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Seeing her younger sister crying so bitterly, Li Chunhua couldn't help but shed tears herself, angrily cursing, "No wonder Donghua ran to Second Sister's place last time! That little bastard wasn't even anxious—he was just waiting for this!"

In her fury, she didn't even refer to her foster brother by name, directly calling him "little beast."

Wei Pozi hurriedly helped Li Donghua up: "Good child, our Yu and Li families are in-laws by marriage. When your eldest sister married over here, you were just a toddler—practically seen you grow up. How could I stand by and watch you get pushed into the fire?"

Remembering her younger sister's childhood, Li Chunhua also felt heartbroken and wiped away tears.

When Li Donghua was born, Li Chunhua was already a young maiden. Before her own marriage, she had been the one raising her little sister—their bond was naturally extraordinary.

Li Chunhua choked up: "Mother, what should we do?... That Zhao Zhaodi is pregnant, and her family will only accept a bride swap. Though our parents do love us, they've always dreamed of carrying on the family name... Do we really have to marry Donghua off to that fool?"

Wei Pozi was at her wits' end.

Though there was no solution at hand, she still comforted softly: "Donghua, dry your tears for now and stay with your eldest sister. Rest assured, our family might not have much, but we don't lack men. Even if the Zhaos come looking, they won't be able to drag you away by force!"

These words comforted Li Donghua like a warm blanket.

Shaking with sobs, Li Donghua cried: "Auntie, thank you, thank you..."

Wei Pozi gave Li Chunhua a look, signaling her to take her sister to rest in her room first.

Poor thing—just now, Wei Pozi had noticed one of her shoes was torn from running, and her clothes were covered in mud and dust. She must have taken many tumbles during her long, desperate run here.

Truly pitiful.

Li Chunhua's heart ached as she led Li Donghua inside to rest.

Bai Xiaofeng, who had been listening by the door, whispered indignantly: "Mother, how could Eldest Sister-in-law's younger brother do such a thing?... Even during the hardest years of famine, the Li family always provided for Li Jinnan. Eldest Sister-in-law's needlework is slow, but I've seen her make clothes for Li Jinnan to send back to her parents' home. The whole family has never mistreated him!... And this is how he repays them? Got used to bleeding the Li family dry? Now he wants to marry a wife by sacrificing one of the Li daughters?"

Bai Xiaofeng grew angrier as she spoke.

Wei Pozi glanced at her: "Calm down. You're pregnant—don't get too worked up."

Bai Xiaofeng took a deep breath to steady herself, unconsciously touching her belly: "...That Zhao Zhaodi is ruthless too. Not even married yet, but already pregnant—isn't afraid of the scandal. So hell-bent on marrying into the Li family?"

Though Bai Xiaofeng spoke without deeper thought, Wei Pozi sensed something amiss.

Is Li Jinnan really so wonderful that Zhao Zhaodi would go to such extremes—even getting pregnant—just to marry into the Li family?

So eager to trade for a sister-in-law?

Don't they worry the Li family might dig in their heels and reject Zhao Zhaodi's unborn child?

After all, in cases like this where the girl gets pregnant before marriage, the man might just be laughed at, but for the woman, it's social ruin!

In some conservative villages, they might even subject her to the pig cage punishment!

Chapter 66: Falling Flat on One's Face

As Wei Pozi predicted, the Zhaos came knocking the very next day.

Led by Li Jinnan himself.

He strutted into the Yu household as if it were his own.

Fortunately, the school was closed that day, so all the Yu boys were home.

The moment Li Jinnan stepped into the yard and shouted, "Li Donghua, come out here!" the Yu boys—who had been working on their lessons together in the main room—all came rushing out at the noise.

Even little Ju Geer and Xingxing tagged along.

The Zhao family members following behind Li Jinnan looked enviously at the lineup of tall, strapping Yu lads.

In the Zhao family, by Zhao Zhaodi's generation, there was only her brother Zhao Gui.

Unfortunately, Zhao Gui was also a fool.

No wonder the Zhaos were green with envy!

Li Jinnan's eyes swept over the Yu boys, recognizing Yu Yonghuai and Yu Yongbai. He hollered at them, "Where's your mother? Is your fourth aunt here? Get 'em out here now!"

Yu Yonghuai had already heard about the matter from his mother and wanted nothing to do with this so-called "uncle." He remained silent, his face cold.

Instead, Li Chunhua yanked the curtain aside and marched out herself.

"What's all the damn racket?" Li Chunhua's expression was already grim, and when she saw the Zhao members behind Li Jinnan, her face darkened further. "...You actually brought them to my house? How impressive of you!"

Li Jinnan grinned and called out, "Eldest Sister," then craned his neck to look past her into the room. "Where's Little Sister? Hurry up and call her out. Zhaodi's pregnancy can't wait any longer!"

Li Chunhua couldn't hold back any longer and spat heavily at Li Jinnan. "Pfft! You got Zhao Zhaodi pregnant—figure it out yourself! If you think you can ruin Donghua's life, I'm telling you, no way! Don't even think about it!"

Li Jinnan had been pampered since childhood. Even during the famine years, the Li family never deprived him of food, keeping him soft and well-fed. But innate traits couldn't be changed—no matter how well the Lis treated him, Li Jinnan still had a weaselly face that just oozed shadiness.

"Eldest Sister, what kind of talk is that?" Li Jinnan scoffed, his eyes darting around. "Isn't the child in Zhaodi's belly your Old Li family's flesh and blood? Ma and Pa have been longing for a grandson for so long, and they're getting old. How can you bear to disappoint them?"

Li Chunhua couldn't withstand Li Jinnan invoking Li's Father and Li's Mother. Her face went stormy as she clammed up.

Li Jinnan grew smug and called out past her, "I say, Fourth Sis, hurry up and come out!"

When the Li family adopted Li Jinnan, he was already ten years old—two years older than the youngest, Li Donghua. Hence, he called her "Fourth Sis."