Xun Hui hastily shook her head, "Xinxin wouldn’t, I just saw her as a child, looking so pitiable, I..." At one moment she pitifully said how suffocated she was at home, the next moment sweet words flowed saying how envious she was that the first wife had such a virtuous mother like her, and then, she got confused.
Yang Ruxin understood Xun Hui’s naivety, how she would let her guard down around anyone, easily becoming dazed and confused by someone’s coaxing. She turned to Erni, "Do you also think she’s pitiable?" Xun Hui could afford to be defenseless, but Erni couldn’t. She would have to stand on her own in the future, and for that, her character needed to be stronger.
Erni shook her head, "I didn’t give it away, but..." but what could she do when their mother told them not to squabble? Besides, she hadn’t expected Yang Ruyu to snatch things away by force, "That comb was just snatched from my hand, I... I don’t have as much strength as her..." The real issue was she didn’t have as thick a skin as her.
Yang Ruxin actually believed Erni’s words. Although Erni’s personality had changed a lot, when it came to thick skin, she was far behind Yang Ruyu.
"Anything else to say?" Yang Ruxin took pleasure in Yang Ruyu’s distress, then crouched down and lowered her voice, "What, has that noble person from the city not sent you any more money?"
Yang Ruyu’s eyes widened for an instant, but she quickly regained her composure, "Big cousin, I don’t understand what you’re talking about..."
"It’s alright, you’ll understand in time," Yang Ruxin smiled slightly, stood up, "Those two packets of pastries are yours. They’re made by the chef of the county magistrate, something you can’t get outside." With that, she signaled Erni to pick up the other items and then they went back home.
"Xinxin..." Xun Hui glanced at Yang Ruyu, who was still sitting on the ground, didn’t dare to intervene, and hurried back home, a bit anxious.
Yang Ruxin didn’t even glance at her, and went straight into the kitchen. It’s hard to change one’s true nature, and she was tired of wasting her breath.
"Big sister, why is Yang Ruyu at our doorstep?" Shortly, Sanni came back with a bunch of little ones; they had missed them after not seeing them for a few days. So, they roamed around the nearby villages, and as she entered, she exclaimed, "She looked like she saw a ghost when she saw me..."
"You do look like a ghost right now," Yang Ruxin looked out and said, "No, actually you look like a bunch of them. Look at yourselves, if it wasn’t for knowing you, who could recognize you all? Did you burrow into mouse holes or what?"
Upon hearing that, Sanni giggled with a ’Heihei,’ then directed Zhou Xiao to scoop water for the little ones while she herself sidled up to Yang Ruxin, her demeanor enigmatic, "Big sister, we found a treasure in the river behind Xiaobudong Village..." She said carefully pulling a handkerchief from her bosom and unfolding it, "Pretty, right?"
Yang Ruxin frowned as she looked at the transparent, sparkling stones inside, which somewhat resembled crystals, "Are there many there?"
"Little Shuanzi had said before that he found one," Sanni shook her head, "We scouted the whole afternoon and only found three... Big sister, do you recognize them?"
"I’m not sure, but I can go and ask at the jewelry stores in the county town tomorrow," Yang Ruxin said with a smile, but inside she was filled with endless curiosity. It wasn’t unusual to find crystal gems or the like, but what was curious was that these three stones had obviously been cut and processed, clearly they had been set into something. It made her recall the legend about Xiaocang Mountain, could there really be a treasure hidden there?