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Characters:
Ruan Mingzi: The Female Lead of the story.
Ruan Mingyan: Blood Sister of Mingzi. A mute.
Old Madam Zhao: Granny Zhao The matriach of the Ruan Family.
Madam Mao: A daughter in-law, wife of the 2nd son of Ruan Family.
Ruan Angui: Third son of the matriach. “Ruan Laosan” 3rd Uncle of the Female lead.
Ruan Chengzhang: The eldest male son of the Ruan's 3rd Generation. From the second branch of the 2nd Generation. Cousin of Female lead. Her Eldest Sister named Ruan Yuchun.
Madam Gao: A kind neighbour that is outspoken, helping Mingzi and Mingyan. Her husband Lu Daniu is the village only skilled craftsman. They have a daughter Lu Ruier.

After the matter with the fence was settled, Ruan Mingzi’s steps on the way home felt noticeably lighter.

She was almost at her own courtyard when she spotted Lu Rui’er halfway down the road, craning her neck and looking around as if searching for someone. From a distance, Lu Rui’er caught sight of Ruan Mingzi and immediately broke into a hurried trot toward her.

“Oh goodness, I finally found you!” Lu Rui’er grabbed Ruan Mingzi’s arm anxiously and tugged her back the way she’d come.

“Quick, quick, come home with me! Your little sister has been crying forever. I tried everything to comfort her, but it didn’t work. I’m about to lose my mind!”

Ruan Mingzi’s heart clenched. “What happened to Yanyan?” Lu Rui’er puffed out her cheeks, her round face filled with indignation.

“Who else could it be but your second uncle’s daughters? Ruan Yuchun and Ruan Yudong! They’re both older than your sister, yet they teamed up to bully her! They tried to snatch her shuttlecock. Your sister wouldn’t give it to them, so the two of them shoved her to the ground, grabbed the shuttlecock, and ran off! I couldn’t stop them, and they even cursed at me. I’m so mad I could explode!”

Ruan Mingzi’s expression darkened as she took long strides toward home.

Lu Rui’er stomped her foot and hurried after her.

When they reached the courtyard, Mingyan was still sitting on the ground with her head buried in her arms, sobbing silently. She was mute—no matter how hard she cried, not a sound could come out—but she was crying fiercely, her small body trembling with each breath. The sight made Ruan Mingzi’s heart ache unbearably.

“Yanyan!” Ruan Mingzi called out.

Hearing her sister’s voice, Mingyan lifted her head. Her little face was smeared with dirt, and the skin on her cheek was scraped raw. Seeing her sister return, Ruan Mingyan was, after all, only a five-year-old child. She threw herself into Ruan Mingzi’s arms and cried her heart out, hiccupping as she struggled to catch her breath.

Ruan Mingzi’s anger burned hot in her chest as she wrapped her arms around the child.

“Good girl, Yanyan. Big sister knows you’ve been wronged. Let’s wash your face first. Then I’ll take you to get your shuttlecock back.” Ruan Mingyan sniffled and nodded.

That shuttlecock had been made by her sister! Stitched and tied by hand, bright and beautiful. She truly couldn’t bear to lose it.

Although Lu Rui’er still felt a bit awkward about Ruan Mingzi, she couldn’t stand how unfair Ruan Yuchun and Ruan Yudong had been.

With a snort, she helpfully added, “When I was looking for you earlier, I saw them. They’re at the village entrance, under that old hollow locust tree, kicking the shuttlecock around with some other kids!”

Ruan Mingzi smiled gently. “I know. Thank you.”

That smile made Lu Rui’er break out in goosebumps.

“Ruan Mingzi… why do I feel like you’re not quite the same as before?” Lu Rui’er asked hesitantly.

By now, Ruan Mingyan had managed to wash her face by herself. Ruan Mingzi was carefully smoothing her hair back, her movements slow and attentive. As she worked, she replied calmly, “Right now, Yanyan and I are living on our own. Of course things are different from before. If they weren’t, the two of us wouldn’t survive.”

Lu Rui’er was only twelve or thirteen, still at an age of innocence and simplicity. She had an older brother; her father was honest, hardworking, and capable, and her mother was forthright and doted on her children. She had never really known hardship.

Hearing Ruan Mingzi’s words, L7 Rui’er froze for a moment. Her gaze fell on the ill-fitting, worn-out clothes on Ruan Mingzi and Ruan Mingyan, then drifted to the dilapidated courtyard around them.

