I traveled back to ancient times, but I was able to lie down and relax.

After her brother left, Liu Nanjia prepared to do the laundry.

She led her sister back to the riverbank, her eyes scanning over several women who were also washing clothes. When she spotted a somewhat familiar figure, she smiled with satisfaction and then found a suitable spot near that person.

After putting down her things, she deliberately spoke to Liu Sirou in a slightly louder voice than usual, "Little sister, I'll wash here. Go pick some wild vegetables, but don't go too far so I can see you. You can pick some water celery, but don't pick water shield; it's too dangerous, be careful not to fall in."

Liu Sirou obediently responded.

Sure enough, a woman's voice came from the side: "Nan Jia is here. How thoughtful of you. Water shield grows in water, so it's really not appropriate to let such a young child pick it."

It's Aunt Wang from the village. She's very warm-hearted and talkative, and can chat with anyone. The key thing is that she lives not far from their house.

Liu Nanjia just saw her and deliberately came this way.

“Aunt Wang,” Liu Nanjia replied with a smile, “As the older sister, of course I have to take good care of my younger sister.”

The two chatted for a few minutes, but their hands were busy washing clothes.

At that time, the washing machine used a washing pestle, which was a wooden stick-like object.

Dushui Village is located by the river. The villagers would wash their clothes by going to the river downstream from the village. After soaking their clothes, they would put them on stones, beat them with a washing mallet, and then rinse them clean. That was considered washing them.

Liu Nanjia deliberately loosened the headscarf covering her wound and then pounded her clothes repeatedly.

Sure enough, not long after, the headscarf slowly came off as the body swayed and fell into the river.

"Oh dear," Liu Nanjia deliberately let out a not-too-loud exclamation, just enough for Aunt Wang, who was not far away, to hear and look in this direction.

Seeing that the headscarf had fallen into the river, and the girl was about to reach for it, I quickly said, "Be careful, don't fall in. Come on, let me pull you up."

As he spoke, he walked over, and as he got closer, he immediately saw the injury on Liu Nanjia's head.

"Oh dear, Nan Jia, what happened to your head? How did you manage to bump it so badly? Look, it's even bleeding." As she spoke, she first took Liu Nan Jia's hand and made her take the headscarf up.

Aunt Wang's voice was much louder, immediately attracting the attention of other women washing clothes nearby.

People's lives were too monotonous at that time, and they worked all day long. As soon as something new happened in the village, they would come running, hoping to add some fun to their lives.

So when they heard the commotion, they all put down their clothes and gathered around. They all saw Liu Nanjia's head wrapped in cloth, with obvious bloodstains on the cloth. They started talking all at once:

"Oh my, such a big gash, how much blood must have flowed out back then."

"Yes, it's still bleeding. It must hurt so much."

"Nan Jia, how did you get this injury? No wonder I haven't seen you come out for the past two days."

Seeing that someone had finally gotten to the point, Liu Nanjia stammered, "Yes, yes, I accidentally fell."

His expression was still somewhat evasive.

Everyone around her understood immediately when they saw her like this.

It must be related to those people in the Liu family, especially Fang Shi from the eldest branch of the family. She might be the one who did it.

If he really fell, why is he stuttering?

Immediately, someone blurted out, "Could it be that your aunt beat you? How could she be so cruel as to beat you like that?"

This person wasn't particularly righteous; she was more interested in seeing a spectacle. The family fighting so fiercely would provide her with enough gossip to tell others for days.

"Really? I've heard that Fang is not a good person. It turns out it's true. She would do such a cruel thing to her own niece."

"Nan Jia, whether or not you were beaten, you don't need to be afraid."

The person who said this was Aunt Wang, and her expression was somewhat serious. "If it's true, I'll take you to find the village head. This Fang family is really going too far. I was wondering why I heard Sirou crying so hard that day."

Liu Nanjia just kept shaking her head, insisting that she fell on her own and that it had nothing to do with her aunt.

She could now speak the truth, as Aunt Wang suggested, and go find the village head. But even if the village head did get involved in someone else's family affairs, he would at most just scold Fang Shi a few times.

Even after they leave, she'll still be living in that house, and if Fang suffers any mistreatment, she'll still take it out on her.

When the women saw that Liu Nanjia denied it, they chatted for a few minutes and then dispersed, each going about their own business.

Except for Aunt Wang.

Liu Nanjia looked at Aunt Wang and felt a little touched.

Among this group of people, at least Aunt Wang genuinely wanted to help her. Over the past two years, she had helped her three siblings quite a bit, often secretly giving them some food.

Thinking of all this, he spoke with more sincerity: "Aunt Wang, I know you mean well, but I still have to live there, and there's Si Rou too. I can't watch over her all the time."

Aunt Wang understood after hearing this.

He sighed, "Alas, you've really suffered. That Fang woman is no good. If only your parents were still here..."

He stopped abruptly as soon as he said it, afraid of upsetting Liu Nanjia, and quickly tried to smooth things over: "Look at my mouth, I just speak too fast, Nanjia, don't mind me."

Liu Nanjia naturally understood that she meant well and comforted her, saying, "It's alright, Aunt Wang. I know you care about me. If it weren't for your help these past two years, I don't know what would have become of my siblings and me. In the village, you've taken the best care of us."

Aunt Wang beamed with joy at the compliment; how could this girl be so eloquent today?

He laughed and said, "Oh, it's all what we should do. It's nothing. It's just a few bites to eat. Your parents helped our family so much back then."

My parents are both very gentle people. Not many people in the village can read, and even fewer can write.

People often ask them to write letters, learn characters, or do other favors, and they generally accept all requests.

Even the greatest kindness will fade over time, and it's rare to see someone like Aunt Wang who still remembers it.

The two chatted for a while while washing clothes, and Liu Sirou also returned with some wild vegetables.

She wanted to come over when a group of people gathered around, but she didn't move after her sister signaled her to.

Otherwise, if he were to confront those women, he might be tricked into revealing information.

After washing the clothes, Liu Nanjia said goodbye to Aunt Wang: "Aunt Wang, I'm leaving now. I might need your help again in a few days."

"Alright, alright, just come to me if you need anything," Aunt Wang readily agreed.

Liu Nanjia led her younger sister back. She had put on this show today so that others would see her wounds.

Although she didn't say that her injury was related to Fang, people can see that she was hiding something because she was afraid of being beaten again when she got home.

People will say that Fang beat her own niece so badly that she doesn't dare to tell anyone, for fear of being beaten again. They will also feel more sorry for her because she is so sensible and considerate, even though she has been beaten so badly, she still tries to cover up for her aunt.

The power of imagination is very strong. Even if you clearly tell them that they were pushed down and fell onto the rocks, many people will think it was just an accident.

If we let them guess, then anything is possible.

The villagers love to gossip. With these few people spreading the word today, it won't be long before the whole village knows that Fang, the eldest daughter of the Liu family, is a heartless woman who beat her own niece so badly that she bled a lot.