The Daily Life Of Mei Furen Doting On Her Husband - Chapter 117

Since Pei Jiya came there, Tao Afu had become a lot cleaner, because her master couldn’t stand dirty things.

She was clean, but her clothes were worn out. She had very few clothes, only one set that fit her, which was bought for her by Mr. Tao when he took them back to their hometown to worship their ancestors. Her other clothes were all washed white and had many holes. If she wasn’t short and grew slowly, these tattered clothes would have been unwearable.

Afu herself didn’t care much about that. As long as she was full, she was happy. After washing, she squatted in front of the white mouse, holding her chin, and asked him, “Master, are you feeling better now?”

Pei Jiya had told her before that he was beaten back to his original form in a fight with someone and was seriously injured. He needed to rest for several years before he could turn back to human form. Afu didn’t know that men were all liars and pigs. She believed in her master wholeheartedly, cared about his injuries every day, and worshiped him as if he were her own father.

Pei Jiya’s injury was actually almost healed. When he recovered some of his abilities a month ago, he drove all kinds of little ghosts to find medicinal herbs for him to take. The reason why he still stayed there was just because he was willful.

He watched the helpless little girl slowly begin to believe in him and smile more every day. He felt as if he had raised a poor little mouse. Watching her living so tenaciously every day was much more interesting than going back to the Pei family to bother his elders and sisters.

When the sun went down, Afu took the clean quilt back and laid it on the bed. Pei Jiya lay down on it to have a rest. Perhaps because the quilt with the scent of sunshine lingering on it smelled too good, Pei Jiya fell asleep unconsciously. In a daze, he suddenly heard a noise in the yard outside. There seemed to be Afu’s frightened cry and several people cursing, vaguely saying “it’s her”, “little thief”, “lost offering”, and so on.

Tao Afu was grabbed by a large group of people and pushed in front of a brightly lit building.

Because her hair had not dried yet after washing in the afternoon, AFu had her hair loose. She was pushed and shoved along the way, and she looked like a little lunatic with her hair disheveled. After being pinched twice by a woman, AFu dared not scream and was dragged away with her mouth closed.

The Tao family’s house was very big, but Afu had never been to other places, nor had she seen such a beautiful building. When those people were pushing her in with ferocious looks, she couldn’t help but turn her head to admire the carved window panes, which were truly beautiful.

A fat, middle-aged man was sitting on the upper couch. When he saw Afu coming in, he said coldly, with a look of disdain on his face, “Kneel down!”

Afu was thrown to the ground with one hand still tightly held by a servant. She got up and looked at the middle-aged man, then recognized him as her father. In fact, she had only seen this father a few times.

Mr. Tao felt annoyed when he saw her dazed and dull look. Next to him sat a well-dressed woman, her stepmother, Madam Yang. Behind Madam Yang stood her three pretty biological daughters. All four of them were very beautiful, but they looked arrogant, with similar contempt in their eyes. They looked at Afu as if she were mud that had accidentally stained the corner of their skirts.

They didn’t speak to Afu. Only Madam Yang asked the servants, “Is she the one who has been stealing things from home?”

“Yes, Madam, those foods were stolen by the Eldest Lady, and the young ones all saw it.”

Mr. Tao patted the couch and said, “She is indeed the child of a country woman. Just like her mother, she is not presentable and only knows how to embarrass me!”

“How could I have a child like you? Why didn’t I just strangle you to death back then, so that you wouldn’t have to do such an unseemly thing now!”

No matter how Mr. Tao scolded her, Afu just knelt there and stared at the small table to her left, focusing intently on the pastries that looked crispy and soft.

Mr. Tao scolded her, but when she didn’t respond, he became even angrier. Madam Yang, looking down on the little rat-like Afu, said, “Ah Lang, this child is not righteous. I think she must be taught a lesson.”

Mr. Tao shifted his expression to her, “Madam, you have the final say. You can do whatever you want with her.”

Madam Yang smiled reservedly. The three girls, adorned in precious jewelry and gorgeous dresses, looked at Tao Afu critically for a while and whispered into their mother’s ear. 

Madam Yang looked at them lovingly and then said to the maid who was holding Tao Afu, “Teach her the rules, and then put her in the confinement room. Release her when she has thought it through.”

The two maids responded in unison. Of course, they knew what it meant to teach the rules.

Mr. Tao added, “Madam, you’re kind-hearted. If it were me, she would be beaten up so she would remember this lesson.”

Madam Yang gave him a reproachful look and said, “She is your biological daughter. How can I really let someone beat her? I am afraid you would not be able to do so.”

Mr. Tao said nonchalantly, “What’s the use of the little girl? Why would I be reluctant to give her up? Just beat her to death.” Without even looking at Tao Afu, he told the servant, “Before putting her in the solitary confinement room, beat her first. Beat her hard!”

AFu was scared and started to tremble. She turned her head and looked around, and all she saw were faces with ill intentions or faces filled with sympathy and pity. No one there would save her.

Afu suddenly twisted her hand and broke free from the servant’s grasp. She then lowered her body and crawled out from under the feet of a tall maid, running out without raising her head.

Her action was so sudden that the others were caught off guard and failed to catch her immediately. However, some reacted quickly and pursued her right away.

Afu was small and very agile. A servant pounced at her from behind, but she dodged. Despite this, several servants caught up with her. Seeing that she could not escape, the anxious and frightened Afu suddenly heard a voice.

“To the left.”

It was her master’s voice. When Afu heard it, she realized that her master had come to save her. Though she couldn’t see where her master was, the moment she heard the voice, Afu was no longer as scared as before. She began to run to the left with all her strength. There was a large lake on the left, surrounded by large lotus leaves and flowers. It was particularly beautiful during the day, but now it was dark. There were only two dim lanterns there, which couldn’t illuminate the lotus flowers at night, leaving only a hazy black shadow.

Just as she was about to reach the lake, Afu suddenly stumbled. A servant caught up with her and pushed her hard from behind, knocking her to the ground.

Unfortunately, Afu fell onto a protruding rock right in front of her head. As she was about to hit her head, she closed her eyes tightly in fear.

However, Afu only felt something soft hit her head. It didn’t hurt at all. But behind her, a series of screams of pain erupted.