The beloved baby has a space

Ayu had never witnessed the power struggles within a wealthy family, but Tuanzi told her stories every day without fail. In the past year, it had started telling her fairy tales and myths, but recently it had begun telling stories of chivalrous heroes and heroines. Last month, it told Ayu some stories about the inner quarters and the imperial palace. Ayu was past the age of believing everything she heard, so she was somewhat dismissive of the power struggles within the family and the palace in those stories.

The Wang family is very good; there are no conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, or sisters-in-law. The only thing they have is the tacit understanding between adults to beat children (except for her).

Now that we've finally seen one in action, Ayu's story has been rekindled.

"Young Master." Tangyuan bowed to Ayu from afar. She didn't say much, but Ayu, who had known her for many years, naturally knew what her eyes meant.

"What young master? Who are you? You look unfamiliar to me. You're not from Lingkong City, are you?" A woman who looked like a noblewoman spoke with a particularly sharp and sarcastic tone. "The prefectural and county government offices are not places where just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can be let in."

Ayu shook her head, her eyes filled with disappointment as she looked at her daughter.

It's as if she had some expectations of her before, but now that those expectations have been dashed, she looks down on her completely.

"What do you mean by that look?" The noblewoman felt very uncomfortable under Ayu's gaze. She couldn't help but touch her hair and tug at her clothes, but she didn't realize that she had done anything inappropriate.

Ayu: "Stop looking. I thought you were having a power struggle within the family, but now that I look at you, my sister doesn't seem like the type to do that."

These words were spoken with utmost sincerity, but not everyone present was a fool; they naturally understood the unspoken meaning behind Ayu's words.

"You rude girl, not only did you barge in, but you also dared to spout nonsense. Guards, slap her!"

Beside them was another person whose clothes looked rather shabby; he was clearly the noblewoman's attendant.

Ayu was bored and felt that their level was too low. She turned her head slightly and said to Qin Huai, who was standing next to her, "Brother Ayu, this place is too boring. Let's go somewhere else."

Qin Huai naturally agreed.

Before they left, they had Tangyuan pick up the girl who had fallen into the water.

Tangyuan is now fifteen years old. He usually practices martial arts with Ayu and the others. Although he is not proficient, he is still strong. He can carry a young lady without feeling any strain.

They had just carried the person to Ayu's room and hadn't even had time to find her a change of clothes when a noblewoman rushed over.

The lady looked unwell, clearly burdened by worry. Upon seeing her soaking wet daughter, she disregarded the presence of others and burst into tears.

"Qiao'er, you've worried your mother to death! How did you fall into the lake?"

It turned out that the girl who fell into the water was actually the prefect's daughter, whose given name was Qiao'er.

Qiao'er said, "Mother, I slipped and fell down by myself."

Hearing Qiao'er say this, Ayu became curious: "Could it be that the noble lady who pushed you down was of very high status, which is why you said that?"

Her words caused not only Qiao'er to change her expression, but also that of the prefect's wife. "Qiao'er, were you pushed down? How could you lie to your mother!" The prefect's wife became even more distressed. "Don't suffer for your mother's sake. At worst, we'll just stop going to your maternal grandparents' house."

"How can that be, Mother? I'm really fine. Cousin Yuan Yuan was just joking with me; she didn't hurt me." Qiao'er also started crying, her eyes brimming with barely suppressed grievances.

Ayu, puzzled by what she saw, went out to find Qin Huai, who was waiting in the courtyard.

"Brother Ayou, there's something I don't understand." Ayu sat down opposite Qin Huai, cupping her face in her hands, her big eyes filled with confusion.

She recounted what she had overheard in the house, and then said to Qin Huai, "If I were bullied outside, I would definitely tell my family when I got home, because only my family can stand up for me. But that Sister Qiao'er would rather suffer herself than lie. Why is that? Is it just because she's afraid of offending people?"

"You don't need to think about these things. No one will dare to wrong you, and no one will dare to bully you." If someone did, he would surely be a corpse.

Qin Huai didn't say the last sentence aloud, but his eyes turned much colder.

The thought of someone attempting to assassinate Ayu and nearly harming her nearly made Qin Huai lose control of his temper.

If anyone dares to push Ayu into the water, he will chop off that person's hands and feet and throw them in.

In the years he's spent with Ayu, he's almost never had that cruel and bloodthirsty feeling anymore.

“Brother Ayou, Grandma said that life is unpredictable and no one can be without suffering. But after suffering, we must stand up for ourselves to avoid making the same mistakes and suffering the same injustices.” Little Ayu said logically, “I think Sister Qiao’er should have told her father and mother about this from the beginning. Maybe her cousin wasn’t so outrageous at first. It’s just that she kept tolerating it, and the other party became more and more unreasonable.”

Qin Huai nodded: "That's true."

Humans are inherently greedy, bully the weak and fear the strong, and seek profit and avoid harm; these are all part of human nature.

As the two were chatting, Wang Wulang came over to find Ayu. He overheard their conversation and said with a smile, "Ayu, are you meditating again? What's wrong? Why is my little sister frowning again?"

Ayu said, "It's nothing, just chatting casually. I miss Grandma and the others a bit. Once Prefect Liu finishes investigating the case, let's leave here and go home as soon as possible."

“I was just about to tell you that Prefect Liu is quite quick to investigate cases. There is a bandit being held in his cell, and the arrow he used before he was arrested is the same as the one you have.”

Before Wang Wulang could finish speaking, Wang Qilang rushed in, barely catching his breath, and hurriedly said, "We're really in big trouble now!"

"What's wrong? What happened?" Ayu stepped forward, patted Wang Qilang on the back, and waited for him to catch his breath before asking, "Brother Qi, what news did you hear?"

"Sister Ayu, Wulang, just now, my third brother and I were planning to go to the prison to see that so-called prisoner. Guess what? We were just about to question the prisoner when suddenly a hidden weapon shot out from somewhere, and the prisoner was silenced right in front of us!"

Even the easygoing Wang Wulang gasped in surprise.

"They silenced them right there in the jail?!" Wang Wulang's eyes widened. "Doesn't that mean they have people hiding throughout the entire government office? Doesn't that put Ayu in danger?!"