Upon hearing this, Qiao Yanxin's fingers holding the cotton - padded clothes curled slightly. "Thank you, sister - in - law."

When Zhang saw her coming back with the cotton - padded clothes, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up. "You see, what did I say?"

But when she took the cotton - padded clothes and saw that there was only one piece, and it was a small and tight - fitting one that only Qiao Yanxin could wear, Zhang's face immediately fell. "What's going on? Why is there only one piece? So you only asked for one for yourself, right?"

Qiao Yanxin repeated Shang Ruoyi's words exactly as they were. After hearing this, Zhang pinched her several times with all her might. "You good - for - nothing! You can't even convey a simple message clearly. What's the use of marrying you back?"

He Jinghe measured the cotton - padded clothes and couldn't even fit his sleeves into it. His tone was also extremely bad. "Go and talk to Shang Ruoyi again. She must have a lot more things there."

"Sister - in - law already said that. How can I open my mouth again?" Qiao Yanxin's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she said in a deep voice. "If you want it, you can go yourself."

"What did you say?" He Jinghe frowned tightly, his tone unfriendly. "Say it again!"

Qiao Yanxin rubbed the bruised and purple areas on her body that were pinched by Zhang. She also didn't have a good attitude. "I said, if you want it, go and talk to sister - in - law yourself!"

He Jinghe never expected that Qiao Yanxin, who had always been submissive, would dare to talk to him like this. He slapped her across the face, and Qiao Yanxin fell directly to the ground, her head buzzing.

"Who gave you the courage to talk to me like this!" He Jinghe shouted angrily. "You little slut, you still dare to talk back. I'll beat you to death." With that, his fist was about to land on Qiao Yanxin.

Just then, a stone flew over and hit He Jinghe's wrist directly. He cried out in pain, hugging his wrist.

Shang Ruoyi sneered. "What? You have no ability yourself, and you don't even allow others to speak?"

"Shang Ruoyi, this is our family matter. Is it your turn to interfere?" He Jinghe shouted angrily. "Don't think that just because you have some silver, you can buy people's hearts here. Let me tell you, even if you have mountains of gold and silver, I don't care."

"Buy people's hearts?" She nodded and sneered. "I do buy people's hearts, but I won't buy yours. What's the use of having a heartless person?"

He Jinghe knew that he was no match for her in an argument. "A gentleman doesn't fight with a woman, but you don't butt in either."

"A gentleman doesn't fight with a woman? That's because you can't win." Shang Ruoyi picked her ear. "Since this is your family's matter, then please don't disturb my rest. Otherwise..." She looked at the guards. "If I don't rest well, I'm afraid I won't have the strength to cook for the lords."

When the guards heard this, no cooking? That won't do!

They were relying on Shang Ruoyi's cooking skills to survive now. Zhang Hu, holding a whip in his hand, strode over. "What's going on? Do you want a whipping?"

He looked down at the injury on Qiao Yanxin's face. One side of her face was already swollen, and there was blood at the corner of her mouth. It seemed that He Jinghe had really used great force.

"What kind of ability is it for a big man to hit a woman?" Zhang Hu pointed at He Jinghe with the whip. "If you cause trouble again, I'll whip you to death."

Zhang quickly stepped forward and said with a flattering smile, "There won't be a next time. Absolutely not."

Qiao Yanxin glanced at Shang Ruoyi from the corner of her eye, bit her lip, and after a moment, as if she had made a certain decision, she ran to her side and knelt down straight.

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"Sister - in - law, please take me in."

Qiao Yanxin's actions startled everyone.

The faces of the three people in the second - branch immediately turned dark.

What was this woman Qiao Yanxin doing?

Shang Ruoyi frowned. "Take you in?"

"Sister - in - law, ever since I married into the prince's mansion, Zhang has often beaten and scolded me, both openly and secretly. Look." She rolled up her sleeves, and there were many bruised and purple marks on them. Everyone was shocked.

When Lin saw this, she gasped in horror and said angrily, "Zhang, are you crazy? How can you use private punishment to beat people?"

Cong Fangzhi stepped forward and looked at the marks on her arm. They were really shocking.

When Zhang saw this, she finally knew how to write the word "wronged".

"I didn't! Heaven and earth can testify. When did I beat and scold you?"

As soon as Zhang finished speaking, the people around all pursed their lips. After all, everyone had clearly seen her pinching Qiao Yanxin just now.

He Jinghe felt ashamed and quickly stepped forward to drag her back.

"Come back here." Before his hand reached her, Qiao Yanxin seemed to be extremely frightened and shouted loudly, "Don't hit me! Please, don't hit me!"

This clearly showed that she was often bullied in the mansion, which was why she had such a big reaction.

The corners of Shang Ruoyi's lips curled up. What a clumsy act.

"Taking you in is not impossible." The smile on her face remained. "But why should I take you in?"

"What?" Qiao Yanxin was stunned.

"Do you think this is some kind of shelter?" She sneered. "If you can't bring value to me, why should I support you?"

She pointed at Li Shen and the others. "Aunt Li can take care of grandmother. Li Wenyuan can protect the safety of our group. Even three - year - old Fuzi can carry a bundle. What about you? What can you do?"

"I..."

"You have to know that whether on the way of exile or when we reach the place of exile, food and water sources are very scarce. There's no need for me to support you for nothing."

"I can do anything. Just don't make me go back." Her eyes filled with tears, and she looked so pitiful. It really made people feel sorry for her.

But who was Shang Ruoyi? How could she be deceived by her?

However, for now, it was still unknown what she was up to.

Maybe she just simply wanted to get a meal. After all, nothing was more important than having enough to eat and wear now.

If she behaved herself and worked hard, she wasn't really unwelcoming.

At this time, Qin walked over and said softly, "Ruoyi, Yanxin is so pitiful. Just take her in. There are so many of us. If each person saves a mouthful, we can definitely support her."

"Mother." He Yunyi stepped forward. "Mother, sister - in - law doesn't mean not to take her in, but she can't be taken in for nothing. Every day, we rely on the food sister - in - law finds to survive. It's already very hard for her to support our whole family. Now there's one more person. If she just comes to freeload, won't it make sister - in - law even more hard - working?"

Shang Ruoyi looked at her appreciatively. Her little sister - in - law was really understanding.

The people who had just thought Shang Ruoyi was a bit heartless felt a bit ashamed after hearing this. They had been relying on her to support them all the way, and yet they secretly blamed her in their hearts for not taking in a freeloader. Thinking about it, they really felt guilty.

"Exactly." Shang Ruoyi smiled. "Since you said you can do anything, I'll take you in for now. But if you complain about hardship and tiredness in the future, don't blame me for being ruthless."