Erniu and Xiaobao looked at their brother in excited admiration, too scared to speak.

To the two of them, their oldest brother was so cool! He actually dared to talk back to Aunt-in-law! Was he not afraid she would hit her?

Dabao's furious retort sounded like the year's funniest joke to Madam Guo.

"Your mother hunted those chickens? Ha, hahahahaha!! I've never heard something so funny before! Hahahaha, you're killing me!"

Madam Guo was laughing so hard that she ran out of breath, holding her waist and panting. Once she was about done laughing, she finally said, "Could that stupid r*tard ever catch you lot a chicken? Just tell me the truth already, stop lying."

Just then, her expression changed and she glared at Dabao. "You deserve a smacking on the mouth for that. How dare you talk back to me!"

With that, she rushed at Dabao angrily to beat him up.

Dabao hastily hugged his head and flattened himself against the bed.

Xiaobao and Erniu burst into tears.

"Sooooob…"

"Mommy, save us!!!"

Madam Guo was ticked off when she heard the children wail. She grabbed Dabao with one hand, planning to smash this disobedient b*stard onto the floor first. Erniu and Xiaobao were next!

Before she could do anything, though…

There was a sound from the door.

It was the sound of a water bucket being placed on the ground.

After that, someone walked in nonchalantly.

She said flippantly,

"Oh my, I was only gone for a few seconds. Do we already have a guest?"

Madam Guo froze when she heard that voice, her left hand letting go of Dabao's shirt. When Dabao saw that it was his mother who had come back, he clapped his hands to his mouth and burst into tears, jumping back under the covers. The triplets looked at Qi Qingyao, who was standing at the door, as though she was their savior.

"Mommyyyy~~"

Erniu's voice was choked as she howled.

She sounded so pitiful.

Qi Qingyao glanced at the triplets, their tears and snot flowing freely. She then looked at the open door before walking in calmly, closing the door behind her. Finally, she patted the dust off her body and smiled as though nothing was wrong, looking up at Guo Lianying.

"I wondered who it was. Hello, Big Sister-in-law."

Madam Guo had never seen her youngest sister-in-law look this confident before, and she was taken aback for a second, unable to respond. Her eyes widened, and she looked at Qi Qingyao a little dazedly.

"It's the middle of noon and still foggy out, so why are you here kicking up a fuss? Do you have nothing better to do?" Qi Qingyao knew that someone would come by to check on them eventually, but she did not expect to see Madam Guo.

Madam Guo looked Qi Qingyao up and down. Once she recovered from her shock, she asked in disbelief, "A-A-Are you really Eleventh Daughter?"

Qi Qingyao dug her ear with her finger boldly and smiled at Madam Guo's utter shock. "Is your memory failing you already, Big Sister-in-law? Even though you're so young. What a shame, you're deteriorating far before your time. As your sister-in-law, should I book a flower wreath for you? In preparation for the day you're put six feet under!"

"You idiot, what are you talking about?" Madam Guo was caught off-guard by Qi Qingyao's snappy wit.

Was this really her stuttering, semi-moronic younger sister-in-law?

There was something different about her.

…

Dabao and the others hid under the covers, staring at the two women. When they heard what their mother said, all three of them instinctively stretched their necks to get a better look.

They knew that their mother had changed, but they did not expect her to stand up to their Aunt-in-law so bravely…

In the past, Mommy would cower like a tortoise ducking into its shell whenever Aunt-in-law scolded her, unable to say a word in response.