Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Shielding Her

The name “Chun Zhi” was the new name she got after Lu Jing Yun found her in Linshui Town and took her home.

She had been very sick, lost her memory, and even forgot her real name.

If this middle?aged couple and the young man were truly her birth parents and older brother, then after finding her they should have called her by her original name, not “Chun Zhi.” But there really was a peach?blossom?shaped birthmark on her lower back. Their story was half true, half false. Something was wrong.

Chun Zhi watched the three of them with sharp eyes and asked: “Who are you really? What are you trying to do by pretending to be my birth father?”

The middle?aged woman froze, then quickly changed her words and said: “Little Yu! Of course you weren’t called Chun Zhi before. Your name is Little Yu. You are my daughter. How could this be fake?”

The young man jumped in at once and said: “Before we came, we asked around and learned the neighbors all call you Chun Zhi, so we changed how we addressed you.”

The middle?aged man said: “Yes, Little Yu, your mother and I have searched for you for ten years. What other plan could we have? We only want our family back together.”

Seeing that Chun Zhi still did not believe them, the three reported their names on their own. The young man said his name was Su Rong, his father was Su Fu, his mother was Madam Feng, and Chun Zhi used to be called Su Yu.

Su Rong said: “Little Yu, at home we all called you Little Yu. Don’t you remember?”

Chun Zhi truly did not. She remembered nothing from before age nine. Not even a little.

“My daughter, you have wandered outside for so many years. How much did you suffer? How much pain did you bear? How could you forget your own birth parents?” cried Madam Feng as she stepped forward to hug Chun Zhi.

Chun Zhi turned sideways and slipped away. No matter how much the woman cried, the sudden arrival of “birth parents” looked wrong from start to finish.

Huo Zheng moved up on his crutch and put himself in front of Chun Zhi, asking in a dark voice: “You say Chun Zhi is your long?lost daughter. Do you have proof? Do you have witnesses? Where are your household registry papers?”

The Su family of three were stumped by his three questions in a row.

Neighbors standing around began whispering. Everyone knew Chun Zhi was the child bride Lu Jing Yun had brought home, and she had lived in the Lu clan for ten years.

In those ten years, it was less that the Lu clan sheltered Chun Zhi, and more that Chun Zhi propped up the Lu clan. Old Madam Lu was weak and often ill and could not even do laundry or sweeping. Lu Jing Yun was a scholar whose shoulders could not carry and whose hands could not lift. When Chun Zhi first came, still very young, she worked outside, washing clothes for people, washing dishes in a restaurant, and even apprenticing at a pharmacy. She did every hard job she could find, and spent all she earned on the Lu mother and son.

At thirteen or fourteen she learned tofu?making from a master, set up a stall, and started a small business. With her hard work, she put a scholar through his studies.

A girl like her was more capable than many men. She was kind and could earn money. Maybe this Su family had come only because Chun Zhi could make money.

Thankfully, her new husband knew to ask for the truth first.

Who knew if the Su family had come to trick her?

Su Rong explained: “As soon as we heard news about Little Yu, we rushed over. Our proof and registry papers are at home. As for witnesses, all our neighbors back there can testify that our Su family lost a daughter ten years ago. If Little Yu comes back with us, you can ask around and know at once.”

Madam Feng and Su Fu nodded again and again.

Madam Feng also said: “Little Yu, our Su family is not rich like nobles, but we live well enough. We even have two little maids who do the laundry and cooking. If you come home with us, you won’t need to work so hard selling tofu. I will find you a good match and prepare a dowry so you can marry with honor.”

“That’s right, listen to your mother and come home,” said Su Fu.

“I am already married,” said Chun Zhi.

She listened to their long speech and heard they just wanted her to leave with them. They even talked about finding her a good match and marrying her off in style. That was strange.

If the Su family had really asked around nearby, they would know she had already married Huo Qi. Real parents who came to claim their daughter would recognize their son?in?law too, not talk about finding her another husband. None of this was right.

Chun Zhi said: “My husband and I are close and kind to each other. There is no way I will abandon him.”

Seeing this, Su Rong said: “A marriage without parents’ approval and a matchmaker does not count. Sister, you have had too hard a life and never seen better, so you treat this cripple like a treasure. When you come home, I will find you a noble official to marry. You will live in comfort as an official’s lady.”

“An official’s lady?” said Chun Zhi. She now knew for sure this family of three had come to scam her.

Su Rong thought he had convinced her and said with a smile: “Yes, an official’s lady.”

Chun Zhi’s mouth curled in a cold smile. She grabbed the handcart and rammed it toward the Su family as she shouted: “You must be tired of living, daring to cheat people in public!”

None of them expected her to turn so fast. Madam Feng and Su Fu were hit squarely and fell to the ground at once. Su Rong could have dodged, but his parents grabbed at him, even pulling his pants half off, and all three of them went down.

The whole family fell in a neat row.

Huo Zheng wanted to step in and help but never even found a chance.

Still lying on the ground, Madam Feng cried: “Little Yu! Little Yu, what are you doing? I am your real mother!”

Chun Zhi spat and said: “My mother would never be a liar.”

She stood with her hands on her hips and scolded them: “You had better turn around and go back the way you came, or I will report you to the authorities and have you arrested!”

At the word “authorities,” all three turned pale. They scrambled up and ran.

Only Su Rong looked back and called: “Sister, it’s fine if you don’t accept us today. Your older brother and mother won’t blame you. When you think it over, we will come again!”

Chun Zhi pushed the handcart a bit as if to ram them again.

Su Rong spun around and bolted.

After the three left, only the neighbors remained at the gate.

Auntie Li, seeing that Chun Zhi had taken them for scammers, felt awkward and said: “I’m sorry, Chun Zhi. I didn’t know they were fakes.”

Auntie Li had truly thought Chun Zhi’s family had come to claim her. That was why she hurried over to tell her.

“It’s all right, Auntie Li,” said Chun Zhi as she tidied the things on the cart. “When I first saw them, I didn’t know they were scammers either. You came out of kindness. Thank you for the trouble today.”

“It was no trouble at all. I’m just glad you’re fine,” said Auntie Li, then turned and went back inside.

The rest of the onlookers also drifted away.

Chun Zhi wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve and pushed the cart into the yard.

Huo Zheng followed on his crutch and, in a low voice, asked: “How did you know those three were scammers?”