Lady Han’s face turned stormy immediately, "Oh, Ye Zi, you can’t be this heartless. You think you’ve got it all figured out, trying to save yourself some trouble by saying you’re letting Big Aunt take care of Qi Jia, but aren’t you just scheming against our Sanshun? Most of the time, it’s our Sanshun playing with him, you can’t be so ungrateful! My Sanshun is also a child we cherish, not a servant to entertain your child."
Lady Han’s voice grew louder and louder, and the last two lines came out as a quarrel.
"What are you talking about! Can’t you do something that makes the younger generation respect you? Can’t you keep it down?" The door of the main room opened, and Lady Wang hurried out, scolding Lady Han.
The second son’s wife was becoming more and more disgraceful; Ye Xinyan used to often deliver Qi Jia to Lady Xu, and every time there would be some idle gossip. She hadn’t paid much attention to it at first and had stirred up trouble. It wasn’t until Lady Han was screeching at the top of her lungs that she realized something was wrong.
Lady Han still felt wronged. Pointing at Ye Xinyan and Lady Xu, she said, "Mother, you didn’t see it, the child from Second Uncle’s family is too bullying."
As soon as Ye Xinyan heard Lady Han speak about Qi Jia like that, she became infuriated as though her Qi Jia was being treated like a burden, and worst of all, these words were said in front of the child, which was too detestable.
Suppressing her anger, she smiled at Lady Wang and called together with Qi Jia, "Great Aunt." Calmly taking the small basket from Qi Jia’s hands, she pushed it into Lady Xu’s arms, took Qi Jia by the hand, and then sternly said to Lady Han:
"Second Aunt, your Shunzi must also be a child you cherish, and following his elder cousin, he must also work hard, which I have no control over. However, the small food shop belongs to the second branch of the Qi family. Since the children of Second Uncle and Second Aunt are so precious, I dare not employ your child to do menial tasks in a small storefront. I will send word to my mama right away to have Ershun sent back immediately, and there’s no need for him to go there in the future."
Ye Xinyan finished speaking, took Qi Jia by the hand, and turned to walk away.
She would rather do a bit more work herself and look after Qi Jia than let others disdain him and treat him as a burden.
Lady Han was stunned on the spot. This abandoned wife... Did she really dare to send Ershun away? The second branch of the Qi family hadn’t been back for long, wasn’t she afraid of offending relatives, unable to stand on her own among friends and family? But she hadn’t realized that she herself was constantly offending the second branch without any regard for the consequences.
Lady Wang gave Lady Xu a look, and Lady Xu quickly stepped forward, saying to Ye Xinyan, "Ye Zi, your Second Aunt didn’t mean that, she always speaks without thinking, you shouldn’t stoop to her level."
Speaking, Lady Xu took Ye Xinyan’s arm, trying to pull Qi Jia’s hand, "Come, come sit in Big Aunt’s room for a while. Didn’t you say Jiajia brought something tasty for me and Sanshun? Let’s try it together."
Meanwhile, Lady Wang reprimanded Lady Han, "Do you even have a brain? Who speaks like that? Didn’t Sanshun often come to play with Xiao Jiajia when Ye Zi didn’t bring Jiajia over? The two brothers are close and play well together. You, as their mother and elder, are spreading rumors here and causing divisions among the Qi family brothers. It seems to me you don’t want to stay in the Qi family anymore!"
This accusation of causing divisions among Qi family brothers and bringing harm to the family, if taken seriously, could mean sending Lady Han back to her mother’s house, and that would have been justified.
Ye Xinyan did not stay long, speaking politely, "Everyone is so upset, I’m afraid Qi Jia is scared, I should take him home. If there’s anything important in a few days, I’ll send him over."
Lady Xu looked at Qi Jia, and sure enough, there was a flicker in his eyes and he was clinging tightly to Ye Xinyan, clearly feeling the tension in the yard.
With a silent sigh, she gave up, "...All right, you go back and comfort Xiao Jiajia. If you’re busy and need to work, just let Big Aunt know, and Big Aunt will come over to your courtyard with her needlework. She can work while keeping an eye on Xiao Jiajia, so it won’t be any trouble."
Ye Xinyan agreed and declined Lady Xu’s offer to walk her out, leading Qi Jia back home.
Qi Jia withdrew his gaze back from the Qi family’s main branch and quietly listened to Ye Xinyan promising to make him a small cake in the afternoon. After a while, he softly asked Ye Xinyan, "Sister, are we not going to play with Brother Sanshun anymore?"
Ye Xinyan hesitated a moment before saying, "It’s just that Sister suddenly remembered, I have a lot of work these days and I need your help. Once we get through this busy period, we can go play with Brother Sanshun again, okay?"
"Okay." Qi Jia seemed much more reassured.