Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  “Stop!” Little Bei couldn’t take it anymore and stopped her.

  Shao Nan, who had been about to grab Little Bei’s hand, helplessly retracted his hand. He didn’t want Little Bei to interfere. He could see the scheming glint in Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao’s eyes, but because Little Bei had already intervened, he could only helplessly step forward.

  “Oh, Shao Nan, Shao Bei, you’re back from school. I’m teaching this disobedient child a lesson. Don’t pay attention to her.”

  “You…” Little Bei wanted to speak but was stopped by Shao Nan. Shao Nan looked at Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao. “It’s illegal to hit someone, especially a child. That makes the crime even more severe.”

  “It’s not like I’m hitting a stranger. The person I’m hitting is part of our family. Whether I hit or kill her is up to me.”

  She might be afraid of other people, but why would she be afraid of a child bride?

  In the presence of Little Bei and Shao Nan, Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao hit her even harder. She then cursed. “This child needs a beating. Only after I hit her will she realize how powerful I am…”

  “That’s enough. If you continue to hit her, you’ll end up killing her.” Mu Jingzhe had originally been busy in the room and hadn’t heard the commotion next door.

  However, the female workers had heard that something was amiss. They had gone to take a look and seen that Little Bei and Shao Nan had returned, so they’d called Mu Jingzhe.

  Mu Jingzhe pinched her brows and looked at Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao speechlessly.

  Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao cowered for a moment when she saw Mu Jingzhe, but she quickly calmed down. “You have no right to meddle in our family matters. So what if I hit her? This is my family’s child bride. She’s a member of my family. If she’s disobedient, I’ll hit her.”

  “I don’t care if you hit Fu, Lu, Shou, or Xǐ, but I am indeed capable of meddling if you hit this child.”

  “She’s my child bride. She belongs to my family. What right do you have to interfere?”

  Mu Jingzhe looked at Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao. “You broke the law. By raising a child bride, you’ve violated the relevant clauses regarding freedom of marriage in ‘Marriage Law’ and violated the rights of women and children. Therefore, the existence of a child bride is illegal by itself.”

  “How is it illegal? How am I breaking the law? Don’t the other families in our village also have child brides? If you can, go poke your nose in their affairs.” Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao didn’t believe her. “Mu Jingzhe, don’t think you can scare me by saying this.”

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  She sneered smugly. “I’m just raising a child bride. After a few years, when they’re about the same age, I’ll hold a wedding for them and keep her at home as my daughter-in-law!”

  She pulled Little Zhaodi over. “Right?”

  Little Zhaodi didn’t say anything for a moment. Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao was displeased. “Are you mute?” As if to show Mu Jingzhe and the others, she picked up the broom and got ready to hit her again. Mu Jingzhe stepped forward impatiently and caught Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao’s hand. “I said stop it. Didn’t you hear me?”

  Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao’s face twisted for a moment, and she felt like her wrist was about to break. “Let go quickly. Who are you to order me around?!”

  “I already said that you’ve broken the law. If you continue to abuse children and use them for child labor, your crimes will only increase.”

  “You’re trying to scare me again. I’m not afraid. Let go of me!”

  Her hand was in so much pain that she couldn’t take it anymore. Afraid that it would really break, she struggled. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t break free from Mu Jingzhe’s hand. Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao could only try her best. All of a sudden, Mu Jingzhe let go of her hand.

  Momentarily, Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao used too much strength and couldn’t control her hand. She directly flew forward. Coincidentally, the earth wall of the Shao Residence was right in front of her, and she bumped into it.

  Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao used her hand to block it, but it only prevented her from smashing her face into a pancake. However, her nose smacked right into the wall. Not only was she covered in dirt, but her nose instantly began to bleed, looking exactly like Little Zhaodi’s nose.

  Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao’s tears and mucus flowed together. She felt pain and embarrassment, and it took her a while to recover. “Mu Jingzhe!”