She smacked her lips thoughtfully. What Ruan Mingzi said… did make sense.

They really were pitiful.

Still, no matter how pitiful they were, she wasn’t about to give up Xiu Ping-ge!

Lü Rui’er clenched her fist, her round face brimming with resolve.

In no time, Ruan Mingzi had finished tidying Mingyan up. Only her eyes remained red and swollen.

Ruan Mingyan was thin to begin with, which made her eyes look especially large. With the redness and swelling, she appeared even more miserable and fragile.

Ruan Mingzi reached into the cloth bag she’d brought back from Village Head Zhou’s house and took out a handful of apricot kernels, giving them to Ruan Mingyan. She then took out another handful and offered them to Lu Rui’er.

Lu Rui’er, prideful as ever, turned her head away.

“No.” Ruan Mingzi didn’t insist.

But when Mingyan ate the kernels with obvious delight, Lu Rui’er secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Amused, Ruan Mingzi pulled out another handful and stuffed it straight into her hand.

“This is your thank-you gift. Rui’er, thank you.”

Since Ruan Mingzi was being considerate of her pride, Lu Rui’er felt a little embarrassed. She coughed and tightly clenched the apricot kernels, changing the subject.

“Come on, come on! Let’s go find Ruan Yuchun and Ruan Yudong. If we’re any later, they might leave.”

Ruan Mingzi nodded. She went into the inner room and brought out the crossbow that Lu Daniu had made for her yesterday, calmly binding it to her arm with cloth strips.

Lu Rui couldn’t help swallowing. She had personally seen how powerful that modified crossbow was.

Stammering, she asked, “You’re… using that? Won’t there be blood?”

…Won’t someone get killed?!

Ruan Mingzi slowly stroked the crossbow strapped to her arm. Turning her head, she smiled sweetly at Lü Rui’er. Her voice was gentle and pleasant.

“Of course not. As long as they obediently hand over the shuttlecock, won’t everything be fine?”

Of course, if they stubbornly refused to give it back, she wouldn’t mind frightening them a little.

Ruan Mingzi’s smile deepened.

In contrast, Lu Rui’er’s small face turned pale.

Wuwuwu… Mama, Ruan Mingzi is terrifying!

Under the hollow old locust tree at the village entrance, Ruan Yuchun and Ruan Yudong were playing shuttlecock with a group of girls.

The colorful feathered shuttlecock flew up and down, it was beautiful to watch. The surrounding girls looked on with envy, greatly satisfying Ruan Yuchun’s vanity. The frustration and humiliation she’d suffered at Ruan Mingzi’s hands yesterday faded somewhat.

Ruan Yudong was only a few months older than Ruan Mingyan and was about to turn six. She looked almost exactly like Madam Mao a miniature version of her and was deeply favored. As a result, her temperament was spoiled and irritable.

When the shuttlecock flew high and fell away, Ruan Yudong snorted and pointed arrogantly at a girl with braided hair. “You! Go pick it up! Be careful! If you damage it, can you afford it?”

The braided girl was unhappy, her lips pursing as if she wanted to retort. But when she glanced again at the dazzling shuttlecock, she swallowed her resentment and went to retrieve it. As she carried the shuttlecock back, she saw Ruan Mingzi approaching along the small path, holding Ruan Mingyan’s hand, with Lu Rui’er trailing behind them, hesitantly watching the spectacle.

The affairs of the Ruan family had been discussed at many dinner tables. These children had heard bits and pieces from their elders and each harbored their own thoughts. The braided girl turned her head toward the sisters Ruan Yuchun and Ruan Yudong.

“Bad luck! Jinx! Stay away from us!” Ruan Yudong shouted, grabbing a stone from the ground and throwing it toward Ruan Mingzi and Ruan Mingyan.

Though young, Ruan Yudong was crafty. She knew Ruan Mingzi was older and might dodge, so she aimed directly at Ruan Mingyan.

The first stone missed. Ruan Yudong bent down and picked up another.

Ruan Mingzi saw through this shallow trick at a glance. She gently touched the crossbow tied to her arm, smiling as sweetly as ever, her voice soft and mild.

“Try throwing one more. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Throw another, and I’ll shoot you with an arrow. I already spared you once because you’re young. That was me giving you face.”

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