jin Shanyao immediately saw that Meng Anci's cheek was red and swollen, and his forehead was injured. "Who hit you?" Her voice grew colder without her realizing it.
Meng Anci cried so pitifully that he tugged at the heart. Deliberately tilting his struck cheek upward, he clung to Jin Shanyao and tearfully complained.
"It was eldest uncle... He hit me. It hurt so much..."
In a hoarse voice, Meng Anzhi complained, "And there's second uncle. He wants to sell me, and this old woman is a people trader."
The woman hastily waved her hands. "This has nothing to do with me." Hadn't they said both children's parents were dead? Where had this aunt come from?
The Meng family's eldest branch was in an uproar, and the woman didn't dare stay. She hurried outside in a panic.
She didn't expect to crash headlong into Wang Guihua, who was coming toward her.
Neither woman had time to worry about the pain. They separated as soon as they collided.
When Wang Guihua saw Jin Shanyao's dark expression, her legs went weak with fright, and she nearly fell to the ground.
"Sister, it was eldest brother's family who wanted to sell her, not mine. I even tried to stop them. If you don't believe me, ask the children."
Jin Shanyao gave her a cool glance. "Didn't I ask you to watch my house? Why did you come back?"
Wang Guihua felt miserable...
Now she was like Zhu Bajie looking in a mirror, in the wrong no matter which way she turned. She could only lie.
"Sister, I have children of my own. I just wanted to look after them all together."
Wang Guihua didn't want to offend Jin Shanyao. She was capable, able to come and go freely on White Head Mountain and bring down game. Wang Guihua still hoped to benefit from her good fortune and avoid starving to death in a year of famine.
As for the land, one look at her brother-in-law's face told her he had lost the case. Since there was nothing to gain, why should she kiss up to him?
Jin Shanyao said nothing. She picked up the two children and headed out, but as soon as she turned the corner of the house, Meng Hongde blocked her way, leaning on a crutch.
"You can't leave. The physician said my wife and son ate poisonous mushrooms. That's what poisoned them."
The little ones in Jin Shanyao's arms stiffened, and she gently rocked them to soothe them...
Then she lifted her foot and kicked Meng Hongde hard in the stomach.
A single kick sent him flying several meters. Meng Hongde landed on his backside, the pain so great that his internal organs felt as if they had shifted out of place.
He curled up on the ground, his face deathly pale and his whole body instantly drenched in cold sweat.
The people around them turned pale with shock. They knew the Meng children's aunt was capable, but they hadn't expected her to be so strong.
Jin Shanyao slowly stepped forward and looked down at him. "Which hand did you use to hit him?"
Which hand... Meng Hongde's mind was a blank from the pain. He couldn't think.
Meng Anci piped up, "His right hand. His slap knocked me into the stove, and my head's still spinning."
With that, he nestled his little head against Jin Shanyao's neck, and a tear fell silently.
Jin Shanyao stepped on Meng Hongde's right hand and secretly applied pressure. A sharp pain shot through his wrist, as though the bones had shattered, and he howled.
"Great-aunt, great-aunt, I was wrong! I shouldn't have hit the child. Please take your foot off!"
Seeing him in such pain, Meng Anci's lips curved in the faintest hint of a smile. His little hands wrapped around Jin Shanyao's neck as tears streamed down his face.
"Auntie, the seventh day after my mother's death hasn't even passed, and they're already hitting me. They even want to sell my sister."
He wiped his tears hard and turned his face aside, muttering to himself, "It's true. Children without a mother are the most pitiful."
"Ah!" Meng Hongde let out another scream as he was kicked flying again. His forehead struck a stone squarely, and blood poured from the wound.
Meng Anci drew a deep breath, his eyes shining. For a moment, he even forgot to cry.
"Auntie... I..." Before he could finish, he saw Jin Shanyao turn an unhurried gaze on him, and his words stopped abruptly.
Oh no, she's seen through my little scheme.
He hurriedly nestled back into Jin Shanyao's arms and rubbed his little face against hers, trying to ingratiate himself like a puppy.