Chapter 94: Xiner Does Not Hope for Pan Di

Chapter 94: Xiner Does Not Hope for Pan Di

"Newborns can't drink it, but eight-month-olds can."

"Oh? Has your child taken medicine before?"

Ayú replied awkwardly, "I... I don’t know."

"I went to work as a wet nurse for a wealthy family. After a few months, I returned to find that my child had been thrown into the Abandoned Baby Tower by her father."

That explains it.

The doctor felt regretful for his earlier unfounded assumptions.

Just as he was about to apologize, he noticed the blisters on her hands.

"These blisters need to be treated. If they become infected, it could be fatal."

He handed Ayú a bottle of ointment. "Consider this one on the house."

"I was in a bad mood when I woke up and spoke rudely to you. Consider this a small token of apology."

The blisters were likely from the fire while she was saving her child. But such a minor injury was nothing compared to her daughter’s life.

The doctor yawned. "I’m going back to sleep. Call me if anything happens with the child."

"If everything is fine by dawn, you can leave."

Ayú stayed by her daughter’s side until the sun rose.

Finally, dawn arrived.

Instead of returning directly, the months she spent in the palace had given her more than just money—they had also broadened her perspective.

In the past, she would have gone back and begged or caused a scene.

But now, she had a better plan in mind.

Ayú knocked on a house’s door.

"Who’s there?"

"It’s me, Ayú. Sister Cui Cui."

The door opened, and the person whispered, "What? You’re back?"

This was one of the gossips from the banquet the day before.

She had initially claimed that Ayú had left to earn money, but the conversation took a different turn.

"Didn’t you run off with a man? Why are you back with a child?"

"I went to earn silver. What do you mean by ‘running off with a man’? Who spread those rumors?"

Ayú wasn’t surprised, though. Rumors in the village often became more and more absurd over time.

That woman didn’t believe her. "They spoke quite rightly. Where would a woman find a way to make money outside? I even believed you and defended you."

"Yesterday, I was ridiculed."

Ayú pulled out a tael of silver, and the woman’s eyes widened.

Their family, consisting of several people, had annual expenses totaling only a few taels of silver.

But in copper coins, the woman had rarely handled silver.

"Sister Cuicui, don’t doubt me. I went to work as a wet nurse for a wealthy family."

"If you help me with something, I’ll give you this silver as a reward."

Asking her for help directly would be awkward; she definitely wouldn’t agree.

Cuicui had always been hesitant to interfere in others’ affairs.

But when it comes to silver, that makes you an employer.

What are ‘other people’s affairs’?

The employer’s matter is her concern.

"Sister Ayú, why are you standing out here?"

"Come in quickly, let me get you some water to drink!"

Ayú declined, "No need, I’m in a rush."

"I want to ask you, Sister, to sue Hegen for killing his daughter!"

"And for remarrying while his wife is still alive!"

Throwing a baby girl into the Abandoned Baby Tower is a crime, which Ayú only learned after entering the palace.

But if no one reports it, the officials won’t look into it.

Everyone thought it was just the norm and considered it normal.

Other wet nurses in the palace had husbands who remarried after they entered, but since no one pursued it, it was accepted.

She hadn’t planned to pursue it either, as long as they treated her daughter well.

But this family had pushed her to the edge.

If they hadn’t done this, she would still be in the palace nursing the Princess!

Thinking about it made her so angry.

But if a wife sues her husband, she will be imprisoned, regardless of whether the husband is guilty or not.

So, it was best for someone else to file the complaint.

Cuicui stammered, "This... this, filing a complaint..."

"Is this such a big deal that you need to go to the authorities? The one in your arms, is this your child?"

"Endure for a moment and the storm will pass; take a step back and the world will broaden."

"Harmony at home brings prosperity to all."

Ayú was so angry that she almost laughed, but she was too exhausted to argue.

Reasoning with these people was pointless.

She only asked, "Sister Cuicui, are you sure?"

"If I tolerate this, you won’t get paid."

Cuicui hesitated, "That’s… that’s right."

She immediately changed her tone, "What tolerance? Those heartless people are bullying our Ayú. We should report them!"

"Don’t worry, Sister is on your side."

Clearly, she was on the side of the money...

After giving her instructions, Ayú found someone to send a message to her natal family.

She asked her brothers from her natal village to bring their tools and come quickly.

Then she stormed to Hegen’s house.

In the same spot, the thatched hut had become a tiled house.

In these five months, she had made a lot of money for this man.

Yet they had abandoned her daughter in the Baby Tower.

They were truly despicable scoundrels!

"Genzi!"

"Come out here, you scoundrel!"

It wasn’t the farming season in winter, so everyone stayed indoors.

At Ayú’s shout, all the neighbors came out to see what was going on.

Someone from Hegen’s family also came out—it was Genzi’s mother.

"Ayú!"

"It’s really you!"

"Weren’t you supposed to not be able to come back?"

They didn’t know which family Ayú had gone to work for as a wet nurse, as the employer required secrecy.

And the recruiter had been extremely domineering, saying that once you left, you wouldn’t return.

Seeing her, Genzi’s mother slapped her thigh hard.

"If you had let us know you were coming back, we wouldn’t have had to find someone new!"

"They spent ten taels just to marry that little minx to bear a son for Genzi!"

"If you had told us you were coming back, we could have saved that money!"

Ayú glared at her coldly. "They’re willing to spend ten taels to marry a new woman, but they won’t even feed my daughter."

"And they still dream of a son?"

"For every son they have, I’ll toss him into the Abandoned Baby Tower to burn!"

Genzi’s mother became frantic. Even without a grandson, she couldn’t bear such talk. "You wouldn’t dare!"

She noticed the baby in Ayú’s arms. "You brought Pandi back as well?"

At the sound of that name, Ayú froze, her face darkening.

"What did you just say?"

"What did you call her?"

Before she left, she named her daughter Liya.

After entering the palace and seeing how the nobles named their children, she found the name too crude.

Finding it too vulgar, she asked a literate colleague to help change her daughter’s name to Xiner in a letter.

It meant the moment when the sun rises, breaking the dawn.

It symbolized hope.

But even the name she once found crude, Liya, was still better than names like Pandi or Zhaodi.