  She was filled with hatred. She turned around and saw Shao Shou peeking. Just as she was about to ask Shao Shou to help her, Shao Shou slipped away.

  “Little brat!”

  Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao wished she could slap her back a few times, but upon looking at Mu Jingzhe, she ultimately didn’t dare to. Instead, she wiped away the blood on her nose and glared at Little Zhaodi.

  “You’re not allowed to eat or enter the house tonight. Just stand here. I’ll deal with you later.”

  After saying that, she left gloomily. Little Zhaodi lowered her head and didn’t dare make a sound.

  Little Bei looked at Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao’s back and wrinkled her nose. “Mommy, have I caused trouble?”

  She just didn’t want to see Little Zhaodi get beaten up, but from the looks of it, what she had done hadn’t seemed to help her.

  Actually, they had helped her in a sense. However, now that this had happened, Little Zhaodi was probably going to suffer. Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao was petty and would certainly take revenge. Since there was nothing she could do about them, she would definitely make things difficult for Little Zhaodi.

  Therefore, this help was indeed a hindrance. However, Mu Jingzhe wouldn’t dampen Little Bei’s enthusiasm. It was good that she had a positive, kind side.

  “You didn’t cause any trouble, but in the future, you could think more about the most effective way to go about helping others. Also, think about ways you can protect yourself while helping others.” Mu Jingzhe stroked Little Bei’s head and glanced at Shao Nan. “For example, if there were a lot of people on the other side today, you guys might have gotten injured too.

  “Thinking of ways to help others correctly is the homework I assign to you today. You two can discuss it and do your homework separately.”

  “Okay.” Little Bei and Shao Nan nodded.

  Little Zhaodi looked at them with envy in her eyes. Little Bei looked at her. “Mommy, what about her…”

  Shao Nan looked at Mu Jingzhe. “Don’t worry, I’m here.”

  Mu Jingzhe squatted down and looked at Little Zhaodi. “You’re Zhaodi, right? I’ll call you Little Zhaodi in the future. Does your stomach hurt? Does your head hurt? Are your eyes blurry?”

  Mu Jingzhe checked Little Zhaodi’s condition. Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao had beaten her up badly, so she was afraid that there could be internal bleeding or head injuries.

  Little Zhaodi shook her head. Her entire body hurt, but she was used to getting beaten up and could still tolerate it.

  Mu Jingzhe nodded. “That’s good. If it hurts anywhere, call for help. Let them take you to the hospital, alright?”

  Upon seeing Little Zhaodi nod in a daze, Mu Jingzhe wanted to pull Shao Nan and Little Bei home. “You two, do your homework obediently. I’ll make a trip into town.”

  She couldn’t bring this child home for the time being. Otherwise, Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao would only go even more overboard.

  Little Bei had wanted to ask if she could bring Little Zhaodi home, but when she heard that, she asked instead, “Mommy, why are you going to town?”

  “Are you going to the police station?” Shao Nan was very sensitive.

  “Mm.” Mu Jingzhe nodded. Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao had said that it was their family’s business and that there was nothing she could do about it, but Mu Jingzhe really could do something about it.

  She didn’t delay. She decided to go and return quickly to avoid any accidents.

  This matter could be interpreted as Mu Jingzhe meddling in other people’s business, but Mu Jingzhe didn’t want such a bad habit to spread. She couldn’t watch Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao strut around and beat a child to death. She had to consider Little Bei’s emotions too. She really didn’t want the children to see such a thing.

  There was nothing wrong with being aloof, but sometimes, it was better to reach out and give a helping hand. You could never be sure that the next person in danger wouldn’t be you. If everyone just stood by and watched, it would be terrible when it was their turn.

  It was impossible to reason with someone like Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao, so Mu Jingzhe couldn’t be bothered to waste her breath on her. She decided to solve the problem from the root.

  Mu Jingzhe went to the police station to report the case.