After the two of them went inside, Madam Wu read her daughter's gaze and knew what she wanted to say, so she took the initiative and broke the silence first.

"I know what you want to say. She's your sister, right? You think we're being cruel and going overboard. If that's what you want to say, you can save it. I don't want to hear it."

"But Yaoyao is still your daughter. What were you and Dad thinking? How could you disown her?" Qi Qingzhu was frustrated. Her head even hurt slightly.

"Qi Qingyao doesn't respect your father and me at all. She has no right to be my daughter," Madam Wu said remorselessly.

Qi Qingzhu was exasperated. After a long silence, she said gently, "Mom, you're her mother. Parents shouldn't hold such grudges over their children. Yuancheng, Yuanxiu, and Yuanye were rude to you two countless times, and they nearly gave Dad a heart attack out of anger! Why didn't Dad try to disown them? Is it because Yaoyao is a girl? Is it because you think of her as a burden? Is that why you were so cruel to her?"

"Qingzhu, you don't understand." Madam Wu's gaze was complicated.

"You're right, I don't." Qi Qingzhu said painfully, "If one day I do something to harm the Qi family, Mom, will you disown me too?"

"Qingzhu, you're not like Qi Qingyao." Madam Wu held her daughter's hand and comforted her.

"How are we different? Yaoyao and I are both your daughters." Qi Qingyao thumped her chest, her eyes filled with tears. "Mom, I married away from the family, so Yaoyao is your only daughter left. Yes, she did some terrible things in the past, but she's a fool. You know that. Even if she is, her children have our Qi family blood. Their last name is Qi, they're part of the family!"

Madam Wu immediately said, "No, they're not. Her b*stards aren't part of the family. All they ever do is leech off of us."

"If you hate them so much, why didn't you drown her in a pig cage once you realized she had gotten pregnant out of wedlock?" Qi Qingzhu asked.

"You think I didn't want to?" Madam Wu retorted almost instantly.

Qi Qingzhu's pupils dilated. "Mom, you're scary."

Madam Wu noticed that Qi Qingzhu looked somewhat distant from her now, so she hurriedly said, "Qingzhu, you're my only real daughter. Don't hate your dad and me."

As soon as she said that, someone opened the door.

Old Man Qi poked his head inside and asked,

"Are you two done talking yet?"

Madam Wu hastily pulled Old Man Qi inside and said helplessly, "Hey, old man, Qingzhu's starting to think that I'd kick her out of the family someday."

Old Man Qi was surprised.

Madam Wu's voice grew smaller as she said, "Should we… tell her the truth about Qi Qingyao. At this rate, she'll think we're made of stone."

Qi Qingzhu, "???"

And so Madam Wu told Qi Qingzhu about the truth from back then…

Nineteen years ago, in the last month of the year, there was a night with extremely heavy snow. In the middle of the night, the Qi family heard a baby's wail from the door, scaring them all. Qi Boli's father, Qi Yunzhen, had been an infamous thug in town at the time, and he had put on his clothes to open the door. He found a bundle on the doorstep, with a baby that had almost frozen to death bundled up inside.

The old man had no choice but to bring the baby inside. She had been only a few months old, and after he wrapped her in a blanket to warm her up, he undid her dirty covers, only to discover that the material was surprisingly soft and delicate. Inside the bundle, he found more than ten taels of silvers, a jade pendant, and a white jade ring.

It just so happened that Madam Wu had been staying at home breastfeeding for most of that year. She had not gone out at all.

When she saw the money, she excitedly volunteered to raise the child in exchange for the money. The old man had agreed… and he told everyone else that the child was Madam Wu's.

Since there was a precedence with Qi Qingzhu's name, he christened the baby Qi Qingyao.

As for why he chose the name Yao…

It meant 'without a trace', referring to how no one knew who her real parents were